“But
you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and
you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria,
and to the end of the earth. And when he had said these things, as
they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of
their sight. And while they were gazing into heaven as he went,
behold, two men stood by them in white robes, and said, ‘Men of
Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was
taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw
him go into heaven.’ “ -Acts 1:8-11 (ESV) [Read Actos 1:1-11]
The
Acts of the Apostles is a continuation of Luke’s gospel, written by
Luke himself, and recounts the story of Jesus Christ’s work after
His ascension, the work He commissioned His disciples to do.
Addressed to “Theophilus,” which could have referred to a
nobleman, but most likely meant “friend of God,” (the meaning of
the two Greek words, “Theo” – God; and “philus” – friend
of), a term for all believers everywhere.
Imagine
the scene: The disciples were gathered together on a mountain
(Matthew gives this mountain as in Galilee [see Matthew 28:16]).
Jesus had appeared to them during a forty-day period after His
resurrection (Acts 1:3), speaking to them about the Kingdom of God.
And now it was time for Jesus to ascend back to the Father, and for
the disciples to get on with the work of preaching, teaching, healing
and making disciples, as He had commanded them. They were instructed
not to leave Jerusalem until they were “baptized with the Holy
Spirit” (vv. 4-5). Jesus began to rise, still in His recognizable,
resurrected body, and ascended into heaven. A cloud descended and
enveloped Him (v. 9). This cloud was not an ordinary rain cloud but
the manifestation of God’s power, presence and glory. The
disciples were so amazed at the scene unfolding before them that they
had to be reminded by two men in white robes (angels—v. 10-11) that
Jesus would eventually return to earth as they had seen Him go into
heaven (in glory and in recognizable form, scholars believe). “The
amazing miracle of the incarnation is not only that the eternal Son
of God took human nature on Himself and became a person who is
simultaneously God and man, but also that He will remain both fully
God and fully man forever.” (Dr. John B. Pholhil, professor,
Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, in study note, ESV Study
Bible, p. 2081).
Before
Jesus’ kingdom could come to earth, the disciples had a job to do.
They were told to go to Jerusalem and await the fulfillment of the
coming of the Holy Spirit upon them in power. Thus imbued with
power, they would be able to spread the gospel from where they were
in Jerusalem even unto the ends of the earth. That promise of the
Holy Spirit’s coming was fulfilled shortly after Jesus’
ascension. And here Luke gives an outline of the Book of Acts which
he addressed to “Theophilus” (I like to think friend(s) of
God—disciples). Acts tells how the gospel spread first in
Jerusalem, then to all Judea, to Samaria, and “to the end of the
earth,” thus coming to us, thousands of years later.
An
amazing thought is that the great commission given by Jesus from that
mountain just prior to His ascension into heaven is still for
disciples today. The gospel came to us on its way to someone else.
And we, too, are to remain faithful in sharing the good news with
others. Pray that God will impel us forth to tell of His love for all
peoples, even to those where we are and to whom we can witness.
-Ethelene Dyer Jones 04.30.2017
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