May 23, 2004
Acts 16:16-34; Revelation 22:12-14, 16, 17,20, 21; John 17:20-26
It should be kept in mind that the goal of the Jesus story as told by Luke in the Gospel and in Acts was to affirm a belief that Jesus was the Son of God sent to be the Savior of the world. Miracles of a variety of kinds were therefore important to prove that the disciples of Jesus had taken on the ministry that Jesus started and were succeeding utilizing the same source of power that had empowered Jesus. The point was to affirm that the disciples were literally carrying on the work that Jesus started and that in a real way Jesus was continuing after death, to work through them. The point was not to emphasize a new technique in health care. The point was to proclaim Jesus as the Son of God in spite of his death by crucifixion.
The book of Revelation continues the same theme as Acts but in a different way. Not only was the power of Jesus manifested through the continued work of his disciples after his death, but Jesus would come to the world again and receive those who believed in him as Savior, to himself. That would be the beginning of immortality in an experience of eternal bliss. As indicated in verse 21, it was believed that a Second Coming of Jesus would occur soon. This is a belief held by many fundamentalist Christians today even though "soon" has been over 2000 years ago.
Keep in mind that the Gospel of John was written many decades after the death of Jesus--perhaps as late at 110 A.D. Greek influence and the struggles of the disciples as to what should really be believed about Jesus come out in the book in a positive way always making Jesus and his message one of hope. But there was a problem. Much dissension was experienced in the church, even then, relative to belief in Jesus, i.e. "Christology". Christians were not united, as they are not today. While it is doubtful that the "High priestly Prayer" of John 17 was an utterance of Jesus, it is probable that whoever composed it had a pretty good grasp of the attitude and desire of Jesus for unity among his disciples. Such unity is a worthy goal towards which to work even now, in this 21st century.