The Scripture had to be Fulfilled

“Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, a Sabbath day’s journey away. And 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. These all with one accord were continually devoting themselves to prayer, along with the women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and His brothers.”

“...so that all things which are written will be fulfilled.” (Luke 21:23)

Outline

I. Introduction: The Scripture had to be Fulfilled

a. Reading NT narrative like OT narrative

b. Review of Acts 1:1-11

i. Christ Proclaimed a kingdom

ii. Christ Established a kingdom

iii. We pray for the kingdom to come in its fullness.

II. Response to the Ascension (1:12-14)

a. Return to Jerusalem from the Mount of Olives

i. Triumphal Entry

ii. Betrayal of Christ

iii. Ascension of Christ

b. Entering the upper room

c. Listing of the 11 disciples

d. Continuing in prayer

III. Conclusion

a. Application

b. Summary

Introduction: The Scripture had to be Fulfilled

Start Here: The theme for this message and my next message will be “The Scriptures had to be Fulfilled.” Today, we will be looking at Acts 1:12-14. And next time, in two weeks, we will be looking at verses 15-26. The title comes from verse 16, where Peter says, “...for the Scripture had to be fulfilled.”

Reading NT narrative like OT narrative

I would like to begin by making some comments on NT narrative.

James Jordan points out in his series on Acts that we do not tend to look at the New Testament in the same way that we look at the Old Testament. We have a different hermeneutic, or approach to interpretation, which we really ought to correct.

When we read the OT, we expect to see Redemptive-Historical themes and typology all throughout, as well as fulfillment of promises. For example, the land is promised to Abraham in Genesis 17 and to Israel again all over Deuteronomy. Then Joshua is the fulfillment of those promises. David is anointed King in 1 Samuel, and his kingdom is established in 2 Samuel. We see the fulfillment of God’s promise.

In the Gospels, Christ proclaims the promise of the kingdom of God. Then, the book of Acts is the fulfillment of everything that was promised in the same way that Joshua was for the Pentateuch, and 2 Samuel was for 1 Samuel.

So, when we read the book of Acts, we should read it in the same way that we would read the book of 2 Samuel or the book of Joshua: God is fulfilling promises. He established the Church in fulfillment of the Covenant instituted by Christ and prophesied in Isaiah, Ezekiel, Daniel, Zechariah, and Joel. And typified, if I can use that word, in the covenants with Abraham, Moses, and David. Acts is a good story, but it's also so much more. The Scriptures are being fulfilled.

Review of Acts 1:1-11

1. Christ Proclaimed a Kingdom

a. “...speaking about the things concerning the kingdom of God.” (1:3)

b. We looked at the prominence of the kingdom proclamation in Christ's ministry: good news & imminent.

2. Christ established a kingdom

a. All authority was given to Him (John 17, Matthew 28, Daniel 7, Revelation 12)

3. We pray for the kingdom to come in its fullness

a. WLC #191

“In the second petition, (which is, Thy Kingdom come,) acknowledging ourselves and all mankind to be by nature under the dominion of sin and Satan, we pray that the kingdom of sin and Satan may be destroyed, the gospel propagated throughout the world, the Jews called, the fulness of the Gentiles brought in; the church furnished with all gospel officers and ordinances, purged from corruption, countenanced and maintained by the civil magistrates; that the ordinances of Christ may be purely dispensed, and made effectual to the converting of those that are yet in their sins, and the confirming, comforting, and building up those that are already converted: that Christ would rule in our hearts here, and hasten the time of his second coming, and our reigning with him for ever: and that he would be pleased so to exercise the kingdom of his power in all the world, as may best conduce to these ends.”

There is much more happening in these first 11 verses, but we will not be digging into them specifically. We are looking at big-picture themes as we go through the text.

Response to the Ascension (1:12-14)

“Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, a Sabbath day’s journey away. And 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 (11 in number). These all with one accord were continually devoting themselves to prayer, along with the women[1], and Mary the mother of Jesus, and His brothers.”

They returned to Jerusalem from the Mount of Olives.

The Mount of Olives has much eschatological significance. Luke mentions it at strategic points in his narratives.

1. Triumphal Entry Luke (19:29-37) which is a fulfillment of Zechariah 9:9-10:

“Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Make a loud shout, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your king is coming to you; He is righteous and endowed with salvation, Lowly and mounted on a donkey, Even on a colt, the foal of a pack animal. I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim And the horse from Jerusalem; And the bow of war will be cut off. And He will speak peace to the nations; And His reign will be from sea to sea And from the River to the ends of the earth.” (Zechariah 9:9-10)

And it seems that the people received the Triumphal Entry as a fulfillment of Zechariah 9:9-10):

“Now as soon as He was approaching, near the descent of the Mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples began to praise God, rejoicing with a loud voice for all the miracles which they had seen, saying, “BLESSED IS THE KING WHO COMES IN THE NAME OF THE LORD. Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!” (Luke 19:37-38).

The king had come from the Mount of Olives into Jerusalem, from the East.

2. Christ’s betrayal in Luke 22. This appears to be alluding back to David’s betrayal in 2 Samuel 15:

“But David went up the ascent of the Mount of Olives, and wept as he went, and his head was covered and he was walking barefoot. And all the people who were with him each covered his head and went up weeping as they went. Now David informed them, saying, “Ahithophel is among the conspirators with Absalom.” And David said, “O Yahweh, I pray, make the counsel of Ahithophel foolishness.” (2 Samuel 15:30-31)

The king has been betrayed so he flees east to the Mount of Olives. This mirrors what happened to Jesus:

“And He came out and went as was His custom to the Mount of Olives; and the disciples also followed Him...While He was still speaking, behold, a crowd came, and the one called Judas, one of the twelve, was coming ahead of them, and he approached Jesus to kiss Him. But Jesus said to him, “Judas, are you betraying the Son of Man with a kiss?” (Luke 22:39, 47-48).

As his father before him, the Son of David is betrayed.

3. Jesus ascends from the Mount of Olives: We see this mentioned in Luke 24:50, Jesus led them out to Bethany, which is a town on the Mount of Olives, and our text (Acts 1:12) says that they returned to Jerusalem from the Mount called Olivet. I believe that the Ascension from the Mount of Olives is fulfilling what is described in Zechariah 14:4, 8-9 (corroborated by Matthew Henry’s commentary on this text),

“And in that day His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, which is in front of Jerusalem on the east; and the Mount of Olives will be split in its middle from east to west by a very large valley so that half of the mountain will move toward the north and the other half toward the south... And it will be in that day, that living waters will flow out of Jerusalem, half of them toward the eastern sea and the other half toward the western sea; it will be in summer as well as in winter. And Yahweh will be king over all the earth; in that day Yahweh will be the only one, and His name one.” (Zechariah 14:4, 8-9)

Side Note: This passage in Zechariah also references the destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70 in verses 1-3 and the destruction of the old order and the re-creation of the new order in verses 5-7 (Which Christ reviews in Luke 21 and includes another time that Luke says, “...so that all things which are written will be fulfilled” - Luke 21:22).  

Luke gives us the geographical landmark of the Mount of Olives at the Triumphal Entry, the Betrayal, and the Ascension of Christ and I believe that these are pointing to Old Testament proofs that Christ came as king, he was betrayed as king David, and He ascended as Lord of all the earth. And he did all of this because the Scripture had to be fulfilled.

They went into the upper room.

The Disciples re-entered Jerusalem, presumably from the East, and then went into the upper room, there to await the promised Spirit empowerment.

The house of Yahweh and the renewed worship of Yahweh are described in Ezekiel 40-44. Listen to this statement:

“Then I heard one speaking to me from the house, while a man was standing beside me. He said to me, “Son of man, this is the place of My throne and the place of the soles of My feet, where I will dwell among the sons of Israel forever. And the house of Israel will not again defile My holy name, neither they nor their kings, by their harlotry and by the corpses of their kings when they die...” (Ezekiel 43:6-7)

This passage is fulfilled in Christ’s establishment of the Church. When Christ makes his dwelling among his people by His Spirit. And that is birthed at Pentecost. The house described in this passage is not the house in which the Spirit comes in Acts 2. Rather, it is emphasizing God’s house, or his temple, being among his people. So, wherever the people of God are gathered, there God makes His dwelling.

Christ Ascends from the Mount of Olives in fulfillment of Zechariah 14:4, and the Disciples return to Jerusalem from the East, enter the upper room, and await the entrance of the Spirit which establishes the House of God among men in fulfillment of Ezekiel 43 (Acts 2:2). We are also told at the end of Luke (24:53) that they were continually in the Temple blessing God.  

The Apostles were waiting for the fulfillment of the restoration plan that Christ gave them. They asked in verse 6,

“Lord, is it at this time You are restoring the kingdom to Israel?” (Acts 1:6)

Christ answers in verse 8,

“...but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you (Isaiah 32:15); and you shall be My witnesses (Isaiah 43:10, 12) both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to THE END OF THE EARTH (Isaiah 49:6, 45:22).” (Acts 1:8)

“The restoration plan entails three things according to Jesus: how they will accomplish it (the empowering Spirit), what they are to do (witness), and where they will go (Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria, and the ends of the earth).”[2] 

He tells them that it is not for us to know the times and the seasons, but this is how kingdom restoration will be accomplished: The Spirit empowering of Christ’s witnesses to the whole earth. These allusions to Isaiah confirm that this is happening now. So, the Apostles go to the upper room to await this promise of Spirit empowerment because the Scriptures had to be fulfilled.

The 11 Apostles are listed

The 11 Apostles are listed to set up the narrative that follows regarding the selection of Matthias as the 12th Apostle. This is to highlight the fact that restoration would not happen until Israel was reunited. The King established his Davidic Kingdom in His ascension to the throne and is about to empower His witnesses to the ends of the earth. But Israel is not yet restored. The foundation is not complete. And you might be asking, “How will choosing a 12th apostle restore Israel?”

Consider,

“And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great and high mountain, and showed me the holy city, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, having the glory of God. Her brilliance was like precious stone, as a stone of crystal-clear jasper...And the wall of the city had twelve foundation stones, and on them were the twelve names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb...” (Revelation 21:10-14)

“So then you are no longer strangers and sojourners, but you are fellow citizens with the saints, and are of God’s household (Ezekiel 43), having been built on the foundation of the apostlesand prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the corner stone, in whom the whole building, being joined together, is growing into a holy sanctuary in the Lord, in whom you also are being built together into a dwelling of God in the Spirit.” (Ephesians 2:19-22 & Hebrews 12:18-29)

The foundation of the church, the restored Israel, the witness to the kingdom of God, is the 12 disciples. And we see here that there are only 11.

Schreiner says,

“Jesus intended them to be the leaders of restored Israel (Luke 22:14–30; Matt 19:28), but they could not be unless their number represented Israel in its fullness and they were led by God himself. Yahweh has said he will “[raise] up the tribes of Jacob and [restore] the protected ones of Israel” (Isa 49:6) and that “Ephraim’s envy will cease; Judah’s harassing will end” (Isa 11:13).”[3]

They return to Jerusalem from the Mount of Olives, they enter the upper room, there are only 11 of them, and finally, they devote themselves to prayer.

They devote themselves to prayer

Prayer is a key feature in the narratives of Luke. Schreiner points out in his commentary that prayer appears at all the major turns in the story (the Reformation Study Bible gives a nice list in its commentary on this passage of the times that prayer plays a role in the narrative). Consider this,

· Acts 1:24 – Choosing of the 12th Apostle: The birth of the church.

· Acts 3:1 – The hour of prayer is the hour that God empowers the witness in Jerusalem.

· Acts 8:14–17 – Samaria receives the Gospel and then the Holy Spirit through prayer.

· Acts 9:11–12 – The conversion of Saul; He prayed, and God answered through Ananias.

· Acts 10:4, 9, 30 – Cornelius prays and is directed to Peter, Peter prays and is directed to Cornelius.

· Acts 13:2–3 – Prayer initiates God sending Paul on three missionary journeys to the ends of the earth.

· Acts 20:36 – Paul prays prior to his deliverance to Jerusalem and Rome.

Prayer is what God uses to bring in what he has already promised to accomplish. God will fulfill his promise to restore the kingdom, the Scriptures must be fulfilled, and it is for these things that the Apostles were praying. And God answered their prayers mightily.

Application:

1. The Scripture must be fulfilled

a. We can trust the Bible. We can trust the promises it makes. When it speaks, we need to listen with understanding. The Scriptures are God revealing Himself to us, specially concerning the good news of His son, Jesus Christ. Are you trusting these promises?

b. “And Peter said to them, “Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” (Acts 2:38)

c. Are you trusting in the name of Christ for your salvation and the forgiveness of your sins? Do you doubt? Christ will do what he said. Repent of your sins and believe in Christ as your savior.

d. And Christ gave us His Spirit, His Word, and His ordinances all for the assurance and building up of His people. You can trust Him.

2. They obey Christ (see verse 3)

a. They did what Christ commanded them: he said to remain in Jerusalem, so they returned to Jerusalem and remained there.

b. Are we being obedient to Christ? Sometimes, we spend more time trying to understand complicated theological truths about God and His plan than we do practicing the weightier matters of the law: justice, mercy, and faithfulness (Matthew 23:23).

i. “Pure and undefiled religion before our God and Father is this: To understand eschatology...to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained by the world.” (James 1:27). - That is not hard to understand, it is hard to practice.

1. There are many orphans and widows being afflicted in the world – some of them have parents and husbands in the technical sense, but not in substance: neglected children, codependent wives, etc... Are we visiting them in their affliction?

2. Are we disciplining ourselves and our thinking to not be influenced by the world: taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ.

ii. Diligently add to your faith – moral excellence, knowledge, self-control, perseverance, godliness, brotherly kindness, and love. (2 Peter 1:5-9) - This does not take years of study to understand.

iii. Do not be a hearer of the Word only, be a doer of the Word, as we see of these 11 apostles here in Acts 1.

3. They pray in preparation for what Christ promised

a. For what do we pray? Do we pray amiss, asking for things to consume on our own lusts? Or do we pray for the advancement of Christ’s kingdom and for His purposes to be fulfilled? Examine yourself to see that your priorities are the same as God’s priorities. Can you pray, “Thy kingdom come, thy will be done,” not my kingdom come, and my will be done?

b. We need to remember, Christ's will shall be done: As Nick said about Joshua, God will accomplish His plan, are we going to be faithful? What if God for the furtherance of His kingdom wanted CRC to die? Just as Stephen died, Paul died, Christ died, etc...? Are we willing to die for the furtherance of the kingdom?

Summary:

“For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures...” (1 Corinthians 15:3-4)

After Christ arose from the dead, he spoke about the kingdom of God, and he ascended into Heaven to receive that kingdom because “the Scripture had to be fulfilled.” Afterward, the disciples move from the Mount of Olives to Jerusalem (from the East and in obedience to Christ’s command), enter the upper room, are incomplete, and devote themselves to prayer, because “the Scripture had to be fulfilled.”

Now we also ought to be obedient to the Lord and pray for the Scripture to be fulfilled. We pray for the kingdom to come in its fullness and for God’s will to be done on earth as it is in heaven. AMEN!

Next time we will look at verses 15-26. Let’s now pray and sing the doxology which can be found on page...

[1]Calvin translates this as “their wives.”

[2]Patrick Schreiner, Acts, ed. E. Ray Clendenen and Brandon D. Smith, Christian Standard Commentary (Holman Reference, 2021), 88. 

[3]   Patrick Schreiner, Acts, ed. E. Ray Clendenen and Brandon D. Smith, Christian Standard Commentary (Holman Reference, 2021), 104.