1 1Dear Theophilus, The first book I wrote was about everything Jesus did and taught from the beginning 2until the day he was carried up into heaven. Before he went, he talked to the apostlesa he had chosen. With the help of the Holy Spiritb, he told them what they should do. 3This was after his death, but he showed them that he was alive, proving it to them in many ways. The apostles saw Jesus many times during the 40 days after he was raised from death. He spoke to them about God's kingdomc. 4One time when Jesus was eating with them, he told them not to leave Jerusalem. He said, "Wait here until you receive what the Father promised to send. Remember, I told you about it before. 5John baptizedd people with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit." 7Jesus said to them, "The Father is the only one who has the authority to decide dates and times. They are not for you to know. 8But the Holy Spiritb will come on you and give you power. You will be my witnesses. You will tell people everywhere about me - in Jerusalem, in the rest of Judea, in Samaria, and in every part of the world." 9After Jesus said this, he was lifted up into the sky. While they were watching, he went into a cloud, and they could not see him. 10They were staring into the sky where he had gone. Suddenly two men wearing white clothes were standing beside them. 11They said, "Men from Galilee, why are you standing here looking into the sky? You saw Jesus carried away from you into heaven. He will come back in the same way you saw him go." 14The apostles were all together. They were constantly praying with the same purpose. Some women, Mary the mother of Jesus, and his brothers were there with the apostles. 15After a few days there was a meeting of the believersh. There were about 120 of them. Peter stood up and said, 16-17"Brothers and sisters, in the Scripturesi the Holy Spiritb said through Davidj that something must happen. He was talking about Judas, one of our own group. Judas served together with us. The Spirit said that Judas would lead men to arrest Jesus." 18(Judas was paid money for doing this. His money was used to buy him a field. But he fell on his head, his body broke open, and all his intestines poured out. 19And all the people of Jerusalem learned about this. That is why they named that field Akeldama, which in their language means "field of blood.") 20Peter said, "In the book of Psalms, this is written about Judas:
23They put two men before the group. One was Joseph Barsabbas. He was also called Justus. The other man was Matthias. 24-25They prayed, "Lord, you know the minds of all people. Show us which one of these two men you choose to do this work. Judas turned away from it and went where he belongs. Lord, show us which man should take his place as an apostle!" 26Then they used lotsn to choose one of the two men. The lots showed that Matthias was the one the Lord wanted. So he became an apostle with the other eleven. aapostle A follower of Jesus chosen to represent him in a special way. During his earthly ministry, Jesus named twelve men as apostles. They had the specific responsibility and authority to represent him and proclaim his message throughout the world. Later, he appeared to Paul and gave him a similar commission, especially to non-Jewish people. Barnabas, Paul’s missionary companion, and James, the brother of Jesus, are also called apostles, as well as several others in the New Testament. Some of these occurrences of the word, however, have the more general sense of “messenger” or “representative.” bHoly Spirit Also called the Spirit of God, the Spirit of Christ, and the Comforter. In union with God and Christ, he does God’s work among people in the world. cGod’s kingdom The “reign” or “rule” of God over all people who submit to him by accepting Jesus as the Messiah (the appointed king), who represents God’s kingdom on earth. Jesus was the perfect example of submission to the will of God. When people give control of their lives to Jesus, they become part of God’s kingdom and begin to enjoy the blessings he has promised his people from the beginning. (Note that in Matthew this term also translates the Greek word “kingdom” by itself or the phrase, “the kingdom of the heavens,” which was used by Jews as a way to avoid saying the divine name.) dbaptize To perform the act of baptism. See “baptism.” eIsrael Another name for Jacob (see Gen. 32:24-28) and for the nation God chose to accomplish his plan of blessing the world through the Messiah (see “Messiah”). The people of Israel were the descendants of Jacob’s twelve sons. In the New Testament this name is sometimes used in a broader sense to mean all of God’s people. f1:12 half a mile Literally, “a Sabbath day’s journey.” gZealot A term used to describe Jews who had an enthusiastic desire or “zeal” to maintain the purity of Judaism - the land, the Temple, observance of the law and the traditions. This desire included a willingness to do whatever necessary to protect this purity against any outside threat, such as Roman control. This kind of spirit eventually brought about the formation of a group of Jewish patriots known as the Zealots. (Note that in Mt. 10:4 and Mk. 3:18 “Zealot” is used to translate the Aramaic term, “Cananaean,” which had the same meaning.) hbeliever Where this word is marked, it is literally “brother,” a term used by followers of Jesus Christ to refer to fellow members of God’s family. iScripture Part of the Scriptures or “Holy Writings” - the Old Testament. jDavid Israel’s greatest king, who ruled about 1000 years before Christ. Besides being a great military and political leader, he was a deeply spiritual man and a gifted musician, who wrote many of the Psalms. He made plans and arrangements for the building of the first Temple in Jerusalem (“the city of David”), which was actually completed by his son Solomon. The Scriptures said that a descendant of David would be God’s chosen messiah (king), who would establish an eternal kingdom. For that reason, Jesus is sometimes called “the Son of David.” kPsalm 69:25 lPsalm 109:8 mresurrection Being raised from death to live again. nlots Stones, sticks, or bones used like dice for making decisions. See Prov. 16:33. |