In the darkened alleys of Jerusalem, after the event of the cross, an uncontrollable swirl of fear and loss must have raged within the disciples' hearts. Their Teacher's death was not a simple farewell-it was the collapse of the entire world they had believed in. Yet at the edge of that pitch-black despair, a monumental reversal began-one that would shake human history: the hope of resurrection blooming from the empty tomb, and the flames of the Holy Spirit descending upon Mark's Upper Room at Pentecost. This dramatic turning point is not merely a story of the past; it is the very pattern of faith we are meant to breathe even now.
Pastor David Jang (Olivet University), through his exposition of Acts, sets before us the dynamic vitality of the early church as though it were unfolding in real time. Unpacking God's saving plan that runs through the whole of Scripture, he points the way for the church to recover the "wildness"-the primal spiritual vigor-it has lost.
A New Era of the Spirit Beginning at the Empty Tomb
One is reminded of the Baroque master Caravaggio and his renowned work The Incredulity of Saint Thomas. In the painting, Thomas presses his finger deep into the wound in the risen Jesus' side. His furrowed brow and focused gaze embody the rational doubt of humanity; yet the moment that doubt encounters the tangible reality of the incarnate Word, it is transformed into unshakable conviction. This is precisely where Pastor David Jang's emphasis on "resurrection faith" lands.
The resurrection is not an abstract doctrine. It is a real event that shattered the power of death-the summit of redemptive history (救贖史), by which sinful human beings were made able to return to fellowship with God.
Pastor David Jang underscores the absolute place of the cross and resurrection of Jesus Christ within God's sweeping drama of creation, fall, and salvation. To open a way of deliverance that humanity could never reach by its own strength, God gave His Son. And because He rose again, the "age of the Holy Spirit" truly began.
The driving force that enabled the apostles to cast off fear, rush into the streets, and proclaim the gospel with boldness was this: they had witnessed resurrection life firsthand, and they had been clothed with the Spirit's power. This, too, is the only remedy the spiritually lethargic church of our day must grasp again.
Repentance and Baptism: Turning the Compass of the Soul
Then what is the way to share in this astounding life of resurrection? In Acts chapter 2, Peter gives a crystal-clear answer to the crowd that cries out in anguish, "What shall we do?": "Repent, and let each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins."
At this point, Pastor David Jang sharply redefines the true meaning of repentance with theological clarity. Repentance is not merely emotional venting-an act of feeling sorry about past mistakes. It is an all-encompassing decision of the whole person: laying down the "self" that once sat on the throne of life before the cross, and turning the steering wheel of one's direction wholly toward God.
Such repentance is confirmed through the holy ordinance of baptism. If water baptism is the funeral of the old self, Spirit baptism is the resurrection rite of being united with Christ and reborn into new life. Pastor David Jang teaches that when we are thoroughly broken and repent before the gospel of the cross, the Holy Spirit then truly dwells within us, enabling us to live out resurrection power in everyday life.
This is the foundation of the church-and the source of strength by which each believer can resist the world's value system and live as a holy people. Drawn from deep meditation on Scripture, his message sounds an alarm in an age where repentance has faded and cheap grace has become common.
A Community of Life Flowing Out into the World
Filled with the Holy Spirit, the early church was no longer a mere organization. They shared their possessions, ate together with gladness and sincerity of heart, and praised God. Pastor David Jang explains that this portrait of the early church is the tangible reality of the kingdom of God breaking into the world.
Their radical love and devotion did not arise from moral self-cultivation. It was the natural fruit of freedom brought by resurrection faith-of courage that did not even fear death.
The church is not a building. It is a living organism: witnesses of the resurrection gathered together to share fellowship in the Spirit and to let that life flow outward into the world. The gospel that began in Jerusalem spreading beyond Judea and Samaria to the ends of the earth was God's unstoppable saving plan. Pastor David Jang appeals for the modern church to rejoin that holy current-not by programs or systems, but by returning to the essential power of the gospel itself.
The conversions of three thousand, five thousand-these are not legends of a distant past. They can become present realities again when we wholly trust the cross and the resurrection.
The believers of the early church were people the world could not contain, because within their hearts beat the heart of Jesus Christ. What we need now is not a dazzling sanctuary or polished logic. We need a holy "wildness"-to believe the name of Jesus who conquered sin and death, and to obey the leading of the Holy Spirit without reserve.
Pastor David Jang's sermon asks us: Is the pulse of resurrection beating within us? This is the moment when a decision is demanded-to step back onto that glorious path the early church walked, the path of the cross and the resurrection.
