Peter Stood Up!

Acts 1:12-26

Key Verse 1:15

This passage teaches us how the Lord God prepared the members of his church for the mission to spread the gospel. Most importantly the Lord did this by restoring Peter so he would function as Jesus originally prayed, that is, as a shepherd for the flock. 

1. Compare what the disciples did in verse 12 with Jesus’ instruction to them in verse 4. Now that Jesus was not with them physically, the disciples could have gone back to their hometown, Galilee. But instead, they obeyed Jesus’ instructions and the Lord blessed them. What does this episode teach us about our life of mission in the Lord? 

** This episode indicates that the life of mission in the Lord is always forward looking, going forward to all different corners of the world, all to respond to the call from above, leading people from this mundane world to His kingdom, indicating that the Christians should be a future minded, forward looking people, never stuck with [all the bad] memories of the past. Read Isaiah 54:1-4; Isaiah 43:18-19; Phi 3:13

2. Think about what the disciples did in Jerusalem in verses 13-14. In what respect was it difficult for them to pray together in this way? Yet why did they do so?  What can we learn from them in serving the Lord’s world mission command?

** 1) They were all “different” in character, likes or dislikes, desires, wants and wishes, etc. Yet they were to gather and do something with one purpose. 

2) They were men of “action”. So it might have been difficult for them to gather doing nothing but “praying”. 

3) In those days by law men and women got separated in worship, much less in praying in a small room together. But Jesus changed this, breaking down all the barriers esp. the barrier of sin (of lust, discrimination against woman etc.) 

4) They might have been worried about the future, esp. on making a living, so they must have been tempted to go out, find a job, and make a living. But they denied themselves, and prayed together “constantly”. 

** They did this for they felt helpless (with Jesus not being around). It shows that they were men and women of “faith” in the Lord.

** God’s work must be served God’s way through God’s power. Prayer and the word of God are two means of grace by which for us to serve God’s mission.

3 Verse 15 suggests that it was “in those days” [of intensive prayer] that Peter “stood up” among the believers. Consider what Peter did (after standing up) and what he had been doing in “those” days. What do you think brought about this change within Peter? Why is this kind of change in a man necessary for God’s work to arise?

** As he prayed, he had opportunity to leave the world of his own [human] thoughts and natural feelings, rise to God’s level, discerning God’s will, purpose, and vision, not only for himself but for all peoples on earth. Particularly as he came close to God, he was inspired by God’s Spirit, that he could “see” (understand) everything clearly including the seemingly horrible thing Judas Iscariot did.  

** It is necessary because first God breaks man down, then God fixes the man in a way God desires him to be, and thereby molds the man to be the kind of instrument the Lord God can use according to his pleasure and will. The point is that in one’s own natural state, it is impossible for God to use anyone. 

 

4. Verses 16-20 indicate that Peter found a solution to the problem (of Judas Iscariot) in the Scriptures. What can we learn from Peter in coping with the problems we run into while serving the Lord? 

** We learn from Peter the importance to go back to the Bible and study it with a sense of problem, for the Scriptures are the tool with which to do the work. The Scriptures are also the specifications, manual, and ‘how-to-do’ book, showing us how to serve God’s ministry, including how to get problems resolved.

5. In verses 21-22 Peter set forth the qualifications a “witness” of Jesus Christ must satisfy. What does this passage tell us about the mission given to the body of Jesus Christ? 

** It is witnessing about all that Jesus did and is going to do for all who put trust in Him, that is, the salvation of the dying from the power of sin and death into the family of the eternal God. 

6. Verses 23-26 describe the way in which Matthias was added to the “apostolic ministry.”  What does “apostolic” mean? How is it related with “witnessing”?

** Apostolic means of the Apostles. Apostles mean the ones sent by Jesus to this world. As John says we Christians are in this world but not of this world. Just as God sent Jesus to this world, so also Jesus sent us to this world to let us reveal God to the world through Jesus Christ, that by looking at and learning from Jesus, people would know God the Father and His purpose of salvation for them, and be saved into His family.

The end