The Never Ending Story

Read Acts 1:1-11

Acts of the Apostles it is thought was part of Luke's account of the history of the beginnings of the Christian church. There is not a specific reference to Luke in the book, but it is accepted by most scholars that Luke was the author. Acts especially reports on the work of Peter and Paul beginning with the ascension of Jesus. There is a school of thought that this was a letter to someone who loved God that was a Roman official since he addresses the letter to the most excellent (your excellency) Theophilous. This is a collection of windows into the growth of the Church in the beginning not a complete chronological record of historical events.

Acts seems to be the sequel or second chapter to the same account or what we might call the second volume of the story. First we have the story of the life and ministry of Jesus. Then, the second launches into the beginnings of the Christian Church. The gospel is only what Jesus began to do and teach. Acts is a story that has no end.

The author was possibly trying to convince and lead some Roman officials to the Lord because he is careful to point out how well Paul was treated by the magistrates and the reference of respect of 'most excellent' Theophilous was we would say today would be 'your excellency.'

Luke tells us in Luke 24:32 that the disciples returned to Jerusalem with great joy in spite of Jesus discontinuing his personal physical appearances for the disciples. There, the disciples were asked to wait.

It is obvious by the two volumes put together that Jesus achieved an immortality of influence and an immortality of presence and of power. Jesus left an effect on earth that cannot die. And they would soon learn more about the power that Jesus came to earth with when the apostles were to wait in Jerusalem for the coming of the spirit.

Isaiah 40: 31 tells us that we need to learn to be still in the business of life. Sometimes we need to just wait. 'Those who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength.' During life's surging activity, there must be time to receive.

All during his ministry, Jesus labored under one great disadvantage. The center of his message was the kingdom of heaven (Mark 1:14); but he meant one thing by the kingdom and those who listened to him meant another.

The Jews were always vividly conscious of being God's chosen people. They had been in bondage under the Babylonians, the Persians, the Greeks, and the Romans. So the Jews began to a day when God would break directly into human history and establish that world sovereignty of which they dreamed. They thought of the kingdom in political terms and earthly.

How did Jesus see the kingdom of heaven?

The last part of this passage brings us face to face with the second coming of Jesus. The angels said that he would come back just as he went. First, we learned that it is foolish to speculate when and how the second coming would happen. Mark 13:32 tells us that no one knows about the day and the hour when the Son of Man would come.

Second, the essential teaching of Christianity is that God has a plan for us and the world. We are bound to believe that history is not a haphazard conglomeration of chance events which are going nowhere. We are bound to believe that there is some divine far-off event to which the whole creation moves and that, when that final fulfillment comes, Jesus Christ will be the Judge and Lord of all. The second coming is not a matter for speculation and for a curiosity that is quite out of place; it is a summons to make ourselves ready for that day when it comes.

I pray that your week has gone well.

Take care all,

Brad