The physician Luke wrote how “Peter” stood among the people in the upper room in Jerusalem and told them they needed to choose a replacement for “Judas” who was no longer a disciple of Jesus. “They appointed two, Joseph called Barsabas, who was surnamed Justus, and Matthias. And they prayed, and said, You, Lord, which know the hearts of all men, show whether of these two you have chosen, that he may take part of this ministry and apostleship, from which Judas by transgression fell, that he might go to his own place. And they gave forth their lots; and the lot fell upon Matthias; and he was numbered with the eleven apostles”, and in chapter two and verse one of the book of Acts Luke wrote about, “the day of Pentecost” where we read:
And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place.
The verse begins, “And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, ...” Luke began with the words, “and when the day of Pentecost” which means “and at the time and moment the natural day or the interval between sunrise and sunset as distinguished from and contrasted with the night belonging to the second of the three great Jewish feasts, celebrated at Jerusalem yearly, the seventh week after the Passover, in grateful recognition of the completed harvest and means the fiftieth day” “was fully come” or “was completely fulfilled and accomplished” the following occurred. Luke shared how the “fiftieth day” after Passover arrived, and the following happened.
The verse goes on to say, “... they were all with one accord in one place.” Luke continued with the words, “they were all with one accord” or “they, Peter, the other disciples of Jesus, the other women, Mary the mother of Jesus and Jesus' brothers were each, every, the whole and everyone were with one mind and passion” “in one place” which means “within a single, certain and particular location”. Luke shared how all the people within the upper room were there with “one mind” and “one passion”.
When we think through Luke's words in this verse, we learn the timing for the next event that was to occur with the people gathered in the upper room. The “day of Pentecost” was exactly “fifty days” following the day of Passover and ten days from the time Jesus died and ascended to Heaven,. Each of these days represented God's plan of salvation and the beginning of the church, and the people involved were all gathered together with “one mind and passion”. We shall see what happens to Jesus' disciples and those gathered in the next few verses, but for now let us keep in mind that God had His plan for the “salvation” of mankind. The church was to be the means through which He would spread the message of His good news. All these events should us God's plan to have a personal relationship with every person through His Son Jesus, and when they submit themselves to Him, they become a part of His church through which all these events occurred.
Next time Luke says, “suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind”, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.
Until tomorrow…there is more…
Look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” and the new poetry book "Random Mushrooms Volumes I and II" and the new novel "Elizabeth County" in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore. All references are from "Strongs Concordance".
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