Acts1

The book of Acts begins with Luke addressing Theophilus, recounting Jesus' post-resurrection appearances for forty days and His command to the apostles to wait in Jerusalem for the promise of the Holy Ghost. After instructing them to be His witnesses globally, Jesus ascended into heaven, with angels promising His return. Subsequently, the disciples, numbering about 120, gathered in Jerusalem, where Peter led them to choose Matthias by lot to replace Judas Iscariot, thus restoring the number of the twelve apostles.
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The Risen Christ Instructs His Apostles

1
The former treatise I made, O Theophilus, concerning all that Jesus began both to do and to teach, ​
2
until the day in which he was received up, after that he had given commandment through the Holy Spirit unto the apostles whom he had chosen: ​
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to whom he also showed himself alive after his passion by many proofs, appearing unto them by the space of forty days, and speaking the things concerning the kingdom of God: ​
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and, being assembled together with them, he charged them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father, which, said he, ye heard from me: ​
5
for John indeed baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized in the Holy Spirit not many days hence. ​

The Ascension and the Mission Mandate

6
They therefore, when they were come together, asked him, saying, Lord, dost thou at this time restore the kingdom to Israel? ​
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And he said unto them, It is not for you to know times or seasons, which the Father hath set within his own authority. ​
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But ye shall receive power, when the Holy Spirit is come upon you: and ye shall be my witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judæa and Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth. ​
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And when he had said these things, as they were looking, he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight.
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And while they were looking stedfastly into heaven as he went, behold two men stood by them in white apparel;
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who also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye looking into heaven? this Jesus, who was received up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye beheld him going into heaven. ​

Waiting and Praying in the Upper Room

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Then returned they unto Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is nigh unto Jerusalem, a sabbath day’s journey off. ​
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And when they were come in, they went up into the upper chamber, where they were abiding; both Peter and John and James and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James the son of Alphæus, and Simon the Zealot, and Judas the son of James.
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These all with one accord continued stedfastly in prayer, with the women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brethren. ​

The Selection of Matthias

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And in these days Peter stood up in the midst of the brethren, and said (and there was a multitude of persons gathered together, about a hundred and twenty), ​
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Brethren, it was needful that the scripture should be fulfilled, which the Holy Spirit spake before by the mouth of David concerning Judas, who was guide to them that took Jesus. ​
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For he was numbered among us, and received his portion in this ministry.
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(Now this man obtained a field with the reward of his iniquity; and falling headlong, he burst asunder in the midst, and all his bowels gushed out. ​
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And it became known to all the dwellers at Jerusalem; insomuch that in their language that field was called Akeldama, that is, The field of blood.)
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For it is written in the book of Psalms, Let his habitation be made desolate, And let no man dwell therein: and, His office let another take. ​
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Of the men therefore that have companied with us all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and went out among us,
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beginning from the baptism of John, unto the day that he was received up from us, of these must one become a witness with us of his resurrection. ​
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And they put forward two, Joseph called Barsabbas, who was surnamed Justus, and Matthias.
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And they prayed, and said, Thou, Lord, who knowest the hearts of all men, show of these two the one whom thou hast chosen, ​
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to take the place in this ministry and apostleship from which Judas fell away, that he might go to his own place. ​
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And they gave lots for them; and the lot fell upon Matthias; and he was numbered with the eleven apostles. ​

Study Notes for Acts 1

Verse 1

The 'former treatise' is the Gospel of Luke, written by the same author (Luke) to the same patron (Theophilus). Luke emphasizes that the book of Acts describes what Jesus *continued* to do through the Spirit and the church.

Verse 2

This verse establishes the transition point: the Ascension. The phrase, 'through the Holy Ghost had given commandments,' highlights that Jesus’ final instructions were divinely inspired and authoritative.

Verse 3

The 'forty days' period confirms the reality of the resurrection through 'infallible proofs' (Gk. *tekmeriois*). This time allowed Jesus to give crucial post-resurrection teaching about the 'kingdom of God.'

Verse 4

Jesus commands the disciples to wait in Jerusalem, linking the upcoming event to 'the promise of the Father,' a clear reference to the outpouring of the Holy Spirit prophesied in the Old Testament (e.g., Joel 2).

Verse 5

This contrasts John’s preparatory water baptism with the imminent, powerful baptism of the Holy Ghost. This event inaugurates the new covenant age and empowers the church for its mission.

Verse 6

The disciples still hold a nationalistic, political view of the Messiah, expecting an immediate restoration of Israel's earthly kingdom (cf. Rom. 11:26).

Verse 7

Jesus firmly redirects their focus away from eschatological timing ('times or seasons') and toward their immediate mission. The timing of the Kingdom's full arrival remains solely within God's sovereign power.

Verse 8

This is the central programmatic verse for the entire book of Acts (the 'Great Commission' of Acts). It defines the source of power (Holy Spirit) and the geographical scope of the mission: beginning locally and spreading globally ('unto the uttermost part of the earth').

Verse 11

The angelic message confirms the doctrine of the Second Coming (Parousia). Jesus will return visibly, bodily, and geographically 'in like manner' to his departure.

Verse 12

A 'sabbath day's journey' was approximately 2,000 cubits (around 3/5 of a mile), the distance Jews were permitted to walk outside their dwelling on the Sabbath.

Verse 14

This verse emphasizes unity ('with one accord') and continuity, noting the presence of women, Mary, and Jesus’ previously skeptical brothers, all dedicated to persistent prayer before Pentecost.

Verse 15

The 120 disciples represent the core nucleus of the early church, gathered before the massive growth described in chapter 2. Peter naturally assumes leadership in initiating action.

Verse 16

Peter interprets Judas's betrayal and death through the lens of Scripture, specifically the Psalms, establishing a pattern for the early church to understand events through prophetic fulfillment.

Verse 18

Luke includes a brief explanatory note describing Judas’s gruesome death, emphasizing the physical consequence of his sin. This account complements Matthew 27:5, which focuses on the hanging itself.

Verse 20

Peter quotes Psalm 69:25 and Psalm 109:8, demonstrating that Judas’s replacement was mandated by prophetic necessity. Restoring the apostolic number of twelve was vital, as it symbolized the twelve tribes of Israel.

Verse 22

The essential qualification for the replacement apostle was being a reliable, attested 'witness of his resurrection.' This criterion ensured the integrity and continuity of the ministry’s central message.

Verse 24

The prayer addresses God as the 'knowest the hearts of all men' (Gk. *kardiognosta*), recognizing divine sovereignty in the selection process. This method precedes the coming of the Holy Spirit, after which guidance would be more direct.

Verse 25

'To his own place' is a solemn euphemism referring to Judas’s eternal destiny, reflecting the consequence of his betrayal and failure to repent.

Verse 26

Casting lots (*klerous*) was a traditional method of discerning God's will in the Old Testament (cf. Prov. 16:33). This is the last recorded instance of casting lots in the New Testament church, as the Holy Spirit soon provided direct guidance.

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