The Book of Acts
picks up the storyline where Luke brought his Gospel to a close: with the
disciples enjoying renewed fellowship and instruction from their risen Lord
(Luke 24:40-45 // Acts 1:3); spending time in people's homes and around the
Temple in worship, praise and prayer (Luke 24: 52-53 // Acts 1:13-14; 2:46-47);
all the time waiting for the Father's promised gift of the Holy Spirit (Luke
24:49 // Acts 1:4-5) as a result of Jesus' departure (Luke 24:51 // Acts 1:2,10); before moving out into the
streets and beyond in Gospel witness Luke (24:47-48 // Acts 1:8).
And yet, while Jesus
may have returned to His Father, and the spotlight of Luke's attention now
focuses upon the activities of the Apostles (hence the name of the book),
nevertheless Luke underlines the seamless continuity of Jesus' ministry - both
directly upon earth and now directed from His Father's side - as the empowering
and motivating driving force which propelled the Church forward into its new
era. He writes at the beginning of the book:
'In my former book, Theophilus, [the
name means 'God-lover' - a reference to one particular person to whom the book
is sent, or to all who know and love the Lord?]
I wrote about all that Jesus began to do and to
teach until the day he was taken up into heaven…' The inference is - the Gospel described all
that Jesus began to do, so the Book of Acts describes what Jesus continued to
do through His people.
And what was
that? Frequently gathering the people to
pray (1:14,24 - this pattern of prayer gatherings is repeated throughout the
book); stabilising the unsettled church with renewed leadership (1:21-23);
baptising or filling the life of every true Christian believer with the Holy
Spirit (Acts 2:4); thrusting them into the streets of Jerusalem - probably with
their fearful hearts in their mouths - to preach, declare and pass on the Word
that the long-promised Messiah - that the very same people had crucified (2:23)
- has been and gone back to glory; blessing the ministry of the Word with the
first Apostolic message (2:40-41); creating a loving, nurturing fellowship
where the new converts can be spiritually helped and encouraged before having
to leave Jerusalem for home (2:42-47).
In all this and more, it is Jesus at work in His own world and among and
through His own people.
In Chapter 3, the
first apostolic miracle of the new era began in a pretty normal way (if you can
think of miracles as 'normal'). However, by the end of the day, Peter and John
will have been imprisoned and the ramifications of the miracle will be causing
ripples in people's lives for days to come (see chapter 4). But the nature of
this miracle is also significant in that it helps identify a major break
early-on between mainline Judaism and the new Christian group: a 'crippled
beggar' is healed, having been carried to the Temple gates. The symbolism is
unmistakable: the essential element of
the new Christian movement is 'new life'.
'Religion' as typified by the Temple, says to the disabled man
"You're not walking properly, here's what you should be doing to have a
better life and perhaps God may smile favourably upon you!" And yet he
just lies there at the gate. 'Christianity' takes him by the hand and says,
"In the name of Jesus, rise and walk!" And with his new life, that is
what he does. Only Jesus and the Gospel can bring new life and new
hope to dead, crippled sinners. 
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