Getting Ready

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Our first lesson is called "Getting Ready". It includes a "moment of remembering", looking back at the ascension and looking forward as the "acts" begin.

A Moment of Remembering

Most commentaries suggest that you start the study of the Book of Acts with a review of Luke's Gospel. Luke wanted Theophilus to know that he was building on his previous labors and that his Gospel was the foundation upon which this book was laid. He reminds him that his former letter (his Gospel) contained "all that Jesus did and taught", all that was pertinent to doing what Jesus commanded, "to carry on the work of the Gospel that Christ Himself had begun". The story begins on the day on which Jesus was "taken up", His Ascension. Luke had closed his last letter with this account and it seemed well to begin his second letter the same way. In the 20 years that had passed, the Devil had been active in putting doubts in the hearts of many about the resurrection and ascension of Jesus. Luke realized this and wasted no time in correcting this false teaching and reminding them of the many times that Jesus, after the resurrection, had presented Himself to the Disciples.

In Luke's mind, the proofs were infallible. He had walked with them, talked with them and ate with them. He had showed them the nail prints in His hands and feet and was seen by them many times over a 40-day period. He was the risen Lord; this was no fabricated story by eleven disappointed men. He reminds them that before He ascended, He gave instructions to these "chosen ones", and they were chosen ones, even down to the one who betrayed Him. To these chosen ones He would give the Holy Spirit and upon receiving the Holy Spirit they were to preach all the things that He had taught them pertaining to the Kingdom of God.

Thus they were to be given the "Baptized by the Holy Spirit" to be enabled to do the work that they were commanded to do. We have here a most controversial statement and we will discuss it at length when we get to the scripture concerning Pentecost. The "gifts" of the Spirit come in phases. In John 20:22 we read that the Holy Spirit "breathed" upon them and they received Grace sufficient to believe. The "gift" of Pentecost was Grace sufficient to preach . We grow each day as we respond to God's calling. The task facing the Disciples was tremendous. The gift of the Holy Spirit was sufficient for their needs.

Luke reminds them that this was promised to them and even John the Baptist know of this for he said in Matt. 3:11, "I baptize you with water, but He that comes after me, shall baptize you with the Holy Spirit." Matthew Henry, in his commentary, says this, "The promised gift of the Holy Spirit was a particular power given to the first Preachers." "It is not to be confused with the gift of the Spirit given to ordinary believers." "We are gifted according to our calling for service."

So in these first 5 verses we see:

1. The "tie" into a former letter.
2. The person to whom the letter was written.
3. A reminder of the infallible proofs of Jesus' resurrection.
4. A reminder of His instructions to them.
5. A reminder of the promised "Baptism of the Holy Spirit".

Verses 6 thru 11 have recorded for us again, four events that occurred just prior to the ascension.

1. A question from the Disciples.
2. The answer from Jesus.
3. The commission from Jesus to the Disciples.
4. The ascension.

Notice, again, the question from the Disciples. "Lord, will you at this time restore the Kingdom of Israel?" They were speaking from the general notion that prevailed at that time that the Messiah would come and set up an earthly kingdom. Now the question can be interpreted one of two ways:

1. "Will you restore the Kingdom of Israel to the present rulers, those who have persecuted you?" "Can these people be trusted?"
2. "Will you restore the Kingdom of Israel and give it to those who follow you?"

Israel, at one time, was an earthly kingdom under God, to be reckoned with. Now they were under the possession of Rome. They expected the Christ to set up some kind of earthly kingdom, they just didn't know, who would be in charge and when it would be done.

Notice several things are evident about these Disciples:

1. They, as yet, could not understand a "heavenly Kingdom". Power and happiness, to them, laid in an earthly kingdom.
2. They assumed that they would be the ones to set up this kingdom.
3. They still did not understand the universality of Jesus. They still were biased concerning Israel.
4. They still mis-understood the prophecies in the scriptures.

Matthew Henry gives a word of caution, "We are apt to mis-understand scriptures if we tend to make them conform to our beliefs rather than conform our beliefs to the scriptures."

Now lets look at the second part of their question which has to do with "when". When is this kingdom going to happen, Lord? They were impatient to get this new earthly kingdom established. He had told that they would sit on thrones (Luke 22:30), so when is it going to happen?

Well lets look at the answer that Jesus gives them. "It is not for you to know the times or seasons which the Father has fixed by His own authority." Notice what is cautioned here:

1. Take heed, do not be like Adam and Eve and seek after knowledge that is forbidden.
2. Even though He had given them much knowledge, there are some that even they are not to know.
3. They will receive all that they need to know to discharge their commission, do not seek more.
4. Things are "fixed" by God, these are His sovereign prerogatives. We must be cautious in asking for things that are His.

We must be cautious in prophesying the coming of the Kingdom of God. Over the years sense the Ascension of Christ, many have tried and failed. The early church sat down and waited for His return until Paul told them to get off their duffs and get to work for the Lord.

So the answer to the question, "Lord when are you going to Restore the Kingdom of Israel", is, "It is not for you to know."

With that reprimand, Jesus goes on to the commissioning of the Disciples. He assures them of three things:

1. That their work will be honorable and glorious. "You shall be my witnesses." You shall openly preach the Gospel to the world. They shall witness not with an oath, as was usual, but with divine miracles and supernatural gifts, even with their lives.
2. The Power for this work shall be supplied and shall be sufficient. "You shall receive the power of the Holy Spirit." They, in their own strength, would fail, but in His strength they would succeed. Those whom Christ employs, He equips.
3. Their influence would be great through out the world. Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria and the utter most parts of the world.

So He commissioned and equipped the Disciples for their work and then departed from them. "As they were looking on, He was lifted up and a cloud took Him out of their sight." Clouds, in the Bible, signify communication. It was a bright cloud that overshadowed Christ at His transfiguration. God often spoke out of a cloud. It was a cloud that led the Israelites by day during the 40 years of wandering. It was fitting, therefore, that Christ ascended into a cloud, for is He not the mediator and communicator between God and man?

Finally, we see them standing there, staring up into the heavens, for what was obviously a long time. Why? Well Jesus had promised them that He would "return quickly". He also told them that He was going to go to the Father and that when He returned, the heavens would open up. How soon was "quickly"?

What happen next was the first of many Godly "pushes". We seem to be forever in need of a "push". Here they seemed to be content to stand gazing into the clouds. So God sent a messenger to bring them back to their senses and send them on their way back to Jerusalem to wait for further instructions (the Holy Spirit). This messenger checked their curiosity and confirmed their faith that He would return in due time.

The Acts Begins

The rest of Chapter 1 (verses 12 thru 26) begins the "acts" of the Apostles. The Mount of Olives, where Jesus began His suffering on Thursday of the last week of His life, became the place of His triumph, His ascension to the Father. The Garden there on the Mount of Olives, was a place of quiet meditation. Many, from Jerusalem, came there on the Sabbath to meditate. Its distance from Jerusalem was allowable on the Sabbath and soon became the "yardstick" for a "Sabbath Days Journey".

After the resurrection, the Disciples became wanted men in Jerusalem so they left and went up into Galilee, some 100 miles away. This became known to the Jewish authorities, so they called the search off. Now, some 40 days later, the Disciples returned to Jerusalem, unnoticed. They did not, however, circulate around the city. They confines themselves either to the "upper room" as Luke suggests here, or at the Temple as he suggests in his Gospel. Both places were private and not frequented by the authorities.

So they had gone back to Jerusalem as Jesus had instructed and were there waiting for the further instructions from the Lord. Notice what they were doing. They were praying. Prayer should always precede anything that we do for the Lord. Notice who was there in the upper room. Peter, John, James, Andrew, Philip, Thomas, Bartholomew, Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus, Simon the Zealot, Judas the son of James and Mary the mother of Jesus. This is the last time any mansion is made of her. There appeared to be other women present and men who were called either "Brothern" or Brothers in Christ.

These were the followers of Christ that met there in the upper room and the remarkable thing about it was, "they did it with one accord." Matthew Henry says, "Those who keep the hand of peace are best prepared to receive the comforts and power of the Holy Spirit", and wasn't this what they were waiting for.

Verses 15 thru 26 deals with what Matthew Henry calls a "vacancy in the collage of Apostles". By now, the original 11 were called Apostles, the Disciples had grown to about 120. The leader of the group was Peter. Peter was and would continue to be the "speaker" to the Jews. Paul would become the "speaker" to the Gentiles.

Notice what Peter proposes:

1. He proposes that a replacement be chosen for Judas.
2. He regrets that there was a need.
3. He gives an account of what happened that made this necessary.
4. He reminds them of the result of Judas' betrayal and the remorse that plagued Judas until he took his own life.

With the betrayal and death of Judas, it became necessary that another be chosen to take his place. Then Peter puts some requirements upon the person to be chosen. He must be someone who had accompanied them from the baptism by John until the day the Lord ascended. Someone who had been faithful in following Jesus in a "lower" station than the 12. He also had to be a witness to the resurrection. The selection would be made by the "casting of lots".

The casting of lots was a popular means of determining God's will. Usually this was done by the Priest who carried these small pebbles in a pouch under his breastplate. Lots were cast to determine the inheritance of each tribe in the Promise Land. The Persian courts used this method of determining policy as told in Ester Chapter 9. The Phoenicians also used this as indicated in Jonah Chapter 1. Saul and Jonathan were chosen to certain tasks by lot. Lots were cast by Roman Soldiers to determine who would get Jesus' robe.

Notice two men were nominated to replace Judas. Joseph, called Barsabbas , believed to have been one of the 70 sent out in pairs to witness by Jesus and recorded in Luke Chapter 10, and Matthias, who also was believed to have been one of the 70.

Notice the process used to determine which one should take the place of Judas:

1. First they prayed. They asked God to search the hearts of the two men and choose one.
2. Then they asked God to reveal to each one of them His choice as the voted by the casting of lots.

By this method, Matthias was chosen. We might wonder how Joseph took the decision. Luke does not say but tradition has it that he became a leader in the Church at Jerusalem and that later he was sent to Antioch as a delegate and accompanied Paul, Barnabas and Silas on many journeys.

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