This is a good time to look at the year ahead. I never ask any of you to put your lives on hold, only to reach out to the lost and fellow servants in your own Phish Bowl. If we all would take care of those around us, minister in love to the Christians and the future saints within our grasp, would we not spread the love of Jesus and bring others into a personal relationship with the Christ? Is this not what He told us to do? You don’t have to see everything and move to a foreign land to do His work. There is so much to do right around us everyday. So here it is…one thing this year! What is the one thing you are going to devote part of your time to, to do the work of the Kingdom of God? Now if you are more like me and you have that one thing (plus maybe two or three other things), make sure that you balance your time. I’m so proud to be your fellow servant in the kingdom! Live a full life for God. Don’t waste time! When you set out to go on vacation, you take time to plan. So why would you not take time to plan for the life to come? I’m always taken back when a Christian says “I don’t know what I’m going to do today”. We are the ones who know time is short, so why do so many of us waste time, i.e., sitting in front of the TV. I’m not saying entertainment is all bad, but most of us don’t live a full and balanced life. Ninety percent of the work in the church is done by 10% of the body of believers. If you see yourself as a part of the body of Christ, ask yourself, “What is my function”? Then own it! Live it out! That way every one in the church will know you as the contact person for _______.
Now it is time to get back to the Book of Acts. If you have missed past teachings and wish to get caught up, just contact Phish Bowl and we will get them out to you or go to our web page. Last month, we ended at the end of Jesus’ earthly ministry and this month we are going to cross over a bridge from Jesus to the ministry of the Holy Spirit: Acts 1:12-26.
Acts 1:12; “Then they returned to Jerusalem from the Mount of Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, a Sabbath’s day’s journey.”
It is rather funny that I would read four commentaries to see what a “Sabbath’s day’s journey” was and got four different answers! So here it is in short so as not to get lost in facts that had nothing to do with our walks. In one of the commentaries which I read on the Jewish roots of Acts, Josephus calculated the distance between Jerusalem and the Mount of Olives as five or six “stadia” (about half of a mile) and Rabbinical literature said “this journey was not to exceed two thousand cubits” and “this distance was what one was permitted to walk outside the city limits”. So if a cubit is about twenty-two inches, this would be a limit of 3,666 feet (a mile being 5,280 feet), so ½ to ¾ of a mile. One would never walk more than a mile, ever.
Acts 1:13-14; “And when they had entered, they went up into the upper room where they were staying: Peter, James, John, and Andrew; Philip and Thomas; Bartholomew and Matthew; James the son of Alpheus and Simon the Zealot and Judas the son of James. These all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication, with the woman and Mary the mother of Jesus and with His brothers”.
“The Upper Room” could have been the room where Jesus spent the last Passover with His disciples and/or the room in which He appeared to them after His resurrection (recorded in Luke 24). It is very possible that the same room was the site of both events. Some think that this room may have belonged to Mary, the mother of John Mark. Her house is mentioned in Acts 12:12 as a meeting place. Now Luke tells us by name, who was present at these events,
(The Upper Room in Jerusalem where Jesus and His disciples MAY have had Passover)
the apostles whom Jesus had chosen, with Judas Iscariot missing. The first nine names occur in all four lists given in the gospels in varying order: Simon the Zealot is the same as Simon the Cananean, Judas the son of James is also called Thaddeus. Of the twelve, only Peter, James and John are mentioned again in Acts. “The women” refers to the same women who visited the tomb of Jesus and discovered it was empty; Mary Magdalene, Joanna, and Mary, the Mother of James. Mary the Mother of Jesus is next on the list and this is the last time in the New Testament that she is mentioned. In closing out this list, Luke tells us that Jesus’ half brothers were also there. We can find their names listed in Mark 6:4; James, Joseph, Judas and Simon.
I would like to take a minute and try to tackle the phrase “with one accord” which is found eleven times in the Book of Acts. It is made up of two words that mean “same” and “mind”. I do not believe Luke is talking about people who all think and feel the same way about everything, but to people who set aside personal feelings and commit themselves to one task. In this case, witnessing to others about the Lord Jesus Christ, not trying to convert the saint to a religious system, but to bring the world into a saving relationship with Jesus. Jesus said the world would know that He was sent from the Heavenly Father when people saw the love between believers (see John 17:21).
Acts 1:15: And in those days Peter stood up in the midst of the disciples (altogether the number of names was about a hundred and twenty), and said, 16 "Men and brethren, this Scripture had to be fulfilled, which the Holy Spirit spoke before by the mouth of David concerning Judas, who became a guide to those who arrested Jesus; 17 "for he was numbered with us and obtained a part in this ministry." 18 (Now this man purchased a field with the wages of iniquity; and falling headlong, he burst open in the middle and all his entrails gushed out. 19 And it became known to all those dwelling in Jerusalem; so that field is called in their own language, Akel Dama, that is, Field of Blood.) (NKJV)
From the earliest days of this fellowship Peter assumed a position of leadership as if He knew he was born for it. Though he often made mistakes, he was never bashful about dealing with problems. I think for the record, it may be significant that according to Jewish tradition, it was necessary to have 120 men in the city to have a legitimate Jewish community. The Mishnah says, “And how many should there be in a city that it may be fit to have a Sanhedrin? A hundred and twenty men.” (Sanh. 1:6).
Here in the Book of Acts, Peter speaks up. (Note that this is before the Holy Spirit came to Pentecost). Now if you are confused by a seeming discrepancy between Acts 1:18-19 and Matthew 27:5, the following quote might help.
In Matthew it is stated “He cast down the pieces of silver in the temple and departed, and went and hanged himself.” In Acts Chapter 1 another account is given. There it is stated: (1) That instead of throwing the money into the temple he bought a field with it. (2) That instead of hanging himself, “falling headlong, he burst asunder in the midst, and all his bowels gushed out”. (3) That for this reason, and not because the priests had bought it with the price of blood, the field was called “Aceldama”. The fact would seem to be that Judas hanged himself, probably with his girdle (a rope or sash wrapped around his waist), which either broke or became untied, and threw him heavily forward upon the jagged rocks below. Thus inflicting the wound mentioned by Peter in Acts. The apparent discrepancy in the two accounts as to the disposition of the money may be thus explained: “It was not lawful to take into the temple treasury, for the purchase of sacred things, money that had been unlawfully gained. In such case the Jewish law provided that the money was to be restored to the donor, and if he insisted on giving it that he should be induced to spend it for something for the public well. By a fiction (Something that is assumed in law to be true regardless of whether or not it is true) of Law, the money was still considered to be Judas’ and to have been applied by him in the purchase of the well-known ‘Potter’s Field’”.---Unger’s Bible Dictionary.
Acts 1:20 "For it is written in the book of Psalms: 'Let his dwelling place be desolate, And let no one live in it'; and, 'Let another take his office.' (NKJV)
Peter applied Psalms 69 and 109 to the vacant slot left by Judas. Psalm 69:25 speaks of the removal of the psalmist’s enemy. Psalm 109:8 mentions the replacement of an enemy by someone else. I must say I have a problem when someone takes a verse from one part of the Bible and adds it to another one to teach what that person wants to teach. I believe that this is what Peter is doing here.
Acts 1:21 "Therefore, of these men who have accompanied us all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, 22 "beginning from the baptism of John to that day when He was taken up from us, one of these must become a witness with us of His resurrection." 23 And they proposed two: Joseph called Barsabas, who was surnamed Justus, and Matthias. 24 And they prayed and said, "You, O Lord, who know the hearts of all, show which of these two You have chosen 25 "to take part in this ministry and apostleship from which Judas by transgression fell, that he might go to his own place." 26 And they cast their lots, and the lot fell on Matthias. And he was numbered with the eleven apostles. (NKJV)
There could be the question here if Peter should or shouldn’t have held this election. When Christ was with them after the resurrection and before the ascension, it is never recorded that Jesus talked to them about replacing Judas. I believe that the election to choose a successor to Judas was conducted by Peter without the presence and guidance of the Holy Spirit. Keep in mind that the Holy Spirit had not yet been given. When James was later killed (Acts 12:2), no replacement was chosen for him. For teaching purposes, let’s take a look at the two fellows: Joseph called Barsabas, also known as Justus, the name “Bar-Sabbas” is Aramaic for “son of the Sabbath”. His proper name was Joseph, but he also took a Roman (Latin) name, Justus. Matthias, his name is an abbreviated form of “Mattathias”, meaning “the gift of God”.
There is no doubt that both of these men were good men. They met the requirements of an apostle. Peter specified two qualifications for the appointment to apostle. First, he had to have accompanied the disciples from the beginning of Jesus’ ministry, his baptism. Second, he had to be an eye witness of the resurrected Jesus. Church historian Eusebius reports a tradition that Matthias had been one of the seventy sent out by the Lord. Besides this, we know nothing else about either of these men. I can’t see that this was the leading of the Holy Spirit, nor that it was God’s leading in the casting of lots. (It was customary for Jews to determine the will of God by this method. The names of Matthias and Justus, probably written on stones, were put in a jar that was shaken until one of the names fell out, that stone was God’s choice.) Is Matthias actually the one who took the place of Judas? I believe in our Lord’s own time he Himself appointed the one to take the place of Judas, as he picked the twelve. Keep this in mind that we don’t hear another word about Matthias; nothing is recorded of his ministry. And if we look at Revelation 21:14, “Now the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them were the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.” (Twelve apostles minus Judas plus Paul equals 12 Apostles of the Lamb). It is my conviction that the man the Lord chose was Paul. Listen to Paul as he writes to the Galatian believers: “Paul an Apostle, (not of men, neither by man, but by Jesus Christ, and God the Father, who raised Him from the dead); ---Galatians 1:1. Paul is saying that he was chosen by God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. How did He do it? He did it through the Holy Spirit whom He had sent into the world. All I can add is this; I know Paul and I don’t know Matthias. I do realize that good Bible teachers will not agree with me, but I’m O.K. with this. I just pass on my own convictions.
Next month, we will be going into Acts Chapter 2---“The Day of the Pentecost”. The Holy Spirit has not shown me how He would like me to break down these 47 verses into bite size teachings yet. So take time and just read all of Chapter 2. Blessings and love.
Up dates:
Work: Well God blessed the fiberglass shop with a big job! We have work for all of December. A fish farmer ordered a tank that is 150’L x 20’W x 7’D. If all goes well and he likes our work, he will keep ordering more tanks from us. So thank you for all of the prayers. With the paychecks, Phish Bowl’s cupboards will be restocked just in time for the New Year! PTL!
Winter fun: I signed up for drum lessons. As I taught this month, I too need to be balanced. So this is for me because I love to learn new things; it keeps me young and alive!
So for now I close with this, I hope to come to you and speak face to face, that our joy may be full.
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