Acts of the Apostles 1

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The Promise of the Holy Spirit*

1 Dear Beloved of God,* in my first book,* I told you about everything that Jesus began to do and teach, from the beginning 2 until the day on which he was taken up to heaven. This was after he had given his commandments through the Holy Spirit to his apostles, whom he had chosen. 3 For after his death, he made it clear to them with many proofs that he was alive. He revealed himself to them for forty days and taught them about the Kingdom of God.*

4 One time, when he was eating with them, he commanded them, saying, “Don't leave the city of Jerusalem, but wait until the Father* fulfills his promise to you, just as you heard from me. 5 For John immersed people in water, but you, after a few days, will be immersed in the Holy Spirit.”*

6 They gathered around him and asked him, “Master, are you at this time going to restore authority to the Children of Israel?”* 7 He answered them, “It's not for you to know the times and dates which the Father has set by his own authority. 8 But, when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, you will receive power, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all the towns of Judea and Samaria,* and to the ends of the earth.”

Jesus Ascends to Heaven

9 After he said this, he was taken up to heaven before their eyes, and a cloud took him out of their sight.* 10 While they were looking at the sky as he was going away from them, suddenly there appeared to them two men in white robes.* 11 The two said to them, “You men of Galilee*, why are you standing [there] looking at the sky? This very Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will himself return in the same way that you saw him going there.”

12 Then they returned to Jerusalem from the hill known as the Mount of Olives, which is near Jerusalem at a distance of about one kilometer. 13 When they arrived at the city, they went up to the room where they were staying on the top floor. Those who were present were: Peter, John, James, Andrew, Philip, Thomas, Bartholomew, Matthew, James son of Alphaeus, Simon the Zealot, and Judas son of James. 14 All of these men were continually in supplication to God with one heart, along with some women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and his brothers.

The Selection of a Replacement for Judas

15 One day, there were gathered together about a hundred and twenty of the believers in Jesus. Peter stood up in the midst of them and said, 16 “My brothers, it was inevitable that the words of Scripture would be fulfilled — what the Holy Spirit said by the mouth of David the prophet concerning Judas, who was a guide to those who arrested Jesus, 17 for he was one of us and had a share with us in this ministry.”

18 (Now Judas had bought a field with the wages for the evil he had done. Then he fell on his head; his belly split open, and his intestines spilled out. 19 All the residents of Jerusalem learned about this incident, so they gave the field the name Akeldama in their language,* which means “Field of Blood.”)*

20 And Peter said, “The Scripture says in the Psalms, ‘Let his home become desolate, with no one living in it.’ It also says, ‘Let someone else take his position.’* 21 Therefore, we must choose one of those who have accompanied us throughout the period of time that our Master Jesus spent with us, 22 from the time John* immersed him until the day he was taken up from us to heaven, so that this person may be a witness with us of the resurrection of [Jesus].”

23 So they proposed two [men]: Joseph — who was called Son of Sabbas and was also known as the Just — and Matthias. 24 Then they humbly prayed, saying, “O Lord, you know everyone's heart. Reveal to us the one you choose between these two 25 to take on this ministry and be an apostle in place of Judas, since he has left it and gone to where he belongs.” 26 Then they cast a lot between the two of them, and it fell to Matthias, so they added him to the eleven apostles.

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Definitions

 *1:0 The section headings and footnotes are not part of the revealed text. They are included as an aid to the reader.

 *1:1 Beloved of God: This is a translation of the Greek word theophilos. It was also used as a name.

 *1:1 first book: This is a reference to the Good News by Luke, which is the third book of the Holy Gospel.

 *1:3 Kingdom of God: In the centuries before the Messiah, God said in the Book of the Prophet Daniel 2:44, that at a future time he would establish a divine kingdom that would never end. God also said (7:13-14) he would appoint, as the king over his kingdom, one like a young man, granting him all power to rule God's people forever, both in this life and in the world to come. This is the Kingdom of God that our Lord Jesus proclaimed, with himself as the Messiah, meaning the king appointed by God to rule over his people forever. For details, see Kingdom of God in the glossary.

 *1:4 the Father: God, said with respect to his compassionate care for his people. In the Book of Psalms 103:13 it says, “As a father has compassion on his children, God has compassion on those who are devoted to him.” Devoted believers spoke of God respectfully as “our Father,” meaning ربنا الرحمن rabbuna al-rahman. In contrast to the Arabic word أب ab, the common Greek, Hebrew, and English words for father are used for any relationship that is like a relationship between a loving father and his children. See family in the glossary.

 *1:5 the Holy Spirit: the personal presence and power of God himself, through whom he guided and inspired the prophets and empowered them to live according to his will. The Messiah Jesus said his followers will be “immersed” in the Holy Spirit. This means the Holy Spirit will purify their hearts and souls, guide them in life, empower them to serve God and resist sin, and instill in them spiritual virtues. Nine virtues produced by the Holy Spirit are listed elsewhere (Galatians 5:22-23) as love, joy, peace, patience, goodness, kindness, faithfulness, humility, and self-control.

  *1:6 restore authority to the Children of Israel: free the children of Israel from foreign domination and make them an independent kingdom with the Messiah as their king. The disciples did not yet understand that the Messiah rules all people, not just the Children of Israel, and that he rules from heaven with spiritual power, not political power. See Children of Israel in the glossary.

 *1:8 Judea and Samaria: two regions in the Holy Land, corresponding to what today are the southern and northern halves of the West Bank. Judea was populated by Jews, and its capital was Jerusalem. Samaria was populated by Samaritans, and its capital was Shechem, later called Nablus. The Samaritans believed in God, the prophet Moses, and the Torah, but not the later prophets and their writings. See the map.

 *1:9 A prophecy in the Book of the Prophet Daniel 7:13-14 speaks of the Messiah going to God in heaven on a cloud, where he is given authority to rule all people forever.

 *1:10 two men in white robes: in other words, two angels.

 *1:11 Galilee: a region south of Lebanon and west of Syria. Jesus and most of his disciples were from Galilee. See the map of Galilee.

 *1:19 in their language: These words are in the Aramaic language, also called Syriac. At that time this was the trade language spoken across much of the Middle East. By the 14th century it had been replaced by Arabic, which is similar to Aramaic.

 *1:19 According to the first book of the Gospel, by the Apostle Matthew, when Judas saw that Jesus the Messiah had submitted to condemnation by the authorities, he regretted betraying Jesus and tried to repay the money to the priests in the Temple of God. But they refused to accept it into the Temple treasury, because it was blood money, so they used it to buy this field as a place to bury foreigners. Akeldama is one kilometer south of the Temple Mount.

 *1:20 These are quoted from the Book of Psalms 69:25 and 109:8.

 *1:22 John: the prophet John son of Zechariah, also known as John the Baptist. He announced the coming of the Messiah, as did the voice of God from above when John immersed Jesus the Messiah in the River Jordan. This marked the beginning of the Messiah's ministry. See the Gospel, Luke 3:1-22.