Living by the Book/Living by the Book Workbook Set (8 page)

How did you make out? Do you have an eagle eye for detail? Or are you blind as a bat? Of course, none of the items in these ten questions is a matter of life and death.

Yet it’s funny how the little things so often make the difference in a fictional mystery or a real-life police investigation. Everything turns on a “minor” detail—the color of a suspect’s eyes, the time of day, a mispronounced word. The facts are there for anyone to see, yet only the master sleuth notices them. “You see, but you do not observe.”

Let me give you a chance to start observing Scripture. In the next chapter we’ll look at one verse and ask the simple question,
What do I see?
You may be surprised at the result.

A
re you ready to get into Scripture for yourself? I hope so. In this chapter I want to start small by observing one verse, Acts 1:8. I’m going to demonstrate the observational process so that you can see it in action. Follow along in your Bible as I ask questions of the text (in boldface below), to see what I can discover. Remember that my main concern in observation is,
What do I see?

You’ll notice on the following pages that I have rewritten the text in a way that facilitates the process. It clarifies not only the grammar but also the ideas that the writer wants to communicate to us.

We said in
chapter 4
that when we observe, we need to start by looking for some terms.
What is the most important term in this verse?
It’s the first word I see:
But
. Mark that word in your Bible.

The word
but
indicates contrast. Later we’ll see that contrasts are always important in Scripture. They indicate a change of direction. Here,
what does the word
but
force me to do?
To go back to the preceding context, another crucial aspect of Bible study that we’ll come back to. I’m breaking into this chapter at verse 8. And we never want to study something in isolation, but always in relation to something else. Since we’re so close to the beginning of the book, let’s go back and pick up the context from the start.

But you shall receive power

when the Holy Spirit has come upon you;

and you shall be My witnesses

both in Jerusalem,

and in all Judea

and Samaria,

and even to the remotest part of the earth.

Verse 1 begins by mentioning “the first account,” which upon investigation turns out to be the gospel by Luke. So right away I discover that Acts is by the same writer, Dr. Luke. (An important question that I’ll ask, but I’ll let you answer, is,
Who was Luke?
Make a list of everything you can discover about him.) Luke-Acts forms a two-volume set. The gospel of Luke gets the story started; Acts is the sequel.

Furthermore, I find that Luke and Acts have the same subject: “all that Jesus began to do and teach.” That’s a clue that Acts is going to give me a continuation of Christ’s ministry through His apostles.

Not only do Luke and Acts have the same subject, they are addressed to the same reader, a man named Theophilus.
Who was Theophilus?
If I go back to Luke 1:3, I discover that he is called, “most excellent Theophilus,” which may indicate that he had a title and position of prominence. But here he is called, simply, Theophilus. Perhaps in the interval between the writing of Luke and Acts, he had come to know Christ and lost his position. Or maybe Luke just uses the shorter form because of greater familiarity. At any rate, Luke had a particular individual in mind as he wrote.

The Acts account begins with a discussion. In verse 6, I find the Lord and His disciples talking about the kingdom of God. The text says, “And so when they had come together, they were asking Him.” The first thing they do is raise a question: “Is this it?” Is what it? “Is this the time when you are going to restore the kingdom to Israel?”

Jesus answers their question. First, He answers negatively by saying, in effect, “It is not for you to know” (v. 7). Then positively (v. 8)—and here’s where the word
but
figures so prominently—“But this is your responsibility.” The upshot is that verse 8 is part of a dialogue in which the disciples are asking questions and the Lord is answering them.

So that’s the preceding context. Let’s also look at what follows in verses 9–11, because they recount the ascension of our Lord. Remember that in addition to terms, you should always look for atmosphere. These verses create tremendous atmosphere, because if this is the ascension, then Jesus’ words in verse 8 are His last words to His disciples. In effect, He’s giving them their marching orders. “Now the job is yours,” He is telling them. And then, while they are looking, He goes up into heaven. He’s gone—and they’re on.

Whenever you study any verse of Scripture, be sure to place it into its context. See it both in terms of what goes before and what follows.