Learning From Jesus

In Acts 2:42, we’re told the first believers "devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching." But what exactly did these Spirit-empowered apostles teach, and why does it still matter today?

The answer goes far deeper than doctrinal statements or surface-level summaries. What the apostles taught and how they taught it was shaped directly by the risen Lord Jesus himself. Before they were preachers, they were students. Before they were teachers of the Word, they were taught by the Word made flesh.

To understand the apostles' message and mission in Acts, we must look back to their Masterclass in biblical interpretation taught by Jesus in Luke 24.

Jesus, the Master Teacher

Luke 24 captures the risen Christ revealing the heartbeat of the entire Old Testament: Himself. Speaking to confused and downcast disciples, Jesus explains that the Law, the Prophets, and the Psalms all of Scripture testifies about Him. Not merely in passing references, but in sweeping, comprehensive unity.

“Everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled” (Luke 24:44). He opens their minds to understand what they previously missed that the Scriptures are not only God's Word, but God’s witness to His Son.

Christ's summary includes three main themes:

1. His suffering and death

2. His resurrection on the third day

3. The global mission of proclaiming repentance and forgiveness in His name

This framework becomes the blueprint for the apostles' preaching. Jesus didn't just teach them what to say. He taught them how to read the Bible.

Transformed by Christ and Empowered by the Spirit

The apostles were not scholars by the world’s standards. The religious leaders in Acts 4 were astonished at their boldness, noting they were “unschooled, ordinary men” (Acts 4:13, NIV). But what stood out most? “They had been with Jesus.”

This relationship with Christ, coupled with the outpouring of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost (Acts 2:1–4), radically transformed them. Once fearful and confused, they now preached with unwavering clarity and supernatural courage. As Peter and John stood before the same council that condemned Jesus, they declared boldly that salvation comes through no other name but His (Acts 4:12).

Their power did not come from education or charisma it came from the Spirit and from being taught by Jesus Himself.

Apostolic Preaching Rooted in Scripture

Throughout Acts, we see the apostles proclaiming the gospel not as a new invention, but as the fulfillment of ancient promises. They consistently interpret and apply the Old Testament through the lens Jesus gave them.

In Peter’s sermon at Pentecost (Acts 2), he quotes:

• Joel 2, to explain the outpouring of the Spirit,

• Psalm 16, to prove Christ's resurrection,

• Psalm 110, to confirm His exaltation.

He concludes with a powerful declaration: “Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified” (Acts 2:36).

Likewise, Paul’s sermon in Acts 13 walks through Israel’s history, highlighting how God fulfilled His promises by raising Jesus. He quotes Psalm 2, Isaiah 55, and Psalm 16, confirming that Jesus is the risen Son, the eternal King, and the One who offers forgiveness to all who believe.

Even their outreach to the Gentiles, which some viewed as a controversial shift, was grounded in Scripture. When Paul and Barnabas turn from Jewish resistance to preach to the Gentiles, they quote Isaiah 49:6: “I have made you a light for the Gentiles, that you may bring salvation to the ends of the earth” (Acts 13:47).

This wasn’t plan B it was God’s plan all along.

Scripture Fulfilled in Christ

The apostles held three unshakable convictions about the Bible:

1. It is completely true.

2. It is fully authoritative.

3. It is ultimately fulfilled in Christ.

Their sermons don’t treat the Old Testament as a collection of disconnected stories, but as one unified narrative pointing to Jesus the suffering Servant, the risen Lord, the reigning King.

In Acts 4:24–28, the early church prays Psalm 2, recognizing that the conspiracy against Christ was foretold. This realization emboldens them to pray for greater boldness, not for protection. Why? Because they know Scripture is not just ancient history it is the script of redemptive history, and they are participants in the unfolding story.

Learning to Read Like Jesus

Jesus didn’t just teach the apostles theology; He taught them hermeneutics how to read the Bible. His resurrection appearances were not simply comforting they were instructional. He wanted His followers to see the whole Bible as a Christ-centered book.

The apostles then modeled this in their preaching and mission. From Peter’s sermon in Acts 2 to Paul’s defense before Agrippa in Acts 26, they taught and interpreted Scripture just as their Master had taught them.

We may not share the apostles' direct experience with the risen Christ, but we are called to learn from their example. Their teachings recorded in Scripture invite us into the same Christ-centered reading of God’s Word.

As we read the Bible today, we do so not just to accumulate knowledge, but to encounter the Savior it reveals.

The Mission Continues

Acts is not primarily the story of the apostles’ deeds. As Luke says in Acts 1:1, it is the story of what Jesus continues to do and teach through His people, by His Spirit, for His purposes.

We are part of that mission.

The risen Christ still teaches His people through His Word. The Spirit still empowers ordinary men and women with extraordinary boldness. And the message of repentance and forgiveness in Jesus’ name is still going out to the nations.

In a world flooded with distractions and disjointed interpretations of Scripture, we need more than ever to sit at the feet of the Master. We need to be taught by Jesus through the apostles’ teaching, by the Spirit’s illumination, and with the same heart for the nations.

So may our prayer echo that of the disciples on the Emmaus road: “Did not our hearts burn within us while he talked to us on the road, while he opened to us the Scriptures?” (Luke 24:32)

Lord, teach us to read.

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