“Whoever receives his testimony sets his seal to this, that God is true.”
~John 3:33~

It’s been a while since reading a book of the Bible, so I thought for Advent readings I could read the book of Acts. Right away this stood out to me in the opening verses, when it says, “He presented himself alive to them after his suffering by many proofs, appearing to them during forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God (1:4).”

Luke began his first book “with all that Jesus began to do and teach” and now in his second book he will tell of the apostles and how they began to do the same (do and teach). In the very first chapter you have Peter standing up addressing the believers, and quoting the Psalms which foretold of Judas’s demise and eventual replacement.

I’ve always kind of accepted at face value where the New Testament mentions how the Old Testament relates. If the Scriptures were “God-breathed” or Spirit-inspired, it makes sense that the New Testament writers would be given insight into which Psalms fit where, or which prophets were talking about this or that. The Spirit opened their eyes.

But first it was actually Jesus who did this. In the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke, and even in the very first verses of John, you have the writers right away repeating things that they have heard. They were not just suddenly students finally making some more connections. They’d walked with Jesus who explained to them all these written things.

In this way the Spirit shows us how to interpret the Scriptures and trains our minds to see Jesus in the pages. This was how Jesus taught his disciples, and how his disciples went on to teach others. I’ve always liked the part in chapter 2 about the fellowship–the generosity, awe, and fervor. But today I was inspired by everything that came before it.