May 17 – Acts 1:4-8

Main Focus: Series Intro

The promise of the Father refers to the gift that was promised by the Father, namely, the new and greater empowering of the Holy Spirit that the disciples were to await in Jerusalem (see Luke 3:15–17; 24:49). Baptism with the Holy Spirit looks forward to the even known as Pentecost Pentecost (See Acts 2:1-13). Throughout Acts, baptism and the gift of the Spirit are closely related. Repentance, forgiveness, water baptism, and reception of the Spirit comprise the basic pattern of conversion. At the end of the 40 days, Jesus took his disciples to the Mount of Olives and ascended visibly. Before doing so he commissioned them to be his witnesses.

Verse 6 says the disciples asked Jesus when he would restore the kingdom to Israel because they concluded from his resurrection and the promise of the Spirit that the messianic era had dawned and the final salvation of Israel was imminent. However, they were probably still expecting the restoration of a military and political kingdom that would drive out the Roman armies and restore national sovereignty to Israel, as had happened numerous times in the OT. Jesus corrected them, not by rejecting the question, but by telling them that they would receive power from the Holy Spirit, not in order to triumph over Roman armies but to spread the good news of the gospel throughout the world. In other words, the return is in God’s timing; in the meantime, there are other key things believers are to do. In response to the question, Jesus answers that ultimate authority in determining the events of history is consistently ascribed to God the Father.

Verse 8 is the thematic statement for all of Acts. It begins with the Spirit’s power that stands behind and drives the witness to Jesus. Then it provides a rough outline of the book: Jerusalem (chs. 1–7), Judea and Samaria (chs. 8–12), and the end of the earth (chs. 13–28). you will receive power. Interpreters differ over whether the Holy Spirit was at work in the lives of ordinary believers prior to Pentecost in a lesser way or not at all, except for empowering for special tasks. On either view, something new that needed to be waited for was here. This powerful new work of the Holy Spirit after Pentecost brought several beneficial results: more effectiveness in witness and ministry. The disciples likely understood “power” in this context to include both the power to preach the gospel effectively and also the power (through the Holy Spirit) to work miracles confirming the message.