Waiting Day 14 Not Yet, Not Now, No: Digging Deeper
Digging Deeper Days
Finding the original intent of Scripture and making good application to our everyday lives as we become equipped to correctly handle the Word of Truth!
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The Questions
1) Who is Theophilus and what is the first narrative referred to in verse 1?
2) Why were the apostles told to wait in Jerusalem? (verse 4)
3) What do the men in verse 11 mean in saying, “This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come in the same way that you have seen him going into heaven”?
Acts 1:1-14
I wrote the first narrative, Theophilus, about all that Jesus began to do and teach 2 until the day he was taken up, after he had given instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles he had chosen. 3 After he had suffered, he also presented himself alive to them by many convincing proofs, appearing to them over a period of forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God.
4 While he was with them, he commanded them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait for the Father’s promise. “Which,” he said, “you have heard me speak about; 5 for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit in a few days.”
6 So when they had come together, they asked him, “Lord, are you restoring the kingdom to Israel at this time?”
7 He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or periods that the Father has set by his own authority. 8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come on you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
9 After he had said this, he was taken up as they were watching, and a cloud took him out of their sight. 10 While he was going, they were gazing into heaven, and suddenly two men in white clothes stood by them. 11 They said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking up into heaven? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come in the same way that you have seen him going into heaven.”
12 Then they returned to Jerusalem from the Mount of Olives, which is near Jerusalem—a Sabbath day’s journey away. 13 When they arrived, they went to the room upstairs where they were staying: Peter, John, James, Andrew, Philip, Thomas, Bartholomew, Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus, Simon the Zealot, and Judas the son of James. 14 They all were continually united in prayer, along with the women, including Mary the mother of Jesus, and his brothers.
Original Intent
1) Who is Theophilus and what is the first narrative referred to in verse 1?
Luke, the author of Acts, addresses his letter to Theophilus. The first narrative referred to is the Gospel of Luke, which was also addressed to Theophilus. (Luke 1:1-4) Luke’s purpose was to provide Theophilus with a brief summary of what Jesus did when He came to earth (verses 1-3) before beginning the account of what happened following Jesus’ death and resurrection. Luke wants his friend to bring to mind all he had written in his first gospel account, which had been thoroughly investigated (Luke 1:3), in order to provide a background for all that comes next as the Holy Spirit fueled the early believers with His power and the Church was birthed!
2) Why were the apostles told to wait in Jerusalem? (verse 4)
The apostles, or disciples, had been with Jesus in Jerusalem at the end of His life when He was crucified just outside of the city. They celebrated the Passover with Jesus in Jerusalem (Matthew 26:17-30, Mark 14:12-26, Luke 22:7-22) and watched as Jesus was betrayed by Judas, arrested, tried, and sentenced to crucifixion (Matthew 26:47-27:26, Mark 14:43-15:15, Luke 22:47-23:25, John 18:1-19:16). While many of them were not present at His crucifixion they knew He had died, been buried, and physically seen Him after His resurrection. (Matthew 27:32-28:8, Mark 15:20-16:8, Luke 23:26-24:49, John 19:16-21:19) Jerusalem was not a friendly environment for the followers of Jesus and they likely were afraid of meeting a similar fate to Jesus, yet He told them to wait in Jerusalem. Jesus knew the Holy Spirit was coming, and He knew God’s plan was for the disciples to spread the Good News of the Gospel beginning right at the epicenter of Jerusalem where He had been crucified and risen. (Matthew 28:18-20 and Acts 1:8) Jesus knew the gift of the Holy Spirit was coming soon and the disciples needed to stay together in Jerusalem so God’s plan would be fulfilled.
3) What do the men in verse 11 mean in saying, “This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come in the same way that you have seen him going into heaven”?
This is the second time Luke records the ascension of Jesus back to Heaven. (Luke 24:50-53) However, this time Luke provides more detail to Theophilus about what occurred after Jesus’ ascension. Luke tells of the disciples standing on the mountain and looking into Heaven, waiting for Jesus to return. Suddenly, men appear, wondering why they are still standing around staring into heaven. They inform the disciples that Jesus will return just as He left them. These angelic men assure the disciples He will return, but they don’t give a specific time of return. They are, in their own way, encouraging the disciples to not stand around waiting doing nothing, instead they motivate them to action, reminding them to return to Jerusalem and wait as Jesus had instructed. Only when they were obedient to wait would they receive the Holy Spirit and begin the work of sharing the Good News.
Everyday Application
1) Who is Theophilus and what is the first narrative referred to in verse 1?
Just as Theophilus needed to be reminded of Luke’s first narrative, the Gospel of Luke, we need the same reminder. What Luke recorded in Acts happened after Jesus’ time on earth and after His death and resurrection. Without understanding all that had taken place while Jesus was on earth, it’s difficult to understand Acts. We can only begin to understand the decisions of the apostles throughout the book of Acts when we understand the relationship and time they spent with Jesus as first-hand eye witnesses to His life. Remembering that Scripture was originally written with varying timelines and purposes is important for us to keep in mind as we read and study. What we read in the pages of God’s Word isn’t a letter written directly to us, rather it is God’s Word revealing Who He is, who we are as sinful humans, and what great Hope we have because of His lavish love for us. Reading Scripture through the proper lens is imperative to proper understanding and good application to our everyday lives. If you’re new to studying the Bible like this, there are many excellent study tools available for free online to help us understand passages in their original context and language. Check out www.studylight.org or www.blueletterbible.org for great resources!
2) Why were the apostles told to wait in Jerusalem? (verse 4)
Jerusalem would have been hostile territory to the disciples. They had just seen their Rabbi teacher, whom they had closely followed, be arrested, beaten, tried, crucified, and buried within a matter of hours. They knew Jesus was no longer dead and had seen Him resurrected, yet they knew those who had killed Jesus would likely be after His followers as well. Yet, Jesus instructs them to stay in Jerusalem and wait for the Holy Spirit to be given. God had a plan, and the disciples trusted it, even when they were likely terrified. As believers today, God still has a plan to continue building His kingdom through us. It doesn’t mean the plan will always make sense when God calls us to action. However, just as the disciples trusted Jesus and waited, we need to be just as obedient when God calls us. God has proven over and again He is trustworthy; our job as believers is to obey just as the first disciples did. We can rest in the knowledge that God’s plan is best, and He will use us as we surrender to Him just as He used the men who had physically walked with Jesus.
3) What do the men in verse 11 mean in saying, “This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come in the same way that you have seen him going into heaven”?
The words in verse 11 that guarantee Jesus’ return in the same way He left seem cryptic. They don’t provide a time frame, or answer any other questions, instead they point to a singular assurance, He will return. Today, more than 2,000 years later, we still wait for the fulfillment of those long-ago words. However, we are blessed with the entirety of Scripture the original disciples didn’t have the benefit of accessing as a whole. We can read of the promise of Jesus’ return in Revelation 19:11-16 and can read of the guarantee of a New Creation in Revelation 21. We can see the faithfulness of God from Genesis to Revelation and we can note His plan to rescue us from our sin woven into the fabric of Scripture from beginning to end. We rest in the assurance that while we still wait for the fulfillment of the promise of Christ’s return, He is indeed coming, and when He does, it will be more than worth the wait. “For our momentary light affliction is producing for us an absolutely incomparable eternal weight of glory. So we do not focus on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.” (2 Corinthians 4:17-18) In the meantime, there is work to be done as the Gospel still needs to be shared to the ends of the earth. We each play a role in the ongoing work of the Lord while we await His glorious return.
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Digging Deeper is for Everyone!
1) Take this passage (or any other passage).
2) Read it, and the verses around it,
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3) Write down your questions
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4) Ask specific culture related questions and be ready to dig around for your answers. Google them, use www.studylight.org, or look them up in a study Bible and read the footnotes (click on the little letters next to a word and it will show you
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Why Dig Deeper?
Finding the original meaning is a huge deal when we study Scripture and can make all the difference in our understanding as we apply God’s truths to our everyday lives.
In our modern-day relationships, we want people to understand our original intention as we communicate; how much more so between God and humanity?!
Here’s a little bit more on why we take Digging Deeper so seriously.
Study Tools
We love getting help while we study and www.studylight.org is one of many excellent resources, providing the original Hebrew (Old Testament) or Greek (New Testament) with an English translation.
Want to know more about a specific word in a verse? Click on “Strong’s Interlinear Bible” then click the word you’d like to study. Discover “origin”, “definition” and hear the original pronunciation – That Is Awesome!
Want more background? Click “Study Tools”, then pick a few commentaries to read their scholarly approach, keeping in mind that just because a commentary says it, doesn’t mean it’s true. (just like the internet :-))
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