The Unscheduled Appearance

In Acts chapter one, it was the day the Lord ascended back into Heaven. The disciples were come together on the Mount of Olives, which is just to the East of Jerusalem. He had instructed them pertaining to their ministry for 40 days after he was raised from the dead. Now, they have ONE LAST QUESTION:

Acts 1:6 When they therefore were come together, they asked of him, saying, Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel?

They wanted to know if the things which had been prophesied by all of God’s holy prophets to the nation of Israel were about to come to pass: The restoring of the kingdom to Israel. David, king of Israel, had conquered all of Israel’s enemies, and his son, Solomon, had reigned supreme. But Israel had fell into apostasy, and had went and worshipped and served other gods. The bible says they were “mingled among the heathen and learned their ways.”

But when the fullness of time was come, God sent forth His Son. The bible says “He came unto His own and His own received Him not,” in John Chapter one, verse 11. It also says that He was “confirming the promises made unto the fathers,” in Romans 15:8, and the Lord had said to a Gentile woman in Matthew 15, “I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” So on they day the Lord ascended into Heaven, they wanted to know if NOW is the time. The Lord’s answer to that was:

Acts 1:7 And he said unto them, It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power.

So, on the Day of Pentecost, Peter and the other apostles, filled with the Holy Ghost, preached a power filled KINGDOM message. Peter told the Jews to repent and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. He accused them of murdering their Messiah, but that God had raised Him from the dead. He said, in effect, “You must repent,” that is to say CHANGE YOUR MIND about this man you have killed. There were to be IDENTIFED with their Messiah by water baptism, looking forward unto the SECOND COMING of Christ. If they endured to the end, (as in Matthew 24:13) then their sins would be blotted out. Here is Peter’s message:

Acts 3:19 Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord.

Acts 3:20 And he shall send Jesus Christ, which before was preached unto you:

Acts 3:21 Whom the heaven must receive until the times of restitution of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began.

So Peter’s powerful message of the restoring of the Kingdom to Israel was preached in the early chapters of the book of Acts. But, for the most part, Israel rejected the message. The leaders of Israel blasphemed, and finally, in Acts chapter seven, they stoned Stephen to death. Then there begins a huge TURN OF EVENTS!

In Acts chapter nine, the Lord suddenly, unexpectedly, unannounced, SAVES HIS WORST ENEMY. Saul of Tarsus becomes Paul the apostle and Paul receives a NEW MESSAGE from the Lord. It is called “the gospel of Christ,” and “the gospel of the grace of God.” Paul never preaches the “gospel of the Kingdom” message that Peter had preached earlier. The Lord revealed new information to Paul:

Galatians 1:12 For I neither received it of man, neither was I taught it, but by the revelation of Jesus Christ.

Now some people insist that Paul’s message was the same as Peter’s message. But you need to ask yourself a very important question: WHY PAUL? Israel ALREADY HAD twelve apostles. There was one apostles for each of Israel’s twelve tribes. Judas betrayed the Lord and he was replaced by a man named Matthias in Acts chapter one:

Acts 1:26 And they gave forth their lots; and the lot fell upon Matthias; and he was numbered with the eleven apostles.

It’s easy to see that ELEVEN plus ONE = TWELVE. The Lord obvious APPROVED of Matthias being numbered with the eleven because it says “they were ALL FILLED with the Holy Ghost” in Acts 2:4. There are TWELVE apostles in Acts chapter six:

Acts 6:2 Then the twelve called the multitude of the disciples unto them, and said, It is not reason that we should leave the word of God, and serve tables.

As late as the time of Acts chapter nineteen, when Paul wrote the 1 Corinthian letter, he certainly thinks there had been twelve apostles to the nation of Israel:

1 Corinthians 15:3 For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures;

1 Corinthians 15:4 And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:

1 Corinthians 15:5 And that he was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve:

God’s holy prophets prophesied about a number of things, including the fact that the Messiah would have disciples who would be for signs and wonders in Israel:

Isaiah 8:14 And he shall be for a sanctuary; but for a stone of stumbling and for a rock of offence to both the houses of Israel, for a gin and for a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem.

Isaiah 8:15 And many among them shall stumble, and fall, and be broken, and be snared, and be taken.

Isaiah 8:16 Bind up the testimony, seal the law among my disciples.

But one thing the prophets never, ever spoke about was a period of time when Israel would be out of favor with God and that during that time, God would be doing something NEW AND DIFFERENT:

Romans 16:25 Now to him that is of power to stablish you according to my gospel, and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery, which was kept secret since the world began,

So for those who cannot see a clear distinction between the ministry and the message of Peter and the twelve, and that of the apostle Paul, there is just one question which must be answered:

Why Paul?

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