The first account, O Theophilus, I composed, about all that Jesus began to do and teach, 2 until the day when He was taken up to heaven, after He had by the Holy Spirit given orders to the apostles whom He had chosen, 3 to whom He also presented Himself alive after His suffering by many convincing proofs, appearing to them over forty days and speaking about the things concerning the kingdom of God. 4 And gathering them together, He commanded them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father, “Which,” He said, “you heard of from Me; 5 for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.”
6 So when they had come together, they were asking Him, saying, “Lord, is it at this time You are restoring the kingdom to Israel?” 7 But He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons which the Father has set by His own authority; 8 but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the end of the earth.”
The Ascension
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 They also said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking toward heaven? 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.” Acts 1: 1-11 LSB
Acts 1: 1-11
V. 1 The first account, O Theophilus, I composed - Luke is the writer of Acts, and so his reference here is to the gospel of Luke, which chronicled Jesus' life and teaching while He was here. Acts will start with Jesus' ascension, then the gift of the Holy Spirit, Who was promised Him, and then continue with early church history, the Acts of the Apostles. This is basically the accompaniment of Luke, book 2.
Theophilus (theos = God + philos = friend) means "friend of God" or "God lover." In the beginning of his Gospel, Luke addresses Theophilus as most excellent Theophilus (Luke 1:3+), which was a way to address someone who held a high office. Most commentators agree that Theophilus was almost certainly a real person, probably a patron or sponsor of Luke. A few think Luke used the name as an "epithet" but this seems much less likely in view of his mention in Luke 1:3 and the fact that he had a specific title (most excellent) supporting the idea that he was a person of importance. - Precept Austin
1Many have undertaken to compose an account of the things that have been fulfilled among us, 2just as they were handed down to us by the initial eyewitnesses and servants of the word. 3Therefore, having carefully investigated everything from the beginning, it seemed good also to me to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus,…
4so that you may know the certainty of the things you have been taught. Luke 1: 1-4
V. 2 He had by the Holy Spirit given orders to the apostles whom He had chosen - This is what we refer to as the Great Commission. This is what they were to lay down their fishing nets in order to pursue, to spread the gospel, even at the cost of their lives.
…18Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me. 19Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, 20and teaching them to obey all that I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”… Matthew 28: 18-20
…45Then He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures. 46And He told them, “This is what is written: The Christ will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, 47and in His name repentance and forgiveness of sins will be proclaimed to all nations, beginning in Jerusalem.…
…48You are witnesses of these things. 49And behold, I am sending the promise of My Father upon you. But remain in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.” 50When Jesus had led them out as far as Bethany, He lifted up His hands and blessed them.… Luke 24: 45-49
The apostles whom He had chosen - These are not self-appointed leaders. They are not even volunteers, but were sovereignly chosen by Christ and were subject to His authority. The name they often given to themselves is "bondservants" or slaves (doulos - cf Paul = Ro 1:1, Peter = 2 Pe 1:1, James = James 1:1), men who had surrendered wholly themselves to the Lord and His will for their life. In the final analysis these men were witnesses who told others what they had seen and heard.
Kistemaker notes that "Luke employs the term apostles, for in Acts he characterizes believers as disciples (learners) and the apostles as teachers." For example, we read...
They (the believers, the disciples) were continually devoting themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. (Acts 2:42-+)
Apostles ("Sent Ones")9652)(apostolos from apo = from + stello = send forth) (Click discussion of apostle) means one sent forth from by another, often with a special commission to represent another and to accomplish his work. The apostles were commissioned and sent out on a mission and with the authority of the Lord Jesus Christ (cf Mt 28:18-20). Normally, the term apostles applies to the twelve (minus Judas, plus Matthias) and to Paul. There is one exception in Acts 14:14 where Luke describes "the apostles Barnabas and Paul." Bock adds that "In Judaism, such a representative speaks for the one who sends him. “A man’s agent is like to himself” (m. Berakot 5.5)." (Ibid) - Precept Austin
V. 3 To whom He also presented Himself alive - These men were eye witnesses to the miracles that Jesus performed during His first advent, and then witnesses to resurrection, by many signs and wonders, His person, eating with them, displaying the marks of the crucifixion on His body, and continuing their instruction.
…5and that He appeared to Cephas and then to the Twelve. 6After that, He appeared to more than five hundred brothers at once, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. 7Then He appeared to James, then to all the apostles.… 1 Corinthians 15: 5-7
1That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our own eyes, which we have gazed upon and touched with our own hands—this is the Word of life. 2And this is the life that was revealed; we have seen it and testified to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life that was with the Father and was revealed to us. 3We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And this fellowship of ours is with the Father and with His Son, Jesus Christ.… 1 John 1: 1-3
V. 4 Commanded them not to leave Jerusalem - Reminds you of when He told them to go to a mountain where He would meet them, but then they went back to fishing instead. I think Peter is going to wait this time and not lead the others astray. We have to learn to wait, to patiently abide in prayer for such delivery and or direction that we cannot as yet see. We are dependents who have the most absurd difficulty in acknowledging as much.
V. 5 You will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now - Many had received John's baptism unto repentance, acknowledging that they had strayed from God's commands, but the baptism of the Spirit is the applied work of Jesus Christ, immersion into His life, death and resurrection, by the call of the Father and the empowering work of the Holy Spirit. This is to be born again, born of the Spirit.
Gotquestions on the baptism of John (Mark 1:4 "John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.") – as John the Baptist preached repentance of sins in preparation for the coming of the Messiah, he baptized people in the Jordan. Those who were baptized by John were showing their faith in John’s message and their need to confess their sin (Mark 1:5). In Acts 18:24–25, a disciple of John’s named Apollos preaches in Ephesus; however, only knowing the baptism of John and the need for repentance, he needed to be further instructed in the death and resurrection of Christ. Later in the same city, Acts 19:1–7, Paul encounters some more followers of John. These disciples had been baptized for repentance, but they had not heard of the new birth or the Holy Spirit. Paul taught them the whole message of salvation in Christ, and they received the message and were subsequently baptized in Jesus’ name. (Excerpt from an interesting article entitled What are the seven baptisms mentioned in the Bible, and what do they mean?)
John MacArthur adds that "while there were various ceremonial washings in Judaism (cf. Heb. 6:2+), there was no baptism of Jews. But while there was no baptism of Jews in Judaism, the Jews did baptize Gentile converts to Judaism (Gentile proselytes). Thus, those who “were being baptized by [John] in the Jordan River, as they confessed their sins” (Mt. 3:6), were publicly acknowledging that they were no better than the Gentiles. Their sins had separated them from the true and living God (cf. Isa 59:2) and cut them off from covenant blessings. For Jewish people to place themselves on the same level as the despised Gentiles was astonishing, and demonstrates the power of John’s preaching. Unfortunately, few being baptized by John were truly repentant. The nation would later reject Jesus when He failed to meet their expectations of a political Messiah, who would deliver them from the Romans. Others were superficial from the start....But those few (Mt 7:13–14+) who acknowledged their sinful condition and alienation from God and turned to Him in repentant faith were saved. (Luke Commentary)
Steven Cole - In the Book of Acts, this initial reception of the Spirit’s indwelling follows the pattern of Acts 1:8. In Acts 2, the believers in Jerusalem receive the Holy Spirit. In Acts 8 and 10, the new believers in Judea and Samaria receive the Spirit. In Acts 19, believers in Ephesus (the remotest parts of the earth) receive the Spirit. Since then, every Christian receives the baptism of the Holy Spirit at the moment of salvation (1 Cor. 12:13; Ro 8:9-+; Gal. 3:2-5-+). But although every Christian has received the Spirit, we still need continually and repeatedly to be filled with or controlled by the Holy Spirit (Eph. 5:18-+). This is also referred to as walking in the Spirit (Gal. 5:16 - Ed comment: I see walking by the Spirit as the conduct that comes from one who is filled with or controlled by the Spirit so that filling is not strictly speaking identical to walking, in my opinion) and it results in the fruit of the Spirit in our lives, rather than the deeds of the flesh (Gal. 5:22-23-+). The power of the Spirit that we need for witnessing is not just the power to speak the gospel boldly and clearly. We also need the Spirit’s power to live holy lives. Our godly lives are the foundation for our verbal witness. If you are not denying ungodly lusts and growing in holiness (Titus 2:12-+), then please do not tell anyone that you are a Christian, because your life will bring disgrace to the name of Christ. I am not saying that you must be perfect before you bear witness. I am saying that you must be walking in the Holy Spirit, seeking to please God with your life, and forsaking all known sin. The power for verbal witness is not identical with being an effective salesman. An effective salesman may be able to talk someone into making a decision for Christ, but only God can impart new life to a dead sinner. We need to be clear and persuasive when we present the facts about Christ and the gospel, but the power to save a sinner lies with the Holy Spirit, not with us. Thus we cannot witness effectively for Christ unless we rely upon the Holy Spirit to produce godliness in our daily lives and to use our verbal witness as we have opportunity. (Acts 1:3-11 Doing Jesus’ Work)
Baptized (907) (baptizo from bapto = cover wholly with a fluid; stain or dip as with dye; of a blacksmith tempering red-hot steel, of dyeing the hair; of a ship that "dipped" or sank) has a literal and a figurative meaning in the NT. The literal meaning is to submerge, to dip or immerse as in water. The main meaning of baptizo is to be totally identified with something, in this case, the Holy Spirit. The passive voice “be baptized with” indicates that God (Christ) did the baptizing and that the disciples were to be merely the recipients. This makes sense for the Spirit is God's gift and our part is simply to receive the gift by grace through faith in Christ. - Precept Austin
John MacArthur adds - There is only one Spirit baptism, the baptism of Christ with the Spirit that all believers receive when they are born again. By this the Son places all believers into the sphere of the Spirit's power and Person, into a new environment, a new atmosphere, a new relationship with others, and a new union with Jesus Christ (cf. 1 Cor. 10:2, where Paul shows how the nation of Israel left Pharaoh and Egypt to become immersed and identified with a new leader, Moses, and a new land, Canaan). The pouring forth of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost also reveals that this baptism was by Jesus Christ (Acts 2:32-33), in fulfillment of John the Baptist's prediction (Matt. 3:11; etc.) and of Jesus' own promise (John 7:37-39; 15:7-15; Acts 1:5). We are not told exactly how this is done, any more than we are told exactly how God can give a person a new heart and new life. Those are mysteries beyond our comprehension. But there is no mystery as to the divine roles in salvation. The Father sent the Son and the Son sends the Spirit. The Son is the divine Savior, and the Holy Spirit is the divine Comforter, Helper, and Advocate. The Son is the baptizer and the Holy Spirit is the agent of baptism...It is interesting that those who advocate Christians' seeking the baptism by the Spirit in order to belong to the spiritual elite cannot seem to agree on how that is to be done. They have many ideas and many theories but no scriptural method. The reason is simple: Scripture contains no command, suggestion, or method for believers to seek or receive the baptism of the Spirit. You do not seek or ask for that which you already possess. (MacArthur New Testament Commentary – 1 Corinthians) - PA
Vs. 6-7 Is it at this time You are restoring the kingdom to Israel - His answer points to a future, unknown time.
35Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will never pass away. 36 No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. 37As it was in the days of Noah, so will it be at the coming of the Son of Man.… Matthew 24: 35-37
V. 8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you - In order for them to be His witnesses. There is a shocking contrast to their lives after this, from denying Christ to preaching boldly, from running to standing firm, from fear to an eye on the cross ahead.
Vs. 9-11 In just the same way - A visible sign in the heavens.
…29Immediately after the tribulation of those days: ‘The sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from the sky, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken.’ 30 At that time the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and all the tribes of the earth will mourn. They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven, with power and great glory. 31And He will send out His angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather His elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other.… Matthew 24: 29-31
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