NOTES for Act 1:1-26

The apostles find themselves in a state of waiting: they no longer see the risen Lord in the flesh, yet they do not yet live by His presence, which will be revealed to them in the experience of Pentecost, when they “receive power” from the Holy Spirit. Their condition resembles ours in many ways. We have never seen the Lord Jesus “according to the flesh” at all, and as for the Spirit, we often live by anything but His breath within us. Here it is very important for us to see how the apostles lived through those ten days. Reading these lines again and again, we find in them the path we should follow if we too desire the “acquisition of the Holy Spirit” promised to everyone who believes in Jesus. Above all, it is the path of earnest prayer, of communal love for one another, and—as Matthias and Barsabbas are chosen according to this principle—of remembrance of Christ’s earthly life, His death, and His Resurrection.