June 4
The Waiting Room

Acts 1      New International Version (NIV)

Jesus Taken Up Into Heaven

1 In my former book, Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus began to do and to teach ² until the day he was taken up to heaven, after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles he had chosen. ³ After his suffering, he presented himself to them and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive. He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God. ⁴ On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. ⁵ For John baptized with^[a] water, but in a few days you will be baptized with^[b] the Holy Spirit.”

⁶ Then they gathered around him and asked him, “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?”
⁷ He said to them: “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. ⁸ But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
⁹ After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight.
¹⁰ They were looking intently up into the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them. ¹¹ “Men of Galilee,” they said, “why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.”

Matthias Chosen to Replace Judas

¹² Then the apostles returned to Jerusalem from the hill called the Mount of Olives, a Sabbath day’s walk^[c] from the city. ¹³ When they arrived, they went upstairs to the room where they were staying. Those present were Peter, John, James and Andrew; Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew; James son of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot, and Judas son of James. ¹⁴ They all joined together constantly in prayer, along with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers.
¹⁵ In those days Peter stood up among the believers (a group numbering about a hundred and twenty) ¹⁶ and said, “Brothers and sisters,^[d] the Scripture had to be fulfilled in which the Holy Spirit spoke long ago through David concerning Judas, who served as guide for those who arrested Jesus. ¹⁷ He was one of our number and shared in our ministry.”
¹⁸ (With the payment he received for his wickedness, Judas bought a field; there he fell headlong, his body burst open and all his intestines spilled out. ¹⁹ Everyone in Jerusalem heard about this, so they called that field in their language Akeldama, that is, Field of Blood.)
²⁰ “For,” said Peter, “it is written in the Book of Psalms:

“‘May his place be deserted;
    let there be no one to dwell in it,’^[e]

and,

“‘May another take his place of leadership.’^[f]

²¹ Therefore it is necessary to choose one of the men who have been with us the whole time the Lord Jesus was living among us, ²² beginning from John’s baptism to the time when Jesus was taken up from us. For one of these must become a witness with us of his resurrection.”

²³ So they nominated two men: Joseph called Barsabbas (also known as Justus) and Matthias. ²⁴ Then they prayed, “Lord, you know everyone’s heart. Show us which of these two you have chosen ²⁵ to take over this apostolic ministry, which Judas left to go where he belongs.” ²⁶ Then they cast lots, and the lot fell to Matthias; so he was added to the eleven apostles.
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If you have children, you probably have felt the anxiety of sitting for what may seem like HOURS in a doctor's waiting room holding a sick child. You may have a couple of toddlers in tow as well.
Figuring out how to keep them calm and happy for the duration should qualify most mothers for a high level job with some type of strategic planning commission.
The sick child is probably fussy, and the toddlers....well, they want to be read to, played with, attended to, taken to the bathroom, eat a snack, put together a puzzle, play with the grumpy man's shoestrings, or any number of diversions, while you all.... simply.... wait.
The WAIT that the apostles experienced was probably not infused with childlike whining and fussing, but it may have been just as unsettling for them.
They had just experienced the death of the one in whom they had left friends, family, jobs, and communities for. Some of them had actually seen Him as the Risen Lord!, and yet... how could they possibly have understood what had just happened?
Confusion, anxiety, fear of the Romans coming for them, fear of God, and maybe even anger, were all very possible in that waiting room.
And yet, they were told by Jesus just as He was leaving them, going up into heaven, to WAIT.
Wait? Wait to be killed just like he was?
Wait to be beaten mercilessly?
Wait to be mocked and scorned?
Wait to be hung on a cross to die?
Wait for............what?
"Wait for the gift ....to be baptized with the Holy Spirit." He said.
And so, you and I must wait.
Wait here, in the word of God, for His instruction regarding the Holy Spirit.
Stay "tuned" for the most action packed adventure of your life....here in the Waiting Room!