In my former book, Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus began to do and to teach until the day he was taken up to heaven, after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles he had chosen. After his suffering, he presented himself to them and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive. He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God.

The book of Acts was likely written sometime between 60 and 70 A.D. It is widely agreed that it was written by Luke, the author of the gospel of Luke. It is written as an historical account of the Early Church, just after Jesus had died and rose again. Acts reads like a gripping adventure novel. And it was dedicated to Theophilus, likely his partner who provided the resources to publish and distribute this book.

These first few verses represent what a lot of commentators call “a summary” of his first book, the gospel of Luke. We see this type of review today when we watch ongoing dramas on our favorite streaming service.

And how do you summarize the whole gospel of Luke in a few verses? In my opinion, you can’t. I think this is more of a teaser for anyone reading this book who has not read the first one. It is a way to entice them to go back and read it.

Nevertheless, he does state in general what he wrote about — Jesus, his life, his work, his teachings. He also recaps the end of the last days of Jesus on earth, after his resurrection.

Luke tells us that Jesus appeared to his disciples in his resurrected form for 40 days after he rose again. Why did he do this? To increase their faith, to help forgive and heal them from the sins they committed surrounding the time of his crucifixion, and to instruct them, now that their eyes had been fully opened, about all the Old Testament said about his coming and what he wanted them to be about in the future.

He wanted them to be battle-ready, spiritual warriors. So Jesus held an intensive leadership training over forty days for 1) the inner circle of Peter, James, and John, 2) his 11 remaining disciples, and, 3) his 300+ followers who had joined them.

And as we begin to unfold the adventures of the early church, we must keep in mind that these adventures were the living out of what had been modeled in life, taught, retaught, and instilled through memorization, practice and meditation by Jesus. He is the one who started a movement that built the Church of God, and it has reigned for over 2,000 years. Much longer than any world power.

As I think about this: two trains of thought come into my mind: 1) Who do I allow to model life for me, to teach me, to reteach me, to instill into my heart? 2) Who am I a mentor for? Who do I model life for, to teach, reteach, and instill truth and virtue into?

Lord, thank you for this encouragement to focus my energy on building disciples in life. Help me to be intentional with how I spend my time and energy today. Spiritual victories are there for the taking, souls are there for the rescuing!