The Continuous Work of Jesus

Welcome to the City of Refuge Young Adults class blog! This blog is intended to be a place where we can more deeply explore the material present in the class and to provide a forum for discussion. Currently, we are planning on posting every Monday through Friday. Most of the posts will focus on a particular section of the scripture studied on Sunday. On Wednesday we will do a special post highlighting either a member of the leadership or a partner ministry of COR. We invite you to post comments and share your thoughts with regards to Acts throughout the week.

Now on to Acts…

"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." Acts 1: 1-2 (NIV)

Chris emphasized on Sunday the presence of the word "began" in reference to the work of Jesus recorded in Luke. The idea that Jesus' time on earth is only a beginning is remarkable considering Jesus' words on the cross "It is finished (John 19:30)." The idea is particularly troubling since it doesn't seem his work was finished. There was another very important act still to come: the resurrection! So which is it? Was Jesus' time on earth the beginning of his work or the finishing of his work? Like the answers to many questions in our study, the answer is both.

So what was finished on the cross? It certainly was the finishing of Jesus' life because we believe he actually died. More importantly though, it was the finishing of a particular work: the perfect sacrifice which fulfills the just requirement of the Old Testament covenant.

However, the complete fulfillment of the old covenant also required a continuing work of Jesus. There is a nice tie in here with our study of Hebrews last fall. Remember Hebrews 7:25 that discussed Jesus' continued intercession for us? This verse from Hebrews points out that our complete salvation depends on Jesus' eternal life and intercession on our behalf. We find in this verse why the resurrection is so important. If Jesus was not resurrected then he died from sin just like every other man (though he died for the sins of others rather than his own sin). Instead, Jesus was resurrected to eternal life and now lives to make continuous intercession. This intercession is the continued work of Jesus to present day and through eternity.

In addition, we discussed on Sunday that Jesus' work continues through us. It continues through the church. Jesus passes his mission to "seek and save what was lost (Luke 19:10)" on to us with the important distinction that we don't do so of our own power and authority. Nonetheless, we find something extraordinarily critical in this mission: purpose. Making disciples and the worship of God become the direction towards which we align our life. This mission is the fulfillment of our deepest longing and a triumphant answer to the meaninglessness of Ecclesiastes!

Going deeper: Take time today to read through Acts 1 again. What else does this scripture have to say about the person and work of Jesus?