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[3159.34 --> 3165.24] that Luke wrote not just one but two whole books about Jesus just for him |
[3165.24 --> 3169.50] so that he could understand and grapple with this person of Jesus |
[3169.50 --> 3170.80] and the claims Jesus makes. |
[3171.14 --> 3175.48] And Luke's intention, to be clear, is not just giving historical information. |
[3176.66 --> 3179.58] Luke is not just interested in giving some details about Jesus. |
[3179.58 --> 3182.50] He's inviting Theophilus to faith. |
[3183.82 --> 3186.34] And I think it's worth just marveling at the fact that |
[3186.34 --> 3190.70] we have two books in the Bible because a guy named Theophilus was curious, |
[3191.36 --> 3192.70] because he had his questions. |
[3193.34 --> 3195.04] And Luke's like, I'm going to tell you about it. |
[3195.04 --> 3195.78] And there's a chance. |
[3195.88 --> 3199.24] It's not known or proven, but there's a chance that Theophilus was so curious |
[3199.24 --> 3203.04] that he actually funded the writing of the Gospel of Luke and the book of Acts. |
[3204.30 --> 3208.22] Now, Luke, the Gospel of Luke is all about what Jesus began to do and teach |
[3208.22 --> 3211.12] in his ministry, and it finishes with his resurrection. |
[3211.40 --> 3216.98] And then Luke says, Acts is all that Jesus continues to do and teach |
[3216.98 --> 3220.32] through the church by the power of the Spirit. |
[3220.98 --> 3221.76] I think that's really important. |
[3221.86 --> 3223.16] Jesus doesn't stop his ministry. |
[3223.52 --> 3226.94] He just transfers his ministry over to the church by the power of the Spirit, |
[3227.06 --> 3229.04] which we're going to get to in two weeks' time. |
[3229.96 --> 3235.32] But in this passage, in Acts chapter 1, Luke touches on that little section of time |
[3235.32 --> 3242.30] between Jesus' resurrection and ascension, that 40-day period where in his body he was |
[3242.30 --> 3243.12] with people. |
[3243.78 --> 3248.52] And I don't know about you, but I secretly wish a little more was written about this |
[3248.52 --> 3249.16] period of time. |
[3249.58 --> 3249.98] Don't you? |
[3250.72 --> 3255.32] He was in his body with disciples and in the city of his time with his resurrected body. |
[3255.42 --> 3257.24] I just feel like, what was that like? |
[3257.32 --> 3258.38] What did he say? |
[3258.48 --> 3259.32] What did he do? |
[3260.08 --> 3261.70] Luke gives us one verse. |
[3262.58 --> 3263.38] One verse. |
[3263.38 --> 3264.80] Now, the Gospels have more. |
[3264.88 --> 3265.58] We're going to get into that. |
[3265.64 --> 3270.42] But I want to read for us the verse that Luke gives us in Acts chapter 1, verse 3. |
[3270.58 --> 3271.36] This is what he says. |
[3272.78 --> 3277.58] After his suffering, he presented himself to them and gave many convincing proofs that |
[3277.58 --> 3279.34] he was alive. |
[3280.14 --> 3284.38] He appeared to them over a period of 40 days and spoke about the kingdom of God. |
[3285.44 --> 3290.02] What Luke wants Theophilus to know, as he asks his question about Jesus, is that in the |
[3290.02 --> 3294.18] time between his resurrection and ascension, Jesus did predominantly two things. |
[3294.72 --> 3299.64] He showed people and gave proofs that he was alive, and he spoke about the kingdom of |
[3299.64 --> 3299.84] God. |
[3299.90 --> 3302.60] And we're going to see today how they're very intricately interconnected. |
[3303.40 --> 3305.14] So let's take a look at these two things. |
[3305.22 --> 3308.36] The first thing Jesus did was prove that he was alive. |
[3308.44 --> 3310.98] And I don't know about you, but I find myself chuckling a little bit. |
[3310.98 --> 3313.00] It's like, what did that look like for Jesus? |
[3313.18 --> 3314.62] Like, he's in his body. |
[3314.96 --> 3315.70] What's the proof? |
[3315.80 --> 3319.30] Like, ta-da, here I am, in my body, alive. |
[3320.06 --> 3325.20] And it's very important to underscore that even Jesus needed to do this because it was |
[3325.20 --> 3328.12] so hard to believe. |
[3329.08 --> 3334.50] Like, Jesus' disciples did not expect this to happen, so much so that he kept appearing. |
[3335.30 --> 3339.52] And if you read the Gospels, Matthew, Mark, and Luke, well, John as well, you'll find that |
[3339.52 --> 3345.28] most of their attention to Jesus' post-resurrection time with his disciples is just showing up, |
[3345.70 --> 3348.16] appearing and appearing and appearing so that they believe. |
[3348.52 --> 3352.12] First, the women at the tomb who thought he was a gardener, then the disciples who were |
[3352.12 --> 3356.62] locked in a room for fear of their life, then Peter on the shore who is dejected for his |
[3356.62 --> 3358.90] abandonment of Jesus, and then he has a meal with him. |
[3358.90 --> 3364.34] But Jesus is constantly appearing to them to convince them that the very person they spent |
[3364.34 --> 3369.64] three straight years has risen from the dead and is actually alive in their very midst. |
[3371.20 --> 3372.78] And this is important. |
[3373.34 --> 3375.18] There's two things I want to say about this in specific. |
[3375.40 --> 3379.38] One is, Jesus told them that he was going to do this. |
[3380.04 --> 3384.04] In fact, in Matthew, Mark, and Luke, the Synoptic Gospels, he predicts his death and |
[3384.04 --> 3385.62] resurrection three times. |
[3385.62 --> 3390.12] It's probably more, but they made sure to use the word three as Jesus pretty. |
[3390.22 --> 3393.96] He said, I'm going to get arrested, I'm going to be crucified, and I'm going to rise on the |
[3393.96 --> 3394.24] third day. |
[3394.30 --> 3395.24] He told them this. |
[3395.80 --> 3401.48] And yet, when this actually happened, not a single person, not Mary, not Peter, not James, |
[3401.74 --> 3403.64] said to him, I knew it. |
[3404.32 --> 3406.12] I knew you were going to rise from the dead. |
[3406.20 --> 3406.96] They were stunned. |
[3407.58 --> 3408.48] They were afraid. |
[3408.98 --> 3414.00] Thomas needed a second appearance where he could touch Jesus' wound because that's how much |
[3414.00 --> 3417.46] doubt and disbelief existed in his own disciples. |
[3418.52 --> 3419.56] That's pretty profound. |
[3421.00 --> 3426.50] Now, it's really important to highlight that even among Jewish people, they believed in |
[3426.50 --> 3428.00] resurrection at the final day. |
[3428.10 --> 3432.04] So they believed when God returned in glory and power on that final day, that bodies would |
[3432.04 --> 3432.38] rise. |
[3432.38 --> 3439.24] But even Jewish people, when they saw Jesus, struggled to believe because it felt so implausible, |
[3439.40 --> 3444.84] so unbelievable that a body would rise back to life in the middle of history, not at the |
[3444.84 --> 3445.16] end. |
[3445.80 --> 3447.96] And Jesus broke their paradigms. |
[3448.20 --> 3450.54] He broke what was possible in their imaginations. |
[3450.82 --> 3456.16] And he wanted to teach them not only that he is alive, but then what it means that he's |
[3456.16 --> 3456.58] alive. |
[3456.58 --> 3464.18] Now, there are also two things that were circling around, and the dates are not exactly known, |
[3464.28 --> 3468.58] but there were, first of all, concerns about whether or not this was true right after Jesus |
[3468.58 --> 3469.90] was risen from the dead. |
[3470.24 --> 3476.12] There were people who claimed that Jesus' disciples hid his body right after his death, that the |
[3476.12 --> 3479.40] disciples went to the tomb, they took the body out, and they hid it as a way of protecting |
[3479.40 --> 3482.98] themselves from the shame of following this guy who was crucified. |
[3482.98 --> 3487.18] But one of the other things that was circulating, and this is new to me, is that there were |
[3487.18 --> 3491.86] people who said, okay, the disciples saw Jesus, but they saw sort of a spirit of Jesus. |
[3492.04 --> 3497.76] They saw a vision of Jesus that wasn't actually a body, it's just they had a vision, like that |
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