Acts 1
by Pastor David Groendyk
Acts is a unique book in the New Testament, because it is the only history book we have in the New Testament. In the Old Testament, we have books like Joshua, 1–2 Samuel, and 1–2 Kings that record almost 1000 years of Israelite history, but in the New Testament, the only book like that is Acts. It only covers about 30 years of history, but what a lot happens in those 30 years!
Acts is written as a first-person, apostolic, eye-witness account of the spread of the gospel and churches being planted. It’s actually Volume 2 of a two-volume work written by Luke, the first volume being the Gospel of Luke. Both volumes are written as orderly accounts of the person and work of Jesus Christ with the purpose of edifying and instructing the church and making sure that believers are certain regarding the things they’ve been taught (see Luke 1:1–4). You certainly could use these two books as evangelistic tools or as apologetic tools, but primarily they are written for solidifying the truth of Jesus in the minds and hearts of believers.
Acts 1:8 gives a very basic outline of the rest of the book. Chapters 1–7 describe the apostles as witnesses in Jerusalem, chapters 8–12 describe the apostles as witnesses in Judea and Samaria, and chapters 13–28 describe the apostles as witnesses “to the end of the earth.” Now, if you are a student of history, you’ll realize that the gospel doesn’t truly reach every corner of the earth by the end of Acts 28. What about the people in the Far East or North America? Surely the apostles could’ve gone farther! However, if that’s how we think about Acts, then we’re thinking wrongly. The gospel does go out to the ends of the earth in Acts in the sense that the gospel thoroughly goes out to a non-Jewish people. In Acts 13:47, Paul equates the gospel going out to the Gentiles with the gospel going to the ends of the earth. So the apostles did not go to every corner of the earth, but they did accomplish the awesome work of bringing Gentiles into the church.
Acts 1 starts quite ingloriously though. In these first two chapters, the apostles are being prepared for the mission to witness to Jesus. Several items are noteworthy here. First, even now after Jesus’ resurrection, there is still a misunderstanding about Jesus and what he’s planning to do (verse 6). The disciples knew something big was about to happen, but they still didn’t get it. They still seem to be fixating on a military/political kingdom. Second, Jesus corrects them and commissions them with their true work (verse 8). It is a Spirit-ual plan that Jesus has. The true mission of the church is to witness to Jesus and make disciples, not establish a political dynasty. But Jesus does more than just give them the plan; he also gives them the power and ability to carry it out. It is only by having the Holy Spirit that we or any other believers could possibly carry out this plan. Third, the two angels offer a great motivation for the disciples (verse 11). What greater motivation could there be than the promise of the return of Jesus? He will come one day and set all things right; he will reward the good and faithful servants; he will send away all the unrepentant and unbelieving people who have ever lived. There are several micro-motivations to spread the gospel under that one big header of ‘the return of Jesus’, but, more than any other, it gives us hope for the future and should embolden us. Fourth, in response to these promises and this commission, we find the disciples devoted to prayer (verse 14) and devoted to the Word (verse 16). They were waiting for the Spirit to come and for their world-changing mission to begin, and so they sought God’s wisdom and were looking to the promises and prophecies of his Word. If we are going to faithfully carry out the Great Commission and participate in the work of making disciples of all nations, we must be dedicated to those two things as well.