What Did Jesus Mean?
Q: Acts of the Apostles 1:6-7 says: "When they had gathered together they asked him, ‘Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?’ He answered them, ‘It is not for you to know the times or seasons that the Father has established by his own authority.’" Please explain what this means.
A: Both William Kura, S.J., in his exegesis of the Acts of the Apostles in The Collegeville Bible Commentary (The Liturgical Press), and Henry Wansbrough, O.S.B., in A New Catholic Commentary on Holy Scripture (Nelson), say much the same thing about these verses.
Kura suggests Acts 1:6-7 should be read against the background of Luke 12:35-46; 17:20-37 and 21:7-9. Remember Luke is the author of Acts, as well as the Gospel according to Luke. In these Lucan passages we find the parable of the workers who are urged to be ready at any time for the coming of the master because no one knows when to expect his return. We also hear Jesus saying the time of the coming of the Kingdom cannot be known—it "is already among you." And lastly Jesus urges the disciples not to be deceived by the cries of doomsayers that the end is near.
According to Kura, Luke uses the question of the apostles in Acts to indicate they still do not understand what Jesus meant by the "Kingdom of God." Later on, in Acts 2:3, he will show God’s promise was about the coming of the Holy Spirit rather than an earthly kingdom.
The message is much the same as in the Gospel—don’t try to guess what cannot be known. Focus on the power of the Spirit as a sign of living in the promised final day. Jesus’ disciples should use their power and the time left to them to witness to Jesus to the ends of the earth.
Wansbrough says the passage finds the apostles still looking for a worldly messianic kingdom, and they will not understand what Jesus has been saying until they receive the Spirit.
The message is: Stop looking for the imminent second coming of Christ. And the Kingdom is not to be confined to Israel. Acts will later tell how the gospel was spread to Judea, Samaria and even Rome (the end of the earth).
A: Both William Kura, S.J., in his exegesis of the Acts of the Apostles in The Collegeville Bible Commentary (The Liturgical Press), and Henry Wansbrough, O.S.B., in A New Catholic Commentary on Holy Scripture (Nelson), say much the same thing about these verses.
Kura suggests Acts 1:6-7 should be read against the background of Luke 12:35-46; 17:20-37 and 21:7-9. Remember Luke is the author of Acts, as well as the Gospel according to Luke. In these Lucan passages we find the parable of the workers who are urged to be ready at any time for the coming of the master because no one knows when to expect his return. We also hear Jesus saying the time of the coming of the Kingdom cannot be known—it "is already among you." And lastly Jesus urges the disciples not to be deceived by the cries of doomsayers that the end is near.
According to Kura, Luke uses the question of the apostles in Acts to indicate they still do not understand what Jesus meant by the "Kingdom of God." Later on, in Acts 2:3, he will show God’s promise was about the coming of the Holy Spirit rather than an earthly kingdom.
The message is much the same as in the Gospel—don’t try to guess what cannot be known. Focus on the power of the Spirit as a sign of living in the promised final day. Jesus’ disciples should use their power and the time left to them to witness to Jesus to the ends of the earth.
Wansbrough says the passage finds the apostles still looking for a worldly messianic kingdom, and they will not understand what Jesus has been saying until they receive the Spirit.
The message is: Stop looking for the imminent second coming of Christ. And the Kingdom is not to be confined to Israel. Acts will later tell how the gospel was spread to Judea, Samaria and even Rome (the end of the earth).
posted by See Tho Zhang Jacob at
8:44 PM
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