Part 1: “The Ascension” // Acts 1:1–8

Overview:

The book of Acts is about how the earliest church was essentially launched into a cosmopolitan and urban setting just like ours today. Our church has never been here just for convinced, believing Christians, but it’s also here for the people of Los Angeles who aren’t sure what they believe (or who don’t believe in Christianity). Acts is one of a few books in the New Testament that is pretty specifically written for skeptical people.

There are images the Bible gives us to get across a fundamental change in our relationship with God that has come because of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ — they are irreplaceable and nonnegotiable images. Here’s what they are. We are told that when Jesus Christ ascended, he didn’t just go up, but he ascended to the throne — the throne of the universe, and we’ll see what that means…

Summary:

In the opening chapter, Luke introduces primary Gospel perspectives that thematically return throughout the remainder of the book.

  1. First and foremost is that Acts is a book about Jesus, as His actions and teachings are depicted as continuing through the work and ministry of His disciples. As the earliest Christian communities grow, the Spirit of Christ is Himself at work and fueling this movement forward notwithstanding significant internal and external opposition and barriers.

  2. A second theme that recurs is the nature of the kingdom of God. The disciples ask Jesus about “restoring the kingdom to Israel,” hoping and even expecting that Jesus’ kingdom is a match for their current national identity (1:6). Jesus corrects this expectation by instructing His disciples that His kingdom is global in reach, directing them to spread His Gospel from Jerusalem, to Judaea and Samaria, to the ends of the earth (1:8).

  3. A third theme introduced in this opening chapter that continues throughout the work is the message of Jesus spreading through His witnesses, the primary task Jesus gives to His disciples.

    This mission and Jesus’ ascension are not isolated events unrelated to one another, for Jesus’ return to His Father’s house and the commission He gives to the disciples is accompanied by the deliverance of the Holy Spirit to empower those who would testify to the power of the resurrected Jesus. Put differently, Jesus’ commission and the accompanying gift of the Spirit go hand-in-hand; under the power and guidance of the Spirit, every disciple is provided with God’s strategy and direction for advancing the kingdom of God. Finally, it was important for Luke to share this history with Theophilus because it presented three different means of knowing the truth of the resurrected Jesus.

 

Key Passages: 

  • The Truth of Jesus is Testable

  • v. 1 Luke’s “first account”

  • v. 2 Many “convincing proofs”

  • The Ascension Makes Jesus’ Ministry Global

  • v. 4 Beginning in Jerusalem

  • v. 5 Promised Spirit

  • v. 6–7 Not limited to Jerusalem/Israel

Key Ideas:

The ministry of Jesus did not stop with the Gospels, it is an ongoing work initiated by Jesus and continues through us today. Jesus’ ascension is a vitally significant event in His ministry because it confirms His perpetual humanity and the permanence of His resurrection. The ascension guarantees that Jesus will always represent humanity before the throne of God as our mediator and advocate. Just as important, the Spirit of Christ promised to the original disciples is the same Holy Spirit indwelling every believer today. By providing Theophilus these details, Luke shows Theophilus the evidence he can test through:

(1) testimony and physical proofs,

(2) the global spread of Christianity,

(3) and because the Spirit is available to all, an invitation to encounter the Holy Spirit himself.