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吩咐门徒等候圣灵

提阿非罗先生:我已经写了前书,叙述耶稣开始所行所教的一切, 一直到他借着圣灵吩咐所拣选的使徒之后,被接上升的日子为止。 他受难以后,用许多凭据向使徒显示自己是活着的。他向使徒显现,并且讲论 神的国的事,有四十天之久。 耶稣和他们一同吃饭的时候,吩咐他们不要离开耶路撒冷,说:“你们要等候父的应许,就是你们听我讲过的, 约翰是用水施洗,但再过几天,你们要受圣灵的洗。”

耶稣升天

他们聚集的时候,问耶稣说:“主啊,你要在这时候使以色列复国吗?” 耶稣说:“父凭着自己的权柄所定的时间或日期,你们不必知道。 可是圣灵降临在你们身上,你们就必领受能力,并且要在耶路撒冷、犹太全地、撒玛利亚,直到地极,作我的见证人。” 说完了这话,他们还在看的时候,他被接上升,有一朵云把他接去,就看不见他了。 10 当他往上升,他们定睛望天的时候,忽然有两个人,身穿白衣,站在他们旁边, 11 说:“加利利人哪,为甚么站着望天呢?这位被接升天离开你们的耶稣,你们看见他怎样往天上去,他也要怎样回来。”

选出马提亚作使徒

12 后来,他们从橄榄山回到耶路撒冷。那山靠近耶路撒冷,有一安息日可走的路程。 13 他们进了城,上了一间楼房,就是彼得、约翰、雅各、安得烈、腓力、多马、巴多罗迈、马太、亚勒腓的儿子雅各、激进派的西门、雅各的儿子犹大等人所住的。 14 这些人和几个妇女,耶稣的母亲马利亚,还有他的兄弟们,都在一起,同心地恒切祷告。

15 那时,约有一百二十人聚会,彼得在众弟兄中间站起来说: 16 “弟兄们,经上的话,就是圣灵借着大卫的口,预言那领人捉拿耶稣的犹大的事,是一定会应验的。 17 他本是我们中间的一个,一同领受了这职分。 18 他用不义的酬劳买了一块田,结果倒头栽了下去,腹破肠流。 19 这事住在耶路撒冷的人全都知道,所以按当地的话,那块地称为亚革大马,意思就是‘血田’。 20 因为诗篇上写着:

‘愿他的住处变为荒场,

无人居在其中。’

又说:

‘愿别人取代他的职分。’

21-22 所以,从约翰施洗起,直到主离开我们被接上升的那天为止,当他在我们中间来往的时候,那些跟我们常在一起的人中,应该有一个人出来与我们一同作耶稣复活的见证人。” 23 于是他们提出两个人:约瑟(号称巴撒巴,又名犹士都)和马提亚, 24 就祷告说:“主啊!你知道万人的心,求你从这两个人中,指明你要拣选谁, 25 来承担这使徒的职位和工作。这职位犹大已经放弃,往他自己的地方去了。” 26 大家就为他们抽签,结果抽中了马提亚,他就与十一使徒同列。

(A)Dear Theophilus:

In my first book I wrote about all the things that Jesus did and taught from the time he began his work until the day he was taken up to heaven. Before he was taken up, he gave instructions by the power of the Holy Spirit to the men he had chosen as his apostles. For forty days after his death he appeared to them many times in ways that proved beyond doubt that he was alive. They saw him, and he talked with them about the Kingdom of God. (B)And when they came together,[a] he gave them this order: “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift I told you about, the gift my Father promised. (C)John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.”

Jesus Is Taken Up to Heaven

When the apostles met together with Jesus, they asked him, “Lord, will you at this time give the Kingdom back to Israel?”

Jesus said to them, “The times and occasions are set by my Father's own authority, and it is not for you to know when they will be. (D)But when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, you will be filled with power, and you will be witnesses for me in Jerusalem, in all of Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” (E)After saying this, he was taken up to heaven as they watched him, and a cloud hid him from their sight.

10 They still had their eyes fixed on the sky as he went away, when two men dressed in white suddenly stood beside them 11 and said, “Galileans, why are you standing there looking up at the sky? This Jesus, who was taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way that you saw him go to heaven.”

Judas' Successor

12 Then the apostles went back to Jerusalem from the Mount of Olives, which is about half a mile away from the city. 13 (F)They entered the city and went up to the room where they were staying: Peter, John, James and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James son of Alphaeus, Simon the Patriot, and Judas son of James. 14 They gathered frequently to pray as a group, together with the women and with Mary the mother of Jesus and with his brothers.

15 A few days later there was a meeting of the believers, about a hundred and twenty in all, and Peter stood up to speak. 16 “My friends,” he said, “the scripture had to come true in which the Holy Spirit, speaking through David, made a prediction about Judas, who was the guide for those who arrested Jesus. 17 Judas was a member of our group, for he had been chosen to have a part in our work.”

(18 (G)With the money that Judas got for his evil act he bought a field, where he fell to his death; he burst open and all his insides spilled out. 19 All the people living in Jerusalem heard about it, and so in their own language they call that field Akeldama, which means “Field of Blood.”)

20 (H)“For it is written in the book of Psalms,

‘May his house become empty;
    may no one live in it.’
It is also written,
‘May someone else take his place of service.’

21-22 (I)“So then, someone must join us as a witness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. He must be one of the men who were in our group during the whole time that the Lord Jesus traveled about with us, beginning from the time John preached his message of baptism[b] until the day Jesus was taken up from us to heaven.”

23 So they proposed two men: Joseph, who was called Barsabbas (also known as Justus), and Matthias. 24 Then they prayed, “Lord, you know the thoughts of everyone, so show us which of these two you have chosen 25 to serve as an apostle in the place of Judas, who left to go to the place where he belongs.” 26 Then they drew lots to choose between the two men, and the one chosen was Matthias, who was added to the group of eleven apostles.

Footnotes

  1. Acts 1:4 when they came together; or while he was staying with them, or while he was eating with them.
  2. Acts 1:21 John preached his message of baptism; or John baptized him.

Jesus speaks to his apostles and he goes up to heaven

Jesus did many things when he was living on earth. He also taught people many things. I told you about all these things in the first book that I wrote for you, Theophilus.[a] Those are the things that Jesus did before God took him up into heaven. Jesus had chosen some men to be his apostles. With the power of the Holy Spirit he told them what they must do. After Jesus died on the cross, he became alive again. During the 40 days after that, he showed himself many times to his apostles. He showed himself in different ways. Then they could be really sure that he was alive again. During this time, Jesus spoke to his apostles about the kingdom of God.[b]

One time, when Jesus and his apostles were together, he said to them, ‘Do not leave Jerusalem yet. You must wait there until you receive my Father's gift. My Father promised to give it to you. I have already told you about it. John baptized people with water, but after a few days God will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.’

While Jesus' apostles were together with him, they asked him, ‘Lord, at this time will you now give the kingdom back to us, the people of Israel?’

Jesus replied, ‘My Father decides when things will happen in the world. You do not need to know the day or the time when this will happen. But the Holy Spirit will come to you, and he will give you power. The Holy Spirit will make your spirit strong. Then you will tell other people everywhere in the world about me. You will do that in Jerusalem, in Judea, in Samaria and in places far away.’

When Jesus had finished speaking to his apostles, God took him up to heaven. The apostles watched Jesus while he went up. Then a cloud hid him and they could not see him any more.

10 The apostles were still looking carefully up into the sky when suddenly two men appeared.[c] They were wearing white clothes and they stood near the apostles.

11 The men said to the apostles, ‘You men from Galilee, you should not still be standing here and looking up into the sky. God has taken Jesus into heaven. You saw the way that Jesus went up to heaven. One day, he himself will return in the same way.’

The apostles choose Matthias

12 Then the apostles left the Mount of Olives.[d] They returned to Jerusalem. This was a walk of about 1 kilometre. 13 When the apostles arrived back in Jerusalem, they went to their room. The room where they were staying was upstairs. Those apostles were Peter, John, James and Andrew; Philip and Thomas; Bartholomew and Matthew; also James the son of Alphaeus, Simon the Zealot, and Judas, the son of James.[e]

14 All these apostles often met together to pray. Mary who was Jesus' mother, other women and Jesus' brothers also met with them. 15 One day, about 120 people who believed in Jesus were meeting together. Peter stood up and he said to them, 16 ‘My friends, long ago, the Holy Spirit gave King David a message to speak from God.[f] He spoke about the things that Judas would do. Judas was the one who showed the soldiers how to catch Jesus. These things had to happen in the way that David wrote in the Bible long ago.[g] 17 Judas belonged to our group of disciples. Jesus chose him to work together with us.’

18 Judas received some money for the bad thing that he did. He bought a field with that money. But he fell down in that field and he died. His body broke open and the inside parts of his body poured out. 19 All the people who lived in Jerusalem heard about his death. So they called that field ‘Akeldama’ in their own language. ‘Akeldama’ means ‘The Field of Blood’.[h]

20 Peter then said, ‘This is what King David wrote in the book of Psalms:

    “Let the house that he lived in become empty,
    so that nobody lives in it.”[i]
David also wrote:
    “Let somebody else do the job which he did.” ’[j]

21 Peter then said, ‘Because of this, we must choose another man instead of Judas. That man must have been one of our group all the time that the Lord Jesus was with us. 22 That is, from the time when John was baptizing people until the time when Jesus went up to heaven. He must be someone who saw Jesus become alive again after he died, as we did.’

23 So the apostles agreed the names of two men. One of them was Joseph. People also called him Barsabbas and sometimes people called him Justus. The other man was called Matthias. 24 Then the whole group prayed, ‘Lord, you know what everybody is really like. Please show us which man you have chosen. 25 Which of these two men do you want to be an apostle instead of Judas? Judas left his work as an apostle. He has now gone to the place where he belongs.’

26 Then the group used lots to choose the name of one man. It happened that they chose Matthias. So Matthias now became the 12th apostle, together with the other 11 men.

Footnotes

  1. 1:1 That first book is called ‘Luke’.
  2. 1:3 We can read about this in Luke 24.
  3. 1:10 We think that these men were angels.
  4. 1:12 All this happened on the east side of the Mount of Olives. This hill is between Jerusalem and the town of Bethany. Olive trees grow there.
  5. 1:13 A Zealot was someone who fought for his government or against the Roman government.
  6. 1:16 David was a great king of Israel's people, about 1,000 years before Christ came to this earth. See 1 Samuel 16:1-13; 2 Samuel 7:8-9; 8:15.
  7. 1:16 We can read more about what Judas did in Luke 22.
  8. 1:19 We can read about Judas and the money in Matthew 27:3-7.
  9. 1:20 See Psalms 69:25.
  10. 1:20 See Psalms 109:8.