Acts 1 | |
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←
John 21 | |
![]()
Tischendorf's facsimile from 1870 of Acts 1:1–5 in Latin (left column) and Greek (right column) in
Codex Laudianus, written about AD 550. | |
Book | Acts of the Apostles |
Category | Church history |
Christian Bible part | New Testament |
Order in the Christian part | 5 |
Acts 1 is the first chapter of the Acts of the Apostles in the New Testament of the Christian Bible. The book containing this chapter is anonymous, but early Christian tradition affirmed that Luke composed this book as well as the Gospel of Luke. [1] This chapter functions as a transition from the "former account" (that is, the Gospel of Luke) with a narrative prelude ( verses 1–5), repeated record of the ascension of Jesus Christ with more detail (verses 6–11) and the meeting of Jesus' followers (verses 12–26), [2] until before Pentecost.
The original text was written in Koine Greek. This chapter is divided into 26 verses.
Some early manuscripts containing the text of this chapter are:
This chapter mentions the following places:
The beginning of the book offers a conventional opening statement containing the name of the addressee, Theophilus, and a brief reminder of the content of the "former account" (the Gospel of Luke) by the same author. [2]
Forty days after his resurrection, Jesus commands the disciples during a meal to stay in Jerusalem and to wait for the coming of the Holy Spirit. The Greek: συναλιζομενος (sunalizomenos) is rendered as "he was eating with them" in the New International Version. [12] Some translations state that they were "assembled" or "gathered" together. Whether "eating" represents the correct interpretation has been long debated. [13]
Then a cloud takes Jesus upward from sight, and two men in white appear to tell them (the disciples) that he will return "in the same way you have seen him go into heaven." [14]
Before Jesus left, he charged the disciples with the task of acting as 'witnesses' to him, in the locations that can be read as a 'geographical program' for the whole book of Acts:
Luke chapter 24 [a] tells how Jesus leads the eleven disciples "as far as" Bethany, a village on the Mount of Olives, where he instructs them to remain in Jerusalem until the coming of the Holy Spirit: "And it came to pass, while he blessed them, he parted from them, and was carried up into heaven. And they worshiped him, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy" ( Luke 24:51–52). [18]
The Gospel of John has three references to ascension in Jesus' own words: "No one has ascended into heaven but he who descended from heaven, the son of man" ( John 3:13); "What if you (the disciples) were to see the son of man ascending where he was before?" ( John 6:62); and to Mary Magdalene after his resurrection, "Do not hold me, for I not yet ascended to my father..." ( John 20:17). [18] Various epistles ( Romans 8:34, Ephesians 1:19–20, Colossians 3:1, Philippians 2:9–11, 1 Timothy 3:16, and 1 Peter 3:21–22) also refer to an ascension in relation to the post-resurrection "exaltation" of Jesus to the right hand of God. [19] Gospel of Mark ( Mark 16:19) contains the brief ascension account, but it is considered by a broad consensus among scholars to be a later addition to the original version of that gospel. [20]
As the disciples waited obediently in the upper room [b] in Jerusalem for the promised coming of the Holy Spirit, they devoted themselves "with one accord" in prayer (verse 14), underlying the unity of the group which surprisingly now includes Jesus' mother, brothers, and some women. [16]
Verse 13 lists the names of the apostles with some differences compared to the apostolic list in Luke 6:14–16 (cf. Matthew 10:1–4; Mark 3:13–19): [27]
The omission of Judas Iscariot motivates the narrative of his final fate and Peter's call to find his replacement. [16] The process begins by Peter's appeal to the Scripture (verse 20), [16] and the requirements for the candidate (verses 21–22). [28] With this, Peter reinforces the identity of the group and exerts his de facto authority in the group. [16]
The apostles proceed by asking God as the only resource to 'indicate' his choice through the casting of lots (verse 26), which is a familiar mean to ascertain divine purpose in both the Graeco-Roman world and the Bible, [16] to get Matthias "numbered with the eleven apostles" (verse 26).
Acts 1 | |
---|---|
←
John 21 | |
![]()
Tischendorf's facsimile from 1870 of Acts 1:1–5 in Latin (left column) and Greek (right column) in
Codex Laudianus, written about AD 550. | |
Book | Acts of the Apostles |
Category | Church history |
Christian Bible part | New Testament |
Order in the Christian part | 5 |
Acts 1 is the first chapter of the Acts of the Apostles in the New Testament of the Christian Bible. The book containing this chapter is anonymous, but early Christian tradition affirmed that Luke composed this book as well as the Gospel of Luke. [1] This chapter functions as a transition from the "former account" (that is, the Gospel of Luke) with a narrative prelude ( verses 1–5), repeated record of the ascension of Jesus Christ with more detail (verses 6–11) and the meeting of Jesus' followers (verses 12–26), [2] until before Pentecost.
The original text was written in Koine Greek. This chapter is divided into 26 verses.
Some early manuscripts containing the text of this chapter are:
This chapter mentions the following places:
The beginning of the book offers a conventional opening statement containing the name of the addressee, Theophilus, and a brief reminder of the content of the "former account" (the Gospel of Luke) by the same author. [2]
Forty days after his resurrection, Jesus commands the disciples during a meal to stay in Jerusalem and to wait for the coming of the Holy Spirit. The Greek: συναλιζομενος (sunalizomenos) is rendered as "he was eating with them" in the New International Version. [12] Some translations state that they were "assembled" or "gathered" together. Whether "eating" represents the correct interpretation has been long debated. [13]
Then a cloud takes Jesus upward from sight, and two men in white appear to tell them (the disciples) that he will return "in the same way you have seen him go into heaven." [14]
Before Jesus left, he charged the disciples with the task of acting as 'witnesses' to him, in the locations that can be read as a 'geographical program' for the whole book of Acts:
Luke chapter 24 [a] tells how Jesus leads the eleven disciples "as far as" Bethany, a village on the Mount of Olives, where he instructs them to remain in Jerusalem until the coming of the Holy Spirit: "And it came to pass, while he blessed them, he parted from them, and was carried up into heaven. And they worshiped him, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy" ( Luke 24:51–52). [18]
The Gospel of John has three references to ascension in Jesus' own words: "No one has ascended into heaven but he who descended from heaven, the son of man" ( John 3:13); "What if you (the disciples) were to see the son of man ascending where he was before?" ( John 6:62); and to Mary Magdalene after his resurrection, "Do not hold me, for I not yet ascended to my father..." ( John 20:17). [18] Various epistles ( Romans 8:34, Ephesians 1:19–20, Colossians 3:1, Philippians 2:9–11, 1 Timothy 3:16, and 1 Peter 3:21–22) also refer to an ascension in relation to the post-resurrection "exaltation" of Jesus to the right hand of God. [19] Gospel of Mark ( Mark 16:19) contains the brief ascension account, but it is considered by a broad consensus among scholars to be a later addition to the original version of that gospel. [20]
As the disciples waited obediently in the upper room [b] in Jerusalem for the promised coming of the Holy Spirit, they devoted themselves "with one accord" in prayer (verse 14), underlying the unity of the group which surprisingly now includes Jesus' mother, brothers, and some women. [16]
Verse 13 lists the names of the apostles with some differences compared to the apostolic list in Luke 6:14–16 (cf. Matthew 10:1–4; Mark 3:13–19): [27]
The omission of Judas Iscariot motivates the narrative of his final fate and Peter's call to find his replacement. [16] The process begins by Peter's appeal to the Scripture (verse 20), [16] and the requirements for the candidate (verses 21–22). [28] With this, Peter reinforces the identity of the group and exerts his de facto authority in the group. [16]
The apostles proceed by asking God as the only resource to 'indicate' his choice through the casting of lots (verse 26), which is a familiar mean to ascertain divine purpose in both the Graeco-Roman world and the Bible, [16] to get Matthias "numbered with the eleven apostles" (verse 26).