Does God favor one nation over another? (Acts 1:6-11) - The PursueGOD Truth Podcast

Today we continue our study of Acts, covering Acts 1:6-11. Here’s the question we’ll answer as we look at the text: Does God favor one nation over another?

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This is an important question in today’s world:

• Issue of immigration
• Christian nations vs. Muslim nations, etc.
• It was a question on the minds of the disciples in Acts 1
• Jesus had just spent 3 yrs with them
• Almost exclusively did ministry among Israelites
• Matthew 15:21-24 (NLT) 21 Then Jesus left Galilee and went north to the region of Tyre and Sidon. 22 A Gentile woman who lived there came to him, pleading, “Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David! For my daughter is possessed by a demon that torments her severely.” 23 But Jesus gave her no reply, not even a word. Then his disciples urged him to send her away. “Tell her to go away,” they said. “She is bothering us with all her begging.” 24 Then Jesus said to the woman, “I was sent only to help God’s lost sheep—the people of Israel.”
• Note three things:
• Jesus was silent!?
• Disciples wanted him to send her away
• Jesus was sent to help only Israel
• Jesus ends up healing the daughter
• But it was the exception, not the rule
• Seems nationalistic, right?!
• The point: disciples thought God favored Israel
• Very nationalistic in their ideology
• The “Chosen ones”
• Deuteronomy 7:6 (NLT) For you are a holy people, who belong to the LORD your God. Of all the people on earth, the LORD your God has chosen you to be his own special treasure.
• Seems like American Christians today
• We are the new chosen ones
• We have the only true God
• We have a better ideology
• We are God’s favorites
• But what does the Bible say about this?

Let’s warm up with a history lesson on Israel:

• Theocracy
• First King - Saul
• United Monarchy (c. 1000–930 BCE)
• King David (c. 1010–970 BCE) : David united the tribes of Israel and established Jerusalem as the capital.
• King Solomon (c. 970–930 BCE) : Solomon, David's son, built the First Temple in Jerusalem. After his death, the kingdom split into two.
• Divided Monarchy (c. 930–722 BCE for Israel, c. 930–586 BCE for Judah)
• Kingdom of Israel (Northern Kingdom) : Fell to the Assyrian Empire in 722 BCE.
• Kingdom of Judah (Southern Kingdom) : Continued until it fell to the Babylonian Empire in 586 BCE.
• Assyrian Rule (c. 722–605 BCE)- The Assyrians conquered the northern kingdom of Israel in 722 BCE, leading to the exile of many Israelites.
• Babylonian Rule (c. 605–539 BCE)- The Babylonians, led by Nebuchadnezzar II, destroyed Jerusalem and the First Temple in 586 BCE, initiating the Babylonian Captivity.
• Persian Rule (c. 539–332 BCE)- Cyrus the Great of Persia conquered Babylon in 539 BCE and allowed the Jewish exiles to return and rebuild the Temple (Second Temple period).
• Greek Rule (c. 332–167 BCE)- Alexander the Great conquered the Persian Empire, including Israel, in 332 BCE. After his death, the region was controlled by the Ptolemies and then the Seleucids.
• Maccabean/Hasmonean Period (167–63 BCE) : The Maccabees revolted against Seleucid rule (part of the fragmentation of Alexander’s empire), leading to the establishment of an independent Jewish kingdom (the Hasmonean dynasty) in 142 BCE.
• The period saw the expansion of Jewish territory, increased influence of Jewish culture, and the emergence of significant religious sects such as the Pharisees and Sadducees. The legacy of the Hasmoneans is still remembered, particularly through the celebration of Hanukkah.
• Roman Rule (63 BCE–330 CE)- The Roman general Pompey captured Jerusalem in 63 BCE.
• Herodian Dynasty (37 BCE–4 BCE) : Herod the Great ruled as a Roman client king.
• Jesus’ life, death, resurrection
• In 70 CE, the Romans destroyed the Second Temple following a Jewish revolt.
• Bar Kokhba Revolt (132–135 CE) : A significant but ultimately unsuccessful Jewish rebellion against Roman rule.
• Byzantine Rule (330–636 CE)- The Eastern Roman Empire (Byzantine Empire) controlled the region until the early Islamic conquests.
• Islamic Caliphates (636–1099 CE)
• Rashidun Caliphate (636–661 CE)
• Umayyad Caliphate (661–750 CE)
• Abbasid Caliphate (750–969 CE)
• Fatimid Caliphate (969–1099 CE)
• Crusader Period (1099–1291 CE)- Crusaders established the Kingdom of Jerusalem, controlling the area intermittently until 1291 CE.
• Mamluk Sultanate (1291–1517 CE)- The Mamluks, based in Egypt, controlled the region following the Crusaders.
• Ottoman Empire (1517–1917 CE)- The Ottomans conquered the Mamluks in 1517 and ruled the region until World War I.
• British Mandate (1917–1948 CE)- After World War I, the League of Nations granted Britain the mandate to govern Palestine.
• State of Israel (1948–Present)- Israel declared independence on May 14, 1948, and has since been a sovereign nation. The region has seen various conflicts and peace processes involving neighboring countries and entities.

Acts 1:6

Acts 1:6 (NLT) 6 So when the apostles were with Jesus, they kept asking him, “Lord, has the time come for you to free Israel and restore our kingdom?”

• has the time come… free Israel and restore our kingdom
• There was a payoff that Israelites historically had in their minds, Israel-centric
• Can’t blame them; It was even articulated by an angel to Mary:
• Luke 1:31-33 (NLT) 31 You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you will name him Jesus. 32 He will be very great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his ancestor David. 33 And he will reign over Israel forever; his Kingdom will never end!”
• And understood by the prophet Anna:
• Luke 2:38 (NLT) She talked about the child to everyone who had been waiting expectantly for God to rescue Jerusalem.
• Disciples were thinking of all of this in nationalistic and political terms
• (Expositor's Bible Commentary: Abridged Edition (2 Volumes)) The question the disciples asked reflects the embers of a once blazing hope for a political theocracy in which they would be leaders (cf. Mk 9:33-34; 10:35-41; Lk 22:24). Now the embers are fanned by Jesus' talk of the coming Holy Spirit. In Jewish expectations, the restoration of Israel's fortunes would be marked by the revived activity of God's Spirit, which had been withheld since the last of the prophets.
• Longing for the return of the glory days of King David and Solomon

(Pillar New Testament Commentary) Through the witness of Jesus' apostles, 'the kingdom' would be restored to Israel, but not in nationalistic or political terms, nor immediately in the full and final sense outlined in biblical prophecy (cf. 3:19-26).

Acts 1:7-8

Acts 1:7-8 (NLT) 7 He replied, “The Father alone has the authority to set those dates and times, and they are not for you to know. 8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere—in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

• not for you to know
• The disciples weren’t wrong about the big idea (God’s kingdom would come), they were wrong in many of the details
• Next week: there are some things that are not for us to know, at least not yet. Can you handle that?
• End times - so many people want to know! YT is blowing up with videos
• (Pillar New Testament Commentary) Christians have to live with the tension of knowing that the work of the gospel is central to God's eschatological plan, but never being able to calculate the exact date of the End.
• Sickness - why won’t you heal this person?
• Marriage - why haven’t you brought me “the one”
• Ex: my friend who was obsessed with that, until he realized he needed to “get his house in order” and leave the rest to God
• Ex: my daughter who saw her friends dating (and failing) has learned to trust God with those details
• Ex: Adam was put to sleep and woke up to Eve!
• Sometimes we’re like the kids in the backseat, pestering God with our questions. Sometimes it’s simply not for us to know. We need to trust his plan and his timing.
• But you will receive power
• Gk “dunamis”, our word for dynamite!
• Watch for this in the chapters ahead: power!
• Power to do miracles, for sure
• But even more importantly, power to speak out…
• you will be my witnesses
• First, the apostles were eyewitnesses
• (Pillar New Testament Commentary) As 'eyewitnesses' (Lk. 1:2; cf. Acts 1:3a), they guarantee the historicity of...