INSTRUCTIONS: Pray. Read the text. Then use the questions below as guides to write out what you have learned from the text. You can go as deep or as basic as you choose. You may choose to only answer based on the text you are studying, or you may decide to use other passages from the Bible, commentaries, or additional outside sources of information. You can answer in any order. You may choose to spend one day in only answering from the text and another day filling in information from other sources. You may add additional details that are not asked for in the narrative study format, such as historical context, archeological information, or questions you have for further study. Always complete your own study before reading my example so that you do not limit your own thinking.
In my former book, Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus began to do and to teach until the day he was taken up to heaven, after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles he had chosen. After his suffering, he presented himself to them and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive. He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God. On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.” Then they gathered around him and asked him, “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?” He said to them: “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight. They were looking intently up into the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them. “Men of Galilee,” they said, “why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.”
Characters Who is this story about? List all of the people in the story and what you know about them. In addition, there maybe animal, plant, and supernatural characters in the story. Of course, every story will include God as a main character. Sometimes, His presence is obvious, but sometimes, you must look deeper to find Him in the story.
Setting: Where and When? Check out maps to understand the relationship of ancient places to modern countries. How is this place connected to other places that you have read about? Is this place different from the locations just before this story started? Where will the characters go after this story is finished? Does this place have any spiritual significance? Part of the answer to this question might be a specific date and time of day, but a more important answer looks at what events happened before, what events happened after, and most importantly, what other events are occurring simultaneously. It is important to compare the events of the Bible with other historical events that were happening at the same time, but it is even more important to compare various Bible stories and events with each other. For example, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Daniel all provide differing perspectives on what was happening during one specific time period, so the other two books can provide a lot of insight to explain the situations occurring in a story from one of the other books.
Plot (Problem and Solution) What is the problem happening in the story? Why is the problem happening? Could the problem have been avoided? What are the consequences that result from the problem? Was the problem resolved? If so, how was the problem resolved? What was God’s preferred solution? What solutions did humans try that were not in alignment with God’s way of handling situations?
Text-to-Text Does anything remind you of other verses that you have read in the Bible? Do you want to search deeper for more texts that speak about this subject? If so, what is the consensus of the texts that you found, i.e., what lessons were communicated by the majority of the texts and were they different from the story that you are studying?
Text-to-World What general lessons about life are in the text? What similarities do you see between the story and our modern world? What differences are there between the story and today’s world?
Text-to-Self What specific application can you find for your own life, i.e., what message is the Holy Spirit trying to give you from this story? Have you ever experienced any situation similar to the story? Would you have reacted differently than the characters? If so, why
Text-to-God What does this story reveal about God and the way that He interacts with humans? Did God approve or disapprove? How do you know? Is there anything confusing about God in this story?
My Example Bible Study
Note: You can go much deeper than this example with lots of connections and details. You can also use this narrative format for studying the Bible at a more basic level with fewer connections and skipping textual cross-references. This format can be used to suit your own needs at the present time. You may decide to fill in more information at a later date when you have more time. I recommend that you either type or write your ideas because this is an attempt to understand the Bible at a deeper level. Thus, you may want to refer back to your notes and add information as you learn more.
Characters
Luke—the author. He wrote a book before where he described Jesus’ actions and teaching. Now, he is writing about Jesus’ appearances after He was resurrected and His ascension.
Theopholis—the recipient of the books of Luke and Acts.
Jesus—He appeared to the disciples after His resurrection for a period of forty days and gave them instructions.
Holy Spirit—He was to baptize the disciples in a manner similar to the water baptism of John. He would give power to those He baptized.
Apostles/Men of Galilee—They were chosen by Jesus. They ate with Jesus after the resurrection. They were given the commission to be Jesus’ witnesses to the world starting with Jerusalem, then Judea and Samaria, and then to the rest of the world. They witnessed Jesus’ ascension and spoke with the two messengers from God.
John the Baptist—His practice of baptizing people is used as a comparison for how the Holy Spirit would come upon the disciples.
The Father—He has the authority to decide when events will happen, but He does not always reveal His knowledge to His chosen representatives.
Two men dressed in white—These are probably angels. They gave the promise that Jesus would return descending from heaven, just as He had ascended into heaven.
Setting: Where and When?
These events took place within forty days from Jesus’ resurrection.
One location was eating dinner. Another location was outside. In his earlier gospel, Luke gave more information. “When he had led them out to the vicinity of Bethany, he lifted up his hands and blessed them. While he was blessing them, he left them and was taken up into heaven. Then they worshiped him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy. And they stayed continually at the temple, praising God” (Luke 24:50-53). Thus, they were near Bethany when Jesus ascended. They were told to stay in Jerusalem until they were baptized by the Holy Spirit. One of the places that Jesus had appeared to them previously had been in Galilee. In fact, the first message that the angels gave after the resurrection was that they were to meet with Jesus in Galilee. They must have traveled there and then returned to Jerusalem. Eventually, they would travel around Judea, Samaria, and the Gentile nations.
Plot (Problem and Solution)
One of the problems was convincing the disciples that Jesus was alive. Thus, Jesus had to give many convincing proofs.
Another problem was that the disciples needed more instruction now that they had experienced the death and resurrection of their Rabbi, so Jesus taught them about the kingdom of God.
A third problem was that the disciples were not going to have their teacher with them physically anymore, so they needed a way to continue to communicate with Him. This problem was solved by the baptism of the Holy Spirit. After this baptism, they would have the power and knowledge to accomplish the task given to them.
A final problem was that Jesus rose up and disappeared in the clouds, so they did not really know what to do next (in the next few minutes). Two messengers were sent to explain what had just happened to them. It was to reassure them that Jesus would return some day, to give them knowledge of the method of His return. I think the other purpose was to tell them to stop staring at the sky and get back to Jerusalem like Jesus had instructed them to do.
Text-to-Text
Proofs and the Holy Spirit: John says that Jesus breathed on the disciples and told them to receive the Holy Spirit. What is the difference between what He did at that time and the later baptism of the Holy Spirit? Power and knowledge might be the difference, so I understand what was going on at Pentecost, but in that case, what happened when Jesus breathed on the disciples prior to His ascension?
On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jewish leaders, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” After he said this, he showed them his hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord. Again Jesus said, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.” And with that he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive anyone’s sins, their sins are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.” (John 20:19-23)
Jesus’ Second Coming: Paul describes an action similar to what Luke says that the two messengers predicted. Peter also has something related. He says that the Day of the Lord will be at a time when we don’t expect it, like a thief sneaking in, but then he says that their will be fire and destruction, so once it happens, it will be obvious. Thus, Peter speaks to the idea that the Father will not reveal the timing to His servants.
Brothers and sisters, we do not want you to be uninformed about those who sleep in death, so that you do not grieve like the rest of mankind, who have no hope. For we believe that Jesus died and rose again, and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him. According to the Lord’s word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. (1Thessalonians 4:13-17)
But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything done in it will be laid bare. (2 Peter 3:10)
Text-to-World
Jesus will return, so people need to be aware of that truth. They need to know the gospel and make a decision for life.
The disciples were not gullible fools. They probably knew more about what death looked like than most people today. In the modern world, most of us are insulated from dead bodies and the change that death brings to the human body, but the disciples did not have that isolation from dead animals and people. They knew that Jesus had died. Thus, it required a lot of proof for them to believe that Jesus was not dead any more. People today also need a lot of proof, but this is more because they do not understand the reality of death and life. Their reality is virtual reality and fantasy stories. They believe that truth is what you decide it is and that they have been lied to by everyone, including the press, the government, and even their friends and families. The proofs that they need are that there is a truth beyond the stories. This is a truth that they cannot hide from. There is a spiritual war happening all around them and ignoring it will not make it go away. Their only hope is to see beyond the lies to the proofs of the kingdom of heaven.
Text-to-Self
I think that I would be more like Thomas, doubting the reality of Jesus’ resurrection than like Mary. I would have needed proofs. On the other hand, I have never seen Jesus die or physically appear, so maybe I have more faith than I think because I believe that His death, resurrection, and ascension is a reality. On the other hand, I have the benefit of more history and clearer knowledge of the gospel than they started with. I can see how the cosmic war has played out here on earth. I have knowledge of the depths of degradation that humans can descend to from the holocaust to the Spanish inquisition to rampant child abuse and terrorism today. I also have knowledge of Christians who remained true to Jesus even to the death and thereby achieved great victories out of their seeming defeat. I can trace how God keeps having victories, even when it appears that the darkness has won. Thus, I have numerous proofs of Jesus’ victories that the disciples never had.
Like the disciples, I know that Jesus is coming again, but I do not know when. Thus, I also have the commission of explaining to those around me that Jesus was here, He created a solution for this world with His death and resurrection, He is still working for us as our representative before God and fighting for us in this world through the presence of His Holy Spirit in our lives. I have received the apostolic commission, and one day I will have to stand before God and answer for how I have served Him. I pray that I will always serve Him well.
Text-to-God
God wants us to be informed about the details that are necessary for our salvation. He gives detailed instructions at times so that we know what to do. He sends messengers to us when we are confused so that we will understand His teaching more clearly. On the other hand, He does not overload us with information that would not be helpful or that might even discourage us. He gives us what we need and withholds that which would harm us. He also knows that we are weak, so He gifts us with His own power and authority in certain situations. He never leaves us powerless and helpless. He is always present with us through His Spirit so that even when the world sees us as weak victims, we are conquerors.
God knew the disciples inside and out. He knew that they would make mistakes and choose wrong actions, but He wanted them as His witnesses anyway. He does not expect us to be perfect, only willing to follow His lead.