1.
Present
an overview of the evidence for determining the date Acts was written.
What indicators of historical reliability are found in Acts? What role
does Luke as author play?
2.
Give
the evidence to support Luke as author of Acts. How could Luke become
aware of privileged information such as found in Acts 23:25–30, 25:14–22, and
26:30–32? How important are the "we" passages in Acts to
determining authorship?
There
are three different opinions of when the book of Acts was written. The groups
of scholars arrange their dates from A.D. 57 to A.D 150. The first group
consider “early dating” that would date Acts about the year A.D. 64. This is
the date when a majority of scholars dated Acts in earlier times. The second
group dates Acts in the range from A.D. 70 to A.D. 90. The final group date
Acts from A.D. 95 to A.D. 100. The final group claim that Luke used Antiquities written by Josephus.[1]
There are
several historical events that would give a good indicator of when Acts was
written at least within a decade. The first consideration is that Luke mentions
that Jerusalem was surrounded by the armies in Luke 21:20. This would give the
clue about the fall of Jerusalem which happened in A.D. 70. It is also well
known that the book of Acts was the second in a “series” of letters that Luke
wrote; The Gospel According to Luke and then The Acts of the Apostles. The
second consideration is that Luke as a very detailed historian would have used
other accounts as stated in the book of Luke in verses 2 and 3, “Just as those
who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers of the word delivered
them to us, it seemed good to me also, having had perfect understanding of all
things from the very first, to write to you an orderly account, most excellent
Theophilus.” The verses indicate that Luke received knowledge of the “gospels”
from “eyewitnesses” and “ministers”. This would give good indication that Luke
received his account from the Apostles. Finally, Luke also mirrors the book of
Mark which is another discussion of the Synoptic Gospels. This would delineate
the later date by using Josephus.
As
stated, the importance of Luke is that he was a very detailed historian. Lea and
Black claim that Paul was still in prison at the end of Acts and state, “Luke
wrote Acts at some time in the early sixties.”[2] Taking into account of
Paul awaiting to be martyred and the knowledge of the fall of Jerusalem the can
be placed between late A.D. 60’s and late A.D. 70’s. As a detailed historian
Luke would have made sure that every detail was correct and would not have
written anything fictitious. It is important to have a correct view of who the
author is as a historian and the correct date to interpret the book of Acts correctly.
Some
infallible proofs that Acts was written by Luke is the “we” statements
throughout the book and external evidence. In the discussion of the “we”
statements Carson and Moo wrote, “Since the author accompanied Paul to Rome and
was probably with him during Paul’s two-year house arrest in Rome, we might
expect Paul to mention him in the letters he wrote during that period of time.”[3] Paul listed Luke as one of
his companions in chains with him. The “we” statements and Paul mentioning Luke
as a companion gives substantial evidence that Luke is the author of Acts.
Bibliography
Carson, D.A. and Moo, Douglas J. An Introduction to the New Testament. Grand
Rapids, Michigan, 2005.
Lea, Thomas D. The New Testament: Its Background and Message. Nashville,
Tennessee: B&H Publishers, 2003.
Polhill, John B. The
American Commentary: Acts. Nashville, Tennessee: B&H Publishers, 1992.
[1] John B. Polhill, The New American Commentary, (Nashville,
Tennessee: B&H Publishers, 1992), Kindle Loc. 661.
[2] Thomas D. Lea, The New Testament: Its Background and
Message, (Nashville, Tennessee: B&H Publishing, 2003), 284.
[3] D.A. Carson and Douglas
and Douglas J. Moo, An Introduction to
the New Testament, (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan, 2005), 291.
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