until the day when He was taken up to heaven, after He had given orders by the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom He had chosen.

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 things regarding the kingdom of God.

Gathering them together, He commanded them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait for what the Father had promised, “Which,” He said, “you heard of from Me;

for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.”

So, when they had come together, they began asking Him, saying, “Lord, is it at this time that You are restoring the kingdom to Israel?”

But He said to them, “It is not for you to know periods of time or appointed times which the Father has set by His own authority;

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 as far as the remotest part of the earth.”

The Ascension

And after He had said these things, He was lifted up while they were watching, and a cloud took Him up, out of their sight.

And as they were gazing intently into the sky while He was going, then behold, two men in white clothing stood beside them,

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 the same way as you have watched Him go into heaven.”

The Upper Room

Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mountain called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, a Sabbath day’s journey away.

When they had entered the city, they went up to the upstairs room where they were staying, that is, Peter, John, James, and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus, Simon the Zealot, and Judas the son of James.

At this time Peter stood up among the brothers and sisters (a group of about 120 people was there together), and said,

“Brothers, the Scripture had to be fulfilled, which the Holy Spirit foretold by the mouth of David concerning Judas, who became a guide to those who arrested Jesus.

For he was counted among us and received his share in this ministry.”

So they put forward two men, Joseph called Barsabbas (who was also called Justus), and Matthias.

And they prayed and said, “You, Lord, who know the hearts of all people, show which one of these two You have chosen

And suddenly a noise like a violent rushing wind came from heaven, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting.

And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with different tongues, as the Spirit was giving them the ability to speak out.

And when this sound occurred, the crowd came together and they were bewildered, because each one of them was hearing them speak in his own language.

They were amazed and astonished, saying, “Why, are not all these who are speaking Galileans?

Cretans and Arabs—we hear them speaking in our own tongues of the mighty deeds of God.”

And they all continued in amazement and great perplexity, saying to one another, “What does this mean?”

But others were jeering and saying, “They are full of sweet wine!”

Peter’s Sermon

But Peter, taking his stand with the other eleven, raised his voice and declared to them: “Men of Judea and all you who live in Jerusalem, know this, and pay attention to my words.