Faith without religion.
The Ascension and Replacement of Judas: Acts Chapter One
Luke, Ascension, Apostles
In a recent discussion, Shawn and Delaney delved into the opening chapter of the Book of Acts, exploring the transition from the Gospel of Luke to Acts. They began by clarifying that Luke, the author, addresses Theophilus and recounts the events following Jesus’ resurrection. Shawn explained that while Matthew’s Gospel ends with the Great Commission, Luke provides additional details about Jesus’ activities over 40 days, including his teachings about the Kingdom of God.
The conversation highlighted the differences between the Gospels, with Luke offering a timeline that Matthew does not. Shawn noted that Jesus appeared to his followers in a physical form, emphasizing the significance of his bodily resurrection. During these 40 days, Jesus instructed his disciples to stay in Jerusalem and wait for the Holy Spirit, which would arrive after his ascension.
Shawn and Delaney discussed the confusion surrounding the timeline of events, particularly the ascension and the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, which occurs 50 days after Passover. They also touched on the translation nuances of terms like “earth” and “world” in the context of Jesus’ instructions to his disciples.
The discussion then shifted to the ascension itself, where two men in white, likely angels, appeared to the disciples, urging them to stop gazing at the sky and to focus on their mission. This led to a humorous moment when Delaney misinterpreted the text, thinking the men were from Galilee, prompting laughter and a light-hearted exchange.
The conversation concluded with a focus on Peter’s actions following the ascension. Peter, eager to fill the vacancy left by Judas Iscariot, led the apostles in selecting Matthias as the new twelfth apostle. Shawn argued that this decision was premature and not divinely inspired, contrasting it with the later calling of Paul, who played a significant role in the early church.
Overall, the discussion provided a detailed examination of Acts chapter one, highlighting the complexities and nuances of the biblical narrative while offering insights into the early days of the Christian church.
Podcast Transcript:
Acts chapter one yippee here we go so we
talked about this in the first one but
in my for he starts in my former book
theophus so in my former book is Luke
saying in the Gospel of Luke yeah okay
and Theophilus is a person
yeah that was talked about in two
episodes ago so if that’s confusing to
you too please go back to that one um
and he says I wrote about all that Jesus
began to do and teach until the day he
was taken up to heaven
um I we only read Matthew so a lot of
this stuff I actually don’t know okay um
it says he appeared to them over 40 days
spoke about the kingdom of God Matthew
literally just ends with Jesus dying and
saying now take this out to all the
world and then that’s it coming out
giving the Great Commission before
disappeared into the CLS to remember
that yeah he’s going to pick it up from
here okay but what is the 40 days spoke
about the kingdom of God when Jesus came
back Mary and the other Apostles saw
that tomb was empty and started making
visitations that happened in Matthew
yeah that that happened after Matthew
but Matthew talks about Jesus appearing
appearing to Mary for in like a few
paragraphs Worth or whatever just in the
last chapter
so but it doesn’t talk about 40 days and
talking about the kingdom of God yeah
it’s just what Luke is doing is saying
Matthew’s saying these are some things
he did after he resurrected Luke is
saying this is how much time has passed
and I’m going to pick it up after these
40 days what happened then he was
walking around showing himself teaching
different people different things that’s
all he’s saying okay 40 days passed
after he first showed himself and then
he showed himself to more now let’s pick
it up at what happens
okay does that make sense yeah and he
just to uh remind me he was like like
Mia he would just like appear right he’d
appear he was not like staying somewhere
at
ghost well he did stay with
Casper no body though it wasn’t a ghost
yeah it was a it was his body that’s why
he said touch my hands feel and see the
wounds so he’s going around with this
body which leads people to think we’re
getting these same bodies but his was
for a reason right and so for 40 days
he’s going and showing himself to many
in giving teachings and different things
okay okay um so one of the
instructions Luke is saying here I
haven’t known who the writer was so I’m
I’m having to reorient but Luke is
saying in those 40 days one of the
things Jesus said was um to stay in
Jerusalem and wait for the gift of the
Holy Spirit yep so he instructs them
uhhuh okay Jesus did yeah
um and but to be clear that was
supposed that the Holy Spirit arrived at
Jesus’s Ascension right no oh okay it
was before no it was after yeah okay so
in the four so Jesus gives sorry I feel
like we’ve talked about this but Jesus
gives that instruction his 40 days and
then eventually ascends at some point
and then the Holy Spirit comes okay so
Luke is kind of like skipping over that
yeah and just to let you know the word
Pentecost is 50 days oh that’s why they
call it and it’s so the Passover and the
death of Christ yes then 50 days later
the Jews would celebrate Pentecost okay
so for 40 of those days he was going
around doing this on Pentecost the Holy
Spirit
yeah okay that that was one of my
questions all right for chapter 2 good
questions but no we’re just not there
yet but Pentecost okay
so I’m still getting it confused though
because Matthew doesn’t say it and Luke
doesn’t say it but when in this time did
Jesus
ascend oh it’s gonna talk about it sorry
okay yeah Luke’s gonna catch us up now
hold on a second all right
so they ask him the time that he’ll do
that and Jesus says you’ll be my oh wait
they ask him when he’s going to do this
and he says you have to
wait um it’s not for you to know the
time but you’ll receive the power of the
Holy Spirit and you’ll be my Witnesses
in Jerusalem and Judea and Samaria and
to the ends of the Earth okay um and
where it says to the ends of the Earth
uh if I’m not mistaken that word
isonomia not uh Cosmos
so he’s saying you will be my witness to
the end of this economy of the Old
Testament okay yeah that’s the first
time I’ve encountered cuz other places
it says the says age and Stu or like
world and age but Earth I haven’t seen
yeah and that’s and Earth is often not
always often translated from the Greek
word gah or from the Greek word Oona
okay and ionomy is like economy so but
un fortunately many people think that
means World there which is Cosmos I
think they put Earth there to show it’s
not the cosmos it’s the economy okay
yeah I see okay so and then after he
said this he was taken up yeah before
their very eyes right and the cloud
that’s what Matthew ended with yeah
okay okay okay I get these so mixed up
it’s really embarrassing to admit but
like they taken up and then the return
like the returning and the other taking
up it trips me out cuz I want to be like
why weren’t they taken up with him right
there right right right sorry so stupid
okay um but they were looking intently
up at the sky men of Galilee said the
two men in White in white Stood Beside
the yeah it’s probably the same Angels
who were sitting on the
stone they Angels probably Angels yeah
yeah I think they’re called enalas in
the Greek oh but the two men men are
angels are often called men oh or
different things but in this case men
they’re Angels okay of Galilee
though isn’t that like call that’s a
really good question two men of Galilee
that’s what it says yeah huh that’s
something I’ve never thought of I wonder
if there were just two local guys
dressed in
white wow I have to look at that good
one you may have caught something there
men two men I mean say you men of
Galilee
oh
okay okay this is what happens when you
deal with a
daughter I’m so
sorry oh I could be stupid sometimes but
you got to see how open I was well
Delany I I didn’t know that yeah she’s
like these men are of gallity dad well
so I just come up maybe they were people
dressed in white clothes this one I’m
trying that’s
awesome that is just awesome trying to
not get in the weeds with this and so
we’re talking about it I just read met
of
go so sorry yeah and we think it’s word
perfect I mean jeez oh okay awes
suddenly two men dressed in white Stood
Beside them suddenly suddenly okay all
right kind of give you a picture these
galileons have a magical way of
appearing and
disappearing oh my gosh and but they ask
why do you stand here looking into the
sky the same Jesus say I didn’t really
understand why they would ask that like
they’re just trying to say
like
like chill out like don’t be fearful
yeah and they’re also I think trying to
reiterate he told you he’s back like
stop yeah so don’t be doing this get out
there yeah yeah why are you standing
around doing this but the interesting
thing about who did those two men say it
to those guys there 2,000 years later we
have people still looking yeah yeah the
Angels told them why are you standing
here he’s going to come back the way he
came in the clouds and he said it to the
people that watched him end literally
watch why would God send angels to say
that to them right so this is how the
book starts to open up to wow oh that’s
really interesting isn’t that good yeah
yeah um I just wanted to ask to if when
I hear of two men in white I think of
Mormon stuff is that they hijacked
Mormons hijack they they are a uh um
syncretist of religious thought they
hijack everything you can imagine and
incorporate it into their system of
everything yeah so it’s not they’re not
unique yeah
clearly all right so Jesus has ascended
I didn’t realize people witnessed him do
that 500 I
think
uh I have to check my facts these days I
think 500 comes from the uh first
chapter of First Corinthians chap I mean
chapter 15 of 1 Corinthians but I could
be wrong I thought there was 500 who
watched him along with the disciples but
I could be wrong on that well no
eventually we’ll get in a minute it
says like right actually right here it
says those that were present Peter John
James Andrew Philip and Thomas byth me
Matthew James Simon and Judas and then
it says Peter stands up and talks in
front of 120 Believers it’s 120 okay so
that these are disciples yeah so okay
okay questions so I thought
um
like there’s a order of there’s
sometimes where time isn’t relevant in
the way that they’re talking but it
really is like those people standing
there are the 120 that Peter talks to
watched him ascend Angels come right
there tell them to stop looking Peter
stands up and talks to them right there
okay all right and now you got to
understand now only 40 days have passed
50 haven’t Pentecost hasn’t come okay so
Peter has not had the Holy Spirit fill
him yet okay okay so just make sure you
remember that okay go ahead all right um
and wait before we talk about that the
people I just
listed wait no sorry cuz it says they
returned to Jerusalem and prayed with
the women and it’s um it’s the woman
with Mary and his brothers and those
people I just listed okay um those are
the apostles yeah there is one that’s
Judas but that’s not the same Judas same
one okay um Peter St and then Peter
stands up and talks about Judas the one
that killed himself in front of 120 yeah
so the people that saw Jesus ascend are
really just the just the apostles unless
an addendum in First Corinthians that
says 500 because I know 500 witnessed
him but I’m not sure if that was a
witness to his resurrection or the
Ascension too I’ve got something crossed
here this is where your your questioning
catches me because I think it was just
the apostles witnessing him Ascend well
it’s not that important I’m just trying
to get the story straight it’s important
but not for this podcast I mean um so
they go back they go back and and and
Peter he gets the 120 and what does he
do he identifies that Judas the first
thing you do talk about
Judas um that he died and they need to
fill his role right
mhm that he the scriptures had to be
fulfilled they spoke of Judas that he
was going to do this now he’s in the
field of blood um May his place be
deserted Ed no May another take his
place of leadership so they uh cast a
ballot on who to replace him and Joseph
had called
barabus and meias are the two and then
they they pray cast laws and it’s meias
okay stop that’s the end of chapter one
this is Peter plain religion oh oh Peter
had no so he cites the Old Testament he
says this is that you know we need to
heyy okay let’s get this going you know
Jesus he the the Angels said stop
looking for him so let’s Okay the Old
Testament says we need to replace him so
they cast ballots which is an Old
Testament way of doing things and they
cast it among people who had been with
him from the beginning that’s a
qualifier for being an apostle watching
him do everything he did to the point
where he died and resurrected well maias
and barabus they qualified they cast
lots which is like rolling Dice and it
fell on Mias and they elected Mias to be
the 12th Apostle okay and you think good
job Peter let’s follow Peter he had no
right to do it none what do you ever
hear of when you even read the books of
the Bible what’s the gospel of Mathias
no he does nothing yeah we never hear
from him again right because Peter’s
playing
religion Jesus said he didn’t say go to
Jerusalem and establish this and do this
and this he said go and wait for the
Holy Spirit Peter being impetuous he
decides he’s going to play church and
does that okay wow so who now Revelation
talks about 12 pillars under the new
Heaven and the new Earth and it says and
on those 12 pillars are the names of the
Apostles so whose names are on those 12
pillars if maias was brought in by
voting but Paul was brought in later by
the spirit who are the 12 names who
replaces Judas who killed himself is it
Mias or is it Paul well everybody says
it was maias wow but I say no way I see
maias was called by the flesh yeah Old
Testament style Paul and what do we read
from him everything because he was the
one Jesus chose to fill in that role you
see how important that little thing is
yeah I didn’t think about it much but it
definitely
was weird to me that half of this
chapter
was like reciting that story which was
so
specific and like yeah before the Holy
Spirit like that was the first thing
after Jesus ascended Peter is like okay
we’re going to it was very odd it didn’t
sit well but I didn’t know and so what
do the Mormons do with that they say did
you see how they replace the Apostle
with another one that’s why Apostles
have to continue on in the church to be
replaced to be replaced to be replaced
but we see po God choose Paul and we
don’t even hear of these other Apostles
anymore they just die off and done so
that’s why really scrutiny really
reading what’s going on there was what
Peter did true no is it in the scripture
yeah is it good no yeah you get it yeah
I want I wanted to ask to why it I noted
at one point Peter keeps standing
he’s the one that just stands up and I
didn’t know if there was a reason and if
there was like a calling on him to do
that or if he was just doing that I
don’t know because culturally the Jews
when a teacher would speak they would
sit down oh and everybody else would
stand and the teacher you know like you
ever see the swamis oh I think that this
is the the world and they’re all sitting
there and people Fanning
them Jesus would recline when he taught
yeah that’s the type of leading you on
so I don’t know what Peter is doing he’s
trying to show Power I don’t know huh
makes me laugh Peter makes me laugh
stands up okay then we go to chapter two
yeah oh my gosh chapter two is insane
Delaney yeah one of the most important
chapters in the apostolic record oh my
gosh well I’m going to need you to take
the lead I have a lot of questions but
they’re probably not good questions
there your questions are very good don’t
don’t say that not by the way how are we
doing on time on this one 17:30 why
don’t we cut this one let me go use the
because they all need to know that facil
okay all right we’ll cut we’ll see you
at the next one
