The Acts 1
1
Luke Writes Another Book
1To Theophilus,
The first book I wrote was about everything that Jesus did and taught. 2I wrote about the whole life of Jesus, from the beginning until the day he was taken up into heaven. Before this, Jesus talked to the apostles he had chosen. With the help of the Holy Spirit, Jesus told them what they should do. 3After his death, he showed himself to them and proved in many ways that he was alive. The apostles saw Jesus during the 40 days after he was raised from death. He spoke to them about the kingdom of God. 4Once when he was eating with them, he told them not to leave Jerusalem. He said, “The Father has made you a promise which I told you about before. Wait here to receive this promise. 5John baptized people with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.”
Jesus Is Taken Up into Heaven
6The apostles were all together. They asked Jesus, “Lord, are you at this time going to give the kingdom back to Israel?”
7Jesus said to them, “The Father is the only One who has the authority to decide dates and times. These things are not for you to know. 8But the Holy Spirit will come to you. Then you will receive power. You will be my witnesses—in Jerusalem, in all of Judea, in Samaria, and in every part of the world.”
9After he said this, as they were watching, he was lifted up. A cloud hid him from their sight. 10As he was going, they were looking into the sky. Suddenly, two men wearing white clothes stood beside them. 11They said, “Men of Galilee, why are you standing here looking into the sky? You saw Jesus taken away from you into heaven. He will come back in the same way you saw him go.”
A New Apostle Is Chosen
12Then they went back to Jerusalem from the Mount of Olives. (This mountain is about half a mile from Jerusalem.) 13When they entered the city, they went to the upstairs room where they were staying. Peter, John, James, Andrew, Philip, Thomas, Bartholomew, Matthew, James son of Alphaeus, Simon (known as the Zealot), and Judas son of James were there. 14They all continued praying together. Some women, including Mary the mother of Jesus, and Jesus’ brothers were also there with the apostles.
15During this time there was a meeting of the believers. (There were about 120 of them.) Peter stood up and said, 16-17“Brothers, in the Scriptures the Holy Spirit said through David that something must happen. The Spirit was talking about Judas, one of our own group, who served together with us. The Spirit said that Judas would lead men to arrest Jesus. 18(Judas bought a field with the money he got for his evil act. But Judas fell to his death, his body burst open, and all his intestines poured out.) 19Everyone in Jerusalem learned about this. This is why they named the field Akeldama. In their language Akeldama means “field of blood.”) 20In the book of Psalms, this is written:
‘May his place be empty.
Leave no one to live in it.’ Psalm 69:25
And it is also written:
21-22“So now a man must join us and become a witness of Jesus’ being raised from death. He must be one of the men who were part of our group during all the time the Lord Jesus was with us. He must have been with us from the time John began to baptize people until the day when Jesus was taken up from us to heaven.”
23They put the names of two men before the group. One was Joseph Barsabbas, who was also called Justus. The other was Matthias. 24-25The apostles prayed, “Lord, you know the minds of everyone. Show us which one of these two you have chosen to do this work. Judas turned away from it and went where he belongs. Lord, show us which one should take his place as an apostle!” 26Then they used lots to choose between them, and the lots showed that Matthias was the one. So he became an apostle with the other 11.
Currently Selected:
The Acts 1: ICB
Highlight
Share
Copy
Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in
Copyright © 2015 by Tommy Nelson™, a Division of Thomas Nelson, Inc. All rights reserved. Used by permission.
Acts 1
1
1 #
Lk 1.1–4
Dear Theophilus:
In my first book I wrote about all the things that Jesus did and taught from the time he began his work 2until the day he was taken up to heaven. Before he was taken up, he gave instructions by the power of the Holy Spirit to the men he had chosen as his apostles. 3For forty days after his death he appeared to them many times in ways that proved beyond doubt that he was alive. They saw him, and he talked with them about the Kingdom of God. 4#Lk 24.49And when they came together,#1.4 when they came together; or while he was staying with them; or while he was eating with them. he gave them this order: “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift I told you about, the gift my Father promised. 5#Mt 3.11; Mk 1.8; Lk 3.16; Jn 1.33John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.”
Jesus is Taken Up to Heaven
(Mk 16.19–20; Lk 24.50–53)
6When the apostles met together with Jesus, they asked him, “Lord, will you at this time give the Kingdom back to Israel?”
7Jesus said to them, “The times and occasions are set by my Father's own authority, and it is not for you to know when they will be. 8#Mt 28.19; Mk 16.15; Lk 24.47–48But when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, you will be filled with power, and you will be witnesses for me in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” 9#Mk 16.19; Lk 24.50–51After saying this, he was taken up to heaven as they watched him, and a cloud hid him from their sight.
10They still had their eyes fixed on the sky as he went away, when two men dressed in white suddenly stood beside them 11and said, “Galileans, why are you standing there looking up at the sky? This Jesus, who was taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way that you saw him go to heaven.”
Judas' Successor
(Mt 27.3–10)
12Then the apostles went back to Jerusalem from the Mount of Olives, which is about a kilometre away from the city. 13#Mt 10.2–4; Mk 3.16–19; Lk 6.14–16They entered the city and went up to the room where they were staying: Peter, John, James and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James son of Alphaeus, Simon the Patriot, and Judas son of James. 14They gathered frequently to pray as a group, together with the women and with Mary the mother of Jesus and with his brothers.
15A few days later there was a meeting of the believers, about 120 in all, and Peter stood up to speak. 16“My fellow-believers,” he said, “the scripture had to come true in which the Holy Spirit, speaking through David, made a prediction about Judas, who was the guide for those who arrested Jesus. 17Judas was a member of our group, for he had been chosen to have a part in our work.”
18 #
Mt 27.3–8
(With the money that Judas got for his evil act he bought a field, where he fell to his death; he burst open and all his bowels spilt out. 19All the people living in Jerusalem heard about it, and so in their own language they call that field Akeldama, which means “Field of Blood”.)
20 #
Ps 69.25; 109.8 “For it is written in the book of Psalms:
‘May his house become empty;
may no one live in it.’
It is also written:
‘May someone else take his place of service.’
21-22 #
Mt 3.16; Mk 1.9; 16.19; Lk 3.21; 24.51 “So then, someone must join us as a witness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. He must be one of the men who were in our group during the whole time that the Lord Jesus travelled about with us, beginning from the time John preached his message of baptism#1.21–22 John preached his message of baptism; or John baptized him. until the day Jesus was taken up from us to heaven.”
23So they proposed two men: Joseph, who was called Barsabbas (also known as Justus), and Matthias. 24Then they prayed, “Lord, you know the thoughts of everyone, so show us which of these two you have chosen 25to serve as an apostle in the place of Judas, who left to go to the place where he belongs.” 26Then they drew lots to choose between the two men, and the one chosen was Matthias, who was added to the group of eleven apostles.
Currently Selected:
:
Highlight
Share
Copy
Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in
Good News Bible with Deuterocanonicals/Apocrypha. Scripture taken from the Good News Bible (r) (Today's English Version Second Edition, UK/British Edition). Copyright © 1992 British & Foreign Bible Society. Used by permission.