📖 Utangulizi wa Agano Jipya — Sehemu ya 6: Matendo ya Mitume: Kuenea kwa Ufalme📖 New Testament Survey — Unit 6: Acts: The Expansion of the Kingdom

I. Kitabu Kisicho na MwishoI. The Book Without an Ending

Jambo lisilo la kawaida kuliko yote katika kitabu cha Matendo ni jinsi kinavyoishia. Kinafungwa bila baraka ya kuagana, bila sala, bila wimbo wa kumtukuza Mungu, bila "Amina." Matendo kinaishia katikati ya hadithi. Mstari wa mwisho unamwacha mtume Paulo katika nyumba ya kupanga huko Rumi, "akihubiri habari za ufalme wa Mungu, na kuyafundisha mambo ya Bwana Yesu Kristo, kwa ujasiri wote, asizuiliwe na mtu" (Matendo 28:31). Kisha maandishi yanakoma tu. Hakuna kuagana. Hakuna neno la mwisho. Wino unakauka ukurasani huku kazi bado ikiendelea.The most unusual feature of the book of Acts is the way it ends. It closes with no benediction, no prayer, no doxology, no "Amen." Acts ends in the middle of the story. The last verse leaves the apostle Paul in a rented house in Rome, "preaching the kingdom of God and teaching the things which concern the Lord Jesus Christ with all confidence, no one forbidding him" (Acts 28:31). And then the manuscript simply stops. No farewell. No final word. The ink dries on the page with the work still going on.

Hiyo si bahati mbaya. Luka alikimaliza kitabu chake cha pili bila mwisho kwa makusudi, kwa sababu hadithi aliyokuwa akiisimulia haikuwa imekwisha. Bado haijaisha. Matendo ya Mitume ni kitabu ambacho Luka aliweka chini kalamu yake ili wewe uweze kuiokota. Sura ya 28 ndiyo sura ya mwisho aliyoiandika Luka. Sura ya 29 ndiyo sura unayoiandika wewe. Maisha yako — maamuzi unayofanya leo, watu unaowaambia habari njema, sala unazoomba, upendo unaoutoa — ni mwendelezo wa kitabu kile kile. Roho Mtakatifu bado anaueneza ufalme. Naye anafanya hivyo kupitia wewe.That is no accident. Luke deliberately ended his second volume without an ending because the story he was telling was not over. It is still not over. The Acts of the Apostles is a book whose pen Luke laid down so that you could pick it up. Chapter 28 is the last chapter Luke wrote. Chapter 29 is the chapter you are writing. Your life — the choices you make today, the people you tell, the prayers you pray, the love you spend — is a continuation of the same book. The Holy Spirit is still expanding the kingdom. And He is doing it through you.

II. Kutoka Injili hadi MatendoII. From the Gospels to the Acts

Luka anafungua kitabu chake cha pili kwa kukiunganisha na cha kwanza. "Kitabu kile cha kwanza nalikiandika, Theofilo, katika habari za mambo yote aliyoanza Yesu kufanya na kufundisha, hata siku ile alipochukuliwa juu" (Matendo 1:1–2). Angalia kwa makini maneno hayo ya mwanzo: mambo yote aliyoanza Yesu kufanya na kufundisha. Injili ya Luka ni yale ambayo Yesu aliyaanza. Kitabu cha Matendo ni yale ambayo Yesu aliendelea kuyafanya. Tunaweza kusema hivi: Injili nne zinatupa msingi; Matendo kinatupa jengo linalosimamishwa juu ya msingi huo. Injili nne zinafungwa kwa ufufuo; Matendo kinafunguliwa kwa kupaa kwake. Injili nne zinatuonyesha Kristo katika mwili; Matendo kinatuonyesha Kristo katika Kanisa.Luke opens his second volume by tying it to his first. "The former account I made, O Theophilus, of all that Jesus began both to do and teach, until the day in which He was taken up" (Acts 1:1–2). Look carefully at that opening phrase: all that Jesus began to do and teach. The Gospel of Luke is what Jesus began. The book of Acts is what Jesus continued. It can be put this way: the four Gospels give us the foundation; the Acts gives us the framing on that foundation. The four Gospels close with the resurrection; Acts opens with the ascension. The four Gospels show us Christ in the flesh; Acts shows us Christ in the Church.

Mwandishi yule yule, Luka tabibu, aliandika vitabu vyote viwili, na kwa uhakika karibu kabisa vilipelekwa pamoja kwa Theofilo kama kazi moja yenye sehemu mbili. Ukisoma Luka 24 moja kwa moja hadi Matendo 1, mshono hauonekani. Bwana Yesu anawafundisha wanafunzi habari za ufalme siku ya kupaa kwake, kisha wingu linampokea wasimwone tena, na watu wawili waliovaa nguo nyeupe wanatangaza kwamba Yesu huyu huyu atarudi vivyo hivyo. Mpito kutoka Injili hadi Matendo, kwa lugha ya kifasihi, ni mbio za kupokezana vijiti. Kijiti kimekabidhiwa. Sasa Kanisa ndilo mkimbiaji.The same Author, the physician Luke, wrote both books, and they were almost certainly delivered together as a single two-part work to Theophilus. If you read Luke 24 straight into Acts 1, the seam is invisible. The Lord Jesus is teaching the disciples about the kingdom on the day of His ascension, and then a cloud receives Him out of their sight, and two men in white announce that this same Jesus will come back the same way. The Gospel-to-Acts transition is, in literary terms, a relay race. The baton has been passed. The Church is now the runner.

III. Mstari MkuuIII. The Key Verse

Kama Luka 19:10 ndio mstari mkuu wa Injili ya Luka, Matendo 1:8 ndio mstari mkuu wa Matendo. Uandike kwa penseli pembeni mwa Biblia yako: "Lakini mtapokea nguvu, akiisha kuwajilia juu yenu Roho Mtakatifu; nanyi mtakuwa mashahidi wangu katika Yerusalemu, na katika Uyahudi wote, na Samaria, na hata mwisho wa nchi" (Matendo 1:8). Sentensi moja. Kitabu kizima ni utekelezaji wa sentensi hiyo moja.If Luke 19:10 is the key verse of Luke's Gospel, Acts 1:8 is the key verse of Acts. Pencil it in the margin of your Bible: "But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth" (Acts 1:8). One sentence. The whole book is the outworking of that one sentence.

Usome mara mbili na uone mambo matatu. Kwanza, nguvu — kwa Kigiriki dunamis, chanzo cha neno la Kiingereza dynamite (baruti). Wanafunzi hawakuamriwa kujitafutia ujasiri. Waliamriwa kungoja nguvu ambayo ingekuja kutoka nje yao. Pili, shahidi — neno la Kigiriki ni martus. Katika siku za Luka lilimaanisha tu mtu anayeshuhudia kile alichokiona. Lakini pia ndilo chanzo cha neno la Kiingereza martyr (mfiadini), na hiyo si bahati mbaya: mashahidi wengi mno kati ya hawa waliuawa kwa sababu ya ushuhuda wao — Stefano akiwa wa kwanza, sura sita tu kutoka hapa — hata neno hilo likaja kubeba uzito wa kufa kwa ajili ya kile mtu alichokiona. Shahidi anasimulia alichokiona; mfiadini ni shahidi ambaye hakukubali kuacha kukisimulia. Tatu, jiografia — Yerusalemu, kisha Uyahudi na Samaria, kisha hata mwisho wa nchi. Soma mahali hapo matatu ukilinganisha na yaliyomo katika Matendo: Yerusalemu inajaza sura ya 1 hadi 7. Uyahudi na Samaria zinajaza sura ya 8 hadi 12. Mwisho wa nchi unajaza sura ya 13 hadi 28. Luka aliandika kitabu chake kwa kuufuata mstari ule ule unaokifungua. Matendo 1:8 si mstari tu ndani ya Matendo; ni muhtasari wa Matendo.Read it twice and notice three things. First, the power — dunamis in Greek, the root of our word dynamite. The disciples were not commanded to drum up courage. They were commanded to wait for power that would come from outside themselves. Second, the witness — the Greek word is martus. In Luke's day it meant simply one who testifies to what he has seen. But it is also the root of our word martyr, and that is no accident: so many of these witnesses were killed for their testimony — Stephen first, only six chapters from here — that the word came to carry the weight of dying for what one has seen. A witness tells what he saw; a martyr is a witness who would not stop telling it. Third, the geography — Jerusalem, then Judea and Samaria, then to the end of the earth. Read those three locations against the table of contents of Acts: Jerusalem fills chapters 1 through 7. Judea and Samaria fill chapters 8 through 12. The end of the earth fills chapters 13 through 28. Luke wrote his book around the very verse that opens it. Acts 1:8 is not a verse in Acts; it is the outline of Acts.

IV. Yerusalemu (Matendo 1–7) — ChecheIV. Jerusalem (Acts 1–7) — The Spark

Kitabu kinaanza na waumini mia moja na ishirini katika chumba cha juu, wakiomba. Ni jeshi lisilotarajiwa. Hawana fedha, hawana majengo, hawana nguvu za kisiasa, hawatambuliwi na taasisi yoyote. Wana kaburi tupu, Bwana aliyefufuka, ahadi ya nguvu, na wao kwa wao. Hivyo tu ndivyo walivyo navyo. Na katika sura inayofuata tu Roho Mtakatifu anashuka siku ya Pentekoste, watu elfu tatu wanaongoka kwa hotuba moja tu, na kanisa la Yerusalemu linazaliwa.The book opens with one hundred and twenty believers in an upper room, praying. They are an unlikely army. They have no money, no buildings, no political power, no recognition from any institution. They have an empty tomb, a risen Lord, a promise of power, and one another. That is all they have. And in the very next chapter the Holy Spirit falls at Pentecost, three thousand are converted in a single sermon, and the Jerusalem church is born.

Kuanzia hapo cheche zinashika moto. Viwete wanarukaruka. Ndimi zinafunguliwa. Milango ya gereza inafunguka usiku wa manane. Anania na Safira wanaanguka na kufa mahali pale pale kwa kumwambia Roho Mtakatifu uongo. Mashemasi saba wanachaguliwa ili mitume wajitoe kwa maombi na huduma ya Neno. Kisha — mwishoni mwa sura ya 7 — shemasi kijana aitwaye Stefano anapigwa mawe hadi kufa nje kidogo ya kuta za mji. "Na Sauli alikuwa akiridhia kuuawa kwake" (Matendo 8:1). Mfiadini wa kwanza anaanguka katika sura ya 7, na tangu wakati huo ufalme haubaki tena ndani ya mji wa Yerusalemu. Mateso yanawatawanya waumini kama cheche zinazopeperushwa juu ya kilima kikavu, na kila cheche inashika moto.From there the spark catches. Lame men leap. Tongues are loosed. Prison doors open in the middle of the night. Ananias and Sapphira drop dead in the same room for lying to the Holy Spirit. Seven deacons are appointed so the apostles can give themselves to prayer and the ministry of the Word. And then — at the end of chapter 7 — a young deacon named Stephen is stoned to death just outside the city walls. "And Saul was consenting to his death" (Acts 8:1). The first martyr falls in chapter 7, and from that moment the kingdom is no longer contained inside the city of Jerusalem. Persecution scatters the believers like sparks blown across a dry hillside, and every spark catches.

V. Uyahudi na Samaria (Matendo 8–12) — KueneaV. Judea and Samaria (Acts 8–12) — The Spread

Kuna kitendawili cha historia ya kanisa kinachopita moja kwa moja katika kila karne tangu Matendo hadi leo: Damu ya wafiadini ni mbegu ya Kanisa. Mwandishi wa karne ya pili Tertuliano alisema waziwazi: Plures efficimur quotiens metimur a vobis — "Kadiri mnavyotufyeka, ndivyo tunavyozidi kuongezeka." Matendo 8 inathibitisha jambo hilo. Sura ile ile inayoanza na kanisa likitawanywa kwa mateso inaishia na uamsho huko Samaria, mweka hazina Mkushi (wa Ethiopia) akiongoka katika njia ya jangwani, na injili ikiingia Afrika. Sura ile ile iliyoanza na Sauli wa Tarso akiwaburuta waumini kutoka nyumbani mwao hadi gerezani inaishia sura moja baadaye na Sauli wa Tarso njiani kwenda Dameski, amelala chini kifudifudi, amepofushwa na utukufu wa Kristo yule yule aliyekuwa akimwudhi.There is a paradox of church history that runs straight through every century from Acts to today: The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the Church. The second-century writer Tertullian said it plainly: Plures efficimur quotiens metimur a vobis — "The more you mow us down, the more we grow." Acts 8 makes the case. The very chapter that begins with the church being scattered by persecution ends with a Samaritan revival, an Ethiopian treasurer converted on a desert road, and the gospel moving into Africa. The very chapter that began with Saul of Tarsus dragging believers out of their houses to prison ends one chapter later with Saul of Tarsus on the road to Damascus, flat on the ground, blinded by the glory of the very Christ he had been persecuting.

Matendo 9 inatupa kuongoka kwa Sauli. Matendo 10 inatupa kuongoka kwa Kornelio na kufunguliwa kwa mlango kwa Mataifa. Matendo 11 inatupa kuanzishwa kwa kanisa la Antiokia — kusanyiko la kwanza la watu wa makabila na mataifa mbalimbali katika historia, na mahali pa kwanza ambapo wanafunzi waliitwa Wakristo (Matendo 11:26). Matendo 12 inatupa Yakobo, ndugu yake Yohana, akiuawa na Herode, Petro akiokolewa gerezani na malaika, na Herode mwenyewe akipigwa na malaika kwa kupokea ibada iliyomstahili Mungu peke yake. Kufikia mwisho wa sura ya 12 Kanisa limevuka kizingiti cha Yerusalemu na linaenea katika eneo la mashariki la Bahari ya Mediterania. Na kanisa la Antiokia — si Yerusalemu — linakaribia kutuma timu ya kwanza ya wamisionari.Acts 9 gives us the conversion of Saul. Acts 10 gives us the conversion of Cornelius and the opening of the door to the Gentiles. Acts 11 gives us the founding of the church at Antioch — the first multiethnic congregation in history, and the first place where the disciples were called Christians (Acts 11:26). Acts 12 gives us James the brother of John executed by Herod, Peter rescued from prison by an angel, and Herod himself struck down by an angel for accepting worship that belonged only to God. By the end of chapter 12 the Church has cleared the threshold of Jerusalem and is spreading across the eastern Mediterranean. And the Antioch church — not Jerusalem — is about to send out the first missionary team.

VI. Hata Mwisho wa Nchi (Matendo 13–28) — Wimbi KuuVI. The Uttermost (Acts 13–28) — The Surge

Kitovu cha uzito kinahama katika Matendo 13. Hadi wakati huo mhusika mkuu alikuwa Petro. Kuanzia hapo mhusika mkuu ni Paulo. Hadi wakati huo kituo kikuu kilikuwa Yerusalemu. Kuanzia hapo kituo kikuu ni Antiokia. Na kutoka Antiokia Paulo anafanya safari tatu za kimisionari zinazopanda makanisa kote Asia Ndogo, zinazovuka Bahari ya Aegea hadi Ulaya, na kupita Ugiriki hadi Athene na Korintho. Kisha anarudi Yerusalemu mara ya mwisho, anakamatwa hekaluni, anashikiliwa miaka miwili huko Kaisaria, anavunjikiwa merikebu huko Melita (Malta) akiwa njiani kwenda Rumi, na hatimaye anafika katika mji mkuu wa dola — mfungwa aliyefungwa minyororo, lakini mfungwa anayehubiri.The center of gravity shifts at Acts 13. Up until that point the lead character had been Peter. From that point the lead character is Paul. Up until that point the home base had been Jerusalem. From that point the home base is Antioch. And from Antioch Paul makes three missionary journeys that plant churches across Asia Minor, jump the Aegean into Europe, and march across Greece to Athens and Corinth. Then he goes back to Jerusalem one last time, is arrested in the temple, is held two years in Caesarea, is shipwrecked on Malta on the way to Rome, and arrives at last in the capital of the empire — a prisoner in chains, but a prisoner preaching.

Angalia jiografia ya Matendo 13 hadi 28 ukiilinganisha na jiografia ya Matendo 1:8. Yerusalemu — imekamilika kufikia sura ya 7. Uyahudi na Samaria — zimekamilika kufikia sura ya 12. Mwisho wa nchi — kufikia sura ya 28 Paulo anasimama Rumi, mji mkuu wa kisiasa wa ulimwengu aliouujua Luka. Ufalme umefika katikati ya moyo wa dola. Na kutoka Rumi ungefika Hispania (kwa mujibu wa mapokeo ya awali), Afrika Kaskazini, Uingereza, na ndani ya karne tatu hadi kwenye chumba cha kiti cha enzi cha Konstantino. Kutoka chumba cha juu cha watu 120 hadi kiti cha enzi cha Makaisari katika miaka 300, bila majeshi, bila fedha, bila mpangilio wowote mwanzoni, bila maelezo yoyote ya kibinadamu. "Mtapokea nguvu."Look at the geography of Acts 13 through 28 against the geography of Acts 1:8. Jerusalem — done by chapter 7. Judea and Samaria — done by chapter 12. The end of the earth — by chapter 28 Paul stands in Rome, the political capital of the world Luke knew. The kingdom has reached the heart of the empire. And from Rome it would reach into Spain (according to early tradition), into North Africa, into Britain, and within three centuries into the throne room of Constantine. From an upper room of 120 to the throne of the Caesars in 300 years, without armies, without money, without organization at the start, without any human explanation. "You shall receive power."

VII. Matendo Matatu Makuu ya RohoVII. The Three Mighty Acts of the Spirit

Katika kitabu chote, Roho Mtakatifu anafanya matendo matatu ya msingi ya kueneza ufalme — "nyakati tatu za nguzo" za Matendo. Kila moja ni Pentekoste — wakati ambapo mlango wa injili unafunguka kwa upana kuliko ulivyowahi kufunguka. (1) Pentekoste ya Kiyahudi katika Matendo 2, Wayahudi elfu tatu wacha Mungu kutoka kila taifa chini ya mbingu wanapookolewa katika Sikukuu ya Pentekoste huko Yerusalemu. (2) Pentekoste ya Wasamaria katika Matendo 8, Filipo anapohubiri Samaria na Roho Mtakatifu anapowashukia watu ambao Wayahudi walikuwa wamewadharau kwa miaka mia tisa. (3) Pentekoste ya Mataifa katika Matendo 10, Petro anapohubiri nyumbani mwa Kornelio, akida wa Kirumi, na "Roho Mtakatifu akawashukia wote waliolisikia lile neno" (Matendo 10:44). Pentekoste tatu. Duara tatu zenye kitovu kimoja. Roho yule yule, nguvu ile ile, injili ile ile, ikibomoa ukuta mmoja baada ya mwingine mpaka hakuna ukuta uliobaki.Across the book, the Holy Spirit performs three foundational acts of expansion — the three "pillar moments" of Acts. Each one is a Pentecost — a moment when the door of the gospel opens wider than it has ever opened before. (1) The Jewish Pentecost in Acts 2, when three thousand devout Jews from every nation under heaven are saved at the Feast of Pentecost in Jerusalem. (2) The Samaritan Pentecost in Acts 8, when Philip preaches in Samaria and the Holy Spirit falls on a people the Jews had despised for nine hundred years. (3) The Gentile Pentecost in Acts 10, when Peter preaches in the house of Cornelius the Roman centurion, and "the Holy Spirit fell upon all those who heard the word" (Acts 10:44). Three Pentecosts. Three concentric circles. The same Spirit, the same power, the same gospel, knocking down one wall at a time until there is no wall left.

Kuna hadithi inayosimuliwa juu ya kijiji kidogo kilicho juu katika Milima ya Andes, katika bonde la mbali sana kiasi kwamba kwa karne nyingi hakuna barabara iliyolifikia. Watu wa bonde hilo waliamini kwamba wao ndio watu pekee duniani. Hatimaye mmisionari alipofika akivuka njia ya mlimani, mzee wa kijiji alimuuliza: "Ninyi mko wangapi, upande ule mwingine wa milima?" Mmisionari alimweleza habari za miji na mataifa na mabara. Mzee alikaa kimya kwa muda mrefu. Hatimaye akasema: "Basi ni lazima tujenge barabara." Hayo ndiyo Matendo. Kila sura ni ujenzi wa kipande kingine cha barabara. Kila Pentekoste ni kufunguliwa kwa njia nyingine ya mlimani. Yerusalemu, Samaria, Kaisaria, Antiokia, Filipi, Athene, Korintho, Efeso, Rumi — kila nukta ni kipande kipya cha barabara. Hata mwisho wa nchi.There is a story told of a small village high in the Andes, in a valley so remote that for centuries no road reached it. The people inside the valley believed they were the only people on earth. When at last a missionary arrived over the mountain pass, the elder of the village asked him: "How many of you are there, on the other side of the mountains?" The missionary told him about cities and nations and continents. The elder was silent a long time. At last he said: "Then we must build a road." That is Acts. Each chapter is the building of another stretch of road. Each Pentecost is the breaking of another mountain pass. Jerusalem, Samaria, Caesarea, Antioch, Philippi, Athens, Corinth, Ephesus, Rome — every dot a fresh stretch of road. To the end of the earth.

VIII. Hotuba Tatu KuuVIII. The Three Great Sermons

Luka anaweka maneno ya zaidi ya hotuba na mahubiri ishirini na manne katika Matendo. Matatu hasa yanaunda mahubiri ya msingi wa muundo wa kitabu. Hotuba ya Petro siku ya Pentekoste katika Matendo 2 inahubiriwa kwa Wayahudi, na Petro anatoa hoja kutoka Maandiko ya Kiebrania — kutoka kwa Yoeli, kutoka kwa Daudi, kutoka Zaburi — kwamba Yesu huyu ndiye Masihi aliyeahidiwa. Watu elfu tatu wanaokolewa. Utetezi wa Stefano katika Matendo 7 nao unahubiriwa kwa Wayahudi — kwa Baraza Kuu (Sanhedrini) lenyewe — na Stefano anapita kuanzia Ibrahimu hadi Musa hadi Sulemani, akionyesha kwamba Mungu hajawahi kufungiwa katika hekalu moja au mji mmoja. Stefano anauawa kama mfiadini. Hotuba ya Paulo katika Areopago katika Matendo 17 inahubiriwa kwa wanafalsafa wa Kigiriki juu ya Kilima cha Mars huko Athene, na Paulo anatoa hoja kutoka madhabahu ya Kigiriki na mshairi wa Kigiriki kwamba Mungu Asiyejulikana wa Waathene sasa amejidhihirisha katika ufufuo wa Yesu. Wachache wanadhihaki; wachache wanaahirisha; mtu mmoja aitwaye Dionisio na mwanamke mmoja aitwaye Damari na wengine pamoja nao wanaamini.Luke includes the texts of more than two dozen sermons and speeches in Acts. Three in particular form the structural sermons of the book. Peter's Pentecost sermon in Acts 2 is preached to Jews, and Peter argues from the Hebrew Scriptures — from Joel, from David, from the Psalms — that this Jesus is the promised Messiah. Three thousand are saved. Stephen's defense in Acts 7 is also preached to Jews — to the Sanhedrin itself — and Stephen sweeps from Abraham to Moses to Solomon, demonstrating that God has never been confined to one temple or one city. Stephen is martyred. Paul's Areopagus sermon in Acts 17 is preached to Greek philosophers on Mars Hill in Athens, and Paul argues from a Greek altar and a Greek poet that the Unknown God of the Athenians has now made Himself known in the resurrection of Jesus. A few mock; a few delay; a man named Dionysius and a woman named Damaris and certain others believe.

Hotuba tatu, wasikilizaji wa aina tatu, njia tatu, Kristo mmoja. Petro ananukuu Maandiko kwa ajili ya Myahudi. Stefano anasimulia upya historia ya ukombozi kwa ajili ya viongozi wa dini. Paulo anasimama katikati ya Wagiriki na kunukuu mmoja wa washairi wao wenyewe. Injili haibadiliki. Njia ndiyo inayobadilika ili kumfikia msikilizaji pale alipo.Three sermons, three audiences, three approaches, one Christ. Peter quotes Scripture for the Jew. Stephen retells redemptive history for the religious establishment. Paul stands among the Greeks and quotes one of their own poets. The gospel does not change. The method changes to meet the hearer where the hearer is.

IX. Matendo Kinakuacha WapiIX. Where Acts Leaves You

Swali moja zuri la kufunga somo la Matendo ni hili: "Matendo kinaishia bila Amina. Sura yako inasema nini?" Kitabu cha Matendo si jumba la makumbusho la historia iliyokamilika. Ni mswada ulio wazi wenye kalamu ya wino imelala juu ya ukurasa, na kalamu hiyo iko mkononi mwako. Roho yule yule aliyeshuka siku ya Pentekoste bado anashuka. Injili ile ile iliyovuka mabara matatu katika miaka thelathini bado inavuka meza za jikoni na vyumba vya magereza na vyumba vya hospitali na madarasa ya vyuo vikuu leo. Nguvu ile ile iliyowachukua wanafunzi 120 waliojaa hofu katika chumba cha juu na kuwafanya injini ya historia ya ulimwengu ndiyo nguvu ambayo bado inawafanya waumini wa kawaida kuwa mashahidi.One good question to close a study of Acts is this: "Acts ends without an Amen. What does your chapter say?" The book of Acts is not a museum of completed history. It is an open manuscript with a fountain pen lying on the page, and the pen is in your hand. The same Spirit who fell at Pentecost still falls. The same gospel that crossed three continents in thirty years still crosses kitchen tables and prison cells and hospital rooms and university classrooms today. The same power that took 120 frightened disciples in an upper room and turned them into the engine of world history is the power that turns ordinary believers into witnesses still.

Ufalme unaenea. Ulienea Yerusalemu katikati ya moto wa mateso. Ulienea Samaria juu ya chuki za zamani. Ulienea Kaisaria ukivuka kuta za kikabila. Ulienea Antiokia kupitia ibada ya kwanza ya watu wa makabila na mataifa mbalimbali katika historia. Ulienea Rumi kutoka nyumba ya kupanga, Paulo akiwa chini ya kifungo cha nyumbani. Na unaenea leo, mahali ambapo Luka asingeweza kupataja kwenye ramani, katika lugha ambazo Luka hakuwahi kuzisikia zikizungumzwa, kupitia watu ambao hawajawahi kukanyaga Yerusalemu lakini wanaobeba Yerusalemu mioyoni mwao. Mtakuwa mashahidi wangu — katika Yerusalemu yako, katika Uyahudi na Samaria yako, hata mwisho wa nchi yako. Hadithi haijaisha. Kalamu iko mkononi mwako. Songa mbele, rafiki yangu, katika sehemu iliyosalia ya Agano Jipya pamoja na Bwana yule yule na Roho yule yule aliyetembea na mitume wa kwanza, anayetembea na wa mwisho, naye ni yeye yule jana na leo na hata milele. Amina.The kingdom is expanding. It expanded in Jerusalem under fire. It expanded in Samaria over old hatreds. It expanded in Caesarea across racial walls. It expanded in Antioch through the first multiethnic worship service in history. It expanded in Rome from a rented house under house arrest. And it is expanding today, in places Luke could not have named on the map, in languages Luke never heard spoken, through people who have never set foot in Jerusalem but who carry Jerusalem in their hearts. You shall be My witnesses — to your Jerusalem, to your Judea and Samaria, to the end of your earth. The story is not over. The pen is in your hand. Press on, my friend, into the rest of the New Testament with the same Lord and the same Spirit who walked with the first apostles, who walks with the last, and who is the same yesterday, today, and forever. Amen.

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