The disciples we see in the gospels were rough around the edges. Really, really rough.
Doubting Thomas.
Braggadocious Peter.
The Sons of Thunder.
They couldn’t cast out demons, they were easily distracted by unimportant details, and they battled for position of power and importance.
Honestly, when you look at this raggle-taggle bunch, you don’t see a whole lot of potential for greatness…
…unless you’re Jesus.
Unless you know something that most people don’t know.
But just turn over a few pages and suddenly these disciples who abandoned Jesus in the most painful moments of His life …
… the ones who fled for cover, denied their connection with him (so vehemently that vulgarity may or may not have been involved) …
… the ones who, after Jesus’ death, were huddled together in the upper room shaking in fear that the Jewish religious rulers would find them and do to them what they did to Jesus. … (If they only knew what the end of their lives would look like.)
These same men suddenly take on the known world.
They preach boldly in the tabernacle without so much as batting an eye at the Pharisees and Sadducees.
With just a word from their mouths, the lame walk.
By Acts 10, they even do the unthinkable and take the gospel to the Gentiles! **gasp** And suddenly the entire world is on fire … blazing for Christ.
They are arrested, beaten, and martyred for Christ.
Thousands are added to the church everyday. And world leaders are are pulling their hair out in frustration because the more they persecute these zealots, the hotter the bonfire burns.
What’s the difference?
What happened between Luke and Acts—the sequel to the book of Luke?
When you look at the end of Luke and the first chapter of Acts, nothing of significance has occurred that hasn’t been recorded. So the clue is in there somewhere.
And the clue is given in Acts 1 & 2.
Watch the videos below and you’ll see what that clue is:
Rosilind Jukic, a Pacific Northwest native, is a missionary living in Croatia and married to her Bosnian hero. Together they live with their two active boys where she enjoys fruity candles, good coffee and a hot cup of herbal tea on a blustery fall evening. Her passion for writing led her to author her best-selling book The Missional Handbook. At A Little R & R she encourages women to find contentment in what God created them to be. You can also find her at Missional Call where she shares her passion for local and global missions. She can also be found at on a regular basis. You can follow her on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and Google +.
