Immerse: Messiah - Flipbook - Page 74
62
IMMERSE
•
MESSIAH
1:15–2:11
were constantly united in prayer, along with Mary the mother of Jesus,
several other women, and the brothers of Jesus.
During this time, when about 120 believers were together in one place,
Peter stood up and addressed them. “Brothers,” he said, “the Scriptures
had to be fulfilled concerning Judas, who guided those who arrested Jesus.
This was predicted long ago by the Holy Spirit, speaking through King
David. Judas was one of us and shared in the ministry with us.”
( Judas had bought a field with the money he received for his treachery.
Falling headfirst there, his body split open, spilling out all his intestines.
The news of his death spread to all the people of Jerusalem, and they gave
the place the Aramaic name Akeldama, which means “Field of Blood.”)
Peter continued, “This was written in the book of Psalms, where it says,
‘Let his home become desolate, with no one living in it.’ It also says, ‘Let
someone else take his position.’
“So now we must choose a replacement for Judas from among the men
who were with us the entire time we were traveling with the Lord Jesus—
from the time he was baptized by John until the day he was taken from us.
Whoever is chosen will join us as a witness of Jesus’ resurrection.”
So they nominated two men: Joseph called Barsabbas (also known as
Justus) and Matthias. Then they all prayed, “O Lord, you know every
heart. Show us which of these men you have chosen as an apostle to replace Judas in this ministry, for he has deserted us and gone where he
belongs.” Then they cast lots, and Matthias was selected to become an
apostle with the other eleven.
On the day of Pentecost all the believers were meeting together in one
place. Suddenly, there was a sound from heaven like the roaring of a
mighty windstorm, and it filled the house where they were sitting. Then,
what looked like flames or tongues of fire appeared and settled on each
of them. And everyone present was filled with the Holy Spirit and began
speaking in other languages, as the Holy Spirit gave them this ability.
At that time there were devout Jews from every nation living in Jerusalem. When they heard the loud noise, everyone came running, and
they were bewildered to hear their own languages being spoken by the
believers.
They were completely amazed. “How can this be?” they exclaimed.
“These people are all from Galilee, and yet we hear them speaking in
our own native languages! Here we are—Parthians, Medes, Elamites,
people from Mesopotamia, Judea, Cappadocia, Pontus, the province of
Asia, Phrygia, Pamphylia, Egypt, and the areas of Libya around Cyrene,
visitors from Rome (both Jews and converts to Judaism), Cretans, and
Arabs. And we all hear these people speaking in our own languages about
