“Previously on The West Wing”…Dale and I have very few shows or movies that we equally enjoy, “The West Wing” and “ER” being at the top of that list. As a matter of fact, we regularly rewatch these beloved series, taking months to watch 1-2 episodes per sitting. “Previously on The West Wing”…I can’t remember which season of “The West Wing" this technique of memory retrieval was employed, but I do remember being so thankful for it. Of course, this was back in the 90’s and early 2000’s, when bingeing television shows was impossible, unless you owned the whole series on VHS. At the end of each episode, you actually had to wait an entire week for the next installment. By the time Wednesday night at 9PM rolled back around, I had forgotten some of my children’s names, much less what the characters on our favorite series were up to, making the 1-2 minutes of recap from the previous episodes incredibly helpful. I was able to retrieve those memories from the recesses of my brain and ready myself to make connections with the new information or characters within the current episode.
Occasionally, a character who was recurring in one season would become a regular character in the next. Their picture and name would pop up as the theme song played at the beginning of the show. Donna Moss was one of those characters in “The West Wing.” In season one, Donna was a temp, working in the bullpen area of the West Wing, but she desperately wanted to work for Deputy Chief of Staff, Josh Lyman. By the end of season one, she secures her role as Josh’s assistant and becomes a main character in the rest of the show’s seasons.
Today’s reading is not from the gospel of Luke, but from his second writing, the book of Acts and consists of three relatively short verses that are loaded with information recapping the gospel and tying the two pieces of writing together. Think of it as, “Previously on The Kingdom of God Drawn Near.” And while the Holy Spirit was a recurring character in Luke’s gospel, He is given a starring role in Season 2 - The Book of Acts. His presence and power are a critical component of every scene!
Read Acts 1:1-3
These first three verses of Acts 1 are jam packed with crucial information, including the recipient, the main characters and the purpose of this writing. Traditionally credited to physician Luke, also a traveling companion to the Apostle Paul, the Book of Acts was also written for Theophilos, either an actual person or a symbolic name for any Christian seeker or convert. Luke’s gospel writing focused on “all that Jesus began to do and teach until the day he was taken up.” (vv 1-2) The Book of Acts ties together the other books of the New Testament by providing the rest of the story told in the Gospels. The gospel of Jesus Christ and His message of the kingdom of God would not end with Jesus’ ascension into heaven forty days after His resurrection. It would be carried out into all of the world through the Holy Spirit in the lives of those followers who devoted themselves to Jesus and His message.
Many Convincing Proofs
Only Acts references a specific time period of 40-days in which resurrected Jesus appeared to His disciples. This number, 40, evokes memories of many biblical events of which the number 40 is important, such as Israel’s wilderness wanderings and the wilderness temptations that Jesus endured and was victorious over.
Jesus appeared multiple times to his disciples and gave them many proofs to strengthen their faith during these 40-days post-resurrection. What were some of these “convincing proofs?” The Book of Acts does not include specifics. We’ve read in Luke 24 the account of Jesus walking with two of His disciples along the road to Emmaus, as well as when He suddenly appeared to all of the disciples in the room in which they had gathered.
John’s gospel includes a beautiful interaction and convincing proof of Jesus’ resurrection that is definitely worth mentioning. Peter, John and several other apostles went fishing one night, but caught nothing. Early the next morning, as the sun was just peeking over the horizon, a man appeared on the seashore and asked if they’d caught anything, to which Peter replied, “Not a thing.” “The man then said, ‘Cast the net on the right side of the boat, and you’ll find some.’ So they did, and they were unable to haul it in because of the large number of fish. The disciple, the one Jesus loved, said to Peter, ‘It is the Lord!’” (John 21:6-7) This scene was familiar, taking them back to when they were first called by Jesus to join Him in His work. They left everything behind and followed Jesus. I also have to smile when I read John’s self-proclaimed title - “The One Jesus Loved.” This is quite different from “Son of Thunder” or “Right Hand Man in Glory.” I’m encouraged to see John growing in gentle confidence in who Jesus says he is.
This vignette on the beach, during which Jesus serves His guys by providing a huge catch and then cooking them breakfast, is most notable because of the restorative conversation He has with Peter. They walk down the beach a bit and Jesus begins to ask him a series of questions regarding leadership and Peter’s future role in the building of the Kingdom of God. Peter, convinced that his three-time denial of Jesus prior to His conviction and sentencing to death by crucifixion had cancelled any previous calling Jesus had given him, was overwhelmed by the grace Jesus showed him. While Peter would experience ups and downs the remainder of his life, he would follow Jesus’ command to feed His sheep until his dying breath.
No Longer a Guest Star
Occasionally in Luke’s gospel account we would see glimpses of the Holy Spirit. The glimpse that comes quickly to mind is at Jesus’ baptism by John in the Jordan River. Jesus came up out of the water “and the Holy Spirit descended on him in a physical appearance like a dove.” (Luke 3:22) Following this holy, Trinitarian reunion, “Jesus left the Jordan, full of the Holy Spirit, and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness for forty days to be tempted by the devil.” (Luke 4:1-2) And then there was the day when Jesus was hearing from His guys who people were saying He was - Elijah, one of the prophets, even John the Baptizer raised from the dead. When Jesus asked, “Who do you say that I am?” Peter quickly answered, “‘You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.’ Jesus responded, ‘Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but my Father in heaven.’” (Matt 16:15-17) God the Father, through the Holy Spirit, impressed on Simon Peter the truth of Jesus’ identity. There was no other explanation of how Peter, a simple fisherman, who was regularly putting his foot in his mouth, could have discerned and communicated this revelation.
But starting in the first verses of the Book of Acts, the third and equal member of the Trinity is given a regular starring role that will only grow in importance as the New Testament church is established. During these 40 days post-resurrection, Jesus would give “instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles he had chosen” (v 2) His apostles would, through the power of the Spirit, begin making gospel connections and understand more and more clearly how Jesus was the fulfillment of the messianic prophecies. I imagine they were having regular “lightbulb moments,” when things Jesus had shared with them before His death all of a sudden made sense! If they are amazed now, just wait until Pentecost!!
Big Picture Questions for Today:
We just finished our 40-day Lenten fast, during which we set something special to us aside, in order to hear from the Lord more clearly and identify with Him in temptation and suffering. What convincing proofs have you seen, read or heard concerning Jesus as Messiah during your fast? How have these proofs, evidences or reminders impacted your intimacy with God?
Pray from and meditate on 1 Corinthians 2:6-13 “We do, however, speak a wisdom among the mature, but not a wisdom of this age, or of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing. On the contrary, we speak God’s hidden wisdom in a mystery, a wisdom God predestined before the ages for our glory. None of the rulers of this age knew this wisdom, because if they had known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. But as it is written,
What no eye has seen, no ear has heard,
and no human heart has conceived—
God has prepared these things for those who love him.
Now God has revealed these things to us by the Spirit, since the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God. For who knows a person’s thoughts except his spirit within him? In the same way, no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God.Now we have not received the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who comes from God, so that we may understand what has been freely given to us by God. We also speak these things, not in words taught by human wisdom, but in those taught by the Spirit, explaining spiritual things to spiritual people.”
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