Acts 1-2

Book: Acts

Jul 17

Israel had requested a sign from Jesus in Matthew 12. That “sign” was the sign of Jonah, or the sign of resurrection. It is important to realize that resurrection was a “sign.” A sign is a part or a symbolic fulfillment of an Old Testament prophecy. By doing a part, or a symbol, Jesus shows that He can do the whole thing . . . but later. Resurrection is the sign that through resurrection He begins the “Exodus” out from under Roman dominion (they had sealed Him in the tomb) and returns to heaven from where He will complete the Exodus of Israel back to the land by resurrecting their bodies (like He was) and bringing them back with Him to conquer the Gentile oppressors at His Second Coming.

Now that sign of resurrection occurred in the Gospels, but was never preached to Israel there as was promised. That sign of resurrection is preached to Israel . . . in the Book of Acts, a continuation of the Gospel of Luke. It is there that Peter preaches the evidence of the resurrection on the Day of Pentecost (Acts 2) and to Jerusalem (2—7), Judea and Samaria (8—9), and then Paul preaches to the Jews (and then Gentiles) throughout the three missionary journeys until ultimately the resurrection is preached to Jews in Rome.

Thus what this sign of resurrection is doing when it is preached to Israel is confirming their rejection. In the Gospels they had rejected Jesus as the fulfillment of the Old Testament prophecies based on His words and works. In the Book of Acts they will reject a living Messiah, one who was resurrected. Thus the Book of Acts will preach to the Jews throughout to confirm the rejection they made in the Gospels and will justify the fact that God has set them aside for a while.

The apostolic age, is a time of delay, where God, having announced the impending judgment by His Son’s appearance on earth, delays that judgment until His return (Psalm 110). Righteousness has been imputed fully to believers now so that men may walk on the basis of a guarantee of eternal life which will be fully realized when they are resurrected.

It should be emphatically noted that there is no hope that the Kingdom will occur in this present life or present age. One will have to die for the Messiah of Psalm 2 and be resurrected by Him in order to join Him in the Kingdom reward. Thus, a believer must forsake this mortal life and its hope for kingdom enjoyment now, and instead join in suffering in this age based solely in the confidence one has in the King and His Kingdom, and the ability of God to resurrect the believer as He did His Son.