Thoughts and Acts: Acts 1:1-5

"In the first book, O Theophilus, I have dealt with all that Jesus began to do and teach, until the day when He was taken up, after He had given commands through the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom He had chosen. To them He presented Himself alive after His suffering by many proofs, appearing to them during the forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God. And while staying with them He ordered them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father, which, He said, 'you heard from me; for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.'" (Acts 1:1-5)

The sequel begins with a recap just like so many of the current television series that have continuing story lines and often end on cliffhangers. The gospel of Luke seemed to have a solid ending with Jesus ascending into heaven (Luke 24:50-53) but still left the vital question as to what His followers would do with His ever-important message of good news. "The Acts of the Apostles", as it is traditionally called, briefly recounts the history of the ascension of Christ and the basis of the gospel message before launching into the history of the very earliest Christian church.

Luke tells Theophilus (meaning "friend of God") that in his first book, "I have dealt with all that Jesus began to do and teach, until the day when He was taken up". Luke, the educated physician, investigated the matters of Jesus' birth, life, death and resurrection with considerable detail according to his gospel, "...just as those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers of the word have delivered them to us, it seemed good to me also, having followed all things closely for some time past, to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus that you may have certainty concerning the things you have been taught." (Luke 1:1-4). He now brings his careful analysis to church history in its infant stage. Luke was probably an eyewitness himself to many of the events that transpired in Acts and certainly had access to the people of whom the events happened too.

In verse 2, Luke mentions the ascension of Christ and the commands that Christ taught before being taken up into the sky. The treatment of the ascension of Christ is interestingly handled by the various gospel writers. Here are snippets of the handling (or lack) of the ascension of Christ:

-Matthew 28:16-20 (ESV), "Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. And when they saw Him they worshipped Him, but some doubted. And Jesus came and said to them, 'All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me. Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age." No mention directly of an ascension but it does seem implied. Jesus is giving the disciples what seem to be final instructions and He did have them meet on a mountain in Galilee.

-The ascension in the gospel of Mark is a handful to discuss. The Great Commission here is preached to the eleven while they recline at a table (chapter 16 verse 14). There is no mention about being on top of a mountain. He also gives rather odd instructions about handling snakes and drinking deadly poisons but having these things not hurt the disciples. The words Jesus' preaches is certainly different from Matthew's gospel account. Verse 19 then continues, "So then the Lord Jesus, after He had spoken to them, was taken up into heaven and sat down at the right hand of God." An important note about this last section of Mark however may be that this ending portion is not Scripture. The earliest Greek manuscripts that we have do not contain Mark 16:9-20. A considerable amount of external and internal evidence suggest that this ending was not originally a part of Mark's gospel and was not written by the same author. Furthermore, fourth century church fathers Eusebius and Jerome note in their writings that the manuscripts that were available to them do not have verses 9-20.

-Luke 24:50, "And He led them out as far as Bethany, and He lifted up His hands and blessed them. Now it came to pass, while He blessed them, that He was parted from them and carried up into heaven. And they worshipped Him, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy and were continually in the temple praising and blessing God. Amen." Bethany is a place on the eastern slope of the Mount of Olives, the site of Jesus' ascension.

-The gospel of John is silent on the ascension.

As Luke records history in this beginning section of Acts, we find the disciples actively worshiping Jesus and waiting for the promised Holy Spirit. An excitement was in there air for sure and as Luke records in his gospel, they were filled with "great joy" (24:52) They had heard or seen of their Lord being flogged and crucified (Luke records these passion week events in Luke 22:47-23:49) but then they had witnessed the greatest episode of history, Jesus rising from the grave. Luke writes in Acts, "To them He presented Himself alive after His suffering by many proofs, appearing to them during forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God." (Verse 1:3)

Here are the appearances of Christ, post-resurrection, that we have recorded in the Bible:

1) The women at the tomb (Matthew 28:9-10)
2) Mary Magdalene (Mark 16:9-11; John 20:11-18)
3) Two men on Emmaus (Mark 16:12; Luke 24:13-32)
4) Peter in Jerusalem (Luke 24:34; 1 Corinthians 15:5)
5) Ten Disciples (Luke 24:36-43; John 20:19-23)
6) Eleven disciples (John 20:24-29; 1 Corinthians 15:5)
7) Seven disciples fishing in Galilee (John 21:1-23)
8) Eleven disciples in Galilee (Matthew 28:16-20; Mark 16:14-18)
9) Five hundred persons (possibly in Galilee; 1 Corinthians 15:6- Paul's writing on the resurrection)
10) James, the brother of the Lord (1 Corinthians 15:7)

Jesus offered many eyewitness accounts to His followers and potentially more that we do not know about. Luke also states that He spoke of the "Kingdom of God". Luke's gospel has more than thirty occurrences of the "kingdom of God". By contrast, Matthew's gospel has atleast 50 uses of the "kingdom of heaven (or God)". There is much theological debate about exhaustively defining what the kingdom of God is but a good succinct definition is that the kingdom of God exists in the hearts of believers.

Jesus, while here on earth as God Incarnate, inaugurated a spiritual kingdom that exists to change the hearts of people. For if the hearts of people are changed, their outward actions will change as well. Jesus' help with the believer's change of heart is found in the promise of the Holy Spirit. Believers, in the start of the book of Acts, look to be baptized by the Spirit as an inward mark that they belong to Jesus' kingdom.

Jesus identified the promise of the Father in verse 4, "...for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now." John the Baptist, the forerunner of announcing the coming kingdom, baptized people with water. Water baptism was a declaration of repentance and a symbol of the washing away of sins. "I baptize you with water for repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire (fire being a symbol of judgment for sins)." (Matthew 3:11)

The spiritual kingdom is carried on by the Holy Spirit's indwelling work in the hearts of believers. The kingdom is also carried on (and has been for two thousand years) by the church's proclamation of the news that Jesus asked us to preach to all people. The message that they can be disciples of Jesus and become a part of His spiritual kingdom.

The task at times seems daunting but believers have the Holy Spirit (recognized as the third member of the Trinity) inside of them. The power of God, to do His will, readily available as God is immanent.

A FINAL NOTE: Verse 1:4 says, "And while staying with them, He (Jesus) ordered them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father..." With this writing of Luke, some may wonder why the disciples went to Galilee as Matthew tells us in Matthew 28:10, 16. In both of Luke's writings (Luke 24:49 and here in Acts 1:4), the disciples are commanded to wait in Jerusalem. Norman Geisler and Thomas Howe have a couple of proposed solutions: "First, it is possible that the command was not given until after they had been in Galilee. In this event there would be no conflict whatsoever. Furthermore, the command to 'tarry' simply meant to make Jerusalem their headquarters. It did not preclude taking short trips elsewhere. Jerusalem was the place they were to receive the Holy Spirit and to begin their work." (When Critics Ask, pg. 400)