"Luke 21-24, Acts 1"
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When we go on vacation, my wife likes to work on a big, thousand-piece puzzle. I used to wonder, "what's the point?" Isn't it simpler to look at the picture on the box? But as those final pieces click into place and you see it all together, it's not hard to understand the appeal. I once got in trouble for robbing my wife of that satisfying sense of completion by sticking a piece in my pocket and filling the last empty spot myself. I still haven't heard the end of that one!
See the Big Picture
Like assembling pieces in a cardboard puzzle, as we end Luke and begin Acts this week, it's an ideal time to take a step back and notice how it all fits together. Luke's gospel has three acts.
- Act I (Luke 1:1-9:44) focuses on Jesus' identity. Everyone kept asking, "Who is this guy?" — his hometown neighbors (Luke 4:22), Pharisees (Luke 5:22), his cousin (Luke 7:20), and even his disciples (Luke 8:25). At last, Peter identified Jesus as "the Christ of God" — the King (Luke 9:20), and God confirmed it from heaven as Christ's face shone (Luke 9:35).
- Act II (Luke 9:51-19:45) follows Jesus on a journey to Jerusalem, as he prepares his disciples for the decisive events that await him there.
- Act III (Luke 19:46-24:53) is the climax — the Lord's last days in Jerusalem, leading up to his betrayal, trial, and death. Then he rose from the dead and explained that the Big Picture story of Scripture comes together in him (Luke 24:27).
Frame the Edges
Everybody knows you start a puzzle by finding all the flat-edged pieces and framing the outside. Likewise, Luke will begin Acts by framing the contents of the book in Christ's last words before ascending (Acts 1:8).
- Jesus says that first, they'll "receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon" them. The disciples will wait in Jerusalem (Acts 1) for the Spirit to come in power on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2).
- Next, he says, "you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem." The disciples will proclaim the risen Lord in Jerusalem (Acts 2-7) until persecution scatters them.
- Then, they'll preach "in all Judea and Samaria," as Philip preaches to Samaritans and an Ethiopian (Acts 8).
- Finally, the Word will go "to the end of the earth" as Peter and Paul bring the gospel into the gentile world (Acts 9-28).
Connect the Pieces
It's easy to miss the unity of Luke's gospel and Acts, but he wrote them to tell Theophilus one continuous story about Christ's work. Luke opens Acts by summarizing "the first book" where he "dealt with all that Jesus began to do and to teach until the day he was taken up" (Acts 1:1). The word "began" means that Jesus continues that work through his church, so Acts tells that story.
Appreciate Your Work
Half the fun of jigsaw puzzles is admiring your completed work. On that note, take a minute at the end of this week to acknowledge that — a month in — you've already finished reading the longest book in the New Testament. Keep up the good work!
