Ten Minute Bible Talks Devotional Bible Study - Jesus's Role in Acts | New Testament | Acts 1

Episode Date: April 21, 2023

If you've read Luke, you've only read the beginning of Jesus's story. Patrick kicks off our time in Acts with Acts 1. In today's episode, he discusses how Jesus is still working in Acts. Your support makes TMBT possible. Ten Minute Bible Talks is a crowd-funded project. Join the TMBTeam to reach more people with the Bible. Give now. Join the TMBT community in reading the entire New Testament in one year. Get your FREE reading plan here. Like this content? Make sure to leave us a rating and share it with others, so others can find it too. Use #asktmbt to connect with us, ask questions, and suggest topics. We'd love to hear from you! To learn more, visit our website and follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter@TenMinuteBibleTalks. Don't forget to subscribe to the TMBT Newsletter here. Passages: Acts 1

Welcome to 10-minute Bible Talks, where we connect the Bible to your life. In the time it takes to get to work. I'm Patrick Miller. Let's face it, we love movie franchises. If we didn't, there wouldn't be dozens of Marvel movies. There wouldn't be dozens of Marvel TV shows, toys, video games, apps, and more. But the funny thing about many modern franchises is that they didn't start off as franchises. The idea came later. And then all new movies, TV shows, and merch were just add-ons that people imagine to sell more stuff. My favorite example of this is actually

Star Wars. When it came out, it was simply called Star Wars. There was no subtitle, no episode number. It was just plain old Star Wars. And if you watch the movie, it's clear that they had no idea there would be sequels or prequels. The movie has a full arc. Luke finds

the force. He beats the bad guys, and he destroys the Death Star. Of course, Darth Vader does escape at the end, so it leaves a back door open for a follow-up. But at that stage, no one really knew if there would be a second movie. But the movie exploded. It did tremendously well, and that allowed George Lucas to make a second film, but rather than calling it Star Wars 2, he called it Star Wars Episode 5. The Empire Strikes Back. He renamed the original Star Wars to Star Wars Episode 4, a new hope.

And with a single act of titling genius, he created an entire franchise, implying that there were stories to be told both before and after the original Star Wars. movie. But none of those stories are actually integral to the original. You can understand the original Star Wars without seeing any of the other movies associated with it. It can exist on its own. The others were all add-ons. They're all imagined later. This creates an interesting foil for the Bible. It's not as though Jesus came to Earth and we created prequels ad hoc to explain why he came. The Old Testament existed before his incarnation. They're not afterthoughts. The story of the early Church and the letters of the New Testament are integral to understanding the story of Jesus. They're

necessary, even though they come afterward. I say all this because that's exactly how Luke frames his second book as the necessary next chapter in the mission of Jesus. We call Luke's second book the Acts of the Apostles, or the book of Acts for short. And the way he starts this book has an element that's rather strange. But when you understand the strangeness, it has the power to radically change your life and change how you see the story of your everyday reality. Just like his first book, the gospel according to Luke, he addresses his second book to a man named Theophilus, which means lover of God. Now, scholars aren't entirely sure if this was a real person. Perhaps Theophilus was a wealthy patron who funded Luke's research and allowed him to write both books. Or perhaps his name is a

play on word, suggesting that the book is addressed to anyone who is a true lover of God. Or perhaps both are true. He was a benefactor whose name made an interesting point. Either way, check out how the book of Acts begins. Verse one. In the first book, O Theophilus, lover of God, I have dealt with all that Jesus began to do and teach until the day when he was taken up, after he had given commands through the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom he had chosen. He presented himself alive to them after his suffering by many proofs, appearing to them during 40 days and speaking about the kingdom. of God. So let's start with what's normal about this introduction. Luke explains what happened in episode one of his story. Jesus did and taught a lot of stuff. He gathered together some disciples whom he

called the apostles and he visited them after he rose from the dead to talk with them specifically about God's kingdom and how it was coming to earth through him. But did you catch the strange part? Let me read it one more time. In the first book, Otheopheles, I have dealt with all that Jesus began to do and teach. Why doesn't Luke write, I have dealt with all that Jesus did do and teach? After all, in episode two, Jesus isn't doing or teaching much at all. I mean, it's all about the apostles and what they did, not what Jesus is doing. So what does Luke mean by saying that episode one of his series was just what Jesus began to do and that somehow episode two continues that? How can you call the entire life, teaching, work, death, and resurrection of Jesus?

Episode one, how can you call that just the beginning of Jesus' story? Well, I believe the answer is unveiled through the entirety of the book of Acts. So I'm going to give you a spoiler here. The answer is that the church is Christ's body. What the early church and the apostles did weren't merely human acts. They were the ongoing acts of King Jesus on earth through His soul. servants. Jesus's life, his ministry, his death, his resurrection and ascension, those were actually only the beginning of the story. In the next chapter, he's going to tell what he continued to do

through his human image bearers. In fact, there's a close parallel here to Genesis 1. In Genesis 1, in the beginning, just like Luke says, the beginning of Jesus' story, in the beginning, God creates everything. But then he creates human image bearers. And he wants to work through those image. bearers Adam and Eve to continue his creation. He lets Adam continue creation by naming the animals. He calls both of them to cultivate Eden and to spread the boundaries of this delightful garden through the rest of the world. So the beginning of the story is just God creating things on the first six days. But then as the story continues, God continues to work only through his human agents, through his human image bearers. Do you know what this means for you? For your church, for your Christian

community. You are collectively the body of Jesus. You are collectively continuing his story. The story he began is ongoing. And he's entrusted the unfolding of that story to humans like you. Of course, you can't do this alone. You can only do this in community where sins are repented of, where grace is given, where forgiveness is issued, holiness is pursued, and justice is sought. Which is why you need a church, because it's in the church that you continue the story. that Jesus began when he was incarnated on earth. And that's a fact we must never forget. Jesus has given us this grace to be his storytellers, to be his witnesses, to be his image bears in a broken, fallen world. That is your highest calling. That's how you participate in the

glory and goodness of God. As the book of Acts continues, it shouldn't surprise us that it begins with Jesus telling his disciples, the apostles, to do exactly that. Right in chapter one, before he ascends to heaven, this is what he tells, his image bearers, his storytellers, his messengers, his apostles who continue his story. He says, you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you and catch this, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in Judea and Samaria and to all the ends of the earth. The king began the story. Now he continues his story through us, his servants. The king established the beginning of God's kingdom on earth as in heaven. Now we cultivate. it and spread it just as Adam should have done with Eden. The king has graciously invited you to tell the

story of the cross and the resurrection in your life. And you get to tell that story that he began by repenting, by receiving forgiveness, and by experiencing the new life of his spirit. If you've read Luke, you've only read the beginning of Jesus' story. Now, as we venture into the book of Acts, we get the next chapter, the chapter after which we find our war. Before you forget, sign up for the 10-minute Bible Talks newsletter. Hit the link in the show notes, and you'll get an email every Wednesday that's going to help you beat that midweek slump and go deeper in your walk with Jesus. Thanks for listening.