The Two Books, 1:1-2.
[1-2] A man named Theophilus received two books from Luke. The first book was the Gospel of Luke. In this book he taught about the life and teachings of Jesus. Luke deals with the events of Jesus’ life until the time of His return to heaven. Before He went up to heaven, He had commanded His apostles to go into all the world preaching the gospel (Luke 24:46-48). The Book of Acts is Luke’s historical record of the disciples’ obedience to this command of Christ. It tells how they began to preach the gospel to the world (Matthew 28:18-20).
The Forty Days, 1:3-5.
[3] Jesus appeared to the apostles after His suffering and death on the cross. There were many proofs that He was alive (1 Corinthians 15:3-8; John 20-21). For forty days He continued to appear to His disciples. He taught them additional things about the kingdom, which is also called His church.
Acts 1:1-11
1 Dear Theophilus, 1 The first book which I wrote was about everything that Jesus did and taught, 2 from the beginning until the day when he was carried up into heaven. He talked to the apostles whom he had chosen. Through the Holy Spirit, Jesus told them what they must do. 3 After his death, he showed that he was alive. Jesus proved this by doing many convincing things. The apostles saw him several times during 40 days. Jesus was talking about the kingdom of God. 4 Once when he was together with them, he ordered them not to leave Jerusalem. He said, “Wait here for the Father’s promise that you heard me talk about. 5 John immersed people in water, but in a few days you will be immersed in the Holy Spirit.” 6 The apostles were all together. They asked Jesus, “Lord, is this the time for you to rebuild the kingdom for Israel?” 7 Jesus said to them, “The Father is the only One who has the authority to decide such dates and times. It is not for you to know these things. 8 However, when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, you will receive power. You will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all of Judea, in Samaria, and to the farthest parts of the world.” 9 After Jesus said these things, he was lifted up into the sky. While the apostles were watching, Jesus went into a cloud; they couldn’t see him anymore. 10 As Jesus was going away, the apostles were staring into the sky. Suddenly, two angels stood beside them. They were dressed in white clothes. 11 The two angels said, “Men from Galilee, why are you standing here looking into the sky? This Jesus who was carried away from you into heaven will return in the same way that you saw him go.”
[4-5] Forty days after His resurrection, Jesus was ready to go up to heaven. He and the eleven apostles went to Mount Olivet. It was from there that Jesus left them. He did not want the apostles to scatter. He asked them to wait in Jerusalem for the coming of the Holy Spirit.
The apostles were to be baptized (immersed) in the Holy Spirit. To be immersed in the Holy Spirit means to be filled with and covered by the Holy Spirit. The Spirit would enter their lives and guide them completely. This was Christ’s promise to the apostles. The Holy Spirit would prepare them for their work (John 14:16-17, 26; 16:13).
The Promise of the Spirit and the Ascension, 1:6-11.
[6] This was the last meeting between Jesus and His apostles. They wanted to know whether He was to restore the Jewish kingdom. For many centuries, the Jews had had a great kingdom. We can read much about this kingdom in the Old Testament. Before the time of Christ, the kingdom of Israel had been conquered by foreign powers.
The Jews wanted to have their freedom just as people today want freedom from colonial powers. Many thought Jesus had come to be a king on earth. They did not understand why Jesus came to the earth from heaven. He did not come to build a political kingdom, but to build a spiritual kingdom (John 18:36). His kingdom is called the church (Colossians 1:13-18).
[7-8] Jesus emphasized the coming power. The source of the power was the Holy Spirit. The apostles received special powers. They could perform miracles, which was a sign of apostleship (2 Corinthians 12:12; Acts 2:43). Other people who did miracles were those on whom the apostles laid their hands (Acts 8:18).
Power is important. Jesus had great power (Matthew 28:18; Mark 1:22-27). Satan also had power, but Christ defeated him (Matthew 12:22-30). Our battles today are often with evil spiritual forces (Ephesians 6:12; Romans 8:37-39). Should we fear such powers? No, for we have the greater power (1 John 4:4). Anyone who turns to witchcraft denies the great power of God. We can defeat the power of Satan in witchcraft and sorcery by using the power we have in Christ!
The teaching about Christ was to go to the whole world. It is the responsibility of all Christians to teach others. People must know the power in Christ.
[9-11] Jesus’ work on earth was now finished. He had promised to send the Spirit, who would guide the apostles. Jesus left them to do His will. As angels announced the birth of Christ (Luke 2:9-15), so angels were present when He returned to heaven.
Acts 1:12-20
12 Then the apostles went back to Jerusalem from Olive Mountain. (This mountain is about three-quarters of a mile from Jerusalem.) 13 The apostles entered the city. They went to the place where they were staying: this was in an upstairs room. The apostles were: Peter John James Andrew Philip Thomas Bartholomew Matthew James (the son of Alphaeus) Simon (known as the Revolutionary Judas (the son of James) 14 They were all together. They were constantly praying with the same purpose. Jesus’ brothers, some women, and Mary (the mother of Jesus) were also there. 15 During those days there was a meeting. (There were about 120 people present.) Peter stood up among them and said, 16-17 “Brothers and sisters, the Scriptures must come true which the Holy Spirit spoke ahead of time through David’s lips. He was talking about Judas Iscariot who was one of our group; he had a part in this work. The Spirit said that Judas would guide men to arrest Jesus. 18 Judas was paid money for doing this. (However, Judas fell on his head, and his body broke open in the middle. All of his intestines poured out.) His dishonest money was used to buy a field for his body. 19 All of the people who lived in Jerusalem learned about this. That is why they named that field Akeldama. (In their language Akeldama means ‘Blood Land.’) 20 In the book of Psalms, this is written about Judas: ‘People should not go near his property; No one should live there!’ Psalm 69:25 and, ‘Let another man take his work of overseeing.’ ” Psalm 109:8
The Apostles Wait in Jerusalem, 1:12-14.
[12] Jesus had told the apostles to wait in Jerusalem. They knew only what the Lord had told them, and they obeyed. This lesson is a good one for us today. We must never seek our own way but always obey whatever the Lord commands in His Word.
[13-14] In Jerusalem, the apostles and other disciples met in a house. The Lord had taught them the value of prayer. So this small group of disciples of Christ met to pray. They were waiting for the coming of the Holy Spirit. The best way to spend their time was in speaking with God in prayer.
This is the last time the Bible mentions Mary, the mother of Jesus. The other women mentioned here were those who had followed Jesus as He taught (Matthew 27:55-56). Note also that the brothers of Jesus were present. Earlier, they had not believed that Jesus was the Son of God (John 7:5). Perhaps the miracle of coming back from the grave had convinced them.
The Place of Judas Iscariot Is Filled, 1:15-26.
[15-17] Remember that Judas had betrayed Jesus (Matthew 26:14-16). Jesus had known the evil thoughts of Judas before he turned against the Son of God (John 6:70; 13:2).
[18-20] Here Luke inserted a section to explain what happened to Judas. After Judas had betrayed Christ, he returned the money which he had received (Matthew 27:3-10). This money was used to purchase a place used for burying Judas. It was also used to bury poor people who could not buy their own graves.
To fill the work left by Judas, the apostles planned to select a person worthy of the position of an apostle.
Acts 1:21-26
21-22 “So now another man must join us and be a witness that Jesus arose from death. This man must be one of those men who was part of our group during the whole time that the Lord Jesus was among us. It is necessary that this man has been with us from the time when John started to immerse people, until the day when Jesus was carried away from us to heaven.” 23 They found two men. One was Joseph Barsabbas. (He was also called Justus.) The other man was Matthias. 24-25 The apostles prayed, “Lord, You know the hearts of all men. Show us which one of these two men You choose to be an apostle and to do this work. Judas turned away from it and went where he belongs.” 26 Then the apostles gave the two men lots. The lots showed that Matthias was the one. So, he became an apostle like the other eleven.
[21-22] The matter under consideration here is the selection of one to succeed an apostle. The qualifications had to be met by anyone who would replace one of the original apostles: The apostles were to be eyewitnesses of the life of Christ. They were to give testimony of His teaching, His power, the crucifixion, and resurrection.
It should be remembered by those who claim to be apostles of Christ today that they do not meet these qualifications. How can one claim to be a successor to the apostles when he fails to meet the specific qualifications stated in the New Testament? The church today must put to the test those who claim to be apostles (Revelation 2:2; 1 John 4:1-4). No one today can possibly meet the qualifications listed in Acts 1.
[23-26] Prayer was made, and the selection was made by God, who knows the hearts of men. The place of God in this type of selection is recognized in the words of Proverbs 16:33: “The lot is cast into the lap; but the whole disposing thereof is of Jehovah.”
Matthias was selected. Nothing further is known about this man or his work. Undoubtedly, he went forth from Jerusalem, preaching the Word and establishing churches, as so many other early Christians did. With his selection, the plans of God were ready to move forward. The time was ready for the establishment of the church. The time was ready for the revealing of the message of salvation through Christ.
Acts 2:1-21
2 1When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. 2 Suddenly, a noise came from the sky. It sounded like a strong wind blowing. This noise filled the whole house where they were sitting. 3 They saw something which looked like flames of fire separating and staying over each one of them. 4 They were all filled with the Holy Spirit and they began to speak different languages; the Spirit was giving them the power to do this. 5 There were some devout Jewish men staying in Jerusalem at this time. These men were from every country in the world. 6 A large group of them came together because they heard the noise. They were confused. The apostles were speaking, and every man heard in his own language. 7 The Jewish people were all amazed at this. They didn’t understand how the apostles could do this. They said, “Look! These men whom we hear speaking are all from Galilee! 8 But each of us is hearing them in our own native language. We are: 9 Parthians, Medes, Elamites, those living in Mesopotamia, from Judea, from Cappadocia, from Pontus, from Asia, 10 from Phrygia, from Pamphylia, from Egypt, from parts of Libya around Cyrene, visitors from Rome, 11 Cretans, Arabians. Some of us were born Jews. Others are converts to Judaism. We can hear these men in our own languages! We can all understand the wonderful things they are saying about God.” 12 The people were all amazed but confused. They asked each other, “What does this mean?” 13 Other people were laughing at the apostles. They were claiming that the apostles were drunk. 14 Then Peter stood up with the other eleven apostles. He spoke loudly: “My Jewish brothers and all of you who are staying in Jerusalem, listen to me. I will tell you something you need to know. Listen carefully. 15 These men are not drunk, as you think; it is only nine o’clock in the morning! 16 This is the same thing which God said through the prophet Joel: 17 “God says: ‘In the last days, I will pour out My Spirit upon all people. Your sons and your daughters will prophesy. Your young men will see visions. Your old men will have special dreams. 18 At that time, I will pour out My Spirit upon My servants, both men and women, and they will prophesy. 19 I will show amazing things in the sky above. I will do miracles on the earth below. There will be blood, fire, and thick smoke. 20 The sun will be changed into darkness, and the moon will become red like blood. Then the great and glorious day of the Lord will come. 21 And every person who trusts in the name of the Lord will be saved.’ ” Joel 2:28-32