A Witness

 Meditations on The Acts of the Apostles

January 7, 2021

A Witness

For one of these must become a witness with us of his resurrection.

Acts 1:22b

Read: Acts 1:15-26

A group numbering about a hundred and twenty had gathered in the upper room. Through their prayer and worship, they were led to select a replacement for the 12th Apostle. To qualify, one had to have been with Jesus from his baptism to his resurrection. Two names were put forth, and Matthias was selected. As I read today’s passage, two things stand out, and both are associated with the word witness.

We read in verse eight that Jesus called the apostles to be his witnesses, and here Peter affirms that a 12^th witness is needed. Twelve apostles is associated with the twelve tribes of Israel, and it seems Peter is still focused internally on restoring the nation of Israel. The last few words of Jesus’ commission have not yet registered with him: “and to the ends of the earth.”

The second reference to witness is in the absolute core of our Christian faith: “For one of these must become a witness with us of his resurrection.” I am again thinking of the words in the Apostles’ Creed, “was crucified, died, and was buried; he descended to the dead. On the third day he rose again.”

Jesus told his followers to stay in Jerusalem until the Holy Spirt came to them. As they prayed and worshipped together, their main thought was how they could be witnesses to Jesus’ resurrection.

My Takeaway: The apostles walked with the resurrected Jesus. They ate with him. They talked with him. They listened to him. For forty days, they were in the presence of the resurrected Jesus. More and more in our culture, the literal resurrection of Jesus is decentralized from the Christian faith, remembered only as a curious relic from antiquity. As for me, to paraphrase the Apostle Paul, I resolve to know nothing except Jesus Christ and him resurrected from the dead. (1 Corinthians 2:2)

Sē’lah

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(Selah is a word that appears in the Book of Psalms that I often use as the Complimentary Closing in my correspondence. Its meaning, as I use the word, is to pause and think about these things.)

 

These meditations are written by Alex M. Knight as he seeks the life in Christ as his way of life.  The meditations are published on the BLOG, http://seekingthelifeinchrist.blogspot.com/ and they are also distributed on the Constant Contact email server. You may subscribe to this email service by sending an email to: amkrom812@gmail.com.

 

Copyright © 2021 by Alex M. Knight

 

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.