A Study of Acts: Returning to Jerusalem
Acts 1:9-11 - Obedience, fellowship and prayer bring the disciples and other followers together after the Ascension.
“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 NASB1995
The disciples obey Jesus after this remarkable event and return to the city of Jerusalem. A “Sabbath’s day journey” away is a short distance that would be allowable for walking on the Sabbath without working, a distance of about 1/2 mile. This does not mean that the Ascension took place on the Sabbath; it is only used by Luke as a way of pointing out that the Mount called Olivet (or Mount of Olives) is very close to the city.
The photo above was taken by us when we visited Israel for two days as a port stop that was part of a longer cruise from Athens. We did a breakneck tour of old Jerusalem and the first stop before we went into the old city itself was this viewpoint on the Mount of Olives. The gold-domed building is the Dome on the Rock, a Muslim mosque. You can see the eastern wall of the city. The valley between the Mount of Olives and the city wall is the Kidron Valley and it is full of Jewish burial tombs and also nearby is the Garden of Gethsemane. The village of Bethany is on the eastern slopes of the Mount of Olives (home to Mary, Martha and Lazarus).
The smaller black dome beyond the wall (center of the picture) is the Abbey of the Dormition, on Mount Zion just outside the walls. Mount Zion is purportedly also the location of the Upper Room (we saw that Abbey and the room later that same long day) and the burial tomb of King David, although this location is controversial. Near Mt. Zion are Catholic and Protestant cemeteries that we didn’t have time to visit; the Catholic cemetery includes the burial place for Oskar Schindler, who is “righteous among the nations” (an honor reserved for Gentiles who helped Jews during the Holocaust).
There is considerable debate about the actual location of the Upper Room, but it was “in the city”, so someone decided to make a place that seemed like a good spot for tourists to visit. This may not be the same Upper Room that was the location of the last supper and the appearances that Jesus made to the disciples after the Resurrection, but it is likely that the disciples used a place that was the same when they were in the city. An “upper room” in a building would have better security and protection and was often the quarters for women. Some commentators believe that the room belonged to the mother of John Mark (Mark the Evangelist, the likely author of the Gospel of Mark).
Now, back to the passage in Acts. The group of disciples is named by Luke in this passage and he also notes that there were women there (followers and possibly wives of the disciples), the mother of Jesus, and the half-brothers of Jesus. In fact, in the next passage, it says that there were about 120 present. The half-brothers of Jesus probably include James and Jude. I am a Protestant and am willing to accept that Mary and Joseph had other children together after Jesus was born (see this Article) and James (the half-brother) is specifically mentioned as one that Jesus appeared to after the Resurrection.
The names of a couple of the disciples vary from Gospel to Gospel. Precept Austin has a link to Free Bible Commentary with this list of the names. This table, in the order that the disciples were called in the various synoptic Gospels, does not include the names that would be found in the Gospel of John (Bartholomew was likely the disciple called Nathaniel in John 1:43-51, and he was called at the same time as Philip).
This photo that I found above in Unsplash could be stairs that lead to an upper room in Jerusalem. The group that gathered there in that holy space devoted themselves continually “as one mind” to prayer. Considering the conflicts and confusion that reigned among the disciples before the Resurrection, this speaks to an amazing transformation in this group that is happening even before Pentecost. Let’s do a word study on “with one mind”. This phrase comes from the Greek adverb ὁμοθυμαδόν or homothymadón, which is a unique Greek word found mostly in the Book of Acts in the New Testament. Strong’s G3661 has this information for Biblical usage:
[This is] A unique Greek word, used [in] 10 of its 12 New Testament occurrences in the Book of Acts, [that] helps us understand the uniqueness of the Christian community. Homothumadon is a compound of two words meaning to "rush along" and "in unison". The image is almost musical; a number of notes are sounded which, while different, harmonize in pitch and tone. As the instruments of a great concert under the direction of a concert master, so the Holy Spirit blends together the lives of members of Christ's church.
Enduring Word has interesting commentary on this passage:
These all continued with one accord: This is notable unity. When we saw the disciples in the Gospels, it seemed that they always fought and bickered. What had changed? Peter still had the history of denying the Lord; Matthew was still a tax collector; Simon was still a zealot. Their differences were still there, but the resurrected Jesus in their hearts was greater than any difference.
These all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication: This was notable prayer. They all prayed, and they continued in prayer and supplication. The idea of supplication is a sense of desperation and earnestness in prayer.
Already, we see three important steps in making godly decisions: The disciples were in obedience, they were in fellowship, and they were in prayer.
The model for believers is developing rapidly very early in the Book of Acts. The disciples obeyed, they were in fellowship, and they were in prayer. Their past lives (and conflicts) are being discarded as they prepare to put on the robes of Apostleship. This doesn’t mean there will not be future conflicts (having studied Galatians and 1 John, we should know about legalism and Gnosticism, for example), but right now the disciples are absorbing the fact that they have been witnesses to the most glorious series of events in the history of the Universe and this drives them into a state of earnest prayer together.
My next devotional examines Acts 1:15-20 - Peter addresses the group and suggests finding a replacement for Judas Iscariot.
Heaven on Wheels Daily Prayer:
Dear Lord - Please guide me daily into obedience, fellowship and earnest prayer. Amen!
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
The Blue Letter Bible was accessed on 7/13/2024 to review the lexicon for “of one mind”.
Commentary from Enduring Word by David Guzik is used with written permission.
I love the picture you guys took on the mount of olives