Acts 1:12-26 - The Upper Room
Notes
Transcript
Introduction
Introduction
Upper rooms usually served as living rooms for the families that owned the houses in which the rooms were located. Being an upper room on an elevated floor of the home, they provided a quieter space, somewhat free of the noise from the street below. The upper room also provided more privacy and security than a room on the first floor could provide.
The upper rooms in or near Jerusalem were popular during the major feast holidays on the Jewish calendar. Owners would rent them out to pilgrims journeying to the city.
Whether it was rented or miraculously provided, Jesus used an upper room to share the Passover meal with His disciples.
12 “And he will show you a large, furnished upper room; prepare it there.”
It was during that meal that He said, “This is My body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of Me,” and, “This cup which is poured out for you is the new covenant in My blood,” (Lk. 22:19-20).
But Jesus would also say this in the upper room…
21 “But behold, the hand of the one betraying Me is with Mine on the table. 22 “For indeed, the Son of Man is going as it has been determined; but woe to that man by whom He is betrayed!”
Soon Judas went out to betray Him, and after singing a hymn, Jesus and the rest of His apostles went out to pray.
Then Jesus was arrested, tried, and crucified.
His body given for us.
His blood the blood of the New Covenant.
It seemed that what began as a celebration in the upper room ended with devastation on hill called Golgotha with a crucified Jesus.
But three days after His death, Jesus was raised from the dead.
The women were the first to see Him. They “returned from the (empty) tomb and reported all these things to the eleven and to all the rest,” (Lk. 24:9).
Judas had betrayed Jesus to death, but Jesus was alive again! Resurrected from the dead!
But the Apostles, called ‘the eleven’ because they were one short, seemed to think the women were speaking nonsense and would not believe them (Lk. 24:11).
Some of them did not believe until the risen Jesus paid them a visit, perhaps a visit in that same upper room, saying…
39 “See My hands and My feet, that it is I Myself; touch Me and see, for a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have.”
He then ate with them to prove that He wasn’t a ghost but had really been raised from the dead in the flesh.
Then He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures and then said to them…
46 and He said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Christ would suffer and rise again from the dead the third day, 47 and that repentance for forgiveness of sins would be proclaimed in His name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem. 48 “You are witnesses of these things. 49 “And behold, I am sending forth the promise of My Father upon you; but you are to stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.”
Notice that last verse I just read, Luke 24:49…
49 “And behold, I am sending forth the promise of My Father upon you; but you are to stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.”
We read the same thing in Acts 1:4-5…
4 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; 5 for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.”
But while they waited in Jerusalem, where would they stay? Well, in an upper room. It seems very likely that it was the same upper room in which they had shared the Passover meal together; the same upper room in which Judas was revealed as a traitor.
That’s where we find the eleven waiting when we come to Acts 1:12ff.
As Jesus instructed, they were waiting in the upper room for the Holy Spirit.
[TS] But let’s notice what they do while they wait in the upper room…
Major Ideas
Major Ideas
First, in the upper room, they prayed together (Acts 1:12-14).
First, in the upper room, they prayed together (Acts 1:12-14).
12 Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, a Sabbath day’s journey away. 13 When they had entered the city, 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. 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.
[EXP] They were praying.
We’ve already noticed where they were praying.
We’ve already noticed where they were praying.
Verses 12-13 say, “…they returned to Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, a Sabbath day’s journey away. When they went up to the upper room where they were staying…”
A Sabbath day’s journey was a little more than half-a-mile. So, after the ascension of Jesus, they quickly returned to the upper room to wait and pray.
But notice who was praying.
But notice who was praying.
Verse 13 says it was, “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.” Verse 14 says all these were praying “along with the women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with His brothers.”
All of these were trophies of God’s grace.
Peter had denied knowing Jesus three times as He went to the cross.
John and James asked for positions of power as Jesus’ went to offer Himself as our sacrifice.
Thomas, perhaps unfairly, has become known as Thomas the doubter.
Bartholomew is thought by some to be Nathaniel who when told that Jesus was from Nazareth asked, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?”
Matthew was a loathed tax-collector before following Jesus.
James the son of Alphaeus is not singled out for praise or criticism in any of the gospels or Acts.
Simon the Zealot is likewise unknown, but based on the label ‘Zealot” it seems he belonged to a Jewish group that thought submission to Rome was disloyalty toward God. That led some Zealots to act like terrorists. Perhaps Simon was one of them.
Judas the son of James might also be known as Thaddeus. He too is relatively unknown although his biggest claim to fame is being called, “Judas, not Iscariot,” in John 14:22.
The women likely included those same women who were witnesses of His resurrection one of whom was Mary Magdalene who once had seven demons cast out of her.
Mary the mother of Jesus and His brothers once thought that Jesus was out of His mind (Mark 3:21, 31).
But here they all are—known and unknown, former deniers of Jesus, former doubters of Jesus, formerly demon-possessed—trophies of God’s grace in Jesus praying as they wait on the Holy Spirit.
If Jesus can save folks like these, he can save you and me.
Notice the character of their praying.
Notice the character of their praying.
Verse 14 says, “These all with one mind were continually devoting themselves to prayer…”
They were united in prayer.
They were of one mind. Every mind was set on receiving the Spirit that Jesus said was coming. Every mind committed to remaining in Jerusalem until the Spirit came.
They were continual in prayer.
They were continually devoted to prayer. They knew what to do with their wait. They were continually giving themselves to prayer while they waited on the Holy Spirit.
[ILLUS] Charles Spurgeon once told the story of a Dr. Bacchus who was close to dying. A doctor had come to see him and on the way out Dr. Bacchus noticed the doctor stopped to speak to Dr. Bacchus’ attendant. Once the doctor had gone, Dr. Bacchus asked the attendant what the doctor had said on the way out. The attendant said, “Dear sir, he told me not to leave you, for you could not live more than another half-hour.”
Dr. Bacchus then replied, “Then help me out of bed, let me get upon my knees and spend my last half hour on earth in praying for the church of God, and for the salvation of men.”
Spurgeon then remarked, “What a blessed way of spending one’s last half-hour; let me rather say—what a blessed way of speaking half-an-hour at any time! Try it this afternoon!”
[APP] One way or another, we are all waiting. Dr. Bacchus was waiting for death, and we’ve all known people who were waiting for death just as he was.
The Apostles were waiting on the Spirit as Jesus instructed, and there have been times when we’ve waited for the Spirit to move.
Perhaps we’re waiting for a certain trial to be over or a certain temptation to pass.
Perhaps we’re waiting for strength or boldness or energy that only the Spirit can supply.
Perhaps we’re just waiting on Jesus to come again.
Whatever we are waiting on, let us wait in prayer.
Let us wait together in prayer with one mind.
Let us wait together in prayer with one mind.
As they waited on the Holy Spirit to come, the folks in the upper room were praying with the same mind—the mind of Christ.
It was Jesus who told them to wait on the Spirit, so as they prayed for the Spirit to come, they prayed with one mind—the mind of Christ.
We cannot know one another’s minds, so the only way for us to be of one mind in prayer is to pray according to the mind of Christ, which we have revealed to us by the Holy Spirit through the Word of God. First Corinthians 2:11, 16 says…
11 For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so the thoughts of God no one knows except the Spirit of God.
16 For who has known the mind of the Lord, that he will instruct Him? But we have the mind of Christ.
Let us wait together in prayer continually.
Let us wait together in prayer continually.
The folks in the upper room were continually in prayer, devoted to it. They were living life in prayer as they waited upon the promise of the Holy Spirit.
That’s how we should be living—in continual prayer.
I admit to you that I do not live a life of continual prayer. I live a life of continual distraction.
“What’s on the news?”
“What’s the score of the game?”
“What’s up on Facebook?”
All of these distractions eat up the hours that I could be spend in prayer.
My soul withers for lack of prayer.
Your soul withers for lack of prayer.
What are the distractions that keep you from living a life of prayer?
[TS] In the upper room, they prayed together.
And secondly, in the upper room, they came together (Acts 1:15-26).
And secondly, in the upper room, they came together (Acts 1:15-26).
Notice that the betrayal of Judas was prophesied by Scripture.
Notice that the betrayal of Judas was prophesied by Scripture.
Peter said in v. 16, “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.”
At least two psalms of David point to the idea that the Messiah, the Christ would be betrayed. Psalm 41:9 says…
9 Even my close friend in whom I trusted, Who ate my bread, Has lifted up his heel against me.
Psalm 55:12-14 says…
12 For it is not an enemy who reproaches me, Then I could bear it; Nor is it one who hates me who has exalted himself against me, Then I could hide myself from him. 13 But it is you, a man my equal, My companion and my familiar friend; 14 We who had sweet fellowship together Walked in the house of God in the throng.
Although prophesied by David centuries before, these were thoughts of Jesus concerning Judas who had been counted as His Apostle and shared in the apostolic ministry.
By the plan of God and his own choosing, Judas betrayed Christ Jesus just as David prophesied.
Everything Acts 1:18 tells us concerning Judas is detailed for us in Matthew 27:3-10, but some have said that the accounts of Judas’ death as recorded by Matthew and Luke contradict one another on at least two points:
(1) They claim that Matthew says Judas hung himself while Luke wrote in Acts that Judas fell and his body burst open. Skeptics claim these two accounts cannot be reconciled.
(2) Skeptics also claim that Matthew and Luke record different buyers for the Potter’s Field or Field of Blood as it became known.
After Judas betrayed Jesus, the shame crushed him. He took the 30 pieces of silver that he had been paid and tried to return it. The religious leaders who had paid him refused to take it back because it was now blood money, so Judas threw it back into the temple sanctuary and left.
Matthew says that it was the chief priests who took the silver pieces and bought a field for the burial of strangers, but Luke records in Acts that it was “this man,” meaning Judas who acquired a field—a field of blood because it was bought with blood money.
Both of these supposed contradictions are easily reconciled.
(1) Judas did hang himself but apparently after being left to decompose, his body fell and his body burst open.
(2) Remember that Judas tried to return the money but the money was rejected. When Judas flung it back into the temple, the religious leaders took what was still considered Judas’ money and bought a field with it.
Because it was still Judas’ money, Acts says that Judas bought it.
Because it was actually the religious leaders who used Judas’ money to buy it, Matthew says the religious leaders bought it.
But even this specific act of buying the potter’s field was prophesied before hand and then fulfilled in the sinful actions of Judas. Matthew blends Jeremiah 32 (vv.6-9) with Zechariah 11 (vv. 12-13) when he writes…
9 Then that which was spoken through Jeremiah the prophet was fulfilled: “And they took the thirty pieces of silver, the price of the one whose price had been set by the sons of Israel; 10 and they gave them for the Potter’s Field, as the Lord directed me.”
Judas’ betrayal was his choice but it was prophesied in Scripture long before he was ever born.
Notice that the replacement of Judas was initiated by Scripture.
Notice that the replacement of Judas was initiated by Scripture.
In Acts 1:20, Peter said, “…it is written in the book of Psalms, ‘Let his homestead be made desolate, and let no one dwell in it’; and ‘Let another man take his office.’”
These quotations come from Psalm 69 and Psalm 109 respectively (cf. 69:25, 109:8), but Peter applies each of them to Judas personally.
It’s not that these two psalms were only about Judas, but Peter certainly understood those two verses he quoted as pointing to Judas’ cursed stated as the betrayer of the Christ and the necessity of replacing him with another Apostle.
Notice that the replacement of Judas continued by common sense.
Notice that the replacement of Judas continued by common sense.
In vv. 21-23, we read, “Therefore it is necessary that of the men who have accompanied us all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us— 22 beginning with the baptism of John until the day that He was taken up from us—one of these must become a witness with us of His resurrection.” 23 So they put forward two men, Joseph called Barsabbas (who was also called Justus), and Matthias.”
Two qualifications were necessary for this new Apostle.
He would have to have been witness to the public ministry of Jesus.
This is time frame described by “beginning with the baptism of John until the day He was taken up from us” (i.e., ascended).
This new Apostle would also have to have been witness to the resurrection of Jesus—i.e., he would have to have seen the resurrected Jesus as others had before He ascended.
Apostles were be His witnesses, so these qualifications make perfect sense.
Apparently only two men met the qualifications: Joseph and Matthias.
We don’t anything about these men beyond their names and that they had been followers of Jesus from the beginning or near to it at least.
But although the two men are named, the selection is not yet made.
Notice that the replacement of Judas was dependent on prayer.
Notice that the replacement of Judas was dependent on prayer.
In vv. 24-25, those gathered pray and say, “You, Lord, who know the hearts of all men, show which one of these two You have chosen 25 to occupy this ministry and apostleship from which Judas turned aside to go to his own place.””
Judas has gone to his own place is likely another way of saying that Judas has gone to hell.
But Scripture has initiated the replacement of Judas.
Common sense has set forward the qualifications for the one to replace him.
And now Jesus—the heart-knower—is called on to make the choice.
Will it be Joseph or Matthias?
Who will join the eleven and make it twelve so they can witness to the twelve tribes of Israel proclaiming Jesus as the Christ when the Spirit comes?
Notice that the replacement of Judas rested in trust.
Notice that the replacement of Judas rested in trust.
In Acts 1:26, Luke records, “And they drew lots for them, and the lot fell to Matthias; and he was added to the eleven apostles.”
In the ancient world, casting lots was a way of making decisions when a clear choice was not obvious. We might compare it to rolling the dice in our day, but this decision was not left up to chance. Proverbs 16:33 says…
33 The lot is cast into the lap, But its every decision is from the Lord.
When the lot fell to Matthias, the Lord Jesus had decided that Matthias was the new Apostle.
From this point forward, this group of men will be known as the twelve.
[ILLUS] [If You Don’t Decide . . . Someone Else Will Decide For You]
Former president Ronald Reagan once had an aunt who took him for a new pair of new boots.
The shoemaker asked young Reagan, “Do you want square toes or round toes?”
Unable to decide, Reagan didn’t answer, so the shoemaker gave him a few days.
Several days later the shoemaker saw Reagan again and asked him what kind of toes he wanted on his boots.
Reagan still couldn’t decide, so the shoemaker replied, “Well, come by in a couple of days. Your boots will be ready.”
When the future president did so, he found one square-toed boot and one round-toed boot! The shoemaker said, “This will teach you to never let people make decisions for you.”
Reagan later said, “I learned right then and there; if you don’t make your own decisions, someone else will.”
[APP] That’s a humorous story but I would suggest that for some of us, one of our main problems is that we’ve been making all our own decisions.
We make decisions that defy Scripture.
We make decisions that contradict common sense.
We make decisions without consulting Jesus—the heart-knower.
We make decisions and then grow anxious instead of resting in trust.
The process that the Apostles followed in making this decision concerning Matthias is a great process for us to follow as we try to follow Jesus in our decision making.
Our decisions should be in agreement with Scripture.
Our decisions, unless explicitly revealed by God, should accord with common sense.
Our decisions should always be made in consultation with Jesus.
Our decisions should always rest in our trust of Jesus.
We may not have to cast lots or roll the dice, but we do have to trust Jesus—the heart-knower—with each choice He leads us to.
[TS] …
Conclusion
Conclusion
I have called Jesus “the heart-knower” because that is what they called Jesus when they prayed to Him in Acts 1:24.
One word in Greek, kardiognostes; kardia meaning heart and gnosis meaning knowledge; Jesus the heart-knower.
Because He is the heart-knower, we can bring all our prayers to Him.
There’s no sense in holding anything back from Him.
Because He is the heart-knower, we can bring our all our decisions to Him.
In our decisions, he know’s our hidden motives, even those hidden from ourselves.
Because He is the heart-knower, He knows whether we belong to Him or not.
Jesus knew that Matthias was His Apostle and so called him through this process laid out in Acts 1.
Likewise, Jesus knows if we are one of His followers.
Perhaps you remember when He called you to follow Him.
Perhaps you know that Jesus knows that your heart doesn’t belong to Him.
If that’s the case, call on Jesus today for salvation.
He died for you, rose for you, and sits at the right hand of the Father praying for you.
If you call on Him, Jesus the heart-knower, will give you a new heart.
[PRAYER]