Acts · chapter 1 of 28
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Acts 1 tells how the risen Jesus spends forty days teaching his apostles about the kingdom of God and promises them the Holy Spirit so that they will be his witnesses to the ends of the earth. He then ascends to heaven from the Mount of Olives. The disciples return to Jerusalem, pray together and cast lots so that Matthias takes Judas's place among the twelve.
Acts is the second part of Luke's work addressed to Theophilus: the Gospel tells what Jesus began to do and teach, and Acts tells how that work continues through the Spirit and the church. This first chapter is the bridge between the resurrection and the birth of the church, and it frames the whole book with the promise of being Jesus's witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria and to the ends of the earth.
Luke addresses Theophilus again and recalls his first book. After his suffering, Jesus presented himself alive to his apostles with many proofs over forty days, speaking about the kingdom of God. He commanded them not to leave Jerusalem but to wait for the Father's promise: in a few days they would be baptized with the Holy Spirit.
The disciples ask whether Jesus will restore the kingdom to Israel at this time. He answers that it is not for them to know the times the Father has set, but that they will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes and will be his witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea, in Samaria and to the ends of the earth. After saying this he is lifted up before their eyes, and a cloud takes him from their sight. Two men in white robes tell them that this same Jesus will come back in the same way they saw him go into heaven.
The disciples return from the Mount of Olives to Jerusalem and go up to the upper room. The eleven apostles are named, along with some women, Mary the mother of Jesus and his brothers, and all of them devote themselves to prayer with one accord. Peter stands among about 120 believers and explains that, according to Scripture, the place of Judas, who betrayed Jesus and died, must be filled by someone who has been with the group from John's baptism until the ascension. They put forward two men, pray, cast lots, and the lot falls on Matthias, who is counted with the eleven apostles.
References follow ESV book names and verse numbers. Read each verse in your Bible before the explanation.
Jesus promises that when the Holy Spirit comes on them they will receive power and be his witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria and to the ends of the earth. This verse works as an outline of the whole book: the testimony moves outward in widening circles, and it succeeds by the Spirit's power, not by human strength.
Jesus is lifted up and a cloud hides him; two men in white announce that he will return in the same way. The ascension shows that Christ reigns in heaven and that his return is a real hope, one that should not paralyze the church but set it to work.
The disciples, together with the women, Mary and Jesus's brothers, devote themselves to prayer with one accord. Before the Spirit comes with power, the young church unites in prayer and waits in obedience for what Jesus promised.
The disciples ask the Lord, who knows every heart, to show whom he has chosen, and they cast lots. Matthias is counted with the eleven. This is the last time Acts uses this method; after Pentecost guidance comes through the Holy Spirit.
6 questions with answers and references, ready for Sunday school, small group or a Bible quiz night.
Answer: For forty days, speaking about the kingdom of God. — Acts 1:3
Answer: The Father's promise: to be baptized with the Holy Spirit within a few days. — Acts 1:4-5
Answer: In Jerusalem, in all Judea, in Samaria and to the ends of the earth. — Acts 1:8
Answer: That this same Jesus, taken up into heaven, will come back in the same way they saw him go. — Acts 1:10-11
Answer: Devoting themselves to prayer with one accord, together with some women, Mary and Jesus's brothers. — Acts 1:13-14
Answer: Matthias, after praying and casting lots between two candidates. — Acts 1:23-26
Acts 1 reminds us that the church's mission does not begin with a human plan but with a promise from Jesus: the power of the Holy Spirit to be witnesses. In a small group or Sunday school class you can ask what your Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria are today: your family, your neighborhood, people who are different from you.
The disciples also teach us how to wait well. They do not stand staring at the sky; they return to the city, pray together and take care of the group's needs. Waiting for God to act is not passivity: it is obedience, fellowship and prayer while trusting his timing.
Acts 1 ends with the circle of the twelve complete again and the church gathered in prayer, ready for what Jesus promised. Acts 2 tells the fulfillment: on the day of Pentecost the Holy Spirit comes and the church is born in public in Jerusalem.
Peter explains that choosing Matthias fulfills what Scripture said about Judas's place and required someone who had been with Jesus from John's baptism until the ascension. Some think the decision was hasty and that Paul was the real twelfth; others see Matthias's selection as legitimate obedience. The text does not criticize it and counts him among the twelve.
The two men in white announce that Jesus will come back visibly and personally, descending from heaven. The promise encourages the church to live in hope, but it gives no dates: Jesus himself says just before that it is not for us to know the times.
It is the promise that the Spirit would come on the disciples with power within a few days. It is fulfilled at Pentecost, in Acts 2, when the Spirit fills the believers gathered in Jerusalem.