Acts 1:1-5 In my former book, 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. After his suffering, he presented himself to them and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive. He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God. On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.”
The cross and the resurrection are the Good News that has penetrated the world. We find Luke going on with the message that the Son of God has come to deliver men from the grips of Satan and death. Man since Adam and Eve has been in the throes of sin and the grave. Rebellion to God’s authority has cost mankind much. Man initially was made in God’s likeness and nature. Made in God’s likeness, he was given the ability to choose to live in the goodness of God. His only restrictions were not to eat of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil or the Tree of Life. But being made in God’s likeness, Adam could choose to do so. Satan deceived Eve by telling her to eat of the Tree of Knowledge. Then she would be like God with no restrictions on her life. She and Adam partook of the tree of good and evil. Rather than being free as God is, they became servants of Satan. Now with the whole spectrum of good and evil to be independent of God’s authority, they chose self over God and his eternal goodness. Now their decisions in life were for their own selfish reasons and not for the glory of God. To be totally as God, they chose a life completely free from God’s involvement. God removed them from the Garden, for now they were a danger to him. If they partook of the tree of eternal life, their presence would contaminate all of existence. Outside of the Garden, Adam and Eve’s lives would be difficult and finite. They would eventually die and return to dust. Their line would exist until the flood. Then God would intervene supernaturally, saving Noah and his family. But this remnant made in his image was still contaminated by sin. Noah’s family deteriorated into destructive behavior, allowing sin to manifest itself again after the flood. From Noah’s time on, men carried on self-willed lives full of violence, dying with the marks of sin on their lives. God then intervened again into mankind’s existence by coming to Abraham. Abraham chooses to believe the words of God spoken to him about having a son through the womb of Sarah, who was beyond child birthing age. Abraham's belief in God’s words and goodness allows Abraham to be right with God. As with Abraham, faith in God’s words becomes foundational to being right with God for all who followed him. Abraham was also promised the land of Canaan. God intervenes again to save mankind from destruction by sending Moses to Abraham’s descendants. The Israelites were driven into slavery by God. After 400 years, Moses is told by God to deliver the Israelites out of slavery and to the land God promised Abraham. These chosen people who inhabited Canaan carried with them the Seed of God: Jesus Christ. He would set people free from the bondage of sin and death. He would come as the truth, the way and the life. Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. (John 14:6) In our focus for today, we see Luke who chronicled the life of Jesus, now introducing us to the lives of those who would follow Jesus after the Lord’s ascension.
Jesus did not quickly disappear into heaven after his resurrection. He made sure that his followers knew there was life after death by revealing himself in the flesh to them. After his suffering, he presented himself to them and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive. This fact of a resurrection was surreal to them, an unbelievable reality. Who could believe in such a thing? When Paul tried to expose the learned men of Athens to the resurrection of Jesus, they scoffed at such an idea, shut him down with ridicule, forcing him out of their midst. But Jesus made sure that his followers would see strong evidence that life existed beyond the tomb. He asked her, “Woman, why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for? Thinking he was the gardener, she said, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will get him.” Jesus said to her, “Mary.” She turned toward him and cried out in Aramaic, “Rabboni!” (which means “Teacher”). (John 20:15-16) He then moved to the two disciples on the road to Emmaus. He joined these two followers of his and asked them what they were discussing. Of course, He knew, but he joined them with that question. They were surprised by Jesus’ ignorance about the recent events in Jerusalem, about the good man Jesus. They told Jesus how disappointed they were in that the authorities killed this godly man. Then Jesus used scripture to expound about the Messiah and his predicted death. The prophets told of this happening long ago. In Emmaus, Jesus sits down with his two followers and breaks bread with them. When he was at the table with them, he took bread, gave thanks, broke it and began to give it to them. Then their eyes were opened and they recognized him, and he disappeared from their sight. They asked each other, “Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?” (Luke 24:30-32) When Jesus breaks bread with these two men, they knew He was with them, but then He quickly disappears. These two hurry back to Jerusalem to tell the others that Jesus is alive. But as they are explaining this good news to the disciples, Jesus appears. While they were still talking about this, Jesus himself stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.” They were startled and frightened, thinking they saw a ghost. He said to them, “Why are you troubled, and why do doubts rise in your minds? Look at my hands and my feet. It is I myself! Touch me and see; a ghost does not have flesh and bones, as you see I have.” (Luke 24:36-39) Jesus desired his followers to know emphatically that the resurrection has really happened. He wanted them to understand that he was not just some spiritual being floating around in the air, but that He was a real entity like them. An entity of flesh and bones, one who could eat as they ate. He was bringing a reality of an afterlife into their consciousness, something unbelievable, beyond the imaginations of men and women. People have desired to believe in an afterlife beyond the grave, but to see and feel Jesus in the flesh was extremely hard for the disciples to conceptualize. However, Jesus showed himself in the nature of a man, so that they could accept the reality of the resurrection and subsequently, eternal life. We observe Jesus later eating fish that He prepared for the disciples on the shore of the Sea of Galilee. Before He sits down and eats with them, He shows his divinity by telling them to throw their net on the other side of the boat. These experienced fishermen thought that idea was foolishness, for they had fished all night without catching any fish. But they obeyed as Jesus commanded. Their net becomes so full of fish that they had to drag the net to shore, for they could not haul such a quantity of fish in their boat without sinking the boat. Jesus said to them, “Bring some of the fish you have just caught.” So Simon Peter climbed back into the boat and dragged the net ashore. It was full of large fish, 153, but even with so many the net was not torn. Jesus said to them, “Come and have breakfast.” None of the disciples dared ask him, “Who are you?” They knew it was the Lord. (John 21:10-12) Jesus again proved that he was in the form of a man. He ate with them, entertained them by fixing breakfast for them. Paul’s experience widens our understanding of Jesus' revealing himself to men after his death when Jesus not only shows himself alive to his followers after his resurrection but also shows himself to Saul on the road to Damascus. For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Peter, and then to the Twelve. After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers and sisters at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles, and last of all he appeared to me also, as to one abnormally born. (Romans 15:3-8) God confirmed the reality of the resurrection by showing Jesus in the flesh to many people. From the very beginning God’s eternal, steadfast love for humans never left his heart. He knew men would fall. He knew they would wrestle with a sinful desire to be free from all entanglements, to live their lives as God, to choose their own direction in life as freely as God chooses his own way in existence. But man's lack of allegiance to God’s authority of goodness led man into a horrible state of darkness, as dark as the deepest night. God came to the rescue of men and women in their state of hopelessness, bringing Jesus into their dark world. He let men and women know that life has come to them in the form of Jesus Christ the Lord. The resurrection and eternal life can be theirs too if they trust in his work and not their own.
Now in Acts, Luke tells believers how to journey in this world without the physical presence of Jesus on earth. Jesus’ command to his disciples to go nowhere until they received the baptism of the Holy Spirit was the critical component for living a successful life for Christ in this world. Otherwise, without Jesus' presence, his power, his protection, they should stay in Jerusalem in a state of prayer. “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.” This command reveals clearly they were powerless to be effective followers of Christ without the fulness of the Holy Spirit. Of course, they had knowledge of the Holy Spirit, for Jesus had talked about not blaspheming the Holy Spirit; He also told them to receive the Holy Spirit. But knowledge and presence are two different things. On the day of Pentecost, they would receive the presence of the Spirit so greatly that they would speak in other tongues, moving from something they could not do naturally to something that was supernatural. As surely as the resurrection was an unbelievable reality, now the infilling of the Spirit with evidence of speaking in tongues would be just as impactful. This evidence of the Spirit in their being was as great as the phenomena of the resurrection. For Christ being alive was a reality of their senses, but now the Spirit inside of them was a reality of a spiritual impact beyond their understanding. No longer is God outside of men speaking to them through holy men, but now He is present with them, internally. Only the prophets at times had this wonderful experience, now every man and woman could have this holy condition of Jesus Christ and his words within them. Because of this indwelling of the Spirit, every man and woman would be sitting in the high places of God, present with him at all times. Now, men and women would serve God without fear, for the resurrection not only happened with Christ, it is now present in their spirits. They are born again. Jesus told Peter to feed his sheep, to care for his sheep without reservation. He also told Peter that doing this would cost him his life. We who are alive in Christ, who know him as new people, servants of the Most High are also to feed and care for his sheep. We are to proclaim the message of God without fear. We are his earth movers, changing the landscape for Christ. Let us be that kind of person in our lives, edifying the world for Christ the Lord. In Acts we will see the church changing the culture of men, exposing them to eternal life. This is the privilege of those filled with the Holy Spirit of God.
Note: Last week the breakfast was sent out before the final editing process; therefore, it contained some errors that should have been eliminated. Cliff had just gotten out of the hospital with blood clots in his legs and lungs, so I was a bit overwhelmed. Everything is going better now. We often make errors but not such obvious ones. Blessings to you all.
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