On the cross, Jesus’ work of procuring men’s salvation was accomplished. And because of the resurrection, the work of proclaiming the Good news, the message of salvation would continue.
This salvation story continues from the Gospels to the Book of the Acts. Historians tell us that the Book of Acts was a continuation of the Gospel of Luke, Part 2 of Jesus’ ministry. It records the pivotal moment when the disciples would become the ones to continue the acts and ministry of Jesus - from Jerusalem out to the whole world. And this ministry is still being accomplished through His followers today.
1 In my former book, Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus began to do and to teach
2 until the day he was taken up to heaven, after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles he had chosen.
3 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.
4 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.
5 For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.”
6 Then they gathered around him and asked him, “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?”
7 He said to them: “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority.
8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
9 After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight.
10 They were looking intently up into the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them.
11 “Men of Galilee,” they said, “why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.” (Acts 1:1-11)
After His resurrection from the dead, Jesus was preparing His disciples to:
Walk by Faith
Wait on God
Witness to His Resurrection
Walk by Faith
For 40 days after the resurrection, Jesus appeared to the disciples (v. 3) as well as 500 others at various times, which emboldened their faith.
He gave them sure signs or evidence that removed any doubt of the fact that He had risen from the dead - that He was really alive.
The disciples saw him walking with them and eating with them in a resurrected, glorified body, instructing them about the Kingdom of God. He let them know that from the time He would ascend into heaven, He would be seated at the Father's right hand, always praying for them, always in control even when life would seem out of control, and that His presence would always be with them through His Holy Spirit.
He had to give them proofs of His resurrection because He was preparing them for the pivotal moment when He would leave and they would continue His ministry without Him physically being there.
The Christian faith is not blind faith.
It is the type of faith that has the element of assurance, confidence in a person and is the evidential value substantiating the things we hope for.
In order for the disciples to have this type of faith, Jesus needed to prepare them for 40 days for their mission. He gave them specific orders (v. 4) to stay in Jerusalem and to wait until they had received what the Father promised - the Holy Spirit. He was preparing them to walk by faith and to trust Him even when they would not see Him in order to carry on His ministry.
Wait on God
Jesus was telling the disciples to wait for God’s promise to be fulfilled. In a few days they would be baptized, empowered and united with the Holy Spirit.
Jesus knew the impact the ministry of His disciples would make - that they would eventually turn the world upside-down. He also knew that they would neither have the power nor ability to face this huge undertaking in their own natural strength. Therefore they needed to rearrange their plans and priorities and wait on God.
Much of our lives is spent waiting, i.e. waiting to find out God’s will for our life and for Him to open doors, waiting for specific prayers to be answered, waiting for our situation to change or for a certain season in our life to be over.
Waiting is hard for us to do; in fact, many people are tempted to quit while waiting on God’s promises.
But …
“waiting is worth it when you are waiting for the right thing... ”
for God’s answer, His timing, for His solution.
For too many of us, waiting creates a downward spiral of impatience, frustration, selfishness and anger in our hearts. And many times while we are impatiently waiting, we tend to take things into our own hands, which is sometimes the worst possible thing we can do.
God often makes us wait to bring us to the end of ourselves, to build our confidence in Him, trusting that He is doing something behind the scenes even when we have no visible evidence for it. Most of all, He wants us to wait in dependence on Him.
Because the moment you or I are not sensing our total dependence on the Lord, we have backed away from truly living by faith.
In verse 5, Jesus was telling the disciples precisely what they were waiting for. Jesus was talking in the presence tense with the disciples, but we see that they were anxious for the future - asking again and again about the coming Messianic Kingdom and when He would restore the nation.
We tend to worry about the future rather than focusing on what we need to do today in order to prepare for what we will face in the future.
Witness to His Resurrection
Jesus commissioned the disciples to take the message of the Kingdom to the surrounding cities and into the world. But to walk by faith, to wait on God, and to be His witnesses would be impossible without empowerment.
In verse 8, Jesus tells them that they will receive power and ability when the Holy Spirit comes upon them; and with that they will be equipped to continue His ministry. Then right after (v. 9), He was taken up into a cloud, out of their sight. This was the pivotal moment for them.
“Jesus’ slow, visible, and final ascent was a dramatic way of saying to them that a new era was about to begin. ”
In Acts 2, ten days after Jesus’ ascension, while they were all together in one place, the Holy Spirit came upon them, filled them in a mighty way, and they began to speak in foreign languages. Immediately after this miracle, Peter preaches about Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection and 3000 got saved and baptized that day. This continued throughout their ministry.
What effect did the Holy Spirit have on the disciples?
One of the early church fathers, Novatian (A.D. 210–280) said:
“The Holy Spirit was the one who strengthened their hearts and minds, who enlightened them to divine things; and they being strengthened, for the sake of the Lord’s name, feared neither dungeons nor chains, …
rather trod underfoot the very powers of the world and its tortures, since they were henceforth armed and strengthened by the same Spirit, …
having in themselves the gifts which this same Spirit distributes. This is He who places prophets in the Church, instructs teachers, directs words, gives powers and healing, does wonderful works, offers discernment of spirits, affords powers of government, and makes the Lord’s Church everywhere, and in all, perfected and completed.”
No longer were the disciples running away and trembling in fear like sheep without a shepherd. The Holy Spirit empowered and equipped the disciples to fulfill the Great Commission and to do, in Jesus’ own words, even greater works than He had done (John 14:12).
How does this relate to us?
Jesus not only commissioned His disciples to be His witnesses in Jerusalem, all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. He commissioned us to do the same. We are all called to love God and love our neighbors. We are all called to make disciples of all nations, to baptize them in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
But without the power of the Holy Spirit and His Word I will look to
My abilities
My experiences
My training
My personality and appearance
My resources to fulfill God’s calling
We are to walk by faith, wait on God, and live Spirit-filled, Spirit-led lives. The Holy Spirit takes our willingness and is not limited by our weaknesses to accomplish His purposes through our lives. The Holy Spirit gives us His supernatural power and resources to be witnesses of Jesus’ life, death, burial, and resurrection. It is all based on Him and His ability, His resources, His purposes so that many will come into the Kingdom.
It can be a pivotal moment for each one of us to step up to the plate and to believe God for great things if we are willing to walk by faith, wait on Him, and be witnesses of His Gospel of peace.
I want to encourage you to be part of this pivotal moment that has the potential to change the course of your own life and the lives of those around you.
