Sermon Tone Analysis

Acts 1:1-26 (NIV) \\ \\

 

/Jesus Taken Up Into Heaven/

*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 showed himself to these men 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 witha water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.”

6 So when they met together, they 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.”

/Matthias Chosen to Replace Judas/

12 Then they returned to Jerusalem from the hill called the Mount of Olives, a Sabbath day’s walka from the city.

13 When they arrived, they went upstairs to the room where they were staying.

Those present were Peter, John, James and Andrew; Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew; James son of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot, and Judas son of James.

14 They all joined together constantly in prayer, along with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers.

15 In those days Peter stood up among the believersb (a group numbering about a hundred and twenty) 16 and said, “Brothers, the Scripture had to be fulfilled which the Holy Spirit spoke long ago through the mouth of David concerning Judas, who served as guide for those who arrested Jesus— 17 he was one of our number and shared in this ministry.”

18 (With the reward he got for his wickedness, Judas bought a field; there he fell headlong, his body burst open and all his intestines spilled out.

19 Everyone in Jerusalem heard about this, so they called that field in their language Akeldama, that is, Field of Blood.)

20 “For,” said Peter, “it is written in the book of Psalms,

“ ‘May his place be deserted;

let there be no one to dwell in it,’c

and,

“ ‘May another take his place of leadership.’d

21 Therefore it is necessary to choose one of the men who have been with us the whole time the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, 22 beginning from John’s baptism to the time when Jesus was taken up from us.

For one of these must become a witness with us of his resurrection.”

23 So they proposed two men: Joseph called Barsabbas (also known as Justus) and Matthias.

24 Then they prayed, “Lord, you know everyone’s heart.

Show us which of these two you have chosen 25 to take over this apostolic ministry, which Judas left to go where he belongs.”

26 Then they cast lots, and the lot fell to Matthias; so he was added to the eleven apostles.

[1]

| B | S | G | T | C | K | W | T | S | L | C | O | M | M | A | N | D | B |

| U | O | P | H | A | H | U | H | E | V | S | D | O | I | R | E | P | U |

| H | Z | Y | I | M | K | O | O | A | I | U | F | A | N | D | R | E | W |

| G | W | L | J | R | U | E | S | H | L | T | K | I | J | N | J | U | E |

| J | H | O | L | Y | I | U | E | E | U | O | L | L | E | F | V | L | K |

| Z | I | D | A | Y | S | T | T | O | N | F | N | K | R | G | B | K | O |

| W | C | L | B | G | U | O | B | S | Y | Y | A | G | U | N | Y | I | P |

| I | H | O | A | J | L | A | K | N | L | T | I | V | S | I | M | N | S |

| L | S | T | P | G | I | P | R | O | O | F | S | T | A | C | A | G | U |

| V | G | N | T | N | H | O | H | I | D | O | F | C | L | N | T | D | E |

| L | Z | I | I | I | P | S | T | T | R | C | H | Y | E | I | T | O | A |

| U | D | H | Z | K | O | T | I | C | E | C | S | R | M | V | H | M | H |

| M | E | E | E | O | E | O | W | U | M | A | S | T | H | N | I | V | P |

| E | L | A | D | O | H | L | R | R | R | S | E | S | S | O | A | U | L |

| M | L | V | F | L | T | I | E | T | O | I | M | I | N | C | S | G | A |

| I | A | E | H | R | P | C | T | S | F | O | A | N | S | A | D | U | J |

| T | C | N | K | O | O | B | F | N | S | N | J | I | V | E | M | A | S |

| A | K | E | L | D | A | M | A | I | T | C | H | M | F | I | E | L | D |

 

| ABOUT | FELL | MINISTRY |

| AFTER | FIELD | OCCASION |

| AKELDAMA | FORMER | PERIOD |

| ALONG | FROM | PROOFS |

| ALPHAEUS | HEAVEN | SAME |

| ANDREW | HOLY | SPIRIT |

| APOSTOLIC | INSTRUCTIONS | SPOKE |

| BAPTIZED | INTO | TAKE |

| BOOK | JAMES | TAKEN |

| CALLED | JERUSALEM | THEOPHILUS |

| CHOSEN | JUDAS | THOSE |

| COMMAND | KINGDOM | TIME |

| CONVINCING | LOOKING | WHICH |

| DAYS | MATTHIAS | WITH |

 

Passage Notes:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

*Acts 1:1-26*

*Preparation*

Luke was a master of many styles of writing.

He wrote Luke 1:1-4 in formal, classical Greek, but in the rest of his Gospel and all of Acts, Luke used a style reminiscent of the /Septuagint/, the Greek version of the Old Testament.

/Septuagint/ Greek was a unique style.

It was almost as different from the Greek spoken in Luke's day as the English of the King James Bible is different from what is spoken today.

Why did Luke use the style of the Jewish Bible?

Perhaps he knew he was writing "sacred history,"  a continuation of God's dealings with man that began in Genesis and reached its culmination in the ministry of Jesus.

By using the /Septuagint/'s style and quoting it often, Luke stressed that Acts recounted the continuation and fulfillment of the Scripture's story.

Before you begin the questions in this lesson read 1:1-26 all the way through.

You might find it helpful to compare two versions of the Bible.

Ask God to show you the important truths of this opening chapter of Acts.

*Study Skill—Outlining*

 

Sketching a rough outline of a chapter is often good preparation for studying it closely.

It is also often helpful to relate the chapter to the themes of the whole book.

Then, after studying the chapter in detail, you can reconsider your outline and how the chapter relates to the whole.

1.

For each of the following sections, write a title that expresses what the section is about.

1:1-11

1:12-26

2.  If Acts tells how the Church began to fulfill its mission through the Holy Spirit, how does 1:1-26 relate to this theme?

*Commission (**1:1-11)*

*/Apostles/* (1:2).

An apostle is literally "one who is sent"—a messenger, proxy, ambassador.

In Jewish law, an /apostolos/ (Greek) or /shaliach/ (Aramaic) was "a person acting with full authority for another" in a business or legal transaction.

John 13:16, 20 and 20:21 reflect the Jewish idea of the /shaliach/.

During His earthly life, Jesus appointed twelve of His disciples to be His apostles (Luke 6:12-16).

To these twelve He gave the most intensive training and intimate friendship.

The early Church eventually recognized other believers as apostles in some sense: Paul (Acts 14:14), Barnabas (Acts 14:14), James the brother of Jesus (Galatians 1:19), and perhaps Andronicus and Junias (Romans 16:7).

However, it is not clear that all these people held the Church's highest authority regarding doctrine and policy, as the Twelve did.

Paul does seem to have eventually attained this status (Galatians 1:1-2:10).

Nevertheless, in these early chapters of Acts, Luke uses the term "the Twelve" as equivalent to "the apostles."

*/Kingdom/**/ of God/* (1:3).

Jesus called His message "the good news of the kingdom of God" (Luke 4:43) and He spoke about the Kingdom constantly.

The Old Testament had promised that God would restore His own kingship over the earth, and Jesus proclaimed that the Kingdom was present in the person of the King, Jesus Himself.

The early Church spoke of the Kingdom to refer to "the saving, sovereign action of God through" Jesus (Acts 8:12; Acts 19:8; Acts 20:25; Acts 28:23, 31).

The Jews believed that when the Messiah (God's "Anointed One") came, He would inaugurate God's Kingdom on earth by delivering Israel from its oppressors.

One of the prophesied signs of the Kingdom was that God would pour out His Spirit (Isaiah 44:3; Joel 2:28-32).