When Peter and John brought healing to a disabled man who was begging for money at the gate of the temple, the crowd was astonished. Peter was eager to explain that this had become possible because God had glorified his servant Jesus. Peter then urged his audience to believe in Jesus themselves and so to become participants in the blessings of the future age that had already broken in on the present age.

Peter’s proclamation of Jesus at Pentecost resulted in many people becoming convicted of their rejection of him. Peter urged them to repent and to be baptized in his name and about three thousand people did so. The church of Jesus was born and brought hope day by day to everyone around them.

After claiming that what was happening at Pentecost was the fulfillment of Joel’s prophecy, Peter began to show how Jesus of Nazareth was the Lord who would save all who called upon his name. Peter spoke of how Jesus was rejected and crucified but argued that this was all part of the divine plan. By raising Jesus from the dead, Jesus offers the hope of life to everyone whose destiny could otherwise only be death. And by exalting Jesus to God’s right hand, the ultimate triumph of this crucified and risen Jesus is absolutely certain.

When God’s Spirit came upon the followers of Jesus on the day of Pentecost, they began to speak in the languages of the people who were gathered in Jerusalem for the annual festival. It was an astonishing moment. Some of the people wondered what it could mean while others mockingly dismissed it. Peter pointed to an ancient prophecy from Joel to explain that God’s great promise to Israel was now being fulfilled and the day everyone had been waiting for had finally arrived.

The first order of business that followed Jesus’s ascension was the selection of someone to replace Judas Iscariot in the original twelve disciples. In replacing Judas, Judas’s infamous betrayal of Jesus and tragic end became a warning to the early Christians of the temptations of apostasy and where that path inevitably leads. But replacing Judas also brought hope that God’s kingdom which had begun with Jesus could not be stopped.

The book of Acts really gets going after the disciples of Jesus witness his ascension to heaven. This was a critical event since Jesus’s presence in heaven meant that he was now the Lord of heaven and earth. Assured of Jesus’s command of everything, the disciples and first believers in Jesus rejoiced at what this would mean for them as they waited for the arrival of the Holy Spirit to empower them for the work they were going to do.

After Jesus had been raised from the dead, his disciples were given all the proof they needed that the kingdom of God had arrived. They were now to wait for the promise of the Holy Spirit who would empower them to give evidence to the world that Jesus was Lord. Then they would be sent into all the world to proclaim this good news and to implement the reality of Christ’s reign.

The book of Acts is Luke's sequel to his Gospel. It reports some of the history of the first Christians and the early church. Having been given the gift of God's Holy Spirit, these disciples of Jesus began to leave their mark on the world, and to leave us today with hope for how we might do the same.

The achievement of Isaiah's Suffering Servant is good news for everyone to hear. Everyone is invited to follow his lead and share in his victory. Those who do so will be plunged into the wonders of God's new creation which can never be stopped and will forever bear witness to the greatness of God's name.

The shocking achievement of the suffering servant results in the fulfillment of God's long-awaited promise to his people. The chosen family now begins to spread throughout the whole earth because of the covenant relationship the family enjoys with the Creator God. Nothing can prevent God's people from the privileges of their inheritance since they are being shaped into the image of the victorious servant himself.