Assembling Believers
Acts 1
3 During the forty days after he suffered and died, he appeared to the apostles from time to time, and he proved to them in many ways that he was actually alive. And he talked to them about the Kingdom of God.
4 Once when he was eating with them, he commanded them, “Do not leave Jerusalem until the Father sends you the gift he promised, as I told you before.
5 John baptized with water, but in just a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.”
6 So when the apostles were with Jesus, they kept asking him, “Lord, has the time come for you to free Israel and restore our kingdom?”
7 He replied, “The Father alone has the authority to set those dates and times, and they are not for you to know.
8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere—in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
9 After saying this, he was taken up into a cloud while they were watching, and they could no longer see him.
10 As they strained to see him rising into heaven, two white-robed men suddenly stood among them.
11 “Men of Galilee,” they said, “why are you standing here staring into heaven? Jesus has been taken from you into heaven, but someday he will return from heaven in the same way you saw him go!”
12 Then the apostles returned to Jerusalem from the Mount of Olives, a distance of half a mile.
13 When they arrived, they went to the upstairs room of the house where they were staying.
Here are the names of those who were present: Peter, John, James, Andrew, Philip, Thomas, Bartholomew, Matthew, James (son of Alphaeus), Simon (the zealot), and Judas (son of James).
14 They all met together and were constantly united in prayer, along with Mary the mother of Jesus, several other women, and the brothers of Jesus.
15 During this time, when about 120 believers were together in one place, Peter stood up and addressed them.
16 “Brothers,” he said, “the Scriptures had to be fulfilled concerning Judas, who guided those who arrested Jesus. This was predicted long ago by the Holy Spirit, speaking through King David.
17 Judas was one of us and shared in the ministry with us.”
18 (Judas had bought a field with the money he received for his treachery. Falling headfirst there, his body split open, spilling out all his intestines.
19 The news of his death spread to all the people of Jerusalem, and they gave the place the Aramaic name Akeldama, which means “Field of Blood.”)
20 Peter continued, “This was written in the book of Psalms, where it says, ‘Let his home become desolate, with no one living in it.’ It also says, ‘Let someone else take his position.’
21 “So now we must choose a replacement for Judas from among the men who were with us the entire time we were traveling with the Lord Jesus—
22 from the time he was baptized by John until the day he was taken from us. Whoever is chosen will join us as a witness of Jesus’ resurrection.”
23 So they nominated two men: Joseph called Barsabbas (also known as Justus) and Matthias.
24 Then they all prayed, “O Lord, you know every heart. Show us which of these men you have chosen
25 as an apostle to replace Judas in this ministry, for he has deserted us and gone where he belongs.”
26 Then they cast lots, and Matthias was selected to become an apostle with the other eleven.
Quoting NT Wright “The Challenge of Acts”
“Verse 12 changes from the post Resurrection and Ascension account, and at 12 begins “the rest of the chapter, which has to do with the vital reordering of the community of jesus’ followers. They begin as a fellowship of prayer…”
- And out of that prayer, in v. 25-26, comes what was obviously vital to them and indeed to Luke in telling this story.
- The Twelve must become twelve once again, after the tragic failure of Judas.
- This speaks volumes about the sense in the early community - and for Luke, placing this incident here - that the work of Jesus was all about the fulfilment, and the restoration, of God’s ancient people, now indeed turning into their outward facing mission to the world.
- Clearly the Twelve remained enormously important at the symbolic heart of the community, because it was vital that they were not an entirely new movement , not a strange idea that someone had invented, but the full flowering of God’s ancient call of Abraham and his family.
(Genesis 12 and 15)
Matthew 19
27 Then Peter said to him, “We’ve given up everything to follow you. What will we get?”
28 Jesus replied, “I assure you that when the world is made new and the Son of Man sits upon his glorious throne, you who have been my followers will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.
Luke 22
27 Who is more important, the one who sits at the table or the one who serves? The one who sits at the table, of course. But not here! For I am among you as one who serves.
28 “You have stayed with me in my time of trial.
29 And just as my Father has granted me a Kingdom, I now grant you the right
30 to eat and drink at my table in my Kingdom. And you will sit on thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.
- When we look at Acts and the disciples seeking by prayer and God’s guidance to restore their number back to 12, keep that context in mind.
- First, they are obedient - they are literally right where Jesus told them to be. Jesus says “Jerusalem” and they agree with their lives.
- They’ve been receiving instruction from Jesus, receiving His mission - ‘be my witnesses’, ‘first in Jerusalem…’.
- That’s obedience.
- Yet they aren’t fearful; they are constantly united in prayer.
- They know that The Word must be fulfilled; both the immediate word that Jesus had given them (stay, wait for power, be my witnesses) and the ancient word of the Psalms that God had knowledge and power for them to fulfill His Word about Israel and the 12 tribes as well as what we’re about to see in reaching the Gentile world.
Bock, quoting Zwiep, ‘underscoring the divine control of salvation history”
1. The advance of the Gospel was not halted by Judas’s disobedience;
2. Jesus was not mistaken when he picked him;
3. The leaders who remained continued faithfully to represent the new movement; and
4. A circle of the Twelve existed at Pentecost to serve as Jesus’ chosen leaders of eschatological Israel in continuity with God’s promise.
Bock:
“It is debated whether Peter acts without the Spirit in dealing with this problem. NOTHING about the narrative, however, portrays this event negatively. The group has been obedient in coming to Jerusalem. They are of one mind and engaged n prayer. Scripture will be invoked, and God’s leading will be sought as well, allowing God to make the choice by lot … the lots probably were stone with a name on them, shaken in a bag or vessel until one fell out.”
- See: 1 Samuel 14.41-42; Proverbs 16.33
“The lot may have prevented rivalry or done away with any need to campaign for the post. So everything about the scene is told in a positive light.”
Back in Bible college, this debate took place - was Matthias sitting in Paul’s seat?
Bock: “Paul, although not counted as one of the Twelve by Luke, is seen as a special, directly appointed witness when the Lord directly brings him into the church.”
2 Chronicles 16.9
The eyes of the Lord search the whole earth in order to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him.
- When the promised Holy Spirit arrives in fire- baptizing power, we should see that this is God approving and empowering the body of believers (the Church) he created. God will not empower disobedience or compromise.
The Holy Spirit Comes
Acts 2
On the day of Pentecost all the believers were meeting together in one place.
2 Suddenly, there was a sound from heaven like the roaring of a mighty windstorm, and it filled the house where they were sitting.
3 Then, what looked like flames or tongues of fire appeared and settled on each of them.
4 And everyone present was filled with the Holy Spirit and began speaking in other languages, as the Holy Spirit gave them this ability.
5 At that time there were devout Jews from every nation living in Jerusalem.
6 When they heard the loud noise, everyone came running, and they were bewildered to hear their own languages being spoken by the believers.
7 They were completely amazed. “How can this be?” they exclaimed. “These people are all from Galilee,
8 and yet we hear them speaking in our own native languages!
9 Here we are—Parthians, Medes, Elamites, people from Mesopotamia, Judea, Cappadocia, Pontus, the province of Asia,
10 Phrygia, Pamphylia, Egypt, and the areas of Libya around Cyrene, visitors from Rome
11 (both Jews and converts to Judaism), Cretans, and Arabs. And we all hear these people speaking in our own languages about the wonderful things God has done!”
12 They stood there amazed and perplexed. “What can this mean?” they asked each other.
gotquestions.org
“The Tower of Babel is described in Genesis 11:1-9. After the Flood, God commanded humanity to “increase in number and fill the earth” (Genesis 9:1). Humanity decided to do the exact opposite, “Then they said, ‘Come, let us build ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens, so that we may make a name for ourselves and not be scattered over the face of the whole earth’” (Genesis 11:4). Humanity decided to build a great city and all congregate there. They decided to build a gigantic tower as a symbol of their power, to make a name for themselves (Genesis 11:4). This tower is remembered as the Tower of Babel.”
- In response, God confused the languages of humanity so that they could no longer communicate with each other (Genesis 11:7).
- The result was that people congregated with other people who spoke the same language, and then went together and settled in other parts of the world (Genesis 11:8-9).
God confused the languages at the Tower of Babel to enforce His command for humanity to spread throughout the entire world.
In Acts 2, God makes Himself the common topic for understanding - The Holy Spirit brings people to hear His Good News all in their own language.
- Where people had been scattered because of their disobedience, God now gathers the scattered to himself by making His Word heard in all the languages.
Acts 17
30 “God overlooked people’s ignorance about these things in earlier times, but now he commands everyone everywhere to repent of their sins and turn to him.
31 For he has set a day for judging the world with justice by the man he has appointed, and he proved to everyone who this is by raising him from the dead.”
