I don’t know about you, but I have a hard time waiting to do or have something I want. I can’t imagine how difficult it must have been for the followers of Jesus to wait for the promised baptism of the Holy Spirit. After Jesus was caught up to heaven in a cloud, these men and women had to wait 10 days for the promise of the Spirit to take place.
They teach us how to wait well as they trusted God’s timing in their lives. What better thing can we do than devote ourselves to prayer while we wait?
“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 to the room upstairs where they were staying. All these were constantly devoting themselves to prayer, together with certain women, including Mary the mother of Jesus, as well as his brothers.” (Acts 1:12-14)
Why do you think these people spent a large amount of their time in prayer? Here are a few possibilities:
- They enjoyed a close friendship with Jesus and found that prayer brought them into the same sense of friendship as when Jesus was physically present with them.
- Jesus gave them their mission, which was to be witnesses to His reality, forgiving power, and love for all humanity. Prayer is always associated with revelation and guidance in the Bible. Surely, they prayed and expected the Lord to guide them.
- The crowd in the upper room had witnessed the crucifixion, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus. No doubt, they were filled with awe and wonder over the One whom they had walked with on the dusty lanes of Israel. Praise, worship, and adoration certainly filled the time of prayer for these lovers of God.
Completing the Twelve
The upper room crowd, numbering around 120 people, details the size of the early church. Soon, the crowd would swell to 3,000. The parable of the mustard seed is the lived reality of the early church.
“The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed that someone took and sowed in his field; it is the smallest of all the seeds, but when it has grown it is the greatest of shrubs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches.” (Matthew 13:31-32)
Likely, while Peter was in prayer, he received directions from the Lord to replace Judas among the twelve apostles. Judas was responsible for his actions, but he was also used by God to fulfill the scripture about the Messiah.
“In those days Peter stood up among the brothers and sisters (together the crowd numbered about one hundred twenty persons) and said, ‘Brothers and sisters, the scripture had to be fulfilled, which the Holy Spirit through David foretold concerning Judas, who became a guide for those who arrested Jesus.'” (Acts 1:15-16)
Peter told the crowd that, according to scripture, Judas’ place needed to be taken by another. He quoted the Psalms:
“Let another take his position of overseer.” (Acts 1:20)
Peter then laid out the qualifications for an apostle.
“So one of the men who have accompanied us during all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, beginning from the baptism of John until the day when he was taken up from us—one of these must become a witness with us to his resurrection.” (Acts 1:21-22)
You may be curious to know that after Peter, Judas is the most mentioned disciple in the Gospels. Most of the close followers of Jesus receive little recognition. Joseph called Barsabbas (who was also known as Justus) and Matthias were two men who followed Jesus from the beginning. Their names are not mentioned at any other time in the Bible except here.
This is not to say that the people who followed Jesus are not important. On the contrary, they are very important. They are important because they had enough faith to follow Jesus from the beginning of His ministry to the giving of the Spirit. Still, the focal point of the Gospels and Acts is the purpose of God through Jesus and the Holy Spirit.
The Holy Spirit had not yet been poured out on all of Jesus’ disciples. As a result, they prayed and cast lots to determine whom the Lord wanted to take Judas’ position. This is the last record of casting lots in the Bible.
Then they prayed and said, “Lord, you know everyone’s heart. Show us which one of these two you have chosen to take the place in this ministry and apostleship from which Judas turned aside to go to his own place.” And they cast lots for them, and the lot fell on Matthias, and he was added to the eleven apostles. (Acts 1:24-26)
Application
As we apply this passage to our lives, we should want to imitate their example of prayer. Take another look at the possible reasons why the early church devoted themselves to prayer.
YouTube Discussion
Rudy Ross, Bruce Kirby, and I discussed Acts 1:12-26 on YouTube today.
Real Voices 