Acts (1): Three Voices (Acts 1:1-11)
by Rev. Jeremiah Cheung
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Acts is a historical account of the Early Church’s development. It is also an account of how the Gospel spread from Jerusalem to Samaria and throughout the Roman Empire. Acts may also be called an account of the ministry of two great apostles: chapters 1-12 record Peter’s ministry, while chapters 13-28 record the ministry of Paul; Peter was the apostle to the Jews, whereas Paul was the apostle to the Gentiles. These two great apostles preached the gospel from Jerusalem to the ends of the earth.
Acts may also be called a book on the workings of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit’s guidance and movement were very apparent in the Early Church. I hope that as we study the Book of Acts together we will not only understand the truth behind the apostles’ deeds, but also how the Holy Spirit guides the church. Let us allow the Holy Spirit to lead our church in the way ahead. Today, we would like to reflect on chapter 1:1-11. In this passage, we hear three voices: first is the voice of the risen Lord, second is the voice of the apostles, and third, the voice of the angels. These three voices bring out important lessons and truths:
I. The Voice of the Risen Lord v.4-5/7-8
“During the forty days after his crucifixion, he appeared to the apostles from time to time, and he proved to them in many ways that he was actually alive. And he talked to them about the Kingdom of God.” During the forty days after his crucifixion, Jesus met with his disciples on various occasions. The passage above records two such meetings and the conversations that transpired (v.4-5 and v.7-8). In these two meetings, the risen Lord told his disciples three things:
1. Wait for the Holy Spirit’s Coming
On the first day Jesus resurrected, he appeared to the disciples, telling them, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.” And with that he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit.” (John 20:21-22). He was announcing in advance what would happen. The Book of Ephesians tells us that only upon Christ’s ascension will the Holy Spirit descend. The Holy Spirit will not come unless Jesus’ ascension happens. Therefore, Jesus was simply telling them beforehand what would happen.
When Jesus was about to ascend to heaven, he told his disciples to wait for the Holy Spirit. On his last day on earth (the 40th day), He told his disciples again, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you and you will receive power to be my witnesses.”
We see that the risen Lord reminded the disciples again and again not to leave Jerusalem, not to hurry out to preach the gospel or to witness, for although all of those were very important, there was something more important, and that is awaiting the coming of the Holy Spirit. For without the Holy Spirit, there is absence of power. This is what the greatest evangelist of the 20th century, Billy Graham, experienced. He said that he had once been invited to preach in a famous university in the United States. Knowing that his listeners would be college students and professors, he prepared a message full of information, knowledge, and theories. As he preached, everyone in the audience was nodding in agreement, but during altar call, not one person stood up.
Upon returning to his hotel room, he felt very disappointed and included more profound material in his message for the next day to challenge the audience. But the result was the same, everyone nodded but none came to repentance. Billy Graham returned to his hotel room, knelt down in prayer before the Lord, and the Holy Spirit spoke to him: “The Gospel is the power of God unto salvation for those who believe.” He then decided to use a simple method to preach Jesus – Jesus and His Cross. That day, no one nodded, but during altar call, almost the whole assembly stood up, repented and accepted the Lord. From that day on, Billy Graham determined to depend on the Holy Spirit to preach the Lord Jesus and his cross. The Gospel is the power of God unto salvation for those who believe. When the Holy Spirit works, then true spiritual fruit will be produced.
2. Do not believe anyone who claims to know the arrival of God’s kingdom
The disciples asked Jesus, “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom of Israel?” Verse 7, Jesus said to them, “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority.” The coming of the kingdom of heaven is certain, but only the Father knows the time and the date; no one of us can know them. Thus, I truly cannot understand how some people can say they have predicted the day of the Lord’s return; more so, I cannot understand why many people continue to believe such things.
Many years ago in Taiwan, a false prophet said that in August 1995, Taiwan will be destroyed by calamity. In fear, many believers, including pastors migrated to other countries. Yet Taiwan is still here and doing well today. But what strikes me as most surprising is why these people would migrate when in fact there is no place anyone can go to flee when the Lord comes. If you flee to New Zealand, would the Lord not be there? If the Lord does return today, let us simply wait right here. Those who predict the coming of the Lord are all false prophets, they do not understand the truth, we must not follow them. Deut 29:29 says “The secret things belong to the LORD our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may follow all the words of this law.” We cannot know the secret things, but the revealed things belong to us, they are for us to follow.
3. You will be my witnesses –v.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.” The Lord wanted his disciples to be his witnesses on earth. Jesus wanted them to wait for the Holy Spirit so that they will have power. The Holy Spirit is not a force, the Holy Spirit is the third person in the Trinity, he has a personality and he has emotions.
The Holy Spirit gives us power to witness for Jesus. The word `witness’ appears 29 times in the Book of Acts. Jesus wants us to be his witnesses. A witness is someone who tells others what he has seen and heard. When we testify as a witness in a court room, the judge is not interested at all in our opinions and ideas, he only wants to hear what we have witnessed. When we witness for the Lord, we are not to talk about our views and opinions, we are to testify only of what we know about Jesus. The English word `martyr’ means witness in Greek. Many believers in the Early Church were killed for witnessing about the Lord Jesus; witnesses are also called martyrs. As witnesses, they also gave up their own lives.
II. The Voice of the Disciples 3/6
Verse 3 “After his suffering, he presented himself to them 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.” Verse 6 “Then they gathered around him and asked him, “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?”” For a period of forty days after he rose from the dead, Jesus spoke to his disciples about the kingdom of God; but the disciples were concerned only about the restoration of Israel as a kingdom. This is the misconception about the Messiah.
There is a 400-year gap between the Old Testament and the New Testament times. In these 400 years, the Jews kept waiting for the Messiah’s coming, but when the Messiah came, they crucified him. Why? The Jews had their own concept of the Messiah. When Jesus came, he was totally different from the messiah they had hoped for. They did not want Jesus to be their messiah. They were waiting for a different messiah. In their hearts, the messiah must be a man full of authority, of a royal lineage, and a military strongman; he must lead the nation to defeat the Roman army and rebuild David’s dynasty.
But Jesus did not even have one soldier with him; in fact, he was crucified on the cross. To be crucified on the cross was a most shameful thing; do you know that a man is stripped completely naked when being crucified on a cross? For our sake, our Lord was willing to be so humiliated. This weak and disgraced messiah wasn’t the messiah the Jews were waiting for. So they rejected Jesus as their messiah.
How about us? What is our concept of Jesus? We say, “Jesus is my Lord and my Savior.” Lord and savior are two different things. What does it mean to say Jesus is my savior? When we go swimming and are about to drown, we need a savior, a lifeguard. When I am ill, I need a savior, a doctor. We need a savior, we need a savior who can save us from our suffering. Jesus is our savior, but he is also our Lord.
What does Lord mean? I will do what he wants me to do. If He wants me to leave this place, I will leave this place. If He wants me to offer my son, I will offer my son. I will give what he wants, that is the meaning of Him being my Lord. But many people have a wrong concept of Jesus. They think Jesus is a God who is supposed to give whatever we ask of him. We think that he must answer our every request. If you see Jesus as simply a god who should give you whatever you ask, you will abandon him sooner or later. If he fails to grant you your request, you will go find another god. Yet, even if he grants your request, you will also leave him, because your problem has been solved. You will return only when you have another problem.
The Lord Jesus is not a genie, he is our Savior and he is our Lord. We must have a correct view of our Lord. For forty days, the risen Lord spoke of the kingdom of God, but the disciples continued to be concerned only about the restoration of Israel. How about you, what are you concerned about – the kingdom of God or your own affairs? Do not forget what Jesus said: “But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” God first – this is what is most important.
III. The Voice of the Angels v.11
The disciples saw Jesus taken up before their very eyes and the Bible says, “They were looking intently up into the sky as he was going…” You can imagine it was like watching the fireworks on New Year’s Eve, staring intently at the sky. A cloud hid Jesus from their sight. No wonder the disciples were staring up into the sky, because it was a very glorious scene. Suddenly, two men dressed in white, clearly these were angels, told them, “Men of Galilee, 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.” From the angels’ words, we understand two important truths:
1. Jesus has been taken up into heaven – The Lord’s ascension to heaven is a very important matter. This was one of the things Jesus was to accomplish. The complete gospel covers five things:
1. Jesus’ birth
2. Jesus’ crucifixion and death
3. Jesus’ resurrection
4. Jesus ascension to heaven; and
5. Jesus’ return.
There are two important reasons for Jesus’ ascension:
a. If Jesus does not return to the Father, the Father will not send his promised Holy Spirit (John 16:7). Without the Holy Spirit, we will have no power to fulfill the Great Commission. Without the Holy Spirit, we will not have the power to live a victorious life.
b. After Jesus’ ascension, he becomes our great high priest in heaven, he intercedes for us before the Father. He is our intercessor. Hebrews 7:25 “Therefore he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them.” Our Lord is seated at the right hand of God and is interceding for us. He intercedes for each one of us. When we are weak or when we have failed, yet find ourselves somehow regaining the strength to stand up again, it is the result of the Lord Jesus’ intercessions before the Father in Heaven. He is our intercessor in heaven.
2. The Lord Jesus will return – The two angels assured the disciples that the Lord Jesus will return the way he was taken up. Acts 1:9 says a cloud hid him from their sight. Rev. 1:7 says “Look, he is coming with the clouds,” and “every eye will see him, even those who pierced him”; and all peoples on earth “will mourn because of him.” So shall it be! Amen.”
On the island of Patmos, the apostle John saw this vision of the Lord’s return; he said He is coming with the clouds. The Lord will return the same way he was taken up to heaven. The Lord’s return is the reason we serve him, it is the greatest hope of our faith. The prophet Amos reminds us: “Prepare to meet thy God.”
Are we prepared for the Lord’s return? If for example, I tell you that I will visit you tomorrow, what will you do? I am sure you would tidy up your house. You would probably keep away some things that are unsightly, lest I see it and you’d feel embarrassed. If the Lord says he will come tomorrow, are you prepared? Praise the Lord, no one knows when the Lord will return, so each day we must be alert.
If we knew that the Lord would return on 2020, we would live carelessly for now, since there are still 19 years to go. But if no one knows the day and hour, we will be alert every day. Are you prepared to meet the Lord? If he comes today, can you face him? When the Lord Jesus comes, he will no longer be the Lamb of God, he will come as the Lion of Judah, the Lord who will judge the whole earth! Can you face the Lord of judgment? Unless you have accepted the Lord Jesus as your savior, you cannot face him.
Have you accepted the Lord Jesus?