Acts 1 in plain modern English. New Ground English Translation.
Time Period
Circa AD 30-33, immediately after Jesus' resurrection
Location
Jerusalem and the Mount of Olives
Audience
The apostles and early disciples gathered in Jerusalem
Situation
Following Jesus' ascension into heaven after 40 days of post-resurrection appearances, the disciples obey his command to wait in Jerusalem for the promised Holy Spirit. They select Matthias by lot to replace Judas Iscariot among the Twelve.
Key Background
This chapter bridges the Gospels and the early church, occurring shortly after Jesus' crucifixion, resurrection, and ascension during the Jewish festival season leading to Pentecost. Judas' betrayal and suicide left the apostles short one member, fulfilling prophecy and necessitating replacement to restore the Twelve as witnesses. The events set the stage for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, marking the birth of the Christian church amid Roman occupation and Jewish religious life.
In my I wrote about everything began doing and teaching,
right up until the day he was up to heaven. Before that, through the of he had given instructions to the he had chosen.
After his he showed himself alive to these same people with many appearing to them over a period of and talking with them about the of
While he was with them, he told them, "Don't leave yet. Wait here for what the promised — the thing I told you about.
people in water, but in just a few days, you will be in the of
So when they had all gathered together, they asked him, is this the time you're going to the to
He said to them, "It's not for you to know the or that the Father has set by his own
But you will receive when the Breath of God comes on you, and you will be my in Jerusalem, throughout Judea and Samaria, and all the way to the most on
After he said this, he was up right before their eyes, and a took him out of their sight.
While they were staring up at the sky as he went, suddenly in stood right there with them.
They said, of why are you standing here looking up at the sky? This same Jesus who has been taken from you into heaven will in the same you've seen him go into heaven."
Then they returned to Jerusalem from the hill called the of which is a from the city.
When they arrived, they went to the where they were staying — Peter, John, James, and Andrew; Philip and Thomas; Bartholomew and Matthew; James son of Alphaeus, the and Judas son of James.
They were all and to along with the including Mary the mother of Jesus, and
During those days, Peter stood up among the — a group of about and people — and said,
"Brothers and sisters, the had to be that the Breath of God spoke long ago through David's mouth about who became the guide for those who arrested Jesus.
He was one of our number and had been given his share in this
(Now Judas had used the money he got for his to buy a field, and there he his body burst open, and all his intestines spilled out.
Everyone living in Jerusalem heard about this, so they named that field in their own — which means 'Field of Blood.')
Peter continued, "It's written in the book of 'Let his place be deserted; let no one live there,' and, 'Let someone else take over his of
So we need to choose someone who has been with us the entire time that the was living and working among us —
from the time John was all the way through to the day Jesus was taken up from us. One of these men must join us as a to
So they proposed two men: Joseph called (who was also known as Justus), and
Then they prayed, you Show us which of these two you have chosen
to take over this of as an emissary — the position that to go where he to go."
Then they and the lot fell to Matthias. So he was added to the