First, we discuss the events of Jesus’ forty days after His resurrection and His ascension, noting that the Book of Acts is written in chronological order like in the Book of Luke, drawing on previous discussions. Second, it recounts the disciples’ prayer in the upper room before Pentecost. From those present, we see that Jesus’ brothers had come to believe after His resurrection. Third, we first examine the fate of Judas Iscariot, the betrayer, followed by a discussion of the qualifications his replacement should possess from a human perspective. Finally, we explore how Matthias was chosen by lot to become the twelfth apostle, mentioning what the Lord Jesus’ true will was. Please note: This article is based on the Sunday (11/23/25) topicwise Bible study. Unless otherwise specified, verses refer to those in NASB95. Past articles referenced can be found on our website, ‘https://a-christian-voice.com/‘, under ‘On spiritual understanding about life.’
1. The forty days after Jesus’ resurrection and His ascension
“The first account I composed, Theophilus, about all that Jesus began to do and teach, until the day when He was taken up to heaven, after He had by the Holy Spirit given orders to the apostles whom He had chosen. To these He also presented Himself alive after His suffering, by many convincing proofs, appearing to them over a period of forty days and speaking of the things concerning the kingdom of God. 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; for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.” So when they had come together, they were asking Him, saying, “Lord, is it at this time You are restoring the kingdom to Israel?” He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or epochs which the Father has fixed by His own authority; but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth.” And after He had said these things, He was lifted up while they were looking on, and a cloud received Him out of their sight. And as they were gazing intently into the sky while He was going, behold, two men in white clothing stood beside them. They also said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into the sky? This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in just the same way as you have watched Him go into heaven.””(Acts 1:1-11)
We note that who Theophilus was is not important, which is why the Bible does not explicitly state it. Since the Bible is divinely inspired, and God deemed it unnecessary for us to know, why should we not respect God’s will and insist on speculating? What we need to know is, for example, the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the disciples. They were empowered for the purpose of bearing witness to the Lord Jesus.
We know the first account refers to the Gospel of Luke, which states, “it seemed fitting for me as well, having investigated everything carefully from the beginning, to write it out for you in consecutive order, most excellent Theophilus.”(Luke 1:3) This “order” refers to the sequence of events, not the chronological order of each individual occurrence. For example, Jesus’ temptation in the wilderness occurred after His baptism—a fact recorded identically in the Synoptic Gospels. Yet the sequence of individual occurrence differs between Matthew 4:1-11 and Luke 4:1-13. We previously discussed this in detail in “1046 The genealogy and the temptations of Jesus, and controversial issues – The image of Jesus (1).” Since the Book of Acts is the second book, it too follows the chronological order of events.
Here, Jesus clearly explains why they must not leave Jerusalem but wait for the Holy Spirit’s descent. This also clarifies why He prevented the two disciples on the road to Emmaus, compelling them to return to Jerusalem (cf. Luke 24:13-35). Indeed, “This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all the nations, and then the end (G5056) will come.”(Matthew 24:14). We will discuss the term “end” and related scriptures later, as it is quite extensive and beyond the scope of this discussion.
Regarding the restoration of the nation of Israel, the Bible does not explicitly state its time, but we can get some clues from Paul’s words. He said, “For I do not want you, brethren, to be uninformed of this mystery—so that you will not be wise in your own estimation—that a partial hardening has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in; and so all Israel will be saved; just as it is written, “The Deliverer will come from Zion, He will remove ungodliness from Jacob.””(Romans 11:25-26). The redemption of the Gentiles precedes that of Israel. We do not know when the fullness of the Gentiles will be done, but it is already in the ‘end.’
“As He was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will these things happen, and what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?””(Matthew 24:3), He replied, “But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone.”(Matthew 24:36) That was during His incarnation. Now we see the resurrected Jesus telling them, “…It is not for you to know times or epochs which the Father has fixed by His own authority.”(Acts 1:7) He simply says, “You do not know, but I do,” because He is now one of the three persons of the Trinity. When He died on the cross, He already committed His spirit into God’s hands (cf. John 19:30).
Jesus’ resurrection occurred on Sunday, and He appeared to the apostles for forty days, so His ascension took place on Thursday. The location of His ascension is clearly the Mount of Olives. As the Book of Luke records, “And He led them out as far as Bethany, and He lifted up His hands and blessed them. While He was blessing them, He parted from them and was carried up into heaven.”(Luke 24:50-51) This is because “…Bethany, near the Mount of Olives, …”(Mark 11:1)
Just as it says here, when He ascended, a cloud received Him, and He will also come again on the clouds of heaven, as He declared during His trial before the high priest: “…But Jesus kept silent. And the high priest said to Him, “I adjure You by the living God, that You tell us whether You are the Christ, the Son of God.” Jesus said to him, “You have said it yourself; nevertheless I tell you, hereafter you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of Power, and coming on the clouds of heaven.””(Matthew 26:63-64) This is an example demonstrating that “what God tells us through the Bible is consistent.”
2. The disciples’ prayer in the upper room before Pentecost
“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 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. 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.”(Acts 1:12-14)
The Bible does not explicitly state why the Mount of Olivet is specifically mentioned here. It was likely because they were commemorating the Lord, “…for Jesus had often met there with His disciples.”(John 18:2) Moreover, before His betrayal, “Now during the day He was teaching in the temple, but at evening He would go out and spend the night on the mount that is called Olivet.”(Luke 21:37) It was also on the Mount of Olivet, in the Garden of Gethsemane, that He was betrayed. (cf. John 18:1-3)
We see that those praying included the eleven apostles, Jesus’ mother, and several unnamed women. Some might speculate that these were the women at the cross. Since God considers their identities unimportant, out of respect for God, we need not speculate. Furthermore, His brothers initially did not believe in Him. The scripture makes this clear: “For not even His brothers were believing in Him.”(John 7:5) After Jesus’ resurrection, they all came to believe.
3. Fate of Judas Iscariot, and his replacement with qualifications from a human perspective
“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, “Brethren, the Scripture had to be fulfilled, which the Holy Spirit foretold by the mouth of David concerning Judas, who became a guide to those who arrested Jesus. For he was counted among us and received his share in this ministry.” (Now this man acquired a field with the price of his wickedness, and falling headlong, he burst open in the middle and all his intestines gushed out. And it became known to all who were living in Jerusalem; so that in their own language that field was called Hakeldama, that is, Field of Blood.) “For it is written in the book of Psalms, ‘Let his homestead be made desolate, And let no one dwell in it’; and, ‘Let another man take his office.’ Therefore it is necessary that of the men who have accompanied us all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us— beginning with the baptism of John until the day that He was taken up from us—one of these must become a witness with us of His resurrection.””(Acts 1:15-22)
First, let us examine how Judas Iscariot, the betrayer, met his end. Scripture explicitly states, “And he threw the pieces of silver into the temple sanctuary and departed; and he went away and hanged himself.”(Matthew 27:5) This seems to contradict the account here. A reasonable explanation found online suggests that this passage does not state Judas fell to the ground and died. Therefore, he was discovered long after hanging himself, by which time his body had already decayed. Eventually, the rope broke, and his body fell to the ground as described here. As for the statement here that Judas acquired a field, it seems to conflict with this scripture: “The chief priests took the pieces of silver and said, “It is not lawful to put them into the temple treasury, since it is the price of blood.” And they conferred together and with the money bought the Potter’s Field as a burial place for strangers.”(Matthew 27:6-7) So who ultimately purchased the field? The explanation is that Judas, anticipating the payment, had prearranged the purchase, while the chief priests were the ones who actually bought the land. Incidentally, “allowing the Holy Spirit to lead Bible study” does not preclude consulting online resources; it requires discernment. Sometimes, when seeking information, the right website happens to appear.
Here we also see the best human criterion for selection: “…the men who have accompanied us all the time…one of these must become a witness with us of His resurrection.”(Acts 1:21-22). Even so, we will soon see that two men met this condition. They had to decide by lot. We also see Peter interpreting the words of the Psalm: “…Let another take his office.”(Psalm 109:8). Yet we will soon observe that this was merely his personal interpretation. Though the assembly agreed with him, it did not represent the Holy Spirit’s will, for the Holy Spirit never contradicts the Lord Jesus’ will.
4. Matthias, chosen by lot, was elected as the twelfth apostle.
“So they put forward two men, Joseph called Barsabbas (who was also called Justus), and Matthias. And they prayed and said, “You, Lord, who know the hearts of all men, show which one of these two You have chosen to occupy this ministry and apostleship from which Judas turned aside to go to his own place.” And they drew lots for them, and the lot fell to Matthias; and he was added to the eleven apostles.”(Acts 1:23-26)
We see that Matthias was chosen by lot, not directly appointed by the Lamb as an apostle. Yes, they prayed before casting lots, but it does not say their prayer was answered. Answered prayers in the New Testament are recorded, such as: “In the days of His flesh, He offered up both prayers and supplications with loud crying and tears to the One able to save Him from death, and He was heard because of His piety.”(Hebrews 5:7)
So what exactly was the Lord Jesus’ will? After His resurrection, He personally chose Paul in the bright light and commissioned him (see Acts 22:1-21). We also see that the commission was, “But on the contrary, seeing that I had been entrusted with the gospel to the uncircumcised, just as Peter had been to the circumcised (for He who effectually worked for Peter in his apostleship to the circumcised effectually worked for me also to the Gentiles)”(Galatians 2:7-8) This also explains the earlier interpretation of the Psalm, which was merely a human perspective—a common view—because it was not in harmony with the Lord’s will. Therefore, “…the wall of the city (New Jerusalem) had twelve foundation stones, and on them were the twelve names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.”(Revelation 21:14) refers to Paul’s name being inscribed there, not Matthias.
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