PT-1 "The Submission of the Disciples" (Acts 1:12-15)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 7/3/2017 10:02 AM

My Worship Time                                                   Focus:  PT-1 The Submission of the Disciples

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                 Reference:  Acts 1:12-15

            Message of the verses:  “12 Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, a Sabbath day’s journey away. 13 When they had entered the city, they went up to the upper room where they were staying; that is, Peter and John and James and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon the Zealot, and Judas the son of James. 14 These all with one mind were continually devoting themselves to prayer, along with the women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with His brothers. 15 At this time Peter stood up in the midst of the brethren (a gathering of about one hundred and twenty persons was there together), and said,”

            We have learned earlier that Jesus told his eleven disciples to return to Jerusalem and to wait for divine enablement that was to be given them in the coming of the Holy Spirit.  “"And behold, I am sending forth the promise of My Father upon you; but you are to stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high’ (Luke 24:49).”  “4 Gathering them together, He commanded them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait for what the Father had promised, "Which," He said, "you heard of from Me (Acts 1:4).”

            We can see in verse 12 that the eleven disciples followed the orders that were given to them from the Lord and went to Jerusalem from the Mount of Olives, and a lot of things  happened on the Mount of Olives in the life of our Lord as this is where He spent many nights praying and where He was praying just before he was arrested and also where He ascended to heaven to go back to the Father, and also according to Zachariah 14:4 “In that day His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, which is in front of Jerusalem on the east; and the Mount of Olives will be split in its middle from east to west by a very large valley, so that half of the mountain will move toward the north and the other half toward the south.”  It is believed that since Luke is writing to Theophilus he added the phrase Mount of Olives as he probably did not know where that was but also telling him that it was a Sabbath day from Jerusalem.  The Mount of Olives rises to overlook the city of Jerusalem across from the Kidron valley to the East of Jerusalem, and we talked earlier about this valley when we were looking at the ending chapters of the gospel of John.  A Sabbath’s day’s journey was 2,000 cubits or between one half to three quarters of a mile. 

            The disciples went back to Jerusalem and probably went to the same house where they had the “Last Supper,” and many believe that it was the home of the mother of John Mark “And when he realized this, he went to the house of Mary, the mother of John who was also called Mark, where many were gathered together and were praying (Acts 12:12).”

            Now as they gathered in this upper room the disciples had some time to think about what had transpired over the last weeks and their lives now were completely different than what they were when they were walking with Jesus.  Peter had been brought back into the fold as we saw in John 21, as he had been shaken like wheat as Jesus said that he would be, but when wheat is shaken the chaff is blown away with the wind and only the wheat is left.  It is hard to imagine what was all going on in the minds of the disciples, but one thing for sure and that is that the prayer of Jesus found in John 17 was being answered as God had taken care of them and now they must have had the courage return to them as perhaps they thought about that wonderful prayer that Jesus had prayed for them now being fulfilled.

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  I have been shaken like wheat a few times in my walk with the Lord and although it probably was not anything like when Peter was shaken the results were the same as God is always faithful to bring me back to Him as He teaches me lessons from the shaking.

My Steps of Faith for Today:  I pray that God will give me the things that He wants me to teach in our next Sunday school class and that He will bring those He wants there for His purposes.

Answer to yesterday’s Bible question:  “She was a seller of purple cloth” (Acts 16:14).

Today’s Bible question:  “What will Christ do if we confess our sins?”

Answer in our next SD.

7/3/2017 10:30 AM

8/4/2022 10:33 AM

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8/4/2022 10:35 AM