Acts 1:20-26

20 It seems that Judas did not pay for the freehold, but returned the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests. They had a consultation, and used the money to complete the purchase. The freehold was called the Field of the Potter and was used for the burial of strangers (Mat_27:7). But Judas not only lost his land and his life but also his place among the apostles.

21 These qualifications shut out the apostle Paul. He could never be one of the twelve, for he had not known the Lord at all during His earthly ministry. That the kingdom to Israel is in view is apparent from the very necessity of twelve apostles. Why would not the eleven be enough? Paul was associated with an indefinite number of apostles, but there must always be exactly twelve kingdom apostles, one for each of the tribes of Israel (Mat_19:28).

26 The casting of lots was quite the opposite of a "lottery" in Israel. It was a constant recourse in order to know the mind of the Lord (Pro_16:33). The lot is cast forth in a bosom, And from Jehovah is all its judgment. Matthias was duly and lawfully chosen and will have his place in the kingdom ruling over a tribe of Israel. That his name is not again mentioned does not disprove this, for several of the lesser apostles are never heard of afterward.

1 Pentecost is simply the Greek word "Fiftieth", because it was fifty days after the Passover. There were three festivals in Israel each year (Exo_23:14). The first was the feast of unleavened bread, after the Passover; the second, the feast of harvest, or first fruits (which is here called Pentecost because it was held seven weeks after the Passover), and the feast of ingathering. As the latter is a type of the time when all Israel shall be saved, so Pentecost is a picture of the salvation of a first fruit of the nation. This is what occurred, both on the day of Pentecost and during the entire period covered by this book (Jam_1:18),

2 This is not the reception of the spirit by the apostles, for they had already received it (Joh_20:22). This is the "coming on" of power which the Lord had promised a few days before (Act_1:8). The baptism of the spirit was given for cleansing (not power), and the filling for utterance.

5 To this day it has been the hope of the pious among the dispersion to return to Jerusalem. Many aged Jews have spent their last days there. So, on the day of Pentecost, there were many in the city who had been born abroad, but who had returned to dwell near the temple; They were typical of that return to the land of their fathers which will precede the setting up of the kingdom. Then salvation and deliverance will be in mount Zion and in Jerusalem (Joe_2:32). To be in that remnant is the highest privilege open to the pious repatriate of the dispersion.

5 These men came literally from every nation under heaven. Then, as now, the Jew had penetrated to every part of the known world. The list of countries mentioned includes practically every language or dialect spoken at the time. They are grouped accordingly into

Eastern Aramaic, Central Grecian, Western Roman and Southern Egyptian dialects.

12 The object of this manifestation, as found in Joel, was to make them know that God was in the midst of Israel. (Joe_2:27). Afterward the signs which usher in the day of the Lord were due. In other words, Pentecost was the prelude to the era of judgement which precedes the setting up of the kingdom. This shows that it was not intended to be the commencement of the present economy of grace which was later introduced through Paul's ministries. In that future judgment period the signs foretold by Peter will take place. The salvation offered at Pentecost was principally concerned with these judgment scenes through which they hoped to be saved for a place in the kingdom when Christ would return to the Mount of Olives.

14 Peter declaims. He does not address them in common words, but uses choice and rare expressions in making this oration. Perhaps this was done partly to meet and refute the charge of drunkenness. His immediate appeal is to their own Scriptures, which he brought home to them with power.

16 This is what. Such is Peter's interpretation of Pentecost. It was a fulfillment of ancient prophecy. God was in their midst as foretold in (Joe_2:27). This, however, was introductory to the terrible celestial convulsions and earthly upheavals which prepare for the dreadful day of the Lord. It promised a time of trial and affliction unparalleled by any that earth has suffered hitherto. It introduced God in the character of an Avenger of His people, Who is about to gather the nations to battle and Who will destroy them in His fury. Had the nation of Israel repented, and the Pentecostal economy continued without interruption, there would never have been a parenthetic period like the present of which none of the prophets ever spoke, which was a secret hid in God (Eph_3:9) and which presents God as a Supplicant, petitioning for conciliation, and preserving peace at all costs (2Co_5:20), Who showers His richest blessings on the nations and gives them a celestial allotment immeasurably beyond the highest thought of Pentecost.