Between Jesus and the Holy Spirit

Acts 1

            The Book of Acts, written by Luke as a sequel to his Gospel (1:1), is the story of the Church’s earliest days. It recounts some of their troubles—doctrinal disagreements, interpersonal inequities, personal failures—so that we never fall into the trap of dreaming of some bygone golden age. But it is not primarily a story about their struggles; it is primarily the story of how the Church—sinful and disadvantaged as it was—engaged the mission that the Lord had given them.

            That work begins in chapter 1, when Jesus declares them His witnesses. The book is structured around that command. They are to testify of Him in Jerusalem (chapters 2-7), in all the surrounding regions of Judea and Samaria (chapters 8-12), and to the ends of the earth (chapters 13-28). Interestingly, the book ends with Paul in Rome. That is a nifty flipping of expectations. Rome considered itself the center of the world, where the most important men enacted the most important events in history, but as far as the Gospel is concerned the most important person (Jesus) did the most important thing (dying and rising) in Jerusalem, making that dusty, remote city the true center of the world.

            Also in chapter 1, we read about the election of Judas’ replacement, a man name Matthias. The significance here is that the Church is true heir of Israel, so there must be 12 apostles, just as their were 12 tribes. This idea of the true Israel resounds into the second half of the book, where Paul becomes an apostle, specifically an apostle to the Gentiles, because the promises of God are for all people.