Acts 1:3,4 - Presented Himself Alive

1:3

“After His suffering” is literally “after His passion”, which is why various works of art or music refer to the “passion”. He appeared to the disciples. Critics argue that if the resurrection was genuine he would have appeared to sceptics or unbelievers, and so they discount this as evidence. However, there are at least two things that can be said about this. First is that He did appear to at least two unbelievers and convince them. One was His brother James, and the other was the apostle Paul. However, there is a more important point, and this is the way that God is working. God works through believers. The resurrection is not a mere “apologetic argument”, it is a fundamental fact affecting the eternal destiny of all who will believe. On the cross Jesus bore our sins, paid the price for our sins, and rose again so that we could have new life. Believing in the fact of the resurrection is not really the crucial issue, rather it is repenting and believing. Believing that we find forgiveness and new life in Christ, and the effect that that then has in our lives. The basis for that belief is indeed the resurrection, but the resurrection is not a standalone event. In Christ God is creating a new people.

Moreover, Jesus did not just appear to the disciples, He also taught them about the kingdom of God. He was laying the foundations for a new people.

1:4

The word used in “while staying with them” is an unusual word in the Greek and probably refers to Jesus teaching them during meals. We know from John’s gospel that the Last Supper was a time of special teaching. They were told not to leave Jerusalem until they received the Holy Spirit. As mentioned in the introduction, the Luke sees the Holy Spirit as absolutely central to all that Jesus did and all that the church was to do. The church without the Holy Spirit is no church at all. The Holy Spirit is the promise of the Father, ie receiving the Spirit and living in His power is all part of God’s plan. It is not God’s plan for us to live purely in our own strength. “You heard from me” is probably not a reference to any particular word from Jesus, but to His teaching in general.