Acts

Believers Church Bible Commentary

Chalmer E. Faw

• Publisher: Herald Press
• Year: 1993
• ISBN:
  9780836198133
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: Biblical Commentary

Chalmer E. Faw brings Acts to life for our day. He blends thorough biblical scholarship with wisdom from extensive and varied experience in missionary work and Bible teaching. His careful exposition of the book of Acts is supplemented with literary and theological discussion.

The key word in Acts is witness for Jesus Christ, from Jerusalem to the ends of the earth. God's Spirit anoints the church at Pentecost, leads believers in handling conflicts between converts new and old, and empowers Christians to overcome false beliefs and magic. In Acts, Luke tells this dramatic story with subtle humor.

Part 1

Beginnings in Jerusalem

Acts 1:1-26

PREVIEW

Luke begins this second volume with a carefully worded reference to his Gospel, a brief summary of the forty-day period between the resurrection and ascension of Jesus. This provides an overlap with the first volume sufficient to carry the reader into the story that follows. Emphasized above all else is the commandment to remain in Jerusalem and await the promised baptism in (with) the Holy Spirit.

Then Luke prepares the reader for the great experience of Pentecost. First he tells how Jesus commissions the apostles to receive power from on high and be his witnesses to the ends of the earth. Then he shows them returning to the upper room, where they and others devote themselves to prayer. There, in a meeting led by Peter, Judas is replaced and Matthias divinely chosen to bring the number of apostles back up to the complete number of twelve.

OUTLINE

Summary of the Story Thus Far, 1:1-5

Commissioning of the Apostles, 1:6-8

Ascension and Promise of the Lord’s Return, 1:9-l1

Events in the Upper Room, 1:12-26

1:12-14	Return to Prayer in Jerusalem
1:15-22	Peter’s Word on Judas and His Replacement
1:23-26	Matthias Chosen to Join the Eleven

EXPLANATORY NOTES

Summary of the Story Thus Far 1:1-5

This volume, like the previous one, is dedicated to Theophilus. Commentaries on Luke (1:3) discuss the identity of this person. He is likely a man of considerable standing, with a genuine interest in Christianity, and connected in some significant way with the writing of these two volumes. One may regard him as an inquirer, perhaps sponsoring this literary production. Possibly he has something to do with the trial of Paul. We cannot answer these questions with certainty. Yet the mention of Theophilus does tie Luke and Acts together.

The contents of the Gospel of Luke are described as all that Jesus did and taught from the beginning until the day when he was taken up to heaven (l:lb-2a). Began to do and teach (RSV) may be taken as an idiom of the language meaning simply what Jesus actually did. Here it is more likely to have something of its literal meaning. In the first volume (Luke), Jesus began those deeds and words now continued in this second volume (Acts).

The author does not dwell on either the death or the resurrection of Jesus, since the reader has already had a full account of them in the Gospel. The death is simply referred to as the suffering and the resurrection as presenting] himself alive (1:3). The focus here is on the command to await the promise of the Father (1:4) and all that this would lead to. For the present story, this is the most significant event of the forty days. The dramatic appearances of the risen Lord are summarized as the many convincing proofs (NIV) that he is alive. This living reality becomes increasingly important as the story of Acts unfolds, with its signs and wonders worked through the Holy Spirit, its use of the powerful name of Jesus, and the divine guidance given through prayer and angelic visits.

Only here in the NT is the period of occasional postresurrection appearances given as forty days. This matches the forty days of the Lord’s temptation (Luke 4:2) and may recall the period of equal length that Moses spent on Mount Sinai awaiting the giving of the Law (Exod. 24:18; cf. Num. 14:33-34). Following the ascension, another ten-day period completes the fifty days from Passover to Pentecost.

Luke has been calling the disciples apostles since their call (Luke 6:13; 9:10; Acts 1:2), but now this title (“those sent out”) takes on new significance in the great missionary thrust of Acts. We cannot be sure of the first occasion on which the command is given not to leave Jerusalem but to await the promise of the Father (1:4, a repeat of Luke 24:49). A few Greek manuscripts of 1:4 have Jesus eating salt with his followers, sharing a meal; but the best texts give the meaning of staying with. In any event, it is a time of close fellowship during which the Lord charges them not to go forth without being baptized with (in, by) the Holy Spirit. It is a promise first given by John the Baptist in Luke 3:16, repeated by Jesus in Luke 24:49, and now about to happen (in a few days, NIV).

Commissioning of the Apostles 1:6-8

The story continues with the risen Lord meeting once more with his chosen apostles. It is a moment of high expectation. He has spoken to them before of the kingdom of God (1:3). Now they ask him if this is the time for restoring the kingdom to Israel. They are thinking of an earthly rule, as seen in Luke 22:24, where they all wanted to be the greatest in the kingdom.

Jesus’ answer is twofold. First, he tells them that the times for the coming of the kingdom are in God’s hands, a well-kept secret. Not even the angels in heaven nor the Son know the day or the hour, he has told them (Mark 13:32). Second, Jesus directs their minds away from the matter of times and seasons and onto the task that awaits them. The important thing right now is their empowerment from on high and their witness to the ends of the earth.

Acts 1:8 has rightly been seen as the key text of the book. Here Jesus gives the central theme of witnessing by the Holy Spirit. The ever-widening areas of witness correspond with the three major divisions of the Acts account: in Jerusalem, found in chapters 1—7; in all Judea and Samaria, in 8—12; and to the ends of the earth, in 13—28. The latter expression may not refer to Rome, though the book ends there, but to the open-ended ministry indicated in 28:31. As for the three concentric circles of geography, we shall note that each successive area includes some return to earlier areas. Thus chapters 8—12 tell of further work done in Jerusalem, and 13—28 report witnessing once more in both Jerusalem and Judea-Samaria.

In 1:8, Jesus speaks of the power that the apostles will receive when the Holy Spirit has come upon them (cf. Luke 24:49). This refers to the experience they will have on the Day of Pentecost (Acts 2:1-47). The power they are to receive will be primarily for witnessing, the content and effectiveness of which will be demonstrated again and again throughout the book (see “The Threefold Meaning of Witness” under TLC). This ministry is a fulfillment of the prophecy of Isaiah, who spoke of Israel being called to be God’s witnesses to the world (Isa. 43:10; 44:8). Paul makes this point in Acts 13:47, where he quotes Isaiah 49:6. Since the witnessing of the early church is by both word and deed, miracle-working is a major expression of this power, as seen through all of Acts.

Ascension and Promise of the Lord’s Return 1:9-l 1

The last words spoken by the risen Lord are about the power of the Holy Spirit to make his followers into worldwide witnesses (1:8). Luke has already told of the ascension in 24:51 of his Gospel, and these two texts give the fullest account of it in the NT. It is implied, however, in many passages, both in Acts and elsewhere, which refer to the heavenly enthroned Jesus.

The apostles stand gazing upward as Jesus is taken into heaven. Then two men in white robes appear, chide them, and point them to the future (1:9-11). In similar fashion “two men in dazzling apparel” had appeared to convey a message from the risen Lord in Luke 24:4-7. Such angelic beings continue to play an important role in the lives of apostles (cf. 5:19; 8:26; 10:3; 12:7-11; 27:23).

By his threefold mention of the apostles looking into heaven as Jesus is taken up, Luke emphasizes the fact that they are eyewitnesses of the ascension. Yet they are not to continue gazing but to get on with the commission given them. Jesus will come again (1:11b), but in the meantime they are to be his witnesses. This sets their assignment of carrying the message to the world within the framework of history, between the now of the ascension and the then of the return. Here is “the era of the church,” within which the events recorded in Acts will take place.

There is no indication as to when the return will take place, but the interval will give the church opportunity to accomplish its mission. The expression that Jesus will return in the same way as he now ascends refers both to the power and glory of God, who brings it about, and to the visible nature of the return of the Lord on the clouds of heaven (cf. Matt. 24:30; 26:64; Rev. 1:7). The term Men of Galilee, by which the apostles are addressed, may simply be a way of identifying them. Yet the mild rebuke that follows and the later disparaging label, these … Galileans (2:7), allow us to see a divine reminder that the apostles are provincials who have a worldwide task ahead of them.

Events in the Upper Room 1:12-26

1:12-14 Return to Prayer in Jerusalem

Only now do we learn that the ascension took place on the Mount of Olives. In Luke 24:50 the site of the ascension is “Bethany,” a village on the eastern slope of the mount. The distance from Jerusalem is a sabbath day’s journey, about three-quarters of a mile. Rabbis set this at 2,000 cubits, which a law-abiding Jew might walk on the day of rest. To make this rule, they took Numbers 35:5, on the length of pastureland around the cities of refuge, and applied it to Exodus 16:29, telling people not to leave home on the Sabbath. By the time of Jesus, it has become a common Jewish term.

The apostles now walk into the city and go to the upper room, where they have been making their headquarters (1:13). There they are joined by certain women, including Mary the mother of Jesus, as well as [Jesus’] brothers (1:14). This gives them a place of privacy and is suitable for prayer (cf. Dan. 6:10: the prophet went to his upper room to pray). There is no proof that this is the “large upper room” where the Last Supper was held (Luke 22:12), since a different Greek word is used there. Yet it may be the same room, and if so, certain postresurrection appearances took place there (Luke 24:33, 36; John 20:19, 26). Some also think this is a room in the house of Mary the mother of John Mark, where believers later meet (Acts 12:12), but the evidence is insufficient to prove it.

The list of apostles given here (1:13) is identical with that in Luke 6:14-16, with the omission of Judas Iscariot and some difference in order. The women who meet with the eleven remaining apostles are likely those referred to Luke 8:2-3 and 23:49. If so, then among them are Mary Magdalene, out of whom seven demons had been driven; Joanna the wife of Chuza, a steward in the court of Herod Antipas; Susanna, about whom nothing more is known; and “many others.” All of them have been healed of various diseases or delivered from demons. Out of appreciation for what the Lord did for them, they followed him and his apostles about, ministering to them from their own resources. They were the last at the cross and the first at the empty tomb. Now, as dedicated and experienced disciples themselves, they are present in the upper room awaiting the fulfillment of the promise of the Father.

Jesus’ own family is also present with the eleven and this goodly company of women. They include his mother Mary and her four sons, his brothers. According to Mark 6:3, they were James, Joses, Judas, and Simon, probably half brothers. Roman Catholic scholars, believing in the perpetual virginity of Mary, hold that they were either stepbrothers (sons of a supposed earlier marriage of Joseph) or first cousins (sons of Alphaeus and Mary of Clopas). Most Protestant scholars take the usual meaning of brothers here and assume them to be the half brothers of Jesus.

From John 7:3-5, we learn that Jesus’ brothers did not at first believe in Jesus. The change probably came after the resurrection; 1 Corinthians 15:7 mentions a special appearance to James. This one, the eldest of the four, rises to prominence in the Jerusalem church, a presiding elder of note (12:17c; 15:13-21; 21:18-25) and traditional author of the epistle of James. The only other one known to church history is Judas, traditionally identified as the author of the epistle of Jude (Jude 1 calls him “the brother of James”).

As this growing company of believers meet to await the promised Holy Spirit, they devote themselves to prayer. This is the human side of the bestowal of the Spirit. Luke has already quoted Jesus as saying that the Holy Spirit is given to those who “ask” the heavenly Father (Luke 11:13), and in Acts 10:44 he will tell how a man who prayed constantly to God (10:2c) has the Spirit fall upon him and his household. The Greek verb translated devoted to (RSV, NASB; NRSV, devoting) or joined together constantly in prayer (NIV), means “to be busily engaged in,” “persevering and spending much time in” prayer. How wonderful that before long the Lord pours out the Spirit upon them in full measure!

1:15-22 Peter’s Word on Judas and His Replacement

The selection of a successor to Judas is the only incident from the period in the upper room recorded in Acts. Happening in those days (1:15) means at some undisclosed time during the eight to ten days between the ascension and Pentecost. Perhaps it is near the end of that period, after much prayer. By now the company numbers about one hundred twenty. (For other examples of the use of about with round numbers, see 2:41; 4:4; 10:3; 13:18, 20; 19:7, 34). This total would include the eleven, the women from Galilee, the members of Jesus’ family, and nearly a hundred others. Among the latter could be such persons as the seventy sent out in Luke 10, the two on the way to Emmaus (Luke 24:13), and others from among the “more than five hundred brothers and sisters” mentioned in 1 Corinthians 15:6.

In this setting of prayer and waiting, Peter, already a leader among the apostles, stands up to summarize their situation since the departure of Judas Iscariot. It is all according to God’s revelation in Scripture, he says, quoting Psalm 69:25 and 109:8. Luke’s view, reflected now in these comments from Peter, is that the whole Christian movement was foreordained by God, who revealed it long ago to the prophets by the Holy Spirit. Thus Peter can say that the Holy Spirit spoke beforehand by the mouth of David concerning Judas, whether or not David consciously foresaw that man’s betrayal of Jesus (1:16, 20). Therefore, the words of Psalms, let his homestead become desolate and let another take his position of overseer, can be applied literally to Judas and acted upon by the group.

All this gives Luke an opportunity to explain to the reader what happened to Judas. Acts 1:18-19 are thus correctly put in parentheses in most recent translations as comments of the author and not part of Peter’s speech, as the KJV might suggest. The details here differ somewhat from those given in Matthew 27:5-7. They can be reconciled, however, by remembering that it was Judas’s money that was used to buy the field, and he can be said, as here in Acts (1:18), to have bought the field. Then it is possible that he fastened a rope around his neck, as in Matthew, before he fell and burst open, as here in Luke’s account. This is an explanation first made by Augustine of Hippo and found in the Latin Vulgate of ancient times.

It is important to this emerging messianic group within Judaism that there be exactly twelve apostles. The Lord himself chose twelve in the first place (Luke 6:12-16), likely as a conscious raising up of a “kingdom,” a new “Israel of God” (in Luke 22:29-30, the twelve are to be “judging the twelve tribes of Israel; cf. Gal. 6:16). Treachery reduced that number for awhile and was divinely punished. Now top priority must be given to restoring it and becoming once more the foundation of a new people, as the Lord intended.

So Peter takes the lead in suggesting the major qualification for apostleship. He must be one who has been in the company of Jesus from the time of his baptism by John and on to the present (1:21-22). In this way he can be a full-fledged witness with the same background of experience as Peter, James, John, and the rest. He can tell the story from the beginning, culminating in the resurrection.

1:23-26 Matthias Chosen to Join the Eleven

The statement of qualification is followed by the procedure of choosing a new apostle. First, two men are nominated, each measuring up to the standard. One of these is Joseph called Barsabbas, surnamed Justus (1:23). Bar-shabba in Aramaic means “son of the Sabbath” and may indicate that he was born on that day of the week. The same name is attached to the Judas chosen to carry the decision of the Jerusalem council in 15:22c. The name Justus is ...

Table of contents

• Cover Page
• Title Page
• Copyright
• Dedication
• Contents
• Series Foreword
• Author’s Preface
• Introduction to Acts
• Part 1: Beginnings in Jerusalem
• Part 2: The Day of Pentecost
• Part 3: The Witness of the Early Jerusalem Church
• Part 4: The Martyr-Witness of Stephen
• Part 5: The Witness of a Persecuted and Scattered Church
• Part 6: The Continuing Ministry of Peter
• Part 7: First Mission of Witness to the Gentile World
• Part 8: The Witness in Macedonia and Athens
• Part 9: The Witness in Corinth and Ephesus
• Part 10: Journey to Jerusalem and Witness There
• Part 11: Witness in Caesarea
• Part 12: Witness—On to Rome
• Outline of Acts
• Essays
• Map of Palestine in New Testament Times
• Map of the New Testament World
• Bibliography
• Recommended Resources for Personal and Group Study
• The Author