ACTS: The Beginnings of the Church
Acts 1
Introduction
Why do we study the Bible? Not just for the facts we learn. Not so we can understand and know who we are as Christians. But to experience Jesus. He told the Pharisees that they spend a lot of time searching the Scriptures to learn the meaning of life, but the Scriptures bear witness to Jesus and they had missed the whole purpose and meaning.
Think of Paul, or Saul at the time, who knew the religion inside and out and was at the top of the class in his early teens, but completely missed that he was persecuting Jesus as he went on his way to Damascus to round up the early church.
The book of Acts is a great lesson in church history and it will help us understand where it all started and why it started. We will gain a vast amount of theology as we read and study, but more than anything else, if we let it, the study of Acts will become for us an experience of a lifetime.
This book was written by Luke, a follow-up to his Gospel. He was a physician who met Paul on the 2nd Missionary Journey in northern Ephesus and invited him to Macedonia to share the good news with his city. He then traveled with Paul for the rest of his life, coming back to Jerusalem with Paul when he was thrown in jail for over two years. During this time, Luke did a lot of research and I would guess connected with a lot of the people who knew the story first hand.
Let the book of Acts change your life in 2021.
The Birth of the Church
The Book of Acts is not a history of all of the Apostles in the early years of the church. Many things are known about the work of various Apostles. Some stayed in Jerusalem and others traveled to various parts of the world including Egypt and India. Most of the things God did through the Apostles are not written down for our benefit. But the stories of some of Peter’s experiences and many of Paul’s experiences are written here for our encouragement. We know that Luke, a doctor, traveled with Paul during the time of what is often called his 2nd and 3rd missionary journeys. So, the perspective of the Book of Acts, written by Luke, focuses on stories and teachings of the Apostle Paul and Luke’s understanding of the mission of Jesus Christ to the world.
1: 1 I wrote you once before, Theophilus, about Jesus' life and His teachings. 2 He gave instructions to His chosen apostles through the Holy Spirit, and then was taken by God into heaven. 3 During His last 40 days on earth, after His resurrection, He visited with the apostles, did miracles and taught them about the kingdom of God. 4 At the end of the 40 days, He appeared to them while they sat on the Mount of Olivet. He commanded that they stay in Jerusalem and wait for the Holy Spirit that the Father had promised them. 5 You will remember how John came baptizing with water, but he said, you will also be baptized in the Holy Spirit and that will happen soon. Be patient and wait.
In the Book of Acts, Luke continues his telling of what he started in his gospel. Much of his information came from Paul, as they traveled, and many of the people he met along the way. Although Luke did not have any firsthand knowledge that we know of, other than his travels with Paul, he had ample opportunity to meet many of the original followers of Jesus, possibly even Jesus’ mother Mary, during the years he spent with Paul in Jerusalem and Caesarea.
Beginning in his gospel, Luke told the story of the birth, life, and death of Jesus. Here in Acts he addresses the book to a person named Theophilus and covers the history of the early Church beginning with the ascension of Jesus and continuing through the missionary journeys of Paul.
Since Theophilus could also mean “brothers or friends of God,” this might be a generic address designed to include anyone who might be reading what Luke had to write.
Let’s take the position that Theophilus was a friend of the author, Luke, who was helping his friend see the miraculous story of the founding of the church.
As the book of Acts opens, the disciples are remembering Jesus’ instruction to wait for the promise of the Father that they were to be baptized with the Holy Spirit. They were familiar with the baptism of John, how people had received a cleansing with water to indicate they wished to confess their sin and be forgiven by God. They had some awareness of the Spirit of God who came to spend time with men throughout the stories of their past. But the extent of what it meant to be baptized with the Holy Spirit was a new concept to them. And even if they understood partly, it would be surprising if they knew what was in store for them. It was probably many years later before they began to put all of the teachings of Jesus together and form a concise theology of the Holy Spirit.
Many words are used to describe what happens to us when Jesus baptizes us with the Holy Spirit and many different definitions exist in the church today trying to help people understand what it means to be baptized and led by the Holy Spirit. The church today uses phrases like, the Spirit comes upon us; we are clothed with power from on high; He abides with us; He will be in us; we will be anointed; the Holy Spirit will be our pledge; we will be sealed in Jesus with the Holy Spirit; and we will be filled with the Holy Spirit. (Acts 1:8; Luke 24:49; John 14:17; II Cor. 1:22; I John 2:20; II Cor. 5:5 and Eph 1:14; Eph 1:13; and Eph 5:18) But this idea of being baptized with the Holy Spirit was brand new to the disciples and must have raised some questions in their minds.
But first, the disciples needed to make a short trip to the Mount of Olivet at the end of the forty days Jesus spent with them.
Ascension
Acts 1:6 At this last gathering they asked Jesus, "Lord, is this the time when You will restore the kingdom to its former glory?" 7 He answered, "The Father set the times and seasons according to His plan and you do not need to know when things will happen. 8 You are to concentrate on telling people about Me once you have received the power of the Holy Spirit, and you will take My message to people Jerusalem, and on to Judea and Samaria, and even to the ends of the world."
9 After saying this, Jesus was raised up while the disciples watched, and he disappeared into a cloud. 10 While they continued to look at the cloud, two men appeared next to them dressed in white clothing. 11 These said to the disciples, "Why are you still staring at the clouds? Jesus has been taken away for now, but He will one day return from heaven in this same way."
Gathered on the mountain, the Mount of Olivet (vs.12), their first concern still had to do with the coming of the kingdom. Jesus had spoken much of the kingdom during His travels with them and spoke of it as well during the past 40 days with the disciples. (Luke 24:44, 45) It must have been a grand idea that Jesus taught them for they truly wanted to know when the kingdom would be restored to Israel. They probably thought Jesus was talking about restoration of Israel to its days of former glory under King David and King Solomon. Throughout the years between that kingdom and this moment on the mountain the nation of Israel had floundered, been compromised, overtaken, exiled, struggled to return, and then become the battle ground for many converging wars and disputes. And yet the “nation” of Israel, the people of the Jews, still had their hopes set on God’s promises. They were still looking forward to a coming Messiah. And at this time in history, that also meant looking forward to a day when the Romans would no longer occupy the country of Israel and the people could once again be a sovereign nation.
Jesus reminds them of the Father’s authority in matters such as these and how the timing of events in life and plans of unfolding the future were hidden in the Father’s mind. These issues were not for human concern. Almost saying to mankind, focus on the things that you can understand and leave the stuff you cannot grasp in the hands of the Father. Not in a condescending way, but by way of teaching there are some things we will never fully comprehend in this life and seeking to figure them out will only lead to stress and frustration. They are unknowable. We need to let God be God and know the times and the seasons. We can settle for doing our task, walk with Him, and be His witness wherever we walk.
Then Jesus told them what they could know about. Coming to them in the near future was the power of the Holy Spirit. And this power from the Holy Spirit is not a power to benefit any one individual but a power to help an individual work together with others to do the work of Jesus, i.e. to bear witness to Jesus. They will be compelled to speak about what they have seen and heard; the resurrection of Jesus from the dead and the truth that the Messiah has come. “You will be my witnesses,” Jesus says to them, but He reminds them that this will take place once they have been empowered with the Holy Spirit. A truth they still cannot fully comprehend.
Do we believe we have the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit? When we take the first step of believing in Jesus, trusting in Him for our forgiveness, the Holy Spirit comes to us. But we may not be seeing the power of the Spirit evident in our life. The power of the Holy Spirit came upon the Apostles in the upper room and they spoke in tongues and by those tongues they spoke to others and people were saved. Paul talks about the gifts that the Holy Spirit brings to individual believers and how the Spirit causes changes in lives which he calls bearing fruit (love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self- control).[2]
We can see evidence that the Holy Spirit is working in our life to make some of these changes as we take the time to observe what God is doing with us. Power does not have to mean demonstrative, showy activity but can mean the simple power needed to get us to change the way we normally do things, from our natural selfish ways, to the sacrificial ways of God’s love for others. It is the power of the Holy Spirit that gives us the boldness and confidence to talk with others about our faith; actually it is the power that helps us believe in the first place. This Holy Spirit power helps us love the unlovely, become more selfless, see beyond the physical things of this world and catch a glimpse of the eternal. With this power we can begin to know the things of God, say words that transform the hearts of others, help bring comfort, peace, and healing to others. It is this power that compels us to go into the world and tell others about Jesus. It was talk of this power that caused the disciples to feel some longing inside them, some hope of the future, something to grasp on to as Jesus talked about them being witnesses as if Jesus would not be around to help.
This job of being a witness began for the disciples in Jerusalem and then took some of them into Samaria, a place they had never thought of going except that Jesus walked through the place and spoke with the woman at the well that one day. Beyond Samaria, they were to go to the ends of the Earth and carry the message of Jesus, the Messiah. That mission has never ended as we continue to carry out that calling wherever we find ourselves.
The witnessing role of the Church is continuing today and will continue until Jesus returns in all His glory. We are bearing witness of Jesus when we talk about Him to others (John 3:11-15); when we talk about His death and resurrection and what it means for us (John 12:31-33); and when we confess to others we believe in Jesus and that we think He makes a difference in our life today (Rom. 10:9-10; Matt. 10:24-33).
This is our calling, to be a witness to Jesus. Every person on Earth falls into two simple categories, either we do not have the power of the Holy Spirit and need to ask God to give Him to us (Luke 10:10-13) or we have the power of the Holy Spirit evident in our life in some way and thus we are a witness (Acts 2:37-39). A witness to what we have seen and heard about Jesus. The goal before us is to help every person who is not yet empowered by the Spirit to become a disciple of Jesus Christ and help them evidence the power of the Spirit their lives.
If the disciples, standing on that mountain talking with Jesus had any hopes of going back to their quiet lives now that Jesus had died, they could forget about settling back into their old ways of doing things. I am always amazed how, even today, people think that they can have a meeting with Jesus and somehow have their lives improved but not really changed. The disciples had no idea what would happen next. But they were diligently waiting.
Then without any other explanation or warning, Jesus was lifted up into the sky and He drifted behind a cloud. Right in the midst of this shocking experience they heard voices behind them. They turned to find two angels, who looked like men dressed in bright white clothing, speaking to them about the future. “This Jesus, who has just left you, will return again in the same way, descending from the clouds.
I suppose that gives us three things to look forward to:
1. The next time Jesus will appear to the world He will be in the sky for all to see.
2. There will be clouds in the sky. (Is that why so many people think a sunny day is better weather than a cloudy day?)
3. Just as the leaving was a surprise to the disciples the return will be when we least expect it. Truly Jesus said, “It is not for us to know when the Father has these things planned.”
Does that say something to us about all the times we ask God questions because we do not understand the circumstance or the timing? Even Jesus had to go to the Father in prayer to ask about tomorrow or what to do next. He said, “I only do what I have seen the Father do, and say what I have heard the Father say.” Maybe we do not know because it is not ours to know. But it is okay for us to ask the Father and if it fits into His will He will let us know the answer.
Waiting
12 So the disciples came back to the upper room in Jerusalem after they had seen these things. The mount of Olivet is about a Sabbath's day's journey away. 13 Peter and John and James and Andrew were all there, along with Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon the Zealot, as well as Judas, the son of James. 14 They devoted themselves to prayer along with Mary, the mother of Jesus, His brothers, and a large gathering of other people. They were intently waiting for the promise of the Holy Spirit to come in power. Whatever that was supposed to mean. They just had to wait and see.
Returning to Jerusalem the disciples had a lot on their minds. For the last 40 days they had spent time with Jesus, who was risen from the dead. We also know from the gospel accounts that Jesus spent this time teaching them of the kingdom of God (Acts 1:3), commissioning them to go into all the world and make disciples (Matt. 28:19), telling them that signs will accompany their teachings to confirm the words they preach (Mark 16:17-20), helping them to understand the meaning of His resurrection and giving them a deeper understanding of the Old Testament prophecies and teachings about the Messiah. (Luke 24:36-43) Jesus taught them about how the Messiah needed to suffer and die; about how the resurrection was possible and that He would become the first born from the dead and others would follow; of repentance of sins for forgiveness; the power the Holy Spirit that would be to any who would call upon the name of Jesus, and how the disciples would begin at Jerusalem and spread throughout the world with the witness of what they had seen and heard about Jesus. (Luke 24:45ff)
Now He has left them a second time and this time it seems will be a long time before they will see Him again. The eleven Apostles who remained after the death of Judas gathered together to pray and wait. I am sure they spent time grieving, wondering, and praying. They were also waiting for the power from on high, waiting for the unknown. What would the power look like? How would they know when it had come? They would be expecting something, but did they have any idea what was coming their way? So, they held what ended up being a 7-10 day prayer meeting. Pentecost, the holiday on which the Holy Spirit seems to have arrived is by definition 50 days after Passover. Jesus died the day after Passover and rose from the dead on the third day and then spent 40 days with his disciples, leaving about a week or more for the disciples to wait before the Spirit arrived.
The disciples did not know the power from on high would come on Pentecost, they were just told to wait until it had come. So, they prayed.
Part of their time of prayer was spent listening to Peter, who assumed the role of leader. And Peter, among other things, led them in the process to select another person to become the 12th Apostle, replacing the vacancy left by Judas. Since they were Jews by faith, for the split between the two religions would not take place for many years, they thought in terms of 12. Since Jesus had chosen 12 disciples, and there were 12 tribes of Israel, and Judas was no longer with them, the natural assumption would be that they should choose another to fill Judas’s vacancy. And then Peter remembers a passage from the psalms and stands to speak to those gathered.
Waiting, expecting, hungering
How can we wait? Take time each day to spend time with Jesus. How can we expect? Not settle for the way things have always been. Don't let fear get in the way of your asking, He might say no but that is still answered prayer. You at least know what God’s will is. However, the Scriptures tells us that we do not have because we have not asked.
How can we hunger? Wait expectantly. Believe that God will do a new thing in your life today. God usually starts with the little things. I don’t mind the size of the miracle; I just like to see that God is working in my life and is on my side. God is not in a hurry, be patient and see the power of the Holy Spirit move in your life this week.
Pastor Edd
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