In Acts 1, the author tells how Jesus appeared to His disciples and others over a period of 40 days after His resurrection (Acts 1:3). At the end of this period, He ascended into heaven (Acts 1:9). However, some sceptics ask us to turn back to Luke 24, where there seems to be a contradiction.

The events recorded in Luke 24 appear to have occurred all on the same day: Jesus’ resurrection, His appearance to the two disciples walking to Emmaus, His subsequent appearance to the other disciples, and then His leading them to Bethany and His ascension into heaven.

At first glance, this appears to be a contradiction; however, there is a key point that cannot be ignored: both the Gospel of Luke and The Acts of the Apostles were written by Luke.

Look how he starts Acts:  “In my former book [referring to his Gospel], Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus began to do and to teach until the day he was taken up to heaven, after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles he had chosen” (Acts 1:1-2). You see, Luke covered many of Jesus’ actions and teachings in his Gospel and in his final chapter, he wrote how Jesus rose from the dead on Sunday morning. That same day, he appeared to two disciples on the road to Emmaus. Luke wraps up the story with a fast-forward to the ascension—like a highlight reel—in an effort to comprise the full account of Jesus.

However, in the book of Acts, he gives us the full timeline: Jesus stayed on earth for 40 days, teaching and preparing his followers. The ascension happened at the end of those 40 days—not on resurrection Sunday.

Luke’s Gospel shows the theological arc while Acts gives the historical timeline. Together, they tell one beautiful story. Luke wasn’t confused—he was showing us the meaning first, then the timeline. There’s no contradiction here.

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