Why Does the Book of Acts End So Abruptly?

By Patrick Schreiner

Photo by Karol Smoczynski on Unsplash

What Acts Teaches Us

Acts is not only a transitional book but also a programmatic one. It has something to teach every generation. We must follow its model. It is not a book locked up in the past but bursting with meaning for the present.

The last words of Acts indicate the narrative is incomplete:

[Paul] lived there two whole years at his own expense, and welcomed all who came to him, proclaiming the kingdom of God and teaching about the Lord Jesus Christ with all boldness and without hindrance. (Acts 28:30–31)

Most stories enjoy tying all the loose ends together, while others leave things unfinished for readers to consider their own responsibility.  Luke closes his narrative with abruptness: a two-verse summary of Paul’s prison ministry in Rome.

This shows Luke’s account is not about Paul or Peter primarily, but about God’s work in the world. Acts is about resurrection life, the expansion of the temple, and the advance of the word. While Paul is in prison, the testimony of Jesus and the kingdom go forth unhindered.

The Unhindered Gospel

The last word of the book, akōlytōs (“unhindered”), confirms there were no restraints on Paul’s preaching.

The gospel of the risen and ascended Lord Jesus has overcome all geographic boundaries, social differences, ethnic diversities, human prejudices, gender biases, legal obstacles, and theological barriers.

This abrupt but victorious ending compels readers to ask about their own role in this narrative. Acts offers a word of encouragement. Yet, encouragement for what? The last two sentences indicate it is an encouragement to press on in the mission. The triune God is doing a work in the world that the powers of darkness marvel at, and the world will both oppose and be astonished at it. Though there will be setbacks, though all might seem dark, though it might seem as if God’s people are always in the valley, a light shines through the gloom. God’s purposes will not be stopped because God has pledged himself to this work.

Acts is therefore a programmatic book because it encourages the church to press on in its own agency as it is compelled by divine agency. God is building his church. Therefore, the church must welcome all, speak of salvation in Jesus’s name, and witness to the ends of the earth.

 Taken from “Why Does the Book of Acts End So Abruptly?” by Patrick Schreiner, Copyright © January 08, 2022. Used by permission of Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers, Wheaton, IL 60187, www.crossway.org.”