1 Accord Series

Omar Khadr is a convicted terrorist. He was born in Toronto, has been detained in Guantanamo Bay for nearly a decade. In October 2010, he pleaded guilty to war crimes committed when he was 15 years old in Afghanistan — namely, throwing a grenade that killed a U.S. soldier in 2002. He was sentenced to 40 years in jail but, under a plea deal, he only had to serve eight. After spending one additional year at Guantanamo, he became eligible to serve the remainder of his sentence in Canada last fall. Public Safety Minister Vic Toews told reporters he’s made no decision about Khadr’s return. “The U.S. no longer wants him and has asked us to take him. A decision must be made on his application in accordance with Canadian law.” Khadr, his lawyers, and the Canadian people are all waiting to see what the Canadian Government is going to do about the traitor. (http://news.nationalpost.com/2012/06/25/u-s-respects-canadas-pace-does-not-want-to-hurry-khadr-transfer-process/)

Acts 1:12–26 covers the obedience of the church as its members wait in Jerusalem for the Spirit. There Peter moves to replace the traitor Judas and bring the number of apostles to twelve. The community is unified in "1 Accord", praying and seeing what to do through Scripture (Bock, D. L. (2007). Acts. Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament (90). Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic.)

In Acts 1:12-26 we see 1) The Submission of the Disciples (Acts 1:12–15), 2) The Suicide of a Disciple (Acts 1:15–20), and 3) The Selection of a Disciple (Acts 1:21-26).

1) The Submission of the Disciples (Acts 1:12–15)

Acts 1:12-15 [12]Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, a Sabbath day’s journey away. [13]And when they had entered, they went up to the upper room, where they were staying, Peter and John and James and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot and Judas the son of James. [14]All these with one accord were devoting themselves to prayer, together with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and his brothers. [15]In those days Peter stood up among the brothers (the company of persons was in all about 120) and said, (ESV)

The apostles’ immediate duty was plain: it was to wait in Jerusalem until the heavenly power came on them. So they returned to Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem (The place of His ascension). Luke tells us (Luke 24:49; Acts 1:4). the mount called Olivet was the Mount of Olives, to the east of Jerusalem, a Sabbath day’s journey which was the maximum distance one was permitted to travel on the Sabbath under rabbinic law. This was a distance of 2,000 cubits or around one kilometer, ingeniously reckoned by interpreting Ex. 16:29 (“let no one go out of his place on the seventh day”) in the light of Num. 35:5 (where the Levites’ pasturelands are defined by a radius of 2,000 cubits from any one of the six “cities of refuge”). The mount called Olivet is the Mount of Olives, which rises to overlook Jerusalem from across the Kidron Valley to the east (cf. Zech. 14:4). More a hill than a mountain, it rises some 400 feet above the floor of the Kidron Valley. That makes it only about 200 feet higher in elevation than Jerusalem itself. It was from the backside of the Mount, near the little village of Bethany, that the Lord ascended (Luke 24:50). That site was probably chosen for its privacy and nearness to Jerusalem. According to Luke 24:50, Jesus “led them out as far as Bethany”; but it is not certain that the same occasion is referred to there as here. Bethany lies on the eastern slopes of Olivet, about fiftee stadia (two and a half kilometers) from Jerusalem (cf. John 11:18) (Bruce, F. F. (1988). The Book of the Acts. The New International Commentary on the New Testament (39–40). Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.).

In verse 13, when the apostles had entered Jerusalem, they went up to the upper room, where they were staying. Houses commonly had upper rooms, which were used for a variety of purposes. This one must have been part of a large house, since it accommodated 120 people (v. 15). Its exact location is unknown. It was probably where the Last Supper had been celebrated and where Jesus had appeared to them after His resurrection. Some have identified it with the house of John Mark’s mother (cf. Acts 12:12), but that identification is uncertain. In any case, it could not have been far from the Eastern Gate of the city. A Sabbath day’s journey from the back side of the Mount of Olives would have put the apostles just inside the city walls.

The eleven remaining apostles, Peter and John and James and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon the Zealot. The writers of the synoptic Gospels have given a list of names (Matt. 10:2–4; Mark 3:16–19; Luke 6:14–16), yet Luke deems it necessary to present another list without the name of Judas Iscariot. He implies that the apostles must appoint a person in the place of Judas to fill up the number twelve (Kistemaker, S. J., & Hendriksen, W. (1953-2001). Vol. 17: Exposition of the Acts of the Apostles. New Testament Commentary (59). Grand Rapids: Baker Book House.).