Read the New Testament in 24 Weeks

When Will Yeshua Restore the Kingdom?

1 I wrote the first volume, Theophilus, about all that Yeshua began to do and teach— ² up to the day He was taken up, after He had given orders by the Ruach ha-Kodesh to the emissaries He had chosen. ³ To them He showed Himself to be alive after His suffering through many convincing proofs, appearing to them for forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God.

⁴ Now while staying with them, He commanded them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait for what the Father promised—which, He said, “you heard from Me. ⁵ For John immersed with water, but you will be immersed in the Ruach ha-Kodesh not many days from now.”

⁶ So when they gathered together, they asked Him, “Lord, are You restoring the kingdom to Israel at this time?”

⁷ He said to them, “It is not your place to know the times or seasons which the Father has placed under His own control. ⁸ But you will receive power when the Ruach ha-Kodesh has come upon you; and you will be My witnesses in Jerusalem, and through all Judah, and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”

⁹ After saying all this—while they were watching—He was taken up, and a cloud received Him out of their sight. ¹⁰ While they were staring into heaven as He went up, suddenly two men stood with them in white clothing. ¹¹ They said, “Men of Galilee, why do you keep standing here staring into heaven? This Yeshua, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw Him go into heaven.”

Appointing a New Emissary

¹² Then they returned to Jerusalem from the Mount of Olives^[a] (which is near Jerusalem, a Shabbat day’s journey^[b]). ¹³ When they had entered, they went up to the upper room where they were staying—Peter and John and Jacob and Andrew; Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew; Jacob son of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot and Judah son of Jacob. ¹⁴ All these with one mind were continuing together in prayer—along with the women and Miriam, Yeshua’s mother, and His brothers.

¹⁵ In those days, Peter stood up among the brothers and sisters (the number of names all together was about a hundred and twenty) and said, ¹⁶ “Brothers,^[c] the Scripture had to be fulfilled, which the Ruach ha-Kodesh foretold by the mouth of David, concerning Judah—who became a guide to those who seized Yeshua. ¹⁷ For he was counted among us and received his share of this office.” ¹⁸ (Now this man Judah bought a field with the reward of his wickedness. Falling headfirst, he burst open in the middle and his intestines splattered out. ¹⁹ And it became known to all those living in Jerusalem, so in their own language that field was called Akeldama^[d]—that is, ‘Field of Blood.’) ²⁰ For it is written in the Book of Psalms,

²¹ “Therefore one of the men who have accompanied us all the time that the Lord Yeshua went in and out among us— ²² beginning with His immersion by John until the day He was taken up from us—must become a witness with us of His resurrection.”

²³ So they nominated two—Joseph, called Barsabbas (also called Justus), and Matthias. ²⁴ And they prayed and said, “You, O Lord, who knows the hearts of all men, show us which of these two You have chosen ²⁵ to take the position in this office as emissary, from which Judah turned aside to go to his own place.” ²⁶ Then they cast lots for them, and the lot fell upon Matthias; and he was added to the eleven emissaries.

The Ruach Fills the Disciples

2 When the day of Shavuot^[g] had come, they were all together in one place. ² Suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. ³ And tongues like fire spreading out appeared to them and settled on each one of them. ⁴ They were all filled with the Ruach ha-Kodesh and began to speak in other tongues as the Ruach enabled them to speak out.

⁵ Now Jewish people were staying in Jerusalem, devout men from every nation under heaven. ⁶ And when this sound came, the crowd gathered. They were bewildered, because each was hearing them speaking in his own language. ⁷ And they were amazed and astonished, saying, “All these who are speaking—aren’t they Galileans? ⁸ How is it that we each hear our own birth language? ⁹ Parthians and Medes and Elamites and those living in Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, ^{[h] 10} Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and parts of Libya toward Cyrene, and visitors from Rome ¹¹ (both Jewish people and proselytes), Cretans and Arabs—we hear them declaring in our own tongues the mighty deeds of God!” ¹² And they were all amazed and perplexed, saying to each other, “What does this mean?”

¹³ Others, poking fun, were saying, “They are full of sweet new wine!”

Peter Speaks to the Shavuot Crowd

¹⁴ But Peter, standing with the Eleven, raised his voice and addressed them: “Fellow Judeans and all who are staying in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and pay attention to my words. ¹⁵ These men are not drunk, as you suppose—for it’s only the third hour of the day! ^{[i] 16} But this is what was spoken about through the prophet Joel:

²² “Men of Israel, hear these words! Yeshua ha-Natzrati—a Man authenticated to you by God with mighty deeds and wonders and signs God performed through Him in your midst, as you yourselves know— ²³ this Yeshua, given over by God’s predetermined plan and foreknowledge, nailed to the cross by the hand of lawless men, you killed. ²⁴ But God raised Him up, releasing Him from the pains of death, since it was impossible for Him to be held by it. ²⁵ For David says about Him,

²⁹ “Brothers, I can confidently tell you that the patriarch David died and was buried—his tomb is with us to this day. ³⁰ So because he was a prophet and knew God had sworn with an oath to him to seat one of his descendants on his throne, ^{[l] 31} David saw beforehand and spoke of Messiah’s resurrection—that He was not abandoned to Sheol, and His body did not see decay.^[m]

³² “This Yeshua God raised up—we all are witnesses! ³³ Therefore, being exalted to the right hand of God and receiving from the Father the promise of the Ruach ha-Kodesh, He poured out this—what you now see and hear. ³⁴ For David did not ascend into the heavens; yet he himself says,

³⁶ “Therefore let the whole house of Israel know for certain that God has made Him—this Yeshua whom you had crucified—both Lord and Messiah!”

Teshuvah—Thousands Immersed

³⁷ Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the rest of the emissaries, “Fellow brethren, what shall we do?”

³⁸ Peter said to them, “Repent, and let each of you be immersed in the name of Messiah Yeshua for the removal of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Ruach ha-Kodesh. ³⁹ For the promise is for you and your children, and for all who are far away—as many as Adonai our God calls to Himself.”

⁴⁰ With many other words he warned them and kept urging them, saying, “Save yourselves from this twisted generation!” ^{[o] 41} So those who received his message were immersed, and that day about three thousand souls were added.

New Covenant Community Begins

⁴² They were devoting themselves to the teaching of the emissaries and to fellowship, to breaking bread and to prayers. ⁴³ Fear lay upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were happening through the emissaries. ⁴⁴ And all who believed were together, having everything in common. ⁴⁵ They began selling their property and possessions and sharing them with all, as any had need. ⁴⁶ Day by day they continued with one mind, spending time at the Temple and breaking bread from house to house. They were sharing meals with gladness and sincerity of heart, ⁴⁷ praising God and having favor with all the people. And every day the Lord was adding to their number^[p] those being saved.