Acts 1:1-11
Jesus Appears to His Disciples Over a Period of Forty Days
1 In my former book, Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus began to do and to teach 2 until the day he was taken up to heaven, after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles he had chosen. 3 After his suffering, he presented himself to them and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive. He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God. 4 On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. 5 For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.”
6 Then they gathered around him and asked him, “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?”
7 He said to them: “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. 8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
9 After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight.
10 They were looking intently up into the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them. 11 “Men of Galilee,” they said, “why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.”
Acts 5:17-42
The Logic of Gamaliel
17 Then the high priest and all his associates, who were members of the party of the Sadducees, were filled with jealousy. 18 They arrested the apostles and put them in the public jail. 19 But during the night an angel of the Lord opened the doors of the jail and brought them out. 20 “Go, stand in the temple courts,” he said, “and tell the people all about this new life.”
21 At daybreak they entered the temple courts, as they had been told, and began to teach the people.
When the high priest and his associates arrived, they called together the Sanhedrin —the full assembly of the elders of Israel—and sent to the jail for the apostles. 22 But on arriving at the jail, the officers did not find them there. So they went back and reported, 23 “We found the jail securely locked, with the guards standing at the doors; but when we opened them, we found no one inside.” 24 On hearing this report, the captain of the temple guard and the chief priests were at a loss, wondering what this might lead to.
25 Then someone came and said, “Look! The men you put in jail are standing in the temple courts teaching the people.” 26 At that, the captain went with his officers and brought the apostles. They did not use force, because they feared that the people would stone them.
27 The apostles were brought in and made to appear before the Sanhedrin to be questioned by the high priest. 28 “We gave you strict orders not to teach in this name,” he said. “Yet you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching and are determined to make us guilty of this man’s blood.”
29 Peter and the other apostles replied: “We must obey God rather than human beings! 30 The God of our ancestors raised Jesus from the dead —whom you killed by hanging him on a cross. 31 God exalted him to his own right hand as Prince and Savior that he might bring Israel to repentance and forgive their sins. 32 We are witnesses of these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey him.”
33 When they heard this, they were furious and wanted to put them to death. 34 But a Pharisee named Gamaliel, a teacher of the law, who was honored by all the people, stood up in the Sanhedrin and ordered that the men be put outside for a little while. 35 Then he addressed the Sanhedrin: “Men of Israel, consider carefully what you intend to do to these men. 36 Some time ago Theudas appeared, claiming to be somebody, and about four hundred men rallied to him. He was killed, all his followers were dispersed, and it all came to nothing. 37 After him, Judas the Galilean appeared in the days of the census and led a band of people in revolt. He too was killed, and all his followers were scattered. 38 Therefore, in the present case I advise you: Leave these men alone! Let them go! For if their purpose or activity is of human origin, it will fail. 39 But if it is from God, you will not be able to stop these men; you will only find yourselves fighting against God.”
40 His speech persuaded them. They called the apostles in and had them flogged. Then they ordered them not to speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go.
41 The apostles left the Sanhedrin, rejoicing because they had been counted worthy of suffering disgrace for the Name. 42 Day after day, in the temple courts and from house to house, they never stopped teaching and proclaiming the good news that Jesus is the Messiah.
Acts 17:29-31
The Logic of Paul
29 “Therefore since we are God’s offspring, we should not think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone—an image made by human design and skill.30 In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent. 31 For he has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed. He has given proof of this to everyone by raising him from the dead.”
Acts 22:1-5
Paul Was a Jew Taught by Gamaliel
1 “Brothers and fathers, listen now to my defense.”
2 When they heard him speak to them in Aramaic, they became very quiet.
Then Paul said: 3 “I am a Jew, born in Tarsus of Cilicia, but brought up in this city. I studied under Gamaliel and was thoroughly trained in the law of our ancestors. I was just as zealous for God as any of you are today. 4 I persecuted the followers of this Way to their death, arresting both men and women and throwing them into prison, 5 as the high priest and all the Council can themselves testify. I even obtained letters from them to their associates in Damascus, and went there to bring these people as prisoners to Jerusalem to be punished.
Jesus was not only the disciples' Great Teacher, but also the Disciples' Leader...After Jesus had died and was resurrected, His disciples and followers were out telling the story of His death and they were also telling others of a miraculous and mysterious story of how He had came back to life (after His death)...The apostles were teaching and telling others that the God of our ancestors had raised their Teacher, Jesus from the dead...They were telling crowds that His opposition had killed Him by hanging Him on a cross...But His particular death, would not be a normal death...He died on that cross, so that we might repent and have faith in Him...And we are now forgiven of the sins we commit and have committed because of His death on the cross...God has shown everyone that He is the Messiah and Savior and He is God's Son and we have proof of this, because God raised Him from the dead...
So His early followers and apostles were out telling this fantastic story...Some would believe them, and others probably would not...This was God's Plan...Jesus has died on the cross for every man's sins...And now God has raised Him from the dead and He was on earth after His death for forty more days, teaching His Disciples more things...And His appearances would be a fantastic miracle, every time He was seen by someone...Over these forty days, the Disciples got to see Him at different times after His death and be His eyewitnesses, not only before but now after His death...The apostles were telling everyone that they are actual eyewitnesses to all of these strange events...Even the event of His resurrection was part of the Disciples seeing and knowing Jesus...Jesus was their Teacher, before and after His death...Their Teacher and Leader would ascend to heaven after these forty days, right before their very eyes...Their Leader was now gone...He was in heaven...Who would lead them?...Jesus left His Disciples with the Holy Spirit...The early apostles were out trying and doing their best to spread the good news about Him...
The Sanhedrin was a group like the high court of Israel...The high priest was the leader of the Sanhedrin group...The Sanhedrin did not believe in the things that Jesus' followers were teaching (even though they too were actual eyewitness to many of the things that He had done)...They did not believe or have faith in Jesus...They did not at this time believe that God had given them enough proof that Jesus was, in fact, His Son...So the apostles were arrested by the Sanhedrin...Gamaliel was a member of the Sanhedrin (he was also a teacher of St. Paul)...Gamaliel reminds the Sanhedrin of some of their nation's past history and some rebels of their past...Gamaliel compares the apostles to two other Jewish rebels...Gamaliel talks of two Jewish rebels named Theudas and Judas the Galilean...Theudas had four hundred men follow him...Gamaliel tells us that Judas the Galilean also, led a band of people in revolt...Theudas was killed and the four hundred disbanded and nothing came of this...Nothing ever became of Judas the Galilean...He also was killed and nothing came of his revolt either...These were short term revolts in the history of the country of Israel and have a similar thread to the story that the apostles of Jesus are now out telling...Gamaliel goes on to say if this Jesus is truly a Man then nothing will become of this...These stories the disciples are telling will have their day only to peter out and nothing will become of this Jesus Character...But, Gamaliel adds, if this Jesus is more than a Man, then God is, in fact, behind these apostles, and you will not be fighting only man, you will also find yourselves fighting against and opposing God...
So Theudas and Judas the Galilean numbers dwindled after their deaths...But how would Jesus add to His followers after His death?...And Jesus death was completely different from most men's death...He arose from the dead, and came back to earth for a period of forty days...Would Jesus' teachings be able to survive after His death?...
One thing that Gamaliel did not say was about how Theudas and Judas the Galilean went about their ways...They were men of the sword...Jesus taught and led His followers with something else...He founded His Kingdom upon love...This is quite a difference is how each of these men went about their ways...
The message that the apostles were telling to those who would listen was that God had did have a Plan...It was that a Man would die on a cross for humanities sins...This was and is the message of the cross...Who would believe this message about Jesus?...A Man had died and would become our Savior...How could this message not taper off?...Jesus' message would need to gain at least some followers to go out and teach the world...Because His message after His death would start with only Eleven Disciples...The Disciples would need more help getting the gospel out...They would need a lot of help from God...But LOVE never fails...So God had Jesus return from the dead to prove He was sent by the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob...St. Paul says that God has given us proof, and this proof is for everyone...Jesus is the Son of God, because He raised Him from the dead, and He was on earth for forty days, and He showed Himself to five hundred people (1 Corinthians 15:6) -that is our proof...These five hundred people no doubt helped Jesus and people's belief in Him...Christ was raised from the dead, and death was halted by God...St. Paul adds that "Death has been swallowed up in victory."..."Where, O death, is your victory?...Where, O death, is your sting?" (1 Corinthians 15:54-55)....
St. Paul and his teacher Gamaliel were both right...Jesus is still alive today...This is and was God's Plan...Jesus has risen...Jesus numbers grew and grew...His followers grew after the Original Disciples death...Christianity survived and hundreds of years later, Jesus' was still being followed...Christianity became a reality when Constantine made Christianity the religion of Christianity the official religion of Rome in 313 a.d....How we believe it, and why we believe it, is up to each one of us...The early apostles were eyewitnesses to His death on the cross for our sins, and to His resurrection for forty days...The resurrection is one of the greatest and magnificent mysteries and miracles of God...The Disciples talked to Him after His death for forty more days, before He ascended to heaven...Did Jesus really resurrect and live again even after His death?...How you explain this to yourself is either through your faith in Jesus or your non-belief in Him?...