Acts 1

Acts 1:1

I. THE CHURCH IN JERUSALEM (Chaps. 1-7) A. The Risen Lord’s Promise of the Spirit (1:1-5) 1:1 The Book of Acts opens with a reminder. Luke, the beloved physician, had written to Theophilus previouslya writing which we now know as The Gospel According to Luke (see Luk_1:1-4). In the last verses of that Gospel, he had told Theophilus that immediately prior to His Ascension, the Lord Jesus had promised His disciples that they would be baptized with the Holy Spirit (Luk_24:48-53). Now Luke is going to continue the narrative, so he goes back to this thrilling promise as a starting point. And it is fitting that he should do so, because in that promise of the Spirit lay concealed in germ form all the spiritual triumphs unfolded in the Book of the Acts. Luke describes his Gospel as the former account, or the first book. In it he had recorded the things that Jesus began both to do and teach. In Acts he carries on the record by recounting the things that Jesus continued to do and teach through the Holy Spirit after His Ascension. Notice that the Lord’s ministry was one of both doing and teaching. It was not doctrine without duty, or creed without conduct. The Savior was the living embodiment of what He taught. He practiced what He preached. 1:2 Theophilus would remember that Luke’s previous book ended with the account of the Savior’s Ascension, here described as His being taken up. He would also remember the tender last instructions the Lord had given the eleven apostles before He left. 1:3 For the forty days between His resurrection and Ascension, the Lord had appeared to His disciples, offering the strongest possible proofs of His bodily resurrection (see Joh_20:19, Joh_20:26; Joh_21:1, Joh_21:14). During this time, He had also discussed with them the affairs of the kingdom of God. His primary concern was not with the kingdoms of this world, but with the realm or sphere where God is acknowledged as King. The kingdom is not to be confused with the church. The Lord Jesus offered Himself to the nation of Israel as King but was rejected (Mat_23:37). His literal kingdom on earth was therefore postponed until Israel repents and receives Him as Messiah (Act_3:19-21). At the present time, the King is absent. However, He does have an invisible kingdom on earth (Col_1:13). It is made up of all who profess allegiance to Him (Mat_25:1-12). In one sense it consists of everyone who claims to be a Christian; that is its outward aspect (Mat_13:1-52). But in its inward reality it includes only those who have been born again (Joh_3:3, Joh_3:5). The kingdom in its present condition is described in the parables of Matthew 13. The church is something entirely new. It was not the subject of OT prophecy (Eph_3:5). It is composed of all believers from Pentecost to the Rapture. As the Bride of Christ, the church will reign with Him in the Millennium and share His glory forever. Christ will return as King at the end of the Great Tribulation, destroy His foes, and set up His reign of righteousness over all the earth (Psa_72:8). Although His reign from Jerusalem lasts for only one thousand years (Rev_20:4), yet the kingdom is everlasting in the sense that all of God’s foes will have been finally destroyed, and He will reign eternally in heaven without opposition or hindrances (2Pe_1:11). 1:4 Luke now relates a meeting of the Lord with His disciples as they assembled together in a room in Jerusalem. The risen Redeemer commanded them to remain in Jerusalem. But why in Jerusalem, they might well wonder! To them it was a city of hatred, violence, and persecution! Yes, the fulfillment of that Promise of the Father would occur in Jerusalem. The coming of the Spirit would take place in the very city where the Savior had been crucified. The presence of the Spirit there would bear testimony to man’s rejection of the Son of God. The Spirit of truth would reprove the world of sin, righteousness, and judgmentand this would take place first in Jerusalem. And the disciples would receive the Holy Spirit in the city where they themselves had forsaken the Lord and had fled to save their own skins. They would be made strong and fearless in the place where they had shown themselves to be weak and cowardly. This was not the first time the disciples had heard of the Promise of the Father from the Savior’s lips. Throughout His earthly ministry, and especially in His Upper Room Discourse, He had told them of the Helper who would come (see Luk_24:49; Joh_14:16, Joh_14:26; Joh_15:26; Joh_16:7, Joh_16:13). 1:5 Now, in His last meeting with them, He repeats the promise. Some, if not all of them had already been baptized by John with water. But John’s baptism was outward and physical. Before many days would pass, they would be baptized with the Holy Spirit, and this baptism would be inward and spiritual. The first baptism identified them outwardly with the repentant portion of the nation of Israel. The second would incorporate them into the church, the Body of Christ, and would empower them for service. Jesus promised that they would be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now, but there is no mention of the baptism in fire (Mat_3:11-12; Luk_3:16-17). The latter is a baptism of judgment for unbelievers only and is still future.

Acts 1:6

B. The Ascending Lord’s Mandate to the Apostles (1:6-11) 1:6 Perhaps the incident recorded here took place on the Mount of Olives, over against Bethany. This was the spot from which the Lord Jesus went back to heaven (Luk_24:50-51). The disciples had been thinking about the coming of the Spirit. They remembered that the prophet Joel spoke of the outpouring of the Spirit in connection with the Messiah’s glorious reign (Joe_2:28). They therefore concluded that the Lord would set up His kingdom soon, since He had first said that the Spirit would be given not many days from now. Their question revealed that they still expected Christ to set up His literal earthly kingdom immediately. 1:7 The Lord did not correct them for expecting His literal reign on earth. Such a hope was and is justified. He simply told them they could not know when His kingdom would come. The date had been fixed by the Father’s sole authority, but He had not chosen to reveal it. It was information that belonged exclusively to Himself. The expression times or seasons is used in the Bible to refer to various events foretold by God that are yet to come to pass in connection with the nation of Israel. Being of Jewish background, the disciples would understand the expression here to refer to the crucial days prior to and including the establishment of Christ’s thousand-year reign on earth. 1:8 Having suppressed their curiosity as to the future date of this kingdom, the Lord Jesus directed their attention to what was more immediatethe nature and sphere of their mission. As to its nature, they were to be witnesses; as to its sphere, they were to witness in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth. But first they must receive powerthe power of the Holy Spirit. This power is the grand indispensable of Christian witness. A man may be highly talented, intensively trained, and widely experienced, but without spiritual power he is ineffective. On the other hand, a man may be uneducated, unattractive, and unrefined, yet let him be endued with the power of the Holy Spirit and the world will turn out to see him burn for God. The fearful disciples needed power for witnessing, holy boldness for preaching the gospel. They would receive this power when the Holy Spirit came upon them. Their witness was to begin in Jerusalem, a meaningful prearrangement of the grace of God. The very city where our Lord was crucified was first to receive the call to repentance and faith in Him. Then Judea, the southern section of Palestine with its strong Jewish population, and with Jerusalem as its chief city. Then Samaria, the region in the center of Palestine, with its hated, half-breed population with whom the Jews had no dealings. Then the end of the then-known worldthe Gentile countries which had hitherto been outside the pale as far as religious privilege was concerned. In this ever widening circle of witness, we have a general outline of the flow of history in Acts.

1. The witness in Jerusalem (Chaps. 1-7)

2. The witness in Judea and Samaria (8:1-9:31)

3. The witness to the end of the earth (9:32-28:31) 1:9 As soon as the Savior had commissioned His disciples, He was taken up into heaven. This is all the Scripture saysHe was taken up, and a cloud received Him out of their sight. Such a spectacular event, yet it is described so simply and quietly! The restraint which the writers of the Bible used in telling their story points to the inspiration of the Word; it is not customary for men to handle such unusual events with such reserve. 1:10 Again without any expression of shocked surprise, Luke narrates the appearance of two men … in white apparel. These were obviously angelic beings who were enabled to appear on earth in the form of men. Perhaps these were the same angels who appeared at the tomb following the resurrection (Luk_24:4). 1:11 The angels first addressed the disciples as men of Galilee. As far as we know, all the disciples except Judas Iscariot came from the region west of the Sea of Galilee. Then the angels awoke them from their reverie, as they looked into heaven. Why were they gazing up into heaven? Was it sorrow, or worship, or wonder? Doubtless it was a mixture of all three, though primarily sorrow. So a word of comfort was given. The ascended Christ would come again. Here we have a clear promise of the Lord’s Second Advent to set up His kingdom on the earth. It is not the Rapture, but the coming to reign that is in view.

4. He ascended from the Mount of Olives (v. 12). 1. He will return to the Mount of Olives (Zec_14:4). 2. He ascended personally. 2. He will return personally (Mal_3:1). 3. He ascended visibly. 3. He will return visibly (Mat_24:30). 4. He was received up in a cloud (v. 9). 4. He will come on the clouds of heaven (Mat_24:30). 5. He ascended gloriously. 5. He will return with great power and great glory (Mat_24:30).

Acts 1:12

C. The Prayerful Disciples Waiting in Jerusalem (1:12-26) 1:12 In Luk_24:52 the disciples returned to Jerusalem with great joy. Light from the love of God kindled these men’s hearts and made their faces shine in spite of the sea of troubles that surrounded them.It was a short trip of about three quarters of a mile from the mount called Olivet, down through the Kidron Valley, and up to the city. This was the greatest distance a Jew might travel on the Sabbath in NT times. 1:13 Once inside the city, they went up into the upper room where they were staying. The Spirit of God here lists the names of the disciples for the fourth and last time (Mat_10:2-4; Mar_3:16-19; Luk_6:14-16). But now there is a notable omission: the name of Judas Iscariot is absent from the roll call. The traitor had gone to his deserved doom. 1:14 As the disciples gathered together, it was with one accord. This expression, occurring eleven times in Acts, is one of the keys that unlocks the secret of blessing. Where brethren dwell together in unity, God commands the blessinglife for evermore (Ps. 133). A second key is given in the words, continued … in prayer. Now, as then, God works when people pray. Ordinarily we would rather do anything than pray. But it is only when we wait before God in desperate, believing, fervent, unhurried, united prayer that the reviving, energizing power of the Spirit of God is poured out. It cannot be emphasized too strongly that unity and prayer were the prelude to Pentecost. Gathered with the disciples were certain unnamed women (probably those who had followed Jesus), also Mary the mother of Jesus, and … His brothers. There are several points of interest here.

1. This is the last mention of Mary by name in the NTdoubtless a silent protest against Mariolatry. The disciples were not praying to her, but with her. She was waiting with them to receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
2. Mary is called the mother of Jesus but not the mother of God. Jesus is the name of our Lord in His humanity. Since, as man, He was born of Mary, it is proper that she should be called the mother of Jesus. But never in the Bible is she called the mother of God. Although Jesus Christ is truly God, it is doctrinally inaccurate and absurd to speak of God as having a human mother. As God, He existed from all eternity.
3. The mention of the brothers of Jesus, coming after the reference to Mary, makes it likely that these were actual sons of Mary and half-brothers of Jesus. Several other verses in addition to this refute the idea, held by some, that Mary was a perpetual virgin and never bore any children after the birth of Jesus (see, for instance, Mat_12:46; Mar_6:3; Joh_7:3, Joh_7:5; 1Co_9:5; Gal_1:19. See also Psa_69:8). 1:15 One day, when about a hundred and twenty disciples were gathered together, Peter was led to remind them of OT Scriptures which dealt with the one who would betray the Messiah. 1:16, 17 At the outset, Peter mentioned that a certain prophecy written by David concerning Judas … had to be fulfilled. But before quoting this Scripture he reminded them that although Judas had been one of the twelve and had shared in their apostolic ministry, yet he served as guide to those who arrested Jesus. Notice the moderation Peter uses in describing this dastardly act. Judas became a traitor by his own deliberate choice, and thus he fulfilled the prophecies that someone would sell the Lord to His enemies. 1:18, 19 These two verses are treated as a parenthesis written by Luke and not a part of Peter’s message. They complete the historical facts concerning Judas through the time of his death and thus pave the way for the appointment of his successor. There is no contradiction between the mode of Judas’ death as given here, and that which is found in Mat_27:3-10. Matthew states that after he had given the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders, he went out and hanged himself. The chief priests then took the money and bought a burial ground. Here in Acts, Luke says that Judas purchased a field with the money, that he fell headlong … and all his entrails gushed out. Putting the two accounts together, it appears that the actual purchase transaction concerning the field was arranged by the chief priests. However, Judas bought the field in the sense that it was his money and they merely acted as his agents. He hanged himself on a tree in the cemetery, but the rope probably broke, pitching his body forward and causing it to burst open. As this incident became known in Jerusalem, the potter’s field came to be called Akel Dama, that is, Field of Blood or bloody field in Aramaic. 1:20 Peter’s message now continues, after Luke’s explanatory parenthesis. First, he explains that David was referring to the betrayer of Jesus in Psa_69:25 : Let his dwelling place be desolate, and let no one live in it.Then he comes to the particular prophecy which must now be fulfilled: Let another take his office (Psa_109:8). The Apostle Peter understood this to mean that after Judas’ defection, a replacement must be appointed to fill his office. It is good to see his desire to obey the word of God. 1:21, 22 Whoever was to be chosen had to fulfill two requirements:
4. He had to be one who had accompanied the disciples during the three years of Christ’s public ministryfrom His baptism by John to is Ascension.
5. He had to be able to bear responsible witness to the resurrection of the Lord. 1:23-26 The names of two men were put forward as possessing the necessary qualifications, Joseph … surnamed Justus, and Matthias. But which one was to be chosen? The apostles committed the matter to the Lord, asking for a revelation of His choice. Then they cast lots and Matthias was indicated as the proper successor to Judas, who had gone to his own place, i.e., eternal doom. Two questions invariably arise here:
6. Were the disciples acting properly when they named Matthias? Should they have waited until God raised up the Apostle Paul to fill the vacancy?
7. Was it proper for them to cast lots in order to discern the mind of the Lord? With regard to the first question, there is nothing in the record to indicate the disciples acted wrongly. They had been spending much time in prayer; they were seeking to obey the Scriptures; and they seemed to be of one mind in selecting a successor to Judas. Furthermore, the ministry of Paul was quite distinct from that of the twelve, and there is no suggestion that he was ever intended to replace Judas. The twelve were commissioned by Jesus on earth to preach to Israel, whereas Paul was called to the ministry by Christ in glory and sent to the Gentiles. As far as casting lots was concerned, this method of discerning the divine will was recognized by the OT: The lot is cast into the lap, but its every decision is from the Lord (Pro_16:33). Apparently the choice of Matthias by lot was sanctioned by the Lord, because the apostles are thereafter called the twelve (see Act_6:2).

EXCURSUS ON PRAYER IN THE BOOK OF ACTS Acts is a study in successful prayer. Already in chapter 1 we have seen the disciples praying on two different occasions. Their prayer in the upper room following the Ascension was answered by Pentecost. Their prayer for guidance in choosing a successor to Judas was answered by the lot’s falling on Matthias. And so it is throughout the book. Those who were converted on the day of Pentecost continued steadfastly in prayer (Act_2:42). The succeeding verses (43-47) describe the ideal conditions which prevailed in this prayerful fellowship. Following the release of Peter and John, the believers prayed for boldness (Act_4:29). As a result, the place was shaken, they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and they spoke the word of God with boldness (Act_4:31). The twelve suggested that seven men be chosen to handle financial matters so they themselves might devote their time more fully to prayer and the ministry of the Word (Act_6:3-4). The apostles then prayed and laid hands on the seven (Act_6:6). The next verses record thrilling new triumphs for the gospel (Act_6:7-8). Stephen prayed as he was about to be martyred (Act_7:60). Chapter 9 records an answer to that prayerthe conversion of an onlooker, Saul of Tarsus. Peter and John prayed for the Samaritans who believed, with the result that they received the Holy Spirit (Act_8:15-17). Following his conversion, Saul of Tarsus prayed in the house of Judas; God answered the prayer by sending Ananias to him (Act_9:11-17). Peter prayed at Joppa, and Dorcas was raised to life (Act_9:40). As a result, many believed on the Lord (Act_9:42). The Gentile centurion Cornelius prayed (Act_10:2); his prayers went up as a memorial before God (Act_10:4). An angel appeared to him in a vision, instructing him to send for a man named Simon Peter (Act_10:5). The next day Peter prayed (Act_10:9). His prayer was answered by a heavenly vision that prepared him to open the doors of the kingdom to Cornelius and other Gentiles (Act_10:10-48). When Peter was imprisoned, the Christians prayed for him earnestly (Act_12:5). God answered by miraculously delivering him from jailmuch to the astonishment of those who were praying (Act_12:6-17). The prophets and teachers at Antioch fasted and prayed (Act_13:3). This launched the first missionary journey of Paul and Barnabas. It has been said that this was the mightiest outreach of prayer ever seen; for it touched the ends of the earth, even to us, through Paul and Barnabas, the missionaries.On a return trip to Lystra and Iconium and Antioch, Paul and Barnabas prayed for those who had believed (Act_14:23). One of these was Timothy. Was it an answer to these prayers that Timothy joined Paul and Silas on their second missionary journey? In prison at Philippi, the midnight prayers of Paul and Silas were answered by an earthquake and by the conversion of the jailer and his family (Act_16:25-34). Paul prayed with the Ephesian elders at Miletus (Act_20:36); this brought a touching demonstration of their affection for him and of their grief that they would not see him again in this life. The Christians at Tyre prayed with Paul on the beach (Act_21:5), and these prayers doubtless followed him to Rome and to the executioner’s block. Prior to his shipwreck, Paul publicly prayed, giving thanks to God for the food. This brought cheer to the forlorn crew and passengers (Act_27:35-36). On the island of Malta, Paul prayed for the governor’s sick father. The result was that the patient was miraculously healed (Act_28:8). So it seems clear that prayer was the atmosphere in which the early church lived. And when Christians prayed, God worked!