This came to them as they stood "looking stedfastly into heaven," wondering and distressed at the departure of their Lord. It came by the lips of the angels, “two men

in white apparel"; fitting messengers these were, for angels had heralded the birth of Christ, and angels announced his resurrection; how natural that they should predict his return! They prefaced their promise by a question: "Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye looking into heaven?" No time was to be lost in mourning and regret; it was true their Lord had vanished from their sight, but some day he would reappear; meanwhile there was a work for them to do and in its faithful accomplishment they were to be inspired ever by this blessed hope: "this Jesus, who was received up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye beheld him going into heaven." Personal, visible, bodily, local, this coming is to be. The angels did not refer to the gift at Pentecost, which was the manifestation of a spiritual Presence, nor to the destruction of Jerusalem or other events now past, much less to the death of believers; they spoke of the future return of Christ, when the triumph of his cause will be made complete and an age of glory and righteousness will begin. No wonder the disciples were comforted and, as Luke, ch. 24: 52, tells us, "returned to Jerusalem with great joy." No promise is more full of divine cheer; none has proved to be a greater stimulus to evangelistic and missionary enterprise. The Acts tells us how the disciples went forth to preach the Gospel in all the world, expecting and looking for their Lord to return and to establish finally his Kingdom.

b. The Disciples in Jerusalem. Ch. 1: 12-26.

This section, like the opening verses of the chapter, may be regarded, not improperly, as introductory to the main narrative of The Acts. The great theme of the book is "The Church Witnessing for Christ," and here attention is fixed upon the disciples in Jerusalem, the elements of the Church, its first members, and the official witnesses, those specially authorized to testify to the resurrection of Christ.

(1) Waiting for the Promise. Ch. 1: 12-14.

12 Then returned they unto Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is nigh unto Jerusalem, a sabbath day's journey off. 13 And when they were come in, they went up into the upper chamber, where they were abiding; both Peter and John and James and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James the son of Alphæus, and Simon the Zealot, and Judas the son of James. 14 These all with one accord continued stedfastly in prayer, with the women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brethren.

The picture of the disciples waiting for the fulfillment of the "promise" is full of interest. After beholding the ascension of Christ the eleven disciples returned to Jerusalem from the Mount of Olives, "which is nigh unto Jerusalem, a sabbath day's journey off," that is, not more than a thousand paces, not farther than a pious Jew would walk upon a Sabbath. Thus the ascension was virtually from Jerusalem, from within the sacred precincts, and the Holy City was to be the scene of the first witnessing for Christ, as it had been of his most significant ministry, of his death and resurrection and ascension. It is notable that the disciples returned to Jerusalem. This was due wholly to the command of their Lord, "not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father." Naturally they would have fled from the city; it was for them a place of peril, and their homes were in Galilee; but there was a divine purpose in having the witness begin at Jerusalem; it may have been a place of danger, but it was the place of widest possible influence. So as servants of Christ 'we have all to ask, not where we shall be most at ease, but where we shall be most efficient as witnesses for Christ, and to remember that very often the presence of adversaries makes the door 'great and effectual.'"

The exact room "where they were abiding," that is, where they met from day to day, is not known; it is called "the upper chamber" and was quite probably the scene of the Last Supper, the very place where Christ had appeared to the ten disciples on the evening after his resurrection, and a week later to the same company and Thomas. In noting the names of "the eleven," it is to be remem

bered that Judas is dead. Comparing them with the lists given by Matthew, ch. 10: 2-4, and Mark, ch. 3: 16-19, it will be found that they are divided into the same three groups: "Peter and John and James and Andrew, Philip and Thomas and Bartholomew and Matthew, James the son of Alphæus, and Simon the Zealot, and Judas the son of James." The last named was called Thaddeus in the Gospels; and Bartholomew is to be identified with Nathanael, the "Israelite" in whom Jesus saw "no guile." Of all those enumerated here only three are mentioned in this book so commonly called "The Acts of the Apostles," yet we need have no doubt that they all bore notable testimony for Christ even though the sphere of their activities lay aside from the immediate purpose of the historian.

In addition to "the eleven" Luke tells us that in the sacred circle in the upper room there were present certain women, probably those who had aided Jesus in the days of his public ministry, Luke 8: 1-3; 23: 55; also, "Mary the mother of Jesus," whose name does not appear again in the New Testament; and lastly the "brethren' of Jesus, who before his resurrection had not believed in him, but one of whom soon rises to the place of supreme leadership in the Church in Jerusalem. Taking them all in all, the persons who composed this group were of humble station, of modest means, and of moderate ability, yet united and empowered by the Spirit of Christ they formed the most important society and achieved the most notable work in the history of the world.

They met in that upper room for prayer; and in such gatherings the most significant Christian movements ever have been begun. They were asking for the fulfillment of a promise; this always gives assurance in prayer. The Lord had promised them a new and mighty manifestation of his Spirit; that it was to come at Pentecost we know, and we now see the symbolic fitness of the day, and the opportunity it would give for witnessing to the crowds which would then throng the sacred city; but the disciples in the upper room did not know the time appointed or the reasons for the delay; still, "these all with one accord continued stedfastly in prayer"; and The Acts records

the result, and strengthens every group of believers to persevere in united intercession, trusting that the answer will be more blessed and abiding than the most confident dare ask or think.

(2) Electing an Apostle. Ch. 1 15-26

:

15 And in these days Peter stood up in the midst of the brethren, and said (and there was a multitude of persons gathered together, about a hundred and twenty), 16 Brethren, it was needful that the scripture should be fulfilled, which the Holy Spirit spake before by the mouth of David concerning Judas, who was guide to them that took Jesus. 17 For he was numbered among us, and received his portion in this ministry. 18 (Now this man obtained a field with the reward of his iniquity; and falling headlong, he burst asunder in the midst, and all his bowels gushed out. 19 And it became known to all the dwellers at Jerusalem; insomuch that in their language that field was called Akeldama, that is, The field of blood.) 20 For it is written in the book of Psalms, Let his habitation be made desolate,

And let no man dwell therein:

and,

His office let another take.

21 Of the men therefore that have companied with us all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and went out among us, 22 beginning from the baptism of John, unto the day that he was received up from us, of these must one become a witness with us of his resurrection. 23 And they put forward two, Joseph called Barsabbas, who was surnamed Justus, and Matthias. 24 And they prayed, and said, Thou, Lord, who knowest the hearts of all men, show of these two the one whom thou hast chosen, 25 to take the place in this ministry and apostleship from which Judas fell away, that he might go to his own place. 26 And they gave lots for them; and the lot fell upon Matthias; and he was numbered with the eleven apostles.

In recent years there has been an increasing custom of censuring the early Christians for their action in electing an apostle to fill the place made vacant by Judas. It seems to require, however, considerable temerity to criticize men who, for forty days, had been receiving instruction from the risen Christ, and who, since his ascension, had been passing the hours in united prayer. Then, too,

the action was taken, not by the apostles alone, but by the whole company of Christians, and with no dissenting voice. Most significant of all, Luke, the inspired historian, finds no fault with the procedure. The criticism arises wholly from the imagination of modern readers. It is based upon the fact that in The Acts no further mention is made of the apostle who was chosen; but it is quite as true that, henceforth, with very few exceptions, all of the apostles are passed by in silence, and never again are named. The criticism is made in the supposed interest of Paul, who, it is claimed, was "the twelfth apostle"; his supernatural appointment by Christ, it is said, "rebuked the hasty action in the upper room. Paul, however, was never numbered among "the twelve"; nor was James nor Barnabas, who were also called "apostles." Gal. 1 : 19; Acts 14:14. Paul was "not a whit behind the very chiefest apostles," yet it was never recorded of him that "he was numbered with the eleven," as it was of him as to whose election the Christians in "the upper room" reasoned and prayed.

Peter is the first to move in the matter; naturally so, as he is always the first to speak and to act; but he claims no authority; he does not appoint a successor to Judas, nor do the eleven apostles unite in electing a successor. The whole body of Christians is consulted; it is significant that just here their number is given as "about a hundred and twenty," as if to indicate that all participated equally in the act. From the very first there is a note of democracy in the government of the Church.

The appeal of Peter is to the Old Testament. Ps. 69:25; 109: 8. Jesus had opened the mind of the disciples “that they might understand the scriptures." Luke 24: 45. The psalmist had in mind, probably, a traitor of his own day, such as Ahithophel; but the words are interpreted as a symbolic prophecy of Judas and his treachery. The authority of the Old Testament is thus recognized, but it is interpreted in the light of the new faith.

As to Judas, the reference to his revolting death, vs. 18, 19, is made by Luke, the historian, and is not a part of the speech of Peter. Its apparent discrepancy from the