Spirit-Empowered Witnesses (2)

Andrew Sharpe

Acts • Sermon • Submitted 5 years ago

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1. Luke’s Message Continues

Acts 1:1–2 ESV

Luke begins his second volume by dedicating it to Theophilus.

Luke addresses the same recipient in the prologue to his Gospel. That Theophilus is called “most honorable” () implies that he was a Roman official (cf. ; ). And based on Luke’s intention of providing more “certainty” to Theophilus (), he seems to have been a Christian seeker or perhaps a young believer. It is also possible that he gave financial assistance to Luke, allowing his author-friend the means to research and report on the astonishing work God was doing through followers of Jesus Christ. What do we know about Luke?

We know he was a doctor (). As such, he would have been educated and presumably wealthy. He made trips with Paul and was loyal to him, even while the apostle was in prison (; ).

I can imagine that his medical skills came in handy; Paul regularly needed a doctor after all those beatings he took. Luke was also a prolific writer. He recorded for us the stories of the prodigal son and the good Samaritan.

Acts is comprised of more material than all of Paul’s letters combined, and since Luke was a companion of Paul, it’s clear he was involved with writing the majority of the New Testament.

Yet Luke records virtually nothing about his own life. This is a sign of humility. He does not boast about his relationship with Paul, nor does he go into detail about his own story. Instead, in Luke-Acts we read about the man’s passion for the life-changing gospel, his sensitivity to the disadvantaged, his heart for prayer, and his concern for the Gentiles.

Luke clearly has an evangelistic emphasis. He not only writes about the good news and Christ’s converting power, but he also includes some twenty sermons in Acts.

Which make up about 1/4th of the book

Luke surely wanted to win his readers to Christ, and he also underscores the centrality of proclamation in world evangelization.

The Christian faith, our faith, is a heraldic faith. Luke shows what led to the explosive growth of Christianity: gospel proclamation.

2. Jesus’s Ministry Continues

Acts 1:1–11 ESV

1 In the first book, O Theophilus, I have dealt with all that Jesus began to do and teach, 2 until the day when he was taken up, after he had given commands through the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom he had chosen. 3 He presented himself alive to them after his suffering by many proofs, appearing to them during forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God. 4 And while staying with them he ordered them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father, which, he said, “you heard from me; 5 for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.” 6 So when they had come together, they asked him, “Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?” 7 He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority. 8 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.” 9 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. 10 And while they were gazing into heaven as he went, behold, two men stood by them in white robes, 11 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.”

Jesus Christ really did live. He died. He rose bodily. He appeared to hundreds of witnesses. He taught for forty days before ascending. Luke records details about the real life and ministry of Jesus as well as insights into the beginnings of the early church.

This is supremely important. While the world wouldn’t need a historical Buddha to have Buddhism, it must have a historical Christ to have genuine Christianity. And we do!

Further, if Jesus is dead, then Christianity is dead. But he’s alive! Historical facts like these serve as wonderful faith builders for Christians and as important apologetic arguments that are useful as we commend the faith to present-day.

Luke says in his Gospel that he wrote about all that Jesus “began to do and teach.”

In Acts, Luke writes about the same thing: the ministry of Jesus—which continued after his ascension and is still in progress today. T

he title of the book could be “The Acts of the Lord Jesus through the Apostles and the Church by the Power of the Spirit.”

After all, the church is continuing the ministry of Jesus. So Luke not only has a historical purpose behind his writing efforts but also ministry purposes.

Additionally, Luke’s second volume appears to have a political purpose. He seems concerned about the Roman attitude toward Christianity. Luke, then, plays the peacemaker. He illustrates that Christianity is militarily harmless by showing that some of the Roman officials, such as Cornelius, became Christians; that Christians were legally innocent (the Romans could find no fault in Jesus or in the apostles); and that Christianity was lawful (it was not a new religion but a fulfillment of Judaism). Finally, Luke clearly has an evangelistic emphasis. He not only writes about the good news and Christ’s converting power, but he also includes some twenty sermons in Acts, which occupy around one-fourth of the book! Luke surely wanted to win his readers to Christ, and he also underscores the centrality of proclamation in world evangelization. The Christian faith, our faith, is a heraldic faith. Luke shows what led to the explosive growth of Christianity: gospel proclamation.

Luke refers to Jesus in each of the opening eleven verses. This is a fitting opening, for Luke is preparing us to see how Jesus’s ministry continues through the church.

A. Teaching and Doing

Luke reminds us that Jesus’s ministry involves both words and deeds. He refers to all that Jesus began to both “do” and “teach” (1: 1). During his earthly lifetime Jesus taught the disciples, and then after his resurrection the risen Christ taught the disciples about the kingdom of God for forty days.

What a magnificent forty-day Bible conference that must have been! In verses 7-8 Jesus responds to a question about whether he will restore Israel. He essentially tells the disciples, “That’s none of your business” (v. 7), and then proceeds to tell them, “This is your business,” as he issues to them the mission of bearing witness to him throughout the world (v. 8).

Jesus was all about teaching and doing. Jesus’s deeds illustrated his words, and his words explained his deeds. He left the church with the same ministry, intending that we let others see our good deeds that glorify the Father () and helping others understand the good news that leads to eternal life. The words and works of Jesus go together.

In the Gospels we see Jesus performing various merciful and miraculous deeds. We also see him teaching with astonishing authority. Similarly, in the book of Acts, we see the church caring for physical needs (e.g., 3: 1-10) while also relentlessly preaching the good news (e.g., 3: 20) with the Spirit’s help.

The ministry of Jesus is continuing in the book of Acts. But are we faithfully taking part in this mission?

B. Response to Christ’s Resurrection

The ascension of Jesus is in some ways like Elijah passing off the mantle to Elisha. The disciples had been with the greater Elijah, and now Jesus was giving them the privilege and responsibility of doing his work and proclaiming his Word after his home going.

Importantly, this mighty ascension of Jesus was preceded by a transitional period of forty days. We know from the Gospels and from that he appeared to more than five hundred people after he rose from the dead.

They saw him, touched him, and learned from him; they knew he had truly been resurrected.

him, and learned from him; they knew he had truly been resurrected. The ministry of Jesus continues, in fact, because Jesus really is alive! Christ’s ascension also included an exaltation. In verses 2 and 11 we read that Jesus was “taken up.” Verse 9 says, “A cloud took him out of their sight” (v. 9). This cloud reminds us of Daniel’s vision of the Son of Man (), of Jesus’s transfiguration (), and of the exodus cloud (). The whole sight is one of magnificent glory. This glorious exaltation demonstrated Jesus’s promotion from earth to heaven, and it prefigured the manner of his return—visible, glorious, and climactic. Some of the early church fathers viewed as being ultimately fulfilled in the ascension of the totally righteous Lord Jesus and his entrance into heaven. The psalmist says, Lift up your heads, you gates! Rise up, ancient doors! Then the King of glory will come in. Who is this King of glory? The Lord, strong and mighty, the Lord, mighty in battle. Lift up your heads, you gates! Rise up, ancient doors! Then the King of glory will come in. Who is he, this King of glory? The Lord of Armies, he is the King of glory. () If this was the heavenly reaction to Jesus’s ascension, how did the disciples react to it on earth? With bewilderment. Like children watching a floating balloon drifting skyward, the disciples were enamored with the sight. But soon just thinking about the glorious scene filled them with worship and joy (), and they returned to Jerusalem in obedience to Jesus’s words. Our response to the ascended King should mirror theirs: we should joyfully worship and obey him. The risen King’s ministry continues because the King is not dead. It continues because we have his Spirit and his Word. It continues because the kingdom of God is here, and it is still advancing through his Spirit-empowered witnesses. Acts outlines how Jesus advances his Word among the nations, and the plan is summarized in 1: 8. In chapters 1–7 the Lord’s Word spreads throughout Jerusalem. In 8–12 the Lord’s Word spreads in Judea and Samaria. In 13–20 the Lord’s Word spreads to the ends of the earth (in Asia and Greece). And in chapters 21–28 the Lord’s Word spreads throughout Rome. The Church’s Witness Continues

The ministry of Jesus continues, in fact, because Jesus really is alive!

Christ’s ascension also included an exaltation. In verses 2 and 11 we read that Jesus was “taken up.”

Verse 9 says, “A cloud took him out of their sight” (v. 9).

This cloud reminds us of Daniel’s vision of the Son of Man (), of Jesus’s transfiguration (), and of the exodus cloud (). The whole sight is one of magnificent glory. This glorious exaltation demonstrated Jesus’s promotion from earth to heaven, and it prefigured the manner of his return—visible, glorious, and climactic. Some of the early church fathers viewed as being ultimately fulfilled in the ascension of the totally righteous Lord Jesus and his entrance into heaven.

Acts outlines how Jesus advances his Word among the nations, and the plan is summarized in 1: 8.

In chapters 1–7 the Lord’s Word spreads throughout Jerusalem. In 8–12 the Lord’s Word spreads in Judea and Samaria. In 13–20 the Lord’s Word spreads to the ends of the earth (in Asia and Greece). And in chapters 21–28 the Lord’s Word spreads throughout Rome.

3. The Church’s Witness Continues

In verse 7 the disciples demonstrated a particular interest in and misunderstanding about the restoration of Israel. Jesus directs them to the global nature of his kingdom and to their part in the mission as he calls them to be his witnesses.

The disciples were too limited in their thinking. So Jesus rocks their world as he tells them that the plan is for them to cross not just geographical barriers but cultural barriers as well.

Jesus blows up any triumphalistic ideas they have as he calls them his witnesses—or more literally, his martyrs.

The way of the kingdom is one of suffering before glory.

These believers were to proclaim the person and work of the risen Christ () as taught by Jesus and foretold in the Old Testament. They were to proclaim how Christ accomplished the ancient prophecy of crushing the head of the serpent, Satan, providing a way for sinners to be reconciled with the Father.

Importantly, we as modern disciples of Jesus participate in enjoying this message of life with the first disciples. But they were witnesses in another sense: they actually saw Jesus’s death, resurrection, and ascension (; ; ; ).

While we do not enjoy this privilege, we are the recipients of eyewitness testimony that comes to us in the form of the writings of the disciples.

Now, like them, we have the privilege of bearing witness about the good news of the Messiah to everyone.

Five aspects of a witness.

1. The People Who Witness: All Believers

One of the great gifts of Pentecost is that all believers can now speak for God (2: 14-21). In a sense all believers are prophets. No believer is a mere fan but a player!

The apostles certainly led the church, but the gospel advanced largely through the words and deeds of unordained and uneducated people—informal missionaries. The church today, in fact, desperately needs to recover this practice. The only difference in a believer sitting in his or her American home and a foreign missionary on the field is location, not identity.

Every Christian is a missionary. And so each of us should ask, Where do I serve? To whom do I minister?

2. The Path of a Witness: Suffering

To follow the Lamb involves suffering. In several places in the Gospels, Jesus told the disciples they would suffer (e.g., ; ).

In the book of Acts, we find that they indeed did suffer. Crossing cultural barriers and standing up in the face of opposition requires sacrifice.

First we see that there was an escalation of persecution in Jerusalem; it moved from threats to floggings to martyrdom. A theme of suffering continues through the rest of the book, and it continues into our day as the evil one rages against the church ().

Even this, however, is part of God’s ordained means of advancing the gospel—dedicated believers share his truth wherever they go, in spite of what they encounter.

The gospel never triumphs apart from some measure of sacrifice. Someone has to sacrifice (and sometimes die) so that others may live.

3. The Power of a Witness: The Holy Spirit

Fortunately, we are not on our own in the mission Jesus assigned us, for Luke reminds us once again of the Spirit’s power (cf. ). We must, in fact, be clothed with power to be faithful witnesses.

Having received essential teaching, the disciples would eventually be given the essential power required in witnesses of Jesus.

The ordinary people of God, equipped with the Word of God, empowered by the Spirit of God, dedicated to the Son of God, can accomplish the mission of God.

Sharing the right message is only half the matter. We must also be personally reliant on the Spirit of God.

We see two marks of the Spirit’s work in the disciples: boldness and the magnification of Jesus.

References to Spirit-empowered boldness appear through the book (e.g., 4: 29; 28: 31). This is how Peter could stand at Pentecost and preach so courageously after cowering in the presence of a little girl just weeks earlier. Further, we are reminded that the Spirit purposes to glorify Christ (). Peter has a spotlight ministry that always focuses attention on Jesus.

This is a great reminder that when people are living a Spirit-empowered life, their thoughts and words will be centered on Christ, not self (see ).

4. The Peoples in Need of a Witness: The Nations

Christians have no tribal deity. We have a Savior who loves and died for the nations!

That means that we must relinquish any prejudices that keep us from sharing him faithfully. We must repent of any ethnocentrism or unconcern for unreached peoples. Jesus sent ordinary people to the nations, just as he sends us.

5. The Passion of a Witness: Jesus

A zeal for the kingdom comes only when we have a passion for the King.

As these disciples gazed into heaven in astonishment of Jesus’s glory, and as they later received Jesus’s promise of the Spirit’s power, they were enamored with Jesus. And we should have a similar attitude toward him.

Because to phrase things negatively, little love for the King produces little zeal for the King’s mission.

May the Spirit deepen our love for this global Savior as we seek to understand and apply the message of Acts. Let us pray for Spirit-empowered boldness, for a love for all the diverse people groups around the world, and ultimately for hearts enthralled with the King of kings.

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