"WHAT HAPPENED NEXT?"
Acts 2:14, 22–32
Alleluia! Christ is risen! Christ is risen indeed!
We celebrated the resurrection of Jesus last Sunday, but have you ever wondered what happened next after the empty tomb? What happened after the resurrection appearances, and after Jesus ascended into heaven? That is exactly where the Book of Acts begins.
Some people call it The Acts of the Apostles, while others call it The Acts of the Holy Spirit through the Apostles, and both are true because Acts is not just history but the story of how the risen Christ continues His work through His people by the power of the Holy Spirit. Acts is a bridge from Jesus to the Church, from the Gospel to the world, and from the first disciples to us, and today I want us to walk across that bridge together.
Before Jesus ascended into heaven, He gave His disciples one final command, telling them to wait for the gift the Father had promised and assuring them that they would receive power when the Holy Spirit came upon them and that they would be His witnesses (Acts 1:8).
Now this may surprise us because the disciples had already spent three years with Jesus, they had seen His miracles, heard His teaching, and even witnessed His resurrection, so if anyone seemed ready it was them, and yet Jesus still said, “Wait.”
The reason is simple because readiness in God’s kingdom is not about knowledge or experience but about power, God’s power. It is like having a brand-new car with a perfect engine and beautiful design but no fuel, because you can sit in it and turn the key but without power it will not go anywhere.
The disciples had knowledge and experience, but they still needed power, and in the same way we often have plans, ideas, and good intentions but we still need the power of the Holy Spirit because God’s work must be done in God’s power and not our own. As Peter said that whoever serves or speaks must do so with the strength that God supplies (1 Peter 4:11). If we rely on our own strength, we may fall into temptation.
In Acts chapter 2, everything changes as the Holy Spirit comes and fear turns into boldness, confusion turns into clarity, and silence turns into proclamation. In today’s scripture, Peter, who once denied Jesus and hid in fear, now stands before the crowd and boldly declares that they crucified Jesus but that God raised Him up and that they are all witnesses to this truth. This is an incredible transformation because the same man who was once afraid is now fearless, and after his sermon that day about three thousand people were baptized and the church began to grow (Acts 2:41).
Before Pentecost the disciples were like candles without a flame, but after Pentecost they became a wildfire that could not be stopped. This reminds us that the Holy Spirit does not just comfort us but transforms us by giving us courage where there was fear, words where there was silence, and life where there was emptiness.
The Acts of Apostles shows us that it is a bridge from Jesus to the Church and from Jesus to the world. The disciples are eyewitnesses to Jesus in the gospels but in Acts that witness begins to spread beyond Jerusalem to Judea, Samaria, and eventually to the Gentiles (Acts 1:8), and this is where the Apostle Paul enters the story.
We were not born Jewish but are Gentiles, which means that we received the gospel because someone carried it to us. Paul was one of the greatest missionaries who took the message beyond Israel to the nations. The gospel is like a relay race where Jesus handed it to the disciples, the disciples passed it on, and Paul carried it to the Gentiles, and somewhere along the way someone handed it to you and me, whether it was a parent, a pastor, a friend, or a church, because someone was faithful, and now the question is whether we will pass it on.
Acts chapter 15 becomes one of the most important turning points in the Bible because the early church had to answer a crucial question about whether Gentiles needed to follow Jewish law in first order to be saved. After gathering together in what we call the Jerusalem Council, they declared that salvation is by grace through Jesus Christ and not by the law but by faith alone.
It is like a door that had always been closed to outsiders but is now thrown wide open so that everyone is invited in, and this reminds us that Christianity is not a closed group but an open invitation.
In the Old Testament God’s people were primarily Israel, but in Acts God’s people become a global family that is not based on race or law but on faith in Jesus Christ. God’s blessing was never meant to stay in one place but to spread like a river overflowing its banks and reaching farther and farther until it reaches us today. The gospel is for all people, for every nation and every generation, and the Holy Spirit continues to lead us through the Word of God.
One of the most remarkable things about the Acts of the Apostles is that it does not really end because it stops at chapter 28 but feels unfinished, and that is because the story is still continuing as we are living in what we might call Acts chapter 29. The mission of the church is not finished because the risen Christ is still working, the Holy Spirit is still moving, and the gospel is still going out into the world. We are living and writing our own Acts 29.
So, the question becomes very personal as we ask ourselves where we fit in this story, whether we are trying to live in our own power or truly waiting on the Spirit, and whether we are holding onto the gospel or faithfully passing it on to others. Jesus is still building His church and invites each one of us to be part of His work.
Therefore, we should go back to the early church. Let us share the same passion the early church had and invite people to Jesus, whether the time is favorable or unfavorable. We are called to write Chapter 29 of Acts.
May we pray for the Holy Spirit, receive God’s power, bear witness to Christ, and carry the gospel forward, and may it be so for you and for me. Amen.
