Just the Beginning
Acts 1:1-5 & John 14:15-31
Jesus has accomplished the greatest act in the history of the world and met the greatest need of man by rising from the grave. Not too long ago people saw Jesus crucified and buried and now they see Him breathing and alive. If this were any other cliche storybook movie you could start cuing up the feel good music and the credit cuts and the movie ends. For sure this is a victorious moment but this was not the end. Jesus gives the Great Commission at the end of the Gospels but the Book of Acts is the continuation and the actualization of the work of Jesus. Jesus has accomplished the work and victory is won but now we must deliver it. John Piper says “The book of Acts is not just the acts of the apostles; it is the acts of the risen, living, enthroned Jesus.”
Both the book of Luke and Acts is written by Luke and it is addressed to someone named Theophilus. Some say this was a real person and some say that this is a symbolic name however this is not the point. In verse 1 Luke references how in the book of Luke that he “dealt with all that Jesus began to do and teach”. What we see here is that Jesus began a work in the Gospels and Acts is the extension of that. This even extends to the present day where you are sitting. Jesus is not done working but his work continues to this day where you are right now. He continues this work through His people, He continues this work in you Christian.
However before Jesus sends them off He tells them to wait for a promise He made to them in the Gospels that will help them accomplish this work. In John 14:26 Jesus promises to give the disciples the Holy Spirit, “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, He will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you”. Jesus made a promise to give the Holy Spirit and in Acts He tells them not to leave until they receive this promise. The mission given is done by us but it is impossible without the Holy Spirit and we are unable to do it without the Spirit of God. It is also not God working outside of us by the Holy Spirit but His plan is to work through us by the Spirit.
As you continue to process and meditate on this text begin to ask yourself where in your life is Jesus continuing His work in your life and using you to work in people and spaces around you? What does it mean to have or be immersed in the Spirit of God and how have you experienced this?
