Articles
He Presented Himself ALIVE - Acts 1
He Presented Himself ALIVE - Acts 1
The resurrection of Jesus is crucial to the truthfulness of the gospel
Beginning in the very first chapter, Luke speaks of Jesus as 'presenting himself alive to them after his suffering by many proofs, appearing to them during forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God" (Acts 1:3). He had recorded in Luke that Jesus was crucified, breathed his last, and was buried (Luke 23:33, 46, 53). He also recorded that an Angel had proclaimed that 'He is risen" (Lk. 24:6). He then records that Jesus appeared unto the 2 disciples on the road to Emmaus (24:15f); to the disciples (24:36f). Now he simply states that He showed himself unto them ALIVE and that for 40 days He made such appearances. This was not a moment of hysteria where they 'believed they saw Him'. This was not an isolated case of someone alone having a 'vision' of Him. They as a group saw him, ate with him, and talked with Him. As John would later write: “…what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we have looked at and touched with our hands, concerning the Word of Life... we proclaim unto you” (1John 1:1-3). For over a month they had such personal time with Him.
They then speak of His resurrection over and over again. Their faith is based upon their experience with Him. Their faith was their conviction that Jesus was raised from the dead.
"This Jesus… you crucified and killed… God raise him up, loosing the pangs of death, because it was not possible for Him to be held by it" (2:23-24). "This Jesus God raised up, and of that we all are witnesses" (2:32). "…you killed the Author of life, whom god raised from the dead. To this we are witnesses" (3:15). "God, having raised up his servant, sent him to you first, to bless you by turning everyone one of you from your wickedness" (3:26). "…Jesus Christ of Nazaerth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead…" (4:10). " The God of our fathers raised Jesus, whom you killed by hanging Him on a tree" (5:30). "We are witnesses of all that He did both in the country of the Jews and in Jerusalem. They put him to death by hanging him on a tree, but God raised him on the third day and made him to appear, not to all the people but to us who had been chosen by God as witnesses, who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead" (10:39-41).
Paul said that the reason for his conversion from persecutor OF disciples of Jesus to persecuted disciple, was that Jesus appeared unto him ALIVE. Three times he tells this story in the book of Acts – 9:1-6; 22; and 26. He then used this as the basis of the sermon that he preached in the synagogue at Antioch in Pisidia. "God raised him from the dead…"; "he has fulfilled to us their children by raising Jesus…"; "…as for the fact that he raised him from the dead, no more to return to corruption.."; he whom God raised up did not see corruption" (Acts 13:30, 33, 34, 37). In his sermon in Athens, he ended by saying that God "commands all people everywhere to repent, because he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed; and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead.”
This is the basis of our faith also. Believing that He arose from the dead is the crux of all of our teaching. Our moral values are to be His, for He was raised from the dead. Our hope in death is that, as He was raised, so we will be raised. Brethren, we need to grasp this fundamental concept and let it shape our every thought and action.
Hugh DeLong
(cf. 2:24, 32; 3:15, 26; 4:10; 5:30; 10:40; 13:30, 33, 34, 37; 17:31; and esp. 1 Cor. 15:12–19, 20).
