.. Christianity - The Only Hope
(Acts 1:1-3 NASB)
1 The first account I ?1?composed, ?a?Theophilus, about all that
Jesus ?b?began to do and teach,
2 until the day when He ?a?was taken up to heaven, after He
?b?had ?1?by the Holy Spirit given orders to ?c?the apostles whom He
had ?d?chosen.
3 To ?1?these ?a?He also presented Himself alive after His
suffering, by many convincing proofs, appearing to them over a period
of forty days and speaking of ?b?the things concerning the kingdom of
God.
[1]
The Risen Lord's Promise of the Spirit (1:1-5)
1:1 The Book of Acts opens with a reminder. Luke, the beloved physician,
had written to Theophilus previously-a writing which we now know as The
Gospel According to Luke (see Luke 1:1-4). In the last verses of that
Gospel, he had told Theophilus that immediately prior to His Ascension,
the Lord Jesus had promised His disciples that they would be baptized with
the Holy Spirit (Luke 24:48-53).
Now Luke is going to continue the narrative, so he goes back to this
thrilling promise as a starting point. And it is fitting that he should do
so, because in that promise of the Spirit lay concealed in germ form all
the spiritual triumphs unfolded in the Book of the Acts. Luke describes
his Gospel as the former account, or the first book. In it he had recorded
the things that Jesus began both to do and teach. In Acts he carries on
the record by recounting the things that Jesus continued to do and teach
through the Holy Spirit after His Ascension.
Notice that the Lord's ministry was one of both doing and teaching. It was
not doctrine without duty, or creed without conduct. The Savior was the
living embodiment of what He taught. He practiced what He preached.
1:2 Theophilus would remember that Luke's previous book ended with the
account of the Savior's Ascension, here described as His being taken up.
He would also remember the tender last instructions the Lord had given the
eleven apostles before He left.
1:3 For the forty days between His resurrection and Ascension, the Lord
had appeared to His disciples, offering the strongest possible proofs of
His bod ily resurrection (see John 20:19, 26; 21:1, 14).
During this time, He had also discussed with them the affairs of the
kingdom of God. His primary concern was not with the kingdoms of this
world, but with the realm or sphere where God is acknowledged as King.
The kingdom is not to be confused with the church. The Lord Jesus offered
Himself to the nation of Israel as King but was rejected (Matt. 23:37).
His literal kingdom on earth was therefore postponed until Israel repents
and receives Him as Messiah (Acts 3:19-21).
At the present time, the King is absent. However, He does have an
invisible kingdom on earth (Col. 1:13). It is made up of all who profess
allegiance to Him (Matt. 25:1-12). In one sense it consists of everyone
who claims to be a Christian; that is its outward aspect (Matt. 13:1-52).
But in its inward reality it includes only those who have been born again
(John 3:3, 5). The kingdom in its present condition is described in the
parables of Matthew 13.
The church is something entirely new. It was not the subject of ?OT?
prophecy (Eph. 3:5). It is composed of all believers from Pentecost to the
Rapture. As the Bride of Christ, the church will reign with Him in the
Millennium and share His glory forever. Christ will return as King at the
end of the Great Tribulation, destroy His foes, and set up His reign of
righteousness over all the earth (Ps. 72:8).
Although His reign from Jerusalem lasts for only one thousand years (Rev.
20:4), yet the kingdom is everlasting in the sense that all of God's foes
will have been finally destroyed, and He will reign eternally in heaven
without opposition or hindrances (2 Pet. 1:11).
1:4 Luke now relates a meeting of the Lord with His disciples as they
assembled together in a room in Jerusalem. The risen Redeemer commanded
them to remain in Jerusalem. But why in Jerusalem, they might well wonder!
To them it was a city of hatred, violence, and persecution!
Yes, the fulfillment of that Promise of the Father would occur in
Jerusalem. The coming of the Spirit would take place in the very city
where the Savior had been crucified. The presence of the Spirit there
would bear testimony to man's rejection of the Son of God. The Spirit of
truth would reprove the world of sin, righteousness, and judgment-and this
would take place first in Jerusalem. And the disciples would receive the
Holy Spirit in the city where they themselves had forsaken the Lord and
had fled to save their own skins. They would be made strong and fearless
in the place where they had shown themselves to be weak and cowardly.
This was not the first time the disciples had heard of the Promise of the
Father from the Savior's lips. Throughout His earthly ministry, and
especially in His Upper Room Discourse, He had told them of the Helper who
would come (see Luke 24:49; John 14:16, 26; 15:26; 16:7, 13).
1:5 Now, in His last meeting with them, He repeats the promise. Some, if
not all of them had already been baptized by John with water. But John's
baptism was outward and physical. Before many days would pass,? 2 they
would be baptized with the Holy Spirit, and this baptism would be inward
and spiritual. The first baptism identified them outwardly with the
repentant portion of the nation of Israel. The second would incorporate
them into the church, the Body of Christ, and would empower them for
service.
Jesus promised that they would be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many
days from now, but there is no mention of the baptism in fire (Matt. 3:11,
12; Luke 3:16, 17). The latter is a baptism of judgment for unbelievers
only and is still future.
[2]
There can be no more urgent question at this present time than just this:
What is Christianity? I say that because this Gospel is the only hope in
the world today. Everything else has been tried and found wanting.
Everything else has failed. You will not find hope with the philosophers
or with the statesmen, and you will not find it in the so-called religions
of the world. Here is hope, and here alone.
"But," someone may say, "surely you can't claim that there is any hope in
the Gospel either, because it has been tried now for 2,000 years and has
obviously failed quite as much as the various other things to which you've
referred."
The only reply to that is the one that was given so perfectly by the late
G. K. Chesterton when he reminded us, "Christianity has not been tried and
found wanting; it has been found difficult and not tried." That is the
simple truth. The world, speaking generally, has never tried Christianity.
It has talked a lot about it, but it has not really tried it. So I argue
that this is still the only hope for the world. Therefore it is urgent
that we should ask what Christianity is. Or, to put the question another
way, what is the Christian church? What is her business, and what is her
message?
It can be put like this: Why am I, or why is anyone else, a preacher of
the Gospel? There is only one answer to that question. I am a preacher
because I believe I have been called; because in my little way God has
given me a burden; because I know by personal experience, by the
experience of others, and by experience garnered from the reading of
history that there is nothing under heaven that can enable men and women
to conquer and to master life and to have a hope that cannot be dimmed
except this Gospel. Therefore, the most urgent task in the world today is
to make the Gospel known to men and women. And this is the function of the
Christian church.
But as we all know, the great tragedy is that there is utter confusion
with regard to what the Gospel is, what the church is, and what Christians
are supposed to do. I call your attention to this, God knows, not because
I am anxious to be controversial but because I have a burden for the souls
of men and women. I would not be a preacher were it not for that. That is
what originally put me in the ministry and makes me go on. I see the
confusion. I see men and women bewildered, asking, "What is Christianity?
What is the church?" And I am not surprised that they are bewildered.
Furthermore, this confusion is not confined to men and women outside the
church. Indeed, I have an increasing fear that the confusion of those
outside has been produced mainly by the so-called Christian church
herself. A man who has held the highest position in one of the religious
denominations and is well-known as one who speaks in the name of
Christianity has recently said that he thinks certain things should be
done at once, and the first is that the church must give up the foolish
habit of having two services on a Sunday. "One is enough," he says, "and
let's have it at nine o'clock in the morning so that having got that out
of the way, we can then give ourselves to what we want to do." He also
says that if he had the power, he would decree that there should be no
reading of the Bible at all for twelve months-this in the name of the
church and of Christianity! And then he says that any preaching that is
done in the one and only service at nine o'clock in the morning should,
for at least a year, be on a political text alone.
I call attention to this because it is so typical of what is being said at
the present time. Is it surprising that men and women are in a state of
confusion? Speaking generally, the current idea is that the Christian
message is, after all, nothing but a kind of teaching with regard to how
our affairs should be ordered-that is why it is held that all texts should
be political. It is said that the main business of the church is to deal
with injustices and to do the work of reform and that in the Sermon on the
Mount we have a kind of social charter. People who say this are never
interested in the Old Testament; they generally dismiss it in toto, and
they have no use for the apostle Paul. Instead, they point to the ethical
teaching of Jesus. "There's your political program," they say. "There's
your political charter, and all you must do is apply it as best you can.
You must not even read the Bible, but pick up these general principles,
and try to put them into practice."
Others say that Christianity is mainly an elevated, optimistic view of
life, a sort of philosophy. Having found out how life can be lived on a
higher plane and having experienced a moral uplift, you try to get others
to adopt these principles.
And then there are others who, perhaps nearer to the Christian position,
regard Christianity as being mainly a matter of morals and of conduct.
They say that what makes people Christians is that they have adopted this
ethical teaching and put it into practice. So by living a good life, they
have made themselves Christians.
Common to all those teachings is the view that what really matters is the
kernel of moral teaching that is to be found in this book that we call the
Bible. Unfortunately, the Bible is cluttered up with a lot of unimportant
history. Most of it is false, with a lot about miracles that obviously are
not true and that no one with any scientific understanding can possibly
believe for a moment. We must get rid of all that, they say, and find this
kernel that is hidden away in all the husks and straw. Having extracted
this kernel, we can ignore the Bible and start with the political or moral
situation. Then we must try to persuade people to put these things into
practice. That is the common idea of the Christian message and the common
notion with respect to the function of the Christian church.
Now I want to deal with all this, and that is why I am calling your
attention to the first three verses in the book of the Acts of the
Apostles. Look at it like this: What is the origin of the Christian
church? Surely that is the question to ask. You do not start with the
twentieth century. Here is something that can be traced back nearly 2,000
years. So surely, if you want to know what the church is and what
Christianity is, your duty is to go back to the very beginning and
discover how the church started and what she did.
I think you will agree with me that the question of authority is primary
and fundamental. When people think they have the right to announce, "This
is what I think Christianity is, and this is what the church should do,"
then we have the right to ask, "Can that be fitted into what we have here
in the book of Acts? What is our authority in these matters? Are we
competent to decide what the Christian church is? Can we divorce ourselves
from the history of nearly 2,000 years and say that we do not care what
happened in the past, this is what we say now?" Of course, you can say
that if you like, but the question is: Have you any right to call that
Christianity?
Surely, common honesty demands that we say that we have only one authority
on the origin of the church, and it is the authority of the Bible. Here in
the Acts of the Apostles a man is writing who is undoubtedly Luke, the
evangelist. He says, "The former treatise have I made, O Theophilus." This
is a reference to the Gospel of Luke, which has a similar introduction.
In Luke 1:1-4 Luke writes:
Forasmuch as many have taken in hand to set forth in order a declaration
of those things which are most surely believed among us, even as they
delivered them unto us, which from the beginning were eyewitnesses, and
ministers of the word; it seemed good to me also, having had perfect
understanding of all things from the very first, to write unto thee in
order, most excellent Theophilus, that thou mightest know the certainty of
those things, wherein thou hast been instructed.
Two words are important in this passage and should not be passed over.
"Eyewitness" is the Greek word autoptai-auto meaning "that which is of
itself," and opsomai meaning "to see." "To see for yourself" would be an
eyewitness. It is a medical term which means to make an autopsy. In fact,
what Dr. Luke is trying to say is, "We are eyewitnesses who made an
autopsy, and I am writing to you about what we found."
The second important word Dr. Luke uses is ministers, which is the Greek
huperatai, meaning "an under-rower on a boat." In a hospital the
"under-rower" is the intern. Dr. Luke is saying that all of them were just
interns under the Great Physician. What Dr. Luke is telling us is that as
a physician and a scholar, he made an autopsy of the records of those who
had been eyewitnesses.
The first four verses of this chapter form a tremendous beginning. Luke
wrote his gospel to give people certainty and assurance about the Lord
Jesus Christ.
My friend, how much assurance do you have? Do you know that you are a
child of God through faith in Jesus Christ? Do you know that the Bible is
the Word of God? I feel sorry for the person who is not sure about these
things. Do you wobble back and forth and say, "I am not sure about my
salvation or the Bible. I guess I do not have enough faith." Not having
enough faith may not be your problem. Your problem may be that you do not
know enough. You see, ". faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word
of God" (Rom. 10:17). If you really knew the Word of God, you would
believe it. Those who are ignorant of the Bible have the problems. The
problem is not with the Bible or with the Lord Jesus Christ; the problem
lies with us.
[3]
That is why these books were written. We do not have exact information
concerning Theophilus, but it is generally assumed that he was a man in
some prominent position, a man of culture and of learning, who had heard
various reports about Christianity and wanted to know more. He found Luke,
a doctor and a most competent historian, who had accompanied the apostle
Paul and so was in a very good position to know exactly what the story
was. They got in touch, and Luke wrote to Theophilus saying in effect, "I
will give you an account of exactly what happened. I will tell you why we
believe what we believe. I will tell you the story." And he did it in two
parts-the first, the Gospel, and the second, this book of the Acts of the
Apostles. My argument is that we must go back and consider this story. We
are not only honor-bound to do that, but we must, if we want to understand
it.
What is the story? Well, there were a handful of people whom the
authorities in Jerusalem regarded as ordinary, simple, unlettered, and
ignorant men and women. There were just twelve men essentially, and a
number of others with them. They had nothing to recommend them, no great
names, no degrees, no money, no means of communication or of advertising.
They had nothing at all-they were nobodies. And yet what we know to be a
fact is that this handful of ignorant and unlettered people "turned the
world upside down," to use Luke's phrase in chapter 17:6. Within about two
centuries Christianity became the most powerful force in the great Roman
Empire. By the beginning of the third century it had become such a
powerful force that a Roman emperor named Constantine deemed it a wise
move to make the Roman Empire officially Christian.
I am not concerned to consider that fact now. All I want to ask is: How
was it that this small group of people ever got into a position in which
they could shake the whole Roman Empire so that it became officially
Christian within such a short space of time? Was it because they preached
politics that these people turned the ancient world upside-down?
Christianity is a phenomenon of history. It is a fact. The Christian
church is one of the most vital facts in the total history of the world.
We cannot understand that history without bringing in the story of the
church. But does this modern idea as to what the church is and what her
message is account for what has already happened? My answer is that it
does not. So not only do honesty and common sense tell us to come back to
Acts, but if we really want to have an understanding of what Christianity
means, we are compelled to come back here. Only one thing can account for
the phenomenon of the Christian church and this amazing history that has
continued through the centuries, in spite of the world, the flesh, and the
devil and the malignity of men and of hell, and it is the explanation
given in this book of Acts.
Therefore I propose to hold the message of Acts before you. I shall not
preach systematically through the book, but I shall pick out certain
themes that are put before us here. I feel that the modern world is very
much in the position of Theophilus. At any rate, anyone considering these
things who is not a Christian is in the position of Theophilus. You have
become interested. You want to know what Christianity is. Perhaps you are
in trouble in your moral life or in your married life. Perhaps you have
some running sore of the soul, something that gets you down. And you say,
"I've tried this and that-I wonder what the Christian church has to
offer."
All right, Theophilus, you want to know, and fortunately we are able to
tell you. I am not here to tell you what I think about Christianity. I am
not here to tell you what I think the Christian church should do. I am in
the position of Charles Wesley, saying, "O for a thousand tongues to sing
my great Redeemer's praise." My own personal opinion is that even two
services on a Sunday are not enough. How can people be satisfied with but
one statement? The world is dying all around us, and it needs to hear the
Word of God. These early Christians went everywhere, and they spoke and
they preached, and that is the explanation of this tremendous phenomenon
of the church.
So let us see what Acts has to say to us. First, what was the message that
these people preached? Luke told Theophilus quite plainly.
That is a summary of the whole of the Gospel of Luke and also of the other
Gospels. What does it mean? Here are some of the great principles.
The starting point, the fundamental thing, is that Christianity is about
Jesus. "I've written to you already about Him," said Luke in effect, "and
I'm going to tell you more about Him." Christianity is not a teaching-it
is a person. It is not merely a moral outlook that is to be applied in the
realm of politics. You start with a historical person. Luke was a pure
historian. He was giving an account of events and of facts.
The Lord Jesus Christ was the theme of the preaching of the early church.
He is the theme of the Gospel of Luke. He is the theme of the Acts of the
Apostles. This is the tragic thing that has been forgotten at the present
time. "What we need," people say, "is the application of His teaching."
But it is not. What you need is to know Him and to come into a
relationship with Him. You do not start with His teaching-you start with
Him. This is the message: "All that Jesus began both to do and teach." Our
Lord Himself said to his disciples, "Ye shall be witnesses unto me" (Acts
1:8). He was sending these men out to preach. He said, "You are not simply
going to preach My teaching. You are going to preach about Me."
As you read the book of Acts, you will find that our Lord's disciples
always preached "Jesus, and the resurrection" (Acts 17:18). They went to
people and told them about this person. This was the whole of their
teaching. You never find them starting with the political or social
situations. They said, "Listen, we have something to tell you about a
person whose name is Jesus."
And what did the disciples say about Him? The facts are all-important. In
the Gospel Luke gave facts, and here in Acts he gives them again. But he
does not stop at that; he is equally concerned about the meaning, the
significance, of these facts. And he expounds that. He writes not only
about all that Jesus did, but also all that He taught. The two must always
go together-our Lord's acts and His teaching.
There is also this most extraordinary addition that our Lord himself made:
"Ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in
Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth" (Acts 1:8). This is
truly staggering. Here was a Jew, born in poverty, one who worked as a
carpenter, who began to preach at the age of thirty and after some three
years was crucified on a cross, dying in utter weakness, and was laid in a
tomb. But here he was, telling these men they would be witnesses to Him
"unto the uttermost part of the earth." Here is a message for the whole
world.
I emphasize that because there are people who say that the Christian faith
is all right if you happen to be interested in religion, but if you do not
happen to have a religious mentality and outlook, then it does not matter,
you can just take up what you like. But that is shown to be a lie by our
Lord's words. Here is a message that is to be proclaimed to the ends of
the earth. Why? Because something happened in this person, Jesus, that
affects every single individual who ever has been or ever shall be in this
world of time.
Now if Christianity were merely a philosophy or a political idea, no one
would be bound to believe it. There are rival schools of philosophy; there
are rival teachings and theories, and one person believes this and another
that. But what we are facing here is not what you and I believe, but
facts, and the facts are about this person called Jesus-what He did and
what He said and the meaning of His person. So there is nothing more
tragic than when men and women say, "Shut your Bibles; the facts don't
matter at all. What does it matter whether Jesus was a man, or God as well
as man?" They have got it all wrong. It is the person who matters most of
all.
So let us go on and follow what Luke says. We have seen that he begins,
"The former treatise have I made, O Theophilus, of all that Jesus began
both to do and teach." And that word "began" is emphatic. Luke is saying
to Theophilus that all that he has written in the Gospel is nothing but
the beginning. This is vital. It is why Luke wrote his Gospel. Here was a
man interested in Christianity who wanted to know what it was all about.
"I'll tell you," said Luke. And he told the story that is unfolded in the
twenty-four chapters of his Gospel. And here he sums it all up in two
words-it is all that "Jesus began both to do and teach."
You may say to me that you know about Jesus. Do you? Do you realize what
His life means? Do you realize its significance? What did Jesus begin to
do? In his Gospel Luke tells us who Jesus was. And the first thing we want
to know is how He was born. Was He a man like every other man? Luke's
answer is that He was not. Luke tells us how the angel Gabriel went to
Mary and told her that she was supremely blessed among women, that she was
going to bear the Son of the Highest, and that He would be great. He would
occupy the throne of His father David, and of His kingdom there would be
no end. Read it all in the first chapter of Luke's Gospel. Mary was
perplexed and asked how this could be since she was a virgin. Gabriel
said:
The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall
overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of
thee shall be called the Son of God.
.. -Luke 1:35
That is what Luke tells us, and this means that Jesus came into the world.
He was not just born like everybody else. He came out of eternity into
time; he came from heaven to earth. This is Christianity. Whatever may be
your moral and political views, the question confronting you is this: How
are you related to the fact that the babe of Bethlehem is the eternal Son
of God?
But He not only came into the world, He did many other things. He worked
miracles. Oh yes, that is an essential part of the gospel message.
"But," you say, "modern men and women don't believe in miracles. They
can't. They have a scientific outlook."
Yet Luke refers Theophilus back to his first treatise, the Gospel, where
he told him about our Lord's miracles. Our Lord attracted attention. The
miracles were signs, and people came and watched. Luke tells us that when
certain Pharisees went to see Him one day, "the power of the Lord was
present to heal them" (Luke 5:17), and He created a great stir. There is
no Christianity apart from these things.
But our Lord also did something else. Though He knew that His enemies in
Jerusalem hated Him and were determined to kill Him, and though He knew
that Herod the king, who would be in Jerusalem for the Passover, wanted to
kill Him, nevertheless, "he steadfastly set his face to go to Jerusalem"
(Luke 9:51). He went there and was arrested. At His trial He would not
speak and was condemned to death. He was forced to carry a cross through
Jerusalem until He staggered, and it had to be put on the back of somebody
else. Then they nailed Him to the cross, and He died. Two of His friends
took down His body and laid it in a tomb. But He burst asunder the bands
of death. He arose triumphantly out of that tomb. He appeared to a chosen
number of His disciples and other people, as Luke tells us here: "To whom
also he showed himself alive after his passion by many infallible proofs,
being seen of them forty days, and speaking of the things pertaining to
the kingdom of God" (Acts 1:3). And then, standing with them on the Mount
of Olives, He ascended from their midst into heaven.
It is all here. This is history. Luke the physician, Luke the historian,
wanted to help this intelligent man, Theophilus. Theophilus had said, "I'd
love to know what Christianity is. I'm amazed at you people. I see what
has happened to you, and I hear you preaching. I can see the effects. I
want to know what this is."
So Luke said in essence, "Theophilus, if you want to know, listen-this is
it-it is Jesus. This is what He began to do. He came. He taught. He worked
miracles. He gave Himself. He died. He was buried. He rose again, and He
ascended into heaven."
Luke emphasizes the Resurrection. There would be no Christian church were
it not for the Resurrection. Here in Acts is the history of the church.
Here is the account of this amazing institution that turned the world
upside-down and has continued throughout the centuries. It is all due to
the fact that Jesus who was dead is alive again and has given "many
infallible proofs" of it. These are facts.
"Theophilus," says Luke in effect, "you must believe these facts. There is
no explanation except Jesus. This is what He began to do."
But Jesus also began to "teach," and again I can do nothing but summarize
this teaching for you. It is all in the Gospels. He taught concerning
Himself. He said, "Before Abraham was, I am" (John 8:58). He called
Himself " 'the Son of man." He said, "Ye have heard that it was said by
them of old time . but I say unto you" (Matt. 5:21-22). He claimed to have
unique authority. He claimed, indeed, to be the Son of God. That is what
He began to teach.
He went on to tell His followers why He had come into the world. This is
the most staggering event that has ever happened. Why did He do it? "The
Son of man," he said, "came not to be ministered unto, but to minister,
and to give his life a ransom for many" (Mark 10:45). He said He had come
into the world because it was the only way by which anybody could be
saved. He said He was sent by His Father: "God so loved the world, that he
gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not
perish, but have everlasting life" (John 3:16).
But nobody understood Him. Luke had reminded Theophilus of that in the
Gospel. In chapter 24, two people were walking on a road from Jerusalem to
Emmaus. They had been with Him and had believed in Him, but now, after His
death, they were utterly cast down. Then suddenly, as they were walking
along, Jesus, the risen Jesus, joined them and listened to their
conversation. Earlier that day certain women who belonged to their company
had been in the garden where Jesus had been put in the tomb and had
reported to the disciples that the tomb was empty, and this is what we
read: "Their words seemed to them as idle tales, and they believed them
not" (Luke 24:11).
The two people walking to Emmaus did not recognize Jesus when He joined
them. They told this stranger what had happened and said, "But we trusted
that it had been he which should have redeemed Israel".
(Luke 24:21 NASB)
21 "But we were hoping that it was He who was going to ?a?redeem
Israel. Indeed, besides all this, it is the third day since these
things happened.
[4]
24:21 The travelers, in contrast to Israel's leaders, hoped that Jesus
would prove to be their nation's deliverer (cf. 1:68; 2:30, 38; 21:28),
namely the Messiah whom they evidently saw as a political liberator. Of
course Jesus did redeem Israel by His death on the cross, but they were
speaking of physical deliverance from Rome and the establishment of the
kingdom. Their reference to the third day since Jesus' death implied that
they had expected something important to happen by then. The fact that
nothing had happened disappointed them.
Possibly these disciples were not yet believers. They appear not to have
recognized that Jesus was more than a prophet or a political Messiah but
the divine Son of God.
"Observe that the verb is 'hoped,' not 'trusted' (as in KJV); there is a
big difference between trusting Jesus as our Deliverer and Savior and
hoping that he will prove to be our Deliverer and Savior."521
However another possibility is that they were believers who had simply
become discouraged by Jesus' death (cf. John the Baptist, 7:19).
[5]
They had thought His teaching was wonderful; they had seen His miracles.
They had said that this must be the Messiah. But He could not be, of
course, for He had been crucified. He was dead.
And then our Lord began to speak to them:
O fools, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken:
ought not the Christ to have suffered these things, and to enter into his
glory? And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them
in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself.
.. -vv. 25-26
24:25-27 Jesus then lovingly chided them for not realizing that this was
exactly the pathway which the prophets of the ?OT? had foretold for the
Messiah. First, He must suffer, then he would be glorified. Beginning at
Genesis and continuing through all the books of the Prophets the Lord
reviewed all the Scriptures which referred to Himself, the Messiah. It was
a wonderful Bible study, and how we would love to have been with Him then!
But we have the same OT, and we have the Holy Spirit to teach us, so we
too can discover in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself.
[6]
Later that evening, in Jerusalem, our Lord came among the disciples. They
were terrified; they could not believe it was really Him. He had told them
repeatedly that He was going to die and rise again, but they had never
taken it in. Yet here He was appearing among them, and He said, "Why are
ye troubled? and why do thoughts arise in your hearts? Behold my hands and
my feet, it is I myself: handle me, and see; for a spirit hath not flesh
and bones, as ye see me have" (vv. 38-39). And He ate a bit of broiled
fish and honey. Then He began to speak again: "These are the words which I
spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be
fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets,
and in the psalms, concerning me" (v. 44).
If you want to understand Christianity, do not shut your Bible-open it,
read it! Read the books of Moses, the prophets, the Psalms; they all point
to Him. Study your Bible. It is ignorance that blinds men and women of
this generation and keeps them outside of Christ. So do not have a hurried
service at nine o'clock so you can go out and play golf and bathe in the
sea-listen for your life! Here is the only message of hope for you.
Then our Lord went on telling His disciples the meaning of His coming.
Luke writes: "Then opened he their understanding, that they might
understand the Scriptures, and said unto them, Thus it is written, and
thus it behooved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third
day: and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his
name among all the nations, beginning at Jerusalem" (Luke 24:45-47). There
is his own explanation of why He came and why He did all He did. It is the
only way anybody can be saved. Every one of us is born in sin. We are born
under the wrath of God. We do not know Him, and we are evil by nature. Our
greatest need is to be reconciled to God, to have our sins forgiven, to
know God as our Father, to be blessed by Him, and to start as a child of
God. And Jesus came in order that men and women might know this. This is
His message-not that we improve the world but that you and I be redeemed.
You may set out with your political program. You may say, "Now, if we can
get this onto the statute book this year, then that, then the other ." But
you may be dead before tomorrow morning and be in eternity facing God and
the judgment.
How can this message be made known? The answer is this: Jesus. In effect
He said to the disciples, "I'm going to send you out to preach, and I want
you to tell people that repentance and remission of sins is only possible
in My name. Preach it among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. I do not
care what color, class, or creed people are. The human race is one;
humanity is one in sin, one under the wrath of God, one in its destiny in
hell. And there is only one Savior. Tell them about Me, and be witnesses
to Me."
"That is what Christianity is all about," said Luke to Theophilus in
effect. "That is what I told you in my former treatise. But now I want to
tell you a little bit more. 'The former treatise have I made, O
Theophilus, of all that Jesus began both to do and teach.' This is the
vital emphasis-'all that Jesus began.' " This means He has not finished!
He is going on with it.
Luke said, "Listen, Theophilus, I have a second treatise. I've told you
what He began to do; you've got it, you've read it-that's the Gospel. I
want to tell you now what He's continuing to do."
This is important because the modern teaching that Jesus of Nazareth was
just a man, though a very fine moral and political teacher, would have us
believe that He was like other teachers-Plato, Socrates, and all the rest.
He was in the world, and He died. "Well," people say, "that's all right if
you're interested in such people, but the thing that really matters, of
course, is the teaching." They may "prove" to you that Plato and Jesus
never existed. "But it doesn't matter," they insist, "we've got the
teaching. All that remains is for us to apply it."
But the answer to that is that Jesus Christ is still active. It is what He
does that matters, not what we do; and the message of the Christian church
is not only one of what He has done but of what He is doing. He is going
on. He is still working. And the book of Acts tells us about the further
acts of Jesus. Some people say it ought to be called the Acts of the Holy
Spirit. That is quite wrong. It is Jesus who dominates.
How is Christ still active? Well, this book tells us that He is seated at
the right hand of God in the glory everlasting. After His resurrection He
Himself told us something that is demonstrated so clearly in this book. He
said to those men, "All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go
ye therefore, and teach all nations".
(Matthew 28:18-20 NASB)
18 And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, "?a?All authority
has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.
19 "?1??a?Go therefore and ?b?make disciples of ?c?all the
nations, ?d?baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and
the Holy Spirit,
20 teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo,
?a?I am with you ?1?always, even to ?b?the end of the age."
[7]
28:18 All authority. See 11:27; John 3:35. Absolute sovereign
authority-lordship over all-is handed to Christ, "in heaven and on earth."
This is clear proof of His deity. The time of His humiliation was at an
end, and God had exalted Him above all (Phil. 2:9-11).
28:19 therefore. I.e., on the basis of His authority, the disciples were
sent to "make disciples of all nations." The sweeping scope of their
commission is consummate with His unlimited authority. in the name of the
Father . Son and . Holy Spirit. The formula is a strong affirmation of
trinitarianism.
28:20 teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you. The
kind of evangelism called for in this commission does not end with the
conversion of the unbeliever. I am with you. There's a touching echo of
the beginning of Matthew's gospel here. Immanuel (1:23) "which is
translated, 'God with us'"-remains "with" us "even to the end of the
age"-i.e., until He returns bodily to judge the world and establish His
earthly kingdom.
[8]
They were to preach the Gospel and to disciple the nations. I know of
nothing more comforting and encouraging than that wonderful, blessed
statement. This world is not in the hands of the politicians; it is in the
hands of this living Jesus, this risen Christ. This is the message: God
the eternal Father, the Creator, the Owner of all things, has handed over
the business of this world and its redemption to His Son. And He has "all
power . in heaven and in earth."
And in this wonderful book of Acts we see Jesus demonstrating some of that
power. He sent the Holy Spirit down upon the early church. That was a
manifestation of His power. Then He began to give power to His disciples.
We will see Peter and John walking up to the temple one afternoon at the
hour of prayer and healing a man who lay paralyzed on a mat, so that he
went into the temple walking and leaping and praising God. That is
Christianity. Not simply a political, moral program, no, no-but the living
Jesus who has all power, giving power.
What else did our Lord go on to do? Well, there was a man called Saul of
Tarsus, a Pharisee and a bitter opponent of the first Christians. Here was
a man who hated our Lord and hated His cause and did his best to put it to
an end by going out and having believers thrown into prison and even put
to death. Saul was so keen on this persecution that he went to the high
priest at Jerusalem and asked for authority to go down to Damascus to
exterminate the little Christian church there. So they gave him authority,
and off he went, "breathing out threatenings and slaughter" (Acts 9:1),
confident he would be able to destroy the church.
What happened? Ah, this Jesus revealed Himself to Saul of Tarsus. About
midday Saul saw a light in the heavens "above the brightness of the sun"
(Acts 26:13). Paul said, "Who art thou, Lord?" And the answer came back,
"I am Jesus whom thou persecutest" (Acts 9:5). Jesus was continuing to
act. He floored Saul. He humbled him. He cast him down. He led him to
repentance. Jesus saved him.
So the story does not end at the Ascension. Jesus Christ continues to act
with all power. Nothing is impossible for Him, and here He is, calling out
men and women, saving them, building up His kingdom. He instructed them
after His resurrection, "speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom
of God" (Acts 1:3). He said in effect, "This is how it will happen. I am
sending you out, just a little handful, but I will be with you. I am with
you all the way, even until the end of the ages. Go out and disciple the
nations; bear witness to Me."
But thank God, Jesus does not stop even at that. The Bible tells us that
in heaven, "he ever liveth to make intercession for them".
(Hebrews 7:25 NASB)
25 Therefore He is able also to ?a?save ?1?forever those who
?b?draw near to God through Him, since He always lives to ?c?make
intercession for them.
[9]
7:18-25 A Better Hope and Covenant
Again, Psalm 110:4 was quoted, this time with the emphasis on "oath." The
concept of oath stems from the discussion of God's oath to Abraham in
6:13, 16-17. The "old requirement" (7:18) was the law (7:19). Since
Christ's priesthood had been established by an oath, he guarantees a
better covenant (7:22). His priesthood is eternal and perfect (7:23-25).
[10]
He has taken human nature back with Him into heaven, and there He is
seated at the right hand of God. He is our representative, our great High
Priest. He takes our feeble, unworthy prayers, and He transmutes them with
all the glory of His own intercession at the very throne of God. He still
remembers our weak and fallible frame. He "was in all points tempted like
as we are, yet without sin" (Heb. 4:15). And why? It was in order to
"succor them that are tempted"-you and me (Heb. 2:18).
So when you read your New Testament you will find the apostle Paul able to
say he was on trial, and all his friends forsook him, but "the Lord stood
with me, and strengthened me" (2 Tim. 4:17). In the court the Lord stood
by His servant, and Paul knew He was there. What did it matter that all
Paul's helpers had forsaken him, Demas and the rest of them? The Lord
stood by him. Paul was able to say,
(Philippians 4:13 NASB)
13 I can do all things ?1?through Him who ?a?strengthens me.
[11]
And our Lord will continue to act.
(Hebrews 10:13 NASB)
13 waiting from that time onward ?a?until His enemies be made a
footstool for His feet.
[12]
Our Lord is just waiting. There are a few more people to be saved. We
pray, "O come now, Lord Jesus," but He says, "No, not yet. We are going to
wait, because I want to save some more." He is giving you an opportunity,
friend, if you are not saved. Psalm 110:1 says, "The Lord said unto my
Lord, Sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy
footstool," referring to the second coming of Christ to the earth. But in
the meantime He is waiting for more of the human family to come to Him.
[13]
That is the message, and when we read the book of Revelation, we see Jesus
continuing to act, and we see what He will yet do. His people are
persecuted and killed, the whole church seems to be disappearing, but He
intervenes, and there is judgment; eventually He will come riding that
blessed white horse. He is at the present time saving us as individuals
out of this present evil world, putting us into His glorious kingdom,
preparing us for the Day that is coming when He will return.
And what then? In Acts 1:10-11 we read: "Two men stood by them in white
apparel; which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into
heaven? This same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so
come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven." If you think that
Jesus finished when He died and was buried, listen to the message of Luke,
listen to this treatise written to Theophilus-it is written to you. He
will come again, even as He went. He will return, in bodily, visible
fashion, riding the clouds of heaven, surrounded by the holy angels. And
He will judge the world in righteousness and set up His glorious kingdom,
to which there shall be no end.
That is the message of Christianity. That is what has made the church what
it is. Do men and women need to be told about some kind of program that
will give them better conditions? That is not our greatest need. Our
greatest need is to know God. If we were all given a fortune, would that
solve our problems? Would that solve our moral problem? Would that solve
the problem of death? Would that solve the problem of eternity? Of course
not.
The message of Christianity is not about improving the world, but about
changing people in spite of the world, preparing them for the glory that
is yet to come.
This Jesus is active and acting to that end, and He will go on until all
the redeemed are gathered in, and then He will return, and the final
judgment will take place, and His kingdom will stretch from shore to
shore.
That is the message that turned the ancient world upside-down.
It is the only message, and I want to ask you a simple question: What does
this message mean to you? What is your idea of Christianity? What do you
think the business of the church is? Do you say, "I don't want your
sermons, I don't want your argumentation-I just want to feel that I've
said my prayers and paid my respects, as it were, to God, before I go out
and do what I like"? Is that it? Do you think Christianity is something
that you can take up and use as a minimum, in the hope that it will
somehow put you right? Or is it the most amazing and astounding thing that
ever happened or ever will happen? Is it the thing by which you live, the
thing that you long to know and to experience more and more? Do you
realize that this Jesus came into the world to save you from hell, from
the punishment that your sins and mine so richly deserve?
Do you realize now that the essence of Christianity is not that it calls
you to do something, but rather that it tells you what Jesus came into the
world to do for you
[14]
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
1 Lit made
a Luke 1:3
b Luke 3:23
a Mark 16:19; Acts 1:9, 11, 22
b Matt 28:19f; Mark 16:15; John 20:21f; Acts 10:42
1 Or through
c Mark 6:30
d John 13:18; Acts 10:41
1 Lit whom
a Matt 28:17; Mark 16:12, 14; Luke 24:34, 36; John 20:19, 26; 21:1, 14; 1
Cor 15:5-7
b Acts 8:12; 19:8; 28:23, 31
[1]New American Standard Bible : 1995 update. 1995 (Ac 1:1-3). LaHabra,
CA: The Lockman Foundation.
OT Old Testament
? 2 (1:5) Between Christ's resurrection and ascension were forty days. Ten
additional days elapsed before Pentecost. But the Lord did not say exactly
how many days, perhaps to keep the disciples in a state of expectation.
[2]MacDonald, W., & Farstad, A. (1997, c1995). Believer's Bible Commentary
: Old and New Testaments (Ac 1:1). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.
[3]McGee, J. V. (1997, c1981). Thru the Bible commentary. Based on the
Thru the Bible radio program. (electronic ed.) (4:244). Nashville: Thomas
Nelson.
a Luke 1:68
[4]New American Standard Bible : 1995 update. 1995 (Lk 24:21). LaHabra,
CA: The Lockman Foundation.
521 521. Ibid.
[5]Tom Constable. (2003; 2003). Tom Constable's Expository Notes on the
Bible (Lk 24:21). Galaxie Software.
OT Old Testament
[6]MacDonald, W., & Farstad, A. (1997, c1995). Believer's Bible Commentary
: Old and New Testaments (Lk 24:25). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.
a Dan 7:13f; Matt 11:27; 26:64; Rom 14:9; Eph 1:20-22; Phil 2:9f; Col
2:10; 1 Pet 3:22
1 Or Having gone; Gr aorist participle
a Mark 16:15f
b Matt 13:52; Acts 1:8; 14:21
c Matt 25:32; Luke 24:47
d Acts 2:38; 8:16; Rom 6:3; 1 Cor 1:13, 15ff; Gal 3:27
a Matt 18:20; Acts 18:10
1 Lit all the days
b Matt 13:39
[7]New American Standard Bible : 1995 update. 1995 (Mt 28:18-20). LaHabra,
CA: The Lockman Foundation.
[8]MacArthur, J. J. (1997, c1997). The MacArthur Study Bible (electronic
ed.) (Mt 28:18). Nashville: Word Pub.
a 1 Cor 1:21
1 Or completely
b Heb 7:19
c Rom 8:34; Heb 9:24
[9]New American Standard Bible : 1995 update. 1995 (Heb 7:25). LaHabra,
CA: The Lockman Foundation.
[10]Hughes, R. B., Laney, J. C., & Hughes, R. B. (2001). Tyndale concise
Bible commentary. Rev. ed. of: New Bible companion. 1990.; Includes index.
The Tyndale reference library (668). Wheaton, Ill.: Tyndale House
Publishers.
1 Lit in
a 2 Cor 12:9; Eph 3:16; Col 1:11
[11]New American Standard Bible : 1995 update. 1995 (Php 4:13). LaHabra,
CA: The Lockman Foundation.
a Ps 110:1; Heb 1:13
[12]New American Standard Bible : 1995 update. 1995 (Heb 10:13). LaHabra,
CA: The Lockman Foundation.
[13]McGee, J. V. (1997, c1981). Thru the Bible commentary. Based on the
Thru the Bible radio program. (electronic ed.) (5:573). Nashville: Thomas
Nelson.
[14]Lloyd-Jones, D. M. (2000). Authentic Christianity (1st U.S. ed.) (5).
Wheaton, Ill.: Crossway Books.
.
|
