Sermon Tone Analysis

Scripture Reading

Acts 1:1-11

1:1 In the first book, O Theophilus, I have dealt with all that Jesus began to do and teach, 2 until the day when he was taken up, after he had given commands through the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom he had chosen.

3 He presented himself alive to them after his suffering by many proofs, appearing to them during forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God.

4 And while staying with them he ordered them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father, which, he said, “you heard from me; 5 for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.”

6 So when they had come together, they asked him, “Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?”

7 He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority.

8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”

9 And when he had said these things, as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight.

10 And while they were gazing into heaven as he went, behold, two men stood by them in white robes, 11 and said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven?

This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.”

Main Point

Jesus is the crucified and resurrected King of Glory, and He expands His kingdom in this world through divinely empowered yet ordinary disciples.

Message

1) The Kingdom of God Came (v1-5)

Luke began the book of Acts with a personal greeting to someone named, “Theophilus” (v1).

This is the same way Luke began his Gospel, by referring to “Theophilus” (Lk.

1:3) as – in one sense or another – the primary recipient of Luke’s research and summary of “all that Jesus began to do and teach” (v1).

It’s obvious that Luke didn’t intend “Theophilus” as the only recipient of his Gospel or of the book of Acts, since the contents of both are aimed at a far wider audience.

It seems likely, therefore, that “Theophilus” was a sort of benefactor or financial supporter of Luke’s work on both of these books.

At any rate, Luke wrote the Gospel that bears his name and the book of Acts as a kind of narrative along with a sequel.

In fact, the two books are often found attached to one another when ancient manuscripts are discovered.

Acts is, most basically, the continuation of what Jesus began in His incarnation (His life and ministry on earth).

And that’s what Luke is telling us in v1-5.

In Luke’s “first book” (his Gospel), he “dealt with all that Jesus began to do and teach, until the day when he [Jesus] was taken up.”

(v1-2).

Here, in v2, “taken up” likely refers to Jesus having been raised up upon the cross, rather than His ascension, because of the way Luke arranged the order of events in v1-5.

v1 – Jesus did and taught; v2 – Jesus gave commands and then was “taken up” (crucified); v3 – Jesus “presented Himself alive” after His “suffering;” v4-5 – Jesus “ordered” His disciples to wait for the “promised” Holy Spirit.

Now, you don’t have to agree with me that “taken up” in v2 refers to Jesus’s crucifixion, but there is no doubt that v3 highlights two major emphases of the Gospels and also the book of Acts.

The first is that Jesus’s resurrection is the climax of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Luke says, “He [Jesus] presented himself alive to them [i.e., to His disciples/apostles] after his suffering by many proofs…” (v3).

This sort of language is common throughout the book of Acts, especially when we read about Christians bearing witness to the person and work of Christ.

Those earliest Christians believed that Jesus of Nazareth really did die, and that He really did come back to life again!

The Apostle Paul helps us understand just how significant Christ’s resurrection was-and-is when he says, “if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain… if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins… [and] If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied” (1 Cor.

15:14–19).

But, indeed, Christ has been raised from the dead (1 Cor.

15:20), and He has declared victory over death and the grave (1 Cor.

15:54), and all those who turn from sin and trust in Jesus (i.e., all those united to Christ) will one day be resurrected from the dead along with Him (1 Cor.

15:23)!

Christ’s resurrection from the dead was-and-is His vindication as the Son of God.

It was-and-is the undeniable proof that God has justified sinners.

And it was-and-is the basis of unwavering hope for all those who look upon Christ as savior and Lord.

Once again, Christ’s resurrection is the climax of the gospel!

Friends, do you believe there really was a man who lived, and who died, and who was raised to life… never to die again?

This is the unique message of Christianity!

Jesus isn’t just a good teacher or do-gooder in the world… Jesus is the one human in all of history that fought death and won!

Is this how you think about Jesus?

Is this the center of your gospel message?

Is Christ’s resurrection from the dead the basis for your hope and assurance?

The second major emphasis highlighted in v3 is the content of Jesus’s teaching – Luke says Jesus spoke to His disciples about “the kingdom of God.”

This deep-rooted biblical concept – “the kingdom of God” – is a prominent theme in each of the Gospels, but especially in Matthew and Luke.

These New Testament authors pick up on promises God made throughout the Old Testament… namely promising that the Messiah would rule the world from the Davidic thrown, and that the Messiah or Christ (unlike David of old) would reign forever and with perfect righteousness (Is.

9:7; Jer.

23:5).

We don’t have time to get into the details this morning, but the New Testament clearly intends to show that Jesus is the promised Messiah, who is Lord of lords, and who came to establish God’s eternal kingdom on earth.

That’s why it’s not surprising at all that the disciples asked Jesus about the “restoration” of the “kingdom” in v6.

Before we get to that, however, let’s see how Luke is using this “kingdom” theme to link the person and work of Christ in the Gospels with the work of Christ – by/through the Holy Spirit – in the book of Acts.

Yes, the book of Acts is usually titled “the Acts of the Apostles,” but it’s more appropriately titled “the Acts of the Holy Spirit.”

And the Holy Spirit is the person of the Trinity, sent by the Father and the Son, who continues the work which the Father and the Son began.

You see, in Christ, the kingdom of God did come to earth.

Jesus showed His authority over all by healing diseases, by commanding the wind and the waves, and even by imposing His will on evil spirits when He encountered them.

Ultimately, Jesus was demonstrated to be King by His resurrection from the dead and by His pouring out of the Holy Spirit.

So, it is no coincidence that Luke underlines Jesus’s command for His disciples to wait in Jerusalem for the “promised” “Holy Spirit” (v4-5).

Such an outpouring would be that climactic signal to the world that the kingdom of God had indeed come!

And this is what the book of Acts is all about… But Acts isn’t only about God’s kingdom coming; it’s also about God’s kingdom expanding.

2) The Kingdom of God Spread (v6-8)

Jim Hamilton says, “The message of Acts is that Jesus has been raised from the dead, that his kingdom is inaugurated and soon to be consummated, and that the work of kingdom-building is continuing through the disciples.”[1]

And v6-8 tell us how this “kingdom-building” project would be carried out.

It is no overstatement to say that v8 creates a framework for our understanding and interpretation of the entire book of Acts.

Every single time we arrive at an interesting passage, or we begin to wonder, “What am I supposed to learn from this?” or “How do I apply this to my life or to the church today?” …we should ask, “What did Jesus say in Acts 1:8?”

This verse is a sort of interpretive grid for the whole book because Luke records the spread of the kingdom of God in Acts (which corresponds with the spread of the Holy Spirit) in precisely the same sequence that we find in v8!

Before we get to v8, let’s consider v6-7… which set up the emphasis of v8.

First, let’s look at v6.

The disciples/apostles asked an appropriate question.

“Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?” (v6).

This was a good question because the message Jesus brought during His earthly ministry was the “good news of the kingdom of God” (Lk.

4:43)… When God the Son came to earth in the man Jesus Christ, the message was, “the kingdom of God has come near” (Lk.

10:9, 11, 11:20, 17:21).

The disciples were not wrong to focus their attention on the kingdom of God in the world… But their error was focusing on the timing of it.

Jesus responded to them in v7.

He said, “It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority.”

Jesus rebuked His disciples, but we want to dial in a bit on what exactly He rebuked them for.

In v7, Jesus spoke of “times” and “seasons” which “the Father has fixed by his own authority.”

This sort of language is what underlies the doctrine of God’s providence – the biblical reality that God governs, directs, ordains, and in some sense arranges whatsoever comes to pass.[2]

In almost all cases, God’s providence – His wise and sovereign plan – is completely unknown to us before we see it unfold in front of our eyes.

That’s why theologians have often understood God’s providence in terms of God’s secret or hidden will.

Most often, God’s ultimate will or plan is secretor unknown to us because He has not revealed it to us.

God simply calls upon us to trust in His goodness and wisdom, whether or not we can see such things in our circumstances.

In v7, Jesus rebuked His disciples for prying into God’s providential plans, and Jesus called them to keep their focus on the mission, rather than speculation.

Friends, do you believe God has ordered time itself according to His plans?

Do you believe God has arranged everything in your life, in our community, in our country, and in the world to move along under His sovereign authority?

If God doesn’t govern the unfolding of all things in time, then who does?

Notice also the specific sort of prying the disciples were doing here.

Jesus was rebuking them for wanting to know when God would “restore the kingdom.”

In short, the disciples were asking much the same question as many have done right up until our own day.

“Are these the end times?”

“Are we living in the last days?”

“Is our generation the last?”

I want to get to v8, but some of us really need to hear v7 this morning.

Jesus’s rebuke of His disciples should serve as a corrective for any of us who tend to focus a good bit of our attention on the timing of our eschatology.

Do you find yourself thinking and talking a lot about the chronology of the events around the return of Christ?

Does that stuff dominate your study and your conversation?

Or does your eschatology emphasize the hope-filled promise of Christ’s return, Christ’s renewal of all things, and Christ’s promise of forgiveness to all those who repent (i.e., turn from sin) in anticipation of that coming day?

Let’s see, in v8, what Jesus wanted His disciples to focus their attention on.