Final Preparation for Pentecost
Tom Shrader walks through Acts 1:9-26, covering the ascension of Christ, the angelic promise of His return, and the disciples' prayerful preparation in the upper room. He draws on 1 Thessalonians 4-5 and 2 Corinthians 5 to frame the coming judgment seat of Christ as motivation for a life of eternal rather than temporal investment. The passage closes with the Spirit-led selection of Matthias to restore the Twelve, offering a model of prayer, Scripture study, and obedient action that Shrader applies directly to the congregation.
“God didn't ask them to be witnesses around the world and then not give them the spiritual resources for it. He gave them the Scripture, He gave them one another, He gives them the Holy Spirit.”
— Tom Shrader
Series: Acts
Recorded: 1999 at East Valley Bible Church
Duration: 36 min
Themes: waiting on god, ascension, holy spirit, prayer, obedience, eternal perspective, witnessing, preparation, new believer, feeling spiritually stuck, waiting for direction, young adult, seeking god's will, struggling with impatience, church member, disciple in training
Scripture: Acts 1:1-26, Acts 1:4, Acts 1:8, Acts 1:9, Acts 1:12, Acts 1:14, Acts 1:15, Luke 24:45, Luke 24:50-53, 1 Thessalonians 4, 1 Thessalonians 5:1, 2 Corinthians 5:9-10, Matthew 27, Psalm 69, Psalm 109, 1 Timothy 2:13
Theological Themes: pneumatology, ascension of christ, parousia, judgment seat of christ, bema seat, pentecost, apostolic succession, spirit-led decision making
Full Transcript
The Foundation of Pentecost
Open your Bibles to the book of Acts, to the first chapter. The first chapter really lays the foundation for the process of Pentecost, the coming of the Holy Spirit, and the beginning of the church. The disciples are gathered together, and as we noted in verse 4, Jesus commanded them to wait. It may be one of the strangest commands, at least on the surface. We don't associate waiting as part of what Christ would have us do, but that is a key part — to wait.
In this case, it is godly waiting. Under His instruction, they are to wait for the promise of God, and Jesus told us through His earthly ministry what that promise is. It is the Holy Spirit. In verse 8, the key verse of this book, Jesus says, "You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you." That is what we will be looking at over the next few weeks.
Then comes the job description: "I want you to be My witnesses. I want you to go and tell people about Me — here in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and to the uttermost parts of the earth, the very ends of the earth." There is the outline for the entire book of Acts. We watch the gospel move from Jerusalem to Judea to Samaria and into all areas of the earth.
The Ascension of Christ
We pick up today in verse 9: "Now when He had spoken these things, while they watched, He was taken up and a cloud received Him out of their sight. While they looked steadfastly toward heaven, as He went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel." The event we are looking at is what we identify as the ascension of Christ. Luke writes about it here, but also writes about it in volume one — the gospel that bears his name.
At the very end of that gospel, here is what he writes: "When He had led them out as far as Bethany, He lifted up His hands and He blessed them. And it came to pass, while He blessed them, that He parted from them, carried up to heaven. And they worshiped Him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy and were continually in the temple praising and blessing Him." When we put volume one and volume two together — this section of Acts alongside Luke chapter 24 — we see what happens. They are there, and Jesus ascends into heaven. He is taken away from them.
Luke tells us in the book of Acts that they gazed upon Him. The word carries with it the sense of a long, intent, penetrating gaze. That would be the natural response. If I am standing there speaking and there is Jesus before me, and all of a sudden He is gone, I am looking. Some men then appear and give the disciples instruction — we will come back to that in a moment.
In Luke chapter 24, verse 52, we find out something Luke does not tell us in the book of Acts. They went back into the city, they were continually in the temple, they were blessing and rejoicing and filled with great joy. And in Luke chapter 24, verse 45, Luke tells us that Jesus opened their understanding that they might comprehend the Scripture.
The Source of the Disciples' Joy
Let me suggest that finally, these men get it. That is the source of the joy. They understand this is not going to be an earthly kingdom, a political messiah, or an economic messiah. They understand that Jesus is gone — there is a finality to this. He is gone. They will discover He is coming back, but they are filled with joy in His absence because they understand that a power is coming: the power of the Holy Spirit.
They gather together not to pray for a baptism of the Holy Spirit or to pray for the Holy Spirit to come upon them. They gather together with one accord and begin to continually pray — just as you and I should. Christ is gone, and we as His followers have received the power of the Holy Spirit. We should gather together to pray and to praise and to bless Him, and that is what we do this morning.
He Is Coming Again
The two men say to them, "Men of Galilee" — speaking to the region from which these men were born and raised — "why do you stand gazing into the heavens?" I could see myself thinking, what do you think? But the disciples did not respond that way. Then comes this important piece of information: "This same Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will so come in like manner as you saw Him go into heaven." You saw Him leave. He is coming again. He will return in a way that is similar to how He departed.
In the book of Revelation, Jesus tells us Himself that He is coming quickly, and that He has a reward with Him to give to everyone according to his work — that there is a culmination to all of this. I read First Thessalonians chapters 4 and 5 yesterday morning, again last night, and again this morning. It is a section where Paul writes to the church at Thessalonica, who are confused about what happens to Christians who die before Jesus comes again. In that context, Paul explains that the dead in Christ will rise, then those who are left alive will be caught away, Jesus will return, there will be a blast of a trumpet, and there will be a shout.
What is interesting is that before that passage, Paul is telling them to live according to the will of God — to live a pure life and be obedient. Right after it, he says Jesus will come again, and then he says to comfort one another with this, because it is a source of great comfort. Then in chapter 5, verse 1, he says we do not need to know the day or the hour.
It seems like every time we begin talking about the end times, we want to know the day or the hour, and we become distracted by that question. Jesus says you are not going to know the day or the hour. He is coming, and He is coming quickly — but until then, you live as though it could be today. That is the charge for you and me. More and more books are being written about the end times and what is going to happen, and I suppose that raises the question of where our focus should remain.
Setting the Scene: He Is Coming — Are You Ready?
People were saying He was going to come in 286, in 586, in 1086, in 1986. I became a Christian in 1980, and later that year we came across a pamphlet claiming Jesus would return on something like December 13th of 1981. We looked at the Scriptures, went through them, studied them, and talked back and forth — Jesus is going to come, this is the day, this is the hour. What do you think about that?
I remember that morning they even had a specific time, and I was at my desk when the phone rang. I got caught up in a call, and when I hung up and looked around, all the Christians I worked with were gone. Two or three guys — gone. I thought, I'll be dipped, it was today and I missed it. What did I do wrong? Then the door to the coffee room swung open and they came walking out — they had just been back there getting coffee and talking. The point is this: He is coming. Are you ready?
Living to Please Him: 2 Corinthians 5:9–10
In 2 Corinthians chapter 5, verses 9 and 10, Paul says, "We make it our aim" — here is my job, Paul says — to please Him. That is all he cares about: pleasing Him. I personally get a little uneasy when we start talking about rewards, because I find myself wondering whether we are supposed to be motivated by rewards. Yet Paul keeps this reward idea right there in front of us.
I have no idea exactly what the reward is. There is all sorts of speculation. I do not know if heaven is like Dodger Stadium where some are right behind the dugout with a Dodger dog and others are out in the bleachers. I do not know how it works out. But Paul says his desire is to please Him. He then offers motivation in verse 10: we are all going to be judged. He is talking to Christians here.
When Christians die, they are not condemned — we understand that. But we as Christians will be judged, so that each one may receive the things done in the body according to what he has done, whether it is good or bad. This needs a little explanation. Paul is not saying our sin is going to be judged at that moment. Your sin has already been judged, and the payment for it was made at the cross.
At the judgment seat, what will be evaluated is whether the things we did were good or bad in God's economy — meaning whether they had eternal value or were strictly temporal. So the question becomes: what is your life about? Is it about self-gratification? Is it about how to take care of yourself, how every situation and every opportunity affects you personally?
Paul says our life is about something bigger than our own pleasure. It is about pleasing Him. It is about things that are good — by which he means things that have eternal components, not temporal ones. My life is not spent; it is invested — invested in something for the kingdom of God, something eternal, something that makes a difference. Because He is coming again, there is an end to this, and there is a judgment that takes place.
Returning to Jerusalem: Acts 1:12–14
In Acts chapter 1, verse 12, they returned to Jerusalem from the Mount of Olivet. It is called a mount, but it is really a hill — about four hundred feet high and roughly two hundred feet above the city of Jerusalem. Luke adds the geographical note because this is a letter to Theophilus, who would not have been familiar with the area at all.
It was about a Sabbath day's journey away. In the Old Testament there was a prohibition against work on the Sabbath, and as the nation of Israel wandered in the desert for forty years, the concept of a Sabbath day's journey developed. The farthest point from the center of the Israelite encampment to the tabernacle was 2,000 cubits — that became the Sabbath day's journey, roughly three-quarters of a mile.
They came back to Jerusalem, walking about three-quarters of a mile, and when they arrived they entered the upper room — most likely the same place where they had celebrated what we commemorate as the Lord's Supper. Peter was there, and James, and John, and Andrew, and Philip, and Thomas, and Bartholomew, Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon the Zealot, and Judas the son of James.
There were other key figures present as well. At the bottom of verse 14 we learn the women were there — probably Mary Magdalene and the other Marys — and we know one for certain: Mary the mother of Jesus. This is the last time she is mentioned in Scripture. Also present with them were His brothers.
A Bombshell for Some: Jesus Had Brothers
Now, for some of you, this is about to be a bombshell. Jesus had brothers. Scripture tells us He had brothers — three are named — and that He also had sisters. When I say bombshell, what I mean is that many of you were raised in a tradition that taught Mary was a virgin when Jesus was born — and we would agree with that.
Peter Rises to Lead
In those days, Peter stood in the midst of the disciples. Altogether, the number gathered was about 120 people. This is worth pausing on. There were approximately four million people in Palestine at this time. This group of 120 people was about to turn Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and the ends of the earth right side up.
The same thing can happen here. We don't need more people. There's a sense in which we are done growing numerically for a while, and this may strike you as odd, but I am very comfortable with that. I am very comfortable saying, God, you don't need to bring us a bunch of new people — let us grow what is here deep, and let us prepare for the next influx of people as the facility accommodates it. We don't need a bunch more people to turn Arizona right side up. They are here right now. They need to be equipped, encouraged, unleashed, and given a vision. A hundred and twenty people, ready to go, praying — and Peter stands up.
The Brothers of Jesus
Scripture teaches that Mary and Joseph were indeed physically intimate after Jesus was born. Jesus had brothers, and they are named. It is not the first time we have seen them. They were, in fact, against Him before — they thought He was out of His mind. Yet somehow, through all of this, their hearts had been touched, and they are there in the upper room.
The Scripture does not mention His sisters being present; we simply do not know whether they were. But His brothers are there, and that itself is significant given where they once stood.
One Accord in Prayer
What are they doing? Verse 14 tells us they are with one accord in the midst of praying. They are together, and their hearts are together in prayer. We don't know exactly what they prayed, but I think we can speculate using the acrostic ACTS.
I believe they are adoring God. Remember what Luke said — they were continually worshiping and praising and blessing Him. I believe there is confession as well. I can just hear Peter say, "Father, forgive me — here is what I did," and the others beginning to say, "Father, he is no worse than us. We weren't there either. Father, we have been ashamed." And then thanksgiving: "Thank You for what You have done." And supplication: "Make us bold. Light us on fire. Father, we are doing right now what You asked us to do — we are together, waiting."
Sometimes that is the hardest thing to do. They are waiting, praying, beseeching Him. That is the pattern for us. They are in one accord, opening their hearts, confessing their sin, thanking Him for what He has done, and entreating Him to move.
Peter Addresses Scripture and Judas
I believe there is a passage of time between verse 14 and verse 15, and that they have moved out of the upper room and gathered together again in worship, as Luke laid out in chapter 24. Peter stands up and says, in effect, "Men and brethren, here is what the Scripture says — it has been fulfilled." He is speaking about prophecy that has been completed, because all of that prophecy comes true. It is the Word of God, spoken by the Holy Spirit. All Scripture is infallible because it is inspired by the Holy Spirit.
Peter says that before, by the mouth of David, Scripture spoke concerning Judas, who became a guide to those who arrested Jesus. He was numbered among them, and he obtained part of their ministry. Peter wants to address this fulfilled Scripture specifically as it relates to Judas.
The Demise of Judas
Peter explains that this man purchased a field with the wages of iniquity, that he fell headlong, burst open in the middle of it, and his innards gushed out. This became known to all the dwellers in Jerusalem as the Field of Blood. He is describing the demise of Judas.
Now, we know Judas did not personally take the thirty pieces of silver and buy the field — he threw them back. Most likely what happened is that the hypocrisy of the Pharisees came to light. They said they did not want the money because it was blood money, and Matthew tells us in Matthew 27 that they took that money and bought the potter's field, where they would bury strangers.
For some, what appears to be a contradiction surfaces here. Matthew says Judas hanged himself, while Luke describes him falling headlong and exploding. These accounts do not contradict — they perfectly complement one another. The potter's field sat in the middle of a small valley. Over it, in a tree, Judas went and hanged himself. His body hung there for days, became bloated, and then the knot gave way, or the rope broke, or the branch broke, and that bloated body fell into the gorge below and burst open. That was his demise. What a gruesome thought. What a sobering thought.
Replacing Judas: What Scripture Requires
Peter quotes Psalm 69 and Psalm 109, saying, "It is written in the book of Psalms, let his dwelling place be desolate, let no one live in it, and let another take his office." There is a great pattern here. They are together praying and also studying the Scripture, and Peter says, "Here is what the Scripture says. The Scripture told us this was going to happen. Here is what the Old Testament prophesied." Particularly in Psalm 109, as the Old Testament begins to talk about the coming Messiah, it says there will be another one who will take the office of Judas.
What a magnificent model this is for us. They pray, they study the Word, and then they do what it says. They are together, praying, praising God, and worshiping Him, and in the middle of this Peter says, "Here is what the Scripture says." They go right back to the Word of God and ask, "What does this say? What does it mean? What have we learned?" But that is only part of it. Then they say, "Let us finish this off. Let us do what the Word says." Let us be doers, not just hearers of the Word.
Qualifications for the Replacement Apostle
As they read the Scripture, it becomes clear that God is going to replace Judas, so they establish qualifications. First, the candidate should have been with them from the very beginning, having accompanied them as Jesus went in and out from His baptism until the time He was taken up. Second, he must have been a witness of the resurrection.
The resurrection is absolutely the foundation, the cornerstone of the faith. Disprove the resurrection and all of Christianity comes tumbling down. One of the Twelve must be someone who walked with Jesus, was with Him, and witnessed and understood the resurrection. They have 120 people gathered, and when they apply these qualifications, they find two men: Joseph and Matthias.
Praying to a God Who Knows All Hearts
There was a third qualification, and it was one only God could determine. So they prayed: "O Lord, who know the hearts of all, show us which of these two You have chosen." The first part of that prayer deserves a moment of reflection. For some of us, it is a very sobering thing that God knows everything. You can fool me, I can fool you, we can fool each other, but we cannot fool God. He knows.
When He sees an act that on the outside appears good and kind, He knows whether it comes from a prideful, hollow heart. He knows your intention. Conversely, He can look at someone who is in the middle of sin and say, "Yes, but I know that heart. That is someone whose heart is broken over this." He knows everything. It is both a scary and a comforting thought that the God we serve knows all, and there is nothing we can hide from Him.
This is why Gary often reminds us as he leads us in prayer: we do not pray to inform God. We do not pray and suddenly have God say, "Wow, I missed that — I was distracted." No, we pray to demonstrate our dependence upon Him. We bring our needs to Him, and He gives us our daily bread. That concept used to trouble me — if You already know how long I will live and what I need, why not give it all at once and let me handle it from there? But that is precisely the point. He gives it daily so that each day I must come and demonstrate my dependence on Him, praying each day for strength, each day for wisdom.
They came before the Father and said, "You know our hearts. We want to know the one You have chosen to take this ministry, this apostleship, from Judas." And they add one more thought about Judas — that by his transgression he fell, that he might go to his own place. Every once in a while that thought is worth sitting with. Judas has been in hell now for almost 2,000 years, separated from God, and he will be there forever. That is a sobering reality.
The Lot Falls on Matthias
They cast lots, and the lot fell on Matthias, and he was numbered with the eleven. Notice the subtle shift in language: throughout this passage the group has been called "the eleven," but now the language shifts back to "the twelve." They are whole again.
Casting lots was the Old Testament way of determining the will of God. Man would cast the lots, and God would control the outcome. What is significant here is that they had two men who met the qualifications they could verify. The one qualification they could not determine on their own — whom God had chosen — was the one they brought to Him. They had talked, prayed, and applied wisdom, and both men appeared equally qualified.
Freedom in Finding God's Will
There is great freedom in that kind of situation, and it mirrors how you and I often face the will of God. So often we find ourselves with two or three choices that are all good choices — whether this car or that car, any one of which we would be happy with — and most of us miss the joy of God's provision because we are consumed with anxiety over determining exactly which one He wants us to have.
When choices are genuinely equal, flip a coin. Use wisdom, use understanding. But when you genuinely do not know, you pray about it, you hold it against His will, and you look at it again and again. You rejoice in the fact that God has given you this choice, and then you make a decision.
The Apostles as Pioneers and Proclaimers
They make the decision and go with it, rejoicing in it. In this case, they revert to the Old Testament method and cast lots. The lot falls on Matthias — which means "gift of God" — and he is now one of the Twelve. That closes out the first chapter of the Book of Acts. The foundation, as far as the apostles are concerned, is now in place.
These men are going to be pioneers. They will be witnesses. Tradition tells us Thomas ends up in India. Peter and Paul move into Europe. Others go to North Africa and around the world. More importantly than being pioneers, they become proclaimers of the gospel. First Timothy chapter two, verse thirteen: "The word which came to you through us was not the word of men, but it was the word of God." These are men who are now prepared to go to the remotest parts of the earth — to pioneer for the gospel, to proclaim the gospel.
They also provide us with a magnificent pattern. They are people of prayer who study God's Word, who desire to obey it, and who want to follow Him. And as we will see in the coming weeks, they are about to receive something that, at this point in our study, they do not yet have — something that you do have. They do not yet have the power of the Holy Spirit, the power that facilitates all of this.
God did not ask them to be witnesses around the world and then fail to give them the spiritual resources for it. He gave them the Scripture. He gave them one another. He gives them the Holy Spirit. Then He says, go and do it — not in your strength, but in Mine.
The Sovereignty of God
The second point — and perhaps for me the most significant point of this entire chapter — is the continuing framework around the coming of the Holy Spirit and the sovereignty of God. God is in control. God knows all things. God controls all things. God is the One who is in charge.
When these men suddenly realize that, they are filled with joy, because they understand that their job is the same as yours and mine: to pray, to study the Word, and to obey. Everything else is in God's hands. We get to Acts chapter two and we see the day of Pentecost, the coming of the Holy Spirit, and people who begin to speak in tongues. What is that? Are these things for today? We will examine that in depth over the next couple of weeks as we look at the coming of the Holy Spirit, the day of Pentecost, and the birthing of the church.
Closing Prayer
Father, thank You. Thank You for these men. Let us be like them — witnesses, witnesses wherever You have placed us, who proclaim and teach not our own wisdom but Yours, who study Your Word, and, just as importantly, obey it — who do what it says.
Father, thank You for the privilege of being here this morning. We thank You for the people in this church. We pray that we would obediently follow You, and that if it is Your will, You would use this church to turn our world right side up. God, we understand that is going to happen through Your power — that You will make it happen. What we pray is that we would be obedient followers of You, students of Your Word, committed to do what You have called us to do, and perhaps just as importantly, to be what You have called us to be. Father, please use us. That is our prayer to You. We ask it in Jesus' name, amen.
What Did He Say? Is It True? So What?
Whenever we encounter a passage of Scripture or listen to a lesson, we ask three questions. What did He say? God knows all things. God is all-powerful. And He causes all things to work together for good to those who love Him and are called according to His purpose. Is it true? It is in the Scripture. God does not lie to us, and His Scripture is true.
And so what? What does this mean for us? Two things. Number one, you can live life confidently. You can trust Him with the outcome — in moments of temptation, in moments when you are tested, in moments when you are wondering whether it is profitable to obey Him, in moments when the deal is on the table and your ethics are challenged. For a moment you are thinking you are going to have to cheat to get this deal. God says, no — trust Me. You can do what is right because it is right. You can trust Me and obey Me because all things work together for good. What a great verse of confidence.
Comfort in Tragedy
And what an equally powerful verse of comfort. How do you begin to sort through all of this — listening to all the discussions, trying to place the blame, trying to fix things, trying somehow to get control and asking where the teachers were, where the parents were, why no one saw it coming?
There is a magnificent and sobering story connected to this. About a year ago, a boy up in Oregon went on a similar shooting spree — perhaps even more atrocious than what we witnessed this week. He shot his father, then his mother, then went to school and began to systematically select children and shoot them. There was an interview recently with the best friend of the boy's father. He said they had found arms under the boy's bed and turned him in to the police. They caught him on the internet and removed it from the house. They removed the videos. They disciplined him. They separated him from the friends who were a bad influence.
This man, who played tennis every week with the boy's father, said something remarkable. Just that week, for the very first time, the father had said to him: "We have been struggling, but this has been the best week we have ever had. I think we have had a breakthrough." In moments like this, all we can do is stop, examine our lives, do what is right, and use what we have been given.
Father, we first come and we thank You. We thank You when we realize that there, but for Your grace, that is us — sinful and lost. We pray for the parents of the victims. We pray for their friends and the surrounding area. We know You will use it for good, and already we see good coming out of it, but that does not in any way replace the grief or the pain, especially for the parents of the two boys, and perhaps the others who were involved as well.
Father, help us resist the temptation to withdraw from society in the midst of this — to flee to our homes and lock the doors. Help us understand that if we are ever going to be salt and light in this world, we have to be in contact with that world. Thank You for those two men we saw on the screen, and their willingness to acknowledge that You are their God. Father, we pray for this country and this world. We pray that we would be salt and light in the midst of this.
We thank You that all things work together for good to those of us who are Christians. And Father, we pray to You in Jesus' name, amen.