Lesson 1
Preparing Disciples for Missio
Acts 1:1-11
For the next month we will be discovering the truths found in Chapter one of Acts. The question may be why do we need to spend so many weeks on just the first chapter? During this time we will determine the readiness of the disciples to carry out the mandate of Jesus to carry the gospel to the world and how they reached the place that they could serve God. The questions to be answered during these weeks, “Were they ready” and “How do we come to that perspective?” Let’s get started.
There have been times when I thought I was prepared to handle a certain job or situation. When I actually began to perform the task I discovered that I still had much to learn before becoming proficient. There have been times when there was a period of anxiety making me wonder if I could actually do the job. Fortunately these times passed quickly.
- What are some occasions when you have been in the same situation? 2. Based on the opening verses of Acts I, were the disciples ready to take Christ’s gospel to the world?
Acts 1:1 Luke tells us the reason he has written this account. He says that it was, “about all that Jesus began to do and teach.” From the time we see Jesus calling His first disciples until he ascended into heaven this teaching had continued. At what point were the disciples fully prepared? Since Luke is picking up on the events that took place after the resurrection there are certain questions that need to be answered.
- After His resurrection why was it necessary for Jesus to spend the additional forty days on the earth?
- What was accomplished during this time with the disciples?
- If it was to give the disciples their final marching orders why had the things they had experience before Christ crucifixion been enough to prepare them to make disciples throughout the known world?
- What was missing that they needed this additional instruction?
Before proceeding to the next verses in the chapter, we will discover some clues of the readiness of the twelve we will mention a few incidences that occurred prior to the crucifixion and the first days following the resurrection. We will not go into a great deal of detail but they will give us a clear picture of the mindset of the men at critical time.
- The ambition of John and James (Matthew 20:20-23)
- Thomas doubted that Jesus had risen from the dead unless he saw Him with his own eyes. (John 20:24-25)
- Peter and some the others went fishing (John 21:3)
- Even on the last night before the death of Jesus, Phillip still did not know who Jesus was. (John 14:8-9)
- Peter was not completely sold out to Jesus. His love expressed towards Jesus was weak when compared to the unconditional devotion he would display later. (John 21:15-17)
These are just a few of the examples that show us the mindset of the disciples some even after the resurrection.
Acts 1:4-5
There was to be one more event in the lives of the disciples to prepare them for witnessing to the world. Jesus tells them, “not to leave Jerusalem.” It is in that city that “you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit, not many days from now.”
- What was Jesus telling them?
- Why was important that they remain in Jerusalem?
- What does it tell us that they needed to be ready to witness?
Acts 1:6
“So when they had come together, they were asking Him, saying, “’Lord is it at this time You are restoring the kingdom to Israel?”
This verse proves that the disciples were still expecting Jesus to take on the role of an earthly king and restore Israel to her former glory. Jesus, however, had told them several times that His kingdom was already in place at the time of the Resurrection and that it was not of this world. He had also spent forty days after His resurrection training them to realize, through His appearances and disappearances, that He was with them even when they couldn’t see Him–a feat that would have been impossible prior to His resurrection. Therefore, He gently reprimands them in Acts 1:7, saying, “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by His own authority.” In other words, He tells them, “Stop worrying about God’s business!”
They still did not get it. He had told them that His kingdom was not of this world. They had forgotten the prophecies of Matthew 25 about the destruction of Jerusalem. Peter did not remember what Jesus had said about his own death. (John 21:16-19)
- Were they ready?
- What did this say about their focus?
- Were they really thinking about Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria and the rest of the world?
Here was another issue that Jesus had to handle before His ascension and the coming of the Holy Spirit. Speaking as plainly and emphatically as he could he told them it was none of their business. These were God’s responsibilities not theirs. He had already told them in Matthew 25: 36, “But of that day (His second coming) and hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone.” He then goes on to tell them what they are to do. He said, ”When the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth.” (Acts 1:8)
After that He ascended into heaven leaving them to wait for the Holy Spirit. (Acts 1:9-11)
Why was the ascension so important in the lives of the disciples?
- It helped to bring closure to Christ’s earthly ministry.
- The disciples could now focus on the future and not keep holding onto the past when they relied on Jesus who led them wherever they went and protected them from all harm.
- The promised helper, the Holy Spirit would now come Who would guide them in the days to come.
- He could not come back to receive His kingdom if He did not go away.
As we finish, we want to allow you a time to examine yourselves to see if any of the characteristics that hindered the disciples up to this point are true of you. In the same way that the disciples could not move beyond where they were without the empowering of the Holy Spirit, is there anything that may keeping Him from guiding you to the ministry to which God has called you?
Copyright
November 2, 2010
Richard T. Lipscomb