Focal Passage: Acts 1:4-11, 23-26
The book of Acts is wonderful and powerful piece of literature. It combines divine power evidenced in factual history in a story narrative. Most scholars believe that Luke is the author and the style is most definitely familiar with his.
There are also internal references as well. Take for instance the fact the book is addressed to Theophilus. We know that Luke’s Gospel was also addressed to Theophilus which is alluded to in the prologue of Acts. The “we” passages also present a strong case for Luke because we know he was a traveling companion of Paul on many of his missionary journeys.
Whereas, the Gospel of Luke was written to prove Jesus was the Messiah, Acts was written to tell the story of how He continued to work in and through His followers by the power of the Holy Spirit. It is a story of how the gospel began to spread throughout the world with unstoppable power.
Nimmo
We begin this remarkable story in Acts 1:4-11, with Jesus dining with His disciples after the resurrection. Jesus has already shown Himself many times negating any doubt about the truth of His resurrection.
On this occasion, He reminds them again of His command not to leave Jerusalem, but to remain until they had received power which the Father had promised.
One might ask why? Could not God send the Holy Spirit in Galilee where these men were from just as well? To answer that we would have to know the mind of God, but we can make some pretty good observations. Jerusalem was the heart and soul of the Jewish people. It was the spiritual epicenter of their faith. The Great Commission would start here and then proceed outward till it covered the whole earth.
I find it somewhat amusing the response the disciples then make in verse 6. The Jewish people always believed the Messiah would restore Israel to its former glory and cast-off Roman influence and occupation. From the question they asked, the disciples still believed that too.
After all they had experienced, saw, heard, they still didn’t get it. Jesus reminds them that they are not to worry about when, where or how. But they are to stay focused on the commission He had given them. He also reminded them they would receive power to accomplish it. They were to begin there in Jerusalem then move outward until they had covered the whole world. It is the same commission we have today. We start where we are then move out to touch as many as we can with the Good News.
In verses 23-26, we find the disciples selecting Matthias to replace Judas Iscariot. They had a dilemma. They had two men who both had excellent credentials and both were excellent choices. Churches sometimes find themselves in this position when choosing a leader or pastor.
How do you choose? They decided to let God choose. Their method of determination we may not understand, but they knew God sees more than what is on paper. He sees the heart. And, the way to know God’s heart is through prayer. B&R