The author of Acts is anonymous, at least

in the sense that the text does not openly

declare the name of the one who wrote it.

The anonymity may have been due to

modesty, or it may have been a measure

to protect the author from reprisals, or

both.

"We passages"

It is a remarkable fact that all three 'we

passages' begin at the start of sea

voyages. Vernon Robbins has explained

this by showing that ancient writers often

preferred first person narrative when

describing sea voyages.(1) Robbins also

shows that third person narrative was often

preferred even when the author was a major

participant in the events. Therefore the

author of Acts may well have been present

in the events immediately prior to the 'we

passages'. I will now argue that this was in

fact the case and that it helps us to identify

the author of Acts.

The first “we” appears quite abruptly at Acts 16:10:

"When he had seen the vision we immediately tried to cross over to Macedonia..."

Some have assumed that the author was converted by Paul in Troas and joined the

group there. However, this is quite unlikely since the Holy Spirit had forbidden the group

from preaching in Asia (16:6), and Troas is in Asia. Furthermore, it is clear from Acts

16:10 (so Gilchrist) and 16:13 that the author was a fully qualified evangelist and that

time, so he is unlikely to have been a new convert. It seems more likely that the author

was a resident of Antioch and had been a member of the team from the start.

2. The second passage that includes the first person plural begins at the start of the

Journey to Jerusalem:

"When he had gone through those regions and had given the believers much

encouragement, he came to Greece, where he stayed for thre months. He was about to

set sail for Syria when a plot was made against him by the Jews, and so he decided to

return through Macedonia. He was accompanied by Sopater son of Pyrrhus from Beroea,

by Aristarchus and Secundus from Thessalonica, by Gaius from Berbe, and by Timohty,

as well as by Tychicus and Trophimus from Asia. They went ahead and were waiting fro

us in Troas; but we sailed from Philippi after the days of Unleavened Bread..." (Acts

20:2-6)

The original plan had been to sail directly to Syria from Greece, so all those who

intended to accompany Paul must have assembled in Greece. It is therefore unlikely that

the author joined Paul in Philippi as some suppose. He was probably present with Paul

in Corinth before his departure and may well have been one of those who sent greetings

to the Romans (Rom 16:21-23).

3. The first person is re-introduced for the last time at the first mention of the sea voyage

to Rome:

"When it was decided that we were to sail for Italy..." (Acts 27:1)

I take this to mean that the author was already with Paul before the decision was made

to sail to Italy.

The identity of the author of Luke-Acts

Tradition identifies the author as "Luke", and there is no reason why he would have been

credited with the composition if he were not the one responsible for it. "Luke" (LOUKAS)

is simply a short form of the name "Lucius". Adolf Deissmann demonstrates this from

Epigraphic evidence (Light from the Ancient East pp 435-438).

We have seen that author of Acts was probably a resident of Antioch and that he may

well have been among those who sent greetings to the Romans in Rom 16:21-23. The

authorship of Acts by a "Luke" is therefore strengthened by the fact that we have a

Lucius in Rom 16:21 and in Antioch in Acts 13:1. Some further observations confirm this.

The Lucius of Rom 16:21

First I will argue that the Lucius of Rom 16:21 was a prominent believer.

1. In Rom 16 sends greetings from Timothy, Lucius, Jason, Sosipater, Tertius, Gaius,

Erastus, and Quartus in that order. Paul, like other NT authors, listed people in

discending order of prominence. Lucius is second only to Timothy.

2. Judge has shown that those among Paul's associates who had Latin names were

often his closest and most highly prominent co-workers.(2) We see this particularly for

those, like Lucius, who had a Latin Praenomen. Greeks sometimes took a Latin

praenomen as their only name. Judge identifies 6 such cases among the Christians

named in Acts and Paul's letters. They are Mark (Acts 12:12), Titus (Gal 2:3), Gaius

(Acts 20:4), Gaius (Acts 19:29), Lucius (Acts 13:1), and Lucius (Rom 16:21) (assuming,

as seems likely, that 'relative' here does not mean a member of Paul's biological family).

It is remarkable that Mark, Titus, and the two Gaii were among Paul's fellow-missionaries

and fellow-travellers. Therefore Lucius may well have belonged to the same circle.

3. Paul describes this Lucius as SUGGENHS and Michaelis has argued that this was an

expression of esteem.(3)

Given his prominence, it would be surprising if he were not mentioned in Acts, unless he

was the author. He is listed ahead of Jason, Sosipater, Gaius (Titius Justus), and

Erastus, all of whom are probably mentioned in Acts. Acts mentions all of Paul's

prominent fellow-workers, without exception (Titus was Timothy and Stephanas was

Titius Justus).

The Lucius of Acts 13:1

4. Acts mentions "Lucius of Cyrene" as one of the "prophets and teachers" in Antioch

(Acts 13:1). This further increases the probability that Lucius is our man. He was

probably a Jew, as was the Lucius of Rom 16:21. Presumably he was one of those who

had first proclaimed Jesus to Greeks in Antioch (Acts 11:21). He would therefore not be

an unlikely person to accompany Paul on his "second missionary journey". He is the

right guy at the right time and the right place.

Conclusion

In summary, the author of Acts was probably Lucius (Rom 16:21), and very likely also

Lucius of Cyrene (Acts 13:1).

(1) Vernon K. Robbins "By land and

by sea: the we passages and ancient sea voyages".

http://www.religion.emory.edu/faculty/robbins/Pdfs/WeSeaVoyages.pdf

(2) E.A. Judge, "The Roman Base of Paul's Mission", Tyndale Bulletin 56.1 (2005)

3. (3)Michaelis, Theological Dictionary of the NT, 7 p741-742
   

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