The Risen Mission
April 8, 2007 8:38 am Acts, Sermon-TextsAn exegetical treatment of Acts 1:1-12, addressing the theme of Jesus’ resurrection, the mission of His church and The Resolved Church plant in San Diego. This sermon was originally preached April 8th of 2007 at The Resolved Church in San Diego, CA.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED © THE RESOLVED CHURCH
Permissions: you are permitted and encouraged to reproduce and
distribute this material provided you NOT alter the wording in any way and you
do not charge a fee. For web posting a link to this document is preferred.
:: The Resolved Church ::
www.theresolved.com
contact@theresolved.com
(619) 393-1990
The Risen Mission
Acts 1:1-12
Acts 1:1-12
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.” 12 Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, a Sabbath day’s journey away.
Introduction
Good morning everyone. Today is a special day of the year because the universal church, all across the world, specifically focuses on remembering that we worship a risen Lord and savior, Jesus Christ, that’s what Easter is. It’s so weird to me that this day in our calender year has morphed into another rich American holiday for vacation, chocolate, eating eggs and chasing around bunnies. I seriously don’t know where we come up with this stuff? J But Jesus didn’t leave behind any eggs. He rose from the dead and called his people to mission and the whole of Christianity, and the church, and our lives hangs on it. So let’s read one of the great accounts of this resurrection. (read text & pray)
Father God, by your Spirit sharpen our minds. We must know Jesus rose from the dead and it must change us. Show us the glory of Jesus. May the words of this text grip us and compel us. May we be convinced. May we be empowered by your spirit to spread Jesus’ gospel. May your kingdom take over and rule in our hearts. May we be affected today.
Understanding Acts
This passage of Scripture we are studying today comes from the book of Acts. Acts is a different sort of book in the Bible. It’s an exciting book where we read about the story of the early church, Christianity in its infant stages, and it begins with Jesus rising from the dead.
Acts is really the second part of a two part book. Like how Lord of the Rings has three books, Acts is the second book in a two part series written by a 1st century Gentile doctor named Luke. The first book he wrote was “The Gospel According to Luke” which is the third book in our New Testament Bibles. So he starts off, “In the first book, O Theophilus.”
Now the first book, The Gospel of Luke is also addressed to Theophilus, though neither book in this series was really intended for just him. Both were written for entire groups of people so that they might know about Jesus and his church. Theophilus is merely who Acts is dedicated to, like you see in many books today…in the front in the first few pages you have a dedication.
So, “In the first book…I have dealt with all that Jesus began to do and teach.” Notice that word began. So Jesus began to do something when came down to earth as a baby, grew up, at 30 began preaching, teaching, doing miracles, and then went to Jerusalem to die. He began to do something. Then what?
“Until the day, when he was taken up, after he had given commands to the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom he had chosen.” So what we get here is a summary. The first book, the gospel of Luke is about what Jesus began to do in his ministry, and the second book, Acts, is about what he continued to do after he was “taken up.”
The Resurrection
Last week we we ended with Jesus going to Jersusalem and dying. It was our second sermon in our quasi-trinitarian series, last week looking at the work of the Son. This week we begin with Jesus rising from the dead and sending out the church, which is the work of the God’s Holy Spirit.
Romans 1:4 says, “(Jesus) was declared to be the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead.” So let’s pick up the story where we left off and then move to talking about the work of the third person of the trinity in raising Jesus from the dead.
Jesus has been ministering to people for three straight years. Teaching them about the kingdom of God, performing miracles, challenging the religious leaders of the day and then he tells the disciples that he is going to go to Jerusalem and die. His followers think he is the promised prophesied Messiah, and think perhaps Jesus is just having a moment of weakness in thinking he might die…so Peter tells him no way man, we’ll fight, we’re with you. And Jesus turns and calls him Satan, tells him that he is going to Jersusalem to die because he is on a mission to give his life as a ransom for many and that when he does a church will be built and the gates of hell will not be able to defeat it.
Jesus enters Jerusalem, he comes in as a king, riding on donkey walking over palm branches since he is royalty, they’re worshipping him, calling out Hosanna, Hosanna, blessed is the name of the Lord. The whole city is turned in an uproar. It’s not long before both the Roman authorities and the Jewish religious leaders come to arrest him.
But this Jesus shows that no one is going to arrest him unless he allows it. When they come he speaks his name and at the sound they all fall backwards on the ground. Peter gets all excited and cuts off some dude’s ear, so Jesus heals it and says he doesn’t need anyone to fight for him because he is God and could command a legion of angels to come down and wipe out the entire planet if he wanted to by just speaking a word. So Jesus let’s the soliders take him in, where he is questioned by Pilate, who after talking to Jesus gets scared because Jesus said he was the king of God’s kingdom, the son of God, the very one giving Pilate his authority. Pilate doesn’t know what to do…but eventually his fear of losing his job outweighed his fear of Jesus and so he lets him be crucified.
Jesus is beaten up, mocked, taken up to hill, nailed to a cross where he hangs for hours and hours having to lift himself up on the nails to take a breath…until he finally gives up and dies and a solider takes a spear and pierces his side.
Here is what happens next. All his followers go into hiding. All the sudden they are no longer following the next new king who is going to topple Rome and lead Israel into a time of victory and prosperity…but now they are part of a revolt, a rebellion, so they go into hiding fearing they are going to be killed next.
Listen to John 20:19-20 “On the evening of that day (three days after Jesus died), the first day of the week (notice the historical documentation), the doors being locked where the disciples were for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.” When he had said this, he showed them his hand and his side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord.” I love that phrase, they “were glad when they saw the Lord.” That is the joy of Easter…Jesus risen from the dead.
Let’s go back our passage in Acts. Look at verse 3, “To them he presented himself alive after his suffering by many proofs, appearing to them during forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God.” Notice a couple things with me. Notice the word “proofs.” The greek word is tekmerian. It means signs, evidences, criteria of certainty. Proof was something familiar in that day as well as ours. Contemporaries like Erasmus and Aristotle used this word, tekmerian, to present their arguments.
Notice here it says he gave proof for forty days appearing several times. In 1 Corinthians 15 it says he appeared to over 500 people at one time, and says that at that time, most of them are still alive, so go ask them! Proof. Last year on Easter I went through all the arguments and evidences for and against the resurrection. It was a whole sermon on proof. And the proof is important because the Bible is very clear that if Jesus did not rise from the dead then, Christianity is a hoax, it is in vain, a useless teaching, a false gospel.
Luke is a doctor so he is very concerned about the evidence. At the beginning of his gospel he says he got his material from “those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses” and Luke says he wanted “to write an orderly account…so that (we would) have certainty concerning (these) things (Lk 1:2,4).”
Proof, Christiniaty is a religion built on courtroom, lawyer like, proof. That is why it is so offensive. Because no other religion claims to have proof. It is all merely your personal experience. But if you take it to the level of proof then you don’t leave the person a way out. It is either true or false. Either all the appearances, and physical examinations, and the 500 plus number of people who could testify in court that they all were not hallucinating…either it convinces you, the jury, or it doesn’t. It either really happened in history or it didn’t.
Several times Jesus appears, to encourage his followers, so that there could be no doubt, so that their conviction would not rest on a single experience and so that now they would listen to him as he gives orders for their mission. If Jesus only appeared once it might be suspicious and there may have not been enough conviction to set off the start of his church.
This is where the church begins, where any faith begins, on reason, on the evidence for Jesus’ resurrection from the dead. And if it is not the reason then we need to adjust something. We can’t follow a Jesus that we make up in our head. We have to put ourselves in the first century and read this book and despertly try to think about what it means to follow and belive in this Jesus. So ask yourself a question. If you believe, why do you believe?
I am afraid that too many of us have yet to come to grips with what real faith is, which is why people, like some of my friends at work or like the ones last night at this party I was at, why they think or define faith merely as “wishful thinking that just what works for you in your experience.” What is faith to you? Is it just what feels good or a crutch to meet your needs? Or is something rooted and grounded in history! Something that can plant your feet into the ground and hold you though the wind blows and causes you to sway. Are you convinced that Jesus rose from the dead!
Biblical faith begins with reason, being convinced in your mind. And then when you are convinced it will keep you and hold you when it seems there is nothing to hold on to. I’ve had points in my life where I wanted to give up on everything…but I knew too much. I’ve been too convinced. I know Jesus is real and that he died and rose. And that changes everything.
The Mission
It changes what we live for. The more you are convinced of Jesus’ resurrection the more you will get wrapped up in Jesus mission, which is where the rest of our passage in Acts turns. There is an intimate connection between resurrection and mission. Mission begins at resurrection. Let’s read about it. (read verse 4-8)
Look at the question the disciples ask Jesus, this is huge. “Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?” What were they asking? What do you think? All of the twelve apostles are Jews. What do is they are wondering? Remember Peter, ready to fight when Jesus said he was going to build his church. It’s almost an understandable question. Jesus rose from the dead. So neither the Roman authorties or Jewish leaders could stop Jesus. He’s undefeatable. What they are asking is, “Now do we fight? Now does Israel get its glory back?”
What happens next is probably one of the most radical shifts that you will ever read in the whole Bible, because after Jesus responds to this question and ascends into the air, the disciples finally get it. All three years of Jesus teaching clicks and makes sense and so they go pray for ten days and start the church on the Jewish festival of Pentecost.
So let’s look at what Jesus says and then look what happens…the things that finally cause it all to click for the disciples. Jesus says, “It is not for you to know the times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority.” So first, Jesus doesn’t say there isn’t a time when he will show his full power and glory to all and set up his physical kingdom for all to see and surrender to. He doesn’t deny that. Instead he says, that’s a little further off boys. There are some things we got to do first. It’s kind of funny. They’re like now can we stop looking stupid and prove to everyone that you’re the king of the universe? And Jesus is like yeah, yeah, we will we will, just wait.
There’s mission first. “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” This is such an important statement. Jesus, says they will not be alone, but be empowered by his Spirit, so he will be with them not physically present so that they can see Jesus with their eyes, but Jesus will leave his spirit to encourage and purify and effect and excite their hearts to lead them.
Then he says, they are going to be witnesses. So he calls all his followers to be missionaries. Which means that everyone today who wants to follow Jesus automaticallly gets called to missionary work. And there are three elements to this missionary work.
One, it’s isn’t about one nation. The whole Israel thing…Jesus debunks it right here. Instead of political ambition, Jesus makes it clear that his mission is not ethnocentric. Here he purges the gospel of any nationalistic Jewish hope for governmental independence. Instead, the call is to be witnesses to the rest of the world. Which is what Israel was to be all along. Isaiah 49:6 says, “I have made you a light until the gentiles that you might bring my salvation to the ends of the earth.”
So now a change occurs. The light is no longer a central point that others will come to, but is now a light being taken out. It’s a shift from centripetal mission to centrifugal, to use some big words. Before witness, was by how different you would be, people would see your difference and be attracted by that and come. Now witness is not by how different you are but by how embracing you are and yet talking about Jesus. So rather than fight different cultures Jesus says here to embrace them.
Look at it closer. Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and the ends of the earth. So first it is a geographical thing. If you look on a map, these are like concetric circles getting bigger and bigger. It’s like saying, San Diego, California, USA and the world. So that’s the first thing…that the gospel of Jesus would progressively go out acrross all the geographical regions of the world.
Second, what happens as you travel further and further away from your home community? You encounter different cultures right? Samaria is a good example. Jews did not like Samaritans. Samaritans didn’t worship in Jerusalem in the temple but out on a different mountain. Jews thought they were barbaric and called them dogs. Samaria was a different culture. With a different set of ideas, political ideas, spiritual beliefs, style of art and dress, and possibly even color of skin, and probably a little different dialect of the common language. A different culture.
So there are three things in this verse: a going out, a geographical distance, and a cultural crossing. This third element, the cultural cross is where we are today. The gospel has gone and needs to continue to go out. But it has already covered all geographical regions. What is left is culture groups. This is what Jesus was talking about when he said that the gospel must first be preaches to all ethnos(es), all peoples or people groups and then the end will come (Mt 24:14). It is estimated that here are as many as 12,000 distinct cultural groups around the world that have no church in their language and culture, not to mention all the sort of mini-cultural groups within our cities that are being ignored by a white, western, heterosexual society.
You see, culture is supposed to be like a funnel or a filter that the gospel goes through and then how we “witness” and do church should be formed by the things present in that funnel or filter. So I sat down and made a small list of some things unique to our culture here in San Diego, things that make our culture unique: good-looking people, leisure/play/vacation spot, density and diversity, religious heritage (lapsed into liberalism and moralism), military spot, and money spot (outdoor malls). We need to think hard as a church about what some of the cultural things are in our groups of friend or elsewhere that we can embrace and build bridges through for the gospel.
The Ascenion
Well, let’s finish the story (read v9-12). So the disciples are just kind of staring into the sky, bewildered. It’s described as a physical event they see with their eyes. I think that is important, because if Jesus had just vanished away secretly probably a lot of people would have doubted what became of him. It is also interesting because that is how in many places the Bible says Jesus will return…coming down in the sky in a cloud full of power and glory, in the sound of trumpt, and everyone from the four corners of the earth will see and hear him and he will set up his kingdom.
There are these two “men in white” there. That they are in white is a literary device to say they are angels. And it is interesting what they say. I wonder how long the disciples were just starting? Maybe they were there a really long time and that’s why God had to send these angels. But the angels say to them, in a kind of condescending tone, like the disciples should know better know…but they say, “Why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same was as you saw him go.”
The angels call back the disciples from wanting the carnal presence as if to urge them to go get on mission. They essentially tell them to quit wasting time and to get busy. And that is what they do, they go to Jerusalem and start praying and ten days later Peter starts preaching.
Conclusion
Okay, let’s conclude with some application. First, are you convinced Jesus rose from the dead? If you’re not, that’s okay…it’s better to wait and think it out and count the cost. But you’ve got to look into it, because you are not really a Christian until you become sure of that. If you grew up never really knowing or thinking about the resurrection of Jesus, it is supposed to first at the forefront, so adjust your thinking a little and let your worldview be shaped by the risen Lord and Savior.
Second, what difference does it make? Do you see the gospel merely as an entrance into heaven, some obstacle to get into heaven? I joke about the card to get into heaven but I heard it last night. This guy said his dad was Jewish, his mom was Catholic, and his brother is Buddhist…so he had all the bases covered. When he gets to heaven he’ll just pull out his card and ask Jesus if any of those work.
Ask yourself honestly, do you hear the word “gospel” and think of it merely as an entrance into heaven or is it the life beat of your heart? Are you constantly being changed by the gospel? Seeing your sin and repenting and embracing the savior and building a life on him and growing and maturing in Christ? Or is Jesus just what you believe when it comes to spirituality or religion? Do you guys see that there is a difference. Jesus is not interested in just being your religious belief! Jesus is the resurrected king and our lives are supposed to revolve around him.
I was out on a date with Amy the other night and I asked her what difference it made to her whether or not Jesus rose from the dead. I had been working on my sermon all week and wrestling with it and in one sentence she totally cleared away all the junk and cut right to the core of the issue. She said, like I should have known, and I should have…she said, well, if Jesus didn’t rise from the dead then he is dead and there is no reason for any hope or strength at all in this life. Everything is just really sad then. Do you guys get that? If there is no God and there is no Jesus and if Jesus is dead, then this life, this world, your life…is meaningless and all we can do is try and cope until we die.
How about mission? The title of my sermon today is risen mission. I titled it that because the direct effect of being convinced that Jesus rose from the dead is to go on mission and find ways to tell others about it. Mission begins at resurrection. Jesus rises and gives one last command, go on mission, go be my witnesses. So here is the question, are you on mission. Who are you befriending that you are telling about Jesus. How are you going out? Out of your comfort zone, out to people who are not like you or even people you don’t like? What effort are you making for the mission of Jesus? How are you contributing to the mission of his church here at The Resolved? Here is the inverse. If mission begins with Jesus then what if you are not on mission? Do you really know Jesus?
How do you get on mission? You start serving. You get involved. You connect with other people who are pursuing Jesus and you talk about it together. Like this mid-week group starting up this week at Brian Gibbs’ house. You need to be part of something like that. No one person is strong enough spiritually to make it in this city alone. Do whatever it takes…if that means not working on Wednesday night or not taking a class on that night. Community is a must for us. Otherwise mission will lapse into non-mission or the longshot of you bringing a friend to sunday service where hopefully like magic something will happen and they will leave a Christian. It doesn’t work like that. We have to invite people into our lives and show them how the story of Jesus has effected our story and now we are all about his mission to build a glory driven, gospel centered, city within the city.
This is who we are as The Resolved Church. We are part of the Acts 29 Church Planting Network. There are only 28 chapters in the book of Acts. The reason our network is called Acts 29 is because the book of Acts ends abruptly before the gospel goes out to the ends of the earth. Acts 29 is the mission at work. The book of Acts is about how the gospel story becomes the church’s story as it crosses geographical and cultural bounds. We are about mission, about embracing the cutlure around us, enjoying it, loving it, and presenting the gospel of Jesus in and through the filter of culture. We are a church plant. Let’s plant a church that is passionate about the glory of God revealed in the person and work of Jesus which enables us to build a gospel city within the city of San Diego.
Let’s pray.