Sermon Notes

Acts 1 6So when they had come together, they asked him, “Lord, is this the time when you will restore the kingdom to Israel?” 7 He replied, “It is not for you to know the times or periods that the Father has set by his own authority. 8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
2 Corinthians 8 [ 1We want you to know, brothers and sisters, about the grace of God that has been granted to the churches of Macedonia, 2 for during a severe ordeal of affliction their abundant joy and their extreme poverty have overflowed in a wealth of generosity on their part.] 3 For, as I can testify, they voluntarily gave according to their means and even beyond their means, 4 begging us earnestly for the favor of partnering in this ministry to the saints, 5 and not as we expected. Instead, they gave themselves first to the Lord and, by the will of God, to us, 6 so that we might urge Titus that, as he had already made a beginning, so he should also complete this generous undertaking among you. 7 Now as you excel in everything—in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in utmost eagerness, and in our love for you—so we want you to excel also in this generous undertaking. 8 I do not say this as a command, but I am, by mentioning the eagerness of others, testing the genuineness of your love. 9 For you know the generous act of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that by his poverty you might become rich. (New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition, NRSVue)
Acts 1 6 When they were together for the last time they asked, “Master, are you going to restore the kingdom to Israel now? Is this the time?” 7-8 He told them, “You don’t get to know the time. Timing is the Father’s business. What you’ll get is the Holy Spirit. And when the Holy Spirit comes on you, you will be able to be my witnesses in Jerusalem, all over Judea and Samaria, even to the ends of the world.”
2 Corinthians 8 [ 1-2 Now, friends, I want to report on the surprising and generous ways in which God is working in the Churches in Macedonia province. Fierce troubles came down on the people of those Churches, pushing them to the very limit. The trial exposed their true colors: They were incredibly happy, though desperately poor. The pressure triggered something totally unexpected: an outpouring of pure and generous gifts.] 3-4 I was there and saw it for myself. They gave offerings of whatever they could—far more than they could afford!—pleading for the privilege of helping out in the relief of poor Christians. 5-7 This was totally spontaneous, entirely their own idea, and caught us completely off guard. What explains it was that they had first given themselves unreservedly to God and to us. The other giving simply flowed out of the purposes of God working in their lives. That’s what prompted us to ask Titus to bring the relief offering to your attention, so that what was so well begun could be finished up. You do so well in so many things—you trust God, you’re articulate, you’re insightful, you’re passionate, you love us—now, do your best in this, too. 8-9 I’m not trying to order you around against your will. But by bringing in the Macedonians’ enthusiasm as a stimulus to your love, I am hoping to bring the best out of you. You are familiar with the generosity of our Master, Jesus Christ. Rich as he was, he gave it all away for us—in one stroke he became poor and we became rich. (The Message, MSG)

As the final lesson on the quarterly theme Enduring Beliefs of the Church, this week’s lesson focuses on mission and stewardship as crucial teachings of the Church. In the forty days following Jesus’ resurrection, and before his ascension, the disciples pressed him about the nature of his mission. Because they affirmed him as the Messiah, they expected him to initiate some kind of social/political movement that would reconstitute a “new” Israel in keeping with centuries held beliefs. However, Jesus had no intention of restoring a physical kingdom. Instead, he emphasized that the kingdom of God would be a kin-dom of lived ethics and spiritual values that reshaped how people engaged and affirmed each other. God’s kin-dom would be a community of people who reshaped the world through radical love and radical service. It would be a kin-dom founded upon mission and stewardship; a kin-dom birthed by the Holy Spirit.
The book of Acts tells the story of the Church’s birth and how early Christians lived out their faith in Jesus Christ through love and service. 2 Corinthians tells the story of how Paul emphasized the love and generosity of Jesus Christ to the Church in Corinth as their call to mission and service. Both textual passages have much to share with contemporary Christians concerning how we are called to steward ourselves and our finances towards sharing the good news of Jesus and taking care of the physical needs of our fellow Christians. That work is our call, our mission, our reasonable service.

To understand the events in Acts 1, we must gain a sense of chronological sequence. In the first two verses, Luke refers to his previous volume, in which he covered a time span of approximately 33 years. The major portion of that Gospel records the 3+ years of Jesus’ public ministry, beginning with the introduction of John and the baptism and temptation of Jesus. The Gospel of Luke ends with Jesus’ resurrection and with an anticipation of the coming of the Holy Spirit. Acts of the Apostles takes up where Luke leaves off.
The first 11 verses of Acts 1 offer a summary and culmination of the 40-day period a risen Jesus spent with the disciples before His ascension. Verses 12-26 are the only account of the 10-day period between Jesus’ ascension and the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, some 50 days after Jesus’ resurrection. It was during this period that Jesus had told his disciples to wait. The disciples/apostles spent most of their time at the Temple or in that upper room, praying, and discussing the scriptures.
In 2 Corinthians 8, Paul expresses pastoral privilege imploring the Church at Corinth to exercise good stewardship through the proper use of their material blessings. Paul is not raising funds for himself or his ministry. Rather, he is talking about one of the most important forms of giving in the New Testament, and one not nearly as common today—giving to saints who are in dire poverty. Critics would suggest that Paul’s instruction here are out of place in the context of the epistle, but they would be wrong. Paul’s teaching on giving is directly related to the problems in the Corinthian Church. They are words that we need to hear, understand and put into practice.
When Paul first arrived in Corinth, on his second missionary journey, he preached the Gospel, and many came to faith in Jesus Christ. In their joy and gratitude, they pledged to make a contribution to the poor in Jerusalem. Titus was sent to Corinth to help them commence a plan by which a contribution for the poor in Jerusalem will be raised over a period of time (1 Corinthians 16:1-4). Over time, and because of the negative influence of the “false apostles,” the Corinthians slacked on their giving for this need; they had fallen back in their regular contributions in preparation for sending this gift on to Jerusalem.
But now, the Corinthians have truly repented. They yearn to see Paul and are zealous in defending him. When Paul comes again, it will be with other men to collect the gift they promised for the Jerusalem Church. It would have proven to be embarrassing if there were no generous offering to collect for the Corinthians, or for Paul and his companions. Thus, Paul writes to encourage the Corinthians to complete the project they have begun, thereby paving the way for a joyful reunion.

Acts 1 6 When they were together for the last time they asked, “Master, are you going to restore the kingdom to Israel now? Is this the time?” 7-8 He told them, “You don’t get to know the time. Timing is the Father’s business. What you’ll get is the Holy Spirit. And when the Holy Spirit comes on you, you will be able to be my witnesses in Jerusalem, all over Judea and Samaria, even to the ends of the world.”
In the opening verses of the lesson, the Lukan writer explains that although the disciples had been with Jesus throughout His ministry; had experienced His teaching and witnessed His many signs and wonders; had been horrified by his violent death and overwhelmed by his triumphant resurrection, they still had no understanding of the composition of God’s kingdom/kin-dom. Their inquiry makes this clear. Jesus’ response suggests that their focus was misdirected. He tells them that, rather than concern themselves with what was not a part of their responsibility, they should eagerly desire what was promised to them and would come to have preeminence in their spiritual composition: “The coming of the Holy Spirit.”
It’s apparent that the kingdom the disciples were interested in was the Davidic kingdom. After all, the promise of God was that David’s monarchy would reign forever (2 Samuel 7:12-16). What the disciples didn’t account for was that the kingdom/kin-dom of God was not earthly, but spiritual. And no matter how much teaching Jesus did about the kingdom over the span of his earthly ministry, the disciples were still thinking of earthly power, position, and prestige.

Moment for Reflection: It is sad that we are privy to teaching of Jesus’ kingdom/kin-dom today, and yet, contemporary Christians still seem to have no clear understanding of what it means to be kingdom citizens. We continue to try to reconstruct Jesus’ kingdom into one that resembles our own priorities and customs.
Redirecting their priority, Jesus reminds the disciples what their responsibility was: to proclaim the Gospel to the world. Thus, Jesus reiterates the Great Commission—not so much as a command but as a prophecy of what was certain to come. The Holy Spirit would come upon them, bestowing power on them, and they would be witnesses to the nations. This was a certainty. It did not always happen consciously or voluntarily—even willingly—but it did happen.
Acts of the Apostles narrates how, in the wisdom of God, this was accomplished despite the disciples’ doubt, and through them by the power of the Holy Spirit. Acts 1:8 provides a geographical dispersion of the gospel and the development of the early Church. The gospel (euangelion in Greek) will be preached in Jerusalem and Judea (Acts 1-7), in Samaria (Acts 8), and to the ends of the world—Rome and beyond (Acts 13-28).
2 Corinthians 8 [ 1-2 Now, friends, I want to report on the surprising and generous ways in which God is working in the Churches in Macedonia province. Fierce troubles came down on the people of those Churches, pushing them to the very limit. The trial exposed their true colors: They were incredibly happy, though desperately poor. The pressure triggered something totally unexpected: an outpouring of pure and generous gifts. ] 3-4 I was there and saw it for myself. They gave offerings of whatever they could—far more than they could afford!—pleading for the privilege of helping out in the relief of poor Christians. 5-7 This was totally spontaneous, entirely their own idea, and caught us completely off guard. What explains it was that they had first given themselves unreservedly to God and to us. The other giving simply flowed out of the purposes of God working in their lives. That’s what prompted us to ask Titus to bring the relief offering to your attention, so that what was so well begun could be finished up. You do so well in so many things—you trust God, you’re articulate, you’re insightful, you’re passionate, you love us—now, do your best in this, too.
In the second text of this lesson, we consider Paul’s encouragement to the Church in Corinthians that they should sacrificially give to help the Church in Jerusalem. While verses 1 and 2 are not part of the printed lesson, it is important to include them to understand the full context of verses 3-9.
Paul introduces the subject of the Corinthians’ pledge to give a gift to the poor by describing the incredible generosity of the Macedonian Christians, who gave liberally to the need in Jerusalem. These included the Churches at Philippi, Berea, and Thessalonica. The Philippian Church was especially generous. Not only did they make a generous contribution to the poor in Jerusalem, but they were also generous to Paul check on Paul, along with a love gift of money for his needs (Philippians 2:25; 4:15, 16).
Note that the actual amount of the Macedonian contribution is not mentioned. Paul’s emphasis was not on the amount, but on the liberality with which they gave, particularly in light of their circumstances (verse 2; 1 Thessalonians 1:3, 4, 6, 7). The Macedonians’ ordeals could have served as excuses for not giving at all. Like many of us, chants of, “Charity begins at home,” could have gone up.
Paul provides us with the underlying basis for the Macedonians’ generosity:
1. They gave generously at a time when they were poor themselves. Christ gave Himself for their salvation; how could they not give themselves to him? They are his servants, eager and willing to walk in his footsteps.
2. They gave themselves to the apostles, as Christ’s earthly spokesmen. The apostles were deeply concerned about the poor, and rightly so (Acts 2:43-47; 4:32-37; 5:1-11; 6:1-7; Romans 12;13; Galatians 2:10; I Timothy 6:17-19; Hebrews 13:16; James 1:27-2:26). And so, when the Macedonians gave themselves to the apostles, they took it upon themselves to emulate the priorities that the apostles had emphasized.
The Macedonians’ method of giving is exemplary. They gave voluntarily and counted it a privilege to give, begging Paul for the opportunity to do so. They gave gratefully. They gave generously to people whom they had never seen and likely would never meet. Their gift evidences their gratitude to God for saving them through the sacrifice of Jesus. They gave to fellow-believers as an evidence of their unity in Christ. They gave joyfully. In their affliction and deep poverty, they exhibited great generosity.
For these reasons, Paul urges the Corinthians to follow in the Macedonians’ footsteps. To facilitate this, Paul will send Titus a second time to lead in the effort to finish what they had promised to do. Up to this point, the Church had excelled in many ways—in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in earnestness and zeal, and in love. Let them now excel in this gracious work of giving.
8-9 I’m not trying to order you around against your will. But by bringing in the Macedonians’ enthusiasm as a stimulus to your love, I am hoping to bring the best out of you. You are familiar with the generosity of our Master, Jesus Christ. Rich as he was, he gave it all away for us—in one stroke he became poor and we became rich.
Later in this epistle, Paul points out that the “false apostles” at Corinth use heavy-handed tactics to get the results they want (2 Corinthians 11:20). In contrast, Paul takes a different approach; he is not commanding them to give, but rather encouraging them to give as visible proof of their love. The Macedonians have demonstrated the sincerity of their love by the sacrificial generosity of their gift to the needy saints in Jerusalem. In doing this, they have established a benchmark against which the Corinthians’ love can be measured. The earnestness of the Macedonians helps set the standard by which the Corinthians may prove the sincerity of their love.
But there is a much higher standard than this. The human benchmark of the Macedonians’ love and generosity is far surpassed by the divine benchmark for love and sacrifice to those in need. The ultimate example of gracious giving is our Lord Jesus Christ, by His sacrificial atoning work on the cross of Calvary. He was infinitely “rich” in the presence of his Father (John 17:5; Philippians 2:6). He willingly “became poor,” in his incarnation (Philippians 2:5-8), for the sake of those of us who were spiritually “bankrupt” in our sin. Through faith in His sacrificial work on the Cross of Calvary, He has made all those who trust in Him exceedingly rich.

Moment of Reflection: Whatever we might do for those who are poor can never compare with the work of Jesus Christ on the cross. Our material wealth can never compare to his heavenly glory; and our sacrificial poverty can never compare to the “poverty” he endured in his incarnation. The person and work of Christ is the basis for our motivation, the standard for our ministry, and benchmark for our stewardship and mission.