1 The first account I [ a ]composed, Theophilus, about all that Jesus began to do and teach, 2 until the day when He was taken up to heaven, after He had given orders [ b ]by the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom He had chosen. 3 To [ c ]these He also presented Himself alive after His suffering, by many convincing proofs, appearing to them over a period of forty days and speaking of things regarding the kingdom of God.

4 [ d ]Gathering them together, He commanded them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait for [ e ]what the Father had promised, “Which,” He said, “you heard of from Me; 5 for John baptized [ f ]with water, but you will be baptized [ g ]with the Holy Spirit [ h ]not many days from now.”

Acts 1:1-5 (NASB) 中文

Resurrection recount resumes

Acts starts where the gospels leave off – the events following the resurrection. This book is Luke’s careful account of the start of the early Christian church. He wrote it to a Greek named Theophilus – to whom he also wrote his gospel (Luke 1:3). Luke was a doctor so more educated than most with an eye for detail – especially medical related as we’ll see. He accompanied Paul through most of his ministry so in places where we see, “we…” (Luke 16:10–17), it’s Luke along with Paul (and others with Paul at the time, like Barnabas). 

Luke starts Acts by summarizing the main activities after the resurrection – to prove it is historical fact. 

Background and purpose

This book is called “Acts of the apostles” since it is a detailed record of the start of the early church, led by the apostles (mostly Paul). Some have called it the Acts of the Holy Spirit since all the power of the early church (down to today) is from Him.

“In Acts, Luke provides assurance for believers, probably because they face persecution, concerning God’s saving rule, in fulfilment of the Scriptures, through the continuing reign of the Lord Jesus the Messiah, as he empowers his people by the Spirit to proclaim the good news of his saving death and resurrection, that Jew and Gentile alike may receive forgiveness of sins through faith in him alone.” (TGC)

Promise of Power

The concluding charge to the apostles in the gospels was to go and make disciples (Matthew 28:18-20). But how? They may also be wondering, “How do we live this Christian life without Jesus by our side”? In Matthew 28:20 Jesus told them “I am with you always, to the end of the age.” How? Luke hints at the answer here: Jesus told the apostles (v5) that the Holy Spirit will come. In Acts, the presence and power of the Holy Spirit unfolds.

RЯeflection

• God calls us to His great work, to partner with Him. He gives us what we need – especially power from the Holy Spirit. This power is available to us. It is ours to use. Many amazing things can be done – beyond what we can ask or imagine. As we look at Acts, we’ll see this.
• The Acts 1:11 gives us a promise that we, along with those apostles, look forward to – the eventual return of Jesus our Lord from Heaven. Keep looking up! Continue sharing the good news. Keep doing the work He has commanded us to do and that He even prepared in advance for us to do (Ephesians 2:10).