Acts 1: Faithfulness and Obedience
Updated: Jul 10
As you would recall, the Gospel of Luke and the Book of Acts were both addressed to Theophilus. Theophilus means Friend of God or Loved by God in Greek. We can also see how this message is directed to us since we also love God. As loyal followers of Christ, we can also demonstrate faithfulness by learning from this account.
The theme is the purpose of obedience and faithfulness. The disciples had been unfaithful in remembering what Jesus’ words about dying and rising on the third day and they abandoned Him during His hour of suffering. Before receiving the Holy Spirit, they had to demonstrate obedience and remain faithful to His instructions.
This chapter starts with the last acts of the Lord Jesus before His ascension to heaven. He remained faithful to the Father’s purpose and preached for 40 days after His resurrection. This was important because it served many purposes, including strengthening the disciples and apostles’ faith, confirming the Scriptures that He had to rise from the dead. In Israel, the Feast of Booths, or Tabernacles, commemorates the time that God was with them in the desert for forty years. God was with them again, but this time for only forty days. Also, the Lord spent 40 days in the wilderness with God before beginning his public ministry, during which He did not require any food or water. God was all He needed. Now the disciples knew that with Jesus, the Son of God, they had ALL they needed.
And while staying with them, He ordered them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father, which, he said, “you heard from me; for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now. (Acts 1:4-5 ESV)
It is interesting to note that the Lord reminded them of the baptism of John. That was a baptism of repentance. It was a baptism of water. He promised them another baptism, the baptism of the Holy Spirit; this was a baptism of fire. To be eligible for that baptism, the disciples had to be obedient and remain faithful to the commands that the Lord had given them. We, too, must be willing to be obedient and faithful to Jesus as our Lord to receive the Holy Spirit.
You see, He ordered them not to depart from Jerusalem. This was a chance for them to prove their faithfulness: remain in Jerusalem or leave the city. Even though Jerusalem was a place where there could be persecution because they were followers of Jesus, the disciples had to be obedient to be baptized by the Holy Spirit. And, when they asked Him whether He was going to restore the kingdom of Israel, He answered them:
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 ESV)
First, He clarified to them that it was not their portion to know times or the seasons that the Father has fixed by His own authority. Two thousand years ago, people were trying to discover the time of the restoration of the kingdom of Israel, and they still are today. Remaining faithful also means that we are to remain within the boundaries the Lord has set.
In this passage, He was essentially telling them, instead of focusing on trying to decipher when the kingdom of Israel would be restored, they were to remain faithful and obedient each step of the way so they could receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon them. Through this power of the Holy Spirit, they would establish His kingdom as they would become His witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the Earth.
To be empowered by the Holy Spirit to do the job God created and designed us for, we, like the disciples, must focus on what Jesus has asked of us instead of trying to figure everything out about our assignment and God’s plan.
Next, we see the final conclusion of the life of Jesus on Earth.
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. And while they were gazing into Heaven as He went, behold, two men stood by them in white robes, and said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into Heaven? This Jesus, Who was taken up from you into Heaven, will come in the same way as you saw Him go into Heaven.” (Acts 1:9-11 ESV)
Jesus was lifted up from them to Heaven from the Mount of Olives, also called Mount Olivet. One day, He will come back just like this. There are many prophecies yet to be fulfilled about Jesus ruling the physical Earth from Jerusalem, which He will do when He returns.
As their first action of obedience, they returned to Jerusalem from the Mount of Olives, which is about a Sabbath’s journey, meaning the distance one is allowed to travel on a sabbath – nearly a kilometer or half a mile away from Jerusalem. They returned to Jerusalem as the Lord ordered them to do and went to the upper room where they had been staying.
This showed that they decided to follow His instructions. The eleven continued with prayer and supplication, and this also showed us that they did not abandon their faith nor their Lord in His absence, but chose to trust in the Lord.
When Peter talked about Judas, he quoted a prophecy from David, which had come to pass through the actions of the betrayer. Most of David’s psalms were from his own life experiences, as was this one. So we can see that this is not only a prophecy, but a foreshadowing: something that happened once and would happen again in a similar way.
Even my close friend, in whom I trusted, who ate my bread, has lifted his heel against me. (Psalm 41:9 ESV)
Judas was allowed to be a part of the inner circle of the disciples. He was one of those who worked the closest to Jesus; he was one of the Apostles. He was given power to cast out demons and heal the sick, just like the other apostles. You’ll also remember that Jesus gave him the piece of bread after He had dipped it into the bowl the night that Judas betrayed him.
May their camp be a desolation; let no one dwell in their tents. (Psalm 69:25 ESV)
May his days be few; may another take his office! (Psalm 109:8 ESV)
These are the instructions they understood regarding what to do in the case of Judas. Peter explained to them what the Scriptures were saying about him. Remember, the Holy Spirit had not yet been poured out on them. But they continued to be faithful to what they knew to be the will of the Lord.
Jesus said to them, “Truly, I say to you, in the new world, when the Son of Man will sit on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. (Matthew 19:26 ESV)
Jesus had said there would be twelve thrones filled by the twelve who followed Him. One of those thrones was now in need of a new disciple because an office was now vacant. This is another example of faithfulness because they were loyal to the number of apostles Jesus said there would be when He returned to rule and reign.
This led to a choice between two qualified men, Barsabbas and Matthias. The disciples followed the traditional way of hearing from God, casting lots, because they had not yet received the Holy Spirit at that time. Whoever received the right marker was the one God chose… that was Matthias. After they received the most precious gift, the Holy Spirit, they stopped casting lots and trusted in His leading instead.
Overall, we see in this chapter that the disciples did their best to remain obedient and faithful to the instructions the Lord had given them. They were to remain in Jerusalem until they received the Holy Spirit. They implemented the replacement of Judas and waited on His timing. Today, the Lord is calling us to remain obedient and faithful, to not stray away from Him and His message. As followers of Jesus the Messiah, we are to demonstrate faithfulness in our daily lives by the choices we make.
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