Week 24, June 9–15: Acts 17–28, 1 Chronicles 1–7; Psalms 73–78

• Sun      6/9       Acts 17–19     
• Mon     6/10     Acts 20–22      Psalm 73
• Tue      6/11     Acts 23–25      Psalm 74
• Wed     6/12     Acts 26–28      Psalm 75
• Thu      6/13     1 Chron 1–2    Psalm 76
• Fri        6/14     1 Chron 3–5    Psalm 77
• Sat       6/15     1 Chron 6–7    Psalm 78

We have been reading in Acts for the last several days, and the book wraps up in this week’s reading. Acts covers a unique and important time in history. It tells the story of the beginning of the Church and the earliest phase of Christians carrying out the mission of God’s people after Jesus’ resurrection and ascension to heaven. The book opens by telling us that this is part two of a two-volume work. The first part, the Gospel of Luke, was an orderly narrative of Jesus’ life, what he accomplished and what he taught (Acts 1:1, cf. Luke 1:1–4). Acts pick’s up where Luke’s Gospel left off. Both books were written to someone named Theophilus, probably by Luke, who was a companion of Paul’s who joined him in his travels. (Notice the  first time the pronouns switch from third-person “they” to first-person “we” in Acts 16:10.)

The first chapter of Acts includes some important introductory details that frame the rest of the book. Luke recounts the last instructions from Jesus to his apostles during the forty days he was with them after his resurrection. It says he spoke to them about the kingdom of God and he told them to wait in Jerusalem for the Holy Spirit to come upon them there (1:3–5). Then, in response to his disciples asking about the timing of the kingdom, Jesus says it is not for them to know the time. However, he does give them some significant information. He says, “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth” (1:8).

This is Jesus’ commission to the disciples, similar to the Great Commission at the end of Matthew’s Gospel (Matt. 28:19–20). Throughout Acts we see this mission advancing, always by the power of the Spirit, through the proclamation of the gospel of Christ, and rooted in the story of the Old Testament. Paul joins these efforts after his own miraculous conversion, and he becomes the focal agent of the early church’s mission in the latter half of Acts. He is the one primarily responsible for taking the gospel out from Jerusalem and Judea to the “ends of the earth.” The book ends with Paul in Rome continuing the work of Christ. He is there “proclaiming the kingdom of God and teaching about the Lord Jesus Christ with all boldness and without hindrance” (28:31).

This is what we are called to do as well. Acts narrates the launch of the church era, which is the era of history we are still living in as we look back to Jesus’ first coming and await his second coming. We are called to proclaim the good news of the kingdom and tell people boldly about Jesus the Messiah. And as we know from Acts, from the experience of those early Christians, this will not always be easy. One of the marks of the early church was persecution, but that persecution is what brought about the growth of the gospel (See 8:1–4; 11:19–21).

When we are reading Acts it’s helpful to remember that it is describing a particular time in history. It recounts the events when the Holy Spirit first came down at Pentecost and the Church was launched. It is instructive for us today. There are lessons to learn about things like evangelism, ecclesiology, spiritual gifts, and roles in the church, but the purpose of Acts is to primarily tell what happened, to describe the astounding events of the early church and especially to highlight God’s mighty acts to advance his kingdom after Jesus ascended and sent his Spirit to indwell and empower the church.

We also resume our reading in Psalms this week, reading Psalms 73–89, Book III of the Psalter. After finishing Acts we also go pick up where we left off in our OT reading and start reading 1 Chronicles. The first part of 1 Chronicles is similar to Numbers in that it consists of several long sections of genealogies. These can get a bit tedious to read, but remember, all Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for us to read. These genealogies work as a form of summary, tracing the story of God’s people starting with Adam and moving up to the lineage of Israel’s first king, Saul. The narrative then recounts Saul’s death and slows down from this point forward as David is anointed king and takes the throne.

From this point forward, to the end of 2 Chronicles, much of what is covered repeats what we read in 1–2 Samuel and 1–2 Kings. Sometimes these books are referred to as synoptic histories, because they are similar accounts of parallel events. Nevertheless, we should not see them simply as repetitions of exactly the same content. Just as we see each of the four Gospels as significant in its own right, even though they too cover essentially the same historical period, so too we should read Chronicles as a distinct book of the Bible with its own emphases and message. As you read through 1–2 Chronicles, keep this in mind and be noticing the details that stand out in comparison with the accounts of Samuel and Kings. We will consider a few of the distinct features in future posts.