Things We Can Know and Things We Can't
He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” Acts 1:7–8
Acts 1:6–26 – The Story of the Church: Living Into This Drama in the 21st Century
Second Sunday in Lent – February 28, 2021 (am)
When we left the disciples last week, they were sitting in Jerusalem waiting for the Holy Spirit, as Jesus said. But it was ten days between the time He left and the time the Spirit came! What do you do for ten days? Especially when you don’t know how long it’s going to be! After four, five, six days, might you wonder if it’ll be a year?
But we pick up with the story before Jesus left. And there were still some burning questions in their minds. Let’s take this passage in two parts.
The Father and Son Ensure the Giving of the Spirit 6-11
Luke tells us that Jesus had been appearing to [the disciples] during the forty days between His resurrection and His coming ascension back to the Father and speaking to them about the kingdom of God (3). But they still had some questions (6), especially whether [now] was the time that the kingdom would be [restored]. The last time we know of this subject coming up they were most interested in which of them would be the greatest there (Luk.22:24), a subject that seems like it may have come up often between them (cf. Luk.9:46). And Jesus did let them know that they would eat and drink at [His] table in [the] kingdom, and that they would sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel (Luk.22:30).
But even so: 7 He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority. We reviewed that truth in 2 Thessalonians. Jesus taught His disciples concerning that day and hour, that no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only (Mat.24:36). As many have put it: Discipleship is not about knowing the times and dates; it’s about being ready. And in this case, it’s about being ready not just for the return of Christ and the establishing of His kingdom, it’s about being ready to receive the Holy Spirit and be [Jesus’] witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth (8).
Vs.8 here is the theme verse in Acts. It provides the literary outline and even in some ways the most concise summary of the content of this book as a whole. Once the Holy Spirit was given, the disciples were to begin the work of spreading the gospel throughout the whole world. And the clear implication was that this job would take a while!
But one key event needed to happen before the Spirit could be given. Jesus had told His disciples in the upper room on the night He was arrested that He’d be leaving them to return to His Father: Joh.16:7 … I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you.
And now that time had come. He gave them their marching orders, His final words to them on earth. 9 And when he had said these things, as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight. This was no normal cloud; it wasn’t atmospheric mist. It was the visible presence of God. It was the visible display of God’s glory like Peter, James, and John had seen when Jesus was transfigured (Luk.9:34-35), like when the priests could not stand to minister when the ark was brought into the Temple because of the cloud, for the glory of the Lord filled the house of God (2Ch.5:14), like when the Tabernacle was completed and the cloud covered the tent of meeting, and the glory of the Lord filled [it] (Exo.40:34-35). This was the cloud Israel saw in the wilderness, and behold, the glory of the Lord was in the cloud (Exo.16:10), the same thick cloud that was on the mountain at Sinai, accompanied by thunders and lightnings and a very loud trumpet (Exo.19:16). This was the presence of God made visible to His people, this time receiving the Son back into [heaven] to be seated at the right hand of the Father (2:33; cf. Eph.1:20). This is Jesus ascending His throne at the Father’s bidding. Notice that the verbs here are passive: he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight. Jesus wasn’t the active Party. This was the work of His Father, accepting, authenticating, even rewarding the work He had done on earth to achieve the salvation of all who believe. The Father was vindicating the Son, receiving Him back into heaven as the promised preliminary step to His giving the Holy Spirit to His new covenant (NC) people.
Yet, even as this was happening (10), it was promised that He will surely return in the same way (11) to welcome these same believers into heaven on the appointed day, the day when His kingdom will be fully and finally established.
The Disciples Prepare to Receive the Spirit 12-26
And from there it would make most sense to move right into c.2 and the giving of the Spirit. But instead, Luke adds this very detailed description about the replacing of Judas. It’s easy to see it as extraneous, especially since nothing more is heard about the man who replaces him, Matthias. It’s even easier to see it as a backdrop of weakness meant to help us appreciate the blessing and power of the Spirit Who comes in c.2—the impersonal rituals of the OT replaced by the inner witness of God Himself in the NT. But, upon further reflection I believe something more is going on here. Let’s spotlight four interesting details and then summarize what we can take from this section.
Jesus’ ascension happened in the vicinity of the [Mt. of Olives] (12; cf. Luk.24:50-52 and their return into Jerusalem was called a Sabbath day’s journey (12). That was about 2,000 cubits or one kilometer, roughly six-tenths of a mile. That distance was figured by combining Exo.16:29 (let no one go out of his place on the seventh day) with Num.35:5 (the Levites’ pasturelands extend 2,000 cubits in each direction outside their towns) (Bruce 39)—just a little taste of how Israel’s religious leaders reasoned!
This group was 120 in number (15). That could sound large in comparison to the original twelve apostles—ten-fold growth! But then, it could also seem small as the core group for a movement that was supposed to reach the end of the earth (8). But there also may be more to Luke’s mention of this specific number, a reason that helps explain why the disciples felt the need to replace Judas. The number… here is more than just a round number. This is the smallest number in Jewish tradition for a population that could have its own ‘council’. There was a tradition that each judge should rule or represent at least ten members. It may be, therefore, that Luke is suggesting the young church was already a community in its own right and that a twelfth ‘leader’ was required (Gempf 1070).
o That may be but, even so, the stress here seems to be principally, if not exclusively, on the tasks of service and witness (Marshall B&C 530), on their identity and calling.
o This is the seed group of the NC people of God, reconstituted Israel long promised with the law written on their hearts, not just tablets of stone. This isn’t a replacement of old covenant (OC) Israel. It’s a renovation of the people of God to make one new man in place of the two (Eph.2:15), illustrated most vividly, perhaps, by John’s vision of twenty-four thrones around the central throne of God in heaven (Rev.4:4), representing OC and NC believers together (whether with angels or the tribes and apostles) as one redeemed community forever. So, there must be twelve here!
It’s no small matter that Mary the mother of Jesus, and his brothers (14), were part of this assembly. Initially they hadn’t believed in Him (Luk.8:19-21; cf. Mar.3:21, 31-35; Joh.7:5). But now they were together with the women who’d been with Jesus from the start (cf. Luk.8:2-3). His own family must have been won over by His resurrection!
Peter’s mention of David’s words (15-20) is rich. He quotes what we know as Psa.69:25 and Psa.109:8. Both of these Psalms speak of the fate of those who work against God’s anointed. And Peter applies them to Judas. He was the enemy of God’s Messiah. That fact will be undeniable for him (Psa.69:25) and his [position] must be given to another (Psa.109:8).
Now, let’s look at this replacement of Judas. The text tells us with one accord they were devoting themselves to prayer (14). And once they’d identified the criteria of how an apostle should be recognized (21-22), they entrusted that decision to the Lord (24)—using the same word (chosen) which Luke used regarding the selection of the other apostles (2). Then they implemented a biblically approved process—approved in OT Scripture (Pro.16:33) even though it’s surely obsolete now that the Spirit has been given—they cast lots, and the lot fell on Matthias (26).
Nothing in the narrative suggests that this was an extraneous exercise. Nothings suggest that it was self-directed or self-styled except one possibility that arises from silence, namely, that Jesus isn’t recorded as having told them to do it. Plus, He also answers their question about the [timing of the restoration of] the kingdom to Israel (6) telling them it is not for [them] to know the times or seasons the Father has fixed by his own authority (7), which He followed by giving them what could sound like an entirely different assignment than this (8).
So, by implication alone we might get the feeling that their work to replace Judas was unnecessary, or maybe even offline, as many suggest. And we might point out that the decision-method they chose, even though sanctioned in the OT, doesn’t afford a third option of: Neither Joseph nor Matthias. Still, the fact that we hear nothing more about Matthias isn’t really a good reason to think his appointment was superfluous.
Eusebius said he had been one of the seventy-two sent out by Jesus (Luk.10:1-12) and later tradition said that he became a missionary to Ethiopia (Bruce 46). And even though we hear nothing more about him in the book of Acts, the same could be said for most of the apostles listed in v.13!
In all, what we do know from Luke’s narrative here is that the selection of Matthias was a process anchored to specific Scripture and entrusted fully into the hands of Jesus by His people following a season of unified prayer and careful reflection (21-22). And then it was made by a process which Scripture not only recognizes but tells them they can trust their sovereign God to direct! (Pro.16:33)
Finally, there is no explicit indication in the remainder of Acts that anyone else was named by Jesus to fill this role. Many make the obvious case that it was Paul. But, again, that’s never stated. And the importance to God’s people of knowing that twelve thrones await the apostles in the kingdom where they will judge the twelve tribes of Israel (Mat.19:28; cf. Luk.22:30) does make it important that there be twelve of them, not just eleven.
Conclusion
Still, what difference does this make to us? Now that the Holy Spirit has already been given—now that we receive Him simultaneously with our trust in Christ as Savior (Eph.1:13)—why does it matter to us how, or even why, the disciples replaced Judas with Matthias? I think that’s a good question which can help us appreciate and maybe even be grateful for the fact that Luke has included this account in the latter half of Acts 1.
I think the experience of the disciples here offers us a good example of what to do if and when we find ourselves in a place where we’re waiting for God to do something, anything—waiting for Him to provide the guidance we seek, to confirm which job we should take, whether it’s time to pop the question, whether it’s time to bail on the relationship—whether we’re waiting for Him to act in some way, to bring relief from some physical suffering, or to end a pandemic, or to arrive in power and glory! The apostles here set us a good example of what to do while we’re waiting for God to do, to act, even to return for us. We should do three things we see them do here.
Devote ourselves to prayer in unity with our body of Christ.
Anchor ourselves to the authority and instruction of God’s Word.
Obey whatever God’s Spirit prompts us to do.
We’re in a season of waiting right now, waiting for God to act in some situations that get as close as any we’ve experienced for a very long time that require Him alone to act, to do something—to control a virus, to heal a rift in human relationships on a national, and in some ways global scale, to calm the insanity of extremist thinking in our day that has people embracing absolutely absurd ideas rather than to admit they’re wrong or bring their desires into check.
And the good news is, the Person the disciples were waiting for way back in first-century Jerusalem is the same Person Who’s most able to help us today, while we’re waiting for the coming, the return, of the One Who departed to open the way for Him way back then!
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Resources
Bruce, F. F. The Book of Acts, Revised. The New International Commentary on the New Testament. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1988.
Gempf, Conrad. “Acts,” in New Bible Commentary 21st Century Edition, edited by D. A. Carson, R. T. France, J. A. Motyer, and G. J. Wenham, 1066-114. Leicester, Eng.: InterVarsity, 1994.
Longenecker, Richard N. “Acts,” in Expositor’s Bible Commentary, volume 10, edited by Tremper Longman III and David E. Garland, 665-1102. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2007.
Marshall, I. Howard. “Acts,” in Commentary on the New Testament Use of the Old Testament, edited by G. K. Beale and D. A. Carson, 513-606. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2007.
_____. Acts. Volume 5, Tyndale New Testament Commentaries. Downers Grove: InterVarsity, 1980.
Polhill, John B. Acts. Volume 26, The New American Commentary. Nashville: Broadman & Holman, 1992.
_____. Study notes on Acts. In ESV Study Bible. Wheaton: Crossway, 2008.
Stott, John. The Message of Acts. The Bible Speaks Today. Leicester, Eng.: InterVarsity, 1990.
Next Sunday: God Descends, Acts 2:1–13