Undefeated Series

Acts 1: 1 - 11

Undefeated

1 The former account I made, O Theophilus, of all that Jesus began both to do and teach, 2 until the day in which He was taken up, after He through the Holy Spirit had given commandments to the apostles whom He had chosen, 3 to whom He also presented Himself alive after His suffering by many infallible proofs, being seen by them during forty days and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God. 4 And being assembled together with them, He commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the Promise of the Father, “which,” He said, “you have heard from Me; 5 for John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.” 6 Therefore, when they had come together, they asked Him, saying, “Lord, will You at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?” 7 And He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons which the Father has put in His own authority. 8 But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” 9 Now when He had spoken these things, while they watched, He was taken up, and a cloud received Him out of their sight. 10 And while they looked steadfastly toward heaven as He went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel, 11 who also said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will so come in like manner as you saw Him go into heaven.”

The MLB [Major League Baseball] and its fans have been re-energized by the current Cleveland Indians baseball team. At the time I was composing this study the team had won 22 games in a row. Wow! – 22 games without a defeat.

The professional baseball league plays during its regular season 162 games. The Cleveland Indians baseball team has won a total of 14% in a row and this is a great achievement. So far they have played 151 games with 94 wins. Not bad when you feel that they have won 62 % of their games. But still is this that great of an achievement? How about winning 100%? Yes, you know I am talking about our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Everything He did He did successfully. Stop for a moment and think about this achievement – Everything He did was perfect. On earth His ministry was undefeated.

Our Magnificent Hero completed His mission on earth as the World Champion. He now Was entitled to the Victory parade which was not conducted on earth but in Heaven.

Today we are beginning a study of the book of Acts. It begins with our Lord going back to Heaven to receive the Glory due His Holy Name.

1 The former account I made, O Theophilus, of all that Jesus began both to do and teach, 2 until the day in which He was taken up, after He through the Holy Spirit had given commandments to the apostles whom He had chosen, 3 to whom He also presented Himself alive after His suffering by many infallible proofs, being seen by them during forty days and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God. 4 And being assembled together with them, He commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the Promise of the Father, “which,” He said, “you have heard from Me;

If you wanted to save some space in the arrangement of the books of the bible you could say that the Gospel of Luke and the book of Acts could be listed as the Letter of Luke part 1 and 2. Please note Luke’s opening comment.’ The former account I made ‘This term meant the first of a series, or the first of two.

This part was dedicated to a guy – Theophilus. A question is why? The fact is that we really do not know who Theophilus was, which is why there are several different theories as to who he might be. The name “Theophilus” literally means “loved by God,” but carries the idea of “friend of God.” This has led some to believe that “Theophilus” is just a generic title that applies to all Christians. However, from the context of Luke and Acts, it seems clear that Luke is writing to a specific individual, even though his message is also intended for all Christians in all centuries.

It is important to note that Luke addresses him as “most excellent,” a title often used when referring to someone of honor or rank, such as a Roman official. Paul used the same term when addressing Felix which we see in chapter 23:26. Therefore, one of the most common theories is that Theophilus was possibly a Roman officer or high-ranking official in the Roman government.