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What Jesus Began To Do, and What He Continued To Do

A lot of people know that Luke's Gospel is only Volume 1 of Luke's writings.  He also wrote the book of Acts...which has been called "The Acts of the Apostles", but would be better entitled, "The Acts of the Holy Spirit".

As we dive into the next part of the Bible's story we remember that Luke ends his Gospel account with a short reminder that "more is yet to come".  Luke 24 contains the Resurrection account, the meeting of Jesus with the 2 on the road to Emmaus, and then an appearance/visit with the Disciples - all that first Easter Sunday.  Then Luke sums it up:

Luke 24:46-53
46  Then Jesus said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, 47  and that repentance and forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. 48  You are witnesses of these things. 49  And behold, I am sending the promise of my Father upon you. But stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.” 

50  Then he led them out as far as Bethany, and lifting up his hands he blessed them. 51  While he blessed them, he parted from them and was carried up into heaven. 52  And they worshiped him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy, 53  and were continually in the temple blessing God.



Luke, in a mere 5 verses sums it up.  Jesus tells them they are his witnesses, but to wait for the Spirit to come; then he ascends to heaven, and they went back to Jerusalem.

When Luke opens Volume 2 of his writings (Acts), he fills in more details...and especially make note of those first 3 verses.

Acts 1:1-3
1
 In the first book, O Theophilus, I have dealt with all that Jesus began to do and teach, 2  until the day when he was taken up, after he had given commands through the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom he had chosen. 3  He presented himself alive to them after his suffering by many proofs, appearing to them during forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God.



Luke reminds us that just because Jesus suffered, died, was resurrected, and now ascended, he is not done working.  He wrote Volume 1 to tell us what Jesus began to do and teach...i.e., he's not done yet.  He also makes clear when he takes 40 days to remind them that the work of the Kingdom is not over with - in fact, now that Jesus is ascended to the Father, and the Spirit of God is coming, the power of the Kingdom will even more prominent as God's work upon the earth.

It is not a formula, but it could be stated that:
1.  Jesus is ascended on high as our Great High Priest and is exalted as the Son of Man (Daniel 7) and as King over the Kingdom of God.
2.  We are "Witnesses" of this and the message of Jesus as King and the Kingdom of God are to go to all peoples - every person whether Jew or Gentile - in all the Nations of the earth.

As the disciples take this all in, Luke reminds us that they still didn't understand (and please, don't pretend that we do anymore than they did).  The secret to all of this is the "power" (dunamis as in dynamite) of the Holy Spirit.

Acts 1:4-8
4  And while staying with them he ordered them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father, which, he said, “you heard from me; 5  for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.” 6
 So when they had come together, they asked him, “Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?” 7  He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority. 8  But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”



So, there we have it...God is still at work in Jesus' work...the Spirit is the agent of that work in us.  God is gathering people from every tribe and nation as his Kingdom grows.  It is a fiat - so let it be ordered, so let it be done.  The Video below is an introduction to the book of Acts.

Here we are in the Bible's story...the beginning of Jesus' work in the Church...the end of which is the fulfillment of the Prophecy of the Old Covenant.

Habakkuk 2:14
14  For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD as the waters cover the sea. 




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