Selection in Humility

Acts 1:12-26

Then they returned to Jerusalem from the hill called the Mount of Olives, a Sabbath day’s walk from the city. When they arrived, they went upstairs to the room where they were staying. Those present were Peter, John, James and Andrew; Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew; James son of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot, and Judas son of James. They all joined together constantly in prayer, along with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with His brothers. – Acts 1:12-14

Jesus had appeared to them on numerous occasions after He rose from the dead.  Luke said,

On one occasion, while He was eating with them, He gave them this command: “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift My Father promised, which you have heard Me speak about. For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.” – Acts 1:4-5

They went to the upper room to pray.  This was in obedience to Jesus’ command to “wait.”  Rarely, when God commands someone to wait, does it mean “do nothing”.  They were waiting…expectantly.  What should an expectant heart produce?  One thing is prayer.  Just because God promised something doesn’t mean that we can’t pursue Him about the thing He’s going to give.  Knowing that God is going to give us something doesn’t mean that we should become passive.  We have many promises in the Bible that God has given to us.  He has promised to take care of us.  We can thank God for His promise to take care of us and ask Him to do so because He promised it.  This kind of prayer glorifies God because we verbalize our trust in Him.  We proclaim that He is the provider and that He is compassionate.  And it’s actually good for us.  It reminds us of our dependence on Him. 

Jesus had promised the Holy Spirit.  In this story, we’re about to see this promise fulfilled.  What did Jesus say it would be like when they received the Spirit?  What did Jesus say the Spirit would do in them?  The Apostle John takes us back there:

Jesus replied, “If anyone loves Me, he will obey My teaching. My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him. He who does not love Me will not obey My teaching. These words you hear are not My own; they belong to the Father who sent Me.  All this I have spoken while still with you. But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.” – John 14:23-26

First, Jesus talks about the most important thing, that the disciples would love Jesus.  Second, He describes what it will look like for them to love Him.  He said that they would obey His teaching.  Third, He said that He desired to make His home with them.  He wanted to dwell in them.  In the context of John 14, He’s talking about them receiving the Holy Spirit.  Fourth, He said that the Holy Spirit will teach them and remind them of what He has spoken to them.  In Acts 1, we’re on the verge of seeing these things happen in the disciples.  The Spirit would come to live in them.  The Spirit would teach them and help them remember what Jesus had taught them.  The Spirit would help them obey Jesus, which, in turn, meant that they loved Him.  This string of events would help them reach the goal.  The goal was the very first thing Jesus talked about in John 14, to love Him.  In Acts, we see the church begin.  The church would love Jesus by obeying the things that He taught them. 

I’d encourage you to write these verse references down if you can.  I think it might help you understand what is about to happen in Acts 2.  The verses are things that Jesus commanded, taught and demonstrated to His disciples.  First of all, He taught them to repent and to preach repentance. Matthew 4:17 is one example: “From that time on Jesus began to preach, ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near.’” (Matthew 4:17).  He taught baptism and demonstrated it by His own baptism, Matthew 3:13-17.  He taught them to honor the Scriptures just as He honored them.  In Matthew 5:19, He commanded them to practice and teach the commands.  He taught them to love one another just as He loved them.  You can find this in John 13:34-35.  He showed them what real fellowship looked like.  He broke bread with His disciples.  He commanded them, “‘This is My body given for you; do this in remembrance of Me.’” (Luke 22:19)  He taught His disciples to pray on numerous occasions.  The most famous instance is in Luke 11:1-13.  This is known as the Lord’s Prayer in which Jesus prayed, “Our Father, hallowed be Your name, Your kingdom come…”  At the very end of this passage, Jesus says something I find to be very peculiar.  I wonder if Jesus said this knowing what was going to happen in Acts 2.  I guess you would have to read Luke 11 and Acts 2 on your own and see what you think.  In Acts 20:35, Paul reminded the church in Ephesus that Jesus taught them, “‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’”  On numerous occasions, you can read in the gospels how Jesus ate together with his disciples in a home setting (i.e. John 13).  In Matthew 26:30, after breaking bread together, they sang a hymn.  He demonstrated a glad and sincere heart. 

Keep these moments in mind as we go into Acts 2 in the next three weeks, especially verses 36-47.  After the disciples received the Holy Spirit, notice if you see any similarities to the teachings that I just mentioned.  We’ll find out if the disciples and the early church begin to carry out what Jesus started.

In our story in Acts 1, they decided to replace Judas.

In those days Peter stood up among the believers (a group numbering about a hundred and twenty) and said, “Brothers, the Scripture had to be fulfilled which the Holy Spirit spoke long ago through the mouth of David concerning Judas, who served as guide for those who arrested Jesus—he was one of our number and shared in this ministry. – Acts 1:15-17

In this list of Apostles, there’s a man who denied Jesus and another man who betrayed Jesus.  Peter took on a leadership role in this group.  He was one of the three disciples that went with Jesus to places the others hadn’t and heard things from Jesus that the others hadn’t.  You would think that he would have been one of the most faithful disciples considering all the special things he saw and heard firsthand.  He ended up denying Jesus three times before He went to the cross.  I probably wouldn’t have felt too confident to take this position if I were him.  I would have felt like the least of the apostles.  Matter of fact, I wouldn’t have felt like an apostle at all. 

There seemed to be other apostles who had a better track record.  John, for example, seemed to be the closest to Jesus out of all the apostles.  John called himself “the disciple whom Jesus loved” in John 13:23.  I’m not sure that he was actually the one Jesus loved the most.  This was a title that John gave himself, although, somehow inspired by the Holy Spirit.  I wonder if Jesus was the kind of person that made everyone feel like He loved them the most.

Jesus chose Peter.  Peter didn’t choose Jesus.  He said, “You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit—fruit that will last.” (John 15:16a)  This is one of the ways of God. 

He chose Abraham to be a blessing to the nations.  God knew that this would be a man that would be given into fear at times.  He knew that this man would have moments when he would act out of the flesh, not out of faith.  This is the kind of person God chose. 

He chose Moses to lead his people out of captivity.  This is the same guy that would try to free the people of Israel in his own timing but was only able to deliver one Hebrew from immediate slavery.  He became a murderer by killing the Egyptian taskmaster.  He would also try to come up with every excuse in the book as to why he shouldn’t be their leader.  This is the kind of person God chose. 

He chose a bitter coward to preach to the people of Nineveh.  If Jonah had spent the same amount of energy obeying God as he did running from Him then the mission would have been accomplished in very little time.  This is the kind of person God chose.

He chose David to be king.  He would eventually become a murderer and adulterer.  He loved the Lord, he repented and he did what the Lord asked, but only after he did terrible things.  This is the kind of person God chose.

The apostle Paul didn’t have the ideal resume’ either.  He was involved in the violent persecution of Christians.  This is the kind of person God chose. 

There was nothing special about Peter and John.  In Acts 4:13, Luke says,

When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus. – Acts 4:13

They were “unschooled” and “ordinary”.  Jesus was never aiming for the smartest, extraordinary, best-qualified, or even the boldest disciples.  These are the kind of people God chose. 

He chose these people, then He equipped them.  He wasn’t looking for those who were equipped already.  He chose these people, then He changed them.  He wasn’t looking for people who had great self-control and could change themselves.  He chose these people, then gave them a mission and the power to accomplish that mission. These people didn’t care about that mission before God changed them.  These people didn’t have the power to carry out His will until He gave them the power.  If you have felt unworthy, sinful, unfaithful, bitter, disobedient, unequipped, and unable, then you are in great company.  You have finally reached the place where God wants you to be.  He wants you to recognize that you are all these things and to be humble with Him. 

As Christians, if we go astray from God He will discipline us.  He wants our lives to rise up to the calling He has given to us.  He wants us to be free from sin, to be faithful, to not be bitter, to be obedient, to be equipped and able.  He wants us to be and do these things because we are chosen, not to earn to be chosen.

Peter denied Jesus.  Judas is the one who betrayed Him.  What do you think would be worse, to be filled with demons or to be filled with Satan?  I personally believe it would be worse to be filled with Satan.  Although, both would be bad.  Jesus and his disciples cast demons out of many people.  Some of these people had to be shackled because they were so dangerous.  No one wanted to approach a demon-possessed person.  In John 13:23, referring to Judas, the Scriptures say that “Satan entered into him.”  After this moment, it seemed like Judas was perfectly sane.  If he appeared insane, then I doubt the detachment of Roman soldiers would have followed him to find Jesus in the garden, where he betrayed Him.  I don’t think they would have believed that Judas was a credible person if he was acting crazy.  I’ve heard people ask why we hear about demon possession during the time of Jesus but not much today.  Or they ask why we hear about demon possession in third-world countries more than we hear about it in our culture in America.  I think there are people possessed by demons in our day and even in our country.  Satan and his demons have done a good job of disguising themselves.  Those who are possessed, or at least influenced by them, appear completely sane.  But even worse than that they appear to be walking in the light.  They appear to be outstanding, respectful people who are doing many righteous things.  Paul said,

For such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen, masquerading as apostles of Christ. And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. It is not surprising, then, if his servants masquerade as servants of righteousness. Their end will be what their actions deserve. – 2 Corinthians 11:13-15

Judas was in charge of the money that the disciples used collectively.  He appeared to be a trustworthy person.  He went on many mission trips to share the gospel and see people healed.  He saw Jesus firsthand.  He didn’t need ten reasons to believe that the gospels were trustworthy accounts of Jesus’ life.  He witnessed Jesus’ life himself!  The apostle John gives Jesus the title “The Word.” (John 1:1)  We spend time reading The Word in order to be with The Word, but Judas spent time with The Word face-to-face.  He saw the deaf hear, the lame walk, and the blind see.  Looking back on the warning signs of Judas, John said,

But one of His disciples, Judas Iscariot, who was later to betray Him, objected, “Why wasn’t this perfume sold and the money given to the poor? It was worth a year’s wages.” He did not say this because he cared about the poor but because he was a thief; as keeper of the money bag, he used to help himself to what was put into it. – John 12:4-6

Judas was ahead of the social justice movement.  But he was behind on the love-Jesus movement.  Mary seemed to be wasting expensive perfume to worship Jesus.  I wonder if the Holy Spirit revealed Judas’ theft to John as he was writing the Gospel of John or if some of the disciples already knew about it at the time of the thefts.   

(With the reward he got for his wickedness, Judas bought a field; there he fell headlong, his body burst open and all his intestines spilled out. Everyone in Jerusalem heard about this, so they called that field in their language Akeldama, that is, Field of Blood.)

“For,” said Peter, “it is written in the book of Psalms,

         ‘May his place be deserted;

         let there be no one to dwell in it,’

and,

        ‘May another take his place of leadership.’

Therefore it is necessary to choose one of the men who have been with us the whole time the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, beginning from John’s baptism to the time when Jesus was taken up from us. For one of these must become a witness with us of His resurrection.”

So they proposed two men: Joseph called Barsabbas (also known as Justus) and Matthias. Then they prayed, “Lord, You know everyone’s heart. Show us which of these two You have chosen to take over this apostolic ministry, which Judas left to go where he belongs.” Then they cast lots, and the lot fell to Matthias; so he was added to the eleven apostles. – Acts 1:18-26

Why did they need to replace Judas?  The Scripture that Peter shared was the driving influence.  But why were these Scriptures used?  Peter is quoting Psalm 69:25 and 109:8. When these Psalms were written, King David may have had passages like Deuteronomy 19:15-21 in mind. In Deuteronomy 19:15-21, the people of Israel were shown how to deal with someone who was a false witness.  They were to do to the false witness as the false witness wanted to do to the innocent person.  Others caused David to be on the run and caused him to not be able to dwell in his own tent because of their false accusations.  He was praying that God would set a trap for his accuser so that they would experience the same thing.  Just as David was ousted out of his office of king because of false witnesses, he was praying that God would oust these false witnesses out of their offices.  Just as David was betrayed by false witnesses, so was Jesus.  In the Torah, we see the commands for how to deal with false witnesses.  In the Psalms, we see how these commands were dealt with and prayed about in real life.  When Peter quotes these verses, he seems to be saying that Jesus was betrayed just like David.  Judas held an office as one of the twelve.  Jesus said that these twelve would judge the twelve tribes of Israel in His second coming.  Because of being a false witness, the official position Judas held had to be passed on to someone else in order for justice to be done. 

The person who replaced Judas as an apostle needed to have been a witness of Jesus from the time of His baptism until the time of His resurrection.  He needed to have seen first-hand that the Father spoke from heaven after Jesus was baptized.  This is when the Father told everyone there that Jesus was His Son.  He must have seen the miracles Jesus performed.  He also must have witnessed the love that Jesus shared.  As they went about preaching about Jesus they were preaching as witnesses.  If you are a follower of Christ, it’s because of these men’s preaching.  Our faith is based on events that were witnessed by trustworthy men who had been with Jesus. 

The Lord chose Matthias for the position.  Matthias didn’t choose the position.  As we learned earlier, God has certain ways that He does things.  He doesn’t choose people based on their ability, personality or performance.  He would empower Matthias for his chosen task.  I’m not sure how humble Matthias was, but I do know that this new position would probably have humbled him.  Jesus told His disciples that the goal was make disciples of the nations, not just the people in Israel.  This was a daunting task.  I don’t know about you, but sometimes it feels like a daunting task just to get out of bed and have a good attitude. There were just 120 people meeting in that upper room.  They were on the verge of getting started.  I know that God didn’t choose Matthias because of his performance.  But, in order for him to be an eyewitness of Jesus’ life from His baptism until His resurrection, he had to make a series of decisions.  These were a series of decisions to stick with Jesus.  Matthias was supposed to tell Jesus’ story from His baptism to His resurrection.  He didn’t have to have a seminary degree.  Although, he did need to have a certain level of understanding about the Messianic prophecies that Jesus fulfilled. According to John 14, Jesus taught them what they needed to know, and He said that the Spirit would bring to mind what He told them.  He did specific training on how to have gospel conversations, but the Spirit would help them at the implementation of the training.

God is still choosing people today.  He’s not choosing people to fill the role of one of the twelve apostles, but He is still choosing people.  In reference to the forgiveness of our sins, Peter said, “Therefore, my brothers, be all the more eager to make your calling and election sure.” (2 Peter 1:10)  The NASB translates the verse as “be all the more diligent to make certain about His calling and choosing you…”  Part of His choosing of us for salvation is the giving of a new identity.  If you are “in Christ”, then we aren’t who we used to be.  Paul told the Corinthians that if any person is “in Christ”, then they are an ambassador as though God were making His appeal through us.  If you and I were chosen by Christ, then we’ve been chosen to be an ambassador.  This is an identity change.  We’re not performing for God.  We didn’t have to be given a command in order to a part of His purposes.  We were brought into His purposes by a change in our identity.

 

When you go home I want to encourage you to discover for yourself why He chose you.  Read Ephesians 1:4-5.  I think reading it in the New Living Translation might help with understanding it better.  The motivation came from something within Him.  Imagine that I’m about to play a pickup game of basketball.  I’m playing with adult men.  I’m one of the captains so I get to choose who is on my team.  Max is there with us.  I choose him to be on my team.  What would motivate me to do that?  I’m not doing it in order to build the most talented team.  Growing up I played a lot of pick-up basketball games.  I would always choose the best players to be on my team…the most skilled, the biggest and the fastest.  I wanted to win.  But Max wouldn’t have anything to offer me.  He would be the smallest, slowest and least skilled out of all of them.  The only reason I would choose him is because I love him and that it would bring me great pleasure by sharing this experience with me. 

 

Why Do You Stand Here?

 Acts 1:1-11

Good morning!  We’re stepping out in our new series on the book of Acts.  Last week, Carl gave us an introduction to the series, and we learned a great deal about the author of the book of Acts, Luke.

Luke is mentioned in several of Paul’s letters.  He was a well-known and well-traveled disciple in the early church.  We learned that Luke was a medical doctor.  As such, he was trained in making careful observations.  This background was a great skill set to bring to make “an orderly account.”

As we get farther into the book of Acts, there are points where we can see that Luke is present in the events.  He switches from the third person to first person plural when he’s joined the group.  Saying in Acts 16:10, for example, “We got ready at once to leave for Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them.”

We learned that the book was first written in the 60’s AD both because of what is included in the story and because of what isn’t included, most significantly, the destruction of the temple in Jerusalem in 70 AD.

There are interesting parallels and contrasts between the gospel of Luke and the book of Acts.  In Acts, the disciples, empowered by the Holy Spirit, perform miracles like the miracles Jesus performed in Luke. Acts shows believers not only among the Jews, but now also among the nations. And Acts reveals the fulfillment of countless prophecies in the Old Testament that show God redeeming not only members of the people of Israel, but people from every nation and every tongue and every tribe.  The book of Acts reveals how salvation spread from believing Jews to believing non-Jews.

I was most impacted last week by what Carl shared regarding the persecution of the early church.  This persecution is something that is key thread through the book of Acts.  We see how God uses the persecution to scatter God’s followers and even more rapidly multiply the gospel. God also uses persecution to refine the faith of those who profess to follow Him.

Listening to the account of Pliny the Younger who was a Roman governor of a province in Asia Minor, it was stunning how mindless the persecution was.  It didn’t matter what the people did or what they were like.  It only mattered whether they would do what the Roman government told them to do which was ultimately to renounce Christ out loud or face a public and painful death.

As time went on, the persecution became even worse. But despite all this, Christians continued to multiply. It is humbling to understand what those before us had to go through so that we could have faith today. And throughout the world, there are still those who face severe persecution, and the Bible tells us that a time is coming when it will become worse again.  – Carl Baum

Let’s pray before we step into Acts, chapter 1.  Father God, speak to us from Your word today.  Help us to see what You want us to see and understand.  We do pray for the persecuted church.  Hundreds of millions of Your precious ones live under high levels of persecution and discrimination because of their faith.  Strengthen them and encourage them.  Help them to know that You are with them.  Multiply Your church, we pray in Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Here we are with Acts, chapter 1, verse 1:

In my former book, Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus began to do and to teach until the day He was taken up to heaven, after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles He had chosen. – Acts 1:1-2

https://bryanwindle.files.wordpress.com/2016/12/papyrus_75a.gif?w=251&h=460&zoom=2

P75 contains Luke 3:18-24:53, and John 1:1-15:8.  The format is called a codex which is the precursor of our modern books.  This picture is the end of Luke and the beginning of John.  102 of 144 pages have survived.  It dates to 100’s AD.  It’s the most significant New Testament papyrus found to date, due to its age and its agreement to later fourth century sources.  It was discovered in the 1950’s.

As Carl also highlighted last week, Luke is writing about “all that Jesus began to do and teach.”   This introductory statement tells us Jesus’ ministry continues in Acts.  Even though we will see Jesus ascend to heaven in the first verses of Acts, He’s still actively involved, driving the story.

Luke stresses the work of the Holy Spirit throughout the book of Acts including His enabling power.  Here we learn that Jesus gave instructions through the Holy Spirit which is in keeping with John 14:26. 

The Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you. – John 14:26

We’ll talk more on the Holy Spirit today and in future messages in the series.

After His suffering, He presented Himself to them and gave many convincing proofs that He was alive. He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God. – Acts 1:3

Jesus’ ultimate suffering was His death on the cross.  However, He rose on the third day, and He came to the disciples many times.  What were Jesus’ convincing proofs that He was alive?  This is a list from a read through of the gospel accounts following the resurrection, Acts 1, and I Corinthians 15.

The stone was rolled away from the tomb Matthew 28:2

The soldiers guarding the tomb were made unconscious (all of them) Matthew 28:4

The testimony of the angel to the Marys, “He is not here; He has risen just as He said.  Come and see the place where He lay.” Matthew 28:5, Luke 24:5-7

Jesus’ body was no longer in the tomb Luke 24:12

The linens that wrapped His body were still wrapped and not strewn about John 20:6-7

Jesus appeared to the disciples multiple times

- to Mary Magdalene at the tomb John 20:14-17

- to the women (Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, Salome, and others) while they were on their way to tell the disciples Jesus was risen Matthew 28:9

- to the two disciples on the road to Emmaus (Cleopas and his friend) Luke 24:15-31

- to Peter in Jerusalem Luke 24:34, I Corinthians 15:5

- to the ten and those with them as the two disciples from the Emmaus road were giving their account (behind locked doors, John 20:19) Luke 24:36

- again to the eleven a week later, again behind locked doors John 20:26

- to seven disciples at the Sea of Galilee after Peter went fishing John 21:1-2 (the third time He appeared)

- the eleven saw Him on the mountain in Galilee where Jesus had told them to go Matthew 28:16

- to more than 500 I Corinthians 15:6

- James and all the apostles I Corinthians 15:7

- At the ascension on the Mount of Olives 40 days after the resurrection Luke 24:44-49, Acts 1:6-9

Jesus had them inspect His wounds from the crucifixion Luke 24:39, John 20:20, 26-28

Jesus had them touch Him and confirm He had flesh and bones Luke 24:39

Jesus ate with the disciples Luke 24:42-43, John 21:13-15, Acts 1:4

Jesus opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures (the prophecies about Him from the Old Testament) Luke 24:45

Jesus breathed on them symbolically bestowing the Holy Spirit John 20:22-23

Jesus performed the miracle to fill the net with fish (153) John 21:6-7

Jesus built a fire and cooked for the disciples John 21:8

Jesus restored Peter after Peter’s betrayal John 21:15-19

Jesus told them to remain at Jerusalem and await the baptism of the Holy Spirit Acts 1:4-5

Jesus gave them the Great Commission after the resurrection Matthew 28:18-20

 

There is a variety of things that Jesus did during those forty days.  In short, Jesus was with the disciples.  He was real to them in those days.  Things were different, especially His appearing and disappearing, but many of the things that Jesus did after the resurrection were things that He did before.  Jesus was convincingly real after the resurrection.

I tried to make this a complete list, but I would not be surprised if you could find more things that Jesus did.  In fact, John admitted that there was plenty more that Jesus did.

Jesus did many other things as well. If every one of them were written down, I suppose that even the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written.  – John 21:25

Acts 1:3 also says that Jesus spoke to the disciples of the kingdom of God.  This too was something Jesus emphasized prior to the resurrection.  50 times in Matthew (eternal life 3 times), 14 times in Mark (eternal life 2 times), 30 times in Luke (eternal life 3 times), 4 times in John (eternal life 14 times).  The kingdom of God is not a small topic.  Depending on the passage, it can refer to the eternal kingship of God; the presence of the kingdom in the person of Jesus Christ, the King; the approaching spiritual form of the kingdom, and the future kingdom.

The kingdom of God, the kingdom of heaven, and eternal life are often used interchangeably.  The story of the rich young ruler includes all three.  If you remember, this young ruler comes to Jesus and asks what he must do to inherit eternal life.  He’s thinking about righteous acts, and he tells Jesus he’s kept the commandments since he was a boy.  Jesus then tells this rich man to sell all he has and to come follow Him.  When the man leaves, Jesus explains that it is hard for the rich to enter the kingdom of God or the kingdom of heaven.  When the disciples ask who then can be saved, Jesus replies, “what is impossible for man is possible for God.”

[Eternal life, entering the kingdom of heaven, being saved … Matthew 19:16, Mark 10:17, Luke 18:18, Matthew 19:23, Mark 10:24, Luke 18:24, Matthew 19:25-26, Mark 10:26-27, Luke 18:26-27]

The parables of Matthew 13:44-45 explain that the kingdom of God is a priceless treasure.  Those who find it are willing to give everything in exchange for it.  Whatever we might have pales in comparison to the kingdom of God. 

On one occasion, while He was eating with them, He gave them this command: "Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift My Father promised, which you have heard Me speak about. For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit. – Acts 1:4-5

As we already discussed, this opening of “on one occasion” again shows that this event of being with Jesus after resurrection was something that happened multiple times.  And, it indicates that Jesus ate with the disciples more than once after His resurrection.

I heard a sermon once about resurrection bodies.  It took the example of what Jesus could do in his resurrected body as a basis of what it will be like for us.  We won’t be ethereal spirits.  We will have bodies.  And, we will be able to eat food.  Isn’t that cool?

The gift the Father promised is clearly the Holy Spirit.  Jesus gave a lengthy explanation in John 14, 15 and 16 about the Holy Spirit.  Here, let’s look at just a few verses.  (John 14:26, 15:26-27, 16:12-13)

When the Advocate comes, whom I will send to you from the Father--the Spirit of truth who goes out from the Father--He will testify about Me. And you also must testify, for you have been with Me from the beginning. – John 15:26-27

I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear. But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on His own; He will speak only what He hears, and He will tell you what is yet to come. – John 16:12-13

Those two passages give us some attributes of the Holy Spirit that we will delve into in Acts 1:8.  The indwelling of the Holy Spirit will cause the disciples to testify, to be witnesses.  The Spirit will also give the disciples guidance beyond what they could grasp while Jesus was with them.

We are told in a few days they will be baptized with the Spirit.  That is nine or ten days in this case.  Luke has just told us that the ascension happens forty days after the resurrection.  Then, the Holy Spirit will come at Pentecost which is 50 days after the Passover.

This is a funny story, but I know a fellow at work who is pretty deep in the word.  He can be so literal about things that it will make you laugh.  I remember years ago that he insisted that the word few meant eight because I Peter 3:20 says that in the ark “only a few people, eight in all, were saved.”  Therefore, a few is eight.  So we can also say based on Acts 1:5 that a few can be nine or ten.

Then they gathered around Him and asked Him, "Lord, are You at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?"  He said to them: "It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by His own authority.” – Acts 1:6-7

Jesus’ words about the arrival of the Holy Spirit really got their attention, but probably not in the way He meant.  He told them that the gift of the Holy Spirit was coming, and they all draw near and start asking questions.  You can hear their forks clanging onto their plates as they drop what they’re doing to crowd around.  Their minds went first to an earthly kingdom.  So, why do they keep coming back to an earthly kingdom?

You can look at the situation of the Jewish people at the time of Jesus on several levels.  At 1003 BC, God had promised David to give a King to reign on his throne forever.  And yet, the kings after David were not faithful to follow God. First, the kingdom was divided into north and south, Israel and Judah, and then ultimately, both of those kingdoms were taken over and the people were taken from the land.  Ever since the time of David, the Jewish people were aware of a promised king that had not appeared.

Taking a long but not quite so long range view, since the time the Babylonian captivity began in 605 BC, the Jewish people had almost entirely been subject to Gentile government.  The people were still waiting for the kingdom to be restored.  Babylonian, Persian, Greek (Seleucid, Ptolemaic), and Romans ruled over Israel.  As bad as the corrupt kings of Israel and Judah were, at least they were Jewish.

In somewhat more recent time, there had been a little more than 50 years when the Hasmonean dynasty (Maccabeus family) ruled Judea independently.  Ultimately, the Romans made the Hasmonean leadership a puppet state, followed by the Parthian Empire.  So you have this flash of Jewish leadership that ended up being dissolved completely by 37 BC.  At that time, the Idumean (Edomite) Herods were recognized by Rome and the last Maccabean king was given over to Rome for execution.  At the time of the crucifixion, you have a mix of leadership in Judea both the Roman governor and the Idumean Herods.  Definitely not, the king they envisioned sitting on David’s throne forever and ever.

And so, I don’t think we should be too hard on the disciples for looking to an earthly kingdom.  They likely didn’t know or remember Jesus’ exchange with Pontius Pilate before the crucifixion.

Jesus said,

My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, My servants would fight to prevent My arrest by the Jewish leaders. But now My kingdom is from another place. – John 18:36

But look at how Jesus responds to their question.  He doesn’t tell them that they’re wrong.  A time will come when an earthly kingdom under God’s rule will be restored.  But, it’s not something that anyone but God the Father knows.  The kingdom of God in our time is the body of Christ, all believers.

But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be My witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. – Acts 1:8

You know I was really interested in what Luke 4:1 says about Jesus and the Holy Spirit.  It says, “Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, left the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness.”  That of course makes you go back to Luke 3.  What happened before that to fill Jesus with the Spirit?

In Luke 3, Jesus is baptized by John the Baptist.  The Spirit descends on Jesus in bodily form, like a dove.  God the Father audibly declared, “You are my Son, whom I love; with You I am well pleased.”  (Luke 3:21-22)

Jesus, the pioneer and forerunner (Hebrews 2:10, 6:20) of our faith, goes before us even in this filling of the Holy Spirit.  Isn’t that fascinating?  We can look to Him in all things!

Luke emphasizes the Holy Spirit, and we will continue to see that throughout the book of Acts (57 times!).  The equipping of the Spirit will enable the Acts of the early church.

Carl gave us his four word synopsis of Acts last week: “Pray and show up.”  Acts 1:8 is the outline of what we will see happening in Acts.  After the arrival of the Holy Spirit in chapter 2, the apostles were first witnesses to Jerusalem up through chapter 7.  Then, the focus moves to Judea and Samaria for chapters 8 till 12.  From chapters 13 onward, the gospel keeps moving outward toward the ends of the earth:  Antioch, Asia Minor, Greece, and Rome.

God’s desire is for the salvation of people in all these places.  Despite the fact that in Jerusalem Jesus was arrested, falsely accused, subject to a sham trial, rejected by an angry mob, and wrongly executed.  Despite the fact that in Judea the people had rejected Jesus’ ministry and teaching.  Despite the fact that Samaria was supposedly filled with impure crossbred pagans.  Despite the fact that the ends of the earth were filled with Gentiles not chosen by God like Israel was.  God’s ways are not like our ways.  God’s thoughts are not like our thoughts.  God wanted witnesses to go to all these people in all these places.

The beginning of this explosive move is the Holy Spirit granting the disciples power.  It is definitely not something they are to take on by themselves, in their own understanding.

It is fascinating that their primary role is as witnesses.  They are not to be kings or rulers or generals or soldiers, but rather witnesses.  They are to testify to what they have seen and heard.  That too is something that takes the emphasis off the disciples and their abilities.  They are to share what they have been impacted by in the previous years, months, and even days.

In fact, it doesn’t even say that they are to become witness or that they need to start acting like witnesses.  It says when the Holy Spirit comes on you, you shall be My witnesses.  An indicative, a change of state rather than an imperative, a call to do a thing.  Remember John 15:27 we talked about earlier where it says the disciples must testify.  They won’t be able to not-testify.

If you have the Spirit, you will be a witness.  If you want to be a witness, you need to be filled with the Holy Spirit.

We look at these things like the Spirit descending bodily on Jesus, and the disciples getting to walk side by side with Jesus, and we can wonder, are we really supposed to get the Spirit like they did?

Luke 11:13 tells us,

If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him! – Luke 11:13

That’s pretty simple.  If human parents with all their imperfections know how to give good gifts, how much more does God the Father.  What gift is a better gift than the Holy Spirit? 

Berk Wilson gave a great message on the Holy Spirit at Faithwalkers.  One key thought he shared was from I Corinthians 12:13, “For we were all baptized by one Spirit into one body … and we were all given one Spirit to drink.”  We don’t get more of the Spirit, rather the Spirit gets more of you.

Berk also gave a physical example using a glass of milk and chocolate syrup.  First, he took the milk and added the chocolate syrup without stirring.  He explained that a scientific analysis might show a few molecules of chocolate at the top of the glass, but it sure wouldn’t taste very chocolaty if you drank it.

Ephesians 5:18 tells us to “be filled with the Holy Spirit.”  The verb tense there is to keep being filled continually.  It’s like the chocolate milk, it has to keep being stirred or it will settle out.  Couple that command to be filled (Ephesians 5:18) with Luke 11:13 that God will give His Spirit to those who ask and with I John 15:14-15.

This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.  And if we know that He hears us--whatever we ask--we know that we have what we asked of Him. – 1 John 15:14-15

After He said this, He was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid Him from their sight. They were looking intently up into the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them. "Men of Galilee," they said, "why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen Him go into heaven. – Acts 1:9-11

I’ve taught on this passage before, and I remember once comparing it to a visit Melissa made while I was in Germany for a couple of months back in 2004.  The day she flew out was very clear, and I could see the plane fly off till it was the tiniest speck in the sky.  Jesus ascended into a cloud at some point.  The presence of the cloud is consistent with the clouds that surround God’s glory as when He filled the newly constructed temple in Solomon’s day. 

Jesus’ ascension gave the disciples clear understanding that this was a final departure from His first stay on the earth.  He had come and gone several times both appearing and disappearing in the forty days following the resurrection.  By ascending into the cloud, they could understand He was leaving and would not return until He comes back to claim His own.

If that was still not clear, we have the testimony of the two angels who come to tell the disciples what has happened, where Jesus has gone, and how He shall return.

We also come to the title of today’s message.  “Why do you stand here?”   The disciples are encouraged to focus on what they are supposed to be doing rather than wondering where and how Jesus had gone.  In this case, they were instructed to return to Jerusalem and wait. 

Luke 24 tells us this is what they did.  It also tells us how they went.

When [Jesus] had led them out to the vicinity of Bethany, He lifted up His hands and blessed them. While He was blessing them, He left them and was taken up into heaven. Then they worshiped Him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy. And they stayed continually at the temple, praising God. – Luke 24:50-53

They went with great joy.  They weren’t sad.  They were worshiping and praising God.

I love the way the Bible uses these little phrases that have such meaning and power.  Here we have the three simple words, “this same Jesus.”  There would be those who would doubt Jesus was physically on the earth.  That is one belief I’ve heard attributed to Gnosticism.  And yet, with three little words, Acts tells us that this Jesus is one and the same.  The Jesus of the Gospels, of the cross, of the resurrection, of the ascension, who is seated at the right hand of God the Father in heaven.  This same Jesus is coming back for us.  Amen?

This week, I read Psalm 59 in the Amplified.  Yesterday, I realized that the current NIV translates the description of God in Psalm 59 in the same way.  David praises God in that Psalm as “the God I can rely on.”  I thought that was a great description.  We can trust God, rely on Him.  He is the God we can rely on.  What did Jesus say about His return?

Then will appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven … coming on the clouds of heaven, with power and great glory. – Matthew 24:30

Come Lord Jesus.  Let’s pray.

Jesus, fill our hearts with Your Holy Spirit today, right now.  Give us Your power and glorify Your Name.  We pray for the persecuted believers throughout the earth.  Fill them with Your Spirit and give them Your power, we pray.  Thank you, Jesus.  Amen.