Some thoughts on The Acts of the Apostles, chapter 1

 


     Luke links his follow-up work with his Gospel, a.k.a. “the first book” (Ac. 1.1).  Luke tells his readers that during the 40 days following the resurrection, Jesus appeared to the apostles and spoke to them of “the kingdom of God” (Ac. 1.3; cf. 28.30-31); the theme of “the kingdom” forms “bookends” for the book of Acts.  The risen Jesus bequeaths to the disciples the promise of the Holy Spirit (Ac. 1.4-5; cf. Lk. 3.15-16; Ac. 11.16; 19.1-7).  John, the baptizer in water, had promised that the One coming after him would baptize in the Spirit.  The link between John the Baptist’s ministry and that of Jesus is an important theme in Luke-Acts; cf. Lk. 7.28-29; 9.18-19; 20.1-8; Ac. 1.22; 10.34-38; 13.23-25; 18.24-25; 19.1-7.

     As Jesus gathers with the apostles on the Mount of Olives (where the Garden of Gethsemane was located), they ask him: “will you now restore the kingdom to Israel?” (Ac. 1.6; cf. Lk. 2.25-32, 38).  The disciples have equated “the kingdom of God” with Israel’s liberation from pagan rule and Israel’s domination of the nations (cf. Daniel 2.44; 7.1-22, etc.).  Jesus has been reinterpreting the meaning of the kingdom of God (cf. Lk. 8.4-18) as a reality that will be brought about by his death and resurrection, followed by the worldwide mission of his disciples as “witnesses” to these events, proclaiming forgiveness of sins to all the nations (Lk. 24.45-48; Ac. 1.8; cf. Gn. 12.1-3).  Isaiah’s “servant of the LORD” (i.e. Israel) had been called to be “a light to the nations”, and in Luke-Acts, Jesus and the apostles embrace that vocation (cf. Lk. 1.8; 2.32; Ac. 13.47; 26.23).

     As the disciples look on, Jesus “was lifted up, and a cloud took him” (Ac. 1.9-11; cf. Dn. 7.13-14).  In Daniel, when the “son of man” comes to the Ancient of Days on the clouds of heaven, he receives an everlasting kingdom that covers the whole earth (Dn. 2.35).  In Acts, once Jesus ascends to “the right hand of the Father” (Lk. 22.69; Ac. 2.33; 5.31; 7.55-56) as Lord of the world (Ac. 2.36), his disciples go to the “ends of the earth” to proclaim his lordship (Ac. 17.6) and “plant the flag” of the kingdom of God, which had been inaugurated by Jesus’ ministry (Lk. 11.20).

     The importance of having 12 apostles.  In Ac. 1.12-26, the 11 apostles chose a replacement for Judas Iscariot and thus restore the integrity of the “apostolic college”.  The number twelve symbolizes the 12 sons of Jacob, the 12 tribes of ancient Israel = the entirety of the people of God.  This is an important point – Luke is telling us that as the apostles go to the ends of the earth with the gospel, they are not simply a fringe group; no, Luke is presenting the 12 apostles as the “core” of the renewed people of God, who have witnessed the fulfillment of the promises of God to Abraham to “bless” all the nations through him and his descendants, including the 12 apostles.  As far as Luke is concerned, there is one people of God, begun with the call of Abraham and that will soon include people from “all the nations”, i.e. all those who have faith in Jesus, the Messiah of Israel and Lord of the world (cf. Gn. 12.3; Ac. 10—11).  Salvation is “of the Jews” (Jn. 4.22), but was always meant to be for the nations (cf. Ex. 19.5-6).

     Luke is re-interpreting the Scriptures and demonstrating that the death and resurrection of Jesus are indeed the fulfillment of the hope of Israel for Yahweh to deliver her and fulfill his purposes for the whole world through his people (cf. Lk. 24.13-27).

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