Alan Lewis
Elon, North Carolina
January 2025
In my former book, Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus began to do and to teach 2 until the day he was taken up to heaven, after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles he had chosen.
3 After his suffering, he presented himself to them and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive. He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God.
4 On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. 5 For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.”
6 Then they gathered around him and asked him, “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?”
7 He said to them: “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. 8 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.” (Acts 1:1-8 NIV)
Last week, we began our study of the Book of Acts, one of the most important books of the NT. It is written by Doctor Luke. Luke wrote a two volume work on early Christianity.
Volume One is about the life of Jesus. Volume Two is about the early church. Volume One is the Gospel of Luke. Volume Two is the Book of Acts.
Luke is about what Jesus began to do. Acts is what He continues to do on earth through his followers. It is what Paul Harvey would call “the rest of the story”.
This book is God’s training manual for Christians. It is a handbook for the Christian life. Last week, we looked at how to read and not read the Book of Acts. Not everything in the book is not a command for us.
In Acts 1, Jesus commanded people to stay in Jerusalem and wait. That is not a word for us. He doesn’t command us to leave Burlington, go to Jerusalem and wait there. In Acts 1, there are saved people who don’t have the Holy Spirit. They have to wait to receive the Spirit.
If we are saved, we already have the Spirit. Now, anyone who does not have the Spirit is not a Christian. Paul said, “if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, they do not belong to Christ” (Romans 8:9 NIV)
This chapter was written before the Spirit was given. They were waiting to get the Holy Spirit. We already have the Holy Spirit. We don’t have to tarry, wait and pray for the Holy Spirit to come. He has already come.
Is this chapter relevant to today? Yes. This passage contains the last recorded words of Jesus before He ascended into Heaven. There is a verse here that could change your life.
Acts 1:8 is one the most important verses in the Bible for Christians today. It gives us our job assignment as Christians. God wants His people to be witnesses.
It is also passage about talks about special power that we have as Christians. It says, “We shall receive POWER (δύναμις).” Acts is a power book.
People today are interested in power. Some want social power. We want people to like us. We want to have a lot of friends. We want a lot of likes on Instagram and a lot of followers on social media.
Some want physical power. That is what bodybuilders in the gym are interested in. They are interested in sheer physical strength.
Some want military power. Every nation wants that. Leaders want to have the strangest army with the most weapons.
Some want political power. People who run for office want that. It is why we have elections.
Some want economic power. People who are rich have economic power. They can buy whatever they want. They can buy whatever house they want or whatever car they want.
The greatest power on the earth is the power of God. It is spiritual power. It is a supernatural power. It is the power of the Holy Spirit. This chapter talks about this kind of power.
It is a power that dwells inside every born-again believer. You have the power through the Holy Spirit to change your marriage. You have the power through the Spirit to break addictions.
Outline of the Chapter
Acts 1 deals with four historical events. Four things take place in this chapter. We are only going to look at the first one today.
- The Post-Resurrection Ministry of Jesus (Acts 1:1-8)
- The Ascension of Jesus (Acts 1:9-11)
- A Church Prayer Meeting (Acts 1:12-14)
- A Church Business Meeting (Acts 1:15-26)
There are three conversations in this chapter. There is a conversation with the risen Lord (Acts 1:3-8). There is a conversation with angels (Acts 1:9-11). There is conversation among the disciples themselves (Acts 1:12-26)
The Post-Resurrection Ministry
3 After his suffering, he presented himself to them and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive. He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God.
Most people do not even know that Jesus had the ministry. They believe Jesus died and rose from the dead, but we learn something in Acts that we are not told anywhere else in the NT.
There were forty days between the Resurrection and the Ascension. Now Jesus did not appear continuously to people for forty days after his resurrection. He appeared to his disciples on multiple occasions at different places during a forty-day period.
These were not visions. They were actual appearances. People saw Jesus. They could touch Him. He ate with them. In John 21, He cooks a meal for His disciples.
Many Convincing Proofs
Luke says, Jesus “gave many convincing proofs that he was alive.” That is a really important verse. It tells us three important things about the resurrection of Jesus.
One, there are PROOFS that Jesus rose from the dead. Luke uses the word “proof.” There are some things that you can prove and there are some things you can’t prove.
There are other things you can prove. The resurrection is something that can be proven. There are proofs of the resurrection. The case for Christ is strong. You can prove it.
Two, there are MANY proofs. There is not one or two proofs but many proofs. Unfortunately, many Christians today do not know what the proofs are.
Jesus appeared to many people. He appeared to five hundred people at one time. He appeared to groups of people. He appeared to some skeptics, like Thomas. He even appeared to some of his enemies, like Paul.
Three, these are CONVINCING proofs. Not only are there proofs, but the proofs are strong. They are irrefutable. If the proofs are so strong, why are their skeptics today? Why are there atheists?
It is not because the proofs are bad. It is because there is a difference between proof and persuasion. You can present very strong evidence to people on any topic, and some will still not believe.
Not everyone is open-minded. Not everyone is open-minded. Dale Carnegie in his book How to Win Friends and Influence People said, “A man convinced against his will is of the same opinion still.”
One Command
There is one command in this section. Jesus gives one command to his disciples (Acts 1:4). Do you know what it is? It wasn’t, “Love one another”. It wasn’t “pray without ceasing”. It was “don’t go anywhere.”
“Stay right where you are. Don’t leave Jerusalem. Don’t go home to your friends and family.” Remember, they were from Galilee. Jesus said, “Wait. Don’t go anywhere.”
How long did they have to wait? Jesus said it would be “not many days from now” (Acts 1:5 NIV). The text does not say but we know it was ten days. Jesus was with them for forty days. He said this right before He ascended.
Pentecost was ten days later. It was fifty days after Passover. That is when the Holy Spirit came. What are they waiting for. The text mentions three things.
1. Wait for the Promise
John Stott said, “Before Christ sent the church into the world, he sent the Spirit into the church.”[1] The Holy Spirit was coming in ten days, and they had to wait. They were not to do any ministry. They were not to do any evangelism until the Holy Spirit came.
Even though they studied under the greatest Bible teacher who ever lived for three years, they were not ready. Even though they had seen Him and heard Him teach for forty more days after the resurrection, they were still not ready.
They needed the Holy Spirit. They could not do anything in their own power, and we can’t either. Many do not like to wait. It is hard to wait. Sometimes, we have to wait for years for things. Who likes to wait?
Many of us run ahead and do things when we are not ready. We are not prepared. Jesus is going to give them a job to do. It is a big job, and they will need the Holy Spirit to do the job.
2. Wait for the Kingdom
6 Then they gathered around him and asked him, “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?” 7 He said to them: “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. (Acts 1:6-7 NIV).
This is very interesting. If you could ask Jesus any question on any subject, what would it be? If you got one question and just one, what would you ask?[2] The disciples asked Jesus a question. He answered it and ascended into Heaven. He is gone.
What would it be? Why do children suffer? Would you ask, why do bad things happen to good people? Why did my marriage end in divorce? Why do I have cancer? Why did my children die young?
Those are all interesting questions. The disciples asked a theological question. They asked a prophetic question. They asked Him, “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?”
The disciples were Jewish. Jesus was Jewish. He was the Jewish Messiah. Every Jew was waiting for the Messiah to come and set up the kingdom. They asked a question about the Messianic Kingdom, which the OT talk about a lot.
Jesus’ answer is not the same answer you hear today. Most preachers say that the kingdom is not political. It is something spiritual, inside people’s hearts.
That is a very common view. Many verses are quoted to prove that the kingdom is a spiritual. Here are just a few.
Paul said, “For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit” (Romans 14:17 NIV). That sounds like a spiritual kingdom, not a physical kingdom.
Paul said that the kingdom is not a matter of eating and drinking but he NEVER said that there will not be a literal kingdom, or we will not eat and drink in the kingdom. If that is what he said, he would be contradicting Jesus.
And I confer on you a kingdom, just as my Father conferred one on me, 30 so that you may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom and sit on thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. (Luke 22:29-30 NIV). That sounds like a Jewish kingdom.
Didn’t Jesus say that “the kingdom of God is within you” (Luke 17:21 KJV)? That has got to be one of the most misquoted verses in the Bible. It is one of the most abused verses in Scripture.
Jesus is not saying that we all have the kingdom inside of us. He was talking to the Pharisees. He called them children of the Devil. He said that God was not their Father. They did not have the kingdom inside them. They had it outside them. The King was on the outside.
Didn’t Jesus say, “My kingdom is not of this world” (John 18:36 NIV)? He did say this. Doesn’t that mean that the kingdom is just spiritual? No.
Jesus does not say that the kingdom is not IN this world or will not be in this world. He says it is not OF this world. It says nothing about the location of the kingdom, but it has to do with the type of kingdom it is.
The disciples asked Jesus, “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?”
Jesus did NOT say, “I am not going to restore the kingdom to Israel. There will not be a Jewish kingdom, not at this time or at any time. God is done with the Jews.”
Jesus could have said that, but He didn’t. In fact, His answer assumes the accuracy of their question. The kingdom will be restored. There will be a Jewish kingdom. There will be a political kingdom. Jesus will sit on the throne of David.
Jesus rebuked them for asking WHEN it would take place but not THAT it is taking place. He said that we should not be occupied with times and seasons. No one knows the day or the hour, and our focus should not be on that but on something else.
Instead of focusing on restoring a nation, we should focus on saving souls to the uttermost parts of the earth. Instead of focusing just on the Jews, we should be focusing on everyone.
3. Wait for the Power
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.” (Acts 1:8 NIV)
These are the last recorded words of Jesus before He ascended into Heaven. It is a promise of power. You will receive POWER when the Holy Spirit comes on you.
That is interesting. Jesus told the disciples to wait for the Holy Spirit to come. When the Holy Spirit came, they did not get salvation. They were already saved. They got power.
Not just apostles but ordinary believers got supernatural power. They got miraculous power. They got power from heaven, power from on high (Luke 24:49).
What happened on Pentecost? All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them (Acts 2:4 NIV).
They were filled with the Holy Spirit, and they were able to do things they could not do before. They started speaking in tongues. They were filled with the Spirit. Now, that was not the only thing that happened that day. They were also baptized in the Spirit, but Luke focuses on filling.
Now we do not have to sit in a room and wait to be filled with the Spirit, although it is not wrong to pray for filling. We are COMMANDED to be filled with the Spirit (Ephesians 5:18). It is the will of God for every Christian.
Why did they need power? Jesus gave them a job to do they could not do on their own. They were to be His witnesses.
They were going to be witnesses to Jews (Jerusalem, Judea), to half-Jews (Samaritans) and to complete pagans (uttermost part of the earth).
They were going to be witnesses to people JUST LIKE them (Jews), to people A LITTLE LIKE them (Samaritans) and to people COMPLETELY DIFFERENT from them (uttermost part of the earth)
Witnessing could be a little uncomfortable. We sometimes have to go out of our comfort zone. Jews did not like to talk to Samaritans, but they were to be witnesses to the Samaritans.
It could be dangerous. Some Christians have lost their lives witnessing. Stephen was stoned to death. The Greek word for witness is the word μαρτυς. We get out word “martyr” from it, although most witnesses do not die for their faith. They live for Christ.
This was a job that requires supernatural power. We can’t do this job without power. It doesn’t just take power to heal the sick and raise the dead. It takes power to witness for Christ.
It is the mission of every Christian. Jesus called every Christian to be a witness, not just missionaries. The gospel is spread through witnesses, not soldiers.[3] That is what Jesus said.
What is a witness? It is a legal term. It is someone who testifies in a court of law. Here is the good news.
Here is the good news. You don’t have to be a theologian to be a witness for Christ. You don’t have to know Greek and Hebrew. You don’t have to have a seminary degree. You don’t need to have a PhD.
You just have to share what you know. That is what a witness in court is to do. A witness is to share what he has seen or heard and that is what we are to do. We are to share our personal encounter with Christ and how He has changed our life. Anyone can do that, and no one can argue with that.
Jesus healed a man born blind in John 9. The Pharisees were only critical. They were upset that Jesus did this on the Sabbath. They interviewed the man and tried to accuse Jesus.
They said, “We know this man is a sinner.” 25 He replied, “Whether he is a sinner or not, I don’t know. One thing I do know. I was blind but now I see!” (John 9:24-25 NIV).
As we conclude this section, we are left with three truths. Jesus gives us all an important job to do.
We are to be His witnesses in this world. He gives us the power to do it. We have the Holy Spirit who gives us supernatural power and we have a hope to look forward to. There is a coming Messianic kingdom (Acts 1:6-7). Jesus is coming again (Acts 1:11).
[1] https://www.preceptaustin.org/acts_18_commentary
[2] https://www.athensbible.org/sermons/mw12-10-06.mp3
[3] John Stott, The Spirit, the Church and the World, 42.
