A Study in Acts...Chapter 1
The Promised Baptism
4 And being assembled together with them, He commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the Promise of the Father, “which,” He said, “you have heard from Me; 5 for John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.”
Jesus Promises Power for Witness
6 Therefore, when they had come together, they asked Him, saying, “Lord, will You at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?” 7 And He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons which the Father has put in His own authority. 8 But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”
26 But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you.
26 “But when the Helper comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify of Me. 27 And you also will bear witness, because you have been with Me from the beginning.
8 And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: 9 of sin, because they do not believe in Me; 10 of righteousness, because I go to My Father and you see Me no more;
13 However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come.
14 He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you.
Prayer In the Upper Room
1. PRAYER IN THE UPPER ROOM 1:12–14
Luke’s Gospel describes the return of Jesus’ followers to Jerusalem as being “with great joy” (Luke 24:52). It was only “a Sabbath day’s walk” (about a thousand yards; cf. Exod. 16:29 and Num. 35:5) from the Mount of Olives back to the city. There, in a large upstairs room, the eleven apostles were staying.9 This may have been the same upper room of the Last Supper and of the resurrection appearances. Some believe it was the home of Mary, the mother of John Mark mentioned in Acts 12:12, though there is no proof of this.
Luke draws attention to five things here.
1. They all joined “together” (“with one accord,” KJV). What a contrast this was to the jealousy exhibited before the Cross, where each wanted to be the greatest (Matt. 20:24).
As was mentioned before, Jesus dealt with them all after the Resurrection, and especially Peter (John 21). Now all were restored and recommissioned, harboring no conflict or jealousy. All were with one mind united together. “Together” or “one accord” (“with one mind,” NASB) in the Greek is homothumadon, “with one purpose,” and is one of Luke’s favorite words. Being united in one accord with one purpose is surely still an important key to getting God’s work done. This is what Christian fellowship is all about.
2. “They all joined … constantly in prayer.” This included faithfulness to the temple at the morning and evening hours of prayer (Acts 2:15 indicates 9 A.M. and 3:1 indicates 3 P.M.) and also persistence in the Upper Room, which was their “headquarters.” They kept an atmosphere of prayer and, as Luke 24:53 shows, united prayer and joyful praise with expectation of the outpouring of the Spirit were their chief occupation during these days (see also Luke 11:9–13; 18:1; they were asking for the promised gift of the Spirit). United prayer and praise with expectation that God will fulfill His promise was common in Acts and is still important if we want to see fresh outpourings of the Spirit. (This does not rule out the fact that times of divine visitation in the providence of God may surprise us, as in the case of Cornelius and his household; Acts 10.)
3. The women joined with them in prayer with the same steadfastness. Actually, the women were present all along, supporting Jesus and His ministry (Matt. 27:55; Mark 15:41; Luke 8:2–3; 23:49, 55; 24:1–11). In those days, if one man was present the masculine pronoun was used for the mixed group. Even when Peter called them “brothers” (v. 16) this included the women. The Jews understood this. But Luke wanted Theophilus (and other Gentiles) to know the women were present and praying, so he mentioned them specifically. They included Mary Magdalene, Salome, Joanna, Mary and Martha of Bethany, John Mark’s mother, Susanna, and others who had followed Jesus, supported Him financially (Luke 8:1–3), and witnessed His death, burial, and resurrection (Luke 23:49, 54–56; 24:1–10).
4. Mary the mother of Jesus is given special mention. She was present because John was fulfilling Jesus’ request to take care of her. She was not there as a leader, but simply joined the others in humble prayer and in waiting for the promise of the Father. We can be sure she received the Spirit even though this is the last time she is mentioned in Acts. Some traditions say she died in Jerusalem. Others say she went with John to Ephesus and died there.
5. The brothers of Jesus were present, though prior to the Cross they did not believe on Him (Mark 3:21; John 7:5). Jesus, however, made a special appearance to the eldest of His brothers, James (1 Cor. 15:7). Both James and Jude became leaders in the Jerusalem church (see Acts 12:17; 15:13; 21:18; Gal. 2:9; James 1:1; Jude 1). Now these brothers were joined in one accord with the others and waiting for the promise of the Father as well.