Acts 1:6-8
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
The Ascension of Jesus. 6 When they had gathered together they asked him, “Lord, are you at this time going[a] to restore the kingdom to Israel?” 7 [b]He answered them,(A) “It is not for you to know the times or seasons that the Father has established by his own authority. 8 [c]But you will receive power when the holy Spirit comes upon you,(B) and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, throughout Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
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- 1:6 The question of the disciples implies that in believing Jesus to be the Christ (see note on Lk 2:11) they had expected him to be a political leader who would restore self-rule to Israel during his historical ministry. When this had not taken place, they ask if it is to take place at this time, the period of the church.
- 1:7 This verse echoes the tradition that the precise time of the parousia is not revealed to human beings; cf. Mk 13:32; 1 Thes 5:1–3.
- 1:8 Just as Jerusalem was the city of destiny in the Gospel of Luke (the place where salvation was accomplished), so here at the beginning of Acts, Jerusalem occupies a central position. It is the starting point for the mission of the Christian disciples to “the ends of the earth,” the place where the apostles were situated and the doctrinal focal point in the early days of the community (Acts 15:2, 6). The ends of the earth: for Luke, this means Rome.
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