Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

1 I made the first account about everything, O Theophilus, which Jesus began both to do and teach ² until which day He was taken-up [after] having given-commands through the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom He chose— ³ to whom He indeed presented Himself alive after His suffering by many convincing-proofs, appearing^[a] to them during forty days, and speaking the things concerning the kingdom of God.

Jesus Ascends After Directing His Apostles To Be His Witnesses By The Spirit’s Power

⁴ And being assembled-with^[b] them, He ordered them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait-for the promise of the Father “which you heard from Me. ⁵ Because John baptized with^[c] water, but you will be baptized with^[d] the Holy Spirit after these not many days!” ⁶ So indeed the ones having come together were asking Him, saying “Lord, are You restoring^[e] the kingdom to Israel at this time?”. ⁷ And He said to them, “It is not yours to know the times or seasons which the Father appointed^[f] by His own authority. ⁸ But you will receive power, the Holy Spirit having come upon you. And you will be My witnesses— both in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and as far as the last place of the earth”. ⁹ And having said these things, while they were looking He was lifted-up. And a cloud received^[g] Him from their eyes. ¹⁰ And as they were looking-intently into heaven, while He was going— and behold, two men in white clothing were standing near them, ¹¹ who also said, “Galilean men, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus having been taken-up from you into heaven will come in this manner— the way you saw Him going into heaven”.

I Pray You May Understand The Hope of His Calling And The Greatness of His Power Toward Us

¹⁵ For this reason I also, having heard-of your faith in the Lord Jesus and love toward all the saints, ¹⁶ do not cease giving-thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers, ¹⁷ that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of ^[a] glory, may give you a spirit^[b] of ^[c] wisdom and revelation in^[d] the knowledge of Him ¹⁸ so that you, the eyes of your heart having been enlightened, may know what is the hope of His calling, what is the riches of the glory of His inheritance among^[e] the saints, ¹⁹ and what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us, the ones believing

This Power Raised Christ From The Dead And Seated Him In Great Glory

... in-accordance-with the working of the might of His strength ²⁰ which He worked in Christ, having raised Him from the dead and having seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, ²¹ far above all rule and authority and power and lordship and every name being named— not only in this age, but also in the one coming. ²² And He subjected all things under His feet. And He gave Him as head over all things to the church, ²³ which is His body, the fullness of the One filling all things in all^[f].

⁴⁴ And He said to them, “These are My words which I spoke to you while still being with you— that all the things having been written about Me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled”. ⁴⁵ Then He opened their mind that they might understand the Scriptures.

The Christ Had To Suffer And Rise Up, And The Message Go Forth. You Are Witnesses

⁴⁶ And^[a] He said to them that “Thus it has been written— that the Christ suffers and rises-up from the dead on the third day, ⁴⁷ and that repentance for the forgiveness of sins is proclaimed on the basis of His name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem. ⁴⁸ You are witnesses of these things. ⁴⁹ And behold— I am sending-forth the promise^[b] of My Father upon you. But you sit in the city^[c] until which time you put-on^[d] power from on-high”.

Jesus Ascends Into Heaven

⁵⁰ And He led them outside^[e] until near Bethany. And having lifted-up His hands, He blessed them. ⁵¹ And it came about during His blessing them that He separated^[f] from them, and was being carried-up^[g] into heaven. ⁵² And they, having worshiped Him, returned to Jerusalem with great joy. ⁵³ And they were continually in the temple blessing God.