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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Holy Bible, New International Reader’s Version®, NIrV®
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Acts 1
1
Introduction
1In my first book, Theophilus, I wrote about what Jesus began to do and teach. This included everything from the beginning ⌞of his life⌟ 2until the day he was taken to heaven. Before he was taken to heaven, he gave instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles, whom he had chosen.
Jesus Ascends to Heaven
3After his death Jesus showed the apostles a lot of convincing evidence that he was alive. For 40 days he appeared to them and talked with them about God’s kingdom.
4Once, while he was meeting with them, he ordered them not to leave Jerusalem but to wait there for what the Father had promised. Jesus said to them, “I’ve told you what the Father promises: 5John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.”
6So when the apostles came together, they asked him, “Lord, is this the time when you’re going to restore the kingdom to Israel?”
7Jesus told them, “You don’t need to know about times or periods that the Father has determined by his own authority. 8But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes to you. Then you will be my witnesses to testify about me in Jerusalem, throughout Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
9After he had said this, he was taken to heaven. A cloud hid him so that they could no longer see him.
10They were staring into the sky as he departed. Suddenly, two men in white clothes stood near them. 11They asked, “Why are you men from Galilee standing here looking at the sky? Jesus, who was taken from you to heaven, will come back in the same way that you saw him go to heaven.”
A New Apostle Takes Judas’ Place
12Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mountain called the Mount of Olives. It is near Jerusalem, about half a mile away.
13When they came into the city, Peter, John, James, Andrew, Philip, Thomas, Bartholomew, Matthew, James (son of Alphaeus), Simon the Zealot, and Judas (son of James) went to the second-story room where they were staying.
14The apostles had a single purpose as they devoted themselves to prayer. They were joined by some women, including Mary (the mother of Jesus), and they were joined by his brothers.
15At a time when about 120 disciples had gathered together, Peter got up and spoke to them.
He said, 16“Brothers, what the Holy Spirit predicted through David in Scripture about Judas had to come true. Judas led the men to arrest Jesus. 17He had been one of us and had been given an active role in this ministry. 18With the money he received from the wrong he had done, he bought a piece of land where he fell headfirst to his death. His body split open, and all his internal organs came out. 19Everyone living in Jerusalem knows about this. They even call that piece of land Akeldama, which means ‘Field of Blood’ in their dialect. 20You’ve read in Psalms, ‘Let his home be deserted, and let no one live there,’ and ‘Let someone else take his position.’
“Therefore, someone must be added to our number to serve with us as a witness that Jesus came back to life. 21He must be one of the men who accompanied Jesus with us the entire time that the Lord Jesus was among us. 22This person must have been with us from the time that John was baptizing people to the day that Jesus was taken from us.” #1:22 Verses 21–22 have been rearranged to express the complex Greek sentence structure more clearly in English.
23The disciples determined that two men were qualified. These men were Joseph (who was called Barsabbas and was also known as Justus) and Matthias. 24Then they prayed, “Lord, you know everyone’s thoughts. Show us which of these two you have chosen. 25Show us who is to take the place of Judas as an apostle, since Judas abandoned his position to go to the place where he belongs.”
26They drew names to choose an apostle. Matthias was chosen and joined the eleven apostles.
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