True & Beautiful Things About the Bible--New Testamentનમૂનો

The Acts: Next

As the book of Acts begins, we pick up right where the Gospels left off. And almost to the spot where Jesus’ feet literally lifted off the earth.

He had said He was going away. That didn’t fully register with the disciples and all those who followed Him in these 40 days since He rose from the dead.

In these recent six weeks, Jesus had popped in and out of gatherings, eaten with them, and talked with them about mysterious things like God’s kingdom. And while it felt a little like old times, something new was happening; everyone sensed it, yet no one could explain it. He asked them to stay in Jerusalem and wait.

Moments before He lifted off the Mount of Olives, Jesus said, I’m leaving, but My Spirit will be with you and give you power to do what I ask.

No doubt, they felt immediately homesick for Him as they watched Him disappear into the clouds, but they may also have felt a strange, new feeling of . . . next. This isn’t the end.

Far from it. History tells us it was only the beginning.

These were the first days of the church, as the church itself was being defined. The human drama was just as tangible as these new spiritual realities.

We come to love and relate to these people in Acts as they experience a new day and a sense of mission that Jesus Himself outlined. Their job, and ours by default, was to simply spread the good news about Jesus.

“That Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that He was buried, that He was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures...” and later seen by the apostles and a bunch of others. (1 Corinthians 15:3-8)

As we study Acts, we step into the river of history that flows even now through the doors of our churches. We’re the same body of people as those early days; we are the true body of Jesus Christ, the ones who believe in His name. This new day, Jesus told His people about in the first chapter of Acts, continues even this weekend.

For the first time somewhere today, someone believes in the name of Jesus Christ and the church grows bigger and more beautiful, spreading as Jesus Himself said it would to the ends of the earth.

Acts is where this fire ignites.

Next: One of the most important chapters in the Bible