AP

Jerusalem to Rome: A Journey Through Acts

Bible Studies on the Acts of the Apostles

Notes:

Unless otherwise indicated, Bible references are from the New International Version. Most Bibles have maps to show the progress of the journeys of the apostles. Keep them handy!

I have further benefitted from having had access to “Opening the Scriptures,” by F. van Deursen (translated from the Dutch), which supplied me with distances travelled and other background knowledge that illuminates Luke’s account of the Acts of the Apostles.

1. The Promise of the Spirit and the Ascension of Christ (Acts 1:1-11)

Author: Luke is the author of both the Gospel and the Acts of the Apostles. He is honoured as both a ‘physician’ and ‘historian.’ Paul refers to Luke as “the beloved physician” (Col. 4:14). Many hospitals, clinics, and medical missions are named after Luke. From his methodology, we can see that he is also a historian: “Many have undertaken to draw up an account of the things that have been fulfilled among us,just as they were handed down to us by those who from the first were eyewitnesses and servants of the word. With this in mind, since I myself have carefully investigated everything from the beginning, I too decided to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus, so that you may know the certainty of the things you have been taught” (Luke 1:1-4).

Luke’s purpose in writing to Theophilus was to prove the reliability of the Good News, not just rumours or tall tales, but verifiable historical events. From the Gospel we infer that Luke must have interviewed Zacharias and Elisabeth, as well as Mary. He placed events in the life of Jesus and in Acts in their historical context (Luke 2:1-2; Acts 12:1) and was a companion of Paul on some of his journeys (the ‘we’ passages in Acts). Luke discloses very little about himself. In fact, he does not even mention his own name anywhere in his books. Eusebius reports in his Church History (c. 325) that the evangelist came from Antioch in Syria, the earliest centre of the Gentile-Christian church, and that he not only accompanied Paul frequently, but enjoyed contact with the other apostles as well. As a physician, he belonged to the upper class. We find evidence of that in his excellent command of language.

Thanks to Luke, through the agency of the Holy Spirit, we have the Gospel according to Luke and the Acts of the Apostles. With these books, Luke is the only Gentile writer among the authors of the New Testament. With these books, Luke provided us with the greatest portion of the New Testament. When we compare the total number of pages of Paul’s letters with the number of pages filled by the third Gospel and Acts, then together the work of Doctor Luke appears more extensive than that of the apostle Paul and contains approximately one-fourth of the New Testament.

Addressee(s): Luke addressed both his Gospel and Acts to Theophilus, in the gospel as “most excellent Theophilus.” His name means “dear to God.” The honorific “most excellent” was also used by Paul when addressing Felix (24:2-3) and Festus (26:25). We can deduce that Theophilus was a person of some standing, probably a high Roman official, whom Luke endeavoured to persuade of the truth of the Good News. In view of his Greco-Roman name, Theophilus was of Gentile ancestry, like Luke himself. He probably lived in Rome and belonged to the God-fearers. They were Gentiles who sympathized with the Jewish religion and attended the services on Saturday at the synagogue. These God-fearers must be distinguished from proselytes, who through circumcision were included in God’s covenant and thereby became Jews with full rights. For a high Roman official like Theophilus, this was practically impossible.

If Theophilus did indeed belong to the God-fearers, it would not have escaped him that “the sect” of Jesus was experiencing opposition from three sides: from unbelieving Jews, from emerging Gnosticism that was likely of Jewish origin, and from Judaizing Christians. As an intimate coworker of Paul, Luke naturally saw firsthand what a difficult struggle the apostle waged against these opponents.

Along with Theophilus, Luke certainly also had Christians in general in mind, or others who needed to be convinced.

In verses 1-5 Luke gives a short recap of what he has written in his “former book” i.e. volume 1. Verse 1 refers to “all that Jesus began to do and teach.” The implication is that Jesus is still acting and teaching. In the post-Pentecostal age Jesus does that through the Holy Spirit in his followers. Luke makes it plain that it is by the power of that same Spirit that all the apostolic acts which he goes on to narrate are performed.

Verses 2b-3: During the forty days after the resurrection, Jesus appeared to many people, as recorded in the gospels, to prove that he was risen indeed. Paul has a list of witnesses to the resurrection in 1 Corinthians 15:5-8. Together with the gospel witnesses, this is a big group of people who had seen the risen Lord.

The evangelist did not supply a fresh preface to Acts. With Luke 1:1–4 he introduced both books. He begins this second one with a connective clause with which he summarizes the first book concisely. This involved “all that Jesus began to do and teach, until the day when he was taken up” (1:1–2). So the beginning of Acts ties in closely to the ending of the Gospel of Luke. Both deal with Jesus’ final hours on earth.

Jesus spoke to the apostles about “the kingdom of God.” From the earliest times in Israel, God was acknowledged as King. The human kings represented God’s sovereignty on earth. After the fall of the monarchy there arose a new conception of the Kingdom of God as something to be revealed on earth in its fulness later (see Daniel 7:11-14). After his baptism, Jesus started his public ministry, “After John was put in prison, Jesus went into Galilee, proclaiming the Good News of God. ‘The time has come,’ he said. ‘The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the Good News!’” (Mark 1:14-15) When the apostles preached the Good News of the kingdom, they did not stop at the resurrection and exaltation of Christ, but also taught about the coming judgement (Acts 10:42, 17:31). The second coming, (= the parousia, appearance, or manifestation) will coincide with the final and complete manifestation of the kingdom (Philippians 2:10-11).

Verse 4-5: Note that Jesus ate with the apostles. His resurrected and glorified body had no need for food, but to ensure that they did not think of Jesus as some ghostly appearance, he ate in their presence (see also Luke 24:41-43). Thomas was invited to touch Jesus’ wounds for the same reason (John 20:27-29). Jesus gave the command to stay in Jerusalem and wait for the baptism of the Holy Spirit. John the Baptist had said of the Lord, “he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit” (Mark 1:8). They had already received a foretaste of the Holy Spirit (John 20:22), but now the fulness of the Spirit would be imparted to them. They all waited together in one place (2:1).

Verse 6: The question of the apostles shows that they were still thinking in terms of a political kingdom. No doubt they were keen to get rid of Roman occupation and rule, and once again enjoy national independence. In earlier times they had even envisaged positions of authority in such a kingdom (Mark 10:35-37, Luke 22:24-30). But Jesus had already told the disciples about the nature of the kingdom: “Once, having been asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, Jesus replied, ‘The kingdom of God does not come visibly, nor will people say, Here it is, or There it is, because the kingdom of God is within you” (Luke 17:20-22, or “among you”).

Verses 7-8: Jesus does not answer the question directly. He refers to his Father’s authority but goes on to say that “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” Preaching the gospel to the world will advance the Kingdom of God. Isaiah had called Israel to be God’s witnesses in the world (Isaiah 43:10; 44:8), but they had failed. Jesus, as the perfect servant of God, fulfilled the task and passed it on to his disciples. Being witnesses can be seen as the theme of Acts. Geographically, there are three phases: Jerusalem covers chapters 1-7. Judea and Samaria are told in 8:1 to 11:18, and the remainder of Acts deals with the progress of the gospel until it reaches Rome, the capital of the Empire.

Verses 9-11 narrate the ascension. Verse 2 already mentioned “until the day he was taken up to heaven,” also mentioned at the end of Luke’s gospel (24:51), as predicted by Jesus himself: Luke 22:69. Now we are told how it happened. It was not the first time after his resurrection that Jesus suddenly vanished (Luke 24:31). “The resurrection appearances, in which he condescended to the disciples’ temporal conditions of life, even going so far as to eat with them, were visitations from that exalted and eternal world to which his ‘body of glory’ now belonged. What happened on the fortieth day was that this series of visitations came to an end, with a scene which impressed on the disciples their Master’s heavenly glory” (F.F. Bruce).

As Jesus was ascending “a cloud hid him from their eyes.” At the transfiguration (Mark 9:2-8; Matthew 17:1-8) a cloud was involved also. At the second coming (Mark 13:26; Matthew 24:30; Luke 21:27), Jesus will come on the clouds of heaven as Jesus also testified to the High Priest at his trial (Mark 14:62; Matt. 26:64). So, there are three manifestations of Christ’s divine glory to humankind. During the Exodus a cloud led the Israelites through the desert (Exodus 40:34-38; 1 Cor. 10:1-5). It was a sign of his presence and of his glory, which later filled the temple (see 2 Chron. 7:1-3; Ezek. 43; Haggai 2:6-7).

“Anyone appearing to leave the earth’s surface must appear to spectators to be ascending, and so, when the cloud enveloped the visible form of their Lord, his disciples stood ‘looking intently into the sky.’” Suddenly, they see two men dressed in white. Angels are usually seen dressed in white (see Matthew 28:3; John 20:12; Luke 24:4 and Mark 16:5). The angels affirm that Jesus has gone ‘into heaven’ and will return the same way, on the clouds. 

Questions:

Why were the disciples still thinking of the kingdom in terms of a restoration of Jewish political independence?

Jesus told his disciples that the Kingdom of God is within us. So, in what ways might the Kingdom come to visible expression in our lives?

– Alida Sewell, Ph.D.