Acts 2:1-47

What is the theme of this chapter?

The power and results of Pentecost.

What is the key verse(s) of this chapter? Verse 4

And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit was giving them utterance.

What can I apply to my life from this chapter (things to do/avoid)?

I can rest fully assured that Jesus Christ rose from the grave because reason demands it, Scripture predicted it, and Peter and the eleven bore personal testimony that they had been with Him, had talked with Him and had seen Him with their own eyes, until the cloud received Him into heaven.

Additional observations/questions:

The Pentecostal believers were all filled with the Spirit because they were baptized with the Spirit.  For us, the filling of the Spirit is an objective to be attained by faith, by which deep blessings are already ours, not to mention the rewards to come.  It was no particular victory for the Pentecostal believers to be filled with the Spirit; He simply came according to His own sovereign will and prophecy.  But great spiritual victories are ours as we, by the Spirit, put to death the deeds of our bodies in order that they may be the temples of God.

Acts 2:42-47

They were continually devoting themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone kept feeling a sense of awe; and many wonders and signs were taking place through the apostles. And all those who had believed were together and had all things in common; and they began selling their property and possessions and were sharing them with all, as anyone might have need. Day by day continuing with one mind in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they were taking their meals together with gladness and sincerity of heart, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord was adding to their number day by day those who were being saved.


"As we consider the scene described in this passage we must not lose sight of the background.  From John the Baptist until Pentecost the establishment of the Messianic kingdom had been in view.  John the Baptist had come crying: 'Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand' (Matt 3:2, etc.).  Our Lord, in His earthly life, His death, His resurrection, His ascension and His sending of the Holy Spirit had been 'confirming the promises made unto the fathers' (Rom 15:8).  In His death He had sealed the New Covenant made 'with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah' (Jer 31:31).  He had risen from the dead to take His place upon the throne of His father, David (Acts 2:30-31).  He had ascended so that 'the promise of the Father' (Acts 1:4) might be fulfilled in the coming of the Spirit and that His Father might make His enemies His footstool (Psa 110:1)...The purpose of Pentecost, then, was not to baptize believing Jews and Gentiles into one body, for Gentiles were not even addressed — perhaps not even present — at Pentecost.  The purpose of Pentecost was to endue Messiah's disciples with supernatural power and prepare them for the persecutions which, had not God in grace intervened, would have brought on the 'great tribulation' and ushered in 'the day of the Lord' (Joel 2:28-32; Acts 2:16-21)." (Stam)

"Attention should be given here to two important details of the Pentecostal program which differ widely from that which God has given us to follow today.  1. 'Many wonders and signs were done by the apostles' (Ver 43);  2. 'And all that believed were together and had all things common; and sold their possessions and goods, and parted them to all men, as every man had need' (Vers 44-45).  In the fourth chapter this is put negatively as well as positively for emphasis:  '...neither said any of them that ought of the things which he possessed was his own; but they had all things common.'  'neither was there any among them that lacked; for as many as were possessors of lands or houses sold them, and brought the prices of the things that were sold,' 'and laid them down at the apostles' feet: and distribution was made unto every man according as he had need' (Acts 4:32, 34, 35).  This is nothing less than the carrying out of the Sermon on the Mount and the program outlined by our Lord in Matt 10:7-10, Luke 12:22-34, etc.  And thus they continued daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread.  (This doubtless refers to their daily meals for the 'meat' in the closing phrase means nourshiment.)  And how were they enabled to live together in such utter selflessness and such spiritual power?  Ah, this is the secret of millennial blessing!  The Spirit had come, according to promise, and had taken supernatural possession of them, controlling them completely, so that they were empowered not only to work miracles, but also to live lives that fully honored God (See Ezek 36:27-28).  Today by comparison, we, the members of Christ's Body, have the Spirit dwelling within and may appropriate His help at any time but, consistent with the present dispensation, we must appropraite by faith what God provides in grace.  Hence, with regard to the Pentecostal believers we find the bare statement of fact: 'They were ALL filled with the Holy Spirit' (Acts 2:4) while the Apostle Paul exhorts us: 'Be filled with the Spirit' (Eph 5:18)." (Stam)

See also: http://tis-justme.blogspot.com/2011/09/sell-everything.html
               http://tis-justme.blogspot.com/2010/12/study-in-progressive-revelation.html
               http://tis-justme.blogspot.com/2011/03/acts-2-church-today-miracles.html

Acts 2:37-41

Now when they heard this, they were pierced to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brethren, what shall we do?” 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. For the promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off, as many as the Lord our God will call to Himself.” And with many other words he solemnly testified and kept on exhorting them, saying, “Be saved from this perverse generation!” So then, those who had received his word were baptized; and that day there were added about three thousand souls.


when they heard this - "Just what had Peter been preaching?  Had he proclaimed the glad news which we now preach that 'We have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins according to the riches of His grace?'  Had he offered his hearers salvation by faith in the blood of the One who had recently died on Calvary?  Had he said anything about being reconciled to God by the cross, or about the cross having put away the enmity between God and man?  No!  He had accused his hearers of the crucifixion of Christ and had warned them that their Victim was alive again.  We must clearly distinguish here between prophecy and the mystery later revealed to Paul, for, from the prophetic point of view it was the cross that had made the enmity between God and the nation (especially Israel) and this 'controversy' will have to be settled before the world ever knows peace or prosperity...It was clearly Peter's purpose to convict his hearers of their guilt in the crucifixion of Christ and to bring them to repentance." (Stam)

pierced to the heart - cut to the heart

repent - "To change one's mind; specifically, here, about Jesus of Nazareth, and to acknowledge Him as Lord (= God) and Christ (= Messiah)." (Ryrie)

“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. For the promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off, as many as the Lord our God will call to Himself.” -

"It is difficult for us to understand how honest men can continue to change the simple meaning of this verse to make it harmonize with the gospel of the grace of God, as though the baptism here had nothing to do with salvation.  It would be fully as legitimate to interpret Heb 11:4 to mean that Abel's sacrifice had nothing to do with his salvation...Indeed, the requirement for salvation here are no different than those previously laid down by John the Baptist, for we read in Mark 1:4, that 'John did baptize in the wilderness, and preach the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins."  The only difference between Peter's proposition and John's was one of historical development.  The Holy Spirit had now come and Peter could add: 'and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.'  But there was no change in the meaning of the ordinance, for at John's baptism too they had come 'confessing their sins' (Matt 3:6).  John's baptism and Peter's both signified a confession of sin and a cleansing therefrom...The keys of the kingdom were committed to Peter; 'the gospel of the grace of God' to Paul (Matt 16:19; Acts 20:24; Eph 3:1-3) and Peter learned of the gospel of God's grace and the delay in Christ's return only as he heard it later from Paul (See Gal 2:2, 7. 9; 2 Pet 3:9, 15).  Until we see this clearly — until we see that the gospel of the grace of God belongs to the great mystery revealed only after Israel had rejected her King both in incarnation and in resurrection — we must remain entangled in the hopeless confusion which has embroiled those who are still trying to serve God acceptably under the wrong commission.  What a vast difference between Peter at Pentecost, demanding repentance and baptism for the remission of sins, and Paul later proclaiming Christ's righteousness for the remission of sins! (Rom 3:21-28)." (Stam)

"We must bear in mind that Peter addressed those who had openly rejected Jesus.  They had, therefore, also openly to acknowledge their wrong and thus openly own Him as Messiah, whom they had disowned by delivering Him into the hands of lawless men.  Repentance meant for them to own their guilt in having opposed and rejected Jesus.  Baptism in the name of Jesus Christ (in which it differs from the baptism of John) was the outward expression of that repentance.  It was for these Jews, therefore, a preliminary necessity.  And here we must not forget that Peter's preaching on the day of Pentecost had it still to do with the kingdom, as we shall more fully learn from his second address in the third chapter.  Another offer of the kingdom was made to the nation...  In this national testimony the word 'repent' stands in the foreground, and their baptism in the name of Him whom they had crucified was a witness that they owned Him now and believed on Him.  As soon as we leave the first part of this book in which Peter's preaching to the Jews is prominent, we find the word repentance no longer in the foreground; all the emphasis in upon 'believe.'  (Of course faith and repentance are inseparably connected.)  The Gospel in all its blessed fullness as revealed to the great apostle to the Gentiles, Paul, which he called 'my Gospel,' and as preached by him, makes 'faith' — 'believe' as prominent as Peter's preaching 'repent.'" (Gaebelein)

For the promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off, as many as the Lord our God will call to Himself. -

"At first sight it may seem that the 'you' and 'your children' of Verse 39 refer to Israel, while the phrase, 'all that are afar off' refers to the Gentiles.  But a more careful examination of the passage will prove that this cannot be so.  First, the promise of the Spirit (cf Verses 33, 38) was never made to the Gentiles.  True, it affected the Gentiles, but it was unquestionably made to Israel.  We Gentiles in the flesh are exhorted in Eph 2:11-12 to remember that we were 'strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world.'  Nor does the phrase 'afar off,' used here and elsewhere in Scripture, refer exclusively to Gentiles.  We Gentiles were spiritually 'afar off' (Eph 2:17) but Israelites outside of their own land were geographically 'afar off' and are so designated again and again in the Old Testament Scriptures.  Among other places, we find the phrase 'afar off' in Daniel's famous prayer (Dan 9:7).  Peter, addressing a Jewish audience, then, declared simply that the promise of the Spirit was both to them and their children and those (of their people) who were afar off.  And this harmonizes with the closing verses of Chapter 3, where he reminds his Hebrew hearers that they are the children of the covenant and that unto them first  God has raised up a Savior, 'His Son Jesus,' since through them the nations of the earth are to be blessed." (Stam)

those who had received his word were baptized; and that day there were added about three thousand souls - "Three thousand souls baptized in one day may seem, at first, like a large number.  In fact it was a very small minority in the great nation which Peter and the eleven so earnestly sought to bring to Messiah's feet.  Our Lord, while on the earth, had predicted that the kingdom would be 'taken from' the leaders in Israel and 'given to a nation [not nations] bringing forth the fruits thereof' (Matt 21:43).  It is not difficult to determine who were to comprise that 'nation,' for in Luke 12:32 we learn that 'the kingdom' was to be given to the 'little flock' of Christ's followers, and in Luke 22:28-30 we find that the twelve apostles were to be the appointed rulers in that kingdom.  These three thousand at Pentecost, then, added to the number of those already following Christ (1:15, cf. 1 Cor 15:6) constituted the 'little flock,' the 'nation' which was to bring forth the fruits of the kingdom.  They were the believing remnant, the true Israel, and they did indeed bring forth those fruits." (Stam)

See also:  http://tis-justme.blogspot.com/2010/12/acts-2-church-today-message.html

Acts 2:29-36

“Brethren, I may confidently say to you regarding the patriarch David that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. And so, because he was a prophet and knew that GOD HAD SWORN TO HIM WITH AN OATH TO SEAT one OF HIS DESCENDANTS ON HIS THRONE, he looked ahead and spoke of the resurrection of the Christ, that HE WAS NEITHER ABANDONED TO HADES, NOR DID His flesh SUFFER DECAY. This Jesus God raised up again, to which we are all witnesses. Therefore having been exalted to the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He has poured forth this which you both see and hear. For it was not David who ascended into heaven, but he himself says: ‘THE LORD SAID TO MY LORD, “SIT AT MY RIGHT HAND, UNTIL I MAKE YOUR ENEMIES A FOOTSTOOL FOR YOUR FEET.”’ Therefore let all the house of Israel know for certain that God has made Him both Lord and Christ—this Jesus whom you crucified.”


spoke of the resurrection of the Christ - "St. Peter's argument was clear, consecutive, and forcible.  It ran as follows:  (a) The words of Ps 16 about the resurrection refer definitely to someone.  (b) They cannot denote David, for he died and saw corruption.  (c) But, as all Jews acknowledged, the Messiah was promised as prince of the house of David.  (d) The Psalm, therefore, refers to the Messiah.  (e) Jesus of Nazareth was raised from the dead, and so He is the expected Messiah." (Walker)

"The ascended Lord was actively demonstrating the fact of His resurrection by the wonders of Pentecost.  He had said: 'And, behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you:  but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high' (Lk 24:49).  This power had now been bestowed in the presence of the multitude.  What reasonable explanation could there be of the wonders which Peter's hearers now saw and heard, except that Christ had indeed risen from the dead, ascended into heaven and sent the Holy Spirit as He had promised?  To all these arguments Peter adds his own testimony and the testimony of those standing with him, that they have personally seen Christ after His resurrection.  'This Jesus hath God raised up, whereof we all are witnesses' (Ver 32).  The multitudes listening to Peter may not have wished to think that Christ was alive again, but reason demanded it, the Scriptures had predicted it, the circumstances indicated it and now Peter and his comrades were there to bear personal testimony that they knew that it was so.  They had been with Him, had talked with Him and had seen Him with their own eyes, until the cloud had come to receive Him into heaven." (Stam)

vss 34-35 - "Peter quotes Ps 110:1.  Messiah is now at the right hand of the Father awaiting the subjugation of His enemies, at which time He will reign on the throne of David.  In the meantime, He has sent the Spirit." (Ryrie)

"This is the beginning of that sublime 110th psalm.  This psalm our Lord had used to silence His enemies.  His own testimony had brought out four indisputable facts about that psalm:  1. That David wrote the psalm.  2. That he wrote it by the Spirit.  3. That the psalm spoke of Himself.  4. That it revealed Himself as both David's son and David's Lord (Matt 22:41-46).  And now the Holy Spirit uses this psalm likewise to show that the Christ had to ascend into heaven and take His place at the right hand of God till the time should come when His enemies are made His footstool.  This exalted place Jesus the Nazarene had now taken; that He was really there was fully demonstrated by the outpouring of the Holy Spirit.  But we must not overlook something else which this prophecy teaches.  These Jews might have said, If Jesus of Nazareth is the Messiah, why does He not take the throne of His father David and begin His Kingdom reign?  The 110th psalm gives the answer.  He was to go to heaven first and sit upon His Father's throne.  He was to wait there for the promised Kingdom while His enemies are in opposition to Him.  How perfect the Word of God is!" (Gaebelein)

"And now the apostle, by the Holy Spirit, strikes home as with a hammer blow, the fact which his guilty hearers must be prepared to face:  'Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that God hath made that same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ.' (Ver 36).  Surely Peter is not preaching the gospel of the grace of God here, as some would have us believe.  His message clearly concerns the kingdom rights of the Son of God.  It is Paul, the apostle of the Gentiles, who later speaks of 'the ministry which I have received of the Lord Jesus, to testify the gospel of the grace of God' (Acts 20:24).  It is Paul who bids us to 'Remember that Jesus Christ of the seed of David was raised from the dead according to my gospel' (2 Tim 2:8).  It is he who tells us that Christ was raised from the dead because of 'our justification,' and that God 'hath quickened us together with Christ...and hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus:  that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us through Christ Jesus' (Rom 4:25; Eph 2:5-7)." (Stam)

Acts 2:22-28

“Men of Israel, listen to these words: Jesus the Nazarene, a man attested to you by God with miracles and wonders and signs which God performed through Him in your midst, just as you yourselves know—this Man, delivered over by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God, you nailed to a cross by the hands of godless men and put Him to death. But God raised Him up again, putting an end to the agony of death, since it was impossible for Him to be held in its power. For David says of Him, ‘I SAW THE LORD ALWAYS IN MY PRESENCE; FOR HE IS AT MY RIGHT HAND, SO THAT I WILL NOT BE SHAKEN. ‘THEREFORE MY HEART WAS GLAD AND MY TONGUE EXULTED; MOREOVER MY FLESH ALSO WILL LIVE IN HOPE; BECAUSE YOU WILL NOT ABANDON MY SOUL TO HADES, NOR ALLOW YOUR HOLY ONE TO UNDERGO DECAY. ‘YOU HAVE MADE KNOWN TO ME THE WAYS OF LIFE; YOU WILL MAKE ME FULL OF GLADNESS WITH YOUR PRESENCE.’


vss 22-36 - "Peter reviewed the life and death of Jesus of Nazareth (vv 22-24) and then recited the prophecy of the Resurrection (vv 25-31), quoting Ps 16:8-11.  Since David was speaking of the Messiah (v 31) and since Jesus was raised from the dead (v 32), Peter continued, Jesus must be the Messiah (v 36)." (Ryrie)

"The purpose of Peter's words here must be clearly seen if we are to understand their meaning.  In spite of Paul's emphatic declarations to the contrary (especially in his letter to the Galatians) it is often claimed that Peter preached the very same gospel as Paul.  'Did not Peter, at Pentecost,' they ask, 'preach Christ crucified and risen, just as Paul did?'  Our answer is that at Pentecost Peter did not preach Christ crucified and risen as Paul later did.  How did Peter, in his Pentecostal address, deal with the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ?  Was that his gospel?  Did he proclaim it as good news?  Was it his purpose to offer salvation  to his hearers through faith in the death and resurrection of Christ?  No, nor did he in fact make such an offer.  On the contrary, his purpose was to convict his hearers of their guilt in the crucifixion of Christ and to warn them that the One whom they with wicked hands had crucified and slain, had risen from the dead and was alive again.  When those who were thus convicted asked what they should do, Peter did not tell them simply to believe that Christ had died for them, as we do today.  His 'great commission' had not contemplated such a message.  What he did was to command them to repent and be baptized, every one, in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, so that they might receive the gift of the Holy Spirit (See Verse 38 and cf. Mark 16:15-18).  We now know that the very death which Peter accused them of was the basis upon which God could offer them salvation at all, but Peter, at Pentecost, was not commissioned to preach 'the gospel of the grace of God,' nor did he know that gospel (Cf. Acts 20:24 with Eph 3:1-3)...

"In His perfect foreknowledge He had a two-fold purpose in this — one related to prophecy and the other to the mystery; one with which Peter's ministry was concerned and the other with which Paul's was concerned.  The one related to prophecy and Peter's ministry is that with which we have here to do.  It was because God purposed, by Israel's very crucifixion of her Messiah, some day to touch and break the heart of His chosen people, that He thus delivered Christ into their hands.  Indeed, it is by recognizing and acknowledging her guilt in Christ's death that Israel will some day be saved.  'And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications: and they shall look upon Me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for Him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for Him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn.'  'In that day shall there be a great mourning in Jerusalem...'  'And one shall say unto Him, What are these wounds in Thine hands?  Then He shall answer, Those with which I was wounded in the house of My friends' (Zech 12:10, 11; 13:6).  How thankful we should be that the death of Christ was not an accident which God failed to prevent!  A universe out of God's control, with right upon the scaffold and wrong upon the throne — such a universe would be too horrible to contemplate.  What would be the use of anything under such circumstances?  We would merely be the helpless victims of everything gone wrong!  No, thank God!  The Christ who was crucified and slain by wicked hands was first delivered by 'the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God'!  This in no wise lessens the guilt of Christ's murderers.  On the contrary, it is calculated to strike conviction into their sinful hearts.  And now Peter's hearers are faced with the fearful possibility that the One whom they have slain may be alive again, as Peter serves them notice that He whom they have stooped so low to rid themselves of has come forth in power from the grace.  Nor does Peter merely affirm this to be a fact; he presses the truth of it home to his guilty hearers with unanswerable arguments." (Stam)

David says of Him - "He [Peter] addresses them on the matter of the prophecy already quoted from the sixteenth psalm concerning 'the patriarch David.'  Here alone David is called a patriarch because he is the progenitor of the kingly race.  There was a reason for enlarging upon that prophecy, which becomes the foundation of his appeal.  None of the rabbis ever thought of applying the psalm to the promised Messiah.  There is, however, an old tradition, which no doubt was known and believed in that day, which applied the psalm literally to David.  This application was as follows: 'Those words, 'my flesh shall rest in hope,' teach us that neither worm nor insect had any power over David.'  Peter shows that such a traditional belief that the words referred to David himself were incorrect.  They could not mean King David.  David had died and been buried (1 Kings 2:10).  Moses' burial place was not known, but the tomb (literally monument) of David was known amongst them in that day (Nehemiah 3:16).  David saw corruption.  It was, therefore, impossible that the prophecy could mean him.  But David was a prophet and as such he spoke, not of himself, but of the promised descendant, who was to come out of his loins to occupy his throne.  The promised son of David was none other than the Christ." (Gaebelein)

Hades - "The unseen world, sometimes specifically a place of torment (See Lk 16:23) and sometimes merely the grave, as here. The meaning is that Christ's body and spirit would not be allowed to remain separated (v 31)." (Ryrie)

Acts 2:14-21

But Peter, taking his stand with the eleven, raised his voice and declared to them: “Men of Judea and all you who live in Jerusalem, let this be known to you and give heed to my words. For these men are not drunk, as you suppose, for it is only the third hour of the day; but this is what was spoken of through the prophet Joel: ‘AND IT SHALL BE IN THE LAST DAYS,’ God says, ‘THAT I WILL POUR FORTH OF MY SPIRIT ON ALL MANKIND; AND YOUR SONS AND YOUR DAUGHTERS SHALL PROPHESY, AND YOUR YOUNG MEN SHALL SEE VISIONS, AND YOUR OLD MEN SHALL DREAM DREAMS; EVEN ON MY BONDSLAVES, BOTH MEN AND WOMEN, I WILL IN THOSE DAYS POUR FORTH OF MY SPIRIT And they shall prophesy. AND I WILL GRANT WONDERS IN THE SKY ABOVE AND SIGNS ON THE EARTH BELOW, BLOOD, AND FIRE, AND VAPOR OF SMOKE. ‘THE SUN WILL BE TURNED INTO DARKNESS AND THE MOON INTO BLOOD, BEFORE THE GREAT AND GLORIOUS DAY OF THE LORD SHALL COME. ‘AND IT SHALL BE THAT EVERYONE WHO CALLS ON THE NAME OF THE LORD WILL BE SAVED.’


Peter, standing up with the eleven - "This brief statement which introduces Peter's Pentecostal address may at first seem rather unimportant — a mere statement of facts with which to start the story — but in fact it is most important and significant.  First of all, God would draw our attention here to a particular group of men — the apostles.  To these men had been given authority to act officially in the Lord's absence.  To them the Lord Himself had said: 'Verily I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven:  and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.  Again I say unto you, That if two of you shall agree on earth as touching anything that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven.  For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them' (Matt 18:18-20).  We realize that the last verse of this passage has so long been used out of its setting that it is difficult for many people to associate it in their minds with its immediate context...Let the reader glance again st the quotation of the passage above and note how the 'For' of Verse 20 connects it with the preceding verse.  Our Lord had just promised that if two of them should agree on earth as touching anything that they should ask, His Father would grant them their request because where two or three were gathered in His name, there He was in their midst.  This is, thus gathered, they represented Him.  Similarly the 'Again' of Verse 19 connects it with Verse 18, which is the beginning of the whole promise that whatever they should bind on earth would be bound in heaven and whatever they should loose on earth should be loosed in heaven.  Would any believer, rightly dividing the Word of truth, claim this authority today?  How wrong, then to wrench Matt 18:20 from its plain context and impose upon it another meaning...While God's people today, then, are seated with Christ, positionally, and while He will indeed be with them — whether one hundred or one — in their daily experience, that is not the point in Matt 18:20.  The 'two or three,' here, takes us back to the Mosaic law, where we read that 'at the mouth of two or three witnesses shall every word be established' (Deut 17:6; 19:15; 2 Cor 13:1).  What Matt 18 teaches is simply that the apostles were to have authority to act officially in His absence (Ver 18); that they did not all have to be together to act; that even two would be sufficient (Ver 19) for where but two or three were come together in His name (i.e., representing Him) there He was present.  Thus the apostles arose, at Pentecost, as official representatives of the rejected Messiah...

"Our attention is next drawn to the number of the apostles.  There were twelve — not eleven, but twelve.  Judas' betrayal and suicide had, of course, left only eleven apostles with their risen Lord, but since that time Matthias had been chosen and had been 'numbered with the eleven' (1:26) bringing the number up to twelve again.  Hence here we have 'Peter, standing up with the eleven.'  The reason for this is not difficult to find, for presently the kingdom was to be offered to Israel and in that kingdom there were to be twelve thrones on which the apostles were to sit, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.  Besides giving them authority to act officially in His absence, our Lord had, as we have seen, promised them twelve thrones in the kingdom.  This is why a successor to Judas had to be chosen before Pentecost, and this is why we here find 'Peter, standing up with the eleven.'

"And this is not all, for it should still further be noted that in this passage the greatest prominence of all is given to one man — Peter.  It is not merely twelve men standing up, but 'Peter, standing up with the eleven.'  He alone is named.  And this is consistently so in early Acts.  The reader will recall that in Acts 1:15 it was 'Peter' who 'stood up in the midst of the disciples' and proposed the appointment of a successor to Judas.  Here is Acts 2:24, 'Peter, standing up with the eleven,' brings the great Pentecostal address.  At the close of that address those who were convicted said to 'Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do?' (2:37).  And later, when persecuted for Christ, 'Peter and the other apostles answered and said, We ought to obey God rather than men' (5:29).  Indeed, all of early Acts revolves around Peter.  He is the chief actor.  This is in close harmony with our Lord's words before His departure, for He had appointed Peter as the leader of the twelve, saying: 'And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven:  and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatsoever thous shalt lose on earth shall be loosed in heaven' (Matt 16:19).  Authority in the Messianic Church, then, was centralized in the twelve apostles and personified in Peter himself, whom the Lord had singled out as the chief apostle and the supreme head of the Church of that day (See John 20:22-23; Luke 12:32 and Matt 16:18-19).  It is on these passages that the Roman Church bases its claims to apostolic authority and, sad to say, most Protestants, not recognizing the distinctive ministry of Paul and the fact that the kingdom has, for the time being, given way to 'the Church which is His Body,' find it necessary to explain these verse away or get around them somehow." (Stam)

the third hour = 9AM  Jews engaged in the exercises of the synagogue on fast days abstained from eating and drinking until 10AM or noon; therefore, this could not be drunkenness.

"The 'third hour', that is, reckoned from sunrise.  According to Jewish computation, the day and night were each divided into twelve equal parts called hours.  These would vary in length, according to the duration of daylight.  But we may say, roughly speaking, that the 'third hour of the day' would be about nine o'clock a.m.  It was the earliest of the stated hours of prayer, and the time of offering the morning sacrifice.  Men do not, usually, drink to excess in the early morning.  It is stated, moreover, that the Jews took wine with flesh only, and that never in the morning but only in the evening; also that they abstained from food till midday on the occasion of their great festivals." (Walker)

vss 16-21 - "See Joel 2:28-32.  The fulfillment of this prophecy will be in the last days, immediately preceding the return of Christ, when all the particulars (e.g., v 20 and Rev 6:12) of the prophecy will come to pass.  Peter reminded his hearers that, knowing Joel's prophecy, they should have recognized what they were seeing as a work of the Spirit, not a result of drunkenness." (Ryrie)

this is what was spoken of through the prophet Joel - "Was Peter correct, then, or mistaken, when he said more than nineteen centuries ago that the last days had come?  He was correct.  As we have pointed out, he was taught by our Lord (Acts 1:3) and filled with the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:4).  Moreover, he was Scripturally correct, for in the light of all Old Testament Scripture these were the last days.  As we read this story we must not anticipate revelation.  We must remember that God's purpose concerning this age was still a secret.  The prophets had predicted nothing about the dispensation of grace or the Body of Christ (Read carefully Eph 3:1-11).  They had spoken only of the sufferings of Christ and the kingdom glory to follow (See 1 Pet 1:11 and cf Zech 13, 14, etc.).  Now that the sufferings were over, the Spirit was being poured out in preparation for the glory to follow (See Joel 2:28-3:17) and presently Peter was to offer to Israel the return of Christ and the long-promised times of refreshing (Acts 3:19-21).  Thus, as far as God's revealed plan was concerned, the last days had begun — the days when Israel should at last be ushered into the glorious reign of Christ, her Savior-King." (Stam)

"While the signs of the last days began to appear at Pentecost, they did not all appear.  Indeed, after a time those which had appeared began to disappear again.  According to Joel's prophecy, as quoted by Peter, the signs of Pentecost were to be followed by signs both in heaven and on earth, and the pouring out of the Spirit was to be followed by the pouring out of God's wrath.  Thank God, these latter signs did not appear — have not even yet appeared.  God had not altered His plan to judge this wicked world, but in matchless love He interrupted the prophetic program, held off the day of judgment, saved the chief of sinners and ushered in the day of grace.  This secret purpose of God's grace was first made known through Paul, from whom Peter later learned of it.  Peter writes about it in the closing words of his last epistle, explaining how it was that the Lord, who was to have come to judge and reign, had now delayed His coming.  First he cautions his readers not to count the delay 'slackness' — at least not the slackness of indifference — and then he explains just how the delay should be viewed: 'The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some men count slackness; but is long suffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance' (2 Pet 3:9).  'And account that the long suffering of our Lord is salvation; even as our beloved brother Paul also according to the wisdom given unto him hath written unto you' (2 Pet 3:15)." (Stam)

Acts 2:1-13

When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. And suddenly there came from heaven a noise like a violent rushing wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. And there appeared to them tongues as of fire distributing themselves, and they rested on each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit was giving them utterance. Now there were Jews living in Jerusalem, devout men from every nation under heaven. And when this sound occurred, the crowd came together, and were bewildered because each one of them was hearing them speak in his own language. They were amazed and astonished, saying, “Why, are not all these who are speaking Galileans? And how is it that we each hear them in our own language to which we were born? Parthians and Medes and Elamites, and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the districts of Libya around Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabs—we hear them in our own tongues speaking of the mighty deeds of God.” And they all continued in amazement and great perplexity, saying to one another, “What does this mean?” But others were mocking and saying, “They are full of sweet wine.”


the day of Pentecost - "The fourth of the annual feasts of the Jews (after Passover, Unleavened Bread, and First Fruits), it came 50 days after First Fruits (a type of the resurrection of Christ, 1 Cor 15:23).  Pentecost was the Greek name for the Jewish Feast of Weeks, so called because it fell seven (a week of) weeks after First Fruits.  It celebrated the wheat harvest (Ex 23:16)." (Ryrie)

"The Greek word Pentecost means fiftieth, having reference to the fact that the feast then celebrated was kept on the fiftieth day after the offering of the barley sheaf on the day following the Passover Sabbath (Lev 23:15-16).  The name was in common use among the Hellenistic Jews and is found in some of the apocryphal books of the Old Testament (Tobit; 2 Macc).  The festival was the second of the three great annual Jewish feats, occurring between the Passover and the feast of Tabernacles.  In the Old Testament it bears the names 'feast of weeks' (Exod 34:22; Deut 14:10), 'the feast of harvest' (Exod 23:16), and 'the day of the firstfruits' (Num 28:26).

"It marked the close of the what or grain harvest (Exod 34:22), not that the entire harvest of all the produce of the land which was commemorated later by the feast of Tabernacles or ingathering.  It was regarded emphatically, therefore, as the 'feast of the firstfruits'.  In order to emphasize this feature of it, the special offering appointed consisted, apart from the other sacrifices, of two wave loaves made from the newly gathered wheat 'for firstfruits unto the Lord' (Lev 23:17).

"Another characteristic of the feast was gratitude for deliverance from Egyptian bondage (Deut 16:12), while it was specially appointed also that no servile work was to be done (Lev 23:21).  As time went on, the Jews came to associate with it a further commemoration, that of the giving of the Law at Sinai on the fiftieth day, as they reckoned, after the exodus from Egypt.  In the days of the apostles it was the most numerously attended of all the Jewish feasts, since the dangers of travel, especially by sea, during the early spring and late autumn, prevented many from coming to either the Passover or the feast of Tabernacles.  It occurred about the month of May.

"We should notice, also, the perfect agreement here of type with anti-type.  Our Saviour, as the Lamb of God, died on the cross, and so fulfilled the meaning of the Paschal feast (Lev 23:5).  On the morrow after the Paschal Sabbath, i.e., on Easter Sunday, He arose again, in exact conformity with the type, as the 'sheaf of the firstfruits' (Lev 23:10; 1 Cor 15:20).  On the fiftieth day after the presentation of that resurrection sheaf the firstfruits of the harvest were gathered in upon the day of Pentecost (Lev 23:15-17)." (Walker)

"What took place on that memorable day and what was accomplished?  First of all the promise of the Father as well as of the Son was accomplished.  It is familiar to every reader of the New Testament that John the Baptist had witnessed concerning Him who was to baptize them with the Holy Spirit (Matthew 3).  The Lord also had spoken repeatedly to His disciples about the gift of the Holy Spirit.  In Luke 6 we read His words: 'If therefore ye, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much rather shall the Father who is in heaven give the Holy Spirit to them that ask Him?'  This promise related to the future.  In John 7:37-39 we read: 'In the last, the great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any one thirst, let him come to me and drink.  He that believes on Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.  But this He said concerning the Spirit, which they that believed on Him were about to receive; for the Spirit was not yet, because Jesus had not yet been glorified.'  The promised Spirit could therefore not come, the promise could not be fulfilled till the great work of redemption on the cross had been accomplished and the Lord Jesus Christ had risen from the dead and taken His place in Glory.  In the subsequent promises in this Gospel, the Lord always spoke of the coming of the Comforter in connection with His own departure.  He promised that the other Comforter, the Spirit of Truth, was to be in them; but none of these promises could be fulfilled before He Himself had been glorified.  We have already seen how He, before His departure to be with the Father, had told them to tarry in Jerusalem, to await the promise of the Father, and how He had reminded them that: 'John indeed baptized with water, but ye shall be baptized of the Holy Spirit after not many days.'  On the day of Pentecost all these blessed promises were once and for all fulfilled." (Gaebelein)

"Those who hold that Pentecost marks the historical beginning of the Church of this dispensation should examine carefully those Scriptures which deal with the Holy Spirit and His work.  A simple comparison of His operation at Pentecost with His operation today, as outlined in the Pauline Epistles, can lead to but one conclusion:  that the baptism with, or in, the Spirit at Pentecost has been superseded by another baptism altogether — that by which believers are baptized into one body — and that the Body of Christ did not exist (except in the mind of God) when the Spirit was poured out at Pentecost.  If our Fundamentalist leaders will verify and accept this fact, they will have the answer to the 'Pentecostal' fanaticism that is gaining such headway in our day...

"The filling with the Spirit...is now an objective set before us by grace, and as we seek, by faith, to realize this objective rich, deep blessings and real spiritual victories are already ours, to say nothing of the rewards to come.  What a challenge to faith!  Yet few accept the challenge, and thus it again becomes evident that God's people on earth will never consistently please and honor Him until He Himself takes control and cause them to; until the Holy Spirit takes possession of them and supernaturally controls them.  This is what will take place when the Old Testament prophecies about the Spirit are fulfilled (Ezek 36:24-28) and this is what Pentecost was a foretaste of." (Stam)

from heaven a noise - It was like a wind but was not wind.

with other tongues - actual languages unknown to the speakers but understood by the hearers (v 8)

"We look in vain through this Book to find that they continued in speaking in these different languages.  It is a wrong conception to think that they exercised this gift ever after in preaching the Gospel.  From the sixteenth chapter we learn that Paul and Barnabas did not understand the Lycaonian speech; the Greek language was universally used and made the use of the other languages almost unnecessary.

"Twice more we find in this book the tongues mentioned in connection with the gift of the Holy Spirit.  In Acts 10:46 and chapter 19:6.  In the first passage Cornelius and his household having believed the Gospel received the Holy Spirit and they spake with tongues.  Not a word is said in this instance that other languages were used.  There was no need for it.  It was an ecstatic speech glorifying God.  In chapter 19 after the Apostle Paul had laid hands upon the disciples of John whom he had found in Ephesus (a thing which Peter did not do with Cornelius) the Holy Spirit came upon them and they spoke with tongues and prophesied.  Here again not a word is said about anyone hearing a strange language.  The speaking in tongues is here paired with prophesying.  These are the three instances in the Book of Acts where speaking in tongues is mentioned.  On the day of Pentecost; Cornelius and his house and the Jewish disciples found in the dispersion, waiting for the Hope of Israel.  In each case it was for a sign and for a specific purpose, but only in the first instance are different dialects and languages mentioned.  On the day of Pentecost the gift was for a sign to the multitude; in chapter 10 the evidence to Peter and the Apostles that the Gentiles had received the same gift (chapter 11:15) and in chapter 19 the outward evidence that the Jewish disciples of John had also received the Holy Spirit and shared in the same gift.

"We read not a word about this gift in connection with the other places visited by the apostles, not a word is said about speaking in tongues in the ministry of Philip in Samaria, nor during the great journeys of the Apostle Paul, with the exception of the case mentioned above.  It is therefore clear that the speaking in tongues was neither a universal nor a permanent gift, and that it appeared only in these three cases for a sign." (Gaebelein)

"But why was it necessary for them to speak with other tongues?  Because they were to be witnesses, from Jerusalem to the uttermost part of the earth (Acts 1:8).  Witnesses of what?  Witnesses of the resurrection of the crucified King, and the miraculous gift of tongues was another supernatural sign that our Lord was the right King.  With Israel's rejection of Christ, of course, tongues continued rather as 'a sign...to them that believe not' (1 Cor 14:22; then were done away (1 Cor 13:8).

"It is frequently supposed that these apostles were sent 'to testify the gospel of the grace of God,' but there is not Scriptural foundation whatever for this assumption, for neither this phrase nor the message is found in the Scriptures until we come to the Apostle Paul (See Acts 20:24 and cf. Eph 3:1-3).   Those who would understand the message of grace must get this clear in their minds.  In their last conversation with the rise Lord the eleven had asked Him whether He would now restore the kingdom to Israel (Acts 1:6) and while He had declined to tell them when this kingdom would be restored, He had commissioned them to go forth as His witnesses — obviously to proclaim Him as the risen King, for this was how they knew Him.  At Pentecost they began to carry out this 'great commission' and did proclaim Him as King (Acts 2:29-36; 3:19-21).  Indeed, had Israel accepted her Messiah the apostles could then have proceeded to bring the other nations to Messiah's feet.  (It is true that Israel's rejection of  Christ and the resulting judgment had already been predicted, but all this must be viewed in the light of such passages as Matt 23:37; Luke 4:18-19; 19:41-42.)

"There is a distinct relation between what happened at Babel in the days before Abram's call and what took place here at Pentecost more than two thousand later.  There, at Babel, God judged man's rebellion with the confusion of tongues; here He bestowed the gift of tongues.  There His purpose was the scattering of the race (Gen 11:7-8); here, its regathering, beginning, of course, with Israel.  (See Luke 24:47; John 11:51-52; Rom 15:8-10).  Since Israel rejected the glorified Christ, this gift has been withdrawn (1 Cor 13:8) and the Jews, like the rebels at Babel, have been scattered to the ends of the earth, while the Millennial kingdom and blessing are held in abeyance until a future day.

In our day, therefore, God is not carrying on negotiations with, or through, any nation.  The Jews joined the Gentiles in rebellion against God and His Christ, and have been scattered along with the Gentiles, all of them concluded in unbelief.  But let us never cease to thank God that 'where sin abounded, grace did much more abound' (Rom 5:20).  'For God hath concluded them all in unbelief, that He might have mercy upon all' (Rom 11:32).  'And that He might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby' (Eph 2:16).  The call, therefore, is now to individuals in a world given up to judgment, as in infinite love and mercy, God offers reconciliation, by grace through faith, to all who will accept His rejected Son as their Savior." (Stam)

vss 9-11 - These countries form a circuit around the Mediterranean Sea.

visitors from Rome - Romans who were temporarily residing in Jerusalem.

"It seems clear from a comparison of Acts 1:15 with Acts 2:1-4 that not merely the twelve, but the one hundred and twenty were given the gift of tongues. The passage we are now considering confirms this, for in this list of languages and dialects spoken, more than twelve appear.

"Pentecost was one of Israel's three annual feasts at which every male was required to appear at the sanctuary at Jerusalem (Ex 23:14-17).  The disciples, therefore, had a vast audience of 'Jews, devout men, from every nation under heaven,' in which many more than twelve languages were represented." (Stam)

Acts 1:1-26

What is the theme of this chapter?

Our Lord's commissioning of the 12 apostles.

What is the key verse(s) of this chapter? Verses 7-8

He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or epochs which the Father has fixed by His own authority; but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth.”

What can I apply to my life from this chapter (things to do/avoid)?

This is something I can definitely apply to my own life:  "These all with one mind were continually devoting themselves to prayer..." 

Additional observations/questions:

The Book of Acts presents many problems, especially since much of it is transitional. But these problems are greatly multiplied by the theory that this book is the record of the birth and growth of the Church today. I can't help but think that one of the main reasons for Pentecostalism's tremendous growth these last hundred years is due to this kind of thinking. In fact, Acts has so often been called the account of the "birth and growth of the Church" that the statement has come to be accepted almost without question.  But "the Church which is His body" doesn't even enter into the first large portion of the book, and while it does have an important place in the latter half of the book, it isn't even designated by its distinctive name there. It's only in Paul's epistles that we learn that the Body had indeed begun during the latter part of the Acts period. 

I sincerely believe that if we go through this book, verse by verse, honestly — without spiritualizing away the hard bits and without reading what Paul says in his epistles back into its early chapters (it says what it says!) — the whole of the NT will become so much more clearer, so much more understandable.  Truly, it will alleviate much of the confusion in the Church today.

See also: http://tis-justme.blogspot.com/2011/11/pentecostalism.html
               http://tis-justme.blogspot.com/2011/12/pentecostalism-part-2.html  

Acts 1:21-26

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— 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.” So they put forward two men, Joseph called Barsabbas (who was also called Justus), and Matthias. And they prayed and said, “You, Lord, who know the hearts of all men, show which one of these two You have chosen to occupy this ministry and apostleship from which Judas turned aside to go to his own place.” And they drew lots for them, and the lot fell to Matthias; and he was added to the eleven apostles.


drew lots - "Two names were written on stones and placed in an urn.  The one that fell out first was taken to be the Lord's choice (cf. Prov 16:33; Jonah 1:7).  The occasion was unique, for the Lord was not there in person to appoint and the Spirit had not been given in the special way of Pentecost." (Ryrie)

"We do not know the mode of their procedure.  Possibly, each person present wrote the name of one of the candidates on a small tablet, after which the tablets were placed in a vessel and shaken till one of them fell out, deciding the election.  The casting of lots was permissible under the Mosaic law (Lev 16:8; Num 26:55; Prov 16:33); but this is the sole instance of its being employed by the apostolic Church, and it has often been pointed out that it occurs significantly between the ascension and Pentecost, while the disciples were in an orphaned condition.  We never find the lot employed in later Scripture.  The practice of using lots and lotteries for money purposes finds no support in the New Testament, and is to be strongly deprecated in every way." (T Walker)

See also: http://tis-justme.blogspot.com/2009/07/divine-communication-casting-lots.html

"The question arises at once about the legitimacy of Peter's action.  Was it right to act in this way?  Was he authorized to address the assembled company and propose the addition of another apostle in the place of Judas?  Or was his action another evidence of his impulsiveness, wholly wrong?  We are aware that some good brethren, teachers of the Bible, declare that Peter made a mistake.  They tell us that this action was not according to the mind of the Lord.  They assert furthermore, that not Matthias, but Paul, should have been the Apostle in the place of Judas.

"We do not agree at all with their teaching.  Peter and the gathered company did not make a mistake.  He acted by inspiration and what they did was not only according to the mind of the risen Christ, according to the Word of God, but it was a manifestation of Christ in their midst.  It was the Lord who added Matthias to the twelve.  To say that Paul was meant to be the twelfth apostle is a great blunder.  Paul's apostleship is entirely different from that of the men, who were called to this office by our Lord, in connection with His earthly ministry.  Paul is the apostle of the Gentiles and received from the risen and glorified Christ the double ministry, that of the Gospel, which he called 'my Gospel' and the ministry of the church.  Not till Israel's failure had been fully demonstrated in the stoning of Stephen, was Saul of Tarsus called to his apostleship.  Furthermore twelve apostles were necessary.  Twelve is the number denoting earthly government.  Inasmuch as there was to be given another witness to Jerusalem after the ascension of our Lord, a national witness, a second offer of the Kingdom (Acts 3:19, 20) twelve apostles were necessary as a body of witnesses to the nation.  If only eleven apostles had stood up on the day of Pentecost, it would not have been in harmony with the divine plan and order.  How strange it would have sounded if the record said 'but Peter standing up with the ten' instead of 'with the eleven' (Chapter 2:14).  Twelve had to stand up on Pentecost to bear witness to the resurrection of Jesus Christ, therefore another one had to be added before that day.  Besides this, there is positive proof that the Holy Spirit endorsed the action of the disciples in the upper room.  In 1 Corinthians 15:5 the Holy Spirit mentions the twelve, who saw the Lord, to whom He appeared.  Paul then is mentioned apart from the twelve; he saw the Lord in glory as one born out of due season (Verse 8).

"A closer examination of the record of their action shows that the Lord guided them in this matter.  Peter begins by quoting scripture.  He does it in a way which clearly proves that he was guided by the Lord.  'The Scriptures should be fulfilled' is what Peter said.  How different from the Peter in Matthew 16 when he took the Lord aside and said after he had announced His coming death, 'far be it from Thee.'  He had then no knowledge of the Scriptures.  Repeatedly it is said that they knew not the Scriptures and that their eyes were holden.  Here, however,  he begins with the Scriptures.  Surely this was the right starting point, and thus ordered by the Lord.  He quotes from the Psalms.  Part of Psalm 70:25 and Psalm 109:8 are given by  him as the foundation of the purposed action.  These Psalms are prophetic of the events, which had taken place.  The Lord Himself had opened his understanding as well as that of the other disciples.  In Luke 24 we read that He spoke of what was written in the law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms.  'Then He opened their understanding to understand the Scripture (Luke 24:46).  It was a gift of the risen Lord and here Peter guided by the Spirit of God uses the prophetic Word.  All the company is one with Him in the undertaking.  It must be done.  The Lord moved them in this matter.

"Here [Acts 1:21-22] defines the qualification of an apostle.  He must be a witness of the resurrection of Christ as well as of what He said and did in His earthly ministry.

"[Acts 1:23-26]  How simple it all is!  How can anyone say that they erred in this action!  Two are selected.  Then they prayed; no doubt Peter led in audible prayer.  And the prayer is a model of directness and simplicity.  They address the Lord and believe that He had made a choice already.  What they pray for is that the one chosen by Him may  now be made known by Himself.  The lot was perfectly legitimate for them to use.  The Scriptures speak of it.  'The lot is cast into the lap; but the whole disposing thereof is of the Lord' (Prov 16:33).  As they were still on Old Testament ground, it was perfectly right for them to resort to the lot.  It, however, would be wrong for us to do it now.  We have His complete Word, and the Holy Spirit to reveal His will.  The Lord selects Matthias.  His name means 'the gift of the Lord.'   Thus the Lord gave him his place.  The Apostolate complete, all was in readiness for the great day of Pentecost." (A Gaebelein)

See also: http://tis-justme.blogspot.com/2009/08/matthias-right-man-for-job.html

Acts 1:12-20

Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, a Sabbath day’s journey away. 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 mind were continually devoting themselves to prayer, along with the women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with His brothers. At this time Peter stood up in the midst of the brethren (a gathering of about one hundred and twenty persons was there together), and said, “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. For he was counted among us and received his share in this ministry.” (Now this man acquired a field with the price of his wickedness, and falling headlong, he burst open in the middle and all his intestines gushed out. And it became known to all who were living in Jerusalem; so that in their own language that field was called Hakeldama, that is, Field of Blood.) “For 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.’


then they returned to Jerusalem - "The apostles now returned to Jerusalem from the Mount of Olives, which is but a sabbath day's journey, a very short distance from the city proper.  In his gospel record Luke adds the significant detail that the apostles 'worshipped Him [Christ] and returned to Jerusalem with great joy' (Luke 24:52).  This was far from a sorrowful bereavement.  Once before it had seemed that He was taken away from them, and that by the death of the cross, yet He had proved Himself to be Lord of all.  How could they doubt now?  This, or all times, was a time when they would rejoice and worship Him.  Having spent forty days with the risen Christ, having now seen Him ascend to heaven in the shekinah glory and having been assured by the 'men...in white apparel' that He would return in the same way — all this must have called forth from the hearts of the apostles the most profound adoration and have given them a deep sense of confidence and joy.  With all this fresh in their minds, and with their Lord's parting promise of the Spirit still ringing in their ears, it is not strange that they, and the other disciples with them, gave themselves to prayer for the next ten days.  Mark well, however, that it was not their prayers that were to bring the outpouring of the Spirit.  This had already been specifically promised and a definite day was set for it." (CR Stam)

from the mount called Olivet - "The name denotes the range of hills which faces Jerusalem on the east and, lying round about from north-east to south-east, is separated from the city by the valley of Jehoshaphat or Kidron.  Its whole length, from north to south, is about two miles, and its average height above the level of the sea is about 2,600 feet, though it has several summits of a slightly  higher altitude.  It rises about 400 feet above the bed of the Kidron, and towers 200 feet above the highest part of Jerusalem.  During the siege of Jerusalem by the Romans, it was denuded of the olive trees which once luxuriated there." (T Walker)
a Sabbath day's journey - "About 2,000 cubits, or a little more than half a mile (almost one km) — the distance the rabbis allowed Jews to journey on the Sabbath.  This limitation was apparently arrived at on the basis of Ex 16:29 interpreted by Num 35:5." (Ryrie)

"See Matt 24:20.  The traditional distance allowed for a sabbath day's journey was 2,000 cubits, or about six furlongs.  The Rabbis arrived at this measurement by a fanciful connexion and interpretation of Ex 16:29; 21:13; and Num 35:5, 26-27; and by giving an allegorical meaning to the word 'place'.  Josephus, the Jewish historian, tells us that the mount of Olives is five or six furlongs distant from Jerusalem, so that the statement of this verse is seen to be correct." (T Walker)

Simon the Zealot - "As in Luke 6:15 Simon is called "Zelotes" (the Zealot; the equivalent Green term for Cananaean, a resident of Cana).  He likely belonged, before following the Lord, to the extremist part of Zealots who advocated the overthrow of Rome by force." (Ryrie)

Judas - "Not Iscariot the betrayer, but Thaddaeus.  There are four list of the apostles given in the NT (Matt 10:1-4; Mark 3:16-19; Luke 6:13-16 are the others).  Thaddaeus (Mark 3:18; Matt 10:3) is apparently the same as Judas the son or brother of James (Thaddaeus may represent a corruption of 'Yaddai', a form of Judas)." (Ryrie)

"Peter had made a full recovery of confidence and authority from the night of his denial and was now fulfilling Matt 16:19: 'I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; and whatever you bind on earth shall have been bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall have been loosed in heaven.'" (Ryrie)

Scripture...fulfilled - "David's betrayal by a false friend pictures Judas's betrayal of Christ (John 13:18-19, where this Ps (Ryrie)

burst open in the middle - "Probably due to Judas's ineptness in trying to hang himself (Matt 27:5)." (Ryrie)

"According to St Matthew's account, Judas 'hanged himself,' and this has led some to conclude that we have in the two narratives separate and irreconcilable 'tradition'.  But no real discrepancy exists.  The facts recorded here are clearly supplementary, no contradictory, to those contained in the Gospel account.  It would seem that, when the traitor hanged himself, the rope or girdle with which the noose was made broke under his weight, or possibly the knot became unloosed, and so he fell with violence on to one of those jutting rocks which, as we have seen, emerge from the clayey soil of the potter's field.  By headlong, is meant 'head foremost', and, perhaps, 'face downwards'.  The word rendered 'burst asunder' occurs only here in the New Testament and really means to 'crack with a loud noise.'  All these circumstantial details serve to call attention to the tragic fate of the traitor and so to mark out for special detestation the heinousness of his sin." (T Walker)

Field of Blood - probably SE of Jerusalem

Acts 1:9-11

And after He had said these things, He was lifted up while they were looking on, and a cloud received Him out of their sight. And as they were gazing intently into the sky while He was going, behold, two men in white clothing stood beside them. They also said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into the sky? This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in just the same way as you have watched Him go into heaven.”


a cloud received Him out of their sight -  "It is interesting to observe that God first appeared to Israel in a cloud — not a rain cloud, of course, but the shekinah cloud, the visible vehicle of the divine presence and majesty.  Enshrouded in what appeared as a pillar of cloud by day and pillar of fire by night, Jehovah Himself led His people through the wilderness (Ex 13:21-22; 1 Cor 10:1)  (It has been suggested that this "cloud" was the host of His attending angels.  This suggestion is at least not inconsistent with the Scriptural use of the word, for the same root is used in Heb 12:1, where we read of "a cloud of witnesses."  This would also agree with the fact He is frequently shown as appearing in "clouds" (plural) and is called, again and again, "the Lord of hosts.")  After our Lord had "given commandments unto the apostles whom He had chosen," it was this cloud that "received Him out of their sight."  They could not have looked upon the sight that later blinded Saul of Tarsus.  It was not theirs to behold the greater glory of the Son of God as He ascended "far above all."  The cloud received Him out of their sight." (CR Stam)

"And that cloud was not a cloud of vapor.  It was the same cloud which had appeared on the Mount of Transfiguration, the Shekinah.  It was the same cloud of glory which had filled Solomon's temple, which so often in Israel's past history had appeared as the outward sign of Jehovah's presence wit his people  The Glory-cloud came to take Him in, to bring Him back to the Father from whence He had come." (A Gaebelein)

in just the same way - The second coming of Christ, like the ascension, will be personal, visible, and to the mount of olives (Rev 1:7; 19:11-16; Zech 14:4).

"This fact should be clearly  noted, for it is significant of the distinction between the ministries of the twelve apostles and Paul.  The twelve had seen Christ only on earth, never in heaven, while with Paul it was the very opposite.  He had never seen Christ on earth and only in heaven.  This distinction is further seen in the matter of His return, for of His actual return to earth we read:  "And then shall they see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory" (Lk 21:27).  But of our Lord's coming for us, the member of His Body, we read:  "...the dead in Christ shall rise first:  then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air..." (1 Thes 4:16-17).  Israel's calling and prospect were earthly; ours are heavenly.  He will return to earth to reign over them, but first he will call us to heaven to be with Him.  Indeed, positionally we are already raised from the dead with Christ and, as members of His Body, are made to sit together in the heavenliest, blessed with all spiritual blessings (Eph 1:3; 2:4-6)." (CR Stam)

"However, we must beware of confounding this event given here with that blessed Hope, which is the Hope of the church.  The Coming of the Lord is His visible Coming as described in the prophetic books of the Old Testament; it is His coming to establish His rule upon the earth.  It is the event spoken of in Daniel 7:14 and Rev 1:7.  When He comes in like manner as He went up, His Saints come with Him (Col 3:4; 2 Thes 1:10).  The Hope of the church is to meet Him in the air and not to see Him coming in the clouds of heaven.  The coming here "in like manner" is His Coming for Israel and the nations.  The Coming of the Lord for His Church before His visible and glorious Manifestation, is revealed in 1 Thes 4:16-18.  It is well to keep these important truths in mind.  Confusion between these is disastrous.  He left them to enter into the Holy of Holies, to exercise the priesthood which Aaron exercised on the day of atonement, though our Lord is a priest after the order of Melchisedec.  And when this promise of the two men in white garments is fulfilled, He will come forth to be a priest upon His throne." (A Gaebelein)

"What, then, was the prophetic significance of the ascension?  Basically it bespoke the divine displeasure at the rejection of Christ (even though God was to offer another opportunity for repentance) and foretold the judgment to be visited upon His enemies (Ps 110:1).  Prophetically the Lord also ascended, however, that He might send the Holy Spirit to sustain and empower His own in preparation for the great tribulation and His return to reign.  We must not forget that according to prophecy the outpouring of the Holy Spirit was the harbinger of the great tribulation and the day of the Lord (Joel 2:28-31).  As in the law the feast of Pentecost preceded that of Trumpets, so in prophecy the true Pentecost was to precede and introduce the trumpets of the great tribulation.  The prophetic Scriptures know nothing of a dispensation of grace between." (CR Stam)

Acts 1:6-8

So when they had come together, they were asking Him, saying, “Lord, is it at this time You are restoring the kingdom to Israel?” He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or epochs which the Father has fixed by His own authority; but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth.”


the kingdom of Israel -  The messianic, Davidic, millennial kingdom on this earth.  The time of its coming is unrevealed (Matt 24:36, 42).

"It is sometimes said that the apostles in asking this question, betrayed carnality and ignorance of the true nature of the kingdom which our Lord was to establish, but this charge is most unjust.  The ignorance and carnality lie, not with the apostles but with their critics.  Had not God in solemn covenant promised David: "And thine house and thy kingdom shall be established for ever before thee:  they throne shall be established for ever?? (2 Sam 7:16).  Had He not written in the Psalms: "Once have I sworn by My holiness that I will not lie unto David.  His seed shall endure for ever, and his throne as the sun before Me?" (Ps 89:35-36).  Do we not read in Jer 23:5-6, "Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and a King shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth.  In His days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely..."?  Had not John the Baptist's father, filled with the Holy Spirit, said: "Blessed be the Lord God of Israel; for He hath visited and redeemed His people, and hath raised up an horn of salvation for us in the house of His servant David; as He spake by the mouth of His holy prophets, which have been since the world began:  That we should be saved from our enemies, and from the hand of all that hate us; to perform the mercy promised to our fathers, and to remember His holy covenant; the oath which He sware to our father Abraham, that He would grant unto us, that we being delivered out of the hand of our enemies might serve Him without fear, in holiness and righteousness before Him, all the days of our life"? (Lk 1:68-75).  And had not our Lord Himself led them to expect the establishment of a physical kingdom on earth?  Had he not said: "Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth"? (Matt 5:5).  Had he not taught them to pray: "Thy kingdom come.  Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven"? (Matt 6:10).  Had he not distinctly promised them: "Verily I say unto you, that ye which have followed Me, in the regeneration when the Son of man shall sit in the throne of His glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel"? (Matt 19:28).  Had not our Lord just spent forty days with them, "speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God"? (Acts 1:3).  And had He not already, at the beginning of this period, "opened their understanding that they  might understand the Scriptures"? (Lk 24:45).  Why should these men be charged with ignorance when we are told that they understood the Scriptures?  (We do not insist that this means that they understood every detail of the Old Testament prophecy, but rather that they understood the prophetic plan.)  Why should they be charged with carnality for taking God at His Word and believing the statements of their Lord and Master?  Is faith carnality?  It is rather the very essence of spirituality." (CR Stam)

v 7 - There is no rebuke in Christ's answer, for God is not through with Israel, and the kingdom will eventually come (Rom 11:26).

"In our Lord's reply that it was not for them to know when the kingdom would be restored there was the clear inference that in due time it would be restored.  In this matter, then, His honor was at stake.  If He did not intend to restore the kingdom to Israel, His answer was certainly misleading and dishonest, for that which will not come cannot have "times and seasons."  The implication, therefore, is that the apostles' question was legitimate and intelligent." (CR Stam)

"This passage places those who do not recognize the truth of the mystery in an awkward dilemma.  If, for example, our Amillenarian brethren were right in their interpretation of Scripture, our Lord would have answered "Yes," to the apostles' question (though perhaps correcting their 'carnal view of the kingdom) for according to the Amillenarian view the Church is Israel and Christ is now sitting on the throne of David.  Amillennialism "spiritualizes" the kingdom promises.  If, on the other hand, the average Premillenarian were right our Lord would have answered "No," for the vast majority of Premillenarians contend that Israel was set aside at the cross and that the Body of Christ began at Pentecost.  But the interesting fact is that our Lord answered neither "Yes" nor "No," but "It is not for you to know the times and the seasons.  The reason for this becomes unmistakably clear in the light of the mystery later revealed through Paul.  Our Lord knew something which for the time being still had to be kept secret.  He knew that Israel would reject Him even in His resurrection; that the "great commission" would become "bogged down," as it were, through Israel's unbelief and would give place to another, a greater commission to proclaim the gospel of the grace of God, that the ministry of the twelve would give place to that of Paul and that the kingdom would give place to "the Church which is His Body.  Had our Lord told the apostles what the outcome of their message was to be they could not, of course, have made the same impassioned plea to Israel to accept Messiah.  There would have been no heart in their offer of the kingdom.  In turn Israel might then have complained that she had not had a fair chance; that there had been no earnest call to repentance nor any bona fide offer of the kingdom.  Therefore the Lord Jesus did not tell the apostles that, humanly speaking, the restoration of the kingdom hung in the balance, but simply said: "It is not for you to know the times...but...ye shall be witnesses unto Me..."  This course was taken so that Israel might receive a whole-hearted offer of the kingdom and be left with no excuse for rejecting that offer.  Certainly our Lord's answer makes one fact crystal clear:  that God's purpose to form "the Body of Christ" out of reconciled Jews and  Gentiles, as the masterpiece of His grace, was still a mystery at that time." (CR Stam)

v 8 - "Instead of concerning themselves with the time of the coming kingdom, the disciples were instructed to witness to the remotest part of the earth, a reference to Rome, the center of civilization.  Acts ends with the gospel reaching Rome (Acts 28:16)." (Ryrie)

"It is interesting to compare the apostles' question in this opening chapter of Acts with Paul's statement in the closing chapter, some thirty years later:

"Acts 1:6:  "Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel?"

"Acts 28:28:  "Be it known therefore unto you, that the salvation of God is sent unto the Gentiles, and that they will hear it."

"These two are key verses in the Book of Acts.  In the interval between them Messiah and His kingdom were offered to Israel amid the wonder of Pentecost, but Israel contemptuously rejected the offer and the privilege of bringing salvation and blessing to the nations...There was, however, a deeper reason why the kingdom was not yet to be established.  The prophecy could not be fulfilled until the mystery had been revealed.  God would allow men, even His chosen people, to show the utter perverseness of their hearts so that He might show that salvation is, and must be, by grace and grace alone.  This is the lesson He began to teach as He reached down to save the chief of sinners (1 Tim 1:12-16), sending him forth to proclaim "the gospel of the grace of God."  This is the lesson He is teaching today.  And this is the lesson that even the favored nation must learn and will learn when finally "all Israel shall be saved." (CR Stam)

to the remotest part of the earth - "The simple solution to the problem is that while the so-called "great commission," as recorded both in the Gospels and in the Book of Acts, was indeed given to the eleven, it is not our commission at all.  The reason they did not complete it was not because they would not, but because they could not.  It was due to Israel's stubborn rejection of Messiah.  The eleven (increased to twelve after the ascension, Acts 1:26) would gladly have made disciples of all nations but they had received explicit directions to begin with the nation Israel.  The reason for this will be clear to those who remember that according to the great Abrahamic and Davidic covenants and according to prophecy the nations were to be blessed through that nation.  This is why the apostles labored so earnestly to bring Israel to Messiah's feet...But Israel spurned the plea and God cast aside the rebellious nation until a future day.  However, we learn from Rom 11:15 that "the casting away of them" opened the way for "the reconciling of the world." (CR Stam)

"The legalism of Matthew 28:20, the baptismal salvation and miraculous signs of Mark 16:16-18, the authority to remit sins (instrumentally, by water baptism, Acts 2:38) of John 20:23 and the "Jerusalem first" of Luke and the Acts all harmonize perfectly with the program which the twelve apostles actually followed during the Pentecostal period, but they do not harmonize with our great commission (2 Cor 5:18-21) and whenever men try to practice them today frustration and confusion follow.  For the most part Fundamentalists merely talk about "obeying the great commission" but do not — indeed, cannot — obey any record of it.  But our glorious commission is perfectly appropriate to the day in which we live.  In our offer of salvation there is nothing for the sight, neither baptism with water nor miraculous signs.  Works for salvation are not required or even permitted, for "Now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested."  Neither is our message related to the earth, that we should begin at the capital of one nation and go from there to make disciples of other nations.  It is simply a message to poor lost sinners everywhere, offering them reconciliation to God by grace, through faith in His rejected Son.  This is our commission.  May be faithfully carry it out!" (CR Stam)