Scripture: Acts 1:12-14
Sermon Series: Mary, He called her Mother – Sermon 11

Do you pay attention to celebrity endorsements? They’re a powerful marketing tool. Products leverage star power to build trust, spark interest, and create buzz around their product. In the past, celebrities mostly appeared in TV ads, billboards, or print media. Today they reach millions through platforms like Instagram, TikTok, Twitter, and YouTube.

The top celebrity endorsement of 2024 was Zendaya (picture) for Valentino. Her ability to connect with younger and older audiences, along with her sense of style, made her the perfect ambassador for luxury brands.

But the most successful celebrity endorsement of all time was Michael Jordan’s (picture) partnership with Nike. In 1984, Nike signed Jordan to a deal worth $2.5 million, an unheard-of amount at the time. Air Jordans revolutionized the sports marketing world and generated billions for Nike.

In Acts 1 we have the last appearance of Mary. Her presence is an endorsement of the early church and core truths about Jesus. That’s because Mary Did Know. We’re completing our study of Mary, He Called Her Mother. There’s one more line in the New Testament about Mary to explore. This final appearance tells the story of her powerful influence on the earliest church. In Acts 1 we’re told of those present in that first local church. All these with one accord were devoting themselves to prayer, together with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and His brothers (Acts 1:14).

Mary is in the inner circle of the new family of God. This circle had come through the whole Jesus’ story. They knew Jesus before the cross, at the cross and beyond the cross. By sitting in this circle, a little more than a month after Jesus’ death and resurrection, each one publicly confessed a Messiah who was crucified and raised from the dead, and Mary was in the middle of this new family. She puts her endorsement on the beliefs and practices of the early church. What can we learn?

1. Mary Knew The Core Truths About Jesus

The last time we saw Mary, she’s at the cross watching her Son die. Mary was the only woman there whose name is identified in Scripture. But she’s now not identified as Jesus’ mother, she’s His disciple. Luci Shaw (picture) put it this way: “After the Resurrection and Ascension of Jesus, Mary found her rightful place in the upper room with the others of His inner circle, equally joined with them in the risk and intimacy of prayer, the responsibility for the young church. By faithfulness she had demonstrated her value to God and to His ‘sent ones.” Her suffering had been redemptive.”

Along with Jesus’ other disciples, she was committed to this new, spiritually explosive movement. Her presence shows she’s convinced beyond all doubt of His resurrection. She’d lost and suffered more than anyone else. She’s a model of faith and example for us. Her faith held firm in spite of the extraordinary demands laid on her. Her being in the upper room shows that one of the last to see Jesus on the cross had unswerving faith in His resurrection. She was convinced beyond all doubt that He was God.

It’s easy to romanticize Mary, turning her into some saint wearing a powder blue robe, walking six inches off the ground. But Mary was a real human like us with a real faith like ours in the real world like ours.

Our world mocks what we believe, what the Bible teaches, what Mary believed, and those early Christians believed. Some years ago, a man stood up on the Phil Donahue Show (picture) and shouted, Jesus is the Answer.  The crowd responded mockingly with, What’s the question?

It’s not enough today to leave a tract in a restaurant after a meal and think, “There, they have the truth.” Yes, there’s power in God’s Word. Yet, you can’t approach people today without understanding that they don’t know the basics of what the Bible says! If you approach an unbeliever with the words, “God said in the Bible,” only one out of  three even knows what that means.

A generation ago, this would have been ridiculous to apply to America. Sure, there were other religions, but they hadn’t made the inroads like today. Back then, it was apple pie, Chevrolet and God. The first two haven’t changed, but now it’s many gods, if there is even a belief in a god.

Much of what’s happening is coming at the same time Christ-followers seem to be the least interested in truth and doctrine. But without truth, what do we have? While our culture is very interested in experimenting with spiritual things, at the same time, the believing community, is confused about biblical spirituality and don’t know the core truths of the Bible.

Mary and those witnesses of the first century faced a hostile society. Tim Downs (picture) shares that we, the Bible believing community today are viewed as radical, right wing, politically incorrect and out of touch as we hold to the Bible. We’re on the wrong side of history.

Mary believed in Jesus’ sacrificial death. Jesus is still popular these days. A quick search on the internet will give you a vast array of points of view about Jesus. For example, there’s a “Jesus Diet,” which gives you an eating plan of what some think Jesus ate. Others believe He was some sage. When it comes to Jesus, there are a multiplicity of views expressed. Some see Him as God. Others that He was a good teacher. Still others deny He ever existed.

Mary and those in the upper room believed Jesus died as the sacrificial death for our sins. He died for us because the Father loves us and there was no other way to be justified with God except that an acceptable sacrifice was made for our sins. That sacrifice was Jesus, the Lamb of God. Romans 5:17, For if, because of one man’s trespass, death reigned through that one man, much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man Jesus Christ.

Jesus died so all of our sins were paid for. When someone commits their life to Christ, they’re now blameless before God. Jesus paid the penalty so when we stand before God no one is able to point at us, we’re without blame.

We’re now beyond reproach. That’s a legal term which means that Christ-followers are not open to accusation. They’re free from guilt. Jesus paid it all. When He said, ” It is finished,” it was. Our sin debt was paid. The sacrifice made. Mary believed in Jesus’ sacrificial death.

Mary believed in Jesus’ bodily resurrection. While people believe in Jesus’ death, but His resurrection? If they’re honest, they question your sanity. Many have seen someone die. No one has seen someone resurrected.

Yet, the claim of Jesus’ bodily resurrection is central to the gospel message. Without His resurrection, Jesus’s claims to divinity are empty and the gospel’s claim to be the power of God for salvation would be false.

Mary believed it was a historical truth. Six facts support the credibility of the historical claim. First, death by crucifixion was not something that the followers of Jesus were likely to invent. Second, His burial account fits with all historical evidence that we have. Third, the claim of the empty tomb was easily verifiable. There are no contradictory accounts. Fourth,  the apostles claimed to have met the resurrected Jesus face-to-face. Fifth, the apostles were willing to suffer and die for these claims. Sixth, those who were very unlikely to be converted to this belief were converted after personal experiences of meeting the resurrected Christ.

Mary believed in Jesus’ ascension and return.Of all of the aspects of Christ’s work in His state of exaltation, the Ascension is one most often overlooked. Every Christ-follower knows something about the Resurrection. Most look forward to Jesus’ coming again, yet few can tell you much about the Ascension. Most Christians, if they consider the Ascension at all, think of it as little more than a heavenly transit system.

The Ascension is not just getting Jesus to heaven. It matters how He ascended. He ascended locally (a geographic place), visibly (in front of many witnesses), and bodily (not some ghostlike disappearance). The Bible tells us that the way in which Jesus ascended will be the way in which He descends at the end of the age. The coming appearing of Jesus will be an actual appearing in the flesh to the earth and witnessed by multitudes. 

His Ascension is a vindication of His Resurrection. It’s linked to His current work as our interceding High Priest (Hebrews 4:14-16) and to the subjection of all things under King Jesus’ feet (1 Peter 3:22). Jesus is our conquering king, seated at the right hand of God the Father. He prays for us and pleads His finished and justifying work on our behalf. Because He is enthroned on high, Jesus rules over all things in heaven and on earth. Mary believed in Jesus’ sacrificial death, resurrection, ascension and return.

2. Mary Knew the Key Practices for the Church. 

We’re just like Mary, real human beings of flesh and blood, in need of the power of God as we seek to give glory to the One who saves and sustains us by His grace. Mary, like us, wasn’t called to be perfect but into discipleship. She serves as an example of how to follow Jesus in the real world and in the church. A key question is: What can we learn from Mary about living out our faith in this world?

Acts 1:14 is the final mention of Mary in the New Testament. She’d become a follower of her Son, joining His disciples in worshipping and praying to Him. I should mention there’s no evidence in the Bible that anyone ever prayed to Mary or that anyone ever called her “the mother of God.” All of that came long after the ending of the New Testament. It’s from tradition not from anything in the Bible. Please check the Bible for yourself.

Jesus’ brothers are also there in the upper room. During His lifetime they didn’t know what to make of Him. They even thought He was mentally disturbed, but they came to faith after His resurrection.  

This tells us two things: 1) Proximity to Jesus doesn’t guarantee faith—so don’t take anything for granted, 2) Those who today are unbelievers may come to Christ tomorrow, so don’t ever give up on your loved ones.

Mary remained present with those first Christians, meeting and praying with them through those chaotic weeks following Jesus’ resurrection. Mary among those disciples seems to suggest that those earliest followers of Jesus drew strength and stability from her. Could she have served as a living reminder of the Lord’s earthly existence, of that stunning truth that God took on human flesh to reach and rescue us from sin? Did she offer encouragement to other women who followed Jesus, modeling faith and obedience as well as actively participating in the early church? She wasn’t some church celebrity but joined right in with them.

Mary joined them in humility. In recent years, a number of high-profile evangelicals have fallen from their pedestals. The landing is often a disaster. The story goes something like this, a “celebrity pastor” with a wide sphere  of influence fell prey to sin, leaving in his wake chaos and disillusionment.

Fame can foster an unhealthy sense of self-importance, detracting from Christ-centered humility. A vertical-based ministry is about pumping up the image of the person or ministry rather than making disciples. It’s Empire building when God called us to Kingdom building. When we’re unaccountable, then inherently we lose humility before God. If anyone should have been a celebrity, it was Mary. But in the upper room and early church, Mary was just another Christ-follower.

We know that Jesus died for all of our sins. He died to reestablish our relationship with God. But there’s an important step each of us must still take to access the mercy and grace His death affords us. That step is to practice humility. God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble (James 4:6).

What does it mean to be humble? It means realizing how weak we are, how helpless we are to change the course of our lives in our own power. It’s to ask God for His forgiveness and trust Him for His guidance. He wants us to confess our helplessness, our sinfulness, and our complete need for Him. We can do exactly that, regardless of the depth of our flaws, since we know God will never reject those who come to Him with a humble spirit.

Yet, even if we believe we’re being humble, it’s very difficult in our society. We’ve moved further away from God’s ways and instead placed focus on the world’s ways. In today’s world humility isn’t a positive trait. It’s seen as a weakness. In many cases, humility is seen as a flaw that should be avoided at all costs.

Think about your own social or professional life. How often do you hear someone admit they were wrong? How about in the church? When was the last time you admitted such things? People are afraid to admit they’re wrong but instead move to a position of pride. Once there, it’s easier to lie, make excuses, or ignore personal responsibility rather than face them in honest humility. Pride is an obstacle that halts God’s mercy. The church today, the average Christian today, is often spiritually impotent because we know so little of Christlike humility.

Mary joined them in obedience. Peter T. Forsythe (picture) was right. He said, “The first duty of every soul is to find not its freedom but its Master.”

Everything starts with obedience. We can’t do any work of eternal significance that we weren’t first commanded by God to do. It’s all about obedience. God isn’t looking for a bunch of creative freelancers. Instead, we’re to be those who’ve learned to listen to God and obey what He tells us to do. Just a sidenote, you won’t learn to listen to God if you fail to regularly read His Word and sit under the preaching of His Word. Mary and those early believers understood obedience. It’s only by obedience that we function well in the kingdom of Christ.

So, how did they show obedience? They went to Jerusalem and waited.  They did what Jesus told them to do. They didn’t go preach, or heal, or feed the poor, or do anything. They just went to that upper room and waited. They obeyed. They were commanded to stay in Jerusalem, to wait for the Gift.

For a Christ-follower, obedience is everything. We can’t take matters in our own hands. Christ alone must be our King. Jesus connected obedience to our love for Him. In John 14:15, He said, “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.” He also said that there is a direct link to obedience and the gift of the Spirit. “All this, I have spoken while still with you, but the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I’ve said to you.” It’s by obedience and by the Holy Spirit, we build the kingdom of Christ.” 

We find the primacy of the Word of God here. They didn’t have any information about Jesus, apart from the Spirit reminding them of everything Jesus had done and said. The New Testament hadn’t been written yet, later they’d write it. This is foundational for us who never knew Jesus personally. Jesus said, When the Spirit of truth comes, He will guide you into all the truth (John 16:13). The Spirit guides those who submit and obey.  

Mary joined them in unity. All these with one accord…together (Acts 1:14). It’s a frequently overlooked trait of the early church. The Bible continually stresses that what they did, they did together. All of them, united and unanimous. Spiritual unity is one of the most powerful weapons of God.

Satan loves division. His plan hasn’t changed. You probably experienced it this week. What did Satan do in the Garden? He divided Adam and Eve and had them finger pointing at each other. He divided them from God. When Satan gets you and your spouse dividing and fighting, he wins. When he gets you and your children dividing and fighting, he wins. When Satan gets a church dividing and fighting, he wins. Usually, it’s not anything big. In the Garden it was disobedience over a piece of fruit. So, what was the last thing that you and your spouse fought about? Was it worth it? What was the last thing that bothered you at church, in this spiritual family? Was it worth it?

Unity of the Spirit brings spiritual intimacy with Jesus and each other. Our foundation is the love of God that He gave for us, and we must freely share with each other. Love doesn’t begin with thinking of myself. It begins with thinking of others. Self-love will always degenerate into selfishness.

As we look around a church, we ought to see individuals with a wide range of differences experiencing the deepest kind of unity—different ethnicities, different ages and socioeconomics, different convictions on politics, different convictions on education, different convictions on vaccinations, and so on.

The gospel that was sufficient to bind Jew to Gentile, and Gentile to Jew is powerful to bind any two—or any two hundred—Christians together. The gospel that brought unity between Jewish kosher law abiders and Gentile no food or dietary laws is strong enough to bring about unity with us.

At Grace, we have everything from Boomers to Generation Zers. Like those early believers we’ll differ on nearly everything. We need to ask the Lord, to quote Tim Elmore, to help us be Gentelligent. We must cultivate a generational capital to have Christlike, family unity.  

How do we do that? First, resist the temptation to make assumptions about other generations. Second, adjust your outlook to understand other generations. Third, strengthen trust. That means moving from thinking adversarial to trusted, dependable partners. Fourth, expand the ground and find win-win solutions abandoning what appeared to be win-lose scenarios.

The key is that we must be united in the gospel, in our love for Jesus and for each other. We will never have unity without it. We will never have unity if we stay locked in our safe generational silos.

So, let me challenge you. This coming month – go out for a meal or have someone in your home who’s not from your generation. And that leads us to the key for unity…

Mary joined them in prayer. Prayer brings unity. Do you know what the statistics are for divorce for couples who regularly pray together? Less than 1%. Prayer brings unity. If prayer unites a couple, imagine what it can do for a church family?  

Devoting themselves to prayer means they were persistent at it. They were busy at prayer. We foolishly think that prayer is not being busy. As believers, prayer is our business – and we’re to pray together.

If you’re in a small group, pray. Meet with other Christians and pray. A key part of our Deacons Meetings is the sharing of prayer requests and praying together. Prayer cultivates love and unity. Charles Spurgeon (picture), Prayer is that slender nerve that moves the muscles of omnipotence.

They were serious about prayer. They weren’t playing, they were praying. What’s the importance of all this? Out of that prayer meeting came men and women ready for Pentecost when the Spirit of God would impact that whole city for Christ. These were the ones who turned their world upside down.

In the history of the Church every great revival has been preceded by a season of serious, united prayer. While I believe that revival is a sovereign work of God sent by Him and not created by us, I also believe that when God wants to do a great work, He usually begins by moving His church to pray.

Conclusion

What happened to Mary after the exciting day of Pentecost? We don’t know. She’s never mentioned again in Scripture. Some scholars believe she lived ten or twenty years after Jesus ascended. All we know is that she was in the care of John. He must have received great encouragement and understanding from Mary as she shared Jesus with him as only His mother could. She was probably interviewed by Luke. His gospel has many details only Mary would know. So, what do we learn from Mary?

Mary’s life always pointed to Jesus. As part of her song of praise, The Magnificat, she said, my spirit rejoices in God my Savior (Luke 1:47). That she’s with the early church means she knew it was God the Son who was her Savior. Her song now was my spirit rejoices in Jesus my Savior.

Mary trusted God’s Word and His guidance for her life. Remember her last spoken words at the wedding in Cana to the servants, Do whatever He [Jesus] tells you (John 2:5). That was her life. She didn’t always understand Jesus, but she always trusted and obeyed God.

Mary praised God even during trials. In the midst of Mary’s life-changing news that she’d give birth to the Messiah; she continued to praise God. Her doubts and fears didn’t waver. She understood the power of praise, that it would sustain her through her upcoming trials. 

Mary’s suffering drew her closer to God. Being Jesus’ mother was the  ultimate source of her suffering. She witnessed Jesus endure intense ridicule, opposition, and the crucifixion. She was one of the last ones with Jesus until His death. As any mother, Mary wanted only what was best for her Son, but she endured great pain and suffering watching Jesus suffer. Jesus provided care for her in John. God always comforts us in our suffering.

Mary surrendered to God’s will. She surrendered to God’s plans not only for her life, but the life of her Child. She surrendered her child to God and His ultimate will. If Mary had tried to control God’s plans for Jesus, He wouldn’t have fulfilled His purpose and died for the sins of humanity.

Surrender is a daily act of worship to God and full acknowledgement we’re not in control. It’s an opportunity for us trust and be led by God every day.

Many today even in the Church are unfamiliar with some of the great Bible stories. They often made a difference even in history.

During World War II, after Hitler had blitzed his way across France, demanding the unconditional surrender of the Allied forces in Europe, thousands of British and French troops dug in on the coast of northern France in a last-ditch effort to hold off the German forces. Trapped on the beaches of Dunkirk, they knew they’d soon be obliterated by the Nazis.

Those brave British soldiers began sending a message across the English Channel. Just three words; And if not. Was it a code? A secret message?

No, it was a reference to the Old Testament episode when Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego stood before pagan Nebuchadnezzar’s fury and fiery furnace in Daniel 3 and told him, “Our God is able to save us, and if not, we will remain faithful to Him anyway.” 

As unbelievable as it seems today, that message was immediately understood by the British people. Wonderfully, in the days that followed, fishing boats, pleasure cruisers, yachts, and even rowboats set out from the shores of England and rescued 338,000 Allied troops.

And if not. That was Mary. Whatever happened, she would trust God. What about us? Is that you? Is that me? And if not. Will we trust God no matter what?