Acts 1 - Expect the unexpected
Life may not turn our the way you expect, but it will turn out the way God's promised.
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Acts 1 (ESV)
1 In the first book, O Theophilus,
I have dealt with all that Jesus began
to do
and teach,
2 until
the day when he was taken up,
after he had given commands
through the Holy Spirit
to the apostles whom he had chosen.
3 He
presented himself alive
to them
after his suffering by many proofs,
appearing to them during forty days
and speaking about the kingdom of God.
4 And while staying with them he ordered them
not to depart from Jerusalem,
but to wait
for the promise of the Father,
which, he said, “you heard from me;
5 for John baptized with water,
but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.”
6 So when they had come together, they asked him, “Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?”
7 He said to them,
“It is not for you to know
times or seasons
that the Father
has fixed
by his own authority.
8 But you
will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you,
and you will be my witnesses
in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria,
and to the end of the earth.”
9 And when he had said these things,
as they were looking on,
he was
lifted up,
and a cloud took him out of their sight.
10 And while they were gazing into heaven as he went,
behold, two men stood by them in white robes,
11 and said,
“Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven?
This Jesus,
who was taken up from you into heaven,
will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.”
12 Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, a Sabbath day’s journey away.
13 And when they had entered, they went up to the upper room, where they were staying, Peter and John and James and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot and Judas the son of James.
14 All these
with one accord
were devoting themselves to prayer,
together with
the women
and Mary the mother of Jesus,
and his brothers.
15 In those days Peter stood up among the brothers
(the company of persons was in all about 120) and said,
16 “Brothers, the Scripture had to be fulfilled,
which the Holy Spirit spoke beforehand by the mouth of David
concerning Judas,
who became a guide to those who arrested Jesus.
17 For he was numbered among us and was allotted his share in this ministry.”
18 (Now this man
acquired a field with the reward of his wickedness,
and falling headlong
he burst open in the middle
and all his bowels gushed out.
19 And it became known to all the inhabitants of Jerusalem,
so that the field was called in their own language Akeldama, that is, Field of Blood.)
20 “For it is written in the Book of Psalms, “ ‘May his camp become desolate, and let there be no one to dwell in it’; and “ ‘Let another take his office.’
21 So
one of the men who have accompanied us during all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us,
22 beginning from the baptism of John
until the day when he was taken up from us—
one of these men must become with us a witness to his resurrection.”
23 And they put forward two,
Joseph
called Barsabbas,
who was also called Justus,
and Matthias.
24 And they prayed and said,
“You, Lord, who know the hearts of all,
show which one of these two you have chosen 25 to take the place
in this ministry and apostleship
from which Judas turned aside to go to his own place.”
26 And they cast lots for them,
and the lot fell on Matthias,
and he was numbered with the eleven apostles.
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Acts 1 Summary
Acts is the sequel to Luke's gospel, and Luke picks up right where he left off.
The disciples, eager to resume the mission that seemed shattered when Jesus was killed, are surprised to instead see Jesus floating up into heaven.
Immediately angels inform the disciples that Jesus will return, and it becomes clear to them that their mission isn't "restoring the kingdom to Israel (v6)," but is building up Christ's church "in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”
The first thing they do as they begin this mission is have a meeting (of course) and choose a replacement for the traitor Judas.
Dig Deeper
Matthias is the one chosen to become an official apostle. Two things stand out about his selection.
First, notice that the prayer prior to selecting the lot is a AAA prayer:
ACKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS: "You, Lord, who know the hearts of all"
ALIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: "show which one of these two you have chosen"
ASK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED: "show which one [will] take the place in this ministry and apostleship."
Remember, your prayers don't need to be long and complicated. The most powerful prayers in the Bible are often the shortest.
Second, this is both the first time and the last time you'll read Matthias name in the Bible.
It seems clear that Matthias demonstrated great faithfulness as one who followed Jesus from the earliest days of His ministry, even though he wasn't a member of the inner core. He likely did a great job fulfilling his duties as an apostle, but nothing more is recorded about him. The specific things he did as an apostle has been long forgotten.
The work you do for the Kingdom may often go unnoticed, but know that even so, the effects of the work you do will last for an eternity.
AAA Prayer:
Pray the same way the apostles did:
ACKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS:
ALIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL:
ASK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED:
