1  I composed the first discourse[1], O Theophilus[2], concerning all things which Jesus began both to do and to teach,

2  until that day in which, having by the Holy Spirit charged the apostles whom he had chosen, he was taken up;

3  to whom also he presented himself living[3], after he had suffered, with many proofs; being seen by them during forty days[4], and speaking of the things which concern the kingdom of God[5];

4  and, being assembled with them , commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to await the promise of the Father, which said he ye have heard of me.

5  For John indeed baptised with water, but *ye* shall be baptised with the Holy Spirit[6] after now not many days.

6  They therefore, being come together, asked him saying, Lord, is it at this time that thou restorest the kingdom to Israel?[7]

7  And he said to them, It is not yours to know times or seasons, which the Father has placed in his own authority;

8  but ye will receive power, the Holy Spirit having come upon you, and ye shall be my witnesses both in Jerusalem[8], and in all Judaea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.

9  And having said these things he was taken up, they beholding him , and a cloud received him out of their sight.[9]

10  And as they were gazing into heaven, as he was going, behold, also two men stood by them in white clothing,

11  who also said, Men of Galilee, why do ye stand looking into heaven? This Jesus who has been taken up from you into heaven, shall thus come in the manner[10] in which ye have beheld him going into heaven.

12  Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mount called the mount of Olives, which is near Jerusalem, a sabbath-day’s journey off[11].

13  And when they were come into the city , they went up to the upper chamber, where were staying both Peter, and John, and James, and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James son of Alphaeus, and Simon the zealot, and Jude the brother of James.

14  These gave themselves all with one accord to continual prayer, with several women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brethren.

15  And in those days Peter, standing up in the midst of the brethren, said, (the crowd of names who were together was about a hundred and twenty,)

16  Brethren, it was necessary that the scripture should have been fulfilled, which the Holy Spirit spoke before, by the mouth of David, concerning Judas, who became guide to those who took Jesus;

17  for he was numbered amongst us, and had received a part in this service.

18  (This man then indeed got a field with the reward of iniquity, and, having fallen down headlong, burst in the midst, and all his bowels gushed out.

19  And it was known to all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so that that field was called in their own dialect[12] Aceldama[13]; that is, field of blood.)

20  For it is written in the book of Psalms[14], Let his homestead become desolate, and let there be no dweller in it; and, Let another take his overseership.

21  It is necessary therefore, that of the men who have assembled with us all the time in which the Lord Jesus came in and went out among us,

22  beginning from the baptism of John until the day in which he was taken up from us, one of these should be a witness with us of his resurrection.[15]

23  And they appointed two, Joseph, who was called Barsabas[16], who had been surnamed Justus, and Matthias[17].

24  And they prayed, and said, Thou Lord, knower of the hearts of all, shew which one of these two thou hast chosen,

25  to receive the lot of this service and apostleship[18], from which Judas transgressing fell to go to his own place.

26  And they gave lots on them, and the lot fell on Matthias, and he was numbered with the eleven apostles.

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[1] (1:1). the first discourse. This is the Gospel of St. Luke.

[2] (1:1). Theophilus. He is called “most excellent” in Luke 1:3 which would suggest he was a man of high regard. His name means, “lover of God.”

[3] (1:3). he presented himself living. He presented himself in approximately A.D. 29.

[4] (1:3). forty days. The only reference in the New Testament that records the length of time of Christ’s ministry after his resurrection.

[5] (1:3). kingdom of God. The Lord Jesus Christ spent forty days after his resurrection teaching his apostles about the kingdom of God. Christ never told them when the kingdom would be restored to Israel. The time is known only by God.

[6] (1:5). baptised with the Holy Ghost. God promised to give a new spirit. Jesus told his apostles that the Holy Spirit would give them power to carry out their mission (John 14:26). This promise of Jesus was fulfilled on the Day of Pentecost. The mention of the spirit made them think that the kingdom was now going to be restored to Israel, hence the question in verse 6.

[7] (1:6). kingdom to Israel. The Messianic, Davidic and Millennial Kingdom.

[8] (1:8). Jerusalem. The preaching began in Jerusalem in Acts 2:1; in Judea and Samaria in Acts 8:5 and throughout the whole world in Acts 8:26.

[9] (1:9). The Lord Jesus Christ went up to Heaven to be with the Father.

[10] (1:11). The return of Christ will be similar to the ascension. His return will be visible and to the Mount of Olives (Rev. 1:7 & Zec. 14:4).

[11] (1:12) a sabbath-day’s journey off. This is only mentioned once in the Bible. It is the distance between Jerusalem and the Mount of Olives which is about 2 km. 

[12] (1:19). in their own dialect. The primary language of Jews at this time was Aramaic.

[13] (1:19). Aceldama. The field bought with the money Judas had been paid for betraying Christ. Likely South West of Jerusalem and South East of the Hinnom Valley.

[14] (1:20). in the book of Psalms. See Psalm 69:25 and Psalm 109:8.

[15] (1:22). “The last act of the old dispensation.” Harry A. Ironside.

[16] (1:23). Joseph, who was called Barsabas was one of two candidates to replace Judas Iscariot as an apostle. He was also known as Justus. He was not selected to be an apostle although he was an eyewitness to the ministry of Christ. Being an eyewitness to the ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ is an essential criteria to be an apostle. There is no biblical evidence to suggest that these thirteen apostles were substituted upon their death. For instance, refer to Acts 12:1–2. Jesus appointed the apostles to undertake the foundational tasks of the Church, which only need to be established once. Subsequent to the apostles’ deaths, additional roles, distinct from the apostolic office and not necessitating firsthand experience with Jesus, would continue the mission.

[17] (1:23). Matthias. The other candidate to replace Judas Iscariot as an apostle. He was selected to replace Judas after prayer and casting lots. He was also an eyewitness to the ministry of Christ.

[18] (1:25). apostleship. The requirements for apostleship presented in Acts 1 included:

(a). He needed to be male (v. 21). The term used is specifically for a man, not the general term for mankind. 

(b). He must have been a companion of Jesus throughout His physical, earthly ministry (v. 21). 

(c). He should have personally witnessed the resurrection (v. 22). 

(d). He was required to be selected by the Lord Himself (vv. 24–26).