Who wrote the Acts of the Apostles?

• A. Luke
• B. Matthew
• C. Mark
• D. John

Answer: (A)

Acts is traditionally understood to be written by Luke, the physician who also wrote the Gospel of Luke. The strongest clue is its opening line, where the author speaks of “my former book” and then continues the story Luke began, signaling a single author for both volumes. The narrative then shifts into first-person plural, “we,” during Paul’s travels, which reveals the author was a companion of Paul—exactly the type of figure Luke is described as in early tradition. The two works share a consistent style, vocabulary, and thematic arc—addressing Theophilus, emphasizing careful historical recall, and tracing how Jesus’ ministry expands through the church—pointing to one author rather than four separate writers. Early church tradition also names Luke as the author, and many internal details align with what is known about Luke from other parts of the New Testament. The other gospel writers—Matthew, Mark, and John—produced their own separate gospels and do not carry the continuation into Acts, so they don’t fit as the author of this Acts narrative.