A Study of Acts: A Final Question from the Disciples and the Commissioning
Acts 1:6-8; Matthew 28:19-20 - The Kingdom to come is in God’s hands and we are tasked to be His evangelists.
“So when they had come together, they were asking Him, saying, “Lord, is it at this time You are restoring the kingdom to Israel?” He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or epochs which the Father has fixed by His own authority; but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth.””
Acts 1:6-8 NASB1995
The disciples have come together one last time with Jesus before His ascension (they don’t know this was imminent at that moment). They ask Him a question, if this is the time that the kingdom would be restored to Israel. Interestingly, Jesus doesn’t answer in the negative, but He says that it is not for them to know the times or epochs that the Father has fixed by His own authority. Let’s look at this good commentary from Enduring Word:
Therefore, when they had come together: This would be the last time they would see Jesus in His physical body, until they went to heaven to be with Him forever. There is nothing specific in the text to show us that they knew this would be their last time seeing Him on earth, other than the weight of the question they were about to ask.
Lord, will You at this time restore the kingdom to Israel? This was a question asked many times before, but it had a special relevance now. They knew that Jesus had instituted the New Covenant (Luke 22:20). They also knew that the restoration of the kingdom to Israel was part of the New Covenant (as seen in Jeremiah 23:1-8, Ezekiel 36:16-30, Ezekiel 37:21-28).
It was actually reasonable for them to wonder when the rest of the New Covenant would be fulfilled. The response of Jesus in the following verses also indicates that He did not rebuke them or even correct them for the question. He simply told them that the answer wasn’t for them to know.
“The verb restore shows that they were expecting a political and territorial kingdom; the noun Israel that they were expecting a national kingdom; and the adverbial clause at this time that they were expecting its immediate establishment.” (John Stott)
The disciples certainly knew the many Old Testament prophecies describing the spiritual and national rebirth of Israel. The disciples probably thought that the spiritual rebirth seemed certain, so the national would also come.
This whole idea of restoring the kingdom of Israel opens up a giant can of eschatological and philosophical worms about various interpretations for Biblical prophecy that have been made over the years. There is the replacement theory that states that the Christian church replaced the nation of Israel metaphorically (also known as fulfillment theology or progressive revelation). Then there is the dispensationalist theology (that can also be called premillennial) that teaches that God will restore Israel as the primary focus of His plan at the end and reign from Jerusalem.
I think that the answer Jesus gives is right on - it is not for them to know the when or how. I am a rank amateur when it comes to esoteric Biblical interpretations, but I do like this explanation from Gotquestions.org - it seems logical to me, but I would suggest finding a Ph.D in Biblical prophecies and the Book of Revelation if you are as confused as I am:
Replacement theology teaches that the church is the replacement for Israel and that the many promises made to Israel in the Bible are fulfilled in the Christian church, not in Israel. The prophecies in Scripture concerning the blessing and restoration of Israel to the Promised Land are spiritualized or allegorized into promises of God’s blessing for the church. Major problems exist with this view, such as the continuing existence of the Jewish people throughout the centuries and especially with the revival of the modern state of Israel. If Israel has been condemned by God and there is no future for the Jewish nation, how do we explain the supernatural survival of the Jewish people over the past 2,000 years despite the many attempts to destroy them? How do we explain why and how Israel reappeared as a nation in the 20th century after not existing for 1,900 years?
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Contrary to replacement theology, dispensationalism teaches that, after the rapture (1 Thessalonians 4:13–18), God will restore Israel as the primary focus of His plan. The first event at this time is the tribulation (Revelation chapters 6–19). The world will be judged for rejecting Christ, while Israel is prepared through the trials of the great tribulation for the second coming of the Messiah. Then, when Christ does return to the earth at the end of the tribulation, Israel will be ready to receive Him. The remnant of Israel who survive the tribulation will be saved, and the Lord will establish His kingdom on this earth with Jerusalem as its capital. With Christ reigning as King, Israel will be the leading nation, and representatives from all nations will come to Jerusalem to honor and worship the King—Jesus Christ. The church will return with Christ and will reign with Him for a literal thousand years (Revelation 20:1–5).
Both the Old Testament and the New Testament support a premillennial/dispensational understanding of God’s plan for Israel. The strongest support for premillennialism is found in the clear teaching of Revelation 20:1–7, where it says six times that Christ’s kingdom will last 1,000 years. After the tribulation the Lord will return and establish His kingdom with the nation of Israel, Christ will reign over the whole earth, and Israel will be the leader of the nations. The church will reign with Him for a literal thousand years. The church has not replaced Israel in God’s plan. While God may be focusing His attention primarily on the church in this dispensation of grace, God has not forgotten Israel and will one day restore Israel to His intended role as the nation He has chosen (Romans 11).
Jesus reminds the disciples again that they will soon receive power from the Holy Spirit and He tasks them with being His witnesses in Jerusalem, in Judea and Samaria, and to the remotest parts of the Earth. This echoes the Great Commission at the end of the Gospel of Matthew:
“Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”
Matthew 28:19-20 NASB1995
I found two good commentaries on what this means to believers. First, from Enduring Word:
And you shall be witnesses to Me: The natural result of receiving this promised power would be that they would become witnesses of Jesus, all over the earth.
Notice that this really wasn’t a command; it was a simple statement of fact: When the Holy Spirit has come upon you… you shall be witnesses of Me. The words shall be are in the indicative, not the imperative. Jesus didn’t recommend that they become witnesses; He said they would be witnesses.
If we want to be witnesses, we need to be filled with the Holy Spirit. The best training program for evangelism is of little effectiveness without the filling of the Holy Spirit.
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In Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth: The progress of the spread of the gospel message from Jerusalem, to Judea and Samaria, and then to the end of the earth becomes the outline of Acts.
Acts 1-7 describes the gospel in Jerusalem.
Acts 8-12 speak of the gospel in Judea and Samaria.
Acts 13-28 tells of the gospel going to the end of the earth.
We may imagine the objections the disciples might think of to the places of ministry Jesus described.
Jerusalem was where Jesus was executed at the word of an angry mob.
Judea rejected His ministry.
Samaria was regarded as a wasteland of impure half-breeds.
In the uttermost parts of the earth, the Gentiles were seen by some Jews of that day as nothing better than fuel for the fires of Hell.
Yet God wanted a witness sent to all of these places, and the Holy Spirit would empower them to do this work.
Evangelism is difficult work. Boldly telling the truth about Jesus is challenging, even in the best of circumstances. In our current anti-Christian culture and in hostile countries around the world, an evangelist for Christ risks being laughed at (at best) or even physically assaulted or killed. But the power from the Holy Spirit enables us to tell others about God’s Word and salvation and He will do the rest! Don’t waste a moment, but find ways to get this message across to others. He has commanded it!
Let’s do a quick word study. Power comes from the Greek word δύναμις or dýnamis, which has the following Biblical usages; Strong’s G1411 is used 119 times in the New Testament:
strength power, ability
inherent power, power residing in a thing by virtue of its nature, or which a person or thing exerts and puts forth
power for performing miracles
moral power and excellence of soul
the power and influence which belong to riches and wealth
power and resources arising from numbers
power consisting in or resting upon armies, forces, hosts
This cannot come from our own initiative but from the inherent power that occupies us when we believe. We have to draw upon the Holy Spirit to give us this power. Later in Acts, you can see this power in action in the Apostles after Pentecost.
The other good commentary is from Desiring God:
But what does God want to do through us with all of that power? Jesus says, “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” (Acts 1:8). Luke quotes Jesus saying the same thing in his Gospel,
[Jesus] opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, and said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, and that repentance for the forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things. And behold, I am sending the promise of my Father upon you. But stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.” (Luke 24:45–49)
Jesus does not clothe us with power to climb the corporate ladder, build a stronger family, upgrade our standard of living, or fulfill all our dreams. We’re not even clothed with power mainly to heal the sick, free the enslaved, and feed the poor. We’re clothed with power to carry his name. To witness to the worth and wonder of Jesus Christ. To offer all people everywhere the chance to repent, believe in him, and receive his forgiveness for all their sin. To taste joy greater than any they’ve ever known.
We share the gospel “not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, so that [their] faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God” (1 Corinthians 2:4–5). We will not be ashamed of the gospel, “for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes” (Romans 1:16). We carry Jesus’s name “in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us” (2 Corinthians 4:7).
The power to carry His name may come from surprising sources. I have to share one more great story. This one is from Precept Austin:
A skeptic promised British preacher Alexander Maclaren (1826-1910) that he would attend his church for four Sundays on which Maclaren would be presenting the main tenets of Christianity. The skeptic listened intently to Maclaren’s sermons. After the fourth message he presented himself for church membership, saying he had received Christ as his Savior. Maclaren was delighted and could not resist the impulse to ask which of the four sermons brought him to this decision. The skeptic replied, "Your sermons, sir, were helpful, but they were not what finally persuaded me." He said that after church one Sunday as he was helping an elderly lady on a slippery walk, she looked up into his face and said, "I wonder if you know my Savior, Jesus Christ. He is everything in the world to me. I would like you to know Him too." "Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit," says the LORD Almighty.
Whew! Acts is certainly going to be a wonderful book to explore and we are just getting started!
My next devotional examines Acts 1:9-11 - Jesus Ascends.
Heaven on Wheels Daily Prayer:
Dear Lord - I ask for the power of the Holy Spirit to fill my life and embolden me to be a witness for You in the world. Amen.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Enduring Word commentary by David Guzik is used with written permission.
Gotquestions.org was accessed on 7/9/2024 to ask the question “What is Replacement Theology?”
Precept Austin was accessed on 7/9/2024 to review the commentary for Acts 1:6-8.
The Blue Letter Bible was accessed on 7/9/2024 to review the lexicon for power.
John Piper is founder and teacher of desiringGod.org and chancellor of Bethlehem College & Seminary. For more than thirty years, he served as pastor of Bethlehem Baptist Church, Minneapolis. He is author of more than fifty books, and his sermons, articles, books, and more are available free of charge at desiringGod.org.
In all cases of republishing, the following attribution must be included:
By John Piper. © Desiring God Foundation. Source: desiringGod.org