Jesus is the Reason for Every Season: Acts 1:1-5

JESUS IS THE REASON

Acts 1:1-5

Introduction: This week I saw a couple of Christmas classics: “A Christmas Story,” (the one where Ralphie get his Red Rider BB gun for Christmas) and “A Charlie Brown Christmas.” There were sequels to both of those, and they just didn’t live up to the original!   As we’ve been focusing on Advent for the last month, and the coming and purpose of the incarnation of Christ, this seemed like a good time to start our series on the Book of Acts, which is the “sequel,” or maybe better, a continuation, of the story we have in the Gospels.  

Have you ever read a book or watched a movie in which the sequel was as good as or better than the original? 

In my experience it’s often difficult to measure up. I remember reading the Chronicles of Narnia series to my daughter when she was small, and I loved The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, but the subsequent volumes for me weren’t quite as good, especially when it came to the Christian imagery. The first Matrix movie was a classic, for me it is still one of my all time favorite films, I even used a couple of clips from it as illustrations in my theology classes in Brazil. That was the first one, but the sequels went off track. As we’ve focused on the incarnation of the Son of God, we’ve reflected the fact of his coming, and also on why He came: to give His life as a ransom for many.  Christmas is all about Jesus, and it’s all about the Gospel.  When we come to the Book of Acts, we have a divinely inspired “sequel” to the story of Jesus in the Gospels, and in this case the sequel will not disappoint.  The main idea of Acts is: Jesus continues to work through His Spirit empowered followers to build his church.  We will see in Acts that He is the Lord of History, that “History” really is His – Story. And so Jesus is the reason for every season: It’s all about Him!  That brings us to the big idea I’d like to focus on in the opening verses of this book…

The Big Idea: Jesus is alive and has chosen us and sent the Spirit to empower us to carry out his mission.

I. Jesus is alive and is building His church: Acts is the continuing story of the works and words of Jesus (Acts 1:1-2a). “The first account I composed, Theophilus, about all that Jesus began both to do and to teach,  ² until the day when He was taken up to heaven…”

 Acts begins with the writer referring to “the first account” he had written. There is no question when we compare the opening of the Gospel of Luke to the opening of Acts that these books are two volumes of a continuing story written by the same author.  

Luke 1:1-4

Acts 1:1-5

“Inasmuch as many have undertaken to compile a narrative of the things that have been accomplished among us,  2 just as those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers of the word have delivered them to us,  3 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,  4 that you may have certainty concerning the things you have been taught.”

“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 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.  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...’"

The writer even addresses both books to the same person, “Most excellent Theophilus” (Lk 1:3; Acts 1:1). He was probably a person of importance, his name literally meant “Lover of God.”  (or perhaps, “Beloved of God”).  It may be that he was a relatively new believer who Luke was trying to encourage and instruct more thoroughly in the faith.  The story began in the Gospel of Luke.  It related what Jesus did and taught. Even though we have the ascension of Jesus in Acts 1, we’ll see that the writer wants us to understand something essential: it is not the apostles who are “building the church” in the book of Acts.  Jesus is not physically present in most of the story of Acts, as He is not physically walking among us today, but even so, He is working in and through his followers to accomplish his plan.

 The term “began” implies that the story that began in the Gospel continues in Acts. The baby who was born in a stable in Bethlehem and raised by Mary and Joseph, who grew into a teacher and miracle worker, who claimed to be the Messiah, God incarnate, who was rejected by his own, crucified by Pontius Pilate, buried, and who rose again, this same Jesus would continue to work in the Book of Acts.  And friends, we need to understand that He was at work then and He is working now!  

 Notice, by the way, that there is an order implied, Jesus did and Jesus taught. H.A. Ironside said, “Doing should always come before teaching.” Said differently, our walk lays a foundation and earns a hearing for our talk.  Jesus lived the Gospel and He proclaimed the Gospel. If people see a difference in our lives because of Jesus they will be far more likely to be willing to listen to our testimony. This is why consistency in our everyday living is so important. We know we are not perfect, but the difference that God has made and is making in us should be something that the world around us can see. How can we show Christ to those in our sphere of influence?

  Our attitude should be a proper humility that seeks to point away for ourselves, and seeks to lift up Jesus.  Who, after all, is the head of this church?  It’s not the pastor, not the elders, not even the congregation. It’s Jesus.  He said “Go, and build my church!” right?  No, He said, “I will build my church, and the gates of Hell will not prevail against it.” Jesus is the Reason for the church.  He is alive and has chosen us to be on His team, and He sent the Spirit to empower us to carry out his mission.

II. Jesus chose to use ordinary people to carry out His extraordinary mission: He chose a team to carry on his mission, and He has included us (2b,c)! “…after He had by the Holy Spirit given orders to the apostles whom He had chosen…”

 Something amazing here: even before the ascension of Christ and before the pouring out of the Spirit on Pentecost, the Spirit was involved in Jesus teaching his followers. He taught them himself while He was with them, then ascended, and ten days later poured out the Spirit to baptize and fill and seal and empower his followers. But already in v.2, we see Jesus working through the Spirit, “By the Holy Spirit…” He gave orders to the apostles.  One commentator called this verse “the theological keynote” to the Book of Acts. We will see that from Luke’s perspective, this age is truly the age of the Spirit.  Paul would use the imagery of the Temple to describe the presence of the Spirit in the church:

1 Corinthians 3:16-17  ¹⁶ Do you not know that you are a temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?  ¹⁷ If any man destroys the temple of God, God will destroy him, for the temple of God is holy, and that is what you are.

1 Corinthians 6:19   ¹⁹ Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own?

2 Corinthians 6:16   Or what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are the temple of the living God; just as God said, "I WILL DWELL IN THEM AND WALK AMONG THEM; AND I WILL BE THEIR GOD, AND THEY SHALL BE MY PEOPLE.  

Ephesians 2:19 - 22  ¹⁹ So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints, and are of God's household,  ²⁰ having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the corner stone,  ²¹ in whom the whole building, being fitted together, is growing into a holy temple in the Lord,  ²² in whom you also are being built together into a dwelling of God in the Spirit. 

The imagery emphasizes the presence of the Holy Spirit in the new entity that is the church.

 Notice that Jesus gave orders to “…the apostles…” This term was well known in the first century. The Hebrew language had a parallel word, Shaliach, which connoted someone sent with a mission as the authorized representative of the person who sent Him.  He had the authority to speak for the Sender, their word was his word.  Among Greek speaking Jews the parallel term was apostolos, or “apostle.” As we get into Acts we’ll see that it is essential to understand the unique role of the apostles of Jesus had as He was building His church. They were sent as the representatives of Christ. He gave them orders, and sent them out. So He spoke His word through them and did miracles by their hand that proved their authority (Acts 14:3).  These men had a unique, foundational role in the early church, through them or under their authority the New Testament documents were written.  Once that foundation was laid there was no longer need for the office (Eph 2:20). Therefore I will argue that there are no apostles in the biblical sense in the church today. But let me say this: There is a sense in which we also are sent, with a message from God, to a world that desperately needs to hear. In a sense we represent Him to those around us.

  Notice also that they were “the apostles whom He had chosen.”  We sometimes forget about who these men were. Most were not educated scholars of the Scriptures.  They were common people, fishermen, a tax collector, some people of questionable repute. One who would later be converted, Saul of Tarsus, was a trained Rabbi, but even he stood by as Stephen was killed and helped organize the persecution of the early church. God used ordinary people, He chose them, to be part of His extraordinary program. I am reminded of Paul’s words to the Corinthians,

²⁶ For consider your calling, brethren, that there were not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble;  ²⁷ but God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong,  ²⁸ and the base things of the world and the despised God has chosen, the things that are not, so that He may nullify the things that are,  ²⁹ so that no man may boast before God.  ³⁰ But by His doing you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption,  ³¹ so that, just as it is written, "LET HIM WHO BOASTS, BOAST IN THE LORD." (I Cor 1:26-31).

And listen, if you know Christ as your Savior, He chose you as well. How do you feel about that? You were chosen by God, from before the foundation of the world, to be a part of His team. He knew the truth about you: where you would be weak, the ways that you would fail, the areas in which you would struggle, and He still loved you and chose you. And He sent the Spirit to indwell you. If you will yield to Him, He will use you.  That is grace!   Jesus is alive and has chosen us and sent the Spirit to empower us to carry out his mission.

III. Our faith is based on historical facts (1:3): The disciples had a historically based faith – for 40 days after the resurrection Jesus appeared to them and taught. Hermann Bavinck’s theology in English translation is entitled: “Our Reasonable Faith.”  And our faith is rational. For one thing, we have eyewitness testimony! “To these He also presented Himself alive after His suffering, by many convincing proofs, appearing to them over a period of forty days and speaking of the things concerning the kingdom of God.”

 Remember the introduction to the Gospel of Luke (Luke 1:1-4). Luke is claiming to have carefully researched the evidence and written an orderly, historical account.  This historical statement in Acts affirms beyond question the truth of the bodily resurrection of Jesus. After His  passion He presented himself alive, not in a dream or an idea, but by physically appearing to them over a period of 40 days by “many convincing proofs.”  This is what John meant at the beginning of his first letter when he said, “…What was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we have looked at and touched with our hands, concerning the Word of Life--  ² and the life was manifested, and we have seen and testify and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was manifested to us--  ³ what we have seen and heard we proclaim to you also…” (I John 1:1-2).  This is what Paul meant when he wrote I Corinthians 15, the resurrection is an historical fact that in his day could be investigated and validated by scores of eyewitnesses. 

            We have one summarizing idea of what Jesus taught the disciples during that period: “…things concerning the kingdom of God…” We’ve seen in our study of the Bible that the kingdom of God something that will be manifest in a future earthly kingdom when Jesus comes again (by the way, you are invited to join us for a reading of the Book of Revelation on Tuesday evening this week!).  The Kingdom is something that is also a present reality, at least in a preliminary sense, as Paul said in Colossians 1:13-14,  “He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son,  ¹⁴ in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.” Jesus is alive and has chosen us and sent the Spirit to empower us to carry out his mission.

IV. We cannot do His work in our power (1:4,5): They were ordered to wait for the promise: baptism in the Holy Spirit. “Gathering them together, He commanded them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait for what the Father had promised, "Which," He said, "you heard of from Me;  ⁵ for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now."

First, He gathered them and commanded them.  This was no suggestion.  It was not an option. The word in fact is almost always used in the Bible of God’s commandments to His people.  They were to stay and Jerusalem, and to wait.  After all that had happened, why was it necessary and important for the disciples to wait in Jerusalem? What were they to wait for? We’ll see as the story unfolds, it is not “what” they are waiting for, but “who.” The promise is the coming of the Holy Spirit. The Comforter who Jesus had spoken of in the upper room and who had been spoken of by the prophets, would be poured out in a few days days, taking up residence in the church in a new way. This is what characterizes the New Testament Church: the presence of the Spirit, in us, working through us, using us for the glory of God.

             But why the period waiting? We’ll see that the disciples needed time to absorb what this transition would mean.  Ten days would be a time of prayer and contemplation. An opportunity to consider the immensity of the task before them and the impossibility of carrying it out in their own strength. Building the church is God’s work. Our part is to be available, to be obedient, to yield to the Holy Spirit. He gives gifts.  He gives power to serve Him. He works through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe.

What is God saying to me in this passage? Jesus is alive and has chosen us and sent the Spirit to empower us to carry out his mission.

What would God have me to do in response to this passage? Is the work of Christ through the Spirit as important in your life and in our church as it was to these disciples? It’s not our programs or planning that will bring the increase. It’s not our clever preparation and presentation that convert sinners. It’s all about Jesus. He will build His church.  Amazingly, He sent His Spirit to indwell His followers, and He has supernaturally gifted every one of us to have a part in His program.  How does the idea of being chosen by God to be a part of His team impact your availability? Are you willing to serve Him? How are we doing as a church? We have a very talented team of worship leaders who seek to lead us into His presence as we come together and celebrate Jesus each week. But the Holy Spirit doesn’t stay behind and wait for us to come back next week. He goes with us as we return to our homes after church, He is there when we go to work or to school on Monday morning, and as we rub shoulders with our communities throughout the week. Are we seeking Him? Acknowledging His presence? Yielded to Him and available? The same Spirit that was poured out on Pentecost and empowered the disciples in the Book of Acts, is here right now, and will go with us as we go out into the world and engage our community. Will you yield to His presence and obey His call to be the witness for Jesus that He intends you to be?  Think about that.  AMEN.