Resurrection creates a transformed community
You might exist recoiling in horror at sight of Easter eggs already in the shop, knowing equally you exercise that the Christmas season does non stop until Candlemas on February tertiary—and you lot might be shocked that, in plainly similar vein, I am already looking forward to Easter. The theological justification is that Easter is actually not far from sight in the nativity narratives, but the applied reason for mentioning this is that BRF have published their excellent Guidelines Bible reading notes, and I take contributed a series on the Resurrection in Acts, from which I offer an excerpt here. If you lot are non encouraging those in your congregation to employ Guidelines, what Bible reading notes are you lot encouraging?
Introduction
At that place are a number of inter-related themes in the Acts of the Apostles, and different commentators requite these themes different prominence. Every bit the title suggests, there is an important focus on the ministry of the apostles, both the 11 (expanded again to 12) who were called by Jesus, but also a wider ministry of apostles beyond the 12. At the heart of the narrative are the fundamental leaders Peter (campaigner primarily to the Jews) and Paul (apostle primarily to the Gentiles). Luke makes sure that his account gives equal importance to both, with each of them preaching, experiencing opposition, performing remarkable miracles, being imprisoned and miraculously released, and being instrumental in the spread of the message most Jesus.
A 2d focus is the piece of work of the Spirit—and some might argue that the book should exist chosen The Acts of the Spirit rather than the Acts of the Apostles! It is the souvenir of the Spirit at Pentecost which sets the context for the whole narrative; it is the Spirit who enables the 'signs and wonders' that marked the apostolic ministry; and it is the Spirit who equips his people for their courageous testimony. The Spirit is at times the stage-manager of the drama, equally the ministry and testimony spreads out in widening circles, similar ripples in a pond, so that the story that begins in a marginal province of the Roman Empire ends with the bulletin beingness taken to that Empire's centre, and proclaimed unhindered.
However undergirding all this activity is a core bulletin, which is less ofttimes the focus of commentary but which holds all the other things together: the message of Jesus' resurrection. It is the resurrection (followed by Jesus' ascension) which makes possible the outpouring of the Spirit; by the resurrection God vindicates Jesus and proves that he was the promised Messiah; the resurrection both fulfils the promises of the by and holds out promise for the future; and the resurrection puts all beliefs and philosophies under scrutiny. Through the many and varied episodes of Acts, the resurrection features with remarkable consistency—as we will discover in the coming days.
one. The Resurrection Forms a New Community Acts ane:1–22
The opening chapter of Acts is key in setting the scene for all that follows. Luke points usa to three particular themes in his brief description of the 'in-between' time of '40 days' (verse 3), recalling both the 40 years of desert wandering in Exodus and Jesus' grooming time of 40 days in the desert on the aforementioned pattern.
The first theme is that of continuity. Luke has already written to Theophilus of all that Jesus 'beganto do and to teach' and is now going to describe Jesus' continuing ministry through his followers in the power of the Spirit. Jesus continues to teach 'through the Holy Spirit' (verse 2) and Luke draws some detailed parallels to the work of the Spirit from his gospel. Just equally the Spirit 'came upon' Mary in Luke i:35, enabling Mary to prove to God's goodness and bringing to birth the Messiah, so the Spirit will 'come upon' the disciples (verse 8), enabling them to testify and bringing to birth a new community of followers of Jesus.
This continuity is also expressed in the repeated accent on community. They listened to Jesus' education and asked him questions 'when they met together' (v. v), and this community included the remaining 11 of the 12 (compare Luke 6:12–16) too as the women who accompanied Jesus (Luke 8:1–3) and at present Jesus' own family, who had previously been at a distance from his ministry. Equally they consider the demand to engage a successor to Judas Iscariot, it becomes clear what defines this community. They are seeking someone who has had continuous experience with them of this Jewish renewal movement starting with John the Baptist (five. 22)—but the defining feature is that this person must be 'a witness with united states of the resurrection'. This renewal of God's people focusses on a resurrection customs—as Paul confirms in his account in one Cor 15:iii–viii.
This is what makes the third theme so important—that of confidencein their resurrection bulletin. Why does Jesus spend so much time with them prior to the rise? Then that he could 'nowadays himself live to them with many convincing proofs' (v. 3). This deep confidence volition allow the resurrection community to testify and ministry in continuity with Jesus' own ministry building in the face up of serious opposition.
2. The Resurrection calls for Repentance Acts 2:14–39
Pentecost is sometimes called 'The birthday of the church building', and, equally we take seen, Luke has drawn a parallel between the birth of Jesus and the birth of this new move. Simply the give-and-take translated 'church building', ekklesia, was used in the Greek Old Testament for the 'congregation' of Israel, the people of God. Luke does non meet 'the church' as replacing 'Israel' but depicts this new movement equally a fulfilment of God's promises and the people's hopes.
Luke'south version of Peter's speech explaining the dramatic events of the Spirit'southward outpouring falls into two halves of equal length—verses 14b to 24, and 25 to 36—and some scholars argue that the text has 444 syllables in each half, making 888 in total, the number of Jesus' name in Greek. The speech clearly focusses on Jesus, and ends with the rousing climax. 'God has fabricated this Jesus, whom y'all crucified, both Lord and Messiah (or 'Christ')' (v. 36). Peter reaches this determination in each one-half, moving from Onetime Testament texts, seeing them fulfilled in Jesus, and finding full expression in his resurrection.
First, the outpouring of the Spirit, which the crowd have witnessed in the sound of air current, the tongues of burn and the multilingual praise of God, fulfils Joel's prophecy of the 'last days' (v. 17). The 'signs and wonders' Joel had anticipated already began in Jesus' ministry, and Peter assumes that many in the crowd were already aware of this. These reached their fullest expression when 'God raised [Jesus] from the dead', an event for Peter'south hearers of both national and cosmic significance, since resurrection meant both the renewal of Israel (from Ezekiel 37) and the end of the age (from Daniel 12:2). Secondly, Jesus' victory over decease fulfilled king David's hope for life with God, which David did not himself feel. David 'saw what was to come' not in a wooden, literalist sense—but in the sense that he knew that God was true-blue and would triumph over death, and this was now achieved in Jesus' resurrection.
The resurrection changed everything, and demonstrated God's vindication of Jesus which completely overturned his rejected and condemnation by the Jewish authorities. But equally at the starting time of Jesus' ministry (Marking 1:15) a new reality has broken in—and the only appropriate response is to apologize and believe.
3. Resurrection Overturns the Former Order Acts 4:1–14
The signs and wonders that are the hallmark of the presence of the Spirit, in fulfilment of Joel's prophecy, have continued as Peter and John heal the lame man by the Beautiful Gate in chapter iii. Just as Mary had proclaimed in the Magnificat (Luke 1:46–55), God's presence in power means that the 'apprehensive are lifted up'. But it also means that the 'rulers are brought down', and this explains the sudden shift in focus as the two disciples are held ('jail' was a identify of belongings for trial, rather than penalty) and then quizzed by the leaders.
The size of this new movement is not yet the concern of the authorities; what they are worried well-nigh is the content of its teaching. Luke notes that the Sadducees 'who say there is no resurrection' (Luke 20:27) are the first to be concerned, along with others whose influence comes from their link with the temple and the sacrificial system. Luke has already linked his whole story with Annas and Caiaphas (Luke three:2) and the other gospels writers notation their function in Jesus' trial (Matthew 26:57, John xviii:24). Peter and John are facing the aforementioned challenges that Jesus did, and cite the same prophetic psalm, 118, as explanation for what God is now doing. Jesus is 'the rock the builders rejected' who is at present 'the cornerstone' (compare Luke 20:17), and this language of stones and buildings offers a direct challenge to the importance of the temple.
Peter makes a direct link between the resurrection and the power to heal; only equally Jesus was raised up from death to stand before God, and so this human has been raised upwards from his lameness to stand, and both are a demonstration of God'due south action. But he goes further; if God really is rebuilding his people on the foundation of Jesus (1 Corinthians 3:xi), and so the globe has changed. Joel's prophecy makes information technology clear that those who 'call on the name of the Lord', that is, State of israel'due south God, 'will exist saved' (Joel 2:32), merely Peter now claims that this Lord is none other than Jesus (compare Romans 10:half dozen). The resurrection not only offers the forgiveness of sins, and releases the power for healing by the Spirit—it signals the end of the old age and the new historic period of the longed-for kingdom breaking in. No wonder the government were worried!
4. The Resurrection as the Eye of Testimony Acts iv:23–37
In this next part of Acts four, the themes of continuity, community and conviction (that we saw from affiliate 1) are once again prominent. Only as Jesus' rejection past the leaders connected the experience of prophets of the Erstwhile Testament (Luke thirteen:34), so the opposition that Peter and John are experiencing continues the rebellion of the leaders of the nations against God's only dominion in Psalm ii. In the confront of this, their knowledge of Jesus' resurrection gives them always more confidence; instead of praying for protection (as many of us might), they ask for greater boldness!
This is all in the context of a radical commitment to customs, extending not only to mutual practices of worship and instruction, but to shared financial resources too. In the summary statement of verse 32, Luke seems deliberately to exist echoing his earlier summary in 2:42, but expands on what that ways in more than detail, as individuals sell their possessions and share the gain. This leads to the positive instance of Joseph Barnabas, who becomes key in the ancestry of the Gentile mission with Paul, and the negative example of Ananias and Sapphira in the next chapter. Information technology seems that this new communal life of the Spirit, centred on the resurrection, brings the division of judgement as well every bit the unity of a shared life.
Merely at the centre of all this lies the word of testimony. Testimony (or witness) is the thread running right through the narrative of Acts. At the first, Jesus promises the gift of the Spirit 'so that you will be my witnesses'(1:8) in ever-increasing circles from Jerusalem outwards, and at the end Paul is continuing to evidence as he preaches about Jesus unhindered (28:31). (This is 1 of several means that Luke and Acts are surprisingly connected with the Book of Revelation, where true-blue testimony is also a central theme.) Equally the believers prayed for disrespect and were filled with the Spirit, they 'spoke the word of God'—the message about the resurrection (compare iv:four and 8:25). Similarly, the ability of the Spirit enables the apostles (here meaning The Twelve) to 'bear witness to the resurrection of Jesus'. The resurrection gives them a new communal life, a new committed purpose, and a new central bulletin.
I would heartily recommendGuidelines as a fashion of enabling personal Bible reading. They take a great slate of writers (equally yous can see from the embrace of the electric current edition here) and are arranged into weekly blocks. But the days are not individually dated, which helps to assuage any guilt for missed days, and there is a summary reflection at the cease of the week to depict themes together. Then they aim to stimulate understanding, reflection and application. Y'all can gild online from the BRF website here. Practice besides check out the resource bachelor from Scripture Matrimony.
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