Commentary by Ron Beckham

Verse 1. "The first account I composed, Theophilus, about all that Jesus began to do and teach,"

The "former account" referred to here is the Book of Luke.   "Theophilis" (beloved of God) was likely a mentor of Luke, and was possibly a medical doctor, as was Luke himself (Colossians 4:14).  It’s interesting that the first verses of both Luke and Acts are written in Classic Greek, rather than the Koininea Greek in the rest of the New Testament.  Classic Greek had passed out of common usage at that time and was to Koininea as Latin was to English a century ago.  It was an additional method of communication for educated men.   Luke and Theophilis are defined by this method of greeting one another.  Chuck Smith teaches that Luke probably had been a slave, stating that doctors of the time usually were slaves, and that Theophilis was likely his former master.

"All that Jesus began to do and teach."  Jesus Christ has begun a work in your life and He intends to bring His work to pass within you.  To resist Him is to resist happiness for you and yours, because you were created for this very purpose.   He longs to "teach" you, as it says, and when you listen, when His teaching becomes complete in you, He will choose you for His work, just as with those in these verses.  That we become changed inside and then be sent to others is even more than the work of the Church, for it was also the intention for Israel, for whole world.   We are to be His and give His love to His people.

Verse 2. "until the day when He was taken up, after He had by the Holy Spirit given orders to the apostles whom He had chosen."

"Taken up" is the act spoken of in verses 9 and 10, where Jesus was literally taken up into the air, right out of this world, His visible earthly ministry complete.   His disciples saw Him do this, and were looking on with open-mouthed amazement.

Jesus’ words in His earthly ministry, were from the Holy Spirit of God.   Jesus comfortably and utterly, though living in a human body, with all the temptations we have, acted and spoke in concert with God’s Holy Spirit.

Our words and deeds are typically not so commendable.  The words of most people can be summed up by words I recently heard in a sermon, "Look at me." Unfortunately, most human activity is designed to bring attention to - ourselves.  We should actually be giving praise to God, and our concern should be for other people.

Jesus gave teaching and commandments to His disciples (learners) for 3-years.   After He rose from the dead, He continued the process for 40-more days.  I would imagine they LISTENED more intently during those 40-days, than in the whole 3-years that had just passed.

Note Jesus removed Himself from the world because His visible ministry was COMPLETE at that time.  There will be a time when we will be taken out of this world. Until then, we have a PURPOSE in being here.  Do you feel purposeless? You’re not, because God has placed you here, and He DOES have a purpose for you.  We often just don’t see what He is already doing with our lives.

Verse 3. "To these He also presented Himself alive, after His suffering, by many convincing proofs, appearing to them over a period of forty days, and speaking of the things concerning the kingdom of God."

Reading these words, we are reminded that much of Scripture is simply - "evidence."  Eyewitness testimony is evidence admissible in court, and by receiving it, we are essentially judges who review the evidence and decide the case.   Do we believe in God or not?  We all make that decision continually.   Luke refers to these eyewitness accounts (or testimonies) as "infallible" or "unmistakable" PROOFS that these events really happened.  Luke was so bowled over by the changed life of Paul (who MET the risen Christ) that he abandoned his life as a medical doctor and essentially became an investigative reporter, digging out the factual events related in Luke and Acts.

To carefully read 1 Corinthians 15 is to discover that Jesus appeared to literally hundreds of His disciples, instructing and amazing them, after His resurrection.  One of the marks of the reality of the Risen Christ is the obvious SURPRISE of those who saw Him.  John the Apostle LOVED Jesus, during His life on earth, but when we read John’s words, written decades after the resurrection, there is still that fresh wonder of unexpected discovery in him:  We SAW Him, we HEARD Him, we TOUCHED Him (1 John 1:1-4).

John wrote so that our "joy may be full" (verse 4) and there would be no joy, such as these people obviously experienced, if all this was a lie.  There is an extra element here, and He (the Extra Element) is the Holy Spirit of God.  The judge in a courtroom is to decide the case on the evidence that was presented, and that is true of us as well.  Our decision(s) about God are not to be based on mere speculation, but on the evidence presented about Him.  The Holy Spirit was also a Witness of all these events, and He is speaking to our hearts right now that what we are reading is true.

Verse 4. "And gathering them together, He commanded them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait for what the Father had promised, ‘Which,’ He said, ‘you heard of from Me;"

He commanded they to stay in a certain place and WAIT for the empowering of God.   Have you ever discovered that WAITING is the hardest part of life? They had received the command of God to "Go…" (Matthew 28:19) and they must have felt great urgency to obey that command.  But here they were, being told to "Wait."

Sometimes this "wait" can take a long time.  Moses waited 40-years.   It finally occurred to me, after years of reading, that when Moses intervened in a dispute and defended a Hebrew by killing an Egyptian, he was expressing the call of God on his life, the best way he knew how (Exodus 2:11-14).  He may have felt this way:   "I’m 40-years old now and time may be running out for me.  I feel drawn to deliver my people.  I’m just the right person for the job; it’s TIME to deliver God’s people.

Moses went from that moment to 40-years in the wilderness (anything outside of cultured Egypt must have seemed like a wilderness).  A careful reading of his Psalm (90:10), indicates he felt that a guy about 80-years old was ready to die.  From the point he was "too old", God used him for the next 40-years.  The time we discover where we simply cannot do the job, is often the moment we become potentially useful to God.

You may feel the call of God on your life right now and be ready to RUSH out the door to some far-off land (and that is good), but I encourage you to WAIT for the Promise of the Father.  He really does have a calling for each one, and He also has a time for that calling to come to pass.  To get ahead of His time is to take His calling for you into the wrong context.  We will fail if we do not wait on Him.

Verse 5. "for John baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now."

Can you imagine being there, hearing these words first hand?  It certainly would have been great to be there, but it is interesting that Judas Iscariot was with the Lord for 3-years, and it did him no good at all.  God has a context and a time for each one of us, and we, as David said are "fearfully and wonderfully made" just as we are.  And just when we are, as well.

These people were just like many in Church at this time.  They know water baptism, they have had a little faith, they are excited that Christ is risen, and have hope for personal life after death.  But they often do not know the power of God in their lives.  They can pray and experience modest results, but there are mountains in life that need to be moved; and they know it, just as we know it right now.

What is the duty of the one who must wait, as they were commanded to do?  Why, to pray!  Just because you know God’s intention for your life, it is NOT your signal to climb into a spiritual hammock and take a nap!  If God has a calling for you, or even if you do not yet KNOW His call, it’s time to call out to Him in relation to His intention for you.  Wait for Him, wait for His power from on high, and pray without ceasing that His will be done in your life, and in the lives of those around you.

Verse 6. "And so when they had come together, they were asking Him, saying, ‘Lord, is it at this time You are restoring the kingdom to Israel?’"

Our understanding of God’s call on our lives is often incomplete, for our focus tends to be on concerns we can see with our eyes.  God wants us to look with our hearts, as well, for He lives in the hearts of His people.  These people had commendable concern for their nation, which was under Roman control at that time.   "What will become of us" is often a good question, but never as valid as the prayer, "I am Thine, O Lord.  We forget that those who wait on the Lord will truly gain in His strength and become like eagles in the Hand of the Lord (Isaiah 40:31).

Verse 7. "He said to them, ‘It is not for you to know times or epochs which the Father has fixed by His own authority;’"

He (Jesus) does not say "yes" or "no" to them, but simply stretches them to see that all events are under the loving control of God the Father.  There are some things we just will not know in this life. We are to look to Him Who made all things - The One Who made us new.  And this would be the last He would have to say on the subject (for now).

To know the future is not precisely what we need.  We need peace, and can only find it in Him Who holds the future. We need love and hope, more than we need knowledge and information. Answers to concerns are valuable and He often gives such answers to us, but simply trusting in God is infinitely better.

Verse 8. "but you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth."

It’s very true, as we see in the last verse, that we don’t need to know everything - what we really need to know, is Him.  Note however, that He does give them information in this verse, just as He longs to do with us.  They would go, and He gave them a sketch of where they would go; they would be witnesses of Christ; they would have the inward ability to do the job - Because they would be empowered by the Holy Spirit of God.

Only the intervention of God can truly alter God’s purpose for our lives.   This is a concept often seen in Scripture, but the classic example is the Book of Jonah, where Ninevah WOULD be destroyed in 40-days, but the people received the Word of the Lord, repented, and were NOT destroyed - they were spared.  By receiving the Lord, we change our future (infinitely for the better).

To the Word of the Lord in your life, add prayer.  You are called to pray, and prayer in my vocabulary, is applied faith.  We trust in God, but do we trust Him enough to believe that He, the Creator, will answer our deepest needs?  Will He change my future (and the future of the world, if necessary), out of response to my need?

Here Jesus is essentially responding to their concerns (their prayer, actually), "Yes, I understand your concerns about Israel.  I have them, too.  But I am about to give you Someone and something that will be much better for Israel, and for you.   I am giving you 1) The Holy Spirit of God, and 2) the world."

Verse 9. "And after He had said these things, He was lifted up while they were looking on, and a cloud received Him out of their sight."

As revealed in Philippians 2, Jesus severely limited Himself in perception and strength, when He became your Servant.  He emptied Himself of abilities and identified Himself with our race (the human race); dying as our substitute and as our representative to God the Father. He had a job to do, which was to love us without measure.  When all was complete, He returned to the heavens, where His intention is to love us for all eternity.

Note in this verse an additional example that Christ in His true state has none of the limitations we do.  If you try and walk through a wall (this is not recommended) you will bump your nose.  You will not rise into the air, even by thinking light and happy thoughts.  His thinking, His love, His abilities - Gravity has no power over Him; our selfishness has no power over Him.  He came from God the Father and He Himself is God.  He is unlimited in faith and infinite in love.

Verse 10. "And as they were gazing intently into he sky while He was departing, behold, two men in white clothing stood beside them;"

This verse is typical of how we often are in Christ.  We came to Him and expected to serve Him by attending church for an hour or so every week.  Maybe, while we are there, we might put a few dollars into the offering plate.  We feel pretty good about communion, and we may keep a Bible in the brief case or lunch box we take to work.   We never expected Him to come with power into our lives.

Here He was, back from the dead, rising up into the heavenlies right before their eyes, and they were staring up at Him, in open-mouthed surprise.  Here we are as well, surprised by His grace, and touched by His love.  We are finding He has a call and a purpose for our lives and we do not know what to do.  Good news - there were angels standing by them, and there are angels standing with us, as well.

Best of all, Jesus Christ no longer limits Himself to walking among us as a man - He lives IN us, as God.

Verse 11. "and they also said, ‘Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into the sky?  This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in just the same way as you have watched Him go into heaven.’"

His return is PROMISED to us.  We can go about His business with enthusiasm and great joy, for He WILL return for His people.  We don’t have to be troubled by events or frightened by circumstances, for not only will He return, but He will also protect us in the meantime.  We can safely trust in His Spirit and go about His work.   He WILL return for you.  We don’t need to stand gazing at the sky or living like a supplicant in a monastery - We have work to do.

Verse 12. "Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, a Sabbath day’s journey away."

This is good, for here they are responding to the Lord’s specific command (verse 4) that they remain in Jerusalem.  Actually, through, they are RETURNING to that city; which is the place where he told them to be.  It’s interesting that they were OUT of the city, when they were told to stay IN it.  I think a great problem in life is that we are only approximately where we are supposed to be, instead of precisely where God would have us.  Much like a smile is easier than a frown, the easiest place in life ("My yoke is easy, My burden is light"), is to be precisely in the center of the Will of God.

A "Sabbath days’ walk" by the way, was about ¾ of a mile, or 1000 meters.  We people seem to be just like mice or sheep - We often seem to be somewhere other than where you would hope.  We don’t need to be just CLOSE to the Will of God - We need to be IN God’s Will and purpose for our lives.

Verse 13. "And when they had entered, they went up to the upper room, where they were staying; that is, 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."

To be in the Will of God, includes the concept we remain in the place where he commands us to be.  Here in this verse, in this upper room, are men still bruised by the death of Jesus and still shocked by His resurrection.  These are people filled with wonder at 40-days of the most extraordinary teaching of the Old Testament ever given.  And just when some of them might have relaxed a little, because the Master had returned, off He went again.

And when they might have patted themselves on the back that they were forgiven (they were) and back in God’s will - they had been reminded they were not precisely in the city where He had commanded them to be.  We will never be fully comfortable in this life (because we are sinners) - our greatest comfort in life is when we trust in Him, not in ourselves.

Verse 14. "These all with one mind were continually devoting themselves to prayer, along with the women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with His brothers."

This was not to be like any kind of traditional Jewish gathering they had ever experienced.  Included in prayer were the women, which was not normally the case among Jewish worshippers.  His (Jesus’) brothers were present and these were the guys who previously had been embarrassed by Him, causing Him to comment (Mark 6:4) "a prophet is not without honor, except in his own country, among his own relatives and in his own house."  But here they were, surprised by Him and at last in His arms by faith.

All these people achieved the "one accord" we should discover in prayer.   Jesus prayed in John 17 that we might be "one" (in Him).  A key to our oneness in Christ is prayer - those who honestly pray together, grow in love, both for God, and for one another.

Verse 15. "And at this time Peter stood up in the midst of the brethren (a gathering of about one hundred and twenty persons was there together), and said,"

It would have been great to be a part of these 120 people.  Note though, that it was God’s sovereign choice that we are here, not there, and that we live now, not then.  God chose that we read these words about that moment in time, and wonder of wonders, offers us His Holy Spirit, just as he did for them.  When we wish we were someone or somewhere else, we might instead thank God that he has prepared us precisely for just this moment.

Peter stood up to speak.  He had shown a tendency before to speak words he should not say, but we should never condemn this man, for he reflects the same tendency as you and me.  If his choices were sometimes questionable, we need to remember our own weaknesses, and also see that he was fast becoming a man of courage with a heart for God.

Verse 16-17. "Brethren, the Scripture had to be fulfilled, which the Holy Spirit foretold by the mouth of David concerning Judas, who became a guide to those who arrested Jesus." For he was counted among us, and received his portion in this ministry."

I have often wondered about this discussion of Peter and the others, reflected in verse 16 and forward.  Certainly the acts of Judas Iscariot were shocking to them (as they are to us).  How amazing to literally walk with Jesus for 3-years, to listen to Him, to see His miracles, and still turn away.  It leads us to consider that there are others among us who are not what they seem.  Such thoughts should not be our preoccupation, though, for mere suspicion leads only to judgmental attitudes and then division in the body of Christ.  Our main job is to actively and fervently PRAY for one another, lest we also fall.

The reference to David is from Psalm 41:9, where it was prophesied the Messiah would be betrayed by a friend.

Verse 18. "Now this man acquired a field with the price of his wickedness; and falling headlong, he burst open in the middle and all his bowels gushed out."

Actually the field was purchased FOR Judas (Matthew 27:3-10), from the 30-pieces of silver he flung back at the priests.  Apparently, he hung himself, then stayed hung for awhile, after which his intestines burst out of his dead body.  Reports of this disgusting, decomposing body reached the priests, who recognized who he was, and used the tainted, returned money for the burial.

Verse 19. "And it became known to all who were living in Jerusalem; so that in their own language that field was called Hakeldama, that is, Field of Blood.)"

What you do will become known by others.  Everybody finds it the "worst" when we do something really stupid and then everybody finds out about it.  Years ago, there was the story of a man who acted the coward, which became a movie, called the "White Feather."  This man agonized over his cowardice and spent his life trying to undo what had been done.

Judas was a traitor, and he responded to this publicly known deed by the cowardly act of suicide.  To try and escape our cowardice, to run away from something we have done, whether through suicide, or some other means, is never the answer.  Our answer in life is always Christ.  No matter WHAT we have done, we must RUN to Him; our past behind us, and find our future in Him.  Both Judas and Peter turned away from the Lord; the difference was in what each of them did after that moment.

Verse 20. "For it is written in the book of Psalms, ‘Let his homestead be made desolate, and let no man dwell in it’; and, ‘his office let another man take.’"

The allusion for "let his habitation be desolate" is Psalm 69 (recognized as a Messianic psalm), and specifically refers to verse 25.  David’s words in that Psalm had reference within his own immediate context but the true application was to be in the sacrificial death of Jesus Christ, for our sins.  The Psalm includes other items in reference to the cross, such as "they gave Me gall for My food and for My thirst they gave me vinegar to drink."  This did not pertain to David at all, as it was a direct prophecy about the suffering of our Lord.

The other reference is Psalm 109:8, another psalm of David, where it is said, "let his (Judas’) days be few" (they were) and "let another take his office."  I am persuaded that the "another" written here is actually NEITHER of the men who were going to be put forward as candidates.  Instead, God had someone else in mind - someone the apostles would not have chosen in 1000 years.   (I'm speaking of Paul).

Verse 21. "It is therefore necessary that of the men who have accompanied us all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us -"

There were literally hundreds of people who followed Jesus, during His 3-years of earthly ministry (sometimes less and other times more).  The crowds seemed to grow in relation to His miracles and shrink when He said hard things to them, or spoke of His impending death.  Some of them, however, stayed with Him right up through the moment of this verse.

Verse 22. "beginning with the baptism of John, until the day that He was taken up from us - one of these should become a witness with us of His resurrection."

It was important to them (and actually they had a good idea) that the one elected to this office must be someone who had been with Jesus all the way, from the baptism of John the Baptist, right up to that very moment.  It’s certainly important that the apostles were qualified in that manner, because their eyewitness accounts of the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus, have changed many lives, including mine.

Verse 23-24. "And they put forward two men, Joseph called Barsabbas (who was also called Justus), and Matthias.  And they prayed, and said, ‘Thou, Lord, who knowest the hearts of all men, show which one of these two Thou hast chosen"

The proposed two men, which is fine, and then they prayed, which is very good.   However, I think these verses illustrate why we often receive apparently few answers to prayer - they limited the Lord.  Almighty God has options far outside of our ability to perceive them in advance.

An example is the parting of the Red Sea, in Exodus.  Surrounded by mountains, the sea, and the Egyptian army, Israel had no place to go.  Sometimes, our lives seem just like that.  God opened a pathway right through the middle of the sea.  Who could have guessed He would do something like that?

To pray as to the replacement was good but this is where our prayers could use improvement:  Don’t merely select a couple or three options, chosen from a human perspective, and then expect God to pick from them.  He might.  He might not. If He did not endorse one of our selections, we might think he did not answer our prayer, when in fact He did.  He ALWAYS answers.  Often though, He selects an answer that responded to the prayer we SHOULD have prayed, had we looked to the Spirit (instead of our own devices).

Verse 25-26. "to occupy this ministry and apostleship from which Judas turned aside to go to his own place.  And they drew lots for them, and the lot fell to Matthias; and he was numbered with the eleven apostles."

They also assumed that the model of TWELVE apostles was the only one possible, because that was the number chosen for the earthly ministry of Jesus.  They weren’t able to hold on to that number, for most of them would be eventually killed, starting with James, and Paul would unexpectedly be added by the Lord.  Then the word "apostle" took on new meaning, as it was selected in relation to others, such as Barnabas (Acts 14:14), James the Lord’s brother (Galatians 1:19), Silvanus and Timothy (1 Thessalonians 1:1, 2:9), and Andronicus and Junia (Romans 16:7).

Matthias was chosen by them and it has been said that nothing was ever heard of him again.  That’s not exactly true, because the early Church reported he went to Ethiopia, where he taught and subsequently was martyred.

In a few chapters, God will choose Saul (a.k.a. Paul), a murderer and persecutor of God’s people, to fill the slot.  Our ways, though sometimes logical, are simply not God’s ways.  Matthias was apparently a good, decent, Christian man, selected for relative obscurity.  Saul, soon to be Paul, would be God’s vehicle for the Word of Christ to be sent to the Roman Empire and to the world.  Matthias has had little effect on us but Paul has literally changed the lives of millions of people.

Ron Beckham, Pastor
Friday Study Ministries
www.fridaystudy.org
Ron@fridaystudy.org