Welcome to Acts!

Hi Guys,

This week we took a look at Acts 1:1-2. Luke makes a point of saying to his gentile friend, Theophilus, that he had previously written about the things that Jesus BEGAN to do. This is quite odd, not only from a worldly point of view but from any other religion's point of view as well. Christ had fulfilled His early ministry and had been taken up into heaven, but Luke makes it clear that He is continuing to work.

Luke goes on to refer to Christ's commandments given to the Apostles WHOM HE CHOSE. This should ring some bells, going back to Gladman's excellent teaching on Christ and His apostles.

In order to understand what Luke was talking about in v. 2, we had to go take a look at what the commands were that Jesus had given to His apostles before his ascension. We found these instructions in Luke 24.

In that passage, Jesus opens the minds of the apostles to understand everything that the old testament has to say about Him. He showed that the Christ HAD to suffer and rise again. He then stated the ongoing mission: to take the message of repentance for the forgiveness of sins to all nations. That's where the apostles come in! As we go forward in Acts, keep in mind that this is the central message of scripture from the Law of Moses through Christ's own commandments to his apostles right before he ascended to heaven!