Acts 1:1-3 (NIV)
In my former book, Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus began to do and to teach until the day he was taken up to heaven, after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles he had chosen. After his suffering, he showed himself to these men 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.
To Luke, the author of both the Gospel According to Luke and the Acts of the Apostles, this was not a separate narrative, but simply the continuation of what Jesus was doing. But instead of being more of the history of what Jesus did in the flesh, the story now pivoted to what He was continuing to do through His followers now that He had ascended into heaven.
At the end of his gospel, Luke tells us briefly about Jesus’ ascension from a place near Bethany on the south slope of the Mount of Olives forty days after His resurrection. And he tells of Jesus’ disciples afterwards returning to Jerusalem with great joy, and that “they stayed continually at the temple, praising God.” (Luke 24:53)
Over the forty days between His resurrection and His ascension, Jesus appeared to His disciples several times. And even though some aspects of those appearance were mysterious, with Jesus suddenly appearing and disappearing in rooms where all the doors were locked, He gave many convincing proofs that He was not a ghost, a spirit, or an illusion, but was really alive again. He allowed the disciples to touch Him to reassure them that He had real flesh and bones, and even ate some fish in their presence to prove that He was not a ghost (Luke 24:39-43).
And over those forty days, Jesus taught them about the kingdom of God. He had already taught them much about the kingdom before His arrest and crucifixion, but a lot of that information didn’t stick in their heads. They had no frame of reference to help them understand the information, no context that would enable them to understand all that He was saying.
But the resurrection itself provided a context for understanding much that He had already told them. And after He rose from the dead, Jesus was also able to impart to them a foretaste of the Holy Spirit that would later completely fill them (John 20:22), and that made all the difference. Not only were these followers hungry to understand all that had happened, they were now able to assimilate what Jesus was telling them, and to blend it all into a coherent whole in their minds.
Father, we often forget that the kingdom cannot be understood by mere human logic and reasoning. It doesn’t operate by human strength or creativity, but is a divine economy, guided and empowered by Your Spirit, transforming lives supernaturally from the inside out, and moving us in ways that fulfill Your plans when we simply follow and obey. But all too often we try to go it alone. We try to understand Your word from our own intelligence, to change our lives by our own will power, and to do Your will in our own strength. And, of course, it never works! You didn’t leave us with a plan for self-improvement, but with a way to come into Your kingdom, and to submit ourselves to Your work in and through us. You are still working, even today. Help us, like those first disciples, to follow You, to rely on You, and to work in the power of Your Spirit, so that we can succeed in completing Your plans and bring glory to You in everything. Amen.
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