Intro to Acts (Acts 1:1-5)

Today we start a new series on the Book of Acts. We’ll cover the first five verses and answer the question: How should we act on the message of Jesus?

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A lot of people view Christianity as merely an ideology or a set of beliefs.

• I just need intellectual assent to the right ideas, believe the right things
• I go to church, read the Bible (occasionally) to learn these ideas
• This is how a recent article struck me: Why I am now a Christian
• Ayaan Hirsi Ali
• Grew up Muslim in Kenya
• “The most striking quality of the Muslim Brotherhood was their ability to transform me and my fellow teenagers from passive believers into activists, almost overnight. We didn’t just say things or pray for things: we did things. As girls we donned the burka and swore off Western fashion and make-up. The boys cultivated their facial hair to the greatest extent possible.”
• Then became an atheist
• “You can see why, to someone who had been through such a religious schooling, atheism seemed so appealing. Bertrand Russell offered a simple, zero-cost escape from an unbearable life of self-denial and harassment of other people.”
• Eventually became a Christian. But why?
• Because only Christianity has “an elaborate set of ideas and institutions designed to safeguard human life, freedom and dignity….”
• This is true, but is this all there is?
• For many “Christians,” yes
• It’s a better ideology than atheism, Islam
• But it’s more than ideology - it should cause us to act.

Acts 1:1-2

Acts 1:1-2 (NLT) "In my first book I told you, Theophilus, about everything Jesus began to do and teach until the day he was taken up to heaven after giving his chosen apostles further instructions through the Holy Spirit."

• In my first book
• Acts is Part 2 of the Luke-Acts volume
• (Expositor's Bible Commentary: Abridged Edition (2 Volumes)) Luke-Acts being originally one work in two volumes, which sometime during the last part of the first century or very early in the second began to circulate as two separate works
• (Expositor's Bible Commentary: Abridged Edition (2 Volumes)) The Acts of the Apostles was originally written as the second part of a two-volume work, and its inseparable relation to Luke's gospel must be kept in mind if we are to understand the work.
• Luke 1:1-4 (NLT) 1 Many people have set out to write accounts about the events that have been fulfilled among us. 2 They used the eyewitness reports circulating among us from the early disciples. 3 Having carefully investigated everything from the beginning, I also have decided to write an accurate account for you, most honorable Theophilus, 4 so you can be certain of the truth of everything you were taught.
• So the author was obviously Luke (the doctor)
• Colossians 4:14 Luke, the beloved doctor, sends his greetings…
• Philemon 1:23-24 (NLT) 23 Epaphras, my fellow prisoner in Christ Jesus, sends you his greetings. 24 So do Mark, Aristarchus, Demas, and Luke, my co-workers.
• (Pillar New Testament Commentary) Acts begins with a long, programmatic sentence in Greek (vv. 1-5), which looks back in summary fashion to the concluding scenes of Luke's Gospel and prepares for the great events soon to be narrated.
• Writing to Theophilus
• Spiritual seeker trying to learn the truth about Jesus
• With disciples, we find the answers by the end of the gospel:
• Luke 24:44-45 (NLT) 44 Then he said, “When I was with you before, I told you that everything written about me in the law of Moses and the prophets and in the Psalms must be fulfilled.” 45 Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures. 
• It’s one thing to hear the message. It’s another thing to understand. 
• Contrast with disciples on road to Emmaus
•  Luke 24:27 (NLT) 27 Then Jesus took them through the writings of Moses and all the prophets, explaining from all the Scriptures the things concerning himself.
• That’s what we’re going to learn throughout this study.
• 46 And he said, “Yes, it was written long ago that the Messiah would suffer and die and rise from the dead on the third day. 47 It was also written that this message would be proclaimed in the authority of his name to all the nations, beginning in Jerusalem: ‘There is forgiveness of sins for all who repent.’ 
• The message about Jesus is one thing (v46)
• Sharing the message is another thing (v47)
• That’s the subject of the Book of Acts
• 50 Then Jesus led them to Bethany, and lifting his hands to heaven, he blessed them. 51 While he was blessing them, he left them and was taken up to heaven. 52 So they worshiped him and then returned to Jerusalem filled with great joy. 53 And they spent all of their time in the Temple, praising God.
• Luke leaves us with a cliffhanger
• As we’ll see, this passage overlaps with the beginning of Acts
• See it for yourself side-by-side
• Luke 24:44-53 and Acts 1:3-5

Acts 1:3

Now we’re ready to turn back to Acts. Notice the overlap with the end of Luke: 

Acts 1:3 (NLT) 3 During the forty days after he suffered and died, he appeared to the apostles from time to time, and he proved to them in many ways that he was actually alive. And he talked to them about the Kingdom of God.

• During the 40 days:
• Luke is retelling the story from Luke 24
• See above
• How cool to have been there for Jesus’ 40-day workshop!?
• Appeared from time to time 
• Jesus’ involvement (intermittent) vs. Holy Spirit’s involvement later (continuous)
• Jesus’ role = die and rise; HS role = convict, move us
• Talked about the Kingdom of God
• What Jesus was doing throughout the gospel of Luke
• Now it was time for them to connect the dots
• Understand, not just hear
• This is what they would be doing in the Book of Acts
• (Pillar New Testament Commentary) Jesus' teaching of the apostles qualified them in a unique sense to be the authoritative interpreters of Scripture for the earliest Christian communities and for subsequent generations of believers
• Speeches in Acts = about ⅓ of the text! (Pillar New Testament Commentary) Evangelistic speeches convey the contents of the message presented by different characters in different situations. In this gospel-centred framework, Luke regularly uses the Greek noun logos ('word') to describe the actual message proclaimed by Jesus and his followers.
• Understanding the “kerygma” - the core message of the Christian gospel, the essential elements preached by the apostles: Jesus + faith + Spirit + return
• Luke-Acts boils down to two things:
• Seeking Jesus (this is what Luke is about)
• Learning about his life, death and resurrection.
• Responding in faith to it
• Gaining entrance into his kingdom
• Sharing Jesus - full circle (this is what Acts is about)
• Being a servant in his kingdom
• It’s not about him serving YOU
• He gives the orders, you follow them
• It’s our turn to get in the game and share the story
• That’s the mission of the church
• And Acts is the story of the church’s beginnings

Two more verses for today:

Acts 1:4-5

Acts 1:4-5 (NLT) "Once when he was eating with them, he commanded them, “Do not leave Jerusalem until the Father sends you the gift he promised, as I told you before. John baptized with water, but in just a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.”

• The gift he promised
• Talking about the HS (God himself!)
• Not just Acts of the Apostles. God is behind it all! Acts of the HS
• (Pillar New Testament Commentary) Luke's special interest in the Holy Spirit is indicated by the 57 occurrences of the noun pneuma ('Spirit') in Acts alone.
• John 16:7-8 (NLT) But in fact, it is best for you that I go away, because if I don’t, the Advocate won’t come. If I do go away, then I will send him to you. 8 And when he comes, he will convict the world of its sin, and of God’s righteousness, and of the coming judgment.
• Baptized w the HS
• Totally immersed
• In just a few days
• Does this sound like the end of something or the beginning?
• The beginning for sure! 
• Yes, Jesus died… but that means the start of something, not the end
• Cliffhanger, just like at end of Luke

Close

This brings us back to the question we started with: How should we act on the message of Jesus?

• Christianity is more than a solid ideology 
• Yes, it’s a better ideology than atheism, Islam
• But it’s not just something to learn about or read about
• Not just a message about who Jesus is and what he did
• We need more than intellectual assent to these beliefs
• More than church attendance or reading the Bible
• It should cause us to act.
• That’s why Luke didn’t stop at Luke
• He went on to write Acts
• The story of Christ-followers who didn’t just learn… they acted
• by spreading the message of the Kingdom of God