The King's Church in Ilford
The following is the text of the talk given on 7th March 2010 by Georges Kisombola
"As We Wait"
- Acts 1:12-26
At the beginning of Acts 1 we saw that Jesus has spent 40 days after His resurrection teaching about the kingdom of God to His disciples. After teaching the disciples about the kingdom, Jesus ascended into heaven to sit on the throne, assuming all rule, authority, dominion, and power. Two angels appear to the disciples telling them that Jesus will return the same way in which He was taken up.
As we read this next section, we will see the apostles engage in four activities that are useful applications for us in our lives today as we wait for the return of our Lord Jesus Christ. As we begin, imagine being one of these disciples after Jesus has ascended. What would you do next? What should be the next course of action? How strange it must have been to see Jesus leave putting you as His disciple in charge of spreading the kingdom to the ends of the earth.
Jesus' instruction in Luke 24:49, "I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high." We begin the story by noticing the disciples are going to Jerusalem from the Mount of Olives. The text tells us that this is about 3/4 of a mile journey. The disciples now go to the city of Jerusalem to await the promise of the Father.
When the disciples arrive in Jerusalem, they go to the upper room. In "the upper room"; this seems to be the same upper room where Jesus had last supper with his disciples before He was betrayed.
Luke shows that not only were the eleven apostles who saw Jesus ascend into heaven in the upper room, but also many of the other believers have come to the upper room. Mary, the mother of Jesus, Jesus' brothers, who had rejected Jesus earlier, are now believers and also assemble in the upper room. Luke also points out that the women have come also, which seems to certainly include Mary, Martha, Salome, and Joanna who were following Jesus. 120 people were there waiting to be clothed with power.
But the question arises: What are they doing in the upper room? I believe it is important for us to consider what 120 people were doing in the upper room. Two things might have been happening in that room:
We know that they prayed but also one may suspect that they had a profound time of reconciliation. In the preacher's commentary on Acts by Lloyds J. Ogilvie we find the following interesting observations: he said:
"There had been competition among the disciples and there must have been residue of criticism of each other. Peter had denied the Lord, Thomas had doubted, and James and John had wrangled over who was the greatest and what position they would have in Jesus' Kingdom." Lloyds adds and says: "Added to that mix were people whom Jesus had healed from sins that no good Jew could tolerate. Had disciples ever worked through their real feelings about a person like Mary Magdalene? With Jesus absence, they were confronted by the fact that their relationship always had been cushioned with Jesus acceptance. Did they feel as Jesus did? And what about the Pharisee Nicodemus? Was he really one of them? Did the disciple trust Him? And, what about the Rich Joseph of Arimathea? He provided the Tomb in the garden outside the city wall. But was his presence in that room genuine? A strange mixture of humanity was gathered there in the upper room. Each with his or her reason for being there - the knowledge of Jesus had meant to each of them.
Now Jesus was gone. They had to sit down and wait... look each other in the eye... open their hearts to one another..." "A common grief can open strangers to one another. It can build relationships. And it can put conflicts between friends into prospective. I believe that in that room differences were confessed, hurts were shared, and reconciliation was started. No wonder verse 14 says that "They all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication...
Lesson one: For all who have accepted this Jesus who died, who was buried, who rose again from the dead and who ascended to the father, there MUST be Unity and we MUST become one in Him as all our differences are washed away.
Those in the upper room made no assumptions with God. Though Jesus had promised to send the Holy Spirit, and though Jesus said to remain in the city until they were clothed with power, they were still praying for these things.
Again a question comes to mind: What was their prayer like? What were they praying for? It is not said. What we know is that these were mostly from Jewish background, used to a certain way of prayer following a liturgy. And we know that that Jesus had taught them how to pray. Praying was a natural part of their daily lives. We see this attitude presented throughout the New Testament.
"Continue earnestly in prayer, being vigilant in it with thanksgiving" (Colossians 4:2). "praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit…" (Ephesians 6:18). "…rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation, continuing steadfastly in prayer" (Romans 12:12). "Pray without ceasing" (1 Thessalonians 5:17). The whole group in Acts 1 was in one accord, completely united in prayer together in that upper room.
Lesson two: Christians coming together to pray is a powerful tool that we must use against Satan and the evils of this world. Coming together to pray is also an effective tool for requesting God's guidance and blessings.
While the disciples have been gathered together, devoting themselves to prayer each day, awaiting the Holy Spirit, Peter stands up among the 120 brothers to speak to them. Peter is going to talk about Judas. We may stop here for a moment and consider the effect of Judas and his actions upon the other disciples. We think of Judas as the outcast, the betrayer, and the outsider. But the scriptures tell us that Judas was numbered with the twelve. They had a relationship through Jesus Christ with this man. How traumatic it must have been to see Judas betray Jesus! How awful it would have been to find out that their close friend for more than three years had killed himself.
Peter recounts what happened to Judas to the 120 disciples. Verses 17-18 record different events concerning Judas death than what we read in Matthew 27:3-10. Matthew records that Judas hung himself. Peter says that Judas fell headfirst, burst open in the middle, and his intestines gushed out. Of course, this is a point of controversy to some scholars who suggest this is a contradiction in the Bible. However, the reconciliation of these two passages is not difficult to consider. The combining of the two passages suggests that Judas hung on that tree for quite a while. Finally, whatever instrument was holding him to the tree gave way and Judas fell headfirst, bursting open on the ground below. That is not of major importance at the moment.
I do not suppose that this event rang any prophetic bells in our minds as we consider the story of Judas. I wonder if the Jews picked up on the prophetic fulfillment that took place in Judas. But Peter is aware that this event is spoken of by God.
First, Peter points out in verse 16 that the scripture had to be fulfilled that the Holy Spirit spoke through the mouth of David (Psalms 41:9). This is useful terminology for us to consider. Notice who was speaking through the mouth of David: the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit speaks to us through the word of God. This reminds us that this book is not merely words on a printed page. This book is not even the words of God in times past. The writer of Hebrews said, "For the word of God is living and effective and sharper than any two-edged sword, penetrating as far as to divide soul, spirit, joints, and marrow; it is a judge of the ideas and thoughts of the heart" (Hebrews 4:12). The reason the word of God is alive is because it is the Holy Spirit speaking to us. We do not need to wait for the Lord to whisper silently in our ear. We do not have to wonder if God is speaking in our minds. We know God's word because it is loudly proclaimed in the book we hold in our hands: the Bible. This is God's word and it is powerful and effective in changing us if we will open ourselves to the surgery the sword can accomplish.
Second, Peter also quotes two psalms to show that David was speaking of these things. The first quotation is from Psalm 69:25, "Let his dwelling become desolate; let no one live in it." The second quotation is from Psalm 109:8, "Let someone else take his position." In reading these psalms, it does not seem that David is necessarily prophesying of a betrayer to the Messiah. Instead, it simply seems that we are reading about the enemies of David. But Peter is able to see that David is indirectly referring to the events that would take place, as Judas would become an enemy of Jesus.
Lesson three: What we learn is that the disciples were devoting themselves to knowing the scriptures. The disciples were not sitting around speaking about secular things of the Roman Empire. Instead, the disciples were considering the scriptures and Peter points out that the words of David had been fulfilled in those last days. This knowledge of the scriptures becomes the basis for the disciples' future action to appoint another to become an apostle. Without knowing the scriptures, particularly "let someone else take his position" the apostles may not have begun to appoint another.
First, we need to dedicate ourselves to know the scriptures. The Bible is the word of God, contains His commands, and has the power to change our lives. We need to grow and mature in the scriptures so that we can piece the word of God together properly and make appropriate applications to our lives. This must also be our goal that we strive for greater knowledge. Second, we also learn the need to share our knowledge with others. This is one reason that we assemble together Sunday morning, Wednesday and Thursday night.
These are things that we must not take lightly or neglect. Peter then continues to teach the 120 by describing the need to replace Judas' position. In verse 21 Peter lays out the requirements needed to be placed into consideration for replacing Judas as an apostle. There are three qualifications that are listed here by Peter as necessary to be an apostle.
First, the man must have accompanied the apostles during the whole ministry of Jesus. Therefore, the man could not be a recent disciple. Second, the man was with Jesus from the beginning of John's baptism to the moment that he was taken up from them just a few days earlier. Third, the man must have been a witness of the resurrected Jesus. This was critical because the apostles would go forth into the entire world proclaiming they had seen the risen Lord.
With these qualifications, two men were selected as possible candidates to replace Judas' position. These two men were Joseph, who was called Barsabbas and Justus, and a man called Matthias. What the apostles do next is the third application that we learn from these men.
Consider that the people do not have a democracy and vote who should be the next apostle. Peter does not stand up and select which person should take over the position that Judas vacated. Instead, they all prayed to God. Only God knows the hearts of these men, they say. They ask God to show them which one is chosen by God to take Judas' place. After their petition, lots are cast and the lot falls upon Matthias.
We are reading the disciples placing their complete dependency upon God in this matter. They did not rely upon their own knowledge. They understood the scriptures and asked God to help them do what had been prophesied that must be done. The casting of lots was done throughout the Old Testament as a tool God used for the people to know His will. This is the last time we will see lots be cast. From now on, people were to know God's will by what the Holy Spirit have spoken in the word.
Lesson four: Brothers, we also must have that same deep dependency upon God. The disciples were unwilling to make a decision before consulting God first on what must be done. We must grow to fully depend upon God, so much that we would not consider acting before we pray and ask God for assistance.
I am impressed with the disciples as they wait for the promise. They show us immediately how we ought to be as we wait for the return of our Lord Jesus Chris. We must be united together, continually united in prayer, united in scripture knowledge, and united dependents on God. These are areas we ought to set as goals to grow in as individuals and as a church. Let us take more opportunities to study together. Let us make more opportunities to pray together. Let us work together to become dependent upon God.
