What do we do now?

The story so far

Luke’s thesis: Jesus is the Messiah promised by Isaiah

Luke’s thesis: Jesus is the Messiah promised by Isaiah

The story so far

Creation

Fall and kicked out of Eden (curse of death)

Sin leading to depravity

Nations divided at Babel

Call of Abraham

Continued through Isaac and Jacob

Enslavement by Egypt

Exodus through Moses

Old Covenant on Mt. Sinai

Rebellion leading to wandering in the Wilderness

Conquest under Joshua

Rebellion cycle during time of Judges

Kingdom of Israel under Saul, David, and Solomon

Divided Kingdom of Israel (Northern, 10) and Judah (Southern, 2)

Exile

Partial return (but under the dominion of other kingdoms)

Good News of Jesus Christ

Birth

“Prophet like [Moses]” (), representative of Israel -> New Exodus

Heavens “split” at Jesus’s baptism -> parting of the Red Sea

40 days in Wilderness -> 40 years in Wilderness

Announcing the Kingdom -> Conquest/Kingdom

Jesus as King -> Son of David

Jesus on the cross -> King crowned and “lifted up”

Death, burial and resurrection at Passover -> New Exodus

Great commission

Jesus appears to and teaches his disciples for 40 more days

Jesus’s last instructions: wait for the Spirit

Ascension ->

/ “Sit at my right hand until I make Your enemies a footstool for your feet.”

Kingdom established over the whole earth, already, but not yet

Jesus is over every other power and authority -> reverses curse of Babel

Feast of Pentecost (50 days)

Feast of First Fruits (celebrate harvest of wheat, figs, and 5 others)

Jesus is the “First Fruits” of the Resurrection ()

“The fields are white for harvest” -

Feast of Weeks (7 weeks after Passover)

Pilgrim festival (), Jews from the diaspora (living outside the Land) would often come at Passover and stay through Pentecost

Connected to giving of Law at Sinai ()

Tradition of 70 elders present representing 70 nations

70 is the number of nations given in

Abraham promised, “In you all the families of the earth shall be blessed” ()

Spirit rested on each one of them -> New Covenant promised by Jeremiah and Ezekiel

Yahweh will be their God, and they will be God’s people ()

Law written on the heart (; )

All in the covenant will know the Lord ()

God forgives the sins of those in the covenant (; )

Holy Spirit will rest on them ()

Spirit will enable them to obey God’s law ()

Provisions:

Israel will always be an elect nation ()

Jerusalem will be restored ()

Israel will regain its land (, , )

“sound like a violent rushing wind” and “divided tongues like fire” reminiscent of

The Spirit is God’s presence, which filled the Tabernacle at the end of Exodus and later the Temple. Here, God’s presence dwells in the midst of the believers directly; we are the new tabernacle/temple

“To speak in other languages” and “hearing them speak in his own language” (4, 6) - reversal of curse of Babel

“From every nation under heaven” (5, 8) - some from every nation are present

“Jews” (5) “about three thousand souls were added” - return from Exile by entering the Kingdom of God

is quite explicit that Ephraim (northern kingdom) would also return but that had not yet happened

- Peter explains the above

- How are we to respond?

38 - “Repent and be baptized, each one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

3000 accept and are added

- What does it look like?

- Devoted to the teaching of the apostles

- Broke bread and prayed together

- fear of God (humility)

- unity, “one purpose,” and no one was in need in the community

- praised God, granted favor with all people such that more were saved daily

If people are the harvest, this is a reversal of the curse of the ground

People added daily also relates to growth in a family, normally achieved by childbirth, and this is therefore a reversal of the curse of pain in childbirth

Acts 6:1–7 ESV

Now in these days when the disciples were increasing in number, a complaint by the Hellenists arose against the Hebrews because their widows were being neglected in the daily distribution. And the twelve summoned the full number of the disciples and said, “It is not right that we should give up preaching the word of God to serve tables. Therefore, brothers, pick out from among you seven men of good repute, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we will appoint to this duty. But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word.” And what they said pleased the whole gathering, and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit, and Philip, and Prochorus, and Nicanor, and Timon, and Parmenas, and Nicolaus, a proselyte of Antioch. These they set before the apostles, and they prayed and laid their hands on them. And the word of God continued to increase, and the number of the disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests became obedient to the faith.

Too much for a small group to manage; some were left out

Deacons selected and charged with administration

Each of us has a role to play, though the role may be different

Application

and notes provide the application and begin to answer the title question, which will be flushed out more in subsequent weeks.

The World Turned Upside Down: Finding the Gospel in Stranger Things Present and Future Hope … and Threat

Put simply, in biblical thought, the believing church is Christ’s body (Eph 5:23; Col 1:18, 24). The body of Christ is indwelt by the Spirit of God (1 Cor 6:19–20), who empowers it to carry out the Great Commission, the command of the risen Christ to spread the gospel, making disciples of all nations (Matt 28:18–20; Rom 12:4–8; Eph 3:14–18). The body of Christ is portrayed in the book of Acts as an irresistible force, succeeding against all odds and despite persecution. Believers were united in supporting each other, single-minded in mission. They blessed their enemies and were willing to suffer—a testimony of love so powerful that, eventually, their persecutors joined their ranks. In biblical theology, the body of Christ on earth is to be Jesus to the world, to be the antidote to chaos, to be a glimpse of life the way God originally wanted it for his children—to be a loving, accepting home, bearing each other’s burdens and sharing the presence of God.

Let me be blunt: Is this the church you see and experience?

Perhaps the more telling question is another one: Is this the church you expect to see as we head into the future?

Most Christians today, especially in the West, would be compelled by honesty to say no in both respects.

The World Turned Upside Down: Finding the Gospel in Stranger Things Present and Future Hope … and Threat

The body of Christ is indwelt by the Spirit of God (1 Cor 6:19–20), who empowers it to carry out the Great Commission, the command of the risen Christ to spread the gospel, making disciples of all nations (Matt 28:18–20; Rom 12:4–8; Eph 3:14–18). The body of Christ is portrayed in the book of Acts as an irresistible force, succeeding against all odds and despite persecution. Believers were united in supporting each other, single-minded in mission. They blessed their enemies and were willing to suffer—a testimony of love so powerful that, eventually, their persecutors joined their ranks. In biblical theology, the body of Christ on earth is to be Jesus to the world, to be the antidote to chaos, to be a glimpse of life the way God originally wanted it for his children—to be a loving, accepting home, bearing each other’s burdens and sharing the presence of God.

Let me be blunt: Is this the church you see and experience?

Perhaps the more telling question is another one: Is this the church you expect to see as we head into the future?

Most Christians today, especially in the West, would be compelled by honesty to say no in both respects.