As we begin this fourth lesson in Acts, we have now moved past Dr. Luke’s introduction and into the beginning of the early church. We have seen the importance of the resurrection in the redemptive history of the church. We have read how Jesus appeared to ver 500 of His followers following His resurrection. We have studied how Jesus, our Messiah, our Redeemer, has conquered death, hell and the grave. And we have looked at the instructions Jesus gave to wait for the power of the Holy Spirit to come. Again we have heard the call of the Great Commission, to be My witness, the very last thought Jesus expressed to His followers, His last instructions before His ascension into heaven. And now we come to this period between the lightening and the thunder, as the birth of the first church prepares to be delivered onto the scene. It is time for Pentecost, but first we have to wait. How many of you like waiting? It is something we are not good at, something we have the human tendency to try and speed up. We have read past the immediate events ahead, there is also the second coming of Christ. This wait is not one performed in a waiting room chair, but performed on the stage of earth, working, active in mind, soul and spirit.
For thirty days, a month, the disciples had the opportunity to walk, talk and fellowship with Jesus following His resurrection. They had communion with the Risen Lord and Savior of the world. Today, we know they had an additional ten days of waiting until the promise of the Holy Spirit was fulfilled on the Day of Pentecost. We have the advantage of recorded history, something they did not because they were making history in their generation. There are lesson for us still to learn from this, lessons for us to practice in our time so we also can set the pages of history for our generation. So lets talk about it tonight.
I. What we can do to be Ready.
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
Who would like to experience the power of Pentecost? If you are serious about walking in power, there are some lessons we can learn from these three verses which will lead into our own personal experience of the power of God. As we look in this direction, let us also look at the background of the early church.
A. Understanding the Background
1. A Sabbath Day’s Journey equals 2,000 cubits.
As the disciples returned to Jerusalem following Christ’s ascension, they left the Mount of Olives and headed for the Upper Room. Under rabbinical law, the maximum distance a Jew could travel on the Sabbath Day was 2,000 cubits. It is important to know your cubits, especially if you were to travel on the Sabbath or build an ark. If you are here and not involved in ark building or Sabbath traveling, the distance of 2,000 cubits is between one half and ¾ of a mile. They came up with this distance from Israel’s encampment in the wilderness. The farthest tent from the Tabernacle was staked 2,000 cubits away according to oral tradition since there is no place in the Old Testament which prescribes this distance. Work was prohibited on the Sabbath, similar to the Blue Laws America had on its books concerning working on Sunday, which have been declared unconstitutional in my lifetime as a violation of separation of church and state. Because no one could work, the farthest anyone would need to travel was to the Tabernacle for worship on the Sabbath, 2,000 cubits. They would stay until worship finished at sundown, the end of the Sabbath. I am glad we are not bound by the 2,000 cubits because many of you travel farther than ¾ of a mile to attend services here at Ballard each Sunday.
2. Who’s attending Prayer Meeting?
They had gathered in the Upper Room, probably the same room where the Last Supper with Jesus was celebrated. Some scholars have identified this room as belonging to John Mark and his mother, but this is more speculation and tradition since the identity is not pinpointed in the Bible. It would not have been far from the Eastern gate as a Sabbath’s day journey from the Mount of Olives would have placed them just inside of the city walls.
We know the eleven apostles were present, and that they were joined by some women, Jesus mother, and Jesus brothers. The women no doubt included Mary Magdalene, Mary the wife of Clopas, Mary and Martha, and Salome among others. Jesus brothers, the natural offspring of Mary and Joseph, were according to Mark 6:3, James, Joses, Judas (called Jude) and Simon. Two of these brothers are prominent in early church history, James, the first head of the Jerusalem church, and Judas who wrote the Epistle of Jude.
History has much to say about Mary the mother of Jesus. I want to make some comments concerning her. I do not want to offend those with a Roman Catholic background or others who been given myths concerning her life, but it is important to acknowledge there has been much false doctrine taught over the age concerning her life. The best place to look to support doctrine is the Bible, and from the Scriptures we can draw truth. We read this concerning Mary in Luke 11:27-28 And it came about while He (Jesus) said these things, one of the women in the crowd raised her voice, and said to Him, ‘Blessed is the womb that bore You, and the breasts at which you nursed.’ But He said, ‘On the contrary, blessed are those who hear the word of God and observe it.’
Jesus followed the Old Testament laws perfectly. He honored his mother and father but He did not allow that honor to be idol worship. Mary, the mother of Jesus was a virtues woman, or she never would have been chosen by God to be the mother of Jesus. And for this, Mary deserves our respect and honor. But Mary was also a sinner, just like each one of us, for the Bible says that all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. There is no exceptions listed in the Bible, no one who has been specifically set aside to be without sin except Jesus. Mary was not perfect, only Christ is perfect according to the Scriptures. To pray to Mary, or to elevate her to a role of co-redeemer with Christ is to step beyond the Scriptural boundaries and to go against Mary’s own confession. In fact, the silence of the epistles speaks much against the role which has been assigned to her by the Roman Catholic Church. If Mary played such a role in salvation as is taught by some, or if she was to be the recipient of our prayers in the way of intercessor for believers in heaven, surely we would find a teaching in the New Testament so the whole church could participate, yet we do not find a single line that indicates this as a Biblical approach to prayer or to heaven. We also do not find any New Testament wiring which validates the claim she was also a virgin birth, or is there anything in the Scriptures to support the claim she did not die but ascended into heaven just as Jesus did. The only trail to follow is a line into paganism where we do not want to go. There has been an unbiblical elevation of Mary and we need to be aware and not go there ourselves. Respect and honor, yes, worship and redemption, no.
B. Getting Ready for Pentecost
What is it the early church did, what is it we must do to experience the power of Pentecost?
1. Time spent in Prayer.
Prayer paves the way for God to work. It is from the seeds of prayer we see great things happen through God’s working. The Bible tells us to pray and when we do, then God will act. I am not talking about micro prayers, small fast, and compacted. These folks gathered in the Upper Room for 10 days with prayer the key item on their agenda. Prayer is communication with God. When is the last time you gathered with other believers for the purpose of prayer. When is the last time you spent and extended period of time waiting on the Lord in prayer? Who among you needs to have your strength renewed as you journey through life? Isaiah tells us that they who wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength. Here is found the prescription to gather new strength but far too often we know what we need to do, but are unwilling to do it, hoping God will provide another way. And we find it doesn’t work.
2. Reconciliation (unity) brings a Fresh Pentecost.
We know from Scripture there was competition among the disciples. Peter has denied Christ after Jesus arrest in the Garden. Thomas had doubts. James and John wrangled over who would be the greatest and to what their position would be when they were in heaven. There was also bad feelings between Jesus biological family and the disciples. Jesus brothers and mother tried at least one time we know of from the Scriptures to take Him back with them to Nazareth. And from the Cross, the eldest in the family, Jesus, assigned the care of His mother to John not one of His brothers. Add to this ragamuffin band the sinners whom Jesus healed, some to whom no proper and respectable Jew would associate with, people like Mary Magdalene and others with similar backgrounds now mixed with the 120 who gathered in the Upper Room. The rich, the poor, the high class and the no class. These were people with issues, people who had a shared hope which can draw people together across all lines and boundaries. No doubt in those ten days they spent together in the Upper Room differences were confessed, hurts were shared and healed and reconciliation began.
Our need for the indwelling power of God makes prayer and reconciliation a necessity. Could there be a key found here in this for the church today? All the church growth seminars, as good as they may be, will not work until the church moves to making the main thing the main thing—prayer and unity. How much do you know personally about the people with whom you fellowship week after week? How many of your fellow believers have you invite to your home? When is the last time your wept and prayed with another believer in this congregation who was open concerning their struggles in life, perhaps even a struggle they might have with you where instead of indignation, a spirit of reconciliation broke out. Even as we look at this, the Holy Spirit is working in some lives speaking to you about some people you need to relate with here in the church.
II. Free Will can have devastating results
God’s will is not always the choice of our will. Sometimes the end result is premature death of a dream, vision, even a life. The result can have an impact individually or be met with widespread repercussions. Free will results in drunk drivers crossing the centerline and plowing into a van filled with family members killing them all. Free will can see two high school students showing up at school with weapons cutting short the lives of innocent victims. Sure, we can ask, could God not have stopped it from happening? And the answer is, sometimes He does, but sometimes He does not because if he prevented every abuse of free will, then we would not have a free will at all. There are devastating repercussions to free will. It is an interesting thing…we rail against restraints and we blame God at the same time for the results of people who exercise their free will.
The Bible makes it clear, it is God’s desire that none should perish, but that everyone would come to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. Far too often people’s free will, their own rights, gets in the way of them going to heaven. It was Jesus purpose, redemption, for everyone, even Judas the betrayer, there is no limit to Jesus sacrifice on the cross. From this passage we learn how Judas met a premature death without taking advantage of Christ’s free gift to all sinners. 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." (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. Acts 1:15-20
Was Judas every a believers? There is no doubt Judas believed in a Jewish Messiah to deliver them from Roman bondage. But did He believe in Jesus as the Messiah? The Bible does not clearly state his belief. Jesus said in John 6:70, Did I Myself not choose you, the twelve, and yet one of you is a devil? The Greek word here in John for devil literally means slanderer. It is used only three time in the New Testament to refer to human beings, in 2 Timothy 3:3, Titus 2:3, and here in John 6:70. All three as slanderers or slanderer, all with the Greek word diabolos, which refers to Satan.
Jesus choice of the Twelve was conscious and deliberate. Judas had no less opportunity than any of the others to know and to serve Jesus. He was not a victim of discrimination but was elevated to a position of treasurer in the group, from which we learn, reading through the Gospel accounts, Judas was selfish and dishonest.
Contrast Judas with Peter. Judas acted by choice, while Peter acted by impulse. Judas regarded Jesus as a means of obtaining his ambition while Peter regarded Jesus as a friend. Judas was motivated by selfishness while Peter was motivated by fear.
Many times I have had people come to me and tell of the incredible guilt they feel because of an errant child. They did everything they could, but their son or daughter still rebelled. They are experiencing feelings of guilt, of shame, and questioning if there was something more they could have done. Let me ask you, what more could Jesus have done with Judas? Judas saw the miracles, he heard the teachings of Jesus firsthand. Yet, Jesus labels him a devil, a slander and Judas bolts for a greedy opportunity and the consuming guilt he feels as a result, leads to his horrific death. Even God’s first born creation, Adam and Eve, had a rebellious streak in them. If you are struggling with parenting, doing what you can, we need to ask ourselves, what makes us believe we can be better parents than God? Who among us would put themselves on equal to Jesus in keeping everyone and everything together?
Before we move on, I want to address the issue of Judas death since there has been some questions concerning the difference in the accounts in Matthew 17:5 where it says Judas hung himself, and the account we are looking at here in Acts 1:18 where it says he fell headlong, his body burst open and all his intestines spilled out onto the ground. Is this a contradiction? Augustine says both are right and true. Tradition holds that Judas hung himself on a tree, the branch snapped, and he fell down a cliff, landing and hitting a rock at the bottom which split him open. Not a pleasant scene. The point is, Judas committed suicide and was the buried in a field which was purchased with the thirty pieces of silver the high priest paid him, a field known as the Potters Field because the clay in the ground there was good for making pottery. The priests could not put the money back into the temple treasury because it was blood money and forbidden. For Jews, and for us today, suicide is considered a heinous act. Luke in Acts might have included more details of Judas suicide because of how the Jews viewed suicide, and because of his medical background. For Matthew, who was writing primarily to Gentiles, suicide was considered more morally neutral. The Ten Commands say thou shalt not commit murder and suicide by its own meaning is self murder.
III. Before the Holy Spirit Comes.
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." (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.
A. The Selection Process
Everyone 35 years and older has the right and opportunity to seek the office of President of the United States if they are natural citizens of this country. Now aren’t you glad that all those names of qualified Americans did not appear on the ballot when you went to vote. The point is, we have a selection process. We have a requirement that to be on the ballot you must have a certain number of citizens who say they would vote for you, and they must present these petitions to each state’s secretary to be on the ballot, people who said from that state they would support you. Some people go through the effort to do this and that is why we see other people listed from various political parties other than just democratic and republican. The selection process is designed to help speed up the election process.
While they were gathered in the Upper Room, they felt a need to replace Judas, so they established a criteria for the purpose of eliminating everyone from seeking the position. The qualification they settled upon were:
1. He must have been with Jesus from John’s baptism to His death. Basically, the replacement would have been a witness to Jesus entire earthly ministry.
2. He must have been a witness with the other eleven of Jesus Resurrection.
What Peter was saying is the replacement must be a guarantor of the Gospel tradition because he would have been a witness of Jesus earthly ministry, that he would have personally met with Jesus prior to Jesus ascension.
For those who are tracking names, Paul, author of most of the New Testament Epistles, would have been disqualified because he failed on both of these points.
There were two men who met the requirements, Joseph called Barsabbas, also known as Justus, and Matthias. Of these two men, nothing is known other than this place in the Scriptures. Their names are not mentioned elsewhere. From this process, they selected Matthias.
3. The Casting of Lots vs. the Holy Spirit.
Over the centuries there has been much discussion and debate over the selection of Matthias. In Peter’s eagerness, the question comes up, did Peter rush into the selection process? Was not Paul the choice of God? We know they made the selection through the casting of lots. Lots are the throwing of dice. It was not an uncommon practice during this time period but was it the right practice for the selection of a twelfth? Reading Scriptures, Paul acknowledges the divine calling of God into apostleship, and although Paul did not meet the qualifications established by Peter, Paul considered himself an equal of the others in the apostleship.
Truthfully, how often do we as people make the mistake of presupposing Gods wishes when we lack His clear mandate to press forward? We probably do it far more often than we would want to admit. How can we overcome this natural tendency to speed things along…next week we are going to talk about the Holy Spirit coming, and then we are going to push along and see how each day, filled with the power of the Holy Spirit, we can accomplish the goals God as given to us individually without making rash decisions but spirit led acknowledgments.
