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For those of you who may be following me and my contributions, let me explain what I'm doing. I find it difficult, okay not possible to follow the reading plan on this site, although I have tried and I do love it. If your time allows, please do it. The reason i can't is because of the reading I have to do for teaching one of my lifegroups. What you have before you is my notes that i actually teach to a group of hungry disciples and i find it extremely rewarding. I thought i would try putting my thoughts on here in case anyone else might enjoy what God has given me. These are my convictions about the text itself and i hope it blesses you, if you chose to follow along.

Witnessing the difference: Acts 1:3-11
“After his suffering, he showed himself to these men and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive. He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God. On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: "Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit." So when they met together, they asked him, "Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?" He said to them: "It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. "After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight. They were looking intently up into the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them. "Men of Galilee," they said, "why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.”
While on the cross Jesus made the statement, “It is finished.” Yet, here in Acts 1 vs. one, Luke says he is writing to tell us what Jesus continued to do after the cross. At the cross, Jesus did everything to redeem you. You can do nothing on your own to procure redemption; Jesus paid it all! You can only accept that by faith and trust totally in him. He finished the work of Redemption.
Now the work of evangelism is still an ongoing ministry of Jesus. Making the author of redemption available to others is never ending. Jesus made redemption absolutely possible at the cross, He completed that work, but proclaiming that is continuously done.
Here well what we were called to be! No one was called to be a theologian. Vs. 8 makes it clear from the beginning we were called to be witnesses! The Greek word for witnesses is the word “martoose.” It’s a legal word for witnessing facts in a case. It also involved establishing facts by giving views and facts you have personally become convinced of by faith. Not necessarily that you were there, but giving convincing proofs that you by faith accept and proclaim.
It’s not that you have to try to convince people by producing evidence by sight, you don’t see God, but by faith you proclaim Him, you witness to His reality. To be called a witness meant to proclaim God. You couldn’t show Him physically to people, but you proclaim His reality. Steven is called a witness, yet we have no proof he ever saw Jesus. In Rev. 2:13 it says, “My faithful witness Antipas.” He was a Gentile in Asia Minor who never saw Jesus, but Jesus calls him His witness.
The word for witness came to mean something you believe in so much you would die before you denied it. “Martoose,” became the word for martyr. So to be a witness doesn’t mean you observed Him by sight, but you proclaim Him by faith. You have become convinced by all the truths that exist and you witness to those facts. We tell people about Jesus just like Steven and Antipas, even though we didn’t personally see Him. That’s our task, our call.
So the question then becomes not so much are we witnesses, but are we good ones? Have we been faithful to the task of being witnesses of what Jesus said and did? Does the church in Acts volume 21 witness for Jesus as the church in Acts volume 1 did? Are we turning the city, the country, and the world upside down in just a few short decades for Jesus? Are we making a difference by our witness?
Redemption is still being offered and witnessing is still the method to be used to proclaim it, the Body is still the instrument that is used to proclaim it, but are we making a difference? If not, why not? Many say, our times have changed, so it’s harder to reach the world. What say you? To be honest, I think we struggle with the notion we live in a modern world and an old time religion just doesn’t speak to people of the modern world. It may have worked great in the first century, but not so well now.
Well then, have man’s basic needs changed? Just look at the far out extremes people go to meet their needs today. We have some of the weirdest kinds of cults ever, even with all our knowledge about the dangers of drugs we are using more than ever, suicide is epidemic, and more and more folks want to force people to follow their specific idea of truth. If we go to such extremes to meet our basic needs, doesn’t it say our message is still very relevant?
People hide behind, “we live in troubled times.” Yet, history records that during troubled times the message of the Gospel flourishes and grows like no other. Maybe that says allot about us and the kind of people we are, always sinful at heart, but the times aren’t what makes the difference, it’s the witnesses.
Many would say we don’t have the means they had. They say if we could do miracles on the same scale they did we would impact the world more. What say you? A huge problem with that is, many, even most who saw the miracles didn’t become converted. Most all in Jesus’ day saw wonders you and I have never seen, yet did not believe. Same could be said of the early church, miracles witnessed to believers way more than they did to non-believers.
Also, we need to realize, most of the witnesses in the first century church didn’t do miracles, only a select few. The message was spread by the faith of the witnesses, not by miracles performed. If you look with an open mind you will see miracles weren’t a good tool to convince people to believe, they did help build faith in believers; testify to them God was working, but had little affect on non-believers.
The truth is, a good case can be made that we are more accountable today than the church back then, because we have vastly more resources and means to spread the witness than they ever had. They were dirt poor and we are affluent. It took days, even weeks to get one letter from one place to the other. Days and weeks, even months to get from one place to the other, etc. I’m not trying to lay guilt trips, just to get us thinking straighter. The only reason, or excuse we have for not making a bigger impact than they did is us!
The difference from their time to ours is the witnesses. We seem to have the same message on the surface as they did, but it doesn’t seem as convincing as they were. When these folks preached, people listened and believed and when we preach nobody seems to care. So, what do we do, shout louder, grit our teeth, get more intense, or what? Could it be we don’t believe the same things about our message they did about theirs?
Why they were different, verses 3-5:
“After his suffering, he showed himself to these men and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive. He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God. On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: "Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.”
They were seeing Jesus. He had to show Himself many times, so they really believed it was Him they ate with, etc. Jesus had to convince them He was telling the truth about the resurrection! He convinced them He was alive! What does that say to us today? What do we really believe? They believed first and foremost, Jesus was risen! This gave them their message.
You see this book is the story of witnesses who preached of the resurrected Christ. Sermon after sermon would state the major central message of all believers; the resurrection of Jesus. How does a message like, I’ll die for Christ, because He died for me go over? The only way that message goes anywhere, is if we first establish, He didn’t stay dead and that resurrection is also promised to all who believe. The zeal of these people is one of the greatest proofs of the resurrection of Jesus. You don’t go all over the world, being stoned, persecuted, and even killed for a dead man!
You may ask or think at least, Tony, are you saying we don’t believe in the resurrection of Jesus? No, we believe it, we even talk about it, but there’s a difference. The church of today acts more like an organization that perpetuates the memory of Jesus. The resurrection is an ancient doctrine; we give lip service to, remind each other of it, but to them it was a present dynamic! He is alive, not He became alive! We come together to talk about what God did; they came together and talked about what God is doing right now, through the resurrected Christ.
We come together and it’s more like, wow, isn’t that great how God used to work. Remember when he walked on water; remember when He healed the lame guy and the blind man? How about when he came out of the tomb, wasn’t god something when He did stuff like that? Boy, that’s great history.
They didn’t talk about Jesus in the past tense, He was alive and he was with them, not just at a couple sightings of Him, but always! When they went to Samaria, Jesus went with them. When they went to the ends of the earth, Jesus went with them. They preached Jesus is here and with us. The resurrection wasn’t an event to be explained, it was a power to be experienced.
These people had real life! They knew it, because Jesus was with them giving it to them. They didn’t talk about history they talked about reality. What’s it like when Jesus is in your life? He is a risen living Lord. Is that how we talk about Jesus when we witness? Does our message sound like that? That is definitely a way they were different than most of us today.
Another difference revealed verses 6-8:
“So when they met together, they asked him, "Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?" He said to them: "It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
Learn a valuable lesson here. Jesus did this often, by the way, but we often don’t seem to get it. He didn’t feel compelled to answer every question. The times are God’s business, not ours. Have things changed much since then? We still want to know when He’ll come back, when’s the end, etc., right? Basically he’s says, you let God take care of His things and you take care of what’s been entrusted to you. Figuring out when what is going to happen, has not been given to me to figure out.
You let God keep the time you do the task! I called you to be my witnesses, not my clock-watchers. A certain time was coming that you need to be concerned about and that time came on Pentecost day, when they would receive power from the Holy Spirit. The kingdom did come on that day in a much different way than they ever expected. It’s interesting that they quit talking about the kingdom in a national perspective from here on out and started talking about a spiritual kingdom, ruling over all men.
They now understand Jesus never came to set up a national kingdom. He came to set up a kingdom that lives in the hearts of men. What is the Kingdom of God? The kingdom is not a place of any kind it’s a relationship. The kingdom is when someone gives absolute sovereignty to the lord as his only king.
Jesus taught us to say, “Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done.” Where do you find the kingdom? Anytime you find a heart that is doing the will of God, you’ve found the kingdom. Jesus taught us also, “Not everyone who says to Me, Lord, Lord will enter the kingdom of God, but only the people who do the will of my father.” That’s what the kingdom is. They understood the kingdom wasn’t a place, but an attitude, it was surrendering to Jesus and the more they understood this they more imperative it became to tell others.
So, they believed that Jesus is ruling and that is what gave them a mission. They had to turn Jerusalem upside down, then they had to go to Judea, Samaria, and to the ends of the earth, all to let people know Jesus is king.
He’s ruling right now, don’t wait for some time to come, he’s ruling now and he wants to be the Lord of your life. They had to go into the whole world; they wouldn’t rest until the whole world had heard. They went everywhere saying the kingdom is here! The kingdom is now! Jesus is king of Kings and Lord of Lords, let Him rule your life and see the change that comes. To us the kingdom is a teaching; to them it was a lifestyle! Do you see the difference?
Yet another difference Verses 9-11:
“These were his last words. As they watched, he was taken up and disappeared in a cloud. They stood there, staring into the empty sky. Suddenly two men appeared—in white robes! They said, "You Galileans! —Why do you just stand here looking up at an empty sky? This very Jesus who was taken up from among you to heaven will come as certainly—and mysteriously—as he left.”
Now, I don’t know about you, but I think vs. 11 is one of the silliest questions going. If someone lifts up from the earth and goes into the sky in front of me and a couple guys come along and ask, what are you looking for, even if they are angels, I’m going to think them a bit silly. You might see this sort of thing allot, but I’ve never seen anything like this.
But, the angels came with a message. Listen up, this Jesus you just saw going into the sky is coming back! He’ll come the same way you saw him leave. He’s going to break back into history, just like He did before. They believed Jesus is returning and that gave them motive!
They didn’t know when, Jesus didn’t tell them, it wasn’t for them to know. He doesn’t tell us when, because he wants every generation to live like it could be the next moment. What was their motive? Jesus is going to come any moment now and will He find us faithful to our calling? Am I proclaiming the message, am I doing the mission, and do I keep the fires burning?
Now, you and I believe in the second coming, we’ve got all kinds of theories about it and we could get lost talking about them all. We even sing songs like Jesus is coming soon! But, let’s be honest we didn’t wake up this morning thinking and hoping this could be the day, now did we? They did! They believed at any moment it was going to happen. For us the second coming is a doctrine, to them it was a destiny! Every time the saw each other, every time the left each other they said, Maranatha! The Lord is coming!
They believed it and weren’t going to be found apathetic or lackadaisical, because they knew He was coming any second now. They didn’t just go through religious motions, playing church. There was no time to play, any moment now the lord’s coming back! So much did they believe Paul had to write to one church in Thessalonica about it. They were so sure He was coming soon, they sold all their houses, quit their jobs, and were just waiting, and they were going to be ready. Paul had to counsel them with wisdom.
Do we have a convincing message today that says Jesus is coming? If we do say it to the world, do you think they believe we believe it? In the first century when they preached he’s coming back, you might not believe it, but you sure believed they did. I really wonder some times if we do believe it? How do we know for sure? Look at our priorities and they will tell you if we believe or not. If we really believed he’s coming back now, would we be doing some of the things we are?
What difference does all this make? :
The truth is not received unless it’s believed. The fact is you can go to the courthouse and you can tell the absolute truth and still lose the case. It matters if people believe you believe it’s the truth. We can go to the world and tell them the absolute truth about Jesus as to what He did and is doing and you can lose the world.
The world is not very adept at recognizing the truth! If it was we wouldn’t see all these thousands of people spreading crazy lies and getting thousands of fanatical followers following after the dumb things they are telling people to believe. The world has never been good at knowing the truth when they hear it. So, if they hear it from someone who doesn’t act like they believe it, they won’t listen. They can recognize your face and your actions and they may not believe it, but they can tell if you do.
You want to know where the saying, sometimes your life speaks louder than all your words, here it is. Truth will not be received unless it’s believed. How are you living? If our lives don’t conform to a belief that believes Jesus is raised, ruling, and returning at any moment, they won’t believe you.
It won’t be believed unless it’s lived. God’s word must be applied before you can explain it. Don’t expect your neighbors to believe Jesus is coming soon, when your living like He’s not. Don’t expect people to believe Jesus is alive and with you, when you’re living like he’s a million miles away.
If we’re going to reach people in this world in our day and time, in this century, it won’t be because we have all the right doctrines. It will be because we have the right witnesses. People who really what they believe and what they teach. The most powerful argument you have as a witness is your life!
The issue is not whether you area witness or not, but are you a good one. They were in the first century church. God help us to be Acts again, to make a real difference. Conviction isn’t bad, guilt is useless, but conviction must motivate us, or no one will know what you believe. There’s great hope and power if we feel we have gone off course. The Messiah’s cross is still available for forgiveness and to empower us through the resurrection, our present hope of glory to remind us daily, he’s coming back. Let us be found faithful when he returns.