Acts 1
1
1 Certainly, O Theophilus, I composed the first discourse about everything that Jesus began to do and to teach,
2 instructing the Apostles, whom he had chosen through the Holy Spirit, even until the day on which he was taken up.
3 He also presented himself alive to them, after his Passion, appearing to them throughout forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God with many elucidations.
4 And dining with them, he instructed them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but that they should wait for the Promise of the Father, "about which you have heard," he said, "from my own mouth.
5 For John, indeed, baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit, not many days from now."
6 Therefore, those who had assembled together questioned him, saying, "Lord, is this the time when you will restore the kingdom of Israel?"
7 But he said to them: "It is not yours to know the times or the moments, which the Father has set by his own authority.
8 But you shall receive the power of the Holy Spirit, passing over you, and you shall be witnesses for me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the ends of the earth."
9 And when he had said these things, while they were watching, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him from their sight.
10 And while they were watching him going up to heaven, behold, two men stood near them in white vestments.
11 And they said: "Men of Galilee, why do you stand here looking up toward heaven? This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, shall return in just the same way that you have seen him going up to heaven."
12 Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mountain, which is called Olivet, which is next to Jerusalem, within a Sabbath day's journey.
13 And when they had entered into the cenacle, they ascended to the place where Peter and John, James and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot, and Jude of James, were staying.
14 All these were persevering with one accord in prayer with the women, and with Mary, the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers.
15 In those days, Peter, rising up in the midst of the brothers, said (now the crowd of men altogether was about one hundred and twenty):
16 "Noble brothers, the Scripture must be fulfilled, which the Holy Spirit predicted by the mouth of David about Judas, who was the leader of those who apprehended Jesus.
17 He had been numbered among us, and he was chosen by lot for this ministry.
18 And this man certainly possessed an estate from the wages of iniquity, and so, having been hanged, he burst open in the middle and all his internal organs poured out.
19 And this became known to all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so that this field was called in their language, Akeldama, that is, 'Field of Blood.'
20 For it has been written in the book of Psalms: 'Let their dwelling place be desolate and may there be no one who dwells within it,' and 'Let another take his episcopate.'
21 Therefore, it is necessary that, out of these men who have been assembling with us throughout the entire time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us,
22 beginning from the baptism of John, until the day when he was taken up from us, one of these be made a witness with us of his Resurrection."
23 And they appointed two: Joseph, who was called Barsabbas, who was surnamed Justus, and Matthias.
24 And praying, they said: "May you, O Lord, who knows the heart of everyone, reveal which one of these two you have chosen,
25 to take a place in this ministry and apostleship, from which Judas prevaricated, so that he might go to his own place."
26 And they cast lots concerning them, and the lot fell upon Matthias. And he was numbered with the eleven Apostles.
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Acts 1
1
To the Ends of the World
1-5Dear Theophilus, in the first volume of this book I wrote on everything that Jesus began to do and teach until the day he said good-bye to the apostles, the ones he had chosen through the Holy Spirit, and was taken up to heaven. After his death, he presented himself alive to them in many different settings over a period of forty days. In face-to-face meetings, he talked to them about things concerning the kingdom of God. As they met and ate meals together, he told them that they were on no account to leave Jerusalem but “must wait for what the Father promised: the promise you heard from me. John baptized in water; you will be baptized in the Holy Spirit. And soon.”
6When they were together for the last time they asked, “Master, are you going to restore the kingdom to Israel now? Is this the time?”
7-8He told them, “You don’t get to know the time. Timing is the Father’s business. What you’ll get is the Holy Spirit. And when the Holy Spirit comes on you, you will be able to be my witnesses in Jerusalem, all over Judea and Samaria, even to the ends of the world.”
9-11These were his last words. As they watched, he was taken up and disappeared in a cloud. They stood there, staring into the empty sky. Suddenly two men appeared—in white robes! They said, “You Galileans!—why do you just stand here looking up at an empty sky? This very Jesus who was taken up from among you to heaven will come as certainly—and mysteriously—as he left.”
Returning to Jerusalem
12-13So they left the mountain called Olives and returned to Jerusalem. It was a little over half a mile. They went to the upper room they had been using as a meeting place:
Peter,
John,
James,
Andrew,
Philip,
Thomas,
Bartholomew,
Matthew,
James, son of Alphaeus,
Simon the Zealot,
Judas, son of James.
14They agreed they were in this for good, completely together in prayer, the women included. Also Jesus’ mother, Mary, and his brothers.
Replacing Judas
15-17During this time, Peter stood up in the company—there were about 120 of them in the room at the time—and said, “Friends, long ago the Holy Spirit spoke through David regarding Judas, who became the guide to those who arrested Jesus. That Scripture had to be fulfilled, and now has been. Judas was one of us and had his assigned place in this ministry.
18-20“As you know, he took the evil bribe money and bought a small farm. There he came to a bad end, rupturing his belly and spilling his guts. Everybody in Jerusalem knows this by now; they call the place Murder Meadow. It’s exactly what we find written in the Psalms:
Let his farm become haunted
So no one can ever live there.
“And also what was written later:
Let someone else take over his post.
21-22“Judas must now be replaced. The replacement must come from the company of men who stayed together with us from the time Jesus was baptized by John up to the day of his ascension, designated along with us as a witness to his resurrection.”
23-26They nominated two: Joseph Barsabbas, nicknamed Justus, and Matthias. Then they prayed, “You, O God, know every one of us inside and out. Make plain which of these two men you choose to take the place in this ministry and leadership that Judas threw away in order to go his own way.” They then drew straws. Matthias won and was counted in with the eleven apostles.
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THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson. All rights reserved. Used by permission of NavPress. Represented by Tyndale House Publishers.