The book of Acts was written by Luke who wrote the gospel that bears his name. He saw it as a continuation of the story he began. His gospel was what Jesus began to do and so Acts is about what Jesus continued to do, but this time he is doing it through the church empowered by the Holy Spirit.

Empowered to be Witnesses

The risen Jesus had taught his followers about the kingdom. Now, he promised to send them the Holy Spirit so that they would be empowered to be witnesses to Christ and his new kingdom. They were to begin this witness in Jerusalem and the surrounding area but ultimately in the whole world – to the ends of the earth. Before he can send the Holy Spirit, Jesus first ascends back to heaven, to take his throne as king.

A New Community: the Church is Born

The Holy Spirit is then ‘poured out’ on the day of Pentecost and the imagery of wind and fire comes straight from the OT where these are images of God’s empowering presence by his Spirit among his people. The speaking of different languages, understood by the multi-ethnic crowds, represents a reversal of the Tower of Babel. In that story, there had been an attempt at man-made unity for the glory of humankind. At Pentecost, there is a Spirit-born unity that is for the glory of God. It also indicates that the Church is to be a new international and multicultural community united by the love that comes through the Holy Spirit. As more and more people respond to the gospel about the crucified and risen Christ that Peter preaches at Pentecost, these new communities are formed and marked by mutual commitment, hospitality and generosity.

Power and Opposition

This new Spirit-born, Spirit-filled and Spirit-empowered community begins its mission of spreading this message of Jesus and his kingdom to the whole world, beginning where they are, in Jerusalem. They continue the work and wonders of Jesus, with people being miraculously healed. But they also experience hostility and opposition. One of the leaders, Stephen, is the first martyr of the Christian church, murdered at the hands of the religious leaders in Jerusalem. However, God uses the persecution to scatter the church among the regions and nations.

A Gospel and a Kingdom for All Nations

One of the religious leaders who had been persecuting the newly formed church, Saul, is converted through a direct encounter with Christ. He then becomes Paul, one of the main leaders and teachers of the New Testament church, and a central figure in the shaping the Christian faith. The Holy Spirit is poured out upon the Gentiles, and although the early Christian leaders face dispute and debate about it, it becomes clear that the gospel and this new kingdom is for everyone, Jew and Gentile. The gospel is for all nations and the kingdom community of the Church is to be international and it multi-ethnic. The flagship church was in Antioch from which the first missionaries are sent out.

Some of the Jewish Christians try to argue that the Gentiles who become Christians must first start practising Judaism – be circumcised, eat kosher foods and follow other laws of Moses. But Paul and Barnabas reject this. They show from the scriptures and experience that it was always God’s purpose to reach all nations. This is a massive step forward in the development of the Christian faith. Being part of this new community of God’s people is not about ethnic identity, religious pedigree or law-keeping. It is a gospel, a kingdom and a Church for all nations.

The Mission Continues

The second half of Acts is mainly about Paul’s missionary journeys as he takes the gospel to all nations. When he goes to a city, he always starts with the Jewish people there, preaching in their synagogues. There is often a positive response to the gospel but there is also opposition and persecution from some of the Jews. There is also a clash of cultures between Christianity and the other cultures of that ancient world – the Romans and Greeks. Christians are accused of being revolutionaries because they are announcing news of another kingdom.

Paul is put on trial and imprisoned under house arrest for many years. He uses this time to write his letters to the churches and this is how he carries on his mission to the Gentiles, not only at that time but beyond his death across the centuries. This is because so much of the New Testament is made up of those letters. This is one of the ways God uses to bring this gospel to the ends of the earth.