ACTS 1:8

The last thing that Jesus said to the apostles is recorded in Acts 1:8 where He said, “But you shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and you shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.” Jesus is continuing to speak to the apostles about the Holy Spirit and the fact that they would be given the Holy Spirit just as He had previously told them. Jesus mentioned two results that would come to the apostles once the Holy Spirit was given to them. The apostles would have power, and they would be witnesses for Christ.

Once you believe in Jesus one of your main purposes in life is to be a witness for Him. You can do that, not by your own strength or ability, but by the power of the Holy Spirit. Jesus spoke of the Holy Spirit in John 16:8 and said, “And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment.” You cannot convince anyone that they need Christ as Savior, but the Holy Spirit can. You cannot lead anyone to Christ, but the Spirit can draw them to Christ. Jesus wanted to make it clear to the disciples that it was indispensable that they be empowered by the Holy Spirit in order to do the work of being witnesses for Christ. Someone might give rules and instructions on how to be a witness for Christ, but Jesus said that what you need is to be empowered by the Holy Spirit.

The Bible says in Acts 1:9-11, “And when he had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight. And while they looked steadfastly toward heaven as he went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel; Which also said, You men of Galilee, why stand you gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as you have seen him go into heaven.” Evidently when Jesus ascended to heaven, it was a cloudy day. The apostles saw Jesus ascend, and then they saw Him disappear behind a cloud. As the disciples continued to gaze skyward, two angels appeared to the apostles and almost sounded sarcastic when the angels said, “You men of Galilee, why stand you gazing up into heaven?” In other words they have something else that they should be doing. Some Christians are too heavenly minded to be of any earthly good. The practical side of life: doing what you are supposed to be doing, is just as important as the spiritual side. Do not just say that you are trusting God to supply your needs. Go out and do your part in getting a job.

Of course, these verses are among the verses that remind us clearly that Jesus will return to the earth one day. Jesus will return in person in His current resurrected body. The book of Revelation tells us a great deal about that return. It says that Jesus will return from the heavens riding on a white horse, coming to judge the earth for all its iniquities. No wonder that Jesus wanted the apostles to get prepared and then to get busy spreading the gospel. The judgment is coming, and the Lord wants the gospel to be spread throughout the whole earth so that everyone will have a chance to be saved. God is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.

The Bible says in Acts 1:12-14, “Then returned they unto Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is from Jerusalem a Sabbath day’s journey. And when they were come in, they went up into an upper room, where abode both Peter, and James, and John, and Andrew, Philip, and Thomas, Bartholomew, and Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon Zelotes, and Judas the brother of James. These all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication, with the women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers.” Because we see Mary and her sons here with the apostles, we are shown one more time that she and her sons had a close connection with the apostles even after the resurrection and the ascension. One thing that the disciples did right was to be ready to be empowered by the Holy Spirit. What they did to get ready is stated very clearly here. It says in verse 14, “These all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication.” The Spirit is a gift from God. The Spirit empowers us when we do not do anything to quench or to grieve the Spirit. One of the things that the Spirit wants to see is unity among Christians. Dissention among Christians is one sure way to reduce the power of the Spirit. Jesus said, “By this shall all men know that you are my disciples, that you have love one toward another.” Of course, prayer and supplication are an important part of being empowered by the Spirit. The Spirit can only lead us if we are rightly related to God, and living by faith, and trusting in the Lord.

The next incident in the lives of the apostles is one in which it appears that they did not do a very good job of trusting in the Lord. The Bible says in Acts 1:15-26, “And in those days Peter stood up in the midst of the disciples, and said, the number of names together were about one hundred twenty, Men and brethren, this scripture must needs have been fulfilled, which the Holy Ghost by the mouth of David spake before concerning Judas, which was guide to them that took Jesus. For he was numbered with us, and had obtained part of this ministry. Now this man purchased a field with the reward of iniquity; and falling headlong, he burst asunder in the midst, and all his bowels gushed out. And it was known unto all the dwellers of Jerusalem; insomuch as that field is called in their proper tongue, Aceldama, that is to say, the field of blood. For it is written in the book of Psalms, Let this habitation be desolate, and let no man dwell therein: and his bishopric let another take. Wherefore of these men which have companied with us all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, Beginning from the baptism of John, unto that same day that he was taken up from us, must one be ordained to be a witness with us of his resurrection. And they appointed two, Joseph called Barsabas, who was surnamed Justus, and Matthias. And they prayed and said, Thou, Lord, which knowest the hearts of all men, show whether of these two thou hast chosen, That he may take part of this ministry and apostleship, from which Judas by transgression fell, that he might go to his own place. And they gave forth their lots; and the lot fell upon Matthias; and he was numbered with the eleven apostles.”

If it is true that it was a mistake for the apostles to have chosen Matthias as a replacement for Judas, then we can learn several things about that mistake. First of all they were in too big of a hurry to make a decision. God would eventually choose Paul to be the apostle born out of due season; but the disciples would not know that without waiting longer. If you want something too badly, it is going to be hard for you to really ask for God’s will to be done. Be careful of your own will. It can be a real obstacle to finding the will of God. Be careful of deciding something too quickly. If you decide something before truly finding God’s will, you might start on a path that will be hard to reverse.

Let’s assume for the sake of argument that the apostles made a choice out of their own will when they picked Matthias. The things that the apostles did to justify their own will is something that unselfish and unspiritual Christians commonly do. They quoted scripture. That is a common thing for self-willed Christians to do. You can find a Bible verse to justify anything that you choose to do out of your will. They also prayed, but they prayed in such a way that only their own will could be accomplished. They told God what choices He had. Of all the people in the world, the apostles decided that God could only choose from the two individuals that the apostles had already picked out. This sounds just like the method that many pastoral search committees have used over the years. It is no wonder that the wrong pastor has been selected for so many churches. Human beings for selfish reasons made their own choices and then blamed it on God.

When we look at Judas Iscariot, what a horrible story we see. There are lessons here about what can happen in life. Why do some people’s lives end in tragedies? We do not always know why, but we definitely know why in the case of Judas. His life ended in tragedy because of the choices that he made. He could have been somebody. Instead he was nobody. He was worse than nobody. He could have been one of the apostles: one of the twelve pillars of the church. What potential! What could have been! He started out like the rest of the apostles. He looked like he had a good start. But it is not how you start: it is how you finish that counts. Many people get a good start in following Christ or in having a ministry, but some crisis comes their way and they make a life-changing decision that sends them the wrong way. Proverbs says, “There is a way that seems right unto a man, but the end thereof is the way of death.” Some people might say, “O, Judas was the exception.” But I think not. The life of Judas is what happens to far too many people. What they could have been, if only they had continued to go God’s way.

How did Judas get to that point where he lost so much? Is there anything we can learn from his failure so that we will not make the same mistake? It says about Judas in the previous verses, “From which Judas by transgression fell.” It was because of transgression that he fell. He sinned. He missed the mark. He did what he ought not to have done. Doesn’t that happen to all of us to from time to time? All are sinners. What made Judas so different? Evidently Judas did not repent of his sin. Jesus said, “Except you repent, you shall all likewise perish.” Do not let your heart go astray from God. Be diligent to use the promise of First John 1:9 whenever you need it. “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” If you do this, you will always walk with God. If you stop confessing your daily sins, you will begin a downward path that will take you even as far down as Judas went. Sin will destroy you. Repentance will restore you.

In spite of the apostles’ lack of patience in regards to a replacement for Judas, one thing they did do correctly. They continued to wait as the Lord had told them for the sending of the Holy Spirit. And in ten days God’s time came. Acts 2:1-3 says, “And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them.”

When the Holy Spirit came unto them, they did not see the Holy Spirit. They saw “cloven tongues like as of fire.” There are two principle things that symbolized the coming of the Holy Spirit: tongues and fire. Tongues represent speaking. Remember in Acts chapter one when Jesus told the apostles that the Holy Spirit would come upon them, Jesus said that as a result, they would be “witnesses.” In Matthew 10:19-20 Jesus said, “But when they deliver you up, take no thought how or what you shall speak: for it shall be given you in that same hour what you shall speak. For it is not you that speak, but the Spirit of your Father which speaketh in you.” The boldness to speak, the willingness to speak, and having just the right words at the right time to speak: that all comes from the Spirit. You must be filled with the Spirit in order to be a witness for Christ in the world.

You also must have power. That is what the fire represents. There must be power behind your words if hearts are going to be touched. Only the Spirit has that kind of power. Do you remember when two disciples had walked with Jesus on the road to Emmaus after the resurrection? This is what is said in Luke 24:32 concerning the words that Jesus spoke to them: “And they said one to another, Did not our heart burn within us, while he talked with us by the way, and while he opened to us the scriptures?” If you are going to be the witness that God wants you to be in this world, then you must have the fire that only the Holy Spirit can provide. The fire will cause conviction in the hearts of those who hear your words. When Jesus spoke of the coming of the Holy Spirit, Jesus said in John 16:8, “And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment.” In order for the servants of God to do the work of God in this world, we must have the convicting power of the Holy Spirit. Without it we are no different than any other human being, but with it we will be as though cloven tongues of fire had come down out of heaven and rested upon us. Our prayer should be that which is found in an old hymn: “Spirit of the living God, fall fresh on me.”

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