Acts 1 Study Notes

1:1 The preface links the book of Acts explicitly with the first narrative, the Gospel of Luke (Lk 1:1-4). Though the books are separate in the NT canonical order, both were probably written by Luke, the traveling companion of Paul. The books are both large enough to fill a complete scroll, and so it is unlikely that they were ever joined as a single book.

The book of Acts was written after the Gospel of Luke, as is indicated by the preface (1:1; cp. Lk 1:1-4). Luke builds these companion narratives on a broad chronology that begins with the birth of Jesus, then extends through his life, death, resurrection, and ascension. He next shows the expansion of the church from Jerusalem to Rome. Acts closes with Paul awaiting trial in Rome. Like the first volume, the second is addressed to a person named Theophilus. Some speculate that Theophilus (Gk, “lover of God”) was a literary figure representing Christians generally, but more likely he was an actual historical person.

Some think on the basis of Lk 1:1-4 that Theophilus was a seeker after God and Luke aimed to explain Christianity to him. Others think Theophilus was a recent convert who required instruction in his newfound faith. Still others suggest he was an early church leader for whom Luke provided a summary of events surrounding the rise of Christianity. In any of the above scenarios, it is possible that Theophilus was Luke’s patron, financing the publication of Luke and Acts. Though only a maximum of twenty percent of urban men were literate, there was a distinct book culture in the ancient world. Publication involved hand copying an original document to make it available for others. The cost of materials for the initial document plus all subsequent drafts could be expensive, with each copy costing up to four days’ wages. As a result, the patronage system was an important factor in making book publication possible in the ancient world.

1:2-3 Luke opened Acts by mentioning the Gospel of Luke, the narrative of Jesus’s life and ministry up until his ascension. Before his ascension, Jesus suffered the agony of death and then presented himself alive to his disciples (Lk 24). Jesus presented himself by many convincing proofs, including appearing to the disciples during the forty days between his resurrection and ascension. During this time Jesus instructed them about the kingdom of God.

1:4 The Father’s promise refers to the gift of the Holy Spirit, which would soon come (chap. 2).

1:5 John’s baptism was a symbolic washing to purify and to indicate repentance of sin. Jesus’s baptism of believers would be of greater impact and involved the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.

1:6-7 Restoration of the kingdom of Israel was something for which all first-century Jews longed. It was commonly believed that Messiah, son of David and heir to his throne, would accomplish this restoration. Jesus deflected the disciples’ misguided question and repeated his command that they were to be his witnesses near and far (cp. Mt 28:19).

1:8 The major focus of the book of Acts is stated in this verse. Jesus said believers would receive power when the Holy Spirit came upon them, empowering them to be his witnesses in Jerusalem first and then spreading to the end of the earth. Note three things about how this unfolds. First, the empowering presence is to be the Holy Spirit, not Jesus himself. Jesus prepared his disciples for the transition when the Holy Spirit would come to be a constant presence in his bodily absence (see Jn 14:16-17). Second, the growth of the church would come about through the witness of the disciples. From the beginning, the church is depicted as a community that actively witnesses to their faith in Jesus Christ. Third, the result of this witness will be measurable, geographical growth. This growth will begin in Jerusalem and then spread through ever-widening concentric circles to other Jewish areas (e.g., Judea), to areas on the edges of Judaism (e.g., Samaria), and eventually to “the end of the earth,” which may refer to the known world of that time, likely coextensive with the reach of the Roman Empire. As new lands and peoples were discovered in coming centuries, the church understood that it must keep expanding its witness to reach the newfound “end of the earth.”

1:9-11 Luke briefly told about Jesus’s ascension in his Gospel (Lk 24:51), and now he provides a somewhat fuller account. A cloud took him out recalls the presence of God depicted as a cloud elsewhere (e.g., Ex 13:21-22). Thus Jesus was received by the Father in fulfillment of his words in Jn 7:33-34. Jesus’s final instructions and ascension to heaven provide overlap and transition between Luke’s Gospel and the book of Acts. The ascension took place on the Mount of Olives outside Jerusalem (Ac 1:12). Jesus’s return will be in the same way as he departed—bodily and visibly.

1:12-13 Lk 6:14-16 provides the same list of disciples. The lists in Mark and Matthew are similar, except for differences in the names of two disciples between Luke-Acts and Mark and Matthew. Several disciples had alternative names (Simon/Peter, Matthew/Levi; cp. v. 23), possibly accounting for differences between the lists. Simon the Zealot of Luke-Acts is probably Simon the Cananaean, and Judas the son of James in Luke-Acts may be Thaddaeus.

1:14 The women may have included the wives of the apostles. Jesus had six half-brothers according to Mk 6:3. Jesus appeared to James (1Co 15:7) and the others may have seen him as well.

1:15-17 Peter began to assume his role as leader and spokesman for the apostles. The Scripture Peter referred to was Ps 69:25, quoted in v. 20.

1:18-19 The differences between the two NT accounts of Judas’s death (here and Mt 27:3-8) should not be overemphasized. Both agree that he died a shameful death and that a field was named after his traitorous deed. Mt 27:5 says Judas hanged himself, while the present passage says he fell headfirst and burst open. Possibly after he hanged himself, Judas’s body decayed and fell from the rope, bursting open.

1:20 See v. 16.

1:21-23 The person selected to take Judas’s place had to have accompanied the disciples throughout the course of Jesus’s ministry (from his baptism to his ascension), thus assuring that he could speak about things he had seen personally.

1:24-26 The disciples prayed for God to make clear to them which person he had chosen as a successor for Judas. The casting of lots was an acceptable method for making decisions in the era before the Holy Spirit was given. The sovereign Lord superintended the event, ensuring that the lot fell in such a way as to identify his chosen man.