Without a doubt, the book of Acts is the history book of the early church. It spans a period of approximately thirty years, beginning with the ascent of the Lord Jesus in chapter 1, followed by the commencement of the Church in chapter 2 at the feast of Pentecost. The book follows the activities of two men. From chapter 1 to chapter 10, we read mainly of the activities of Peter. Peter is the apostle to the circumcision ie to the Jews, and from Acts chapters 2 to 9, we read mainly of how the gospel began in Jerusalem then moved out to the Samaritans in chapter 8. It is only when we get to chapter 10 that Peter moves out to Cornelius and his household. Even then, it took a thrice repeated vision of a great sheet coming down from heaven full of unclean beasts, before Peter willingly went to Cornelius.

By the end of chapter 11, we begin to read of the work of Paul, and the early days of the church at Antioch, perhaps the first church with a mixture of both Jews and Gentiles. The disciples were called Christians first at Antioch. From chapter 11 to chapter 28 we then follow the activities of Paul, the apostle to the Gentiles.

The book is therefore full of interest to us today and we can learn many lessons from it. But is it a doctrinal statement for us to follow? We have to be aware that there is such a thing as progressive revelation throughout the New Testament. What was acceptable in the church at the beginning was unacceptable by the time Paul wrote his later epistles. For example, there are many Christians today who still claim to have the gift of healing by the laying on of hands. We do not doubt the power of prayer and the ability of the Lord to heal the sick. There are many examples I am sure of that. But can we, like the apostles, lay hands on the sick and raise them instantly to health?

Let's ask another question first. Why is it that during the lifetime of the Lord Jesus, He did so many miracles? It is said of Him that, He went about doing good. From morning till night, He healed the sick and even raised the dead. Apart from the feelings of the Saviour, it was a proof of who He was, the Christ. Even those who had not believed in Him, when they heard of His miracles, began to ask the question, When the Christ cometh, will He do more miracles than these which this man doeth. John wrote in chapter 20 of his gospel of the signs selected by him for his gospel, But these are written that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ the Son of God.

The Jews expected their Messiah to be able to do such things. When the Antichrist comes in a future day, he will also be a performer of miracles. II Thessalonians chapter 2 describes him as the wicked one who shall deceive many with signs and lying wonders. Revelation chapter 13 describes the second beast as being able to do those miracles, which he had power to do in the sight of the first beast:

13 And he doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men,
14 And deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast; saying to them that dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the beast, which had the wound by a sword, and did live.

The Antichrist is not only opposed to Christ, he is an impersonator of the true Christ, hence a doer of miracles.

But miracles continued well into the book of Acts in the work of both Peter and Paul. There are two reasons for these miracles. The first is that God in this period is still making an appeal to the Jews. Paul says in I Corinthians chapter 1:

22 For the Jews require a sign, and the Greeks seek after wisdom:

The second reason is what Paul speaks about to the Corinthians in chapter12:

12 Truly the signs of an apostle were wrought among you in all patience, in signs, and wonders, and mighty deeds.

There were some at Corinth who doubted his apostleship, and Paul could point to his miracles that he did at Corinth.

So should such signs remain today? Firstly, God is no longer dealing directly with the nation of Israel. When Paul reached Rome, he said in Acts chapter 28:

28 Be it known therefore unto you, that the salvation of God is sent unto the Gentiles, and that they will hear it.

Secondly, there are no apostles today. The first requirement of an apostle was that he had seen the Lord, and no-one can claim that today. So there are no grounds today for claiming to have the same miraculous powers as the Lord or His apostles.

And what about that other claim by some today that they still retain the ability to speak in tongues? Again we ask the question, Why did we have tongues in use throughout the period of the Acts? They were introduced for two main reasons. Again, they were a sign to the Jews as stated above. Paul quotes from the prophet Isaiah in I Corinthians chapter 14:

21 In the law it is written, With men of other tongues and other lips will I speak unto this people; and yet for all that will they not hear me, saith the Lord.
22 Wherefore tongues are for a sign, not to them that believe, but to them that believe not: but prophesying serveth not for them that believe not, but for them which believe.

As far as Israel is concerned, their special place is set aside. Therefore the gift of tongues is no longer required as a sign to the nation. Secondly, tongues are mentioned in I Corinthians 13 along with prophecy and knowledge. These are all means of divine communication, especially in the days of the early church. But Paul indicated that these gifts would cease. When would that be? When that which is perfect is come. Without going into too many details, I believe absolutely that this is not heaven but when the complete revelation of God regarding the church was complete when Paul wrote his prison epistles to Ephesus and Colosse. The need for tongues as a means of divine communication ceased. If we insist on saying that when that which is perfect means heaven, then the logic of Paul's argument in I Corinthians chapter 13 is that we still have tongues, prophecy, and knowledge and that these means of divine communication are incomplete, childish , and obscure. That is surely not the God that we know today.

But let's get on with Acts chapter 1. We state first of all that the author of the book does not give us his name, neither is there any internal evidence as to the authorship. We know from chapter 16 that the author was with Paul and Silas when they came to Philippi. He frequently uses the pronouns we and us throughout the chapter. The same is also true in chapters 20 and 27. Here then was a traveling companion of Paul, especially in his journey to Rome. We know from Paul's epistle to the Colossians, from the second epistle to Timothy, and from the epistle to Philemon that Luke was with him. All we can say is that circumstantial evidence could point us towards Luke as a possible author of the book. It is perhaps fair to say that knowing the contents of the book is more important than knowing who wrote it.

What we can state for certain is that the author of this book is the same as the person who wrote the third gospel in our bible. Both books are written to the most excellent Theophilus. They are both written for the same purpose to set out in order a detailed record of the main events that took place during each period, firstly during the lifetime of the Lord, then during the early days of the church.

The end of Luke's gospel overlaps the beginning of the book of Acts. Luke 24 ends with the ascension of the Lord Jesus. Luke tells us that, He led them out as far as to Bethany. There are many places linked with the Lord in his lifetime. He had to be born in Bethlehem according to Micah; He had to be brought up in Nazareth for it is written, He shall be called a Nazarene. And He had to die at Jerusalem for, It cannot be that a prophet perish out of Jerusalem. But Bethany seems to be His place of choice. There was nothing remarkable about the place. Even today it is a little insignificant and rather scruffy little Arab village on the mount of Olives. But what made it special was the little household of Martha, Mary, and Lazarus. It is a beautiful illustration of the church Martha in her service, Lazarus in his communion with Christ as he sat at the table with Him, and Mary in her act of worship. It was a place where He was welcomed. He therefore led them out as far as to Bethany, not that Bethany was all that far from Jerusalem, but because it was the nearest place on earth to heaven.

In Acts chapter 1, verse 2, we read that it was after that He through the Holy Ghost had given commandments unto the apostles whom He had chosen. I can think immediately of two of those commandments, one relative to the believers and another relative to the world. In John 15:12, He gave them this commandment:

12 This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you.

The old commandment was that they should love their neighbours as themselves. The new commandment was not just to love one another, but to love one another in the same way as He loves us. His love is sacrificial, it is causeless, and it is endless. He loved us and gave Himself for us. He loved us even when we were dead in sins, and having loved His own which were in the world He loved them to the end. It is with this kind of love that we are commanded to love one another.

The second commandment was that they should go into all the world and preach the gospel. Two things would enable them in this task. Firstly, they would not go in their own strength but they would receive power when the Holy Spirit came upon them to be fulfilled ten days later at Pentecost. Secondly, they would be able, from their own personal experience, to bear witness to the fact that Christ had risen from the dead. They were not following a dead Christ but a living one. It is vital to see that on all 8 of the occasions in the book of Acts when the apostles preached, they never failed to mention the death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus. We think we do well to mention His death when we are preaching the gospel, but the apostles always mentioned His resurrection as well. Why is His resurrection so important? If Christ be not risen, your faith is vain. Ye are yet in your sins.

But here Luke says regarding the apostles, To whom also He showed Himself alive by many infallible proofs. I believe there are as many as twelve separate resurrection appearances by the Lord:

1. To Mary Magdalene John 20
2. To the women at the tomb Matthew 28
3. The two on the road to Emmaus Luke 24
4. To Peter in private Luke 24
5. To the 10 disciples in the locked room John 20
6. To the 10 disciples plus Thomas John 20
7. To the 11 disciples on a mountain in Galilee Matt 28:16
8. To the disciples at the sea side John 21
9. To James, the Lord's brother I Cor 15
10. To above 500 brethren at once I Cor 15
11. At His ascension Acts 1
12. To Paul on the Damascus road Acts 9

Taken together, these were indeed infallible proofs. Looked at individually, however, the Lord appeared on some of these occasions to an individual or group of individuals with just the right ministry that they needed at that time. Thus the Lord mended the broken heart of Mary Magdalene with just one word, Mary. Two people set out on a journey to Emmaus. They set off with sad hearts. But soon they are joined by a stranger who opens up the scriptures, reminding them that Christ must needs have suffered before entering into His glory. Before the day is ended, two sad hearts became glad hearts. Did not our heart burn within us while He talked with us by the way. In John 20, 10 fearful men are locked in a room. They needed peace in those troubled hearts, and when the Lord appears in the room, His first words are, Peace unto you. But one man was missing on that occasion. Thomas, filled with doubts, was not there the first time. The Lord re-appears for the sake of doubting Thomas and shows him His hands and His side. Then there was Peter poor failing Peter. Was there any hope for a man who had denied his Lord three times over and that with cursing and swearing on the third occasion. The Lord appeared twice for Peter's sake, once in private (Luke 24), and once in public (John 21). Thus He appeared, not only TO His disciples, but FOR His disciples.

Acts 1 tells us that He was seen of them for 40 days. Forty is so often seen as a time of testing eg Israel 40 years in the wilderness: Then the Lord is 40 days in the wilderness being tempted of the devil. But here 40 days is a period of reinforcing the fact that the Lord was risen. During this time, He spoke to them of things pertaining to the kingdom of God. The church did not come into being until Pentecost so the subject matter was still the kingdom of God. The gospel of the kingdom was preached by John the Baptist and then by the Lord Jesus. It had to do with a coming King and a coming kingdom. This gospel will be preached again by the faithful remnant during the Tribulation. It is not the gospel that we preach as Christians today. We preach the gospel of the grace of God.

Apart from the two commandments referred to above, the Lord gave them a more immediate commandment to keep that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father. This was to be the sending of the Holy Spirit. In John chapters 15 and 16, the coming of the Spirit is dealt with at some length. The Spirit was to be sent by the Father, sent by the Son, then the Spirit is said to proceed from the Father ie He comes of His own volition. All three persons of the Godhead are involved. Just as John baptized with water, the disciples were to be baptized or immersed in the Holy Spirit.

The disciples, however, still had one burning question in their minds. Lord, wilt Thou at this time restore the kingdom to Israel. The two on the road to Emmaus said to the stranger who joined them, But we trusted that it had been he which should have redeemed Israel: and beside all this, to day is the third day since these things were done. The disciples themselves had preached the gospel of the kingdom which was a call to repentance. Repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. For 500 years or more, the Jews had been under the dominion of various Gentile powers. They were hoping for the Messiah to come so that the kingdom might be restored. These hopes had been perhaps encouraged by the Lord Himself when He taught them to pray, Our Father which art in heaven, Thy kingdom come. Then there was the triumphal entry into Jerusalem as recorded in John chapter 12. They cried out, Behold thy king cometh. Any idea of this kingdom being postponed and the church intervening for 2000 years would have been totally foreign to them. But the Lord replied to this question:

7 And he said unto them, It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power.

Paul used the expression times and seasons when he was writing about the day of the Lord in I Thessalonians chapter 5:

1 But of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you.
2 For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night.

It is the Father who will decide when the times and seasons will be brought to pass. It would seem to be the role of the Father amongst the three persons of the Godhead who has authority over this issue. In Mark chapter 13, the Lord has a similar thought when He speaks to the disciples regarding things to come:

32 But of that day and that hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels which are in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father.

This is not to belittle the role of the Lord Jesus or the Spirit of God. A poor analogy might be that of a board of directors. They might all act in corporate responsibility but each member of that Board will have a responsibility for a particular function of the business.

How would receiving the baptism of the Spirit change the disciples? They would receive power. The Holy Spirit is the revealer of divine truth; He is the seal of our future inheritance; He is the source of all our power. This would be the driving force for the disciples. Verse 8 continues, Ye shall be witnesses unto Me, both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost parts of the earth. How the disciples fulfilled this commission is the story of the book of the Acts. In chapters 2 to 7, they preached in Jerusalem; in chapter 8, they went to Samaria: in chapter 10, Peter preached in the house of Cornelius: in chapter 11, Paul preached in Antioch.

These were the last words of the Saviour before He was received up into heaven. The disciples are still gazing up into heaven when they are interrupted by two men in white saying, Why stand ye gazing up into heaven. This is the last instance of angelic ministry in the experience of the Lord Jesus. Angels seem to appear at various important times in His life:

1. At His birth
2. After the temptation in the wilderness
3. In Gethsemane
4. At His resurrection
5. At His ascension

The angels continue, This same Jesus shall so come in like manner as ye have seen Him go into heaven. But which coming are the angels speaking of? Is it His coming for the church as revealed by Paul in I Thessalonians chapter 4, or is it His coming for Israel as revealed in chapters such as Matthew 24? In Acts chapter 1, we have three ingredients the Mount of Olives, the cloud, and the angels. In Matthew 24, we read of the clouds and the angels:

30 And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.
31 And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.

His coming in glory will be not a moment too soon. Luke 21:20 tells us that Jerusalem will be compassed with armies. The city will be under siege and just about to fall to the armies of the Gentiles. Zechariah chapter 14 tells us:

2 For I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle; and the city shall be taken, and the houses rifled, and the women ravished; and half of the city shall go forth into captivity, and the residue of the people shall not be cut off from the city.
3 Then shall the LORD go forth, and fight against those nations, as when he fought in the day of battle.
4 And his feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east, and the mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west, and there shall be a very great valley; and half of the mountain shall remove toward the north, and half of it toward the south.
5 And ye shall flee to the valley of the mountains.

When Israel's Saviour comes, His feet will stand again upon the mount of Olives. The mountain itself shall be split in two, half being moved towards the north and half towards the south, thus creating an east-west valley through which the Jews can escape. The Lord's ascent from the Mount of Olives in Acts chapter 1 is therefore but a foretaste of His return for the nation of Israel.

Verse 12 tells us that the disciples returned to Jerusalem and entered into an upper room. Four groups of people are represented. First we have the 11 disciples, then we have the women, then Mary the mother of Jesus, then those described as His brethren. I believe the order is significant. The disciples were the men who were sent by the Lord Jesus to be His witnesses. They would turn the world upside down with their preaching. It is only proper that they should come first. The next group mentioned are the women. Who are they? I believe they are the women about whom Luke says in chapter 8 that the Lord cast out demons from them. The most prominent of these women was Mary Magdalene. This was only the beginning of the story for these women. The scripture records the fact that they followed Him from Galilee and ministered unto Him of their substance. They remained faithful right to the end. Whereas the disciples forsook Him and fled from Gethsemane, these women stood there at Calvary, their hearts going out to Him. There were few at His burial, but the women were there. In John 20, Peter and John came to the sepulchre, looked in, then returned. But Mary stood without at the sepulcher weeping. Her devotion to the Lord Jesus excelled even that of the disciple whom Jesus loved. These women are noted for their faithfulness and they are numbered after the disciples in this part of Acts chapter 1.

Next comes Mary the mother of Jesus. Many would have put her first in this list but she is in fact third. Three times in Luke 1 and 2, she is described as blessed by Gabriel, by Elizabeth, and then in her own words. Her faith was remarkable in those early days but she seems to have waivered slightly during the public life of the Lord Jesus. But she was present at Calvary and now she takes her place after the disciples and the women. She is therefore given no special place of prominence amongst them. This is indeed the last mention of her name in the New Testament.

Last of all comes His brethren. How did they get there? Do we not read of them in John 7 that neither did His brethren believe in Him? The secret lies in I Corinthians chapter 15. Amongst the list of those who saw the Lord in resurrection is James, the Lord's brother. This is an act of pure grace on His part. In John chapter 7, the Lord said to the unbelieving Jews in Jerusalem, Ye shall seek Me and shall not find Me. The Lord could have appeared to such as Pilate and Herod and so vindicate Himself but He didn't. There was only one exception to this statement that unbelieving men would see Him no more and that was to His brother James. So His brethren are numbered with the disciples in Acts chapter 1, and James became a most prominent member of the church at Jerusalem.

From verse 15 to the end of the chapter, we have the choice of Matthias as the twelth apostle. As will be the case in many occasions to come, Peter stands up as the spokesman. Peter first points out the need to fulfill the words of David through the Holy Spirit. But first of all, he describes the awful end of Judas. Verse 18 states that Judas purchased a field with the reward of iniquity. Judas did not buy the field directly but when he returned to the temple and threw the 30 pieces of silver on the floor, the priests gathered up the money and used it to purchase the potter's field. This might seem to be a random event but of course Zechariah prophesied of this. And I took the 30 pieces of silver, the price of him that was valued, and cast them unto the potter in the house of the Lord. Judas' money indeed bought the field.

But some might see a problem between the description in Matthew 27 and here in Acts 1 regarding the death of Judas. Matthew 27 says that Judas went and hanged himself, while Acts 1 says that he fell down headlong. We don't know enough to be specific but it is possible that the Jews took the body of Judas and threw it over the city wall into the valley of Gehenna, causing him to burst asunder.

In verse 20, Peter quotes the scriptures written by David. The first quote is from Psalm 69:

25 Let their habitation be desolate; and let none dwell in their tents.:

The second quotation is from Psalm 109:

8 Let his days be few; and let another take his office.

We wonder at Peter pulling out these otherwise obscure verses from the middle of the Psalms and applying them to Judas. It could only have been through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.

Acts chapter 1 speaks of the bishopric of Judas. He may not have been a believer but Judas was a disciple and an apostle. He had a place that now had to be filled. The use of the term bishopric by the translators of the AV reflects their ecclesiastic position at the time. In I Timothy chapter 3, they translated If any man desires oversight as, If a man desire the office of a bishop.

How did Peter know that the position of Judas had to be fulfilled?

28 And Jesus said unto them, Verily I say unto you, That ye which have followed me, in the regeneration when the Son of man shall sit in the throne of his glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.

There was one place still to be filled. The apostles therefore first chose two from among those present. They had to fulfill one condition - to have been an eye witness of the Lord's life. Paul claimed this for himself when he wrote to the Corinthians, Have I not seen the Lord? They had the choice of two men and they sought the Lord's help in prayer to select the right person. But was it right to cast lots? Is this not a rather haphazard way to chose an apostle? In Joshua chapter 18, Joshua is about to divide up the land between seven of the tribes and he did it by casting lots. Although lots are not mentioned specifically, it was perhaps by lots that Aachan and Saul were chosen also. Thus the lot fell upon Matthias and he became the twelth apostle. We hear nothing more about him but the same can be said about 9 of the other apostles.

Some have argued that the apostles made a mistake here and that Paul should have been named as the twelth apostle. The apostles were not perfect but when they acted in their apostolic duty, they had the authority of the Lord Jesus. In Matthew 18, He said of them:

18 Verily I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.

The 12 apostles bore witness to the Lord on earth. Paul, who saw the Lord in glory, bore witness to the glorified Lord.