Acts 1
1
Luke Writes Another Book
1Dear Theophilus,
The first book I wrote was about everything Jesus did and taught from the beginning 2until the day he was carried up into heaven. Before he went, he talked to the apostles he had chosen. With the help of the Holy Spirit, he told them what they should do. 3This was after his death, but he showed them that he was alive, proving it to them in many ways. The apostles saw Jesus many times during the 40 days after he was raised from death. He spoke to them about God’s kingdom. 4One time when Jesus was eating with them, he told them not to leave Jerusalem. He said, “Wait here until you receive what the Father promised to send. Remember, I told you about it before. 5John baptized people with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.”
Jesus Is Carried Up Into Heaven
6The apostles were all together. They asked Jesus, “Lord, is this the time for you to give the people of Israel their kingdom again?”
7Jesus said to them, “The Father is the only one who has the authority to decide dates and times. They are not for you to know. 8But the Holy Spirit will come on you and give you power. You will be my witnesses. You will tell people everywhere about me—in Jerusalem, in the rest of Judea, in Samaria, and in every part of the world.”
9After Jesus said this, he was lifted up into the sky. While they were watching, he went into a cloud, and they could not see him. 10They were staring into the sky where he had gone. Suddenly two men wearing white clothes were standing beside them. 11They said, “Men from Galilee, why are you standing here looking into the sky? You saw Jesus carried away from you into heaven. He will come back in the same way you saw him go.”
A New Apostle Is Chosen
12Then the apostles went back to Jerusalem from the Mount of Olives. This mountain is about a half mile#1:12 half a mile Literally, “a Sabbath day’s journey.” from Jerusalem. 13When they entered the city, they went to the upstairs room where they were staying. These are the ones who were there: Peter, John, James, Andrew, Philip, Thomas, Bartholomew, Matthew, James (the son of Alphaeus), Simon, the Zealot, and Judas (the son of James).
14The apostles were all together. They were constantly praying with the same purpose. Some women, Mary the mother of Jesus, and his brothers were there with the apostles.
15After a few days there was a meeting of the believers. There were about 120 of them. Peter stood up and said, 16-17“Brothers and sisters, in the Scriptures the Holy Spirit said through David that something must happen. He was talking about Judas, one of our own group. Judas served together with us. The Spirit said that Judas would lead men to arrest Jesus.”
18(Judas was paid money for doing this. His money was used to buy him a field. But he fell on his head, his body broke open, and all his intestines poured out. 19And all the people of Jerusalem learned about this. That is why they named that field Akeldama, which in their language means “field of blood.”)
20Peter said, “In the book of Psalms, this is written about Judas:
‘People should not go near his land;
no one should live there.’ Psalm 69:25
And it is also written:
‘Let another man have his work.’ Psalm 109:8
21-22“So now another man must join us and be a witness of Jesus’ resurrection. He must be one of those 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 was baptizing people until the day when Jesus was carried up from us into heaven.”
23They put two men before the group. One was Joseph Barsabbas. He was also called Justus. The other man was Matthias. 24-25They prayed, “Lord, you know the minds of all people. Show us which one of these two men you choose to do this work. Judas turned away from it and went where he belongs. Lord, show us which man should take his place as an apostle!” 26Then they used lots to choose one of the two men. The lots showed that Matthias was the one the Lord wanted. So he became an apostle with the other eleven.
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© 1987, 2004 Bible League International
Acts 1
1
Luke Writes Another Book
1To Theophilus.
The first book I wrote was about everything Jesus began to do and teach 2until the day he was taken up into heaven. Before this, with the help of the Holy Spirit, Jesus told the apostles he had chosen 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 forty days after he was raised from the dead, and 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, “Wait here to receive the promise from the Father which I told you about. 5John baptized people with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.”
Jesus Is Taken Up into Heaven
6When the apostles were all together, they asked Jesus, “Lord, are you now 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 when the Holy Spirit comes to you, 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, and 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? Jesus, whom you saw taken up from you into heaven, 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 with some women, including Mary the mother of Jesus, and Jesus’ brothers.
15During this time there was a meeting of the believers (about one hundred twenty of them). Peter stood up and said, 16-17“Brothers and sisters, in the Scriptures the Holy Spirit said through David something that must happen involving Judas. He was one of our own group and served together with us. He led those who arrested Jesus.” 18(Judas bought a field with the money he got for his evil act. But he fell to his death, his body burst open, and all his intestines poured out. 19Everyone in Jerusalem learned about this so they named this place Akeldama. In their language Akeldama means “Field of Blood.”) 20“In the Book of Psalms,” Peter said, “this is written:
‘May his place be empty;
leave no one to live in it.’#Psalm 69:25
And it is also written:
‘Let another man replace him as leader.’#Psalm 109:8
21-22“So now a man must become a witness with us of Jesus’ being raised from the dead. He must be one of the men who were part of our group during all the time the Lord Jesus was among us—from the time John was baptizing people until the day 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 thoughts of everyone. Show us which one of these two you have chosen to do this work. Show us who should be an apostle in place of Judas, who turned away and went where he belongs.” 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 eleven.
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The Holy Bible, New Century Version, Copyright © 2005 Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved.