Acts 1:1

Luke did not write his first book to tell us what Jesus did.  We know this because of the way he began his second book.  He says, “In my former book, Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus began to do and to teach…” (NIV)  Out of the 59 English translations that I was able to check, all but 12 use the same translation.  The 47 all agree that Luke said he wrote about what Jesus “began.” Only 12 translations believe Luke wrote about what Jesus did.  At first glance, this may seem like only a matter of semantics, but it makes a huge difference in our theology of the church.

If the gospel of Luke tells us, what Jesus said and did it indicates that the work of Jesus has ended.  Said and did mean that there was a starting point of saying and doing and there was an ending point where Christ’s work was completed.  We sometimes speak this way about his death and resurrection.  He did die and his father did resurrect him, and he now lives.  All of those events are complete.  However, the life and teaching of Jesus is so much more than just his death and resurrection.  The death and resurrection made salvation possible, but Christ wants so much more for humanity.

When we realize that the life of Jesus, as recorded in the book of Luke, is the beginning not the end of the work of Christ, it makes a difference.  Christ began a work that is not yet complete.  Christ began to teach lessons that many have not learned.  This means that when Christ ascended into heaven there was still much that needed doing, and he would not be here to do it.  Either his work would remain incomplete, or his church would pick up the responsibility and would continue His ministry.  The book of Acts is a story of the work of Jesus carried out by his church.  It is a story the church is still writing today.