Acts 1
1
Jesus Is Taken Up Into Heaven
1Theophilus, I wrote about Jesus in my earlier book. I wrote about all he did and taught 2until the day he was taken up to heaven. Before Jesus left, he gave orders to the apostles he had chosen. He did this through the Holy Spirit. 3After his suffering and death, he appeared to them. In many ways he proved that he was alive. He appeared to them over a period of 40 days. During that time he spoke about God’s kingdom. 4One day Jesus was eating with them. He gave them a command. “Do not leave Jerusalem,” he said. “Wait for the gift my Father promised. You have heard me talk about it. 5John baptized with water. But in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.”
6Then the apostles gathered around Jesus and asked him a question. “Lord,” they said, “are you going to give the kingdom back to Israel now?”
7He said to them, “You should not be concerned about times or dates. The Father has set them by his own authority. 8But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you. Then you will tell people about me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria. And you will even tell other people about me from one end of the earth to the other.”
9After Jesus said this, he was taken up to heaven. The apostles watched until a cloud hid him from their sight.
10While he was going up, they kept on looking at the sky. Suddenly two men dressed in white clothing stood beside them. 11“Men of Galilee,” they said, “why do you stand here looking at the sky? Jesus has been taken away from you into heaven. But he will come back in the same way you saw him go.”
Matthias Is Chosen to Take the Place of Judas Iscariot
12The apostles returned to Jerusalem from the hill called the Mount of Olives. It is just over half a mile from the city. 13When they arrived, they went upstairs to the room where they were staying. Here is a list of those who were there.
Peter, John, James and Andrew,
Philip and Thomas,
Bartholomew and Matthew,
James son of Alphaeus, Simon the Zealot and Judas son of James
14They all came together regularly to pray. The women joined them too. So did Jesus’ mother Mary and his brothers.
15In those days Peter stood up among the believers. About 120 of them were there. 16Peter said, “Brothers and sisters, a long time ago the Holy Spirit spoke through David. He spoke about Judas Iscariot. What the Scripture said would happen had to come true. Judas was the guide for the men who arrested Jesus. 17But Judas was one of us. He shared with us in our work for God.”
18Judas bought a field with the payment he received for the evil thing he had done. He fell down headfirst in the field. His body burst open. All his insides spilled out. 19Everyone in Jerusalem heard about this. So they called that field Akeldama. In their language, Akeldama means the Field of Blood.
20Peter said, “Here is what is written in the Book of Psalms. It says,
“ ‘May his home be deserted.
May no one live in it.’ (Psalm 69:25)
The Psalms also say,
“ ‘Let someone else take his place as leader.’ (Psalm 109:8)
21So we need to choose someone to take his place. It will have to be a man who was with us the whole time the Lord Jesus was living among us. 22That time began when John was baptizing. It ended when Jesus was taken up from us. The one we choose must join us in telling people that Jesus rose from the dead.”
23So they suggested the names of two men. One was Joseph, who was called Barsabbas. He was also called Justus. The other man was Matthias. 24Then the believers prayed. They said, “Lord, you know everyone’s heart. Show us which of these two you have chosen. 25Show us who should take the place of Judas as an apostle. He gave up being an apostle to go where he belongs.” 26Then they cast lots. Matthias was chosen. So he was added to the 11 apostles.
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Acts 1: NIrV
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Acts 1
1
Telling the good news in Jerusalem
1Theophilus, I first wrote to you#1.1 I first wrote to you: The Gospel of Luke. about all that Jesus did and taught from the very first#Lk 1.1-4. 2until he was taken up to heaven. But before he was taken up, he gave orders to the apostles he had chosen with the help of the Holy Spirit.
3For forty days after Jesus had suffered and died, he proved in many ways that he had been raised from death. He appeared to his apostles and spoke to them about God's kingdom. 4While he was still with them, he said:
Don't leave Jerusalem yet. Wait here for the Father to give you the Holy Spirit, just as I told you he has promised to do.#Lk 24.49. 5John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.#Mt 3.11; Mk 1.8; Lk 3.16; Jn 1.33.
Jesus is taken to heaven
6While the apostles were still with Jesus, they asked him, “Lord, are you now going to give Israel its own king again?”#1.6 are you now going to give Israel its own king again?: Or “Are you now going to rule Israel as its king?”
7Jesus said to them, “You don't need to know the time of those events that only the Father controls. 8But the Holy Spirit will come upon you and give you power. Then you will tell everyone about me in Jerusalem, in all Judea, in Samaria, and everywhere in the world.”#Mt 28.19; Mk 16.15; Lk 24.47,48. 9After Jesus had said this and while they were watching, he was taken up into a cloud. They could not see him,#Mk 16.19; Lk 24.50,51. 10but as he went up, they kept looking up into the sky.
Suddenly two men dressed in white clothes were standing there beside them. 11They said, “Why are you men from Galilee standing here and looking up into the sky? Jesus has been taken to heaven. But he will come back in the same way that you have seen him go.”
Someone to take the place of Judas
12-13The Mount of Olives was about a kilometre from Jerusalem. The apostles who had gone there were Peter, John, James, Andrew, Philip, Thomas, Bartholomew, Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus, Simon, known as the Eager One,#1.12,13 known as the Eager One: The Greek text has “Zealot”, a name later given to the members of a Jewish group which resisted and fought against the Romans. and Judas the son of James.#Mt 10.2-4; Mk 3.16-19; Lk 6.14-16.
After the apostles returned to the city, they went upstairs to the room where they had been staying.
14The apostles often met together and prayed with a single purpose in mind.#1.14 met together and prayed with a single purpose in mind: Or “met together in a special place for prayer”. The women and Mary the mother of Jesus would meet with them, and so would his brothers. 15One day there were about a hundred and twenty of the Lord's followers meeting together, and Peter stood up to speak to them. 16-17He said:
My friends, long ago by the power of the Holy Spirit, David said something about Judas, and what he said has now happened. Judas was one of us and had worked with us, but he brought the mob to arrest Jesus. 18Then Judas bought some land with the money he was given for doing that evil thing. He fell head-first into the field. His body burst open, and all his insides came out.#Mt 27.3-8. 19When the people of Jerusalem found out about this, they called the place Akeldama, which in the local language means “Field of Blood”.
20In the book of Psalms it says,#Ps 69.25; Ps 109.8.
“Leave his house empty,
and don't let anyone
live there.”
It also says,
“Let someone else
have his job.”
21-22So we need someone else to help us tell others that Jesus has been raised from death. He must also be one of the men who was with us from the very beginning. He must have been with us from the time the Lord Jesus was baptized by John until the day he was taken to heaven.#Mt 3.16; Mk 1.9; Lk 3.21; Mk 16.19; Lk 24.51.
23Two men were suggested: one of them was Joseph Barsabbas, known as Justus, and the other was Matthias. 24Then they all prayed, “Lord, you know what everyone is like! Show us the one you have chosen 25to be an apostle and to serve in place of Judas, who got what he deserved.” 26They drew names, and Matthias was chosen to join the group of the eleven apostles.
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