Acts 1:6 ¶ When they
therefore were come together, they asked of him, saying, Lord, wilt thou at
this time restore again the kingdom to Israel? 7 And he said unto them, It is not for you to
know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power. 8 But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy
Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem,
and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.
9 And when he had spoken these things,
while they beheld, he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their
sight. 10 And while they looked
stedfastly toward heaven as he went up, behold, two men stood by them in white
apparel; 11 Which also said, Ye men of
Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up
from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into
heaven.
Luke 1:74 That he would grant unto us, that we being
delivered out of the hand of our enemies might serve him without fear,
Luke
1:74 shows that there was an expectation that Christ the Messiah would restore
Israel and deliver it from Roman occupation. This expectation persisted even
after Christ’s resurrection as shown here in Acts.
This
shows how the Fundamentalist doctrine that in the Old Testament the Jews were
looking forward to the Cross is wrong. They did not understand Isaiah 53. Their
confusion persisted until an eleventh century rabbi nicknamed Rashi developed
the idea previously only mentioned by a few that rather than being about a
singular man the chapters in Isaiah about the Messiah were actually about the
suffering Jewish people as a group thereby totally confusing the Jews with
regard to Christ.
Jesus’
Jewish followers literally had no clue what He was talking about when He
referred to His impending agony on the Cross or understood anything about His
Resurrection.
Matthew 16:21 ¶ From that time forth began Jesus to shew unto
his disciples, how that he must go unto Jerusalem, and suffer many things of
the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised again
the third day. 22 Then Peter took him,
and began to rebuke him, saying, Be it far from thee, Lord: this shall not be
unto thee. 23 But he turned, and said
unto Peter, Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art an offence unto me: for thou
savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men.
Mark 9:9 And as they came down from the mountain, he
charged them that they should tell no man what things they had seen, till the
Son of man were risen from the dead. 10
And they kept that saying with themselves, questioning one with another
what the rising from the dead should mean…31 For he taught his disciples, and said unto
them, The Son of man is delivered into the hands of men, and they shall kill
him; and after that he is killed, he shall rise the third day. 32
But they understood not
that saying, and were afraid to ask him.
Luke 18:31 ¶ Then he took unto him the twelve, and said unto them, Behold, we go up to
Jerusalem, and all things that are written by the prophets concerning the Son
of man shall be accomplished. 32 For he
shall be delivered unto the Gentiles, and shall be mocked, and spitefully
entreated, and spitted on: 33 And they
shall scourge him, and put him
to death: and the third day he shall rise again. 34 And they understood none of these things: and
this saying was hid from them, neither knew they the things which were spoken.
John 20:9 For as yet they knew not the scripture, that
he must rise again from the dead.
The Jews, even Christ’s followers, were expecting Him to restore
Israel to its former glory. But, He makes it clear that this information is not
for them, or us.
Deuteronomy 29:29 The
secret things belong unto the LORD our God: but those things which are revealed belong
unto us and to our children for ever, that we may do all the words of this law.
We understand prophecy
and the future only in a limited way but we are given it for a reason. Perhaps,
as Jesus told the Apostles;
John 16:4 But these things
have I told you, that when
the time shall come, ye may remember that I told you of them. And these things I said
not unto you at the beginning, because I was with you.
In verse 8 He tells
them what is going to happen in the immediate future and what they are to do.
Matthew 28:19 Go ye
therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and
of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: 20
Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you:
and, lo, I am with you alway, even
unto the end of the world. Amen.
Mark 16:15 And he said unto
them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.
Note verses 9 and 10. Luke
24 basically relates the same information as the account he wrote here.
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