Psalm 16

This was written while David was on the run from Saul.

David had already been anointed king, but there was a long time before he actually assumed the position. In this Psalm we see that he puts his trust firmly in the Lord, and he trusts the Lord to deal with the difficult and life threatening situation he finds himself in.

David declares that all the good things he has come from the Lord. We can often be deceived in thinking some good thing comes from another source, and so we desert the Lord.

David delights in the godly people in the land. The people we should admire are not the ones the world admires.

Even though David experienced danger, he declares that the he is satisfied with the life that God has assigned to him, and that he believes he is secure. We need to develop this same trust in God.

Fears can come in the night, at those times we should praise the Lord, we should also look to hear the wise voice of the Holy Spirit counselling us. In all situations we should look to the Lord and rely on Him for guidance. Then we will have true security and peace. The Lord will not abandon us, and He has shown us the path of life.

We should remember that David wrote this in the midst of difficulties. If we are facing challenges and trials at the moment, we should ask God to enable us to have joy and peace in the midst of them.

Psalms 15

The sanctuary was a tent, it was not until Solomon that the temple was built. Mount Zion was the holy mountain.

The Psalm sets out the qualifications for being able to enter the presence of the Lord. These qualifications are onerous:

• Having a blameless walk and doing what is right
• Speak the truth from a pure heart
• Speaking no evil whatsoever
• Never doing wrong to others
• Hating wickedness and honouring those who fear God
• Keeping our promises, whatever the cost
• Not exploiting the poor in anyway
• Complete financial integrity

Now, who of us can say we meet all these conditions perfectly? No one. Only one person has satisfied these criteria, the Lord Jesus Christ. That is why we need faith in Christ. Sometimes people object that we are being exclusive when we say that Christ is the only way to God, but to such objectors we can say "who are you to imagine you can approach God?". 

The Psalm closes by saying that whoever does these things will never be shaken, and Jesus was not shaken. He endured and triumphed in all situations. If we want to be secure in life then we need to live this way as well.

Acts 8:26-40

Philip was then instructed by an angel to go to the desert road that leads from Jerusalem to Gaza. There a number of incidents in the Bible of angels directing God's servants.

On the way Philip met an Ethiopian. The journey can be as important as the destination. The Ethiopian was reading the Book of Isaiah, and the Spirit instructed Philip to go near to the Ethiopians chariot.

Philip initiated the conversation by asking the Ethiopian if he understood what he was reading. The man could not, and said he needed someone to explain it to him. We need to realise that people need us to explain what the Bible is all about, that is why it is important to preach the good news, it is not just about actions.

The man was reading from Isaiah 53, the clearest prophecy of the cross that there is in the Old Testament. Philip explained that Isaiah was talking about Jesus. The eunuch believed and was baptised at the first opportunity. Philip was suddenly transported elsewhere by the Spirit and continued preaching, while the Ethiopian went on his way rejoicing.

Acts 8:1-25

The incident with Stephen resulted in great persecution of the church. Much of the church was scattered to Judea and Samaria, with only the apostles left in Jerusalem. It is not clear why the apostles remained there. Saul began his "reign of terror", going around persecuting Christians. We know how things worked out in the end, with Saul becoming Paul, the great evangelist.

The persecution had some immediate benefits, resulting the further spread of the good news. Philip, another of the seven, was one of the main players in this. He performed various signs, cast out demons, healed people, and people paid attention to him. Unlike the religious leaders in Jerusalem, the people of Samaria reacted with great joy.

In Samaria there was a man called Simon who attracted a following because of his sorcery. We may be inclined to scoff at the naivety of the people for believing this sort of stuff, but we should be careful. For in modern times people like Uri Geller have attracted attention for carrying out similar acts.

Many people were baptised, including Simon. This raises a number of questions. The first concerns the Holy Spirit, for the people did not receive the Holy Spirit at this point. Only when Peter and John came and prayed for them did the new believers receive the Holy Spirit. From this it is clear that "receiving the Spirit" was not a theological nicety, for the people knew they had not received the Spirit before the Peter and John came, and everyone knew they had received Him after they were prayed with.

It is not clear why the Holy Spirit did not come upon them initially. It may have been to cement unity between Jewish and Samaritan Christians, for Israel had a pretty low view of Samaria.

Simon saw the Holy Spirit as a means of making money and wanted the ability to lay hands on people and see them receive the Spirit. This presents some interesting issues. For the implication is that Simon himself had received the Spirit, yet he was capable of such unworthy behaviour.  Peter rebukes him sternly, and Simon asks for forgiveness. Simon needed to be set free from many things, bitterness and captivity to sin in particular. Just because someone believes and receives the Spirit does not mean the job is done.

Acts 7:54-60

The end of this incident is a warning to all who look on being "used by God", or "moving in the power of God" as an easy option, or a cheap thrill. The more we are filled with the Spirit the more Christlike we become, and the more we walk the path of Christ. Jesus made it perfectly clear that following Him entailed sharing in His sufferings. If the world rejected Christ, which it did, then it will reject those who are like Him. 

The Sanhedrin were furious and flew into a rage. Stephen, did not react out of his human nature, but was filled with the Spirit. This had two effects. First, he was filled with great peace and awareness of the presence of God. Secondly, he called on God to forgive his persecutors. Stephen was truly experiencing the life of God.

The Sanhedrin just got madder and madder, and they stoned Stephen, with the approval of Saul.

Today we do not face the violent persecution in this country that Stephen faced, but we can still learn lessons. Some atheists are increasingly antagonistic towards Christianity. We should seek to react as Stephen did. This means we must not use worldly methods to "defeat" the atheists (2 Cor 10:4,5), though the Spirit may enable us from time to time to use incisive arguments against them. We do not need to fear, and we can safely let God take care of any judgement that needs to be taken care of. We should remain calm, and pray for their forgiveness. Maybe some Paul's will come out of atheist movements!

Acts 7:44-53

Stephen then summarises very briefly what happened after Moses, referring to the tabernacle. The key point he is making relates to the temple, and the fact that even the Old Testament recognised that God does not live in man made buildings. The Temple was central to Jewish worship. 

So again we see how the Jews had got it completely wrong. They just totally misunderstood what God was saying to them in the Old Testament. This is a trait of all human beings, including ourselves. We find it very easy to completely misunderstand what God is doing, and have a terrible habit of worshipping or putting faith in something other than God.

It is worth noting that the Bible is completely realistic. Naive people often view the Bible as just being for ignorant people, but the Bible is perfectly clear that idols were just bits of stone and metal and could do nothing, and that no man-made house could possibly be a proper home for God.

Stephen concludes his speech with a devastating attack on the Jewish leaders, convicting them of their sinfulness.

Acts 7:30-43

Stephen retells Moses' encounter with God, and then reminds his hearers that the Israelites of the time said to Moses "who made you ruler and judge?". Ie the same sort of criticisms the Jews made of Jesus. Moses was clearly chosen by God, and this was recognised by all the Jews. He did perform miracles, and he did lead the Israelites out of slavery.

Stephen then reminds them that this same Moses who the religious leaders were so proud of having allegiance to had said that God would send another prophet. The clear implication is that Moses was talking about Jesus.

Then we read of how the Israelites disobeyed Moses. Indeed, it would not be unfair to summarise the Old Testament as a record of Israel's sins against God (I know it is more than that, but it does sum up an awful lot of the OT).

Israel has a track record of rejecting God's servants.

Acts 7:11-29

Stephen continues with the tale of Jospeh, and how the bodies of their ancestors were brought back from Egypt to Israel. Again, Stephen is probably stressing his understanding and appreciation of Jewish heritage.

Next he turns to the exodus from Egypt. This happened at a time when a "bad" king was ruling Egypt. Perhaps there is a parallel to Jesus bringing salvation at the time Israel was under Roman rule.

Moses was the to be the one who would bring the Israelites out of Egypt. His birth and upbringing were unusual in the sense that male babies were being killed at the time, but he was spared and was then brought up as a prince of Egypt.

Moses tried to help his people, but they rejected him. There is an obvious allusion here to the Jews rejecting Jesus. Moses had to flee.

Acts 7:1-10

Stephen is asked to answer the charges. Instead he gives them an outline of the whole of Israel's history. Jesus often did not answer the question that people asked, but instead told them what they needed to know, though they did not necessarily want to know. Stephen is doing the same.

Stephen goes right back to the beginning of the nation, ie to Abraham. He begins with a précis of Abraham's life. Why is he doing this? Maybe it is to show that he is well versed in Israel's history, or that the whole message of the gospel is  springs out of Israel's history and is the fulfilment of it.

He then gets to Joseph, and now the knife starts to go in. Stephen draws attention to the fact that most of the patriarchs (ie Joseph's brothers) were jealous of Joseph. Ie Israel has actually never had a good track record of recognising the people chosen by God. Despite his brother's opposition, Joseph survived and prospered.

Acts 6:8-15

Stephen was one of the seven. He was also a man who performed great wonders and signs among the people. In an earlier post I noted that most of the miracles recorded in Acts were performed by the apostles, Stephen is one clear example where someone other than an apostle performed miracles. The example of Stephen also shows that in God's kingdom there is no clear distinction between people who do "spiritual" tasks and those who do more mundane tasks, such as "serving at tables". 

Opposition arose to Stephen because of what he was doing. When the power of God is clearly demonstrated opposition will always arise. They argued with Stephen, but the Spirit gave Stephen wisdom to answer them.

Rational argument having failed, they resorted to false accusation (as the religious leaders had done so against Jesus), and falsely accused him of blasphemy. So Stephen was arrested and brought false witnesses against him. Interestingly the accusations were similar to those brought against Jesus. Even in this Stephen's face shone like an angel, perhaps there is an allusion here to Moses' face being radiant.

Stephen was a remarkable man. He was skilled in the practicalities of running a church, he could perform great signs and wonders, he could defend the gospel, and in the next chapter we will see him giving a devastating account of Jewish history to his accusers, and finally becoming a martyr.

Acts 6:1-7

There may be a reasonable gap between the events at the end of chapter 5 and what is reported here. The church continued to grow, but some problems arose, namely between the Greek and Hebrew Jews. This is a reminder that just because we are the church, it does not mean that we will be immune from human problems. One of the groups felt that their widows were not being treated fairly.

The Twelve gathered all the disciples together.There are a number of points that can be learnt from the way they dealt with the problem:

• They did not allow it to distract them from the main task, namely preaching the good news.
• They still treated the problem seriously.
• They delegated responsibility for the solving the problem.
• In doing this they did not engender a dependency culture. There is always a great danger that in seeking to help people we can make them dependent, God's way is to liberate and empower people.
• They gave them guidance.
• The men chosen to implement the solution were to be full of the Spirit and wisdom, ie the task was not seen as being menial.

So the problem was solved and the church continued to grow. Indeed it seems that they started to make new inroads, for a number of priests were saved.

Acts 5:33-41

Not surprisingly the Sanhedrin reacted with fury. Those who are guilty often react the most violently when accused. However, one teacher of the Law did offer an alternative view. Gamaliel was greatly respected. He spoke to the Sanhedrin in private. If you are trying to convince someone to change their mind or their approach it is usually best to do it in private. Changing ones mind, or climbing down, may seem to involve a degree of humiliation, so you have more chance of success if it is done privately.

Gamaliel is not arguing from faith, but giving a rational argument. There had been many supposed messiahs, some of whom seemed to enjoy an amount of success for a while. but in the end they just fizzled out. A particular case of a man called Theudas is cited, he had a good number of followes, but after his death the whole thing faded away. Another example, someone called Judas, is cited as well. So if Jesus was just a man, then in time the whole thing would die out. However, if Jesus was indeed God, then to resist the disciples would be extreme folly.

The Sanhedrin were convinced and let the disciples go, though not before having them flogged. They were ordered again to stop preaching the name of Jesus, but they ignored this and rejoiced that God considered them worthy of suffering for Jesus' sake.

As an aside, the very fact of the church is strong evidence for the resurrection. For if Jesus had not indeed risen from the dead, there is little else to explain the emergence and continuation of the church.

Acts 5:27-32

The apostles were called to account and charged with ignoring the orders of the Sanhedrin and trying to make them guilty of Jesus' death. 

Peter gives them a straight answer. First they must obey God rather than man. Now this raises the question of when we should and should not obey human authorities, for the general teaching of the Bible (eg Romans 13 in the NT) is that we should respect and obey human authorities. The general rule is that we obey human authorities unless they tell us to do something that is explicitly against God's ways. Even so, this will still leave grey areas. A good rule of thumb to ask yourself is "who pays the price of my disobedience". If it is someone else, then you are almost certainly not following God's will, but are instead acting out of your own "wisdom" or "self-interest" dressed up as God's will. In the case here it was the apostles who would pay the price.

Then Peter makes it quite clear that it was the Sanhedrin who had Jesus killed. God intervened by raising Christ from the dead, and His will now was that Israel repent and receive forgiveness. It is interesting to note how God acted in the situation. Men plotted to kill Jesus. God let them kill Him, and then raised Him from the dead. He did not stop them killing Jesus, for as we know He was achieving a greater purpose on the cross. It can seem at times that God is doing nothing in a situation, as did on the first Easter right up until the first Easter Sunday. What was actually happening was that something more amazing than we could possibly imagine was occurring, namely the paying of the price for our sins, and setting us free from the power of sin. In areas in your life when God may seem to be doing nothing, He may in fact be doing something far deeper and more wonderful than you imagine.

Acts 5:17-26

The miracles and success of the church brought persecution. It was the Sadducees in particular who led this attack. They would be particularly incensed because they did not believe in resurrection. So they arrested the apostles and put them in jail. 

However, man cannot stop the work of God. God sent an angel who opened the doors of the jail. The apostles were freed and told to preach the good news in the temple courts. When God is at work there may (in fact, will) be a price to pay, but we need not fear that we will not succeed, all the schemes of men will come to nothing.

The Sanhedrin were rather surprised by the turn of events! First the apostles were no longer in the jail, despite the door being locked, then they discovered them preaching again in the temple courts. The Sanhedrin would have viewed the temple court as their domain, but in reality it was God's domain.

Acts 5:12-16

The apostles carried out many miracles. It is worth noting that most of the miracles in Acts are attributed to the apostles. This does raise the question of what we should expect to see in the church today. Should absolutely everyone be able to perform miracles, or just a few (presumably the leaders)? There, of course, those who say miracles were just for the early church. I cannot really see any Biblical justification for this. I should also make it clear that I firmly believe we should see a lot more miracles than we do at the moment. However, we should also have miracles in their right perspective. In the Bible they have a twofold purpose: (i) the immediate need (dealing, feeding etc); (ii) as a sign to the world. They are not an end in themselves.

The display of God's power meant that the rest of the people regarded the believers with a certain amount of fear and high regard. This is in stark contrast to the view of the church that most people have today. What is the difference? It is that the church in Acts 5 had God at its centre.

Even so, many people did believe in the message. Also many sick people were brought to them and they were healed. They also hoped even for Peter's shadow to fall on them so they could be healed. It isn't absolutely clear whether or not Peter's shadow was sufficient to heal people, but this passage is a warning against undue scepticism about some things that might happen in churches. There are some unfounded claims of the miraculous that are made in churches, but at the same time when the power of the Spirit is evident some unusual things will happen, and some of these will offend our sense of the way things should be done.

Acts 5:1-11

We have just read about how the believers shared their possessions, now we read about how it can all go wrong. What happened in Chapter 4 was motivated by the Holy Spirit, what we see here is motivated by the flesh.

Ananias and Sapphira sold some property, but only gave part of it to the apostles (ie to the church). Now the problem was not that they kept some of the money back for themselves, the problem was that they sought to deceive the church, and in effect try to deceive God.

Peter confronted Ananias and Ananias dropped dead. later his wife came and told the same lie, she too dropped dead!

Not surprisingly this had quite an effect on the church, and wider afield. The key points are that we must not deceive God, and in lying to men we lie to God. Also we have responsibility for the possessions that we have, and it is up to us how we handle them.

Acts 4:32-36

There was unity between the believers, both in heart and mind. This is in contrast to the situation between the religious leaders. Attempts to bring unity through law will always fail, and sadly the church has proved this many times!

There was also a practical sharing of material goods between the believers. No one claimed that what they owned was their own. Again, any attempt to replicate this through a legalistic means (eg making it a church rule) will lead to disaster. it is the fruit of the work of the Spirit in a person's heart.

The apostles proclaimed the resurrection of the Lord. There are various attempts by people to make out that the resurrection was not actually central to the early church, but these claims are nonsense. The resurrection was the sole reason for the emergence of the church and was the central point of its message.

God's grace worked powerfully in them. Too often we think of God's grace in a passive sense of receiving forgiveness, but in the Bible grace is active, it enables us to do things and to achieve things. The result it produced here was to end poverty. This was brought about by the generosity God produced in people's hearts. Barnabas is cited as an example. Barnabas would play an important role later on in the church, hence his mention here.

Acts 4:21-31

The religious leaders let them go, events had left them in a quandary over what to do.

Peter and John went back to the rest of the believers and reported what had happened and what had been said. This prompted the people to pray to God. Note the contrast between their reaction and that of the religious leaders. The religious leaders were relying on their own wisdom and self-interest and were left confused. The believers relied on God's wisdom and looked to the glorifying of His name. So they were filled with the Spirit and boldness.

The believers saw these events as a fulfilment of things that David had spoken of in the Psalms, Psalm 2 in this case. Note that the Psalms are often quoted by Jesus and the apostles. This indicates that we are not to take the Psalms just as worship or prayer, but as prophecy as well.

Having praised God, they then applied the Psalm to their own situation, putting Herod and Pilate, and the people of Jerusalem, in the place of those who plotted in vain. They called on God to make Himself all the more evident in their lives. And God answered their prayers.

Acts 4:12-20

Finally Peter tells them that Jesus is the only route to salvation. The religious leaders were impressed with the courage and wisdom of the men, and noted that they had been with Jesus. This would make them worried, for Peter and John were doing the same things that Jesus did, answering questions in the same way that Jesus did, and proclaiming that Jesus was alive and was the only way to God.

The leaders were faced with the same dilemma they had in confronting Jesus. They wanted to shut them up, but could not deny the facts, and could not deny the reaction of the crowd. So they try to use force to stop them. So they ordered Peter and John not to use the name of Jesus. 

Peter and John refused to comply with this. The leaders made further threats, but could do nothing else and had to let them go.

Acts 4:5-11

The religious rulers met in Jerusalem. Annas had actually been deposed as high priest by the Romans, but was till recognised by the Jews. They questioned Peter and John. Note that there was no question about the miracle being genuine, this was accepted as a fact. Instead they were concerned about in whose name and by what power they had performed the miracle.

Jesus had told them not to worry about what they would say when called before the councils of men for the Spirit would help them, and here we see that working out in practice. Peter first points out that they are being called to account for an act of kindness. It is indeed very strange, for the lame man's life has been made immeasurable better by their actions. So why does this merit them being thrown in jail?

Peter then puts it to them straight. It was by the name of Jesus that they healed the man. The same Jesus they had crucified but God had raised from the dead. Peter then drives the point home by quoting from Psalm 118:33, a Psalm Jesus Himself had quoted from. The Holy Spirit is working through  Peter to convict the religious leaders.

Acts 4:1-4

Just as Jesus' ministry brought Him into conflict with the religious authorities, so it was with Peter and John. 

In having Jesus crucified the religious leaders thought they had done away with the "problem", but they were very much mistaken, and were horrified when they found His disciples proclaiming that Jesus had been raised from the dead. We should take heart from this as we face a world that is increasingly hostile to the good news and Jesus in particular. They may try all sorts of things to stop the Word being preached, and may even appear to succeed, but God has the last word, and He can overcome anything that they try against Him.

Peter and John were arrested and thrown into prison, and would not be questioned until the morning. Despite this, many more people put their faith in Christ.

We should note that just because miracles happen does not mean persecution will not, indeed the evidence of the Bible is that it will increase.

Acts 3:17-26

Verse 17 is reminiscent of Joseph's words to his brothers (Genesis 50:19,20). God worked through the situation for good. However, a response was still demanded from the people, they need to repent. We need to repent in order for our sins to be wiped out, and for times of refreshing to come. While we stubbornly refuse to repent we carry a heavy burden that weighs us down, but if we repent and turn to God then the burden is lifted and life comes in instead.

Peter quotes from Moses (Deut 18:15, 18, 19), seeing Jesus as the one whom Moses had said would come. The Old Testament is looking forward to one who would bring about fulfilment of God's plans, and Jesus is that one.

Far from rejecting their Jewish heritage, in accepting Jesus they would be fulfilling it.

Acts 3:11-16

Again, after the action Peter gives the explanation.

Not surprisingly, the healing of the man had aroused amazement among the people and they came to see what was happening.

Peter first says that they should not be surprised at what was happening, then warns them that it was not Peter and John's own power that healed the man, but God's power. 

The reason all this was happening is because God the Father has glorified the Lord Jesus Christ. Peter gives God the title "God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob", emphasising that it is the same God who Israel has always worshipped. What they were seeing was God at work.

Peter then gives it to them straight about what they had done in crucifying Jesus, even preferring to see a murder released rather than Jesus. The resurrection overcame all man's sin, and now the name of Jesus and faith in His name had healed the lame man. Jesus is the One they should believe in.

Acts 3:1-10

This is one of the most famous incidents in Acts, and like several other healings in Acts, could have jsut as easily happened to Jesus.

The man had been lame from birth, so lame that he could not walk at all, and so had to be carried out to beg.

When he asked Peter and John for money Peter commanded him to look at them. Peter was aiming to get the man's full attention, most people probably ignored him. The man, however, was merely expecting to get some money.

Instead of money, Peter healed him.  He commanded him in the name of Jesus to get up and walk. The are a number of interesting questions that can be asked (and to which I don't have the answer!) and observations. Why did Peter decided to do this? The man had not demonstrated any faith, and had not had the chance to do so. Peter was telling him to do something that naturally he could not do. 

Peter gave him a helping hand, and the man was instantly healed. The man then started leaping about and praising God. The people around were equally amazed.

Acts 2:42-47

This short section shows a little of what the early believers did.  There were four main elements:

• Devotion to the apostles' teaching
• Fellowship
• Breaking of bread
• Prayer

The apostles were charged with passing on the things that Jesus had taught them, and they had been direct witnesses of His ministry and resurrection. 

The believers formed a community, and shared a lot of their lives together. This even included sharing their possessions.

Jesus had commanded His disciples to observe the breaking of bread at the Last Supper.

They prayed continually.

In addition the apostles performed many miracles. Presumably there would normally be healings of various sorts.

They met together in the temple courts. This indicates, inline with Peter's preaching, that they saw themselves as a continuation of Judaism. They praised God and enjoyed the favour of the people. Furthermore, the church continued to grow.

Acts 2:37-41

The people were cut to the heart. Why and how did this happen? It was not because the preaching was particularly eloquent, but because it was the truth of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit convicted them.

What shall we do, was their response. So Peter tells them to repent and be baptised. In order to receive Jesus we need to turn from our own ways and turn towards God's ways. Then they needed to be baptised into the name of Jesus Christ. They needed to commit themselves wholeheartedly to Jesus in order to receive forgiveness. They they too would receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 

We see here the key ingredients of conversion: repentance, commitment to Christ, forgiveness and receiving the Holy Spirit. 

This applied not only to them, but to their children and to the whole world. The same message is relevant today. The "and to your children" cannot really be seen as promoting infant baptism, rather the verse is saying that this new way of life applies to all generations.

Acts 2:22-36

Having put the immediate events in their prophetic context, Peter turns to the recent events involving Jesus.

Once again it is based on what the people had seen. Many of them would have seen, and even more of them heard about, the miracles, signs and wonders that Jesus had done. He then places the responsibility for Jesus' death firmly with them and with the Roman authorities, and the priests. But all this was part of God's plan, then God raised Jesus from the dead.

Peter then quotes from Psalm 16. This Psalm talks of God's chosen one not seeing decay. Clearly this could not have been applying to David because David was dead and buried. David was a prophet and was looking forward to what God would do in Christ. In fact all of the Old Testament is looking forward to what God would do in Christ. The mistake of the Jews was to think that the Old Testament was it, when it was in fact a pointer to "it".

Peter and his companions had all seen the risen Christ and they testified to that fact. Jesus is risen, and Jesus is the Messiah, is the heart of the gospel message.

Acts 2:14-21

Peter gets up and explains the events to the people. There is often a lot of nonsense talked in the church about words and actions as if it was a choice between the two. Proclamation of the kingdom is both words and actions. People need to see things happening, whether this being the church getting involved in things, taking action to help the needy, miraculous events or things happening in our lives. Then they need words to explain what is happening and what it all means. Words on their own are dead, actions without words are confusing.

It is worth remembering that this is only seven weeks or so since Peter denied Jesus. He has been transformed from a coward into a man of boldness in a few weeks. With the Holy Spirit big changes can take place in us very quickly. 

Peter ties in the events with Joel's prophesy of the Holy Spirit. Joel foretold that God would pour out His Spirit on all people. Jesus' death and resurrection made it possible for the Holy Spirit to come and dwell with men and women. Joel is in some ways an apocalyptic prophesy, but part of it undoubtedly applies now. The coming of the Holy Spirit is a major event in the history of the world. In our own lives and our own towns, significant things will happen when men and women allow the Holy Spirit to fill them and lead them in their lives.

Acts 2:1-13

Pentecost is the Old Testament Feast of Weeks (Ex 34:22). By the time the events in Acts occurred it had become a celebration of the giving of the Law to Moses. It is therefore appropriate that the Holy Spirit was given to the church on that day. For under the Old Covenant people lived by the Law, now we are to live by the Spirit.

The coming of the Spirit was noticeable, both by the presence of a violent wind and the appearance of tongues of fire. The Hebrew word for Spirit can mean wind, and John the Baptist had said Jesus would baptise them with fire. The Spirit came to rest on each one of them, and they began to speak in other tongues by the ability of the Spirit. Being filled with the Spirit is not a mere theological truth, but something that has a tangible effect.

The event immediately began to have an effect on the whole city. Because of the time of year there were people from many areas, and all of them heard the disciples speaking in their own language. Some were amazed, others mocked.

So we see here two key aspects of the work of the Holy Spirit. He has an effect on the individual Christian, and then that effect will start to have an influence on the world around.

Acts 1:12-23

In obedience the apostles returned to Jerusalem. As in Luke's gospel, there is mention of the women. Luke is keen to emphasise that women played an important part in the early church. They all joined together and prayed.

They addressed the issue of a replacement for Judas. Judas had committed suicide after betraying Jesus.

Peter uses Psalm 69:2 and 109:8 as justification for choosing a replacement. They saw the criteria as being someone who had been with them the whole time since John's baptism to the ascension of Jesus. Ie the primary duty was to be a witness to Jesus.

They came up with two suitable candidates and then drew lots to select the "winner". In drawing lots they were entrusting the final decision to God.

Matthias was chosen, though we read nothing further of him. It is not clear whether we should draw from this that the whole thing was a waste of time, for God later chose Paul of whom we hear an awful lot! Moreover Paul did not fit the criteria specified by Peter. Sometimes we do get bogged down in details that really do not matter, and can even provide Biblical justification for getting bogged down.

Acts 1:6-11

The disciples still did not fully understand, their thinking was fixated on what was going to happen to Israel (maybe some Christians today have the same problem! - see comments that follow before you stone me). Now notice Jesus' answer. He does not deny that kingdom will be restored to Israel, and chapters 9-11 of Romans make clear that Israel is part of God's plan, and is indeed central to it. However, God's plan was much bigger than they imagined. God's plan was made clear to Abraham when He said that all peoples would be blessed through Abraham. God was now going to engage in the "all peoples" bit. If you focus on Israel to the exclusion of other things then you are up a gum tree, equally if you think Israel is no longer part of God's plan, then you are up a different gum tree.

Notice what Jesus does tell them. First, they are not to concern themselves with times or dates. Some people who are obsessed with the end times should take note. Instead they are to get on with the job of making disciples of all nations. We receive power from the Holy Spirit, and this power is directed towards taking the gospel to all the world.

Jesus was then taken from them, but two angels (who appeared as men) warns them not to continue looking up in the sky. Jesus would one day return to the earth.