A New Temple, A New Israel
Acts Chapter 1
What is more impressive to you? Watching someone rise from the dead, or watching a man ascend into heaven? If you saw either, how would you respond to it?
When Jesus rose from the dead and dwelt with the disciples, they were not wasting time together. Jesus gave them a 40-day crash course in Old Testament studies. This is to say that Jesus is educating them of God’s plan from the very beginning, and how He fits into that plan. But also important, how His disciples fit into it.
Jesus begins by citing John’s message at the beginning of the book of Luke (3:16). John the Baptist baptized with water, but the Spirit of God was missing from this baptism. In other words, John’s baptism did not receive God’s presence as Jesus did at His baptism (Luke 3:21-22). Jesus was Israel embodied, to succeed and not fail as Israel had. Jesus was anointed with the Spirit of God to preach the good news and to heal (Luke 4:18). This is precisely what Jesus did. He then sent His disciples out to preach the good news and to heal (Luke 9:6). The only thing missing in the lives of men, is God’s presence and justified forgiveness. The Kingdom of God would be this new reality where God and man would coexist because of forgiveness (healing).
Jesus tells His disciples, that after His ascension, they will wait in Jerusalem for God’s Spirit to be poured out. John’s baptism could not accomplish this, but baptism in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit can. The body of Christ will become a “temple of God” wherein God dwells (Deuteronomy 12). The disciples will be the body of Christ, the new Israel, to take His message and His healing to the world. Now, with Jesus’ task complete, the Spirit of God is accessible to the world. This is where the healing is achieved – in the forgiveness of God. By God’s supernatural power manifested into the world, all would see and know that God’s presence is in His holy temple, His body. We can look at the miracles in God’s word and by the testimony believe that God also dwells with us now.
The only thing left is to replace the missing apostle. Israel was composed of 12 tribes, and yet, this new Israel lacked a twelfth. It was necessary that Judas be replaced. Just like the priests in the temple addressed the Urim and Thummim for supernatural insight from God, the eleven cast lots for the twelfth apostle. All things were ready for God to descend on His new temple, His holy people. This holiness was only possible because of the blood of the King now seated on His Davidic throne.
