The Literary Unity of Luke-Acts and Authorial Intent in Acts

While some scholars have suggested that any investigation of the Gospel of Luke and Acts must include the question of their literary unity, others have focused on the purpose for which Acts was written. Since authorial intent should greatly inform the interpretation of a written work, the quest for the authorial and literary unity of Luke and Acts is inseparable from the quest for the author’s intent in writing Acts. This article argues that while the various proposals for the purpose of Acts should be considered as complementary rather than mutually exclusive, Acts 1:8 clearly appears as the interpretative key of the whole book. In addition, since theology and apologetics are done in Acts for the purpose of enhancing mission, it is evident that mission is the overarching purpose of the book. It can therefore be safely asserted that mission was Luke’s governing theme in writing Acts. Consequently, the article ends with implications for contemporary mission and ministry.