Acts 1:1–2:47

Explore the Bible
Dean, School of Christian Studies, University of Mobile

EMPOWERED TO WITNESS
Acts 1:1–2:47

Introduction (1:1–5)
If they were to carry out the work of witness, then the disciples needed assurance Jesus was alive, so He offered them “many proofs.” They needed instruction so for 40 days, He taught them things about “the kingdom of God,” probably how His death and resurrection related to it. They needed power so He told them to “wait for the promised Spirit.” The fulfillment of Joel’s promise (Joel 2:28ff) was at hand, and God would baptize them “in, by and/or with” the Spirit.

Preparation for Witness (1:6­–26)
The Lord made a promise. The coming Spirit would give all disciples power to witness. Then Jesus gave a commandment: “You shall be my witnesses.” He sent His disciples not to foretell the future (7) but to testify to what they saw, heard and knew of Him. This would take words. Sure presence counts for something. But it is not a witness’s presence in the courtroom that matters so much as his or her proclamation. Also it is ridiculous to think Jesus meant His followers must win everyone in Jerusalem before they tackled the uttermost parts of the world. They were to begin in Jerusalem and bear the news to every land.

Jesus ascended into the clouds of heaven and was exalted to the Father’s right hand to intercede for His own.
The church selected Matthias to replace Judas only because it found Judas’ apostasy, death and replacement predicted in Scripture (Ps. 69:25; 109:8). The Acts account does not condemn the action of casting lots. After the Spirit came, the church never used “lots” again to find God’s will. Details about Judas’ death in Acts 1:18 harmonize quite well with those in Matthew 27:5.

Power for Witness (2:1–13)
Ten days after the Ascension, in the room where the disciples gathered, there came the sound of wind and the sight of flamelike tongues. And they were all “filled” with the Spirit. Because the “baptism” of the Spirit (Acts 1:5) happened simultaneously with the “filling” of the Spirit (4), some think the two synonymous. Not so. These are different works of the Spirit. The only teaching passage about the “baptism” (1 Cor. 12:13) makes clear this experience is the initial work of the Spirit in taking believers of diverse backgrounds and placing them together in the body of Christ. The verb tense there suggests an unrepeatable event. On the other hand, to be filled with the Spirit means to be governed and possessed by the indwelling Spirit. That members of this very group were again “filled” later suggests the experience is repeatable.

As a result of being “filled,” the disciples spoke with “tongues.” “Unknown” is not in the original language of the New Testament. It was added by translators in 1611. In fact, the account describes the tongues as “dialektoi” (“dialects”) and clearly states that somebody present that day understood every word spoken as his or her birth language. This was not a miracle of “hearing” because the record says they “spoke” with tongues. The “Pentecostal experience” was speaking a foreign language without previous study.

Product of Witness (2:14–47)
At Pentecost, Peter preached the first fully Christian sermon. His conclusion was brief but powerful: “God has made this Jesus you crucified both Lord and Christ!”

The stricken people cried out, “What must we do?” Peter’s reply needs attention. “Repent” is a normal second-person-plural imperative, a strong command issued universally. The basic and primary demand is for repentance. “Be baptized” is a Greek third-person imperative, a weaker command usually translated using “Let him” — in this case, “Let him be baptized.” The construction of “for the forgiveness of sins” normally means “with reference to the remission of sins.” To illustrate, a person takes an aspirin “for” — “with reference to” — a headache he or she has, not in order “to get” a headache. So also a person who repents is baptized with reference to sins already forgiven, not to get sins forgiven.

Thousands responded and the Spirit created a new fellowship that kept growing.