We are told that Jesus is the same “yesterday, today and forever!” (Hebrews 13:8).[1] When Paul wrote this about Jesus in his letter to the Hebrews, he was referring his readers to Psalm 90:1-4, where the Lord is seen as our dwelling place throughout our generations, and he is the same God from everlasting to everlasting, calling on his people to return to him, and he will destroy their enemies. Paul was writing to his countrymen, the Jews, who were at that time in the midst of persecution. They were in danger of falling away (Hebrews 6:6, 9), under the pressure of persecution from the Jewish authorities, which included the recent stoning of James the Less, called the Lord’s brother (cp. Hebrews 13:7; cir. 62 AD).
We have come to understand that the resurrection of Jesus is all about the new creation, Jesus being the Firstborn of many brethren (Romans 8:29; Colossians 1:15, 18; 2Corinthians 5:18). His ascension (Acts 1:9) is all about Jesus’ Messianic rule over the new creation, which is now breaking into the old world, which rebelled against God (Genesis 3; cp. Daniel 7:13-14), vis-à-vis a world, in which Jesus’ Messianic reign does not originate (John 18:36). Finally, Jesus Return or Second Coming is all about the judgment of God and the transformation of the creation, vis-à-vis the drawing of all men to Jesus (John 12:32) and putting all things right, as that pertains to mankind’s rebellion against God, liberating the slaves, healing the afflicted, and rescuing the lost. It is about the Coming of the Spirit of God, powerfully present in Jesus’ disciples, guiding and enabling them to bear witness to the old, rebellious, world that Jesus is now King, and the reality of that statement is seen and understood in the lives of Jesus’ followers.
This is further understood in that the kings or rulers of this world are angry over the fact that Jesus now reigns (Revelation 11:15, 18). We have come to understand that, when the Spirit comes (Acts 2), certain things happen, as Jesus’ followers spread the Gospel of his claim to be Lord over all creation. Just as it was so of the Jewish authorities, concerning Jesus, so it is true of both the Jewish and pagan authorities, as it pertains to Jesus’ disciples. It is all about misunderstanding and threats; it’s about the church giving allegiance to Jesus, our Lord, not men (Acts 5:29), and the reaction of this world’s rulers to our claim.
Keeping in mind that Jesus is the place, where Heaven and Earth meet, making him the new Temple of God, which is the reversal of mankind’s rebellion (Genesis 3:22-24), the Spirit, which now inhabits Jesus’ disciples (Acts 2), enables the Church to be a kind of outpost for that Temple of God, and the Book of Acts contains the history of that development. The focus is upon our bearing about the Presence of God, instead of the Temple in Jerusalem (Acts 7:48). It is about the resurrection of Jesus, the unknown God (Acts 17:23), which was considered foolishness by the unbelieving audience (Acts 17:32). Moreover, it is about the falling of the Holy Spirit upon the disciples of Jesus (Acts 2:1-4), as opposed to the falling of the image of Diana from the sky (Acts 19:35), warring Temples (Acts 19:27). Finally, it returns to the Temple of God, as opposed to the Temple of the Jews, the one receiving all mankind, while to other opposed all but the Jews (Acts 22:21-22; 26:14-23). The Book of Acts is all about who the real God is (Acts 17:23), where he lives (Acts 7:48) and who’s in charge (Acts 17:7).
The Book of Acts is, nevertheless, a record of a different kind of king and a different kind of kingdom (cp. Luke 17:21). Jesus’ authority spreads out from Jerusalem, to Samaria and the rest of the world, not through violence, but through the authority of preaching (Acts 1:8). The process of victory over the old rebellious world is accomplished through a means, which is in accordance with the Gospel, Jesus preached from the beginning. It involves “suffering, misunderstanding, violence and execution” even shipwreck (Acts 27:39-41). We’ve come to understand that the throne of Christ is the cross. Thereby he has overcome the world, and is made King, and the Book of Acts tells the story of Jesus in such a manner that it takes the Church as the image of Christ, telling its story as the mirror image of him whose throne is the cross.
Thus, whether we read or speak of the Gospel narratives, Acts the Epistles or the imagery of the Apocalypse, Jesus is King, but he is the crucified King. It was there, on the cross, that he had overcome the world, conquering all those who fancied themselves rulers of this world. Therefore, it became the responsibility and fate of Jesus’ followers, if they were to be obedient to the charge of preaching such a strange Gospel (cp. Acts 1:8; Matthew 28:18-20), they would have to do so through the same method of suffering. The victory of Jesus was the cross, and the victory of his followers is in fellowship/sharing in that suffering.
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[1] We are, presently, involved in a study of Simply Jesus, a book written by my favorite scholar, N.T. Wright. I don’t always agree with the position he takes, but most often (perhaps 80-90 % of the time) I do take the position he does in this, his very interesting and informative work.
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