ETB Acts 1:4-11,23-26
Cedric Chafee
ETB Summer 2024 • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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Session 1 - p.10 - Commissioned
Understand the Context
Understand the Context
The entire Bible from Genesis to Revelation is filled with the idea that God’s people should be a part of God’s mission to reach the whole world. The call to be His commissioned people in the Old Testament becomes more explicit in the Gospels and finally culminates with the Great Commission. The book of Acts brings together the idea of God’s people being sent on God’s mission by recounting the history of the earliest days of the church as it spread from Jerusalem to the ends of the earth. [LifeWay Adults (2024). Explore the Bible: Adult Leader Guide, Spring 2024]
The Lexham Bible Dictionary Overview
Acts bridges the canonical gap between the Gospels (the life of Christ) and the Letters (life within the Church), tracing the early development of the Church. “Acts” refers to the deeds or actions of several of the leaders of the early church, such as Peter and Paul, and the acts of God through the Holy Spirit. Leading themes of the book of Acts include:
• the power of the Holy Spirit;
• the missionary journeys of Paul;
• Jewish and Gentile reception of the gospel;
• the Church and its mission.
Reading the book of Acts can be a challenge in more than one way. For example, Acts can be cognitively challenging. For example, it’s not always easy to know which parts of the book are prescriptive and which are purely descriptive. Readers sometimes feel a tension between what is applicable for us today and what is simply a record of how the Spirit moved in the first century. Of course, we joyfully affirm that the entire Bible is relevant to all peoples in all generations, and we can learn from all of it. However, some of the stories recorded in Acts are one-time events that are not meant to be repeated. [ETB:ALG Spr'24]
The things we are reading about today in the first Chapter are such events. Although there is applications that we can pull from the principles presented, the actual events are historical and not to be repeated.
Our text begins about 1 month after the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus.
Explore the Text
Explore the Text
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.”
while staying with them
It was interesting to find out that this “staying” is usually involved a meal. The NIV actually translates it as “ while he was eating with them.” The implication is that there were many meals together and this casually happened during one of them.
The other thing to note is the verification of a physical body being present to consume multiple meals. There were probably many conversations over these meals but Christ’s command to stay in Jerusalem got them imagining what was going to happen next.
he ordered them not to depart from Jerusalem
Luke uses this as a connection of the timeline back to his gospel by reiterating their need not to leave the city, even though they were in danger by staying.
Luke 24:49 “49 And behold, I am sending the promise of my Father upon you. But stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.””
Mounce tells me that this “ordering” is a military terms which may have been what led the disciples to start thinking about their old beliefs of the Conquering Messiah. But this order was not to “charge” as it was typically used but to stay put and wait for the “reinforcements”
wait for the promise of the Father
Some translations say “gift” or “promised gift.” I am not sure about why that was done but it does change the context slightly.
What was it that they were going to receive “not many days from now?”
The Holy Spirit is God, so He will be giving Himself. This what He consistently promised through His Son, giving more of Himself for those who would receive Him. It is always “I will never leave you” not “My gift will never be removed.”
John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit
This is one of those verses that helps me know that baptism is by immersion.
It is possible that John may have “sprinkled” a few people, but God would not “partially” do something. If God “covers” you with Holy Spirit, then John “covered” with water.
Or from the other way, what kind of baptism of the Holy Spirit would you want - a sprinkling or an immersion?
Personally, I want all in. Or better yet like Elisha say to Elijah, give me a double portion. Dunk me twice.
Up to this point, the Holy Spirit had come upon specific individuals at specific times for specific tasks (Ex. 35:31; Num. 27:18-21; Judg. 3:10). When the job was accomplished, the Spirit often would depart.
Now, instead of coming on one individual for a limited time, God’s Spirit comes on all believers, filling their lives so they can advance His work. This baptism is never about drawing attention to any individual, but about bringing glory to God through the Spirit’s work. [ETB:ALG Spr'24]
Will you restore the kingdom to Israel?
Now that Jesus had accomplished His mission, they were hoping that He would accomplish their desires.
At that time, Rome was the dominant nation in “all the know world” so overcoming them would put that world back under Israel’s authority. What they did not know was there was a lot more of the earth yet to be discovered that was also to be a part of that “kingdom.” Rome was only one nation oppressing them, and it was “the world” for them. But what about now? Now all of the earth is viewable and accessible. How many of those nations are “against” Israel? I think before Christ comes back as the King the disciples were hoping for, “all the world” will be truly be against them.
It is not for you to know
He does not say, no. He gracious continues to correct their thinking even after the resurrection.
The Moody Bible Commentary B. The Means of Preparing the Disciples for the Mission (1:3–26)
Nothing in Jesus’ answer suggests that the disciples’ question was in error, other than their fixation on the time of the restoration. Israel would have a full restoration under the Messiah. But Jesus did not specify when this would happen, and instead presented the mission that must preoccupy His disciples before the kingdom is established.
I like the way Paul words this when he wrote the Thessalonians
1 Thessalonians 5:1 “1 Now concerning the times and the seasons, brothers, you have no need to have anything written to you.”
Some things are not meant for us to know. Some times we need to focus on the things in Scripture that we do know and be faithful in those things.
James 4:7–10 “7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 8 Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. 9 Be wretched and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. 10 Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.”
Philippians 4:8–9 “8 Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. 9 What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me—practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.”
the Father has fixed by his own authority.
What God the Father has “fixed” cannot be “un-fixed”, so why worry about it or fret over if “this is it.”
Acts 1:8 is the key verse not only of today’s passage but all of the Book of Acts. This is the basic outline that Luke follows in the rest of his account.
you will receive power
This verb in the Greek is future, middle, indicative. Future you understand. Middle voice means it is happening to the disciples, hence in the English the words “you will” are added. For me the important part is the indicative mood. This means that what is being said is “a statement of fact from the speaker’s point of view.” Jesus cannot lie or deceive, so this statement is guarantee to happen - and as we will study next week, it does.
Having heard this from Jesus though would be of great encouragement to the disciples as it would let them know it “was going to happen” and the wait would not be much longer.
when the Holy Spirit has come
The power that the disciples needed to do the mission in the next part of the verse could not be done in their own power and they would not have it “until” the Holy Spirit had come. This is still true for us today. God’s work cannot be done through man’s effort. Only “when” God empowers us through His Spirit is His work done in and through us.
The Open Bible Chapter 1
The power of the Holy Spirit was not designed solely for the first-century church. Rather, all Christians are indwelt by the Spirit and thus have His power available (1 Cor. 6:19). However, living the Christian life under the Spirit’s power must not be thought of as simply allowing the Spirit to take control while the believer does nothing. Believers still must live the Christian life, though they do it through the Spirit’s power. Rom. 8:13 says, “if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.” It is you who are to put to death the sinful deeds of the body, but you are to do it through the Spirit’s power.
you will be my witnesses
Good or bad, eloquent or bumbling, you “will be” my witnesses.
Thankful, part of the power of the Spirit that we receive is also for His witness of Himself through us.
Acts 5:32 “32 And we are witnesses to these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey him.””
For those Jesus was sharing meals with him this was a more literal declaration. For us we can still be His witness but not of His resurrected body at the table with us. People still need to hear and see His effect on our lives but let the Spirit do more of the convincing and convicting.
I am sure that, like me, you have heard multiple sermons on the application of Jerusalem, Judea, and the ends of the earth to our local areas. I think the more impact for me was one about your prayer life. Does your prayers only include your family and friends (Jerusalem)? Do you have people or ministries that you pray for that are farther out in the community or region (Samaria)? Is their anyone that your regularly lift up in prayer that is on a separate continent than you (end of the earth)? This speaker challenged the group that if your prayers did not go around the world, then your view of God’s work would be very limited and He could not use you to witness very far.
These places listed were not just geographically different but they were significantly different cultures as well. Different cultures and false religions continue to grow and expand and the Gospel of Christ is still the only way for salvation and it must penetrate all these areas too.
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.”
Discuss: Encourage adults to share situations when they have been left speechless. Briefly talk about those situations and what made them so amazing or startling. Point out that disciples needed a pair of angels to snap them back into reality.
And when he had said these things
Some translations have “after he said” which gives us a possibility of a time gap between the “coming together” and this “lifting up.” If they were all gathering inside, then they must have exited before this happened or the were gathered and eating outside. There is no time of day mentioned, but it was logically during the a period with enough daylight to distinguish clouds.
I am not going to speculate on how this transport took place. It confused those looking on enough that it took God’s messengers to shake them out of their daze.
I will say my personal favorite theory comes a little boy’s drawing I saw once showing Jesus being obscured from view by the exhaust trail from His jet pack.
a cloud took him out of their sight.
Clouds have often be associated with the presence or glory of God throughout Scripture. So even if was a clear day, this pure brilliance would hide Him from view.
The Moody Bible Commentary B. The Means of Preparing the Disciples for the Mission (1:3–26)
God guided Israel in the wilderness and hovered above the tabernacle in a cloud, and when he revealed His deity at the transfiguration, Jesus was surrounded by a cloud. It was appropriate then for Jesus to return to heaven in a cloud, symbolizing the presence of God.
will come
Same “future middle indicative” that Jesus used about the Holy Spirit coming, these “men” use of His return.
I can almost hear these men continuing to break up crowd like crowd control officers “Shows over folks, time to get back to work.”
When Jesus comes back is another part of the “fixed time” by the Father that we are not to know precisely, we just need to know that He is and He expects us to be about His work until He returns.
Ask: How does the promised return of Jesus add to the urgency we should feel in sharing with others? (PSG, p. 15)
The lesson text skips down about over some of the points about selecting another apostle to replace Judas. The eleven and their companions had prayed, then understood the need, and set about making a choice based on the current Scriptural practices.
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.
You know the hearts of all
Part of the apostles’ prayer was a confession that God knows the hearts of men. At the same time, they were acknowledging that they could not discern the hearts of people on their own, so they wanted God to make the choice. They were not equipped to know who would best serve as Judas’s replacement. Humans are easily deceived, which is why plugging into God’s will is so important. [ETB:ALG Spr'24]
which one of these two you have chosen
I like this. They had seen Him leave physically just a few days later but are still seeking answers from Him like He is still sitting at table with them.
Luke & Acts Commentary
The assembly described the position as a “place of ministry and apostleship.” Jesus declared in his farewell discourse in Luke that the apostles will sit on “thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel” as part of the Kingdom (Luke 22:30). The places were set, but Judas by his defection left one vacant. Though divinely determined and predicted, Judas by his own choice experienced the “sorrow” of Luke 22:22. The assembly, under divine guidance, must fill this place.
Judas… to go to his own place
Half the English translations I read state it like this in the ESV.
The other half state it like the CSB in the quarterly - “where he belongs.”
What are the different connotations of those phrasings, what do they imply differently?
For me, “his place” suggests that it was of his own choosing. “He belongs” suggests that he was put there by another. The ESV speaks to Judas’ sinful choice. The CSB speaks to God’s sovereign judgement. Both are accurate and true.
Matthias… was numbered with the eleven apostles
This phrase lets us know that throughout the rest of the book when the word “apostles” is used it include Matthias even though his name is never used again in Scripture.
As Israel crossed over the Jordan on dry ground, God instructed them to place twelve stones as immovable witnesses—a memorial to tell the Israelite children what God had done for them (Joshua 4:1–7). Likewise, the Church was established with twelve witnesses so that we would know and tell what God has done for us through Christ.
Apply the Text
Apply the Text
· Believers are expected to remain focused on telling others about Jesus.
· Believers must urgently carry out their witnessing commission.
· Believers should pray when filling roles of service. (Even is we are not on a committee or group making the decision for the congregation, we should participate in prayer for that decision and the decision makers.)
Pray: Ask God to help the group stay focus on telling others about Jesus and to maintain urgency in the process. Ask God to help us fulfill the roles in His church He has called us to and to prayerfully consider any changes that He needs us to do and to remind us to pray for those on the staff and in the church given leadership roles and decision making responsibilities.
