Acts

¹The first book I wrote, Theophilus, dealt with all that Jesus did and taught from the beginning, ²until the day in which he was taken up, after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom he had chosen. ³After he suffered, he also presented himself alive to them by many proofs,¹²⁸⁴ appearing to them over a period of forty days, and speaking about God’s Kingdom. ⁴Being assembled together¹²⁸⁵ with them, he commanded them, “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which you heard from me. ⁵Indeed, John baptized in water, but not many days from now, you will be baptized in the Holy Spirit.”

⁶Therefore, when they had come together, they asked him, “Lord, are you now restoring the kingdom to Israel?”

⁷Jesus told them, “It is not for you to know the times or seasons which the Father has set by his own authority. ⁸However, you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

⁹After saying these things, as they were watching, Jesus¹²⁸⁶ was taken up and a cloud took him out of their sight. ¹⁰While they were gazing into the sky¹²⁸⁷ as he was going, behold, two men in white clothing stood by them. ¹¹They said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand gazing into the sky? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into the sky will come back in the same way as you saw him going into heaven.”¹²⁸⁸

¹²Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mountain called Olivet,¹²⁸⁹ which is near Jerusalem, a Sabbath day’s journey away.

The disciples in the upper room—Matthias is chosen to replace Judas

¹³After entering the city, they went up into the upper room where they were staying; that is, Peter, James, John, Andrew, Philip, Thomas, Bartholomew, Matthew, James [the son] of Alphaeus, Simon the Zealot, and Judas [the brother]¹²⁹⁰ of James. ¹⁴With one accord, all these were continuing steadfastly in prayer and supplication¹²⁹¹, together with certain women, including Mary the mother of Jesus and his brothers.¹²⁹²

¹⁵In those days, Peter stood up among the disciples¹²⁹³ (and the number of names was about one hundred twenty) and said: ¹⁶”Brethren, it was necessary that this Scripture should be fulfilled, which the Holy Spirit had spoken beforehand by the mouth of David concerning Judas, who became a guide to those who arrested Jesus. ¹⁷For he was numbered with us and received his portion in this ministry.

¹⁸(Now this man obtained a field with the reward for his wickedness, and falling headlong, his body burst open, and all his intestines gushed out.^{1294 19}It became known to everyone who lived in Jerusalem that in their proper language that field was called ‘Akeldama,’ that is, ‘The field of blood.’)

²⁰For it is written in the book of Psalms,

Let his habitation be made desolate,

And let no one dwell in it;¹²⁹⁵

and,

Let another take his office of ¹²⁹⁶overseer. ¹²⁹⁷

²¹Therefore, of the men who have accompanied us all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, ²²beginning from the baptism of John and to the day that he was taken up from us, of these [men], one must become a witness with us of his resurrection.”¹²⁹⁸

²³So, they put forward two [candidates]: Joseph called Barsabbas who was surnamed Justus, and Matthias. ²⁴Then they prayed and said, “You, Lord, who know the hearts of all, show which one of these two you have chosen ²⁵to take part in this ministry and apostleship from which Judas fell away to go to his own place.” ²⁶And they cast lots¹²⁹⁹ for them, and the lot fell on Matthias, and he was added to the eleven apostles.

Pentecost, the coming of the Holy Spirit

1284. The Greek word tekmhri,oij may also convey the idea of “decisive, convincing proof”
1285. The Greek expression may also convey the idea of “eating with”
1286. Greek “he”
1287. In verses 9-11, “sky” and “heaven” are equally valid translations of ouranos
1288. Or “the sky” (see note d)
1289. Zechariah 14:4
1290. Or “son of”—as in every instance when [brother of] is between brackets.
1291. CT omits “and supplication”
1292. See Appendix E
1293. CT reads “brethren/brothers”
1294. Judas committed suicide by hanging himself (Matthew 27:5) or possibly by throwing himself on a sword. In Matthew, the Greek avph,gxato (generally translated ‘hanged himself’) could also have the general meaning of committing suicide. If Judas did hang himself, it is possible that the branch (or rope) broke and caused the event described in Acts 1:18 to happen.
1295. Psalm 69:25/68 LXX
1296. Or “bishopric” (KJV) (Greek evpiskoph.n). In the NT, the related word episkopos (“overseer”) is interchangeable with “presbyter.” Hence, the idea that this passage teaches the Western concept of Apostolic Succession (where the bishops are successors of the Apostles) is not supported by this text. See Appendix A and B.
1297. Psalm 109:8/108 LXX
1298. See also 1 Peter 5:1
1299. Compare Luke 1:8-9; a reference to a priestly office