The Commissioning Of The Apostles Series

Introduction

Luke wrote two books. The first book is called The Gospel According to Luke. His second book is usually called The Acts of the Apostles.

The two books together are part one and part two of the same story of Jesus. Luke said in Acts 1:1, “In the first book, O Theophilus, I have dealt with all that Jesus began to do and teach,” and the clear implication is that his second book—The Acts of the Apostles—is about what Jesus continued to do and teach.

So, like The Gospel According to Luke, the Book of Acts is really about Jesus.

Last week, I asserted that the start of Acts tells us what is the most urgent question of our day, and that is, “Who is Jesus?” The entire Book of Acts tells us about who Jesus was and what he continued to do and teach.

Luke tells us that Jesus “presented himself alive to [the apostles] after his suffering by many proofs, appearing to them during forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God” (Acts 1:3).

During the forty days between Jesus’ resurrection and his ascension into heaven, the topic of his teaching was about “the kingdom of God.”

Jesus also told his apostles that they were “not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father, which, he said, ‘you heard from me’ ” (Acts 1:4). That promise was the Holy Spirit, who was given to the apostles on the Day of Pentecost, which was ten days after Jesus’ ascension.

Those fifty days (forty days of teaching from Jesus and ten days of waiting for the Holy Spirit) were not days of inactivity.

During those fifty days, Jesus was equipping his apostles for their upcoming mission.

The first part of that upcoming mission tells us about Jesus commissioning his apostles.

Some of you may recall Mission: Impossible, which was an American espionage television series that aired on CBS from September 1966 to March 1973. It was revived in 1988 for two seasons on ABC. It also inspired the series of theatrical motion pictures starring Tom Cruise beginning in 1996.

Mission: Impossible chronicled the exploits of a small covert team of secret government agents, known as the Impossible Missions Force, and their sophisticated methods of deceiving, manipulating, and thwarting hostile Iron Curtain governments, third-world dictators, corrupt industrialists, and crime lords, among others.

Early in each episode of the show, the following statement was given to the leader of the Impossible Missions Force: “Your mission, should you choose to accept it,” and this was then followed by a description of the team’s mission. The following statement was added, "As always, should you or any of your IM force be caught or killed, the Secretary will disavow any knowledge of your actions", or words to that effect.

I don’t recall watching any episode of the Mission: Impossible TV series. And I know I have not seen any of the Mission: Impossible movies.

What has stuck with me though are the words, “Your mission, should you choose to accept it.” In the TV series and the movies, the team always completes its mission.

It seems to me that Jesus did something similar with his apostles.

You recall that we are studying the Book of Acts in a sermon series that I am calling “Turning the World Upside Down.” (That title comes from a book by commentator Roy Clements.)

Jesus was sending his apostles into the world to turn it upside down. They were not going to be like the Impossible Missions Force by using sophisticated methods of deceiving, manipulating, and thwarting hostile governments.

The methods of Jesus were entirely different. Jesus was sending his apostles into the world to tell people the good news of how sinners can be reconciled to a holy God.

So, as Jesus was getting ready to ascend into heaven, we learn about his commissioning of his apostles.

Scripture

Let’s read Acts 1:6-8:

6 So when they had come together, they asked him, “Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?” 7 He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority. 8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”

Lesson

Acts 1:6-8 shows us that the mission that Jesus gave his apostles began with his commissioning of them.

Let’s use the following outline:

1. A Mistaken Understanding of the Kingdom of God (1:6)

2. A Correct Understanding of the Kingdom of God (1:7-8)

I. A Mistaken Understanding of the Kingdom of God (1:6)

First, Jesus’ apostles had a mistaken understanding of the kingdom of God.