Acts Intro - What Happens Next?

The Book of Acts (NIV)

The book of Acts is written by Luke, who was a co-worker of the Apostle Paul. And yeah, it’s the same Luke from the Gospel of Luke. He actually wrote these two volumes as a unified work that describes all that was fulfilled in Jesus' life, death, and resurrection, and recounts that continuing work by Jesus through the Holy Spirit in and through the life of Jesus’ followers.

When I first began to hear the stories from the book of acts, they were typically thought of as stand alone stories that didn’t really take into account the whole narrative of Acts or the narrative that Luke frames in the Gospel. But if we slow down and step back to get a larger view we can see that there are some pretty amazing things going on.

If you like a good movie or tv show, then might have some appreciation for the way that screenwriters will tell their story. And if you are familiar with a tv series or a movie that has sequels, then you can begin to track the structure that the writer is using. For instance, the new Star Wars movies follow an extremely similar structure as the original Star Wars but tell a new and unique part of the epic saga. You can’t quite say that it’s the same movie, but you also can’t say that it’s totally different either. And that’s the point. The writers want there to be a sense of continuity, they want you holding in mind all the things that you gathered from the previous volumes.

The same is true in Acts. Luke structures the story geographically just like he did in the gospel. In the Gospel of Luke, the story begins with Jesus’ ministry in Galilee and follows the missionary journeys of Jesus to his arrival in Jerusalem. This expanding geographic structure is mirrored in Acts with the disciples’ mission in Jerusalem mirroring Jesus’ time in Galilee, Paul’s missionary journeys mirroring Jesus’ missionary journeys, and Paul’s arrival in Rome mirroring Jesus arrival in Jerusalem.

Now that’s not really to try to blend our ideas of Jesus with Paul, but there is something significant about us being able to see Jesus' actions mirrored in his followers. That’s the point! At the very end of Luke’s gospel, Jesus is telling his disciples that the message of forgiveness and repentance will be preached to all the nations. And you immediately think, well how is that gonna work with these disciples who are scared and hiding behind locked doors?

At this episode’s airing, we’ll have just celebrated Easter. And one of the most intriguing questions I can think to ask about Easter is, “What do you do on Monday?” What does Easter mean after the fact? Well… the book of Acts is the answer to that question.

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Bible Project: Acts 1-12 Overview >>

Bible Project: Acts 13-28 Overview >>

InterVarsity Press Selections: Acts >>

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