Acts 1:1-9

Expanded Bible

Luke’s Second Volume

1 ·To [^LO] Theophilus [^Ca name meaning “Lover of God”; probably a specific individual, though possibly addressing all who love God].

The ·first [or former; previous] ·book [account; ^Ca reference to the Gospel of Luke] I wrote was about everything Jesus began to do and teach ² until the day he was taken up into heaven. Before this, ·with the help of [through] the Holy Spirit, Jesus ·told [instructed; commanded] the apostles he had chosen [Luke 6:13] what they should do. ³ After his ·death [^Lsuffering], he showed himself to them and ·proved [provided undeniable evidence] in many ways that he was alive [Luke 24:13–49]. The apostles saw Jesus during the forty days after he was raised from the dead, and he spoke to them about the kingdom of God. ⁴ Once when he was ·eating [or staying; meeting] with them, he ·told [commanded] them not to leave Jerusalem. He said, “Wait here to receive the promise from the Father [^Cthe gift of the Holy Spirit] which I told you about [Luke 24:49]. ⁵ John baptized people ·with [or in] water [Luke 3:1–20], but in a few days you will be baptized ·with [by; or in] the Holy Spirit.”

Jesus Is Taken Up into Heaven

⁶ When the apostles were all together, they ·asked [kept asking] Jesus, “Lord, are you ·now [at this time] going to ·give the kingdom back [restore the kingdom] to Israel [^CIsrael had lived for centuries under the oppression of foreign nations; Jer. 16:15; 23:8; Hos. 11:8–11; the disciples were expecting the messianic kingdom; Is. 9:1–7; 11:1–16]?”

⁷ Jesus said to them, “The Father is the only One who has the ·authority [or power] to ·decide [set] dates and times [Mark 13:32]. These things are not for you to know. ⁸ But when the Holy Spirit comes to you, you will receive power. You will be my witnesses—in Jerusalem [2:1—8:3], in all of Judea, in Samaria [8:4—11:18], and ·in every part of the world [to the ends of the earth; 11:19—28:31; Luke 24:45–48].”

⁹ After he said this, as they were watching, he was lifted up, and a cloud ·hid him from [or took him out of; ^Ca reference to the cloud chariot; Dan. 7:13–14] their sight [^Ca description of Christ’s ascension into heaven].