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“I do.” In our most important decisions in life, we have only a vague idea of what we are getting into. Marriage, work, and education are all life-changing events, but we never realize just how significant they will be until after we’ve made the commitment and lived through it.
“Lord, is now the time…” In the beginning of Acts, Jesus’ followers ask the resurrected Jesus about what will happen. They don’t fully understand what they have gotten into or what Jesus plans.
They expect to initiate political dominion, but Jesus has planned spiritual expansion. Jesus says he will give them power, but not political power. They will have God’s power to carry the invitation of God’s kingdom to all people.
After Jesus’ resurrection, his followers carried his message to the ends of the world inviting all to embrace a vibrant relationship with the living God. People will receive life as God intended.
This life is only possible because of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection. The very power that raised Jesus from the dead enters into any who will accept it.
This power is freely given because of Jesus’ resurrection. This power is guaranteed because of his resurrection. This power is God’s Spirit—giving people a new way to think and relieving them from a life dominated by selfish and competitive desires.
So in Acts, people from Asia, Africa, and Europe believe the message about Jesus, receive the Spirit, and engage a new life.
They said they were “dead” before receiving this kind of life.
God became active in a way he never has. Sending an exodus of millions of people out of Egypt and parting a large body of water is a former thing God tells us to forget.
He has decisively worked in and through Jesus. The resurrection shouts it. And the resurrection hope is now spreading to all.
The messenger Paul, in Acts, is the primary figure in the last half of the book. Luke, the author, describes Paul’s journeys all across the world. Luke even joined him on some of them.
At times, Paul’s message about Jesus disrupted order in the city, threatened political powers, and hurt businesses. So they arrested him, beat him, and kept him in either prison or house arrest.
During public hearings, Paul describes the reason for his imprisonment as: his belief in the resurrection of the dead and its relevance for the life we currently live.
The resurrection reveals that:
- Death does not have the last word
- Each will give an account for their life
- Any can receive the Spirit and begin living in the way God intended
- People who receive the Spirit now are pardoned of their mistakes
- People who receive the Spirit now are promised a resurrected body in the world to come
God will do for the many what he has revealed in Jesus. The message is still spreading, lives are still changing, and the resurrection is still relevant. No matter how far we are from Jerusalem or distant in history, God is present and active. The resurrection settles it.
Thanks for Reading,
Aaron