Acts was written between 60 and 90 AD. It was written after all of Paul’s letters and after Luke wrote the gospel of Luke. It recounts the early history of the church.
To a lover of God, Theophilus: In my first book, I recounted the events of Jesus’ life—His actions, His teachings— from the beginning of His life until He was taken up into heaven. After His great suffering and vindication, He showed His apostles that He was alive—appearing to them repeatedly over a period of 40 days, giving them many convincing proofs of His resurrection.
As before, He spoke constantly of the kingdom of God. During these appearances, He had instructed His chosen messengers through the Holy Spirit, prohibiting them from leaving Jerusalem, but rather requiring them to wait there until they received what He called “the promise of the Father.”
“This is what you heard Me teach— that just as John ritually cleansed people with water through baptism, so you will be washed with the Holy Spirit very soon.” When they had gathered just outside Jerusalem at the Mount of Olives, they asked Jesus, “Is now the time, Lord—the time when You will reestablish Your kingdom in our land of Israel?
Jesus replied,” The Father, on His own authority, has determined the ages and epochs of history, but you have not been given this knowledge. Here’s the knowledge you need: you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you. And you will be My witnesses, first here in Jerusalem, then beyond to Judea and Samaria, and finally to the farthest places on earth.” (Acts 1:1-8)
If you were here for our series in the Gospels, you may remember that Jesus taught a lot about the Kingdom of God. He also spent a lot of time correcting the misconceptions of what the Kingdom of God was going to look like.
It wasn’t going to be characterized by legalism, which is how the Pharisees were trying to coax the Messiah to come.
It wasn’t going to be ushered in with a violent sword, like the Zealots were trying to make happen.
And it certainly wasn’t going to happen by blending with the Empire, like the Sadducees were doing.
Here is Jesus, raised from the dead, and his disciples are still confused about what is going to happen. But Jesus is patient and kind, so he teaches some more. I love his short explanation: “This is all you need – you will get the Holy Spirit, and then go witness.” I really wish I could have seen the expression on the disciple’s faces. This doesn’t sound like the way to establish a kingdom. And go to the Samaritans and Romans? Really? They are going to be in the Kingdom?
I was downstate doing some teaching for an organization called LEAD, which trains high schoolers on how to be faithfully present as followers of Jesus in business, entertainment, journalism, and government. I got there Wednesday and checked into my room on the campus of Spring Arbor University. I organized all my stuff and went to teach my first class. When I got back, my key would not unlock my door. So I texted Joe, the head honcho, and explained that my key didn’t work.
He sent a Spring Arbor security guy to help me, but that guy couldn’t find me. You know why? I was in the wrong dorm. Fortunately, the security guy found me and we figured it out. I texted Joe:
“It’s so weird how the little things like being in the right building can make such a big difference!”
He texted back,
“On no. Did I give bad directions?”
I said,
“You gave me great directions. I followed them poorly.”
Jesus gave his disciples great directions on how to act. As we get into the book Acts, they will indeed take Jesus’ directions seriously.
Two things stand out to me as important to know in a broad overview: the many speeches introducing the kingdom of God, and the way in which their lives embodied the Kingdom of God.
SPEECHES/SERMONS
There are a ton of speeches primarily from Peter, Stephen and Paul. The primary focus is:
· Jesus as a Resurrected Lord (Acts 2:24, 3:15, 4:10, 13:30) In his epistles, Paul insists that the bodily resurrection of Jesus must be true, or the whole thing collapses.
· Jesus as Righteous Judge (Acts 10:42, Acts 17:31: “He has set a day when he will judge the world with justice…” [1] The judging carries the idea of sorting or sifting – Jesus will separate that is righteous from what is unrighteous.[2]
· The importance of Repentance and Forgiveness (Acts 2:38, 3:19, 10:43, 13:38)
· The Kingdom of God (Acts 8:12, 28:23, 28:31) They have had a loooooot of teaching about this. There’s not a lot of detail. The text just notes they talked about it a lot, as if the Good News was about far more than life in the world to come; it’s about a Kingdom of Heaven that is here, now.
As they pass on the teaching they received, we will see an interesting variety in how they present the Good News of the Kingdom to Gentiles vs. Jews. I think it’s worth looking at this because it is a good reminder that the first evangelists took different approaches to different audiences.
Speaking to Jews or God-fearers (e.g., Acts 2, 3, 13)
Jesus as fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy, because this audience gave weight to the Old Testament books. Lots of Scriptural proofs from the Law, Prophets, Psalms.
Emphasis on Abraham, Moses, David, three of their national heroes.
Israel’s covenant history with God to focus on a shared historical and national identity. Paul in Acts 13 recounts Israel’s history from Egypt to David to Jesus. “What God promised our ancestors he has fulfilled for us.”
Messianic expectations. Jesus’ resurrection is confirmation of Jesus’ messianic identity, even if people were expecting a different kind of Messiah.
Call to repentance (“turning around”) for having rejected Jesus. This is often an appeal to them as a group: "You crucified the Messiah," even though likely nobody in their audience physically did that. This makes sense in a shame/honor culture where identity was established in community. It’s not that individuals don’t repent – that happens all the time. It’s just that there is another layer, a call to a community repentance from a shared responsibility that the community failed to carry out.
Let’s say I’m Peter from a moment. You are the audience of Jewish people and God-fearing Gentiles. A typical speech is going to sound something like this.
"Fellow believers, you know the Scriptures and the prophets. You believe in the God who called Abraham, who led our ancestors through the sea, who spoke through Moses and David and Isaiah and who entered into a covenant with us.
God has fulfilled His covenant promise through Jesus. God revealed himself fully in Jesus by healing the broken, forgiving sinners, welcoming outsiders, speaking truth with authority. Everything the prophets said the Messiah would do—he did.
But we wanted a Messiah who would affirm our religiosity, not challenge it. We wanted a Messiah who reject those Samaritans and pagans and pat the righteous - us - on the back. We wanted a king with a sword, not a crown of thorns.
So we killed him. But God raised him from the dead as the firstborn from the dead, proof that death itself has been defeated. And now he is exalted—seated at the right hand of God. He has poured out the Holy Spirit of God This isn’t the end of the story—it’s the beginning of the restoration of all things.
Repent. The cornerstone we rejected? God has made him the foundation of new covenant. Turn to him, and you’ll find your sins forgiven, your heart renewed, and your place in the kingdom secured by the free grace of God.
You were baptized with John’s baptism. Now, be baptized as a way of dying and rising with Christ. Enter into new life, and receive the Holy Spirit of God to dwell in you. This is the time the prophets and Jesus spoke of—the time of God’s favor, of restoration, when God is beginning to make all things new.
When Speaking to Gentiles (e.g., Acts 14, 17), the goal doesn’t change, but the approach does.
They start with the Creation of the cosmos, God as universal Lord of all things, and the brotherhood of mankind. Paul at Athens (Acts 17) quotes Greek poets to note that, “We are his offspring.”
They don’t quote Jewish scripture, because the Gentiles didn’t trust or care about that source. It’s more philosophical or natural-theology approach to start.
There is often a discussion of idolatry and its futility. At this point in Greco-Roman history, they were having their own theological crises as they were developing this growing realization that their pantheon of gods couldn’t actually be gods because they were so bad. Paul doesn’t pile on to their mistake. He acknowledges the religious urge in people, and claims that it is misplaced. He invited them to turn from idols to the true God.
Jesus’ Resurrection was a sign of coming justice/righteousness. The language implies a sorting and revealing of what is righteous and what is not. Justice/righteousness prevailed in the end for all. Jesus, not Zeus is Caesar, is the appointed Judge to oversee this.
Let’s say I’m Paul for a moment. You are an audience of Greeks and Romans without the background knowledge that Jewish people had. A typical speech is going to sound something like this.
People of this city, listen to me for a moment. I come not to condemn you, but to proclaim something that will change your life. I’m here to tell you about Unknown God to whom you have built alters. This God you’re reaching for is not far from any of you.
He is the one who made everything—the earth beneath your feet and the sky above your head. From one blood, He made all the nations of the earth. As your poets note, we are all his offspring. He gives life and breath and meaning to every one of us. He doesn’t need anything from us; instead, he provides for us.
You believe the gods step into the world at times. The Creator God I am telling you about stepped into our world with healing and mercy and love. Many of you heard at least rumors of him. His name is Jesus.
He walked among us doing righteousness and justice while loving mercy —feeding the hungry, forgiving sinners, confronting the hypocrite, insisting that we love each other well. He told the truth about the Kingdom of God that he offered to all. And for that, he was executed—hung on a cross like a criminal.
But hear me: God raised him from the dead. The risen Jesus appeared to hundreds, and he also revealed himself to me. Though I persecuted his followers, God did not destroy me. He forgave me and filled me with His righteousness.
This risen Jesus is not just a prophet. He is the King of all kings, the Judge of all nations, the Restorer of all things. He is coming again to bring ultimate justice for the oppressed, peace for the weary, and restoration for all who long for it.
God is calling every person, everywhere to change direction—to turn from false gods, whether idols made of stone or ones built in our hearts. So what must you do? Turn from your idols. Trust in Jesus. There is a kingdom breaking in, and its King is Jesus.
When we get to the individual speeches, we will dive into them. For now, let these two different approaches remind us that there is wisdom in knowing your audience. From the beginning of the church, we have a tradition of not requiring that everyone use the same approach or say the same thing all the time. We don’t even need to have the same target audience. It’s okay to follow the leading of the Holy Spirit as we consider whom we are talking to. It’s also okay not to demand others seek out the same audience and use the same approach as we do. We are on the same team
I get worried when I see followers of Jesus insisting that their way of spreading the gospel is THE way of spreading the gospel. Their way of being building Kingdom outposts in culture is THE way. Their way of building the church is THE way. Can we let each other respond to how the Holy Spirit moves us to represent Jesus?
The second thing we will see in Acts in the lifestyle of the early church, the practical implementation of the Kingdom of God. It is, after all, about the acts of the apostles. They were committed to saying and doing things that revealed the kingdom. You can count the public speakers in Acts on one hand. They were important, but history shows us that the early church grew because their lives spoke even more loudly than their words.
They developed communal habits in which everybody took care of each other, sharing money and resources freely. They took care of everyone’s poor, sick, orphaned and widowed. They accepted those rejected by Roman society. In their setting, it was slaves, women, the poor, and the oppressed. When the Holy Spirit descends, God blesses all people and nations into one community, a “new humanity”, so that social barriers or judgments of all kinds fell away. (The people groups in Acts on whom ‘tongues of fire” descend are the same ones separated after the Tower of Babel.)
The church will expand not because Paul was eloquent, but because Billy the butcher treated customers fairly, and Sally the seamstress quietly cared for her customers, and the farmers Fred and Frieda shared their crops with the hungry, and the nurses Nancy and Nathan cared for the babies of Jews and Gentiles alike, and tentmakers Tricia and Terry made some free tents for the poor because the rich in their church gave money to make that happen.
They supported widows, orphans, the sick and disabled. They ransomed people from slavery. Churches helped each other out when they were in trouble. Loving actions toward all saturated the church in the first three centuries.
Tertullian (160-240) reported that the Romans would exclaim, “See how they love one another!”
Justin Martyr (100-165) sketched Christian love this way:
“We who used to value the acquisition of wealth and possessions more than anything else now bring what we have into a common fund and share it with anyone who needs it. We used to hate and destroy one another and refused to associate with people of another race or country. Now, because of Christ, we live together with such people and pray for our enemies.”
Clement (150-215), describing a follower of Jesus, wrote,
“He impoverishes himself out of love, so that he is certain he may never overlook a brother in need, especially if he knows he can bear poverty better than his brother. He likewise considers the pain of another as his own pain. And if he suffers any hardship because of having given out of his own poverty, he does not complain.”
The Emperor Julian complained that,
“it is disgraceful when no Jew ever has to beg and the impious Christians support both their own poor and ours as well.”
During a third century plague, while their Roman neighbors were throwing sick family members into the street, Christians cared for the them, and sometimes gave their lives for them. Christians eventually began to formally provide medical care for all. The Council of Nicea in 325 declared that medical care should be provided everywhere churches were opened.
The story is told that when an actor became a Christian, but he realized he had to quit because most plays had a lot of immorality and idolatry. Cyprian (210-258) told the local church that they should support him until he could figure out what to do. Furthermore, “If your church is financially unable to support him, he may move over to us and here receive whatever he needs for food and clothing.”
Jesus had said, “Love your enemies … and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you” (Matt. 5:44), and they were determine to do that. Lactantius (250-325) wrote,
“If we all derive our origin from one man, whom God created, we are plainly all of one family. Therefore it must be considered an abomination to hate another human, no matter how guilty he may be. For this reason, God has decreed that we should hate no one, but that we should eliminate hatred.
So we can comfort our enemies by reminding them of our mutual relationship. For if we have all been given life from the same God, what else are we but brothers? … Because we are all brothers, God teaches us to never do evil to one another, but only good, giving aid to those who are oppressed and experiencing hardship, and giving food to the hungry.”
To those the Empire insisted didn’t matter, those who were denied justice, provision, and care, God’s people always stepped in and said, “Hey! You matter!” [3]
If the good news of the Kingdom of God does not cause poor, the sick, the outcast, the powerless and oppressed to say, “Thank God the Christians are here!” then it’s not the kingdom of God that has come to a community.
These two things – the speeches and the lifestyle – and going to come up again and again in the book of Acts. What we say and what we do matters. Who we are as followers of Jesus has profound consequences.
How we are present in the world is witness to something. May it be a witness to Jesus.
Shepherd of tender youth, guiding in love and truth
Through devious ways; Christ our triumphant King,
We come Thy name to sing, and here our children bring
To join Thy praise.
Thou art our holy Lord, O all subduing Word,
Healer of strife. Thou didst Thyself abase
That from sin’s deep disgrace Thou might save our race
And give us life.
Shepherd of Tender Youth (Clement of Alexandria in about 200 A.D.)
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[1] The judgment in these sermons seems to have a different than what we call Hell, as Gehenna is never mentioned, and Hades only twice, and that when the writer quotes Psalm 16 in Acts 2 about how Jesus was not abandoned there. That topic comes up other places in the New Testament, of course, but the Acts speeches do not include it.
[2] Think of the Parable of the Wheat and the Tares in Matthew 13.
[3] There are a lot of places on line to find lists of what was said about the early Christians. I got this list from “A Love Without Condition.” Earlychurch.com