Acts 1: 12-17, 21-26
by Rev. Carson Overstreet
Van Wyck Presbyterian Church
May 12, 2019
Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, a sabbath day’s journey away. When they had entered the city, they went to the room upstairs where they were staying, Peter, and John, and James, and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James son of Alphaeus, and Simon the Zealot, and Judas son of James. All these were constantly devoting themselves to prayer, together with certain women, including Mary the mother of Jesus, as well as his brothers.
In those days Peter stood up among the believers (together the crowd numbered about one hundred and twenty people) and said, ‘Friends, the scripture had to be fulfilled, which the Holy Spirit through David foretold concerning Judas, who became a guide for those who arrested Jesus— for he was numbered among us and was allotted his share in this ministry.’
So one of the men who have accompanied us throughout the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, beginning from the baptism of John until the day when he was taken up from us—one of these must become a witness with us to his resurrection.’ So they proposed two, Joseph called Barsabbas, who was also known as Justus, and Matthias. Then they prayed and said, ‘Lord, you know everyone’s heart. Show us which one of these two you have chosen to take the place in this ministry and apostleship from which Judas turned aside to go to his own place.’ And they cast lots for them, and the lot fell on Matthias; and he was added to the eleven apostles. - Acts 1: 12-17, 21-26
Memories of the recent past must have flooded their minds. The Mount of Olives was the place where Jesus began his triumphant entry into Jerusalem to claim his destiny of suffering and salvation (Luke 19:29, 37-38). It is where Jesus regularly went to be still in the presence of the Lord and pray (Luke 22:39). After their last supper together, the disciples had followed Jesus to the Mount of Olives. On that night the disciples saw Jesus wrestle with fulfilling God’s will by the costly grace of the cross. It was in that moment the disciples’ faithfulness was being tested as they slept there in grief and denial of what Jesus had predicted (Luke 22:40-46).
I imagine the eleven apostles struggled with the contradiction that while Judas Iscariot shared in their three-year ministry with Jesus, he was capable of betraying Jesus; and this was to fulfill the Scriptures (Luke 22:21; Psalm 41:9; Acts 1:16). Now they were grieving Judas’ death.
In the mix, Peter must have wrestled with his own denial of Jesus Christ; he too had turned against his Lord and friend not once but three times (Luke 22:34, 55-61). When the cock crowed Peter had wept bitterly (Luke 22:62). But Jesus’ words remained on Peter’s heart: “Simon Peter, I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail; and you, when once you have turned back, strengthen your brothers” (Luke 22:32).
Now here they were back in the upper room of Jerusalem with Jesus’ mother and brothers (Acts 1:14). The weight of it all was palpable and there was an awkwardness among them. The question was how would the apostles go forward in the face of these obstacles? Could they really take Jesus’ marching orders to carry on Jesus’ work in world and make him known?
What the apostles are led to do next matters for the sake of the biblical story and for our stories today. Luke says the eleven apostles together with Jesus’ mother and brothers were constantly devoting themselves.
When we hear that word “devoted” we usually think of someone being a devoted parent, a devoted student, a devoted employee, a devoted friend. In this light it sounds like being devoted is simply being loyal. And there is some truth to that. But sometimes our English language falls short in capturing the essence of a word’s truth.
That word “devote” in the Greek means to give constant attention to; to stay fixed in one direction; to prevail in spite of difficulty.
In the first real challenge they found themselves in, the apostles constantly devoted themselves by giving attention to prayer. You see the apostles were in a process of becoming the hands and feet of Jesus Christ. That meant they needed to call to mind what made Jesus Christ’s life, ministry, and faithfulness to God authentic and powerful. If you look through the gospel accounts Jesus’ authenticity and power were rooted in prayer.
The Lord taught his disciples the way he prayed. To pray for God’s kingdom to come, to pray for God to supply our needs, to pray for forgiveness, and to pray for faithfulness in a world of trials and temptation had become foundational to these apostles (Luke 11:2-4). If the apostles were going to wait and live by the Spirit, they also needed to keep in step with the Holy Spirit. Devoting themselves to prayer guided their steps even as prayer guided Jesus’ steps of obedience to God.
The apostles were becoming resolute in staying fixed in one direction; the direction of unity. They were devoted to living in community as Jesus had called them to live in community with him. In this very uncertain time, solidarity was key in order to process their roller coaster of emotions. Solidarity created a space to imagine their next steps going forward into our risen Lord’s instructions.
The apostles began taking steps to discern God’s will to prevail in spite of difficulty. In order to take the baton and run with it, the apostles had to look at the work they had done with Jesus and the work they were called to do.
Therefore, Peter claimed his authority to be the rock in which the church would be built. He led his fellow apostles in a strategy to restore the group to Jesus’ vision of twelve apostles; this was symbolic for the twelve tribes of Israel and God’s faithfulness to the covenant of God’s people. With a complete number, each apostle would assume specific responsibilities to be the hands and feet of Jesus and make him known.
You and I are in our own processes of becoming apostles of Jesus Christ too. It matters why and how we are joining our risen Lord’s ongoing mission in the world.
Maybe you are new in the faith and you are here today because you are curious to know what a disciple of Jesus Christ actually means. Maybe you have been a cradle Christian and you are seeking a fresh Word as you walk another stretch on the path of faith. Somehow…someway Jesus Christ has touched your life and mine along the way and we want to know what the next right step is.
When I think about why I follow Jesus Christ I always think about a song I once heard as a new Christian from a band called Third Day:
I want the world to turn because of love and mercy to find each of us doing what we can to just believe. I want the world to know that You're the One, Who fills me up and gives me hope and brings about this change that's in me.
Each of you have your own story as to why you follow Jesus Christ. But the how you and I follow is just as important. The writer of Acts, Luke, wants you and I to be empowered by the apostle’s act of being devoted. That does not mean that you and I will devote ourselves to our Creator God, Redeemer Jesus Christ, and Sustainer Holy Spirit perfectly. There was only One who lived in perfect devotion and perfect faithfulness to God and that was Jesus Christ.
Instead Holy Spirit is empowering you and I in this process of devoting ourselves by the example of Jesus’ faithfulness and devotion. Being a devoted apostle is not just about being loyal to the idea of being a Christian. There is more to it than that. And we do it one day at a time in some specific ways.
I want to encourage you to take the time each and every day to devote your faith to prayer. Pray for God’s kingdom to unfold a little more today on earth as it is in heaven. Pray for God to supply your needs and to open your eyes to supply the needs of others. Pray for the courage to forgive just as the costly grace of the cross has already forgiven you. Pray for God to strengthen your faithfulness amidst the trials and temptation of life. Prayer is just talking with God. It gives us a relational framework to discern God’s will, gain spiritual wisdom, glean understanding, wrestle with tough stuff, and mature in our spiritual walk with God (Colossians 1:9, 4:3, 4:12).
I want to encourage you to devote your faith in the fixed direction of unity. Consider the ways your presence brings about unity in community. Make worship a priority in your spiritual life. The community of faith is where we ground ourselves in the truth of whom we belong to. We rejoice with those who rejoice, and we weep with those who weep. Our solidarity is a holy action of trusting God with our lives. The greatest act of being devoted to unity is joining hands across denominational lines in God’s mission. God smiles when we do this.
I want to encourage you to devote your faith to prevail in spite of life’s difficulties. You and I are not just learning the ropes of faith together, but we are “the sent ones” to be the hands and feet of Jesus in a hurting world. Each of us have different responsibilities Monday through Saturday. In the pews I see students, teachers, managers, financial experts, business owners, lawyers, nurses, retirees. But do you know that first and foremost you are a beloved child of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ?
Just imagine how God is calling you to put your faith in action to make Christ known where you work and play? Where is God calling you to extend the grace and compassion of Jesus Christ? Our actions of faith speak much louder than our words.
Becoming a devoted apostle is not about how we live on Sundays or how we live within the four walls of church. Devotion is more about the ways we are being led to put our faith into action in the world so that Jesus’ ministry of reconciliation will prevail in spite of all the obstacles that seem to threaten it.
And on the days when we feel like our faith has failed, we need the unity of Christian community to build us up in the assurance that nothing will ever thwart God’s purposes.
May you and I be empowered by acts of devoting ourselves to Jesus Christ this week.
In the name of God our Creator, Redeemer, and Sustainer. Amen.
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