ACTS 1

1 In my former book Theophilus I wrote about all that Jesus began to do and to teach

2 until the day He was taken up to heaven, after givingt instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles He had chosen

3 After His suffering, He showed Himself to those men 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.

4 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.

5 For John baptized you with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.

6 So when they met together they asked Him, Lord at this time are You going to restore the kingdom of Israel.

7 He said to them, It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by His own authority.

8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you, and you will be my witnesses  in Jerusalen in all Judea and in Samaria and to the ends of the earth.

9 After He said this He was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid Him from their sight.

10 They were looking intently up into the sky as He was going when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them.

 11 Men of Galilee they said why do you stand there 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.

12 Then they returned to Jerusalem from the hill called the mount of Olives, a sabbaths days walk from the city.

13 When they arrived they went upstairs to the room where they were staying. Those present were Peter John James, Andrew; Philipand Thomas, Bartholomew and Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot and Judas son of James.

14 They were all joined together constantly in prayer, along with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus and with His brothers.

15 In those days Peter stood up among the believers a group numbering about one hundred and twenty and said.

16  Brothers the scripture nhad to be fulfilled which the Holy Ghost spoke long ago through the mouth of David concerning Judas, who served as guide for those who arrested Jesus. 

17 he was one of our number and shared in this ministry.

18 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.

19 Everyone in Jerusalem heard about this, so they called that field in their lanuage Akeldama that is field of blood.

20 For said Peter it is written in the book of Psalms, May this place be deserted let there be no one to dwell in it. and May another take his place of leadership.

21 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,

 22 beginning from Johns baptism to the time when Jesus was taken up from us. For one of these must become a witness with us of His resurrection.

23 so they proposed two men Joseph called Barsabbas also known as Justus and Matthias.

24 Then they prayed Lord you know everyones heart, Show us which of these two you have choosen

25 to take over this apostolic ministry, which Judas left to go where he belongs. 26 Then they cast lots and the lot fell to Matthias; so he was added to the eleven apostles.

My teaching is not my own, It comes from Him who sent me. John 7:16

Men of Galilee, they said, why do you stand there 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 1:11

Behold I am coming soon! My reward is with Me, and I will give to everyone according to what he has done. Revelation 22:12

THE PETER CHALLENGE

 Thomas J. Grace

Luke begins his second book a letter to his friend Theophilus as he recorded several resurrection appearance of Christ  in the Gospel of Luke also sent to the same man he begins with the final appearance and the ascention of Christ to be with His Holy Father forever. Although this is the end of Christ work for this part of His life He will soon be very busy in heaven and in all our lives. 

      Verse 2 tells us of our new partner the Holy Ghost has already been giving commands to the apostles.  We see this forty day period four other times and it begins with Noah Genesis 7:17 For forty days the flood kept coming on the earth, and as the waters increased they lifted the ark high above the earth. Moses spent forty days on the mountain with God Exodus 24:18 Then Moses entered the cloud as he went on up the mountain. And he stayed on the mountain forty days and forty nights. Also Elijah was to travel for forty days on the strength of one meal 1 Kings 19:7,8 The angel of the Lord came back a second time and touched him and said, Get up and eat for the journey is to much for you. So he got up and ate and drank. Strengthened by the food he traveled forty days and forty nights until he reached Horeb the mountain of God.  And of course we know that Jesus spent forty days in the wilderness tempted by satan. Matthew 4:1,2 Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil. After fasting forty days and forty nights He was hungry.

     3 Tells us of the forty days that Christ appeared and spoke of things pertaining to the Kingdom of God, we do not learn the details of Christ new teaching He is now showing the apostles, but we will see the actions of these apostles as they begin to teach with new power to spread the story of our Lord and create a new church.  Christ appears to believers only not to Pilate or the high priest there were no new healings or miracles, no sermons to large groups of unbelievers, but in the ten known visits He is there to strengthen the believers who will be the early leaders of the new church.

      During the forty days Christ commands them to wait for the Promise of the Father the Holy Ghost the promise God had made to Jesus so that we would not be alone but always have the Spirit of God and Christ with us. John 14:16 And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Counselor to be with you forever the Spirit of truth, and John 16:7 It is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away the counselor will not come to you; but I will go, I will send Him to you. 

     5 Once again Christ Himself reminds us of His forerunner John the Baptist who He said Matthew 11:11 I tell you the truth: Among those born to women there has not risen anyone greater than John the Baptist. This should have ended any contest among the apostles about who is the greatest and remind them of Christ respect for John beyond them. 6 We still see the apostle asking about the kingdom just as in Mark 10:37 And they said unto Him. Grant unto us that we may sit one on thy right hand and the other on thy left hand in thy Glory. Luke 12:32 tells us Fear not little flock; for it is your Fathers good pleasure to give you the Kingdom. Christ reply is this is a matter of God alone to know the time of the kingdom and only the Father will control the power of the last days. Christ does not know only the Father  who will decide when the end will be.

     This is not a secret plan of satan to destroy the world but the day he will be defeated by Christ and punished by God. In His final words Christ speaks of power from the Holy Ghost to become witnesses about Him to the uttermost part of the earth. To be witnesses this is a new program for the apostles as the Jewish faith was rarely shared with others. Even the Samaritians who lived in Israel and believed in God were kept  out of  Jerusalem and the temple.  Isaiah 44:8 declared Fear you not neither be afraid have not I told you from that time and have declared it ? You are even My witnesses. Is there a God beside Me? yea there is no God I know not any.

      But there were few witnesses in the old testament. These apostles always thought of themselves as Jews only, it would be eight years before Peter would visit a gentile named Cornelius Acts 10, and in Acts 11 believers are called Christians for the first time. Evangelism to the gentiles will cause many problems for the church in Jerusalem and for Peter and Paul and all the apostles that will bring the gospel of our Lord to new people and nations. In Genesis 5:24  we read that Enoch was taken to be with God, also Elijah was taken  2 Kings 2:11,12 by chariot  to heaven as seen by Elisha now we read of Christ ascention being witnessed by five hundred people 1 Corinthians 15:6  Christ was taken up and a cloud received Him out of their sight. How long did the look up until that cloud was not even a tiny dot in the sky as they saw our Lord disappear for the final time. Who was there I wonder the blind man of John 9, Jairus and his daughter Mark 5:22 , Legion Mark 5, Zacchaeus Luke 19 maybe some of the children Jesus held or the people He fed among the five thousand were present. Five hundred were a lot more supporters than were present at His trial and crucification. But even this number would soon be cut down to one hundred and twenty in only ten days

     10 Two angels appear I believe they should be anxious to be in heaven for the return of our Lord for there must have been a great celebration as Christ entered heaven. 11 They give us a message of Christ return in the same way of travel on a cloud returning to earth. Luke 21:27  as Jesus Himself said At that time they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. 28 When these things begin to take place stand up and lift up your heads for your redemption is drawing near. and Revelation 14:14 I looked and before me was a cloud and seated on the cloud was one like a Son of Man with a crown of gold on His head and a sharp sickle in His hand.  The prophet Daniel spoke of the return of  Christ Daniel  7:13 In my vision at night  I looked and there before me was one like the Son of Man  coming with the clouds of heaven. The message of Christ return is seen as the hope of mankind by old testament prophets, Spoken of by Christ Himself, By angels in the book of Acts and witnessed by the Apostle John in heaven.  

     The return of Christ is the very first message we recieve as soon as Christ is out of sight , and so important that two angels are sent to deliver this message. It would seem that as soon as Jesus had put one foot inside heaven He wanted to send two angels with the message I am coming back. Before He sat on His throne or put on His crown He remembered us He loved us, thats why He is my Savior thats why He is our Lord. This also makes it the most important message we are to deliver to the world today. The message of salvation to those who do not know Christ and of His return to all who do know Christ but not that He will be here soon.

     We dont hear about Jesus in heaven until the trial of Stephen  when he said Acts 7:55 But he being full of the Holy Ghost looked up steadfastly into heaven and saw the glory of God and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. Today we are very close to the day of Christ return have you made your choice to accept Christ as your Savior.

     12 They travel from the mount of Olives to Jerusalem about one thousand yards. 13 They return to the upper room where this might have been the site of the last supper and could have been the home of John Marks mother. 14 Tells us they prayed together this might have been the same room Jesus also visited while it was bolted shut for fear of the Jews might come to arrest them. Here we learn of the presence of Mary the mother of Jesus and His brothers probably James and Jude. Mary must still be there for the gift of the Father the new power of the Holy Ghost, to answer all her questions and heal her heart from the loss of her son.  While she was at the cross to witness the death of her Son she may have remembered the words of Simeom. Luke 2:35 and a sword will pierce even your own soul to the end that thoughts  from many hearts may be revealed.  Mary had two great events in her life the day she gave birth to her son Christ and the day she became His disciple.

      James and Jude were not believers in Christ while he was alive. John 7:5 For even His own brothers did not believe in Him.  But Paul tells us 1 Corinthians 15:7 After that He was seen of James; then of all the apostles. Both these brothers were leaders in the Jerusalem church and have wrote two books in the New Testament. This will be the only time Mary is mentioned in the book of Acts. 15 Tells us that the number of believers now is one hundred and twenty, three hundred and eighty have left they will not be there for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit.   

      15 Peter begins to act as the leader and shows in scripture Psalm 109:8 May his days be few may another take his place of leadership.   18 Peter tells us of Judas death this time period would not seem long enough for Judas to have written a false gospel as so many claim today. While Jesus was alive He stated Matthew 26:24 The Son of man will go just as it is written about Him. But woe to that man who betrays the Son of Man. It would have been better for him if he had not been born. This is clear and I dont need to know more about Judas. 

     Now Peter informs the group we must choose a replacement for Judas. As we all know Jesus had choosen all the apostles even Judas, He did not appoint a back up team even though He knew Judas would betray Him. Luke 6:12,13 One of those days Jesus went out to a mountain side to pray and spent the night praying to God. When morning came He called His disciples to Him and choose twelve of them whom He also designated apostles. Our Lord used a very careful method in His choices and did not prepare for replacements. 21,22 Peter does make two conditions here that the new apostle must have been with them from the start and have been there through the resurrection. Peter calls for a witness to the resurrection rather than to all the miracles, healings and sermons that they saw and heard from Jesus. Peter knows the resurrection is the true evidence that Jesus is God. Two men are nominated Jesus did not choose and leave out anyone as He does not today. We wonder were there others that wanted the apostle job or maybe these were the only men that would accept a nomination. Matthias who we never hear from  again does get the job . 

      24 Peter ask for prayer to help make this decision. Now Jesus had appeared ten times during forty days He did not appoint a new apostle as He alone had done after all night prayer. If this was the will of Christ for Peter to make this choice of a new apostle only after His ascention why after prayer were they to use a lot system. The same system the Roman soldiers used to divide Christ clothing at the crucification. Matthew 27:35 When they had crucified Him they divided up His clothes by casting lots. The lots system was of such importance that David in Psalm 22:17 writes They divide My garment among them and cast lots for my clothing. As we see casting lots is such a important system even the Romans have picked up on it that God has choosen it to be included in the act of the crucification of His Son. We see lots used to dicide how to divide up land in Numbers 26:55, 33:54 and Jonah 1:7 on the ship the men cast lots to discover that it was Jonah that was bringing a storm upon them. Perhaps it was the words of King Solomon a man with great wisdom who had made many choices and decisions who also wrote of lots Proverbs 16:33 The lot is cast into the lap, but its every decision is from the Lord. This would tell Peter this is a method of recieveing a answer from God as the selection was made.

     Peter discovered a scripture Psalm 109:8 to replace Judas and he believed and acted on the word of God. Today we see many scriptures being fulfilled concerning the return of Christ, we must learn of the prophecies that are to come true in our lifetime. We may not act to fulfill prophecy as Peter did but many of the prophecies will affect your life. Peter later tells us of his understanding of prophecy 1 Peter 1:20,21 Above all you must understand that no prophecy of the scripture came about by the prophets own interpetation . For prophecy never had it origin in the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit. Peter will be challenged many times by arrest, threats of death, by his visit to the home of Cornelius and even by a new apostle named Paul.

     Once after a arrest Peter and the other believers gathered together to pray for the guidance of the Lord Acts 4:29,30 Now Lord consider their threats and enable your servants to speak your word with great boldness. Stretch out your hand to heal and perform miraculous signs and wonders through the name of your Holy  Servant Jesus. In the face of danger while his own death was possible Peter prays for more powerful ways to continue his work that will make it appear more public and known to more people ,which will cause him more trouble and put him in greater danger. Shall we pray for such boldness in these last days to bring the gospel of Christ to many that have never heard the message of Jesus Christ. Will we face the danger as Peter did because he believed 2 Peter 3:9 The Lord is not slow in keeping His promise as some understand slowness. He is patient with you not wanting that any should perish but everyone to come to repentance. You can have the same power today as you believe in Christ as your Savior and the promise of the Father the Holy Ghost in your life and begin to reach others with the message of salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ.

CHRIST LOVES YOU. AMEN. COME LORD JESUS