Chapter 1 of 28
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Chapter 1
The Prologue
1 The first account I composed, Theophilus, concerned all that Jesus began to do and to teach,
2 until the day when he was taken up, after he had given orders through the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom he had chosen.
3 To these he also presented himself alive after his suffering by many convincing proofs, appearing to them over a period of forty days and speaking of the things concerning the kingdom of God.
4 And gathering them together, he commanded them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait for what the Father had promised — “Which,” he said, “you heard about from me;
5 for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.”
Translator’s Notes — vv. 1–5:
τὸν μὲν πρῶτον λόγον (ton men prōton logon) — v.1: “The first account” — the word λόγος (logos) here means “book” or “treatise.” Luke is explicitly linking Acts to his Gospel as the second volume of a two-part work. The construction μέν ... (“on the one hand ...”) normally expects a corresponding δέ (“on the other hand ...”) introducing the second work, but Luke drops the expected clause and plunges directly into the narrative — a stylistic feature suggesting eagerness to get the story moving.
Θεόφιλε (Theophile) — v.1: Theophilus — the same dedicatee as the Gospel (Luke 1:3), where he is addressed as “most excellent Theophilus” (κράτιστε Θεόφιλε). The title “most excellent” (κράτιστος) is the same honorific used for the governors Felix (23:26) and Festus (26:25), suggesting Theophilus was a person of high social standing — possibly a Roman official or patron. The name means “lover of God” or “friend of God,” which has led some scholars to suggest it is a symbolic name for any Christian reader, but the specificity of the dedication and the honorific title favor a real individual.
v.1: The phrase “all that Jesus began to do and to teach” is theologically loaded. The word “began” (ἤρξατο, ērxato) implies that what Jesus started in the Gospel, he will continue in Acts — through the Holy Spirit, working through the apostles. The Gospel is not the complete story; it is the beginning. Acts is the continuation of Jesus’s activity by other means.
τεκμηρίοις (tekmēriois) — v.3: “Convincing proofs” — the word τεκμήριον (tekmērion) is a strong term, used in Greek rhetoric and philosophy for a decisive proof, the strongest category of evidence — as distinct from a mere sign or indication. Luke is not saying Jesus offered vague hints of his resurrection; he is saying Jesus provided the kind of evidence that would stand up in a court of argument. This word appears nowhere else in the New Testament.
v.3: “Forty days” — this is the only place in the New Testament that specifies the duration of the post-resurrection appearances. Paul’s account (1 Corinthians 15:5–8) lists the appearances without giving a timeframe. The number forty carries deep biblical resonance: Moses on Sinai (Exodus 24:18), Israel in the wilderness (Numbers 14:33), Elijah’s journey to Horeb (1 Kings 19:8), Jesus’s temptation in the wilderness (Luke 4:2). It signals a period of preparation and transition before a new phase of God’s work.
vv.4–5: The command to wait in Jerusalem establishes the geographical starting point of Acts. The promise of the Holy Spirit is the hinge between the two volumes: Jesus promised the Spirit in the Gospel (Luke 24:49), and Acts will narrate its arrival. The contrast between John’s water baptism and Spirit baptism frames the entire Pentecost event that is coming in chapter 2.
The Ascension
6 So when they had come together, they were asking him, saying, “Lord, is it at this time that you are restoring the kingdom to Israel?”
7 He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons which the Father has fixed by his own authority.
8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”
9 And after he had said these things, he was lifted up while they were looking on, and a cloud received him out of their sight.
10 And as they were gazing intently into the sky while he was going, behold, two men in white clothing stood beside them,
11 and they said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into the sky? This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in just the same way as you have watched him go into heaven.”
Translator’s Notes — vv. 6–11:
v.6: The disciples’ question reveals that even after forty days of post-resurrection teaching about the kingdom of God, they are still thinking in terms of a political restoration of Israel’s national sovereignty. “Are you restoring the kingdom to Israel?” is a question about geopolitical power. It is the last misunderstanding in a long series of misunderstandings that runs through both the Gospel and into Acts. Jesus does not rebuke them for the question; he redirects them.
χρόνους ἢ καιρούς (chronous ē kairous) — v.7: “Times or seasons” — Luke uses two distinct words for time. χρόνος (chronos) refers to duration, the passage of time in a general sense. Καιρός (kairos) refers to appointed moments, decisive turning points, the right time for something to happen. Together they cover every dimension of timing: how long, and when exactly. Jesus’s answer is comprehensive: both the duration and the decisive moment are in the Father’s authority, not yours.
δύναμιν ... μάρτυρες (dynamin ... martyres) — v.8: This is the programmatic verse of the entire book of Acts — the thesis statement that the rest of the narrative will fulfill. The power (δύναμις) is not political but spiritual. The task is not conquest but witness (μάρτυρες, martyres — the word that will later become “martyr”). And the geographical expansion — Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria, the end of the earth — is the table of contents for Acts: chapters 1–7 in Jerusalem, chapters 8–12 in Judea and Samaria, chapters 13–28 pushing outward to Rome, which Luke treats as the symbolic “end of the earth.”
νεφέλη ὑπέλαβεν αὐτόν (nephelē hypelaben auton) — v.9: “A cloud received him” — the cloud is not a weather phenomenon but a theophanic symbol. Throughout the Old Testament, the cloud is the vehicle of God’s presence: the pillar of cloud in the exodus (Exodus 13:21), the cloud on Sinai (Exodus 24:15–18), the cloud filling the temple (1 Kings 8:10–11), the cloud at the transfiguration (Luke 9:34–35). Jesus does not disappear into the sky; he is received into the presence of God. The verb ὑπολαμβάνω (hypolambanō) means “to take up,” “to receive” — the cloud is an active agent, taking Jesus into itself.
vv.10–11: The two men in white are angelic figures (the same configuration as at the empty tomb, Luke 24:4). Their question — “Why do you stand looking into the sky?” — is gently redirective. The ascension is not a moment for gazing upward but for turning outward. The promise of return (“will come in just the same way”) establishes the eschatological horizon of the early church: Jesus will come back. But between ascension and return, there is work to do. The disciples need to stop staring and start witnessing.
v.11: “Men of Galilee” (Ἄνδρες Γαλιλαῖοι) — the angels identify the disciples by their origin. They are provincial men, from the rural north, standing on a hilltop outside Jerusalem. In a few weeks, these Galilean fishermen and laborers will begin a movement that will reach Rome. The contrast between their origin and their destination is one of the great themes of Acts.
The Upper Room
12 Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, a Sabbath day’s journey away.
13 And when they had entered the city, they went up to the upper room where they were staying: Peter and John and James and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus, Simon the Zealot, and Judas the son of James.
14 These all were continually devoting themselves with one mind to prayer, together with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers.
Translator’s Notes — vv. 12–14:
v.12: The Mount of Olives is directly east of Jerusalem, separated from the city by the Kidron Valley. A “Sabbath day’s journey” was approximately 2,000 cubits (about 3/5 of a mile or 1 kilometer) — the maximum distance a Jew was permitted to walk on the Sabbath according to rabbinic interpretation. Luke provides this distance marker for the benefit of his readers; it also implicitly tells us the ascension occurred close to the city.
v.13: The list of the Eleven (Judas Iscariot having been removed) differs slightly in order from the lists in the Gospels (Matthew 10:2–4, Mark 3:16–19, Luke 6:14–16), but contains the same names. The “upper room” (τὸ ὑπερῷον, to hyperōon) was a large room on the upper floor of a Jerusalem house, possibly the same room where the Last Supper was held (Luke 22:12). Tradition identifies it with a location on the southwestern hill of Jerusalem (Mount Zion). Upper rooms were typically the largest rooms in a house and were used for gatherings, study, and prayer.
v.14: This is the last mention of Mary the mother of Jesus in the New Testament. She appears here among the praying community, unnamed as “Mary” but identified by her relationship to Jesus. The “brothers” of Jesus are also present — meaning James (who will become the leader of the Jerusalem church), Joses, Simon, and Judas (Mark 6:3). Their presence is significant: during Jesus’s ministry, his brothers did not believe in him (John 7:5). They are now part of the community. Something has changed them. Paul tells us that the risen Jesus appeared to James specifically (1 Corinthians 15:7), which likely accounts for the transformation.
ἡσαν προσκαρτεροῦντες ὁμοθυμαδόν (hēsan proskarterountes homothymadon) — v.14: “Continually devoting themselves with one mind” — προσκαρτερέω (proskarterēō) means to persist, to be steadfastly devoted, to continue with intense effort. ὁμοθυμαδόν (homothymadon, “with one accord,” “unanimously”) is a favorite word of Luke’s in Acts — it appears eleven times, always describing the early community’s unity. The word carries the sense of a shared passion, not just agreement but emotional and spiritual harmony. This small community of about 120 people (v.15) is the seed of everything that follows.
v.14: “Together with the women” — Luke specifies that women were part of the praying community from the very beginning. These would include the women who followed Jesus from Galilee (Luke 8:2–3, 23:49, 55), including Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Susanna, and others. Their inclusion in the foundational community is consistent with Luke’s distinctive attention to women throughout his two-volume work.
The Replacement of Judas
15 At this time Peter stood up in the midst of the brothers and sisters (a gathering of about one hundred and twenty persons was there together) and said,
16 “Brothers, the Scripture had to be fulfilled, which the Holy Spirit spoke beforehand through the mouth of David concerning Judas, who became a guide to those who arrested Jesus.
17 For he was counted among us and received his share of this ministry.”
18 (Now this man acquired a field with the reward of his wickedness, and falling headlong, he burst open in the middle and all his intestines gushed out.
19 And it became known to all who were living in Jerusalem, so that in their own language that field was called Hakeldama, that is, Field of Blood.)
20 “For it is written in the book of Psalms: ‘Let his dwelling place become desolate, and let no one live in it;’ and: ‘Let another take his position.’
21 Therefore it is necessary that of the men who have accompanied us all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us —
22 beginning from the baptism of John until the day when he was taken up from us — one of these must become a witness with us of his resurrection.”
23 And they put forward two men: Joseph called Barsabbas, who was also called Justus, and Matthias.
24 And they prayed and said, “You, Lord, who know the hearts of all, show which one of these two you have chosen
25 to take the place of this ministry and apostleship from which Judas turned aside to go to his own place.”
26 And they cast lots for them, and the lot fell on Matthias; and he was added to the eleven apostles.
Translator’s Notes — vv. 15–26:
v.15: Peter takes the lead immediately. Throughout the first twelve chapters of Acts, Peter is the dominant figure — the spokesperson, the decision-maker, the one who acts. His rehabilitation after the denial is complete; Luke never mentions the denial in Acts. The community of “about one hundred and twenty” is both tiny and symbolic: 120 was traditionally the minimum number required to establish a local Jewish council (sanhedrin) with authority to govern. The church is constituting itself as a community with legitimate governance.
vv.18–19: Luke inserts a parenthetical description of Judas’s death that differs from Matthew 27:3–10. In Matthew, Judas returns the silver, hangs himself, and the priests buy the field. Here, Judas himself acquires the field, and his death is described as falling headlong with his body bursting open. The discrepancies have generated extensive discussion throughout church history. Various harmonizations have been proposed (Judas hanged himself and the body later fell and ruptured; or Judas used the money to buy the field before hanging himself). What is clear is that Luke and Matthew preserve independent traditions about Judas’s death, and neither author felt the need to harmonize them. Both agree on the essential points: Judas died violently, blood money was involved, and a field in Jerusalem was associated with the event.
Ἁκελδαμάχ (Hakeldamach) — v.19: “Hakeldama” — Luke preserves the Aramaic name and translates it for his readers: “Field of Blood.” The Aramaic is חֲקֵל דְמָא (haqel dəma’). The field was apparently a known landmark in Jerusalem by the time Luke wrote. The note that the name became known “in their own language” (τῇ ἰδίᾳ διαλέκτῳ αὐτῶν) indicates Luke is distinguishing between the Aramaic-speaking population of Jerusalem and his Greek-speaking audience.
v.20: Peter quotes two Psalms: Psalm 69:25 (“Let his dwelling place become desolate”) and Psalm 109:8 (“Let another take his position”). The second quotation provides the scriptural basis for replacing Judas: the Psalm anticipated that a traitor’s position would be filled by another. Peter is reading the Psalms christologically and ecclesiologically — seeing in David’s words a pattern that applies to the current situation.
vv.21–22: Peter’s criteria for Judas’s replacement are remarkably specific. The candidate must have (1) accompanied the group from the beginning of Jesus’s public ministry (the baptism of John) through the ascension, and (2) be a witness of the resurrection. These two requirements define what an apostle is: someone who can testify from personal experience to both the earthly ministry and the risen life of Jesus. This is why no one after this generation can be an “apostle” in the original sense — the qualification requires direct, firsthand experience of events that are now past.
καρδιογνῶστα (kardiognōsta) — v.24: “You who know the hearts of all” — this compound word (καρδιογνώστης, “heart-knower”) appears only here and in Acts 15:8 in the entire New Testament. It’s a prayer addressed to the one who sees what humans cannot. The community recognizes that the choice is not theirs to make; it is God’s. They present the candidates; God selects.
v.26: The casting of lots was a recognized Jewish method for discerning God’s will (cf. Proverbs 16:33: “The lot is cast into the lap, but its every decision is from the LORD”). The practice was used in the Old Testament for selecting the scapegoat (Leviticus 16:8), dividing the land (Numbers 26:55), and assigning priestly duties (1 Chronicles 24:5). After this passage, lot-casting never appears again in the New Testament. After Pentecost, the Spirit guides directly; mechanical means of discernment are no longer needed.
v.26: Matthias is chosen and “added to the eleven apostles” — and then vanishes from the narrative completely. He is never mentioned again in Acts or anywhere else in the New Testament. This silence has puzzled readers for centuries. Some (including some early church fathers) suggested the selection was premature and that Paul was God’s true intended replacement for Judas. But Luke shows no sign of disapproving the choice; he presents it as properly conducted and divinely ratified. The silence about Matthias is simply part of the larger pattern: most of the Twelve fade from Acts after the first few chapters, as the narrative shifts to other figures — Stephen, Philip, Barnabas, and eventually Paul.
General Notes on the Chapter
Acts 1 is a chapter of transitions. The Gospel has ended; the church has not yet begun. Jesus is present but about to leave. The Spirit has been promised but has not yet arrived. The apostles are gathered but have not yet acted. Everything is poised, waiting. The chapter moves from the last words of the risen Jesus to the first organizational act of the church, with the ascension as the hinge between them.
Verse 8 is the key to the entire book. It provides both the mission (“you will be my witnesses”) and the outline (Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria, the end of the earth). Every chapter that follows can be located on this geographical map. The verse also contains the essential power source: the Holy Spirit. Without the Spirit, the mission is impossible. The command to wait in Jerusalem (v.4) is not a delay; it is a prerequisite. The disciples must receive power before they can be witnesses.
The replacement of Judas (vv.15–26) serves several theological functions. It restores the symbolic number twelve, representing the twelve tribes of Israel — the reconstituted people of God. It establishes the principle that Scripture anticipated even the betrayal and its aftermath. And it demonstrates that the early community made decisions through prayer, Scripture, and divine guidance rather than human politics. The entire episode reveals a community that is already functioning as a body: they gather, they deliberate, they pray, they act.
The chapter quietly establishes several themes that will run throughout Acts: the centrality of prayer (v.14), the unity of the community (v.14), the leadership of Peter (v.15), the role of Scripture in understanding events (vv.16, 20), the importance of eyewitness testimony (v.22), and the guidance of the Holy Spirit (vv.2, 5, 8, 16). These are the building blocks of everything that follows. When Pentecost arrives in chapter 2, it will not be arriving in a vacuum; it will be arriving in a community that has been prepared by prayer, Scripture, and expectation.
Chapter 1 of 28
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