READ | ACTS CHAPTER 1
Jesus Taken Up Into Heaven
1 In my former book, Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus began to do and to teach 2 until the day he was taken up to heaven, after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles he had chosen. 3 After his suffering, he presented himself to them and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive. He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God. 4 On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. 5 For John baptized with[a] water, but in a few days you will be baptized with[b] the Holy Spirit.”
6 Then they gathered around him and asked him, “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?”
7 He said to them: “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. 8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
9 After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight.
10 They were looking intently up into the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them. 11 “Men of Galilee,” they said, “why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.”
Matthias Chosen to Replace Judas
12 Then the apostles returned to Jerusalem from the hill called the Mount of Olives, a Sabbath day’s walk[c] from the city. 13 When they arrived, they went upstairs to the room where they were staying. Those present were Peter, John, James and Andrew; Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew; James son of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot, and Judas son of James. 14 They all joined together constantly in prayer, along with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers.
15 In those days Peter stood up among the believers (a group numbering about a hundred and twenty) 16 and said, “Brothers and sisters,[d] the Scripture had to be fulfilled in which the Holy Spirit spoke long ago through David concerning Judas, who served as guide for those who arrested Jesus. 17 He was one of our number and shared in our ministry.”
18 (With the payment he received for his wickedness, Judas bought a field; there he fell headlong, his body burst open and all his intestines spilled out. 19 Everyone in Jerusalem heard about this, so they called that field in their language Akeldama, that is, Field of Blood.)
20 “For,” said Peter, “it is written in the Book of Psalms:
“‘May his place be deserted;
let there be no one to dwell in it,’[e] and,
“‘May another take his place of leadership.’[f]
21 Therefore it is necessary to choose one of the men who have been with us the whole time the Lord Jesus was living among us, 22 beginning from John’s baptism to the time when Jesus was taken up from us. For one of these must become a witness with us of his resurrection.”
23 So they nominated two men: Joseph called Barsabbas (also known as Justus) and Matthias. 24 Then they prayed, “Lord, you know everyone’s heart. Show us which of these two you have chosen 25 to take over this apostolic ministry, which Judas left to go where he belongs.” 26 Then they cast lots, and the lot fell to Matthias; so he was added to the eleven apostles.
1 In my former book, Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus began to do and to teach 2 until the day he was taken up to heaven, after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles he had chosen. 3 After his suffering, he presented himself to them and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive. He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God. 4 On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. 5 For John baptized with[a] water, but in a few days you will be baptized with[b] the Holy Spirit.”
6 Then they gathered around him and asked him, “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?”
7 He said to them: “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. 8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
9 After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight.
10 They were looking intently up into the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them. 11 “Men of Galilee,” they said, “why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.”
Matthias Chosen to Replace Judas
12 Then the apostles returned to Jerusalem from the hill called the Mount of Olives, a Sabbath day’s walk[c] from the city. 13 When they arrived, they went upstairs to the room where they were staying. Those present were Peter, John, James and Andrew; Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew; James son of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot, and Judas son of James. 14 They all joined together constantly in prayer, along with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers.
15 In those days Peter stood up among the believers (a group numbering about a hundred and twenty) 16 and said, “Brothers and sisters,[d] the Scripture had to be fulfilled in which the Holy Spirit spoke long ago through David concerning Judas, who served as guide for those who arrested Jesus. 17 He was one of our number and shared in our ministry.”
18 (With the payment he received for his wickedness, Judas bought a field; there he fell headlong, his body burst open and all his intestines spilled out. 19 Everyone in Jerusalem heard about this, so they called that field in their language Akeldama, that is, Field of Blood.)
20 “For,” said Peter, “it is written in the Book of Psalms:
“‘May his place be deserted;
let there be no one to dwell in it,’[e] and,
“‘May another take his place of leadership.’[f]
21 Therefore it is necessary to choose one of the men who have been with us the whole time the Lord Jesus was living among us, 22 beginning from John’s baptism to the time when Jesus was taken up from us. For one of these must become a witness with us of his resurrection.”
23 So they nominated two men: Joseph called Barsabbas (also known as Justus) and Matthias. 24 Then they prayed, “Lord, you know everyone’s heart. Show us which of these two you have chosen 25 to take over this apostolic ministry, which Judas left to go where he belongs.” 26 Then they cast lots, and the lot fell to Matthias; so he was added to the eleven apostles.
DEVOTIONAL
Have you ever wondered what you were supposed to do next? Maybe you visited a foreign land and weren’t sure of the local customs, or you followed instructions for putting together a piece of Ikea furniture. However, at one point you lost those instructions and found yourself stuck and not sure what to do next. How did you feel in that moment?
One could imagine this was how the disciples and the followers of Jesus felt as they stood staring up into the sky. What do we do now? Jesus was always the one who gave his followers instructions: do this, say that, pray this, go here, follow me; but now, in a sense, they were on their own. They couldn’t follow Jesus into heaven; at least not yet. Many questions ran through their minds: Where are we supposed to go now? What do we do now that our leader has gone? Is all that we've worked towards over now, or are we just getting started?
Jesus had appeared to over 500 people in the forty days since his resurrection. There were many witnesses who testified to this miracle. Even secular Roman historians have accounts of the resurrection of this so-called king of the Jews. Jesus had also recently given his followers a mission, known as the great commission, to go and make disciples of all nations. Those final words of Jesus may have dawned in their minds as they watched Jesus being hid by the clouds. Jesus had also told them not to start yet, but to wait, because in ten days they would receive an amazing yet mysterious gift Jesus had promised them. Jesus even went as far as to tell them not to leave Jerusalem, or start on any aspect of this great commission until they had each received this gift. At this point, Jesus had nothing else for the disciples to do other than be patient and wait for the coming of the Holy Spirit. Jesus knew that these disciples really could do nothing effective for the Kingdom of God until the Spirit came. The period of waiting was significant. To wait meant that what they were waiting for was worth waiting for. To wait meant they must receive it; they couldn’t create it themselves. To wait meant that they would be tested by waiting. They would wait ten days. This number throughout scripture was often related to testing, and this period of waiting was no different. Even after Jesus departed, he was still testing, guiding, and refining his followers. Being filled with the Holy Spirit was important to Jesus, and if the glorified, resurrected Jesus needed and relied on the Holy Spirit, then shouldn’t we as well? Doesn’t it make sense that being spirit-filled and empowered should be just as important and necessary to us today as it was to Jesus all those years ago?
It’s interesting to reflect on the question the followers of Jesus asked him just before Jesus ascended back to the Father. They asked if Jesus was going to restore the kingdom of Israel at this time. Even those closest to Jesus, after all these years, didn’t see it all clearly yet. Jesus had no intention of restoring political power or the physical kingdom of Israel. He had something far greater in mind. Jesus was going to restore the spiritual kingdom of heaven, and those disciples, followers and even us today have the opportunity to be a part of that ongoing mission. Jesus answered their question by telling them about the coming infilling of the Holy Spirit and what that would entail. The result of being filled with the Holy Spirit will be that you will be empowered to be Christ's witnesses. You will be empowered to take that message first to Jerusalem, then to Judea, and to the ends of the earth. This prophetic statement by Jesus becomes an outline for the entire book of Acts and the spreading of the gospel in ever-widening circles. It happens just as Jesus said it would, with lots of bumps, detours, and opposition along the way. It’s also significant that Jesus uses the word witnesses to describe his faithful followers. A witness is one who has seen the truth and is not afraid to share that truth with others. The Greek word for witness is Martus, where we get the word Martyr. Jesus was foreshadowing the way many of those who boldly shared their faith would pay the ultimate price and be killed for what they believed in.
In Verse 10 we read two angels appeared to those staring into heaven. They dispersed the crowd by reminding them that Jesus would one day return for his bride. He would return in the same way he had departed. He left physically and will return in the same way. He departed visibly and will return in the same way. He departed from the Mount of Olives and will return in the same way. He left in the presence of those closest to him and will return in the same way. He left loving and blessing His Church and will return to his bride in the same manner. All these things will happen one day, but in the meantime, there is much work to be done.
One could imagine this was how the disciples and the followers of Jesus felt as they stood staring up into the sky. What do we do now? Jesus was always the one who gave his followers instructions: do this, say that, pray this, go here, follow me; but now, in a sense, they were on their own. They couldn’t follow Jesus into heaven; at least not yet. Many questions ran through their minds: Where are we supposed to go now? What do we do now that our leader has gone? Is all that we've worked towards over now, or are we just getting started?
Jesus had appeared to over 500 people in the forty days since his resurrection. There were many witnesses who testified to this miracle. Even secular Roman historians have accounts of the resurrection of this so-called king of the Jews. Jesus had also recently given his followers a mission, known as the great commission, to go and make disciples of all nations. Those final words of Jesus may have dawned in their minds as they watched Jesus being hid by the clouds. Jesus had also told them not to start yet, but to wait, because in ten days they would receive an amazing yet mysterious gift Jesus had promised them. Jesus even went as far as to tell them not to leave Jerusalem, or start on any aspect of this great commission until they had each received this gift. At this point, Jesus had nothing else for the disciples to do other than be patient and wait for the coming of the Holy Spirit. Jesus knew that these disciples really could do nothing effective for the Kingdom of God until the Spirit came. The period of waiting was significant. To wait meant that what they were waiting for was worth waiting for. To wait meant they must receive it; they couldn’t create it themselves. To wait meant that they would be tested by waiting. They would wait ten days. This number throughout scripture was often related to testing, and this period of waiting was no different. Even after Jesus departed, he was still testing, guiding, and refining his followers. Being filled with the Holy Spirit was important to Jesus, and if the glorified, resurrected Jesus needed and relied on the Holy Spirit, then shouldn’t we as well? Doesn’t it make sense that being spirit-filled and empowered should be just as important and necessary to us today as it was to Jesus all those years ago?
It’s interesting to reflect on the question the followers of Jesus asked him just before Jesus ascended back to the Father. They asked if Jesus was going to restore the kingdom of Israel at this time. Even those closest to Jesus, after all these years, didn’t see it all clearly yet. Jesus had no intention of restoring political power or the physical kingdom of Israel. He had something far greater in mind. Jesus was going to restore the spiritual kingdom of heaven, and those disciples, followers and even us today have the opportunity to be a part of that ongoing mission. Jesus answered their question by telling them about the coming infilling of the Holy Spirit and what that would entail. The result of being filled with the Holy Spirit will be that you will be empowered to be Christ's witnesses. You will be empowered to take that message first to Jerusalem, then to Judea, and to the ends of the earth. This prophetic statement by Jesus becomes an outline for the entire book of Acts and the spreading of the gospel in ever-widening circles. It happens just as Jesus said it would, with lots of bumps, detours, and opposition along the way. It’s also significant that Jesus uses the word witnesses to describe his faithful followers. A witness is one who has seen the truth and is not afraid to share that truth with others. The Greek word for witness is Martus, where we get the word Martyr. Jesus was foreshadowing the way many of those who boldly shared their faith would pay the ultimate price and be killed for what they believed in.
In Verse 10 we read two angels appeared to those staring into heaven. They dispersed the crowd by reminding them that Jesus would one day return for his bride. He would return in the same way he had departed. He left physically and will return in the same way. He departed visibly and will return in the same way. He departed from the Mount of Olives and will return in the same way. He left in the presence of those closest to him and will return in the same way. He left loving and blessing His Church and will return to his bride in the same manner. All these things will happen one day, but in the meantime, there is much work to be done.
