Supplemental
The First Eleven Verses of Acts
The “Acts of the Apostles,” also known as the book of Acts, follows the four gospels chronologically. The book chronicles approximately thirty years of Jesus’ apostles in action after Jesus’ ascension. Which includes the empowerment and start of the body of Christ (the church), the planting of various local churches, the continuing struggle with Jewish and Roman authority, the stoning of Stephen, the conversion of Paul, as well as it documents several acts and miracles of God. The book was written by Luke, the same author of the gospel account that bears his name. He initially focuses on the life of Peter and then later in the book focuses on the actions of the apostle Paul.
Since the first eleven verses of the book of Acts continue to document Jesus’ ministry where the gospels leave off, they are included here to provide a complete commentary regarding Jesus’ ministry on earth.
Living Proof
1:1 In the first book, O Theophilus, I have dealt with all that Jesus began to do and teach, 2 until the day when he was taken up, after he had given commands through the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom he had chosen. 3 He presented himself alive to them after his suffering by many proofs, appearing to them during forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God.
Luke addresses this account of the apostles to Theophilus, as mentioned earlier in the Introduction to the book of Luke, this person’s identity is unknown. Luke reminds Theophilus that he had previously written in the book of Luke what Jesus did and taught, up to the day He ascended. Now, in this book he will continue to report on Jesus after His resurrection, with a few items he did not include in his gospel account. Events that occurred during the forty days between His resurrection and the time He ascended into heaven.
He begins by reporting that Jesus gave the apostles further instructions through the Holy Spirit, the source of power for them and all believers. He then notes that Jesus demonstrated to them that He was indeed alive (after being crucified) and further instructed them about the kingdom of God (regarding the gospel message). According to Paul, after Jesus appeared to His apostles, “Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep.” (1 Corinthians 15:6) No further details are given.
Empowerment Coming
1:4 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; 5 for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.”
While Jesus was staying with the apostles, He told them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait for the Holy Spirit, as promised by His Father. He explained that John baptized with water, but they would soon be baptized with the Holy Spirit. When John the Baptist first saw Jesus, he recognized Him as the “Lamb of God” and stated that He will (in the future) baptize with the Holy Spirit (see John 1:33). That prophecy was reinforced here as Luke reports that the apostles will indeed be baptized with the Holy Spirit.[1] Many debate as to what that means, often raising questions like, “Does that mean that the person is washed by the Holy Spirit?” and “Is baptism with the Holy Spirit equivalent to being baptized with fire?” While the debates regarding baptism are seemingly unending (see Appendix 1 - Sacraments), in context, the Holy Spirit does indeed clean us spiritually after accepting Jesus as our Savior. Physically we are no different, but instead of seeing a sinner that is condemned to Hell, God the Father sees a righteous person who He has adopted as His own child. Not by any effort or action by us but through the blood of His Son Jesus. Regarding the use of fire, God does use what is known as a refiner’s fire (see Malachi 3:2-3) to sanctify believers, however, that typically pertains to discipline and correction usually later in their walk. In context, fire is often connected in the New Testament to judgment (see Matthew 3:10, 12; 3:12; 5:22; 7:19; 13:40, 42, 50; 18:8-9; 25:41; Mark 9:22, 43, 48; Luke 3:17; 17:29; John 15:6; 1 Corinthians 3:13-15; Hebrews 1:7; 10:27; 12:18; James 3:5-6; 5:3; 1 Peter 1:7; 2 Peter 3:7; Jude 7, 23; Revelation 8:7-8; 13:13; 14:10; 16:8; 17:6; 18:8; 20:9). In the Old Testament the term fire is often referenced pertaining to procedures performed by priests around the Tabernacle and later the Temple. However, there is a direct connection to these procedures and sin being atoned to prevent judgment. Is baptism by fire the same as baptism by the Holy Spirit? Scripture does not clearly define the application, however, in context it does not seem likely to be the same as the word implies sin being judged.
It is important to remember that the baptism of the Holy Spirit is only God’s task, not something a person does, it is fully a divine activity.
Jesus Ascends
1:6 So when they had come together, they asked him, “Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?” 7 He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority. 8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” 9 And when he had said these things, as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight. 10 And while they were gazing into heaven as he went, behold, two men stood by them in white robes, 11 and said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.
His apostles still had in mind the restoration of the physical kingdom of Israel as prophesied (see Ezekiel chapter thirty-six and Joel chapter two). They inquire of Jesus if He was going to restore the kingdom at this time. Jesus explains that not only will He not tell them when the restoration of Israel will take place, they are not to know God’s schedule of events. Instead, they are to understand that they will be given power when the Holy Spirit comes upon them and empower them to witness (evangelize) to the world beginning with Judea and Samaria.
When Jesus was finished talking, He was lifted up into a cloud that took Him out of their sight. Then two men (angels) appeared standing next to the apostles and asked them why they were looking up. The two angels explained that Jesus was taken up to heaven and will return some day in the same way as they saw Him ascend into heaven just now.
Considerations
The apostles ask Jesus about the restoration of Israel. Which is truly an important event and it will occur as promised in the Old Testament. However, this is not directly related to the kingdom of God. Jesus wanted them to focus on the monumental task that laid before them, to evangelize the world. A task that has been handed down from the first apostles to many generations of apostles, and then ultimately to us! But the apostles had difficulty in seeing the bigger picture, Jesus was trying to ‘recalibrate’ their thinking, to expand beyond the temporary world of today to see the importance of spreading the news about the future and eternal world we call heaven.
Christians today suffer from the same malady, we can get ‘caught up’ or distracted by so many things of this world that we forget about heaven and the need to witness to others. As believers we should never lose sight of that future, the bigger picture, but our efforts to daily serve God should remain our priority.
It is interesting to note that the restoration of Israel is one of many promises given to the Israelites that has yet to be fulfilled. Since God’s promises are always fulfilled there should be no doubt that the restoration will indeed occur. However, many theologians have either overlooked this event or have chosen to ignore it (as those who embrace the concept of replacement theology[2] have done), and as a result they also deny the thousand-year period (also known as the Millennium)[3] the period of time when God will restore the kingdom of Israel.
Jesus informs His apostles that it is not for them to know the ‘times’ (Greek ‘chronous’,[4] the perception of time quantitatively) and ‘seasons’ (Greek ‘kairous’,[5] the time of accomplishment, considers time qualitatively as a period characterized by the influence of something, a period of opportunity, can be a reference to foreordained events, such as climate seasons, or prophetic events). Since the timing of things is God’s realm, Jesus tells them (and us) that they should not be concerned about the future, they need to focus on the task of evangelism no matter what happens. This is still a problem with humanity today, always fretting about tomorrow. We can plan, but just like when Jesus taught in the parable of the foolish rich man (see Luke 12:13-21), knowing the future could negate or damage our relationship and reliance on God. A concept reminiscent of Psalm 119:105, “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.” God provides illumination for us to see the path at our feet, not what is up ahead nor around the corner. We need to rely on Him one day (or one step) at a time.
The Gospel Message in a Nutshell
The message of the gospel is not only found in the four gospel accounts, it can be found throughout the Bible. There is one location that offers what could be called, or defined as, “The Gospel Message in a Nutshell,” That would be the first nine verses of 1 Corinthians chapter 15, which breaks the message into three parts.
1) The need to believe. “Let me now remind you, dear brothers and sisters, of the Good News I preached to you before. You welcomed it then, and you still stand firm in it. It is this Good News that saves you if you continue to believe the message I told you—unless, of course, you believed something that was never true in the first place.” (1 Corinthians 15:1-2, NLT, emphasis added)
2) Believe in what? “I passed on to you what was most important and what had also been passed on to me. Christ died for our sins, just as the Scriptures said. He was buried, and he was raised from the dead on the third day, just as the Scriptures said.” (1 Corinthians 15:3-4, NLT, emphasis added)
3) The witnesses. “He was seen by Peter and then by the Twelve. After that, he was seen by more than 500 of his followers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have died. Then he was seen by James and later by all the apostles. Last of all, as though I had been born at the wrong time, I also saw him. For I am the least of all the apostles. In fact, I’m not even worthy to be called an apostle after the way I persecuted God’s church.” (1 Corinthians 15:5-9, NLT, emphasis added)
⇐Previous Chapter (Introduction/Index) Next Chapter⇒
[1] See commentary under Luke 3:15-17.
[2] See Considerations under Matthew 23:37-39 regarding "Replacement Theology."
[3] See the Introduction to the Olivet Discourse at the beginning of Matthew chapter 24.
[4] Strong’s Greek 5550.
[5] Strong’s Greek 2540.