Acts 1 - Summary

Historical setting

This passage occurs in Jerusalem immediately after Jesus' resurrection. The time is uncertain but traditionally placed in the first century. Rome held political power over Judea, but the Jewish religious authorities governed Temple affairs and local Jewish law. The apostles and other followers, numbering about 120 according to verse 15, were waiting in the city. Jerusalem was the center of Jewish religious life, and the Mount of Olives lay just outside it to the east. A "sabbath day's journey" mentioned in verse 12 was a distance Jews were permitted to walk on the Sabbath under their law, roughly half a mile.

The passage forms the opening of Luke's second work addressed to Theophilus, a person of some standing (the title "most excellent" appears in Luke's Gospel). Luke's first work was his Gospel account; this second treatise is the Acts of the Apostles.

Life and customs

Jewish baptism with water was a ritual of cleansing or dedication to a cause; John the Baptist had practiced it as a sign of repentance. The promise of baptism "with the Holy Ghost" in verse 5 refers to something different: a spiritual empowering by God's Spirit, not a water ritual. Verse 13 names the eleven apostles who remained after Judas's death. These men were Jews and would have observed Jewish customs and prayer practices.

The casting of lots in verse 26 was a common Jewish method of deciding matters believed to require divine guidance, much as drawing straws might be used today. The field called "Aceldama" (verse 19) was known in the local Aramaic language; Luke translates it for his readers as "The field of blood." Peter's citation of "the book of Psalms" in verse 20 shows the early community saw their current events as fulfilling Old Testament Scripture, a practice central to how early Jewish believers understood Jesus.

What the text says

Luke opens by saying he has already written about Jesus' deeds and teachings (verse 1) up to the day Jesus was taken up after giving commands to the chosen apostles through the Holy Ghost (verse 2). Jesus showed himself alive after his suffering with many proofs over forty days, speaking of the kingdom of God (verse 3). He commanded them not to leave Jerusalem but to wait for the Father's promise, which they had heard from him (verse 4). John baptized with water, but they would be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence (verse 5).

When assembled together, they asked if he would now restore the kingdom to Israel (verse 6). He replied it is not for them to know the times and seasons the Father has set by his own authority (verse 7). But they would receive power when the Holy Ghost came upon them, and would be witnesses to him in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and to the uttermost part of the earth (verse 8). As he spoke, he was taken up and a cloud hid him from their sight (verse 9). Two men in white apparel stood by them and said this Jesus, taken up into heaven, would come back in the same manner they had seen him go (verses 10-11).

The disciples returned to Jerusalem from the Mount of Olives, a sabbath day's journey away (verse 12). In an upper room where they lodged were Peter, James, John, Andrew, Philip, Thomas, Bartholomew, Matthew, James son of Alphaeus, Simon Zelotes, and Judas brother of James, along with women including Mary the mother of Jesus and Jesus' brothers, about 120 in total (verses 13-15).

Peter stood and said Scripture had to be fulfilled concerning Judas, spoken by the Holy Ghost through David, for Judas was numbered among them and had a share in their ministry (verses 16-17). This man purchased a field with the reward of iniquity and falling headlong burst open, spilling his bowels (verse 18). The field became known to all in Jerusalem as Aceldama, the field of blood, in their own language (verse 19). Scripture says his dwelling place must be desolate and another take his office (verse 20).

From among those who had companied with them from John's baptism until Jesus' ascension, one must be ordained as a witness of the resurrection (verses 21-22). They appointed two candidates: Joseph called Barsabas, surnamed Justus, and Matthias (verse 23). They prayed, asking the Lord who knows all hearts to show which he had chosen (verse 24), that he might take Matthias' place in the ministry and apostleship from which Judas fell to go to his own place (verse 25). They cast lots, the lot fell on Matthias, and he was numbered with the eleven apostles (verse 26).

Takeaways

• Jesus taught his followers during forty days after rising that they would receive power from the Holy Spirit to witness to him across the world, not to predict when God's kingdom would come to Israel.
• The earliest disciples understood Jesus' life and death as fulfilling the Old Testament, and they viewed choosing a new apostle as a decision requiring divine guidance.
• This chapter shows the community of believers gathering, praying together, and preparing for the work Jesus had commissioned them to do.