Introduction (1:1–8) Acts 1:3
Introduction (1:1–8)
Acts 1:3
οἷς καὶ παρέστησεν ἑαυτὸν ζῶντα μετὰ τὸ παθεῖν αὐτὸν ἐν πολλοῖς τεκμηρίοις, δι' ἡμερῶν τεσσαράκοντα ὀπτανόμενος αὐτοῖς καὶ λέγων τὰ περὶ τῆς βασιλείας τοῦ θεοῦ
1. Exegesis of the Text
This verse is built on two paired verbs — παρέστησεν ἑαυτὸν ζῶντα ("presented himself alive") and λέγων τὰ περὶ τῆς βασιλείας τοῦ θεοῦ ("speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God"). One is experience, the other is teaching.
Christ first showed that he was actually alive. ἐν πολλοῖς τεκμηρίοις ("by many infallible proofs") and δι' ἡμερῶν τεσσαράκοντα ... ὀπτανόμενος ("during forty days ... appearing") support this — not a single sighting, but repeated appearances over forty days.
But Christ did not stop there. During those same forty days, he spoke — concerning the kingdom of God. If the experience confirmed the fact, the teaching opened up its meaning.
These two verbs standing side by side is no accident. What the eyes witness and what that sight means are two different things. Experience confirms a fact, but only teaching provides the framework to interpret it.
2. The Point the Text Gives Us
The disciples needed both experience and teaching. Experience alone would have led them to conclude too quickly, upon seeing the resurrection, that "the kingdom has now come." Indeed, the question in verse 6 — "wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel?" — shows that this misunderstanding remained even after forty days of teaching. Conversely, teaching without experience would have left the disciples merely repeating a lesson they had been told, rather than being witnesses who had verified the resurrection with their own bodies. This is precisely why the qualification for an apostle was defined as "a witness with us of his resurrection" (Acts 1:22).
What is "experience" for us today? We cannot see the risen Lord with our own eyes as the disciples did. But Scripture places in this space the inward testimony of the Holy Spirit and our encounter with him in the Word. The experience of the Spirit confirming the Word as living truth in our hearts as we read and hear it, the experience of God's living reality through answered prayer, the enjoyment of Christ's presence in worship and at the Lord's Table — these are where "experience" is given to us today. Just as the disciples needed forty days of witness, we too need a place where we encounter the living Christ personally, not merely a faith held as an idea.
What is "teaching" for us today? At the same time, that experience must always be interpreted and ordered by the teaching of the Word. The moment emotional grace or mystical experience itself becomes the goal of faith, we easily fall into the same kind of misunderstanding the disciples showed in verse 6 — premature enthusiasm, misplaced expectation. Preaching that lays bare what the text itself says — not human wisdom or sentiment — together with systematic doctrinal instruction (such as the Westminster Standards), is what fulfills the role of this "teaching" today.
Experience gives the assurance that the kingdom of God has truly begun. Teaching gives the direction — that this kingdom is not yet complete, and must be extended through the mission of being witnesses. Only when both are held together can one avoid tipping into either premature enthusiasm or empty doctrine, and stand rightly prepared for the mission given in verse 8.