Acts 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28
Acts 1:1
Τὸν μὲν πρῶτον λόγον ἐποιησάμην περὶ πάντων, ὦ Θεόφιλε, ὧν ἤρξατο ὁ Ἰησοῦς ποιεῖν τε καὶ διδάσκειν,
The first word, oh Theophilus, I made about all things of which Jesus began both to do and to teach
Paraphrase: Dear Theophilus, you will remember the first book I wrote and sent to you. In that first book, I told you the story of Jesus. I wanted you to know the full sweep of Jesus ministry, both the truths which He taught and the miracles which established His teaching as truly from God. From His birth to His death and resurrection, I have laid it out for you as well as I am able.
Comments:
Acts 1:2
ἄχρι ἧς ἡμέρας ἐντειλάμενος τοῖς ἀποστόλοις διὰ Πνεύματος Ἁγίου οὓς ἐξελέξατο ἀνελήμφθη·
until which day, giving command to the apostles through the Holy Spirit which He had chosen, He was taken up.
Paraphrase: Now I want to tell you the story of what happened after Jesus returned to heaven. On this day, Jesus was taken up into heaven having accomplished the work He had been given. He made a triumphal entry into His Father’s house and declared the mission accomplished. Jesus, however, did not leave until He had given His disciples careful instructions about their path forward. Just as Jesus had chosen these men to carry on the work which He had begun (Luke 6:13), so now He renewed the promise which He had given them before (John 14:26; 15:26; 20:22) that the disciples would receive the Holy Spirit Himself to empower them to perform their task.
Comments:
ἐκλέγομαι is deponent. Is ἐντέλλω? All the forms in the NT are passive. Robertson says it is a middle. source
The number and gender of οὓς agrees with ἀποστόλοις which is the antecedent of the relative pronoun. The case of οὓς is determined by the fact that it is the object of ἐξελέξατο.
Kuyper sees three distinct acts of the Holy Spirit in regards to the apostles:
- that of saving grace in regeneration and subsequent illumination—Matt. 16:17.
- official gifts qualifying them for the apostolic office—John 20:22.
- the Baptism with the Holy Ghost—Acts 1:5 in connection with Acts 2:1ff. source
Acts 1:3
οἷς καὶ παρέστησεν ἑαυτὸν ζῶντα μετὰ τὸ παθεῖν αὐτὸν ἐν πολλοῖς τεκμηρίοις, δι’ ἡμερῶν τεσσεράκοντα ὀπτανόμενος αὐτοῖς καὶ λέγων τὰ περὶ τῆς βασιλείας τοῦ Θεοῦ·
to whom He even presented Himself living after He suffered with many proofs through forty days appearing to them and saying the things concerning the kingdom of God.
Paraphrase: Now it was to these disciples that Jesus shown Himself and proved to them that He really was alive. For forty days, He stayed with them and taught them how the kingdom of God was going to progress throughout the world after His return to heaven.
Comments:
For μετὰ τὸ παθεῖν αὐτὸν (where αὐτὸν is the agent of the infinitive), see Burton §105.
τὰ is an orphan article.
Acts 1:4
καὶ συναλιζόμενος παρήγγειλεν αὐτοῖς ἀπὸ Ἱεροσολύμων μὴ χωρίζεσθαι, ἀλλὰ περιμένειν τὴν ἐπαγγελίαν τοῦ Πατρὸς ἣν ἠκούσατέ μου·
and being gathered together, He commanded them from Jerusalem not to depart but to wait for the promise of the Father which you heard from Me; i.e.
Paraphrase: Having reached the end of His earthly ministry, He made preparations to return to His Father. First, He again summoned all His disciples and gave them orders to stay in Jerusalem until they had received what the Father had promised them. On a previous occasion, He had told them about His Father’s promise.
Comments:
χωρίζεσθαι is a complementary infinitive with παρήγγειλεν.
Acts 1:5
ὅτι Ἰωάνης μὲν ἐβάπτισεν ὕδατι, ὑμεῖς δὲ ἐν Πνεύματι βαπτισθήσεσθε Ἁγίῳ οὐ μετὰ πολλὰς ταύτας ἡμέρας.
John, on the one hand, baptized with water but you in the Spirit will be baptized not after many these days.
Paraphrase: This promise was as follows. God had promised to baptize His church in the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit had come down on people before, but that was nothing compared to what God was going to do now. Everyone remembered how John had baptized people in the wilderness. They remembered seeing how John had taken the new believer down into the river. They could never forget the sight of John pouring water over the person and pronouncing the Name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Now God had said that in the same way (Acts 2:17, 18), He was going to immerse His people in the Holy Spirit.
Comments:
Acts 1:6
Οἱ μὲν οὖν συνελθόντες, ἠρώτων αὐτὸν, λέγοντες, Κύριε, εἰ ἐν τῷ χρόνῳ τούτῳ, ἀποκαθιστάνεις τὴν βασιλείαν τῷ Ἰσραήλ;
Therefore, when they had gathered, they were asking Him, saying, “Lord, if at this time, You are restoring the kingdom to Israel?”
Paraphrase: At this gathering, the disciples also had some questions for Jesus. One question that the disciples kept asking was whether Jesus was now going to restore the kingdom to Israel.
Comments:
Acts 1:7
Εἶπεν δὲ πρὸς αὐτούς, Οὐχ ὑμῶν ἐστιν γνῶναι χρόνους ἢ καιροὺς οὓς ὁ Πατὴρ ἔθετο ἐν τῇ ἰδίᾳ ἐξουσίᾳ.
Then He said to them, “It is not of you to know seasons and times which the Father has established by His own authority.
Paraphrase: To this question, Jesus had but one answer: it was not for them to know. God had established the beginnings and ends of each period of redemptive history. He had established each of these times and would act on His own authority. Furthermore, He has chosen to keep these things from you.
Comments:
Bengel translates χρόνους ἢ καιροὺς as the intervals (periods) or times. source
Acts 1:8
ἀλλὰ λήμψεσθε δύναμιν, ἐπελθόντος τοῦ Ἁγίου Πνεύματος ἐφ’ ὑμᾶς, καὶ ἔσεσθέ μου μάρτυρες, ἔν τε Ἰερουσαλὴμ, καὶ ἐν πάσῃ τῇ Ἰουδαίᾳ, καὶ Σαμαρείᾳ, καὶ ἕως ἐσχάτου τῆς γῆς.
but you will receive power, when the Holy Spirit is coming on you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and Samaria and until the end of the earth.
Paraphrase: In light of this, you should stop asking questions about the time and start focusing on what God has revealed to you. God has given you His promise that He would pour the Holy Spirit on you and that the effect of this would be that you would bear witness to Him starting in Jerusalem, expanding to Judea and even Samaria until finally the good news about Jesus would reach the ends of the earth. This should be your focus; take hold of God’s promise and begin bearing witness to the saving work of Jesus. God’s time will surely come; you can rest assured of that.
Comments:
Olshausen:
As if to compensate for the knowledge which he thus denied to his disciples regarding the times, the Redeemer promises them the power of the Holy Ghost (Luke 24:49) by which they were to be constituted, not so much prophets of the future, as witnesses of the past. It is the mighty works of God in and upon Christ, for the salvation of the world, especially his resurrection from the dead, which the apostles were to proclaim to the world. From Zion the light goes forth (Isaiah 2:2), and spreading in ever-widening circles, it fills the globe. source
Acts 1:9
Καὶ ταῦτα εἰπὼν, βλεπόντων αὐτῶν, ἐπήρθη, καὶ νεφέλη ὑπέλαβεν αὐτὸν ἀπὸ τῶν ὀφθαλμῶν αὐτῶν.
and saying these things, while they were watching, He was lifted up and a cloud took Him from their eyes.
Paraphrase: Now when Jesus had finished these instructions, He was taken up into heaven before their very eyes. It seemed like the clouds were a door into heaven which opened to receive Him. He passed through these doors and disappeared from their sight.
Comments:
βλεπόντων αὐτῶν = genitive absolute
Acts 1:10
καὶ ὡς ἀτενίζοντες ἦσαν εἰς τὸν οὐρανὸν πορευομένου αὐτοῦ, καὶ ἰδοὺ ἄνδρες δύο παρειστήκεισαν αὐτοῖς ἐν ἐσθήσεσι λευκαῖς,
and while they were staring into heaven, while He was going, and behold, two men stood beside them in white clothing.
Paraphrase: Now while the disciples were still staring into heaven looking at Jesus ascending into heaven, two men suddenly were standing with them. These men were dressed in dazzling white clothes.
Comments:
ἀτενίζοντες ἦσαν = periphrastic When you have an imperfect of εἰμί with a present participle, the verb is translated as an imperfect.
Acts 1:11
οἳ καὶ εἶπαν, Ἄνδρες, Γαλιλαῖοι, τί ἑστήκατε βλέποντες εἰς τὸν οὐρανόν; οὗτος ὁ Ἰησοῦς, ὁ ἀναλημφθεὶς ἀφ’ ὑμῶν εἰς τὸν οὐρανὸν, οὕτως ἐλεύσεται ὃν τρόπον ἐθεάσασθε αὐτὸν πορευόμενον εἰς τὸν οὐρανόν.
who also spoke, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, in this manner will come, in the same way you saw Him going into heaven.
Paraphrase: These men looked at the disciples and asked them why they were standing there staring off into heaven. “This very same Jesus,” they said, “Whom you just saw go up into heaven, will come again. In fact, His return to earth will be in the same way that you just saw Him ascend up into heaven.”
Comments:
For τρόπον see, Smyth §1608 or Robertson. ὃν τρόπον means in what manner. source
Acts 1:12
Τότε ὑπέστρεψαν εἰς Ἰερουσαλὴμ ἀπὸ ὄρους τοῦ καλουμένου Ἐλαιῶνος, ὅ ἐστιν ἐγγὺς Ἰερουσαλὴμ, σαββάτου ἔχον ὁδόν.
Then, they returned to Jerusalem from the mountain called Olives which is near Jerusalem, a sabbath day’s journey.
Paraphrase: The disciples agreed that there was no point in staring into heaven. Jesus was gone, and now it was time to put into practice the things He had commanded them. So they returned to Jerusalem from Mount Olives. The distance was not far, about 2000 cubits.
Comments:
See Lightfoot on a sabbath day’s journey. Schurer says this distance was set at 2000 cubits. source
Acts 1:13
καὶ ὅτε εἰσῆλθον εἰς τὸ ὑπερῷον, ἀνέβησαν οὗ ἦσαν καταμένοντες, ὅ τε Πέτρος καὶ Ἰωάννης, καὶ Ἰάκωβος καὶ Ἀνδρέας, Φίλιππος καὶ Θωμᾶς, Βαρθολομαῖος καὶ Μαθθαῖος, Ἰάκωβος Ἁλφαίου, καὶ Σίμων ὁ Ζηλωτὴς, καὶ Ἰούδας Ἰακώβου.
And when they arrived, they went up to the upper room where they were staying. Peter and John and James and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James of Alpheus and Simon the zealot, and Judas of James.
Paraphrase: When they arrived back in Jerusalem, they all retired to the upper room where they were then staying. Those present were Peter, John, James, Andrew, Philip, Thomas, Bartholomew, Matthew, James (from Alpheus), Simon the zealot, and Judas (from James). All were present except Judas Iscariot.
Comments:
Acts 1:14
οὗτοι πάντες ἦσαν προσκαρτεροῦντες ὁμοθυμαδὸν τῇ προσευχῇ, σὺν γυναιξὶν, καὶ Μαριὰμ τῇ μητρὶ τοῦ Ἰησοῦ, καὶ σὺν τοῖς ἀδελφοῖς αὐτοῦ.
These all were persevering in complete unity in prayer with the women and Mariam, the mother of Jesus and with his brothers.
Paraphrase: All these were of one mind and continued in fervent prayer for the promised baptism of the Spirit. Their wives and the other women were also present, even Mary, the mother of Jesus, was there with her other children.
Comments:
Acts 1:15
Καὶ ἐν ταῖς ἡμέραις ταύταις, ἀναστὰς Πέτρος ἐν μέσῳ τῶν ἀδελφῶν, εἶπεν— ἦν τε ὄχλος ὀνομάτων ἐπὶ τὸ αὐτὸ ὡσεὶ ἑκατὸν εἴκοσι—
Acts 1:16
Ἄνδρες, ἀδελφοί, ἔδει πληρωθῆναι τὴν γραφὴν ἣν προεῖπεν τὸ Πνεῦμα τὸ Ἅγιον διὰ στόματος Δαυὶδ περὶ Ἰούδα, τοῦ γενομένου ὁδηγοῦ τοῖς συλλαβοῦσιν Ἰησοῦν·
Acts 1:17
ὅτι κατηριθμημένος ἦν ἐν ἡμῖν, καὶ ἔλαχεν τὸν κλῆρον τῆς διακονίας ταύτης.
Acts 1:18
Οὗτος μὲν οὖν ἐκτήσατο χωρίον ἐκ μισθοῦ τῆς ἀδικίας, καὶ πρηνὴς γενόμενος, ἐλάκησεν μέσος, καὶ ἐξεχύθη πάντα τὰ σπλάγχνα αὐτοῦ.
Acts 1:19
καὶ γνωστὸν ἐγένετο πᾶσι τοῖς κατοικοῦσιν Ἰερουσαλήμ, ὥστε κληθῆναι τὸ χωρίον ἐκεῖνο τῇ ἰδίᾳ διαλέκτῳ αὐτῶν Ἁκελδαμάχ*, τοῦτ’ ἔστιν, Χωρίον αἵματος.
Acts 1:20
Γέγραπται γὰρ ἐν βίβλῳ Ψαλμῶν· Γενηθήτω ἡ ἔπαυλις αὐτοῦ ἔρημος, καὶ μὴ ἔστω ὁ κατοικῶν ἐν αὐτῇ, Καί, Τὴν ἐπισκοπὴν αὐτοῦ λαβέτω ἕτερος.
Acts 1:21
Δεῖ οὖν τῶν συνελθόντων ἡμῖν ἀνδρῶν, ἐν παντὶ χρόνῳ ᾧ εἰσῆλθεν καὶ ἐξῆλθεν ἐφ’ ἡμᾶς ὁ Κύριος Ἰησοῦς,
Acts 1:22
ἀρξάμενος ἀπὸ τοῦ βαπτίσματος Ἰωάννου ἕως τῆς ἡμέρας ἧς ἀνελήμφθη ἀφ’ ἡμῶν, μάρτυρα τῆς ἀναστάσεως αὐτοῦ σὺν ἡμῖν γενέσθαι ἕνα τούτων.
Acts 1:23
Καὶ ἔστησαν δύο, Ἰωσὴφ τὸν καλούμενον Βαρσαββᾶν, ὃς ἐπεκλήθη Ἰοῦστος, καὶ Μαθθίαν.
Acts 1:24
καὶ προσευξάμενοι, εἶπαν, Σὺ Κύριε, καρδιογνῶστα πάντων, ἀνάδειξον ὃν ἐξελέξω ἐκ τούτων τῶν δύο, ἕνα
Acts 1:25
λαβεῖν τὸν τόπον τῆς διακονίας ταύτης καὶ ἀποστολῆς, ἀφ’ ἧς παρέβη Ἰούδας πορευθῆναι εἰς τὸν τόπον τὸν ἴδιον.
Acts 1:26
καὶ ἔδωκαν κλήρους αὐτοῖς, καὶ ἔπεσεν ὁ κλῆρος ἐπὶ Μαθθίαν, καὶ συνκατεψηφίσθη μετὰ τῶν ἕνδεκα ἀποστόλων.