The Book of Acts provides a crucial window into the life of the early church. Written by Luke, this is the sequel to his gospel. Acts tells the story of Jesus’ activity in the first thirty years after His ascension, as His message of salvation spreads from Jerusalem to the wider Mediterranean world. Acts 1 begins by introducing the theme of the whole book: spreading the good news of Jesus Christ. If God has saved you, then He has sent you to share—that others might also be saved. God doesn’t need us, but He has chosen to use us! As His witnesses, we must first of all be confident in the message, knowing that Jesus’ resurrection is a fact of history, confirmed by His appearances to many people over a period of forty days. We may feel weak and timid, but like the disciples, we can be transformed into bold ambassadors of Christ as the Holy Spirit empowers us for the task (v 1-5). The disciples were expecting a national, territorial kingdom of God, hoping for an immediate deliverance from their oppression by the Roman government. But Jesus re-directs their focus from the restoration of Israel to the mission of disciple-making. It’s easy to get distracted by political agendas, but only the gospel of Jesus Christ can change hearts and transform a society. This gospel is not just for Israel, but for all people—those “in Jerusalem” (Acts 1-7), “and in all Judea and Samaria” (chapters 8-12), “and to the end of the earth” (chapters 13-28). So the Acts 1:8 mandate means I should ask myself three questions: Do I share with those in my world? Do I dare to reach beyond my world? And do I care about the whole world? (v 6-8). Jesus will return from heaven to earth in the same way that He departed from earth to heaven: literally, personally, bodily, and visibly. So the mission will not go on forever. There is an expiration date, which only the Father knows. Until then, we have work to do, always expectant of His coming (v 9-11). As the disciples waited and prayed together for the promised Holy Spirit, they also searched the Scriptures, where Judas’ betrayal was prophesied. Reasoning from God’s Word, they realized it was necessary to replace the fallen apostle and restore their number to twelve. Criteria were established and two men were nominated. This was followed by prayer and the casting of lots, which revealed that Matthias was God’s choice. Now that the Holy Spirit has come, we no longer cast lots to know the Lord’s will. But we still pray and reason from the Word as we rely on God’s Spirit to guide us (v 12-26). For further meditation: