In the authorship of Acts, Luke depicts one of the most important issues being discussed by biblical analysts trying to produce critical scholarly works on the sources of the New Testament. According to the biblical traditions, the society believes that Luke who was a companion of Paul wrote the scriptures in the book of Acts.
In the We passages of Acts, Luke uses the first person plural without referring to himself as “I” or “Me.” Some biblical analysts believe that the We passages are the remains of medieval manuscript that was later integrated into the book of Acts by the author (Bleek & Urwick, 2001).
Most verses in the book of Acts are written in the first person plural. Notably, the use of the We passage indicates that the writer was a partisan in the events that unfold in the book of Acts (Gray, 2005).
Paul, Barnabus, and Mark started the first journey in Antioch. The three left Antioch for Seleucia and sailed to Cyprus, which is a large island about 100 miles away from the Syrian coast (Holloway, 2008). Later, the three missionaries left for Salamis and Paphos. In Paphos, they met with a sorcerer by the name Bar Jesus.
Paul and Barnabas walked throughout Epicedia, Pamphylia, Perga, Italia, and then sailed back to Antioch (Robbins, 2010). His first journey ended at Antioch in Syria where Paul and Barnabas stayed for a long time. In their second journey, Paul took Silas through Syria and Cilicia.
They came to Elytra where they found Timothy and walked throughout Galatia and Philippi. Paul then sailed back to Antioch where he ended his second journey. In his third journey, Paul walked throughout Galatia and Macedonia.
The third journey ends in Jerusalem where the Jews attacked Paul while he was preaching to a multitude (Bleek & Urwick, 2001). During this journey, Paul was sure of harassment by the Jews.
After persevering through harassment and adversities, Paul through the direction of the Holy Spirit realized that God required him to spread the good news to the Gentiles. As such, Paul considered is preaching to the Gentiles as a calling from God (Warrington, 2006). Equally, his preaching marked the onset of his writings.
In the book of Acts, Luke cites chronological evidences that have not been cited by other historical writings. For example, in the book of Acts he mentions of the death of Herod Agrippa. Equally, in the same book he narrates of the serious famine season and replacement of Felix, the Judean procurator, with Festus.
Throughout his mission, Paul embraced the local cultures. He related to the local cultures on a level that made it easy for him to educate them. He requested for their personal beliefs. For instance, in the book of Acts chapter 16 verses 34, Paul criticizes the Athenians for worshiping an anonymous god.
As the followers of Christ, we should welcome God’s calling, appreciate it, and act in accordance with its requirements. Taking Paul’s examples, we should allow other people’s beliefs to prevail while carrying out our ministries (Pervo, 2001). We also need to persevere despite the situations exposed to us.
When faced with financial problems, harassment, sickness, or other challenges, Christians should persevere just as Paul persevered.
References
Bleek, F. & Urwick, W. (2001). An Introduction to the New Testament. Edinburgh: Clark.
Gray, P. (2005). Athenian Curiosity (Acts 17:21). Novum Testamentum, 47(2), 109-116.
Holloway, P. (2008). Alius Paulus: Paul’s Journeys. New Testament Studies, 54(04), 542-556.
Pervo, R. I. (2001). Profit with delight: the literary genre of the Acts of the apostles (3 ed.).Philadelphia: Fortress Press.
Robbins, V. K. (2010). Sea voyages and beyond: emerging strategies in socio-rhetorical interpretation. Blanford Forum, Dorset: Deo Publishing.
Warrington, K. (2006). Acts and the Healing Narratives: Why?. Journal of Pentecostal Theology, 14(2), 189-217.