Acts 1:13

‘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 Alphaeus, and Simon the Zealot, and Judas the son of James.'

Arriving at their lodgings they went up to the guest chamber where they were staying (compare Mark 14:14, the same word as used here is rendered ‘inn' in Luke 2:7). Note the detail given here by Luke. He makes clear who the eleven were, and that one of the twelve was missing. Thus does he draw out that there is a gap to be filled before their ministry can commence. The list parallels that in Luke 6:13, with slight alterations in order. John now comes before James, and the two both come before Andrew, while Thomas rises in the order. This may all, however, have been partly due to the order in which Luke remembered them at the time, although certainly Peter and John will be closely linked in their activities (Acts 3:1; Acts 8:14). Perhaps he intended to bring out that at present Judas the son of James was without a partner.

‘The upper chamber.' On the ground floor of the house, which would include living accommodation, might also be kept domestic animals, and regularly there would be a manger here (thus Jesus may well have been born in such accommodation in the family house in Bethlehem because the guest room was full, and not in a stable). But the upper chamber was away from the hustle and bustle and it would often be used for gathering together, for fellowship and for prayer.

Simon is called ‘the Zealot' in order to distinguish him from Simon called Peter. It may be that he had a name for being zealous (see Acts 21:20; Acts 22:3). Or he may have been previously connected with the followers of Judas the Galilean, who came at some time to be called ‘Zealots'.