Jesus was urging his disciples to wait

JESUS WAS URGING HIS DISCIPLES TO WAIT
EDITED BY GLENN PEASE
Acts 1:3-5 3After his suffering, he presented himself to
them and gave many convincingproofs that he was
alive. He appearedto them over a period of forty days
and spoke about the kingdom of God. 4On one
occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them
this command: "Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for
the gift my Fatherpromised, which you have heard me
speak about. 5For John baptized with water, but in a
few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit."
BIBLEHUB RESOURCES
The Divine Equipment
Acts 1:4
R.A. Redford
Wait for the promise of the Father. The greatHead of the Church addressing
its leaders. The Sonof Godspeaking to those who themselves should receive
powerto become the sons of God, and to lilt up the world into a Divine
household. In the infancy of the Church all depended on simple obedience to

orders. Immense evil from not waiting for God's time and preparation. Here
are the two guiding lights - the promise unfolding the prospect, the
commandment marking out the way.
I. THE UNFOLDED PROSPECT.
1. The extent of it. "The Father's promise;" infinite as his love. Though faith
was demanded, because sightof the future withheld, still the voice was the
voice of infinite assurance.
2. The nature of the expectation. "Ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost."
The gift already tasted, known by experience. We cannot be without "the
earnestof the Spirit" if Christ's. We yet must look for a fuller baptism,
especiallyas meeting responsibilities and trials, anticipating work and fruits.
II. THE WORD OF COMMAND. "Wait."
1. With the word of promise in mind, expecting the fulfillment, "not many
days hence."
2. In fellowship with one another and in prayer, that the heart may be open to
the gifts, that they may be poured out upon all
3. At Jerusalem, where the two dispensations meet, where the main action
againstthe kingdom of darkness canbest commence, where the facts of the
gospelhave already preceded you, and you canbuild on the foundation laid in
Zion.

4. In self-renunciation and faithfulness, not in slothful indifference or
depression. While we make the best of present opportunities, the largeropen
to us. Do the work of the day in the day, and so wait for the promise of the
Father. Individually, here is encouragement - grain of mustard seedwill grow.
Our Fathermust desire growth in us. Collectively, many applications -
prospects of the Church and of the world. The true method of gathering in the
masses, notby departing for Jerusalembefore the time, but waiting till we are
able to send out into the unconverted world the energy bestowedupon us. - R.
Biblical Illustrator
And being assembledtogetherwith them, commanded them that they should
not depart from Jerusalem.
Acts 1:4-8
Last words
J. R. Thomson, M. A.

Before ascending Christ had —
I. A MISCONCEPTION TO REMOVE — respecting the date and character
of the Messianic Kingdom.
II. A PROMISE TO BESTOW.
1. The Father made the promise.
2. Christ was to bestow it.
3. The Holy Spirit was the subject. They were to receive a baptism, copious,
cleansing, consecrating, and be endowedwith spiritual power.
III. A COMMISSION TO ENTRUST.
1. Its nature — "witnessesunto Me."
2. Its sphere ever widening till it reachedthe uttermost part of the earth.
(J. R. Thomson, M. A.)
The Lord's last command to His disciples
W. Hudson.

I. THE COMMAND WAS OF A TRYING NATURE. "Notto depart from
Jerusalem." This would —
1. Recallpainful sympathies — the agonyand crucifixion; the rejection by the
Jews.
2. Suggest personalunfaithfulness in the denial by Peter, the defectionby all.
3. Bring the fearof man. The Jerusalemites hadslain the Master;what might
the servants expect? Why did Christ give such hard orders? Discipline was
needed, and Christ's own sovereigntymust be assertedand accepted.
II. A GRACIOUS PROMISE ACCOMPANIEDTHIS TRYING
COMMAND. If the command set forth the bitter severity of law, the promise
had the sweetgentlenessofthe gospel. Thus God gives His servants mingled
portions. Duty and privilege go together. Of the promise, observe —
1. It was of ancient date (Isaiah 44:3; Joel2:28).
2. The Lord's recent utterance of it had made its terms familiar, "Which ye
have heard of Me" (Luke 24:49).
3. It was the promise of the greatestpossible good. Whenthe Messiahhad
done, the next best thing was the gift of the Holy Ghost.
III. THE MEANING OF THIS PROMISE COULD BE FULLY
APPREHENDEDONLYBY EXPERIENCE.Theyhad heard the terms, and
some of them had seenthe "form of a dove" at Christ's baptism, but neither

would make the promise clear. They must wait for a new blessing. It is so still.
Experience reveals what must else be for ever unexplained. Of what, then,
were the disciples to have experience?
1. Of the utmost possible nearness to God. The Incarnation had brought God
near; but the Spirit was to unite the believer to God, and make Him a living
temple.
2. Of an abundance of blessing. Theywere to have that which baptism
represents — purity, refreshment, health.
3. Of a deep acquaintance with Divine truth. Christ had promised that the
Spirit should bring to their remembrance what He had said.
IV. THE COMMAND AND PROMISE WERE ATEST OF DISCIPLESHIP.
1. Patience was exercisedby remaining at Jerusalem. There are times and
places in which witnessing for Christ is easy. Such a place was not Jerusalem.
Disciples prove their fidelity by abiding in the way of duty in spite of
hardship.
2. Faith was tried by uncertainty of time "not many days hence."
3. But past experience encouragedconfidence and perseverance. Some of
Christ's promises had been already fulfilled, and in some casesbeyond all
expectation.Conclusion:See here —

1. The gentleness ofthe Lord's discipline.
2. The condition on which He fulfils His promises.
(W. Hudson.)
The Saviour's last charge
W. Halls.
There attaches a deep interest to this commandment of our Lord, from
whateverpoint of view it is regarded. Tender associations clusterand cling
about it.
I. A GRAVE CHARGE. "He commanded," etc. Revisedversion, "charged."
The gravity of the charge is seen —
1. In what it was He askedthem to do.
2. In the issues ofit. What was it they were to wait for? The greatpromise.
Generally this applied to the outpouring of the Holy Ghoston the day of
Pentecost. It was a promise. It was the promise of the Father. All that the
Church needs is embraced in this promise. If a promise be of the Father, we
may be sure it is inviolable, and the thing it indicates invaluable. How
differently we are inclined to think of matters from the view God takes of
them. Our first thought is, probably, "Why not strike iron while it is hot,. and
follow up just now, while the fame of Jesus is ringing out its praises, with the
preaching of the truths for which He laid down His life?" God says "tarry"
till ye be endued with powerfrom on high. "My thoughts, not your thoughts,"
etc.

II. AN INSPIRED ATTITUDE. "Towait." This meant three things —
1. A looking for something under a profound convictionof its necessity.
2. A pleading for the objectin prayer; and this they were doing for ten whole
days. Show what prayer-meetings should be, and their place in the successof
the Church.
3. The attitude of patient expectation, of prospective sufficiency. They took
hold of God in prayer and waitedround about Him until He should satisfy
their longings and fill them with the glory of His praise.
III. A SPECIFIC COMMANDMENT. Theywere to wait at Jerusalem. This
appointed place no haphazard, but a design of the infinite mind. Recalla few
things of Jerusalemto see this.
1. It was the city of solemnities. Here Jews gathered — feasts and fasts held.
Here stoodthe Temple, there it fell — there was to begin the building of a new
and better temple that should stand for ever.
2. The city of sublime figure. "Thou art comely, O my have, as Jerusalem."
"If I forget thee, let my right hand forgetits cunning." "Beautiful for
situation, the joy of the whole earth, is Mount Zion," etc.

3. It was the concentrationof all prophecy. "I will pour upon the house of
David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of
supplication, and they shall look upon Me whom they have pierced."
4. How full it was of historic associations.City of Melchizedek, place of
Abraham's offering, and the metropolis of David's kingdom, etc.
5. It was the place of danger. Here met all the rage and malice, envy and
hatred of the time-honoured Scribes and Pharisees.Thenwhy tarry here? To
honour the people whose ancestors were worthysoldiers of the faith; to
preach mercy and forgiveness where was found the most sin.
(W. Halls.)
The gospelfirst testedat Jerusalem
Williams of Wern.
At the village near which I reside, there is a foundry for casting cannon. After
cannon are eastthey are testedby the founders. They first put in a single
charge. If the cannon canbear that they put in the double charge. If the
cannon canbear that without bursting, then they are pronounced fit for the
field of battle, or for the deck of a man-of-war. The casters actwisely, for
should there be one flaw it is better that it should be detectedin the foundry-
yard than when in the act of being fired. Now the gospelwas a new and
untried instrument. It had to be tested, and where better than at Jerusalem?
If it could stand the test there it could stand it anywhere. Peterfired the first
gun, and three thousand were convertedin one day. Moreovera great
multitude of the priests were obedient unto Christ. The apostles couldnot but
have faith in the powerof the gospelwhen they saw the men who mockedand

crucified Christ, and gloried in what they did, exclaiming, "Menand
brethren, what shall we do?"
(Williams of Wern.)
But wait for the promise of the Father
The promise of the Father
S. S. Times.
1. The great promise of the Father was, that He would send His Spirit into the
hearts of men.
2. The promise is worth waiting for. Tarry ye, etc.
3. The fulfilment of the promise always brings powerwith it, and will make
witnesses forChrist of all those who receive it.
4. When the promise is to be claimed, let no ambitious desires turn one away
from receiving its baptism.
5. The Father, in His own goodtime, will fulfil His declarations concerning the
universal swayof His kingdom.
(S. S. Times.)
The promise of the Spirit
C. Hodge, D. D.

The doctrine of the Trinity is the foundation of religion. The Fatherelects, the
Son redeems, the Spirit sanctifies. The Son came in execution of the covenant
of redemption, and having fulfilled its conditions, was entitled to its promises.
One of these was the gift of the Spirit (Acts 2:33), which Christ againand
againrepromised.
I. THE HOLY GHOST IS SECURED FOR THE CHURCH ONLY BY THE
MEDIATION OF CHRIST.
II. CHRIST IS THE IMMEDIATE GIVER OF THE HOLY GHOST. He
sends Him to whom He pleases, and bestows throughHim what blessings He
pleases. Thereforemen must seek the Spirit speciallyfrom Christ as our
Mediator.
III. ELECTION BY THE FATHER, AND REDEMPTIONBYTHE SON
AVAIL ONLY IN VIRTUE OF THE SPIRIT'S WORK. Until the Spirit is
received, the electdo not differ from the non-elect, the redeemedfrom the
unredeemed. Hence our obligations to the severalpersons ofthe Trinity are
the same. And as the Son actedvoluntarily in redeeming those whom the
Father chose, the Spirit is voluntary in applying the redemption purchased by
the Son.
IV. THE WORK OF THE SPIRIT is —
1. To renew or quicken those dead in sins.
2. To illuminate. To revealthe glory of Christ, the holiness of God, the justice
and extent of the law, the evil of sin, the certainty of judgment, the truth and
authority of the Word of God.

3. To work repentance and faith, i.e., turning from sin to God.
4. To guide in the knowledge oftruth and duty.
5. To qualify for specialduties and offices.
6. To sanctify.
7. To comfort.
8. To glorify soul and body.
V. THE DEPENDENCE OF THE INDIVIDUAL AND THE CHURCH ON
THE SPIRIT IS ABSOLUTE. Nothing can be experienced or done but by
Him. Analogous to the dependence of the creatures on the Creatorfor —
1. Existence.
2. Faculties.
3. Activity.

4. Results or successes. Butnot in any one of these is our agencysuperseded;
in all the need of effort is the same.
(C. Hodge, D. D.)
Our need of the Holy Spirit
H. W. Beecher.
What the light is to the mariner's compass, orthe wind to the sailof the ship,
or the oil to the lamp, or the sapto the tree, rising up softly and diffusing its
life to the farthest leaf of the remotestbranch, that the Spirit is to the
Christian in every-day life. I should as soonattempt to raise flowers if there
were no atmosphere, or produce fruits if there were neither light nor heat, as
to attempt to regenerate men without the Holy Ghost.
(H. W. Beecher.)
The powerof the Holy Spirit
1. A promised power, "the promise of the Father."
2. A coming power, "not many days hence."
3. A powerin testimony, "Ye shall be witnesses."
4. An abiding power, to remain until "the uttermost part of the earth" shall
have heard the gospel.
The ascensionofChrist

D. J. Burrell, D. D.
It will be interesting to note the reasons whyJesus did not ascendinto heaven
immediately after His resurrectionfrom the dead, but remained forty days
longeron earth.
1. He wished His disciples to know beyond all peradventure that He was not
dead, but living, and alive for evermore. To this end "He showedHimself alive
after His passionby many infallible proofs." WhateverHis disciples may have
thought of Him previously, they must henceforth know Him as the Conqueror
of death and hell. As to His Divine characterand work, they could no longer
cherish a shadow of doubt.
2. He desired to teachHis disciples sonic things which hitherto they had been
unable to receive. In particular He wantedthem to understand about His
kingdom, to which they had previously attachedall sorts of carnalnotions. So
it is written, "He spoke of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God."
3. During these forty days He planned the campaignwhich is to result in the
conquestof all nations to the glory of His name. We cannot place too strong
an emphasis on the parting injunctions here delivered to the disciples — and
to us — by our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ."
I. "HE COMMANDEDTHEM THAT THEY SHOULD NOT DEPART
FROM JERUSALEM, BUT WAIT." This was not an easything for them to
do. Flushed with the memory of the glorious things which the Masterhad
been revealing to them, they were doubtless in a mood to go everywhere
proclaiming His kingdom. But return to Jerusalem, saidHe, "and wait."
There were goodreasons for this requirement.

1. It was proper that Jerusalemshould be geographicallythe point of
departure for the new order of things. "Salvationis of the Jews.""Go ye
everywhere, beginning at Jerusalem." Here is the metropolis of redemption
(Micah 4:2). It begins in Jerusalem, the capital of Jewry, and proceeds to
Rome, the capitalof the world.
2. The disciples neededa seasonofmutual conference andprayer. To hasten
to their work fitfully and eachfor himself would be to court despondency and
failure.
3. They were to "wait" for a specialpreparation. They were not yet ready for
their work. It pays to be wellprepared for anything, most of all for the work
of the kingdom of Christ.
II. OUR LORD IN THIS LAST INTERVIEW WITH HIS DISCIPLES GAVE
THEM, WITH RENEWED EMPHASIS,THE GLORIOUS PROMISE OF
THE HOLY GHOST. This was "the promise of the Father" (John 14:16; also
15:26). The man who imagines that he can setabout the affairs of the kingdom
of righteousness in strength of his own will make a lamentable failure of it. Let
him tarry at Jerusalemuntil he has receivedthe promise of the Father. When
the fire descends upon him, and he is endued with power from on high,
nothing will seemimpossible to him.
III. In this last conference ofJesus with His disciples HE DISCLOSED TO
THEM THE PLAN OF FUTURE OPERATIONS. Hadthe attention of a
passer-bybeen directed to the six-score or thereabouts who were gatheredon
Olivet on this occasionwith the remark that these few working people — this
feeble folk like the conies — were being organisedfor universal conquest, he
would have pronounced it the wildest scheme that was everbeard of. Jesus
not only gave the disciples to understand that He Himself was, through the

influence of His ever-presentSpirit, to take charge ofthe propaganda, but He
issuedclear and specific directions as to how it should be carried on.
1. Forreasons alreadynoted, they were to make Jerusalemtheir starting-
point.
2. They were to wait for the baptism of the Holy Ghost. This was to mark
their initiation into the dispensationof the Spirit, or new order of things.
3. They were to proceedin their work with a clearunderstanding of the fact
that their only powerwas from God.
4. The followers of Christ were to be "witnessesunto Him." Words in due
season, spokenfrom the pulpit or anywhere else, are like apples of gold
shining through the meshes of a silver basket;but a Christlike life is like a
lighthouse on a rocky coast:multitudes are savedby it. All lives, indeed, are
testimonies;every man on earth is lending his influence in behalf of truth or
falsehood, for Christ or againstHim. Characterwill out. Our creedis the
thing we live by.
5. This witnessing must be universal. "Ye shall be witnesses unto Me both in
Jerusalemand in all Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost parts of
the earth." Observe, the disciples are not made responsible for the conversion
of the world, but only for its evangelisation. Theyare to see that the story of
redemption is told everywhere;and God Himself will do the rest.
IV. THEN COMETHTHE END. "He shall so come in like manner as ye have
seenHim go into heaven." The consummationof the Divine plan for the

deliverance of our sinful race is to be signalisedby the secondcoming of
Christ.
1. When? "It is not for you to know the times and seasons whichthe Father
has put in His own power." This ought to be enough. The kingdom of God
cometh not with observation. The appointed time is a state secret, and we
cannot guess within a thousand years of it.
2. How? "In like manner as ye have seenHim go into heaven." In like manner
His re-coming is to be a real personaladvent.
3. What then? It behoves us to watch. Not to watchas do certain wiseacres,
who lean indolently out of their windows with eyes towards the east, but as the
Lord's faithful workmen, who have much to do and know that the
husbandman may return at any moment. "Why stand ye gazing up into
heaven?"
(D. J. Burrell, D. D.)
Waiting for the promise of the Father
C. J. Brown, D. D.
I. WHAT THE DISCIPLES WERE COMMANDEDTO WAIT FOR — "the
promise of the Father," i.e., the fulfilment of the promise.
1. Notthat the Spirit of God had been absent at any time from the Church.
There could be no Church without Him. We find David praying, "Take not
Thy Holy Spirit from me," etc. Now that Christ had finished the work of
redemption, the Holy Ghost was to be given on a scale so new that we are told
"the Holy Ghostwas not yet given, because that Jesus was not yet glorified."

2. "Which ye have heard of Me" sends us back to the promises in John 14.-16.
3. But why did Christ call this emphatically, "the promise," as if there had
never been another? Because —(1)Of the large place which the promise
occupiedin the Old Testament, the Father's word (Proverbs 1:23; Isaiah
32:15;Isaiah 44:3; Ezekiel36:27;Ezekiel37:9; Joel2:28; Zechariah 12:10).(2)
Of the all-comprehensive character, ofthe promise — as inclusive in fact, of
all the Father's promises. "If ye then, being evil... how much more shall your
heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit" — comprehensive of all goodgifts
together— all that the Church needs for the work of the ministry, ordinary
and extraordinary, all that the individual soulrequires — life from the dead.
Union to Christ by faith, justification, holiness, prayer, grace, glory.(3)Of the
Father's peculiar delight in this promise, that it is a promise specially dear to
the Father's heart, so lending a new emphasis of encouragementto the words
of Jesus, "If ye, being evil," etc.
II. THE IMPORT OF THE WAITING FOR THE PROMISE.
1. Looking for it under a profound conviction of its absolute necessity, and its
full sufficiency. Once and againChrist had taught this when, after they had
toiled all night and takennothing, immediately on the putting forth of His
power, they encloseda greatmultitude of fishes; and when He said to them,
"Greaterworks than these shall he do, because I go unto My Father," "He
will convince the world of sin, and of righteousness, andof judgment." They
were to wait at Jerusalemsomewhatin the Spirit of God's prophet, when the
Lord set him down in the midst of the valley of dry bones.
2. Pleading for it with the Lord in prayer. The best comment on this is the
actualwaiting (vers. 12-14). And in the same attitude we find them, at the

opening of the secondchapter. It evidently never enteredtheir minds that,
having the promise, they might abide its fulfilment in listless indolence. They
had drunk into the spirit of those words, "I will yet for this be inquired of by
the house of Israel, to do it for them." None of those disciples said, "Oh, it's
only a prayer-meeting!" Assuredly, if there were addresses atthese meetings,
yet the business was prayer. I doubt not that the drift of any exhortations
would simply be, to call up examples of "the promise of the Father," and to
impress the more deeply on every heart its glorious certainty — its urgent
necessity— its all-comprehensive preciousnessand sufficiency. The scope of
them all would be, "Ye that are the Lord's remembrancers, keepnot silence,
and give Him no rest, till He establish, and till He make Jerusalema praise in
the earth." What definiteness of aim would characterisethese prayers!How
would they exemplify the words of Jesus, "If two of you shall agree on earth,"
etc.
3. Intense longing desire and patient believing expectation. The term "wait"
signifies to wait round about a thing, as in anxious expectation. "They
continued" — "stedfastlypersistedwith one accordin prayer and
supplication." Agreed togetheras touching that which they should ask, how
would they "fill their mouths with arguments," drawn from their own utter
insufficiency, from the world's ungodliness and misery, from Jehovah's
power, and grace, and faithfulness to His own pre-eminent promise in Christ!
"Oh that Thou wouldst rend the heavens," wouldbe their spirit, if not their
language, "thatThou wouldst come down, that the mountains might flow
down at Thy presence!" They had only the naked promise; but it was enough.
If, in respectof longing desire, they were as when Elijah said to his servant,
"Go up now, look toward the sea" — in respectof patient believing
expectation, they were as when the servantwent up and looked, and said,
"There is nothing," and Elijah said, "Go againseventimes."
III. THE COMMANDMENTTO WAIT. This was quite as express as the
promise — the means no less necessarythan the end. To whom was it given?

It is very clearthat the apostles did not regardit as belonging exclusively to
them. We find associatedwith them the private members of the Church. Did it
then belong exclusivelyto the disciples of that age? This question turns on a
very simple issue. If the transactions ofthe Pentecostalperiodexhausted the
riches of "the promise of the Father";or if the Church and the World now no
longerstand in need of them, then, doubtless, the commandment must have
ceased. But if only the first-fruits of the promise were reaped in the apostolic
age, if darkness yet to a mournful extent covers the earth, if the dispensation
of the covenantof grace under which we live is termed expressly "the
ministration of the Spirit," if that word abides the inheritance of the Church,
"I will pour out of My Spirit upon all flesh," with numberless words like
these, "The earth shall be full of the knowledge and glory of the Lord, as the
waters coverthe sea" — then it canadmit of no doubt that the commandment
belongs to us at this hour. Then we, no less than the apostles, are not
warranted only, but commanded "to wait for the promise of the Father."
Then it is ours to meditate on all that that expressionimplies; to plead for it
with longing desire and patient believing expectationin secret, in the family,
in the socialmeeting, in the public assembly.
(C. J. Brown, D. D.)
Waiting upon God in His ordinances
It is usual for ships to ride a long time in a roadstead, when they might be in
the haven; and wherefore do they so? but that they may be in the wind's way,
to take the first opportunity that shall be offered for their intended voyage.
Even thus should all goodChristians do, anchor, as it were, in the house of
God, even then when they seemto be becalmed, that they cannot stir and
move themselves about holy duties as they were wont to do; yet, even then,
ride it out, hearkenwhat God will say to their souls, wait upon Him in the use
of means; not in an Anabaptistical phrensy, refusing to attend upon duty till
the Spirit move them; but look up unto God for life, and seek it from Him in
their attendance upon His holy ordinances.

The disciples waiting at Jerusalemfor the promise of the Father
W. Cousin.
Conversionto the individual and revival to the Church, is God's greatend in
the dispensationof grace. The means are the manifestation of Jesus Christ,
through the outpouring of the Holy Ghost. Hence the personal receptionof the
truth and the personalpresence ofthe Spirit are alike essential. Hence in
every case the first and most promising symptom is increasing thirst for the
Word, with increasing dependence on the Spirit. Where the Word of God is
setaside or undervalued, whateverelse is substituted in its place, there will be
no depth or reality in spiritual exercises. There may be abundance of bustling
activity about the things of God, but, apart from the Holy Ghost, there will be
no real conversionor revival. You may have Herod, hearing gladly and doing
many things, but retaining his besetting sin — Simon Magus, asking in his
terrors an apostle's prayers, but persisting in the way to heresyand perdition
— Felix, trembling, but stifling conviction. These disciples were waiting in —
I. DEVOUT EXPECTANCY. Theyhad been commanded to wait; and
expectationis essentialto a patient waiting upon God. It is far easierto do
much than to waitlong. The disciples'hearts must have burned to go out upon
the world with unhesitating confidence in their miraculous powers, and in the
strength of their marvellous message.But they had learned, amid recent
events, a lessonof self-distrust. So, day after day, they waitedon in silence,
though chargedwith a messagefitted to convert the world. "He that believeth
shall not make haste." He will judge nothing, do nothing before the time. Till
in the Spirit Himself, He will not attempt to force the Spirit's work. Such a
state of expectancyis essentialto a patient continuance in well-doing. Without
expectationthere will be no truth, no prevailing power in prayer. Thus it is
that, because menhave ceasedto expect the outpouring of the Spirit, the
heavens have become as brass. Becausethey see no cloud above their head,
they will not climb the mountain-top to watchthe little cloud that faintly
fringes the horizon. They expectnothing, wait for nothing, and that is all they
get. For the law of God is, according to thy faith, so shall it be unto thee.
Delight thyself also in the Lord, and He will give thee all the desires of thine
heart. Pleadthe Father's promise, and be assuredof the Father's

performance. For the promise is to you, and to your children, and to all that
are afaroff.
II. EARNEST DESIRE. It is in the heart of the believer, in the bosom of the
Church, that the promise of the Fatherfirst takes effect, and the first
symptom of it generallyis the panting of the soul after God — the longing of
God's weary heritage for a seasonofrefreshing and revival. And such a
seasonawakening new desires, communicates a new impulse to the entire
body of Christ. In her deadness it comes and tells of reviving life, in her
weakness ofreturning power, in her hopelessness ofopening prospects of
success. Thus we cannot but long for the outpouring of the Spirit in
Pentecostalfulness. In His absence we canwork no deliverance, communicate
no life, have no comfort, enlargement, nor refreshing fellowshipwith God.
III. EARNEST AND UNITED PRAYER (ver. 14). Prayeris the spontaneous
offspring of expectationand desire. It is hope's utterance before God. It is
faith recognising Godas the Giver of every good and perfect gift, and asking
whateverit wants. Give faith a promise, and immediately it will transform it
into a prayer. Hence, wherever faith exists the specialpromise of the Father
becomes the objectof specialprayer. As promised, it is expected;as good, it is
desired; as freely given, it is frankly asked. Secretprayeris the life of the
individual; socialprayer, of the community; congregationalprayer, of the
Church. The soul that lives in the neglectof secretprayer is dead. Family
prayer is no substitute — cannot, indeed, existwithout close personal
intercourse with God. And as for socialmeetings for prayer to be of any avail,
they must be inspired by a life derived in secretcommunion from Jesus. What
meetings ye might have, though but two or three of you together, were eachto
bring the life, the fervour, the heaven-breathing spirituality of soul, just come
down from meeting alone with God upon the mount. These are the united
prayers that have powerwith God. Forso soonas the people of God in any
neighbourhood are baptised with the spirit of prayer, they will come to know
eachother by a secretsympathy. The Fatherrejoices oversuch meetings, for

it opens up to Him a channel for pouring down the streams of life, for meeting
their largestdesires with a still largeroutpouring of His Spirit; and Jesus,
how He rejoices!for He knows what blessings they will get; and the Spirit
Himself rejoices, forHe is everon the wing to hastendown and join such
companies.
IV. SECLUSION FROM UNNECESSARYINTERCOURSEWITHTHE
WORLD. There are, indeed, duties which we owe in the various relations of
societyfrom which it is not the will of God to callus away. With all this,
however, there must be habitual separationunto God. The Holy Dove will not
come to us in the crowd. It is when the doors are closedand the world is shut
out that Jesus comes with powerupon His lips, and love in every tone of His
voice, and breathes on us and says, "Receive the Holy Ghost."
V. THE FELLOWSHIP WITH ONE ANOTHER (ver. 12-14, 2:1).
1. The Lord loves to see His family dwelling togetherin unity. Parents, can
you not understand our Father's feeling in this? If, then, ye being evil, etc.
God is doubtless to be found wherever there is a humble and believing heart,
but nowhere surely in such manifested love as in the bosom of His loving
family, met togetherto wait for the promise of their Father (Song of Solomon
1:7, 8; Ezekiel34:11, 12).
2. It is our strength and safety to walk togetherthrough the wilderness, to
keeptogetheron the battlefield.
(W. Cousin.)

The Spirit essentialto the establishment of the Christian Church
J. Morgan, D. D.
In the Old Testamentthe doctrine of the Spirit had been revealedin its great
outlines. In the Gospels the subject is more fully treated in connectionwith the
person and history of Christ. In the Acts there is a greatadvance, for full and
distinct testimony is borne to Him in sixteen out of its twenty-eight chapters.
His path in the Scriptures, like that of the sun, "shineth more and more unto
the perfectday." In the text He is called "the promise of the Father." To Him
the attention and hope of the Church had been long directed as the largestgift
of a Father's love. The Old Testamentwriters had taught believers to look
forward to Him as the consummation of their hope, and for Him the disciples
were now bidden to wait. This command was —
I. SEASONABLE.
1. The circumstances ofthe disciples were peculiarly trying. They had scarcely
recoveredfrom the shock of their Lord's death. His presence was now very
occasional, andwas about to terminate. In their discouragementthey needed
to have their hopes assured.
2. Besides onwhat a stupendous enterprise they were about to be engaged.
Moses trembled to undertake His mission. Jonahfled when commanded to go
to Nineveh. Jeremiahexcusedhimself by saying, "I am a child." What, then,
must the apostles have felt?(1)They were to be the founders of a new
dispensation, againstwhich the prejudices of their countrymen and the enmity
of mankind would be aroused.(2)One feature of this dispensation, creating
the utmost difficulty with Jew and heathen, was its spirituality. Gorgeous
economies were to be supplanted by that which had no attractionfor the
carnaleye.(3) Their one business, which as exclusive Jews must have been
very repugnant, was to bring the whole world under the powerof this
dispensation. How seasonable then the command. We read in Revelation, that
before a mighty work was to be done in the earth, "there was silence in

heaven about the space of half an hour." In like manner our Lord claimed the
attention of His disciples. Their minds were brought into the most desirable
attitude. They were made to feel that they and their cause were in God's
hands, and were drawn to constantprayer. They obeyed His word, "Wait on
the Lord; be of good courage,and He shall strengthen thy heart."
II. NECESSARY. Withoutthis promise they were entirely disqualified.
1. They were few.
2. They were destitute of those outward qualifications of station and influence,
which are generallythought to promise success.
3. They laboured under its greatestmentaland moral disqualifications. They
were —
(1)Slow to learn the truth.
(2)Timid in the extreme.
(3)Worldly in their ambition.
(4)Contentious in their intercourse.All this considered, no wonder they had
been hitherto unsuccessful. Theylittle understood their ministry, had not
much heart in it, and wanted unity. How fitting, then, that they should have to
"waitfor the promise"!

III. EFFECTUAL. The command had a mighty influence. They did wait, and
engagedin exercises becoming sucha period. Already there were indications
of what would be done for them by the Spirit. But the earnestwas small
compared with the realisationof the promise.
1. The slow of understanding were made quick of apprehension.
2. The cowardly were made bold.
3. The earthly were made heavenly minded.
4. Their only rivalry now was who should bear to do most for the common
cause.
5. The effects were such as might be excepted. Their "word was with power."
"Mightily grew the Word of God and prevailed."
IV. INSTRUCTIVE. The greatlessons are as applicable to us as to them.
1. Without the Spirit we are disqualified for the work of God.
2. We should engage in every specialwork only in His strength. It is not
enough that we have the Spirit. We need to be enriched afresh by His grace.

3. Hence He must be diligently sought.Conclusion:
1. How inexcusable we are if we do not obtain "the promise of the Father."
"Ask and ye shall receive."
2. How greatthe influence which this doctrine should exercise overus. How
pure, heavenly, and energetic we ought to be.
(J. Morgan, D. D.)
The need of waiting
W. E. Chadwick, M. A.
No wise man or womanwill enter hastily upon any greatwork. In proportion
to the greatnessofthe work is the amount of thought, care, and training
necessaryfor its successfulaccomplishment. History will teach us that those
enterprises have usually been most successfullyaccomplishedfor which the
workers have been most carefully trained. We know that the higher the class
of work the more skill is required in the worker, greatdelicacyis required in
the treatment of the raw material; time and care and skill must be used in its
manipulation, otherwise no high degree of perfectioncan be lookedfor in the
fabric to be produced. We often find that nothing is easierthan to spoil or
damage that which we are trying to improve or refine. And the more we study
the matter the more shall we be convincedthat what the world terms ability
or power — in other words, the possessionofskill — is not so often an innate
gift, as a faculty gained by much study and practice. These truths are, if we
may use the expression, true in the highest degree with regard to Church
workers and all kinds of Church work. The material upon which they work,
and with which they work, is the most delicate and the most easilyspoiled in
the whole world; for that material is the heart, will, mind, conscience,

characterof man. The fabric they are endeavouring — by the aid of God's
Holy Spirit — to produce is human nature refined, purified, ennobled,
brought by long and careful training into Christlikeness,continually made
more and more to approach and resemble the perfect Example, Type, and
Pattern of the Divine humanity. But ere the active, aggressive missionary
work to which the apostle had been called, commences, there is to be a solemn
period of pause, during which they may at once meditate upon the experiences
of the past and fit themselves to receive the promised gift. Through haste we
often fail together, and preserve the results of experiences through which we
have passed;through haste we also often fail from want of preparation to use
aright an opportunity when it presents itself to us. The loss is then double, for
it is the loss both of harvest and of seed-time. We forget to reap; we are not
able to sow.
(W. E. Chadwick, M. A.)
John truly baptized with water, but ye shall be baptized with the Holy
True baptism
Preacher's Analyst.
Last words of our Lord. Dispensationof John: baptised with water, not in.
I. JOHN'S USE OF WATER. Baptism.
1. A sign of universal pollution, from the womb. Repentance.
2. Acknowledgmentof guilt, and need of pardon.
3. Acknowledgmentof corruption, and need of holiness.

4. Professionof thirst after refreshing comfort.
5. Professionof helplessness. None baptisedthemselves.
6. Professionof cleansing the outside.
II. INSUFFICIENCYOF JOHN'S BAPTISM.
1. Materialwatercannot cleanse the soul.
2. It is not saving, witness Simon Magus. "You shall be baptised," etc.
3. The water flows off, dries up; the effect superficial.
4. The testimony of John himself: "I indeed."
5. The declarationof Christ in the text.
III. GENERALNECESSITYOF THE BAPTISM OF THE HOLY GHOST.
1. All tainted with original sin, must be born again.
2. All guilty, must be pardoned (chap. Romans 2. and Romans 10.).

3. All unholy, must be sanctified. Catechism(Romans 8.).
4. The corruption is spiritual and deep. Fire refines.
5. All are miserable, and need the Comforter and kingdom.
6. All helpless and Christless till then. "If any man," etc.
7. All are unfit for heaven and bliss, without love, melting — uniting.
8. Particularnecessityfor ministers:To preach the Word with power. To bear
up under troubles and persecutions. To be directed into all truth, and to
testify of Jesus, thoughnot to work miracles and speak with tongues.
IV. THE SEASON. "Notmany days hence." Whenprepared with prayer anal
faith, united, in one accordand tried. The day is not fixed, that we may expect
daily and yet not faint. Application —
1. Unconverted. Restin no baptism, but that of the Holy Ghost and fire.
Waterbaptism will condemn you alone.
2. John's disciples. Promised, the thing promised, the time. Oh, continue
praying with one accord!

3. Believers. Youwant fresh baptism, till the Holy Ghost, which is grace, fill
your soul.
(Preacher's Analyst.)
The baptism of the Holy Ghost
T. W. Jenkyn, D. D.
The same showerblesses various lands in different degrees, according to their
respective susceptibilities. It makes the grass to spring up in the mead, the
grain to vegetate in the field, the shrub to grow on the plain, and the flowers
to blossomin the garden; and these are garnished with every hue of loveliness
— the lily and the violet, the rose and the daisy: all these work by the same
Spirit who renews the face of the earth. The influences of the Holy Spirit,
descending on the moral soil, produce "blessing in variety" — convictions in
the guilty, illumination in the ignorant, holiness in the defiled, strength in the
feeble, and comfort in the distressed. As the Spirit of holiness, He imparts a
pure taste;as the Spirit of glory, He throws a radiance over the character;as
the Spirit of life, He revives religion; as the Spirit of truth, He gives
transparencyto the conduct; as the Spirit of prayer, He melts the soul into
devotion; and, as the Spirit of grace, He imbues with benevolence, and covers
the face of the earth with the works of faith and labours of love.
(T. W. Jenkyn, D. D.)
No better for the baptism of fire
W. M. Punshon.
In some parts of the world there are certain boiling springs, called geysers.
Their peculiarity is, that at irregular intervals they send up spurts of boiling
water, and then are silent for a considerable time. Travellers will tell you that
at the time when they are silent you would find it very difficult to believe that

waterwould ever issue out of such an orifice at all. There was a revival some
years ago, was there not? The gracious rain came down upon God's
inheritance. How earnestyou were — how active! But the revival passed
away, and your warmth and fervour and energy passedawaywith it, and
those who look on you find it very difficult to believe that you have ever been
zealous in God's service at all.
(W. M. Punshon.)
A witnessing Church
G. Smeaton, D. D.
1. The last interview with dear friend, and his lastwords, are wont to be
embalmed in ,fragrant remembrance.
2. A comparisonis made betweenthe baptism with the Holy Ghost, and
John's baptism. Such as truly turned from sin to God were prepared as a
dwelling for the Spirit. Repentance from dead works went before — the new
unction from above came after.
3. Notice also the time — "not many days hence." Godis sovereignin fixing a
fulness of time, and we may not ask why that time was appointed. But on our
part it is necessaryto know our want of the Spirit, and to feelit, that we may
welcome Him with the more delight to testify of Jesus. Often, alas!have we
returned with nothing but the toil for our pains, because we did not wait to
pray down the Spirit. In opening up the doctrine, consider —
I. THE BAPTISM.
1. Its nature. That more is meant than renewalis plain from this, that the
disciples were already in Christ. This baptism is the greatpromise of New

Testamenttimes. Before Pentecost,God's children were not wholly exempt
from the spirit of bondage;but in the days of the apostles the saints in general
seemto have enjoyed the promise of the Spirit through faith. The Holy Ghost
is the first fruits of glory. Are we baptised with the Holy Ghost? Then —(1)
Not only condemnationceases, but refreshing from the presence of the Lord is
realised.(2)Then, forgiven much, we love much, and give ourselves to Him
who gave Himself for us.(3) It is the nature of fire to send forth light; and
when the Spirit comes, truth is shed abroad upon our hearts.(4). Fire warms,
and the Spirit kindles our cold souls into a flame of love to God and man.(5)
The approachof this genial spring to the barren winter of our hearts, opens
the blossoms ofnew life. of humility, and godliness.(6)It is the nature of fire to
spread abroad. And when the Spirit comes the words of Jesus spreadlike a
conflagrationfrom mouth to mouth.
2. Its marks.(1)The unction of heavenly knowledge, wherebywe know all
things — for no soonerdid the Spirit come upon them than they who, a few
days before, Christ reproved as slow of understanding, came, in the twinkling
of an eye, to a clear, vivid understanding of the things of God.(2) Self-denied
humility: for howeverenvy and a proud thirst for honour held possessionof
their minds before, they now discovera single eye to the Redeemer's glory. If
we are filled with selfcomplacency, as if we stoodin need of nothing — if we
cannot bear to be wholly laid in the dust, we have not seenthe Spirit, neither
known Him.(3) Boldness. Forhowevertimid before, the disciples no sooner
receive the Spirit than they come forth like different men, to speak the Word
without fear. If we can sit in easyfellowship with sinners, not seeking to save
souls, not daring to encounter the adversary face to face, we show that we are
not baptised as with fire!(4) Decision. Forhoweverthe disciples might be
diverted from prayer and the work of Christ before, no soonerdid the Spirit
come than they gave themselves wholly to these things. How can we, then,
have receivedthe heavenly baptism, if we are without the habit of religion, if
our efforts are but fitful, if we neglectpresentduty, and yet cherish the
romantic hope of future service in a post which God has not required us to
fill?

3. How shall we obtain this baptism, and on what occasions is it given? Such
as already enjoy the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins may
obtain supplies of the Spirit a thoUsand-fold greaterthan any they have ever
known. Are we faithful in a little? God's rule is, To him that hath shall be
given, and he shall have abundantly. This heavenly unction is conferred —(1)
When we keepthe Lord's word, and show a humble, penitent compliance with
His will. Behold this in the disciples who were enjoined to tarry in Jerusalem
till the Spirit came — who were neither to return home to Galilee, nor to
distract their minds with worldly cares.(2)Whensome heavy trial, some
arduous duty, is ]aid on us for the sake of Christ. Witness John in the spirit
amid the wilds of Patmos, or Paul glowing with the love of Christ, and singing
praises in the inner prison.(3) When we are unceasing in the prayer of faith.
Ten days had the disciples continued, when, of a sudden, the Spirit came. The
prayer which brings down the Holy Ghost is not that which ceases ifnot heard
at once, that is content to stop with praying out some little enjoyment of God's
presence. Everyday would be a -Pentecostif we prayed like a Cornelius — if
we heard the Word like the three thousand, and prized it like the eunuch.
II. A CHURCH IS ONLY SO FAR A WITNESSING CHURCHAS IT IS
THUS BAPTISED WITHTHE HOLY GHOST. "After that the Holy Christ
is come upon you... ye shall be witnesses unto Me."
1. The Redeemerdoes not send skilful orators, but witnesses,suchas have
seenwith spiritual eyes and heard with spiritual ears. A witness must know
what He testifies;he believes and therefore speaks. Manyhave nothing they
can testify. Can he be a witness of the Cross ofChrist who does not daily look
to it for pardon? Can he be a witness of the Lord's abiding with His people
who knows not in his heart a daily intercourse with Jesus — who has not the
witness of the Spirit that he is a child of God?

2. Christ makes it plain that a new unction must visit His followers before the
blessing spreads to the impenitent. A Church cannot long continue to display
a living testimony, unless this baptism is repeatedlyrenewed; and to hold
forth, like many declining Churches of the Reformation, a form of sound
words, when the Spirit is sinned away, is but like a removed sign-post carried
down a swollenriver. For it is not protests, or creeds, or formularies, but
living souls under the baptism of the Spirit, that makes a witnessing Church.
(G. Smeaton, D. D.)
COMMENTARIES
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers
(4) And, being assembledtogetherwith them.—The MSS. presenttwo forms
of the participle: one with the meaning given in the English version, the other,
but inferior reading, with the sense of“dwelling togetherwith” the disciples.
The Vulgate, convescens,“eating with,” probably rests on a mistaken
etymology of the Greek term. The whole verse is in substance a repetition of
Luke 24:49, where see Notes.
MacLaren's Expositions
Acts
THE ASCENSION
Acts 1:1 - Acts 1:14.

The Ascensionis twice narrated by Luke. The life begun by the supernatural
birth ends with the supernatural Ascension, which sets the sealof Heaven on
Christ’s claims and work. Therefore the Gospelends with it. But it is also the
starting-point of the Christ’s heavenly activity, of which the growth of His
Church, as recordedin the Acts, is the issue. Therefore the Book ofthe Acts of
the Apostles begins with it.
The keynote of the ‘treatise’lies in the first words, which describe the Gospel
as the recordof what ‘Jesus beganto do and teach,’Luke would have gone on
to say that this secondbook of his containedthe story of what Jesus went on to
do and teachafter He was ‘takenup,’ if he had been strictly accurate, orhad
carried out his first intention, as shownby the mould of his introductory
sentence;but he is swept on into the full stream of his narrative, and we have
to infer the contrastbetweenhis two volumes from his statementof the
contents of his first.
The book, then, is misnamed Acts of the Apostles, both because the greater
number of the Apostles do nothing in it, and because, in accordancewith the
hint of the first verse, Christ Himself is the doer of all, as comes out distinctly
in many places where the critical events of the Church’s progress and
extensionare attributed to ‘the Lord.’ In one aspect, Christ’s work on earth
was finished on the Cross;in another, that finished work is but the beginning
both of His doing and teaching. Therefore we are not to regard His teaching
while on earth as the completionof Christian revelation. To setaside the
Epistles on the plea that the Gospels containChrist’s own teaching, while the
Epistles are only Paul’s or John’s, is to misconceive the relation between the
earthly and the heavenly activity of Jesus.
The statementof the theme of the book is followed by a brief summary of the
events betweenthe Resurrectionand Ascension. Luke had spokenof these in
the end of his Gospel, but given no note of time, and run togetherthe events of

the day of the Resurrectionand of the following weeks, so that it might
appear, as has been actually contended that he meant, that the Ascensiontook
place on the very day of Resurrection. The fact that in this place he gives more
detailed statements, and tells how long elapsedbetweenthe Resurrection
Sunday and the Ascension, might have taught hasty critics that an author
need not be ignorant of what he does not mention, and that a detailed account
does not contradicta summary one,-truths which do not seemvery recondite,
but have often been forgottenby very learned commentators.
Three points are signalisedas occupying the forty days: commandments were
given, Christ’s actualliving presence was demonstrated{by sight, touch,
hearing, etc.}, and instructions concerning the kingdom were imparted. The
old blessedclosenessandcontinuity of companionship had ceased. OurLord’s
appearances were now occasional. He came to the disciples, they knew not
whence;He withdrew from them, they knew not whither. Apparently a sacred
awe restrainedthem from seeking to detain Him or to follow Him. Their
hearts would be full of strangelymingled feelings, and they were being taught
by gentle degrees to do without Him. Notonly a divine decorum, but a most
gracious tenderness, dictatedthe alternation of presence and absence during
these days.
The instructions then given are againreferred to in Luke’s Gospel, and are
there representedas principally directed to opening their minds ‘that they
might understand the Scriptures.’The main thing about the kingdom which
they had then to learn, was that it was founded on the death of Christ, who
had fulfilled all the Old Testamentpredictions. Much remained untaught,
which after years were to bring to clearknowledge;but from the illumination
shed during these fruitful days flowedthe remarkable vigour and confidence
of the Apostolic appeal to the prophets, in the first conflicts of the Church
with the rulers. Christ is the King of the kingdom, and His Cross is His
throne,-these truths being graspedrevolutionisedthe Apostles’conceptions.
They are as needful for us.

From Acts 1:4 onwards the last interview seems to be narrated. Probably it
beganin the city, and ended on the slopes ofOlivet. There was a solemn
summoning togetherof the Eleven, which is twice referred to {Acts 1:4, Acts
1:6}. What awe of expectancywould rest on the group as they gathered round
Him, perhaps half suspecting that it was for the last time! His words would
change the suspicion into certainty, for He proceededto tell them what they
were not to do and to do, when left alone. The tone of leave-taking is
unmistakable.
The prohibition againstleaving Jerusalemimplies that they would have done
so if left to themselves;and it would have been small wonder if they had been
eagerto hurry back to quiet Galilee, their home, and to shake from their feet
the dust of the city where their Lord had been slain. Truly they would feellike
sheepin the midst of wolves whenHe had gone, and Pharisees andpriests and
Roman officers ringed them round. No wonder if, like a shepherdless flock,
they had brokenand scattered!But the theocratic importance of Jerusalem,
and the fact that nowhere else could the Apostles secure suchan audience for
their witness, made their ‘beginning at Jerusalem’necessary. So they were to
crush their natural longing to get back to Galilee, and to stay in their
dangerous position. We have all to ask, not where we should be most at ease,
but where we shall be most efficient as witnesses forChrist, and to remember
that very often the presence of adversaries makes the door ‘greatand
effectual.’
These elevenpoor men were not left by their Masterwith a hard task and no
help. He bade them ‘wait’ for the promised Holy Spirit, the coming of whom
they had heard from Him when in the upper room He spoke to them of ‘the
Comforter.’ They were too feeble to actalone, and silence and retirement
were all that He enjoined till they had been plunged into the fiery baptism
which should quicken, strengthen, and transform them.

The order in which promise and command occurhere shows how graciously
Jesus consideredthe Apostles’weakness.Nota word does He say of their task
of witnessing, till He has filled their hearts with the promise of the Spirit. He
shows them the armour of power in which they are to be clothed, before He
points them to the battlefield. Waiting times are not wastedtimes. Over-
eagerness to rush into work, especiallyinto conspicuous andperilous work, is
sure to end in defeat. Till we feel the powercoming into us, we had better be
still.
The promise of this greatgift, the nature of which they but dimly knew, set
the Apostles’expectations on tiptoe, and they seemto have thought that their
receptionof it was in some way the herald of the establishmentof the
Messianic kingdom. So it was, but in a very different fashion from their
dream. They had not learned so much from the forty days’ instructions
concerning the kingdom as to be free from their old Jewishnotions, which
colourtheir question, ‘Wilt Thou at this time restore againthe kingdom to
Israel?’They believed that Jesus couldestablish His kingdom when He would.
They were right, and also wrong,-right, for He is King; wrong, for its
establishment is not to be effectedby a single actof power, but by the slow
process ofpreaching the gospel.
Our Lord does not dealwith their misconceptions which could only be cured
by time and events; but He lays down greatprinciples, which we need as much
as the Elevendid. The ‘times and seasons,’the long stretches ofdays, and the
critical epoch-making moments, are known to God only; our business is, not
to speculate curiously about these, but to do the plain duty which is incumbent
on the Church at all times. The perpetual office of Christ’s people to be His
witnesses,their equipment for that function {namely, the powerof the Holy
Spirit coming on them}, and the sphere of their work {namely, in ever-
widening circles, Jerusalem, Samaria, andthe whole world}, are laid down,

not for the first hearers only, but for all ages andfor eachindividual, in these
last words of the Lord as He stoodon Olivet, ready to depart.
The calm simplicity of the accountof the Ascensionis remarkable. So greatan
event told in such few, unimpassioned words!Luke’s Gospelgives the further
detail that it was in the actof blessing with uplifted hands that our Lord was
parted from the Eleven. Two expressions are here used to describe the
Ascension, one of which {‘was takenup’} implies that He was passive, the
other of which {‘He went’} implies that He was active. Bothare true. As in the
accounts ofthe ResurrectionHe is sometimes saidto have been raised, and
sometimes to have risen, so here. The Father took the Son back to the glory,
the Sonleft the world and went to the Father. No chariot of fire, no
whirlwind, was needed to lift Him to the throne. Elijah was carriedby such
agencyinto a sphere new to him; Jesus ascendedup where He was before.
No other mode of departure from earth would have correspondedto His
voluntary, supernatural birth. He carried manhood up to the throne of God.
The cloud which receivedHim while yet He was wellwithin sight of the gazers
was probably that same bright cloud, the symbol of the Divine Presence,
which of old dwelt betweenthe cherubim. His entrance into it visibly
symbolised the permanent participation, then begun, of His glorified manhood
in the divine glory.
Mosttrue to human nature is that continued gaze upwards after He had
passedinto the hiding brightness of the glory-cloud. How many of us know
what it is to look long at the spot on the horizon where the last glint of
sunshine struck the sails of the ship that bore dear ones awayfrom us! It was
fitting that angels, who had heralded His birth and watchedHis grave, should
proclaim His SecondComing to earth.

It was gracious that, in the moment of keenestsense ofdesolationand loss, the
greathope of reunion should be poured into the hearts of the Apostles.
Nothing can be more distinct and assuredthan the terms of that angel
message. It gives for the faith and hope of all ages the assurance thatHe will
come;that He who comes will be the very Jesus who went; that His coming
will be, like His departure, visible, corporeal, local. He will bring againall His
tenderness, all His brother’s heart, all His divine power, and will gatherHis
servants to Himself.
No wonder that, with such hopes flowing over the top of their sorrow, like oil
on troubled waters, the little group went back to the upper room, hallowedby
memories of the Last Supper, and there waitedin prayer and supplication
during the ten days which elapsedtill Pentecost. So should we use the interval
betweenany promise and its fulfilment. Patient expectation, believing prayer,
harmonious associationwith our brethren, will prepare us for receiving the
gift of the Spirit, and will help to equip us as witnesses forJesus.
BensonCommentary
Acts 1:4-5. Being assembledtogetherwith them — Namely, at Jerusalem, to
which place they had gone to prepare themselves for the feastof pentecost, or
rather, in obedience to Christ’s command, who, after he had met them in
Galilee, had appointed them to meet him there, that he might spend his last
days on earth in that once holy city, doing this last honour to the place where
God had chosento dwell, and where the most solemn ordinances of his
worship had been administered. He commanded that they should wait for the
promise of the Father — That is, for the accomplishmentof the promise made
by the Father, to send his Holy Spirit upon the disciples of the Messiah. See
note on Luke 24:49. Which, saith he, ye have heard of me — Often and lately.
See John 14:26;John 15:26; John 16:7. For John baptized with water only,
when he was sentto call men to repentance;but ye shall be baptized with the
Holy Ghost— There is a nobler baptism prepared for you, and which you
shall receive from me, to furnish you for the greatwork to which I have
commissionedyou, of preaching repentance and remissionof sins in my name;

and which baptism you shall receive not many days hence — He does not tell
them how many, because he would have them to keepthemselves every day in
a state of mind fit to receive it, a disposition of humility, desire, and
expectationof the blessing. It was a greathonour which Christ did John now,
in not only quoting his words, but making this greatblessing of the Spirit,
soonto be given, to be the accomplishmentof them. Thus he confirmed the
word of his servants, Isaiah44:26 : but Christ can do more than any of his
ministers. It is an honour to them to be employed in dispensing the means of
grace, but it is his prerogative to give the Spirit of grace. Now this gift of the
Holy Ghost, thus promised, thus prophesied of, thus waitedfor, is that which
the apostles receivedtendays after, namely, at the approaching pentecost, as
is recordedin the next chapter. Severalother scriptures speak of the gift of
the Holy Ghostto ordinary believers; this speaks ofthat particular power
which, by the Holy Ghost, the first preachers ofthe gospel, and planters of the
church, were endowed with, enabling them infallibly to relate to that age, and
record to posterity, the doctrine of Christ, and the proofs of it: so that by
virtue of this promise, and the performance of it, we receive the New
Testamentas of divine inspiration, and venture our souls upon it.
Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary
1:1-5 Our Lord told the disciples the work they were to do. The apostles met
togetherat Jerusalem;Christ having ordered them not to depart thence, but
to wait for the pouring out of the Holy Spirit. This would be a baptism by the
Holy Ghost, giving them powerto work miracles, and enlightening and
sanctifying their souls. This confirms the Divine promise, and encourages us
to depend upon it, that we have heard it from Christ; for in Him all the
promises of God are yea and amen.
Barnes'Notes on the Bible
And being assembledtogether - Margin, "or, eating together." This sense is
given to this place in the Latin Vulgate, the Ethiopic, and the Syriac versions.
But the Greek word has not properly this signification. It has the meaning of
"congregating, orassembling." It should have been, however, translatedin
the active sense, "andhaving assembledthem together." The apostles were

scatteredafterhis death. But this passagedenotes that he had assembledthem
togetherby his authority, for the purpose of giving them a charge respecting
their conduct when he should have left them. When this occurreddoes not
appear from the narrative; but it is probable that it was not long before his
ascension;and it is clearthat the place where they were assembledwas
Jerusalem.
But wait for the promise of the Father - For the fulfillment of the promise
respecting the descentof the Holy Spirit made by the Father.
Which ye have heard of me - Which I have made to you. See John 14:16, John
14:26;John 15:26;John 16:7-13.
Jamieson-Fausset-BrownBible Commentary
4. should not depart from Jerusalem—becausethe Spirit was to glorify the
existing economy, by descending on the disciples at its metropolitan seat, and
at the next of its greatfestivals after the ascensionof the Church's Head; in
order that "out of Zion might go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from
Jerusalem" (Isa 2:3; and compare Lu 24:49).
Matthew Poole's Commentary
And being assembledtogetherwith them; by his order, or conversing
frequently with them, as those that table together.
Commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem:otherwise the
apostles wouldhave abhorred Jerusalem, as reeking afreshin the blood of our
Lord. And there Christ chose to pour out his Spirit, that he might show forth
his glory in the same place where he suffered ignominy: there Christ would
have his apostles to abide, that they might be closerto Mount Olivet, from
whence he was to ascend;as also that both his ascension, andthe coming of

the Holy Ghost, might more publicly be manifest; and that that prophecy,
Isaiah2:3, might be fulfilled.
The promise of the Father;of my Father, Luke 24:49;that is, the Holy Spirit,
promised by our Saviour in his Father’s name, John 14:26; and may well be
calledthe promise, without which all other promises would be of no value
unto us.
Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible
And being assembledtogetherwith them,.... At their lastmeeting at Bethany,
or Mount Olivet, which was by appointment: some render the words, as the
Vulgate Latin, "and eating with them"; which was one of the proofs he gave
of his being alive; and so the Syriac version renders it, "and when he had ate
bread with them", and the Ethiopic version, "and dining with them", which
he might do more than once;see John 21:12 this was the last time, when he
commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem;which does not
necessarilyinfer, that they were then at Jerusalem;for they might be, and
they seemrather to be at Bethany, or on the Mount of Olives, from whence
they afterwards returned to Jerusalem;and from thence they had orders not
to depart, where the blood of Christ had been shed, and where were his
greatestenemies, andwhere the disciples might have no inclination to have
gone, and much less to abide, but so it must be, partly for the glorifying of
Christ by the effusion of his Spirit on the apostles in the place where he had
suffered the most reproach;and partly because the Gospel, the word of the
Lord, was to go out of this place, according to the prophecy in Isaiah 2:3 as
also because a Gospelchurch was to be fixed there, and a very large number
of souls to be converted, and added to it: wherefore they were bid to go
thither, and not stir from thence,
but wait for the promise of the Father; that is, the pouring forth of the Spirit,
which God the Fatherof Christ; and of his people, had promised should be in

the lastdays, Joel2:28 and which Christ had promised his disciples from the
Father, John 14:16.
which, saith he, ye have heard of me; or "by", or "out of my mouth", as the
Vulgate Latin and Ethiopic versions, and Beza's mostancient copy read;
referring to the above passages, orto what follows:and which he the rather
mentions, to assure them of its accomplishment, since it was both a promise of
the Father, all whose promises are yea and amen; and he had also told them of
it, neither of whose words could possibly fall to the ground.
Geneva Study Bible
And, being {c} assembledtogetherwith them, commanded them that they
should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father,
which, saith he, ye have heard of me.
(c) They were dispersedhere and there, but he gathers them togetherso that
all of them might togetherbe witnesses ofhis resurrection.
EXEGETICAL(ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)
Meyer's NT Commentary
Acts 1:4. To the generaldescription of the forty days’ intercourse is now
added (by the simple καί, and), in particular, the description of the two last
interviews, Acts 1:4 f. and Acts 1:6 ff., after which the ἀνελήφθη took place,
Acts 1:9.
συναλιζόμ. παρήγγ. αὐτοῖς]while He ate with them, He commanded them.
συναλιζόμ. is thus correctlyunderstood by the VSS. (Vulg.: convescens),
Chrysostom(τραπέζης κοινωνῶν), Theophylact, Oecumenius, Jerome, Beda,
and others, including Casaubon.

συναλίζεσθαι (properly, to eat salt with one)in the sense of eating together, is
found in a Greek translatorof Psalm141:4, where συναλισθῶ (LXX.:
συνδυάσω) corresponds to the Hebrew ‫א‬ ֶ‫ל‬ ְ‫ח‬ַ‫,ם‬ also in Clem. Hom. 6, and
Maneth. v. 339. As to the thing itself, comp. on Acts 10:41. Usually the word is
derived from συναλίζειν, to assemble (Herod. v. 15. 102;Xen. Anab. vii. 3. 48;
Lucian, Luct. 7). It would then have to be rendered: when He assembledwith
them.[97] But againstthis it is decisive that the sense:when He had assembled
with them, would be logicallynecessary, so that Luke must have written
συναλισθείς. The conjecture of Hemsterhuis: συναλιζομένοις, is completely
unnecessary, althoughapproved by Valckenaer.
τὴν ἐπαγγελίαν τοῦ πατρός]see on Luke 24:49. Jesus means the promise κατʼ
ἐξοχήν, given by God through the prophets of the O. T. (comp. Acts 2:16),
which (i.e. the realizationof which) they were to wait for (περιμένειν only here
in the N. T., but often in the classics);it referred to the complete effusion of
the Holy Spirit, which was to follow only after His exaltation. Comp. John
7:39; John 15:26; John 14:16. Already during their earthly intercourse the
πνεῦμα ἃγ. was communicated by Jesus to the disciples partially and
provisionally. Luke 9:55; John 20:21-22.
ἣν ἠκούσατέ μου]The oblique form of speechis changed, as frequently also in
the classics (Stallb. ad Protag. pp. 322 C, 338 B, Kühner, § 850), with the
increase ofanimation into the direct form, Luke 5:39, and elsewhere,
particularly with Luke. See Buttm. neut. Gr. p. 330 [E. T. 385]. Bengel,
moreover, aptly says:“Atque hic parallelismus ad arctissimum nexum
pertinet utriusque libri Lucae,”—butnot in so far as ἣν ἠκούσ. μου points
back to Luke 24:49 as to an earlierutterance (the usual opinion), but in so far
as Jesus here, shortly before His ascension, gives the same intimation which
was also given by Him on the ascensionday (Luke 24:49), directly before the
ascent;although according to the Gospelthe day of the resurrectioncoincides
with that of the ascension. Therefore ἣνἠκούσ. μου is to be consideredas a

reference to a former promise of the Spirit, not recordedby Luke (comp. John
14:16 f., Acts 15:26).
On ἀκούειντί τινος, see Winer, p. 187 [E. T. 249].
[97] Notas Luther (when He had assembledthem), Grotius (“in unum
recolligens qui dispersi fuerunt”), and most interpreters, including even
Kuinoel and Olshausen(not Beza and de Wette), explain it, as if Luke had
employed the active. This is grammatically incorrect;it must then have been
συναλίζων, or, with logicalaccuracy(as Luther felt), συναλίσας.
Expositor's Greek Testament
Acts 1:4. συναλίζομενος:a strong array of modern commentators renders
“eating with them,” following the Vulgate convescens illis (so both A. and R.V.
in margin, and Wycl. and Rhem.). It is thus rendered by Overbeck (as against
De Wette), Wendt, Holtzmann, Felten, Weiss, Matthias, Knabenbauer, and
Blass, who adopts the reading ὡς συναλ., and regards the particle as showing
that the recapitulation is continued of the events already mentioned in Luke
24:42 ff. It is evidently takenin the same sense by Spitta, Feine, Jüngst. If we
so translate it, we must derive it from ἅλς (salt), so Schol. κοινωνῶνἁλῶν,
τραπέζης, in the sense givento the expressionby Chrys., Theophyl., Œcum. In
Psalm140:4 LXX, to which Wendt refers, μὴ συνδυάσω (although the reading
is somewhatdoubtful—the word is used by Symmachus, 1 Samuel 26:19)is
also rendered συναλισθῶ (Alius) as an equivalent of the Hebrew ‫א‬ ֶ‫ל‬ ְ‫ח‬ַ‫,ם‬ μὴ
συμφάγοιμι,Symmachus. Blass gives no classicalreferences,but points out
that the word undoubtedly exists in the sense referredto in Clem. Hom., xiii.,
4 (but see Grimm-Thayer, sub v.). Hilgenfeld (Zeitschrift für wissenschaft.
Theol., p. 74 (1894))contends that the use of the word in the psalm quoted and
in the passagefrom the Clementines refers not to the use of salt at an ordinary
meal, but rather to the sacrificialand symbolical use of salt in the Old and
New Testaments. Thus in the passage Clem. Hom., xiii., 4, τότε αὐτοῖς
συναλιζόμεθα, τότε means “afterthe Baptism”; cf. also Ignatius, ad Magnes.,

x., ἁλίσθητε εν αὐτῷ, “be ye salted in him”. Wendt takes the word quite
generallyas meaning that the sharing in a common meal with His disciples, as
on the evening of the Resurrection, was the habitual practice of the Lord
during the Forty Days; cf. Acts 10:41 and Luke 24:36 ff. Feine similarly holds
that the word presupposes some suchincidents as those mentioned in Luke 24,
and that Luke had derived his information from a source which described the
final instructions to the disciples as given at a common meal. On the other
hand it must be borne in mind that in classicalGreek, as in Herodotus and
Xenophon (Wetstein)(as also in Josephus, B. J., iii., 9, 4), συναλίζω = to
assemble, cf. Hesychius, συναλιζ. = συναλισθείς, συναχθείς, συναθροισθείς,
and it is possible that the preceding present participles in the immediate
context may help to accountfor the use of the same participle insteadof the
aoristσυναλισθείς. The verb is then derived from σύν and ἁλής (ᾱ), meaning
lit[99], close, crowdedtogether. Mr. Rendall (Acts of the Apostles, p. 32)
would derive it from Ἁλίη (-α), a common term for a popular assembly
amongstIonian and Dorian Greeks, andhe supposes that the verb here
implies a generalgathering of believers not limited to the Twelve;but the
context apparently points back to Luke 24:49 to a command which was
certainly given only to the Twelve.—παρήγγειλεν, “he chargedthem,” R.V.,
which not only distinguishes it from other verbs rendered “to command,” but
also gives the emphatic meaning which St. Luke often attaches to the word. It
is characteristic ofhis writings, occurring four times in his Gospeland ten or
eleventimes in Acts, and it is very frequent in St. Paul’s Epistles (Friedrich,
Lekebusch).—Ἱεροσολύμων:a neuter plural (but cf. Matthew 2:3 and Grimm
sub v.). St. Luke most frequently uses the Jewishform Ἱερουσαλήμ—twenty-
seventimes in his Gospel, about forty in Acts—as againstthe use of
Ἱεροσόλυμα four times in his Gospeland over twenty in Acts (Friedrich,
Lekebusch). Blass retains the aspirate for the Greek form but not for the
Jewish, cf. in loco and Grammatik des N. G., pp. 17, 31, but it is very doubtful
whether either should have the aspirate;W.H[100], ii., 313;Plummer’s St.
Luke, p. 64;Winer-Schmiedel, p. 93. Grimm points out that the Hebrew form
is used in the N.T.:“ubi in ipso nomine tanquam sancta vis quædam reponitur
ut, Galatians 4:25; ita in compellationibus, Matthew 23:37, Luke 13:34;” see
further sub v. Ἱεροσόλυμα.—μὴχωρίζ.:it was fitting that they should not
depart from Jerusalem, not only that the new law as the old should go forth

from Zion and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem, Isaiah2:3 (Felten), but
that the Apostles’ testimony should be delivered not to men unacquainted
with the facts, but to the inhabitants of the city where Jesus had been crucified
and buried. Εἰ δὲ εὐθὺς ἐχωρίσθησανἹεροσολύμων, καὶ τούτωνοὐδὲν
ἐπηκολούθησεν, ὕποπτος ἄνἡ ἀνάστασις ὑπῆρξεν, Œcumenius, in loco;see
also Theophyl.—περιμένειν: not elsewhere in N.T. (but see Acts 10:24, ), but
used in classicalGreek ofawaiting a thing’s happening (Dem.). The passagein
LXX in which it occurs is suggestive:τὴν σωτηρίανπεριμένων κυρίου,
Genesis 49:18 (cf. Wis 8:12). On the tradition that the Apostles remained in
Jerusalemfor twelve years in obedience to a command of the Lord, and the
evidence for it, see Harnack, Chronologie, i., p. 243 ff. Harnack speaks ofthe
tradition as very old and well attested, and maintains that it is quite in
accordancewith Acts, as the earlier journeys of the Apostles are there
describedas missionary excursions from which they always returned to
Jerusalem.—τὴνἐπαγγελίαν:Bengelnotes the distinction between
ὑπισχνέομαι and ἐπαγγέλλομαι, the former being used of promises in response
to petitions, the latter of voluntary offers (Ammonius): “quæ verbi Græci
proprietas, ubi de divinis promissionibus agitur, exquisite observanda est”. It
is therefore remarkable that in the Gospels the word ἐπαγγελία is never used
in this technicalsense of the divine promise made by God until Luke 24:49,
where it is used of the promise of the Holy Spirit, as here. But in Acts and in
St. Paul’s Epistles and in the Hebrews the word is frequent, and always ofthe
promises made by God (except Acts 23:21). See Sandayand Headlam on
Romans 1:2, and Lightfoot on Galatians 3:14, and Psalms of Solomon, Acts
12:7 (cf. Acts 7:9, and Acts 17:6), ed. Ryle and James, p. 106. “The promise of
the Father,” cf. Luke 24:49, is fulfilled in the baptism with the Holy Ghost,
and although no doubt earlierpromises of the gift of the Spirit may be
included, cf. Luke 12:11, as also the promise of the Spirit’s outpouring in
Messianic times (cf. Joel2:28, Isaiah 44:3, Ezekiel36:26), yet the phraseology
may be fairly said to presentan undesigned coincidence with the more recent
language ofthe Lord to the Twelve, John14:16; John 15:26; John 16:14. On
the many points of connectionbetweenthe opening verses of Acts and the
closing verses ofSt. Luke’s Gospelsee below.

[99] literal, literally.
[100]Westcottand Hort’s The New Testamentin Greek:Critical Text and
Notes.
Cambridge Bible for Schools andColleges
4. not depart from Jerusalem]This injunction is only mentioned by St Luke
(Luke 24:49). The importance of their keeping togetheruntil the Holy Ghost
was given is clear. It would thus be made more manifest that, though
hereafterscatteredabroad, their inspiration was supplied from one common
source. To the Jews, to whom the Apostles were first to speak, this would
appeal, because their own prophet (Isaiah 2:3) had said “Out of Zion shall go
forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.”
ye have heard of me] This promise is alluded to (Luke 24:49) and found in St
John (John 14:16; John 14:26;John 15:26), “I will pray the Father, and he
shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever.” “The
Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, shall teachyou all things,” &c. “He shall
testify of me.” Thus were they to be prepared as witnesses forChrist.
Bengel's Gnomen
Acts 1:4. Συναλιζόμενος, having a meeting with them[1]) This is not said of all
His appearances, Acts 1:3, but of the last, and that, a meeting attended by a
large number, and one of the greatestmoment. This reading, which has been
assailedby some, and the notion of this verb, are proved by Hesychius, who
explains συναλιζόμενος, συναλισθεὶς, by συναχθεὶς, συναθροισθείς.—μὴ
χωρίζεσθαι, that they should not depart) They would otherwise have readily
(naturally been inclined to have) left Jerusalem, where the Lord had been
crucified.—τὴνἐπαγγελίαν, the promise) Ammonius says that ὑπισχνεῖται is
said of one who has undertaken or engagedto give to one who has asked;but
ἐπαγγέλλεται of one, who of himself has undertaken or volunteered a promise
to give. Which propriety of usage in the Greek verb, when the Divine promises

are the subject in hand, is accuratelyto be observed.—ἠκούσατε, ye have
heard) He had used the very expressionin Luke 24:49, “Behold, I send the
promise of My Fatherupon you.” And this parallelism serves to form the
closestbond of connectionbetweenboth books ofLuke. The style passes from
the narrative to the recitative, as in ch. Acts 23:22; also as coming alter the
verb παρήγγειλεν, He enjoined them.
[1] ABCE and Rec. Textread συναλιζόμενος;but Dd, συναλισκόμενος;Vulg.
‘convescens.’“Cumconversareturvescens cum illis” in e.—E. and T
Pulpit Commentary
Verse 4. - He chargedthem not to deport for commanded them that they
should not depart, A.V.; to wait for wait, A.V.; said he for saith he, A.V.; from
me for of me, A.V. Being assembled, etc. (R.T. on, its μετ'αὐτῶν);more
exactly, as he was assembling with them (Field, in 'Otium Norvicense'). Notto
depart from Jerusalem. (See Luke 24:49.)It was necessary, according to the
prophecy, Micah 4:2; Isaiah 2:3, that the gospelshould go forth from
Jerusalem. Waitfor the promise. (See Luke 24:49.)The promise of the Father
formed the subject of our Lord's discourse to the apostles onthe lastnight of
his earthly life, as recordedin John 14:16, 17, 26; John 15:26;John 16:7-14.
He doubtless here refers to that conversation, though not, of course, to the
record of it in the Gospelof St. John.
Vincent's Word Studies
Being assembledtogether (συναλιζόμενος)
From σύν, together, and ἁλής, thronged or crowded. Both the A. V. and Rev.
give eating togetherin margin, following the derivation from σύν, together,
and ἅλς, salt:eating salt together, and hence generally of associationattable.
Commanded (παρήγγειλεν)

Originally to pass on or transmit; hence, as a military term, of passing a
watchwordor command; and so generallyto command.
To wait for (περιμένειν)
Only here in New Testament.
The promise (ἐπαγγελίαν)
Signifying a free promise, given without solicitation. This is the invariable
sense ofthe word throughout the New Testament, and this and its kindred
and compound words are the only words for promise in the New Testament.
Ὑπισχνέομαι, meaning to promise in response to a request, does not occur;
and ὁμολογέω, Matthew 14:7, ofHerod promising Salome, really means to
acknowledge his obligationfor her lascivious performance. See note there.
Not many days hence (οὐ μετὰ πολλὰς ταύτας ἡμέρας)
Lit., not after many of these days. Not after many, but after a few.
PRECEPTAUSTIN RESOURCES

BRUCE HURT MD
Acts 1:3 To these He also presented Himself alive after His suffering, by
many convincing proofs, appearing to them over a period of forty days and
speaking ofthe things concerning the kingdom of God.
KJV Acts 1:3 To whom also he shewedhimself alive after his passionby many
infallible proofs, being seenof them forty days, and speaking of the things
pertaining to the kingdom of God:
To these He also presentedHimself alive after His suffering, by many
convincing proofs Acts 13:31; Mt 28:9,16;Mark 16:10-14;Luke 24:1-53;John
20:1-21;1 Corinthians 15:5-7; 1 John 1:1
appearing to them over a period of forty days Deuteronomy9:9,18;1 Kings
19:8; Mt 4:2
speaking ofthe things concerning the kingdom of God Acts 28:31; Daniel
2:44,45;Mt 3:2; 21:43;Luke 17:20,21;24:44-49;Romans 14:17;Colossians
1:13; 1 Thessalonians2:12
Acts Video - 3 hours - Luke's Introduction
Acts 1 Resources -Multiple Sermons and Commentaries
Acts 1:3-11 Doing Jesus’Work - Steven Cole
Acts 1:1-5 ResourcesforFinishing Our Lord's Unfinished Work--1 - John
MacArthur
Acts 1:1-11 How to Finish Christ's Work - John MacArthur
MANY INFALLIBLE PROOFS
TO STRENGTHENTHEIR FAITH

To these - The 11 apostles. "He chose themand then also manifested himself
to these very same men that they might have personal witness to give."
He also presented Himself alive - The apostles receivedfirst hand proof of His
resurrection. This was crucial. They must be firmly convincedJesus had truly
risen from the dead for that is the foundational truth of Christianity. Without
the truth of the resurrection, Christianity fails for as Paul wrote "if Christ has
not been raised, your faith is worthless (mataios);you are still in your sins." (1
Cor 15:17, context= 1 Cor 15:12-19, 20)
Paul summarized Jesus'appearances noting that not only did Jesus present
Himself to the apostles, but also to more that 500 individuals
(After His ResurrectionJesus)appearedto Cephas (PETER), then to the
twelve. 6 After that He appearedto more than five hundred brethren at one
time, most of whom remain until now, but some have fallen asleep;7 then He
appearedto James, then to all the apostles;(1 Corinthians 15:5-7-note)
Presented(3936)(paristemi from para = near, beside + histemi = place, set)
literally means to place beside or near or to stand beside. In the present
context the idea is that Jesus made a visual demonstration to the apostles by
standing beside or near them. He proved or demonstrated the truth of the
Resurrectionby appearing alive to the disciples. Note that while the Bible
describes visions of angels, etc, this was NOT a vision but a literal appearance
of Jesus in bodily form that could be seenand touched.
Vincent adds that paristemi in its original meaning meant "to place beside,
and so commend to the attention. Hence, to setbefore the mind; present,
show."

Luke uses paristemi more than any other NT writer with most uses in the
book of Acts - Lk. 1:19; Lk. 2:22; Lk. 19:24;; Acts 1:3; Acts 1:10; Acts 4:10;
Acts 4:26; Acts 9:39; Acts 9:41; Acts 23:2; Acts 23:4; Acts 23:24; Acts 23:33;
Acts 24:13;Acts 27:23; Acts 27:24
Alive (present tense - continually)(2198)(zao)means that Jesus was alive
physically.
Robertsonon presented Himself alive - To the disciples the first Sunday
evening (Mark 16:14 = Luke 24:36–43 = John 20:19–25), the secondSunday
evening (John 20:26–29), atthe Sea of Tiberias (John 21:1–23), on the
mountain in Galilee (Matt. 28:16–20 = Mark 16:15–18), to the disciples in
Jerusalemand Olivet (Luke 24:44–53;Mark 16:16–19f.= Acts 1:1–11). Luke
uses this verb paristemi 13 times in the Acts both transitively and
intransitively. It is rendered by various English words (present, furnish,
provide, assist, commend). The early disciples including Paul never doubted
the factof the Resurrection, once they were convinced by personalexperience.
At first some doubted like Thomas (Mark 16:14;Luke 24:41; John 20:24-29;
Matt. 28:17). But after that they never waveredin their testimony to their own
experience with the Risen Christ, “ the one whom God raised from the dead, a
fact to which we are witnesses.”Petersaid(Acts 3:15). They doubted at first,
that we may believe, but at last they riskedlife itself in defense of this firm
faith. (Word Pictures in the NT)
Wiersbe explains that "Faith in His resurrection was important to the church
because their own spiritual powerdepended on it. Also, the message ofthe
Gospelinvolves the truth of the Resurrection(Rom. 10:9–10;1 Cor. 15:1–8);
and, if Jesus were dead, the church would be speechless. Finally, the official
Jewishposition was that the disciples had stolenJesus’body from the tomb
(Matt. 28:11–15),and the believers had to be able to refute this as they

witnessedto the nation....Bytheir words, their walk, and their mighty works,
the believers told the world that Jesus was alive. This was “the signof Jonah”
that Jesus had promised to the nation (Matt. 12:38–41)—His death, burial,
and resurrection." (Bible Exposition Commentary)
After His suffering - His suffering is a synonym for the Crucifixion of Christ,
His passion("passion" is from Latin: passionemsuffering, enduring) being a
repeatedemphasis in the book of Acts. In Acts 3:18 Luke wrote "“Butthe
things which God announced beforehand by the mouth of all the prophets,
that His Christ would suffer (pascho), He has thus fulfilled." Luke uses
pascho againin Acts 17:3-note where Paul addressing the ThessalonianJews
was "explaining and giving evidence that the Christ had to suffer (pascho)
and rise again from the dead, and saying, “This Jesus whom I am proclaiming
to you is the Christ.” Luke uses the derivative adjective pathetos in Acts 26:23
writing " that the Christ was to suffer (pathetos from pascho), and that by
reasonof His resurrection from the dead He would be the first to proclaim
light both to the Jewishpeople and to the Gentiles.”
Suffering (3958)(pascho)means to undergo something; to experience an
impression from an outside source, to undergo an experience (usually
difficult) and normally with the implication of physical and mental suffering
as in this case. Pascho is used some 16 times (out of 39) to refer to the passion
of Christ (Mt. 16:21; Mt. 17:12;Mk. 8:31; Mk. 9:12; Lk. 9:22; Lk. 17:25;Lk.
22:15;Lk. 24:26;Lk. 24:46; Acts 1:3; Acts 3:18; Acts 17:3; Heb. 2:18; Heb.
5:8; Heb. 9:26; Heb. 13:12). One recalls the plaintive cry of our Lord Jesus
Christ which give us only a faint glimpse of His incredible suffering -- "ELI,
ELI, LAMA SABACHTHANI?" that is, "MY GOD, MY GOD, WHY HAST
THOU FORSAKEN ME?" (Mt27:46).
By many convincing proofs - Not just a few but MANY convincing proofs,
which as noted below was used in the Greek world in a legalcontext as "proof

from which there was no getting away, an indication which is irrefutable and
indisputable." Peterand the other apostles and more than 500 witnesseshad
first hand evidence that Jesus was truly alive and this evidence was not open
to question. In the Old Testamentone only needed two witnesses to support an
accusationbut God goes waybeyond that requirement when it comes to
substantiating the veracity and validity of the ResurrectionofJesus. To wit,
Jesus is Alive! This would embolden the apostles to be fearless in testifying
that Jesus had indeed risen from the dead, a belief that historicalrecords say
resulted in almost all of them being martyred. As John MacArthur says "The
transformation of the apostles from fearful, cowering skeptics to bold,
powerful witnesses is a potent proof of the resurrection." (Acts Commentary)
What would (or perhaps better, what should) happen to our fear and
trepidation in sharing the Gospelif we really, truly believed in our innermost
being that Jesus truly rose from the dead? Why do so few followers ofChrist
actually share with their lost friends that Jesus is alive?
THE RESURRECTION OF CHRIST
The foundation of our faith
The "fountain" of our message
Jesus is Alive!
RelatedResources:
Why should I believe in Christ’s resurrection?
Why does it matter that Jesus rose from the dead?
Why is the truth of the bodily resurrectionof Jesus Christso important?
Who resurrectedJesus?
Where does the saying ‘He is risen; He is risen, indeed’ come from?

Why didn't the disciples always recognize Jesus afterHis resurrection?How
can I avoid being a doubting Thomas?
Can the various resurrectionaccounts from the four Gospels be harmonized?
What is the significance ofthe "folded napkin" in Christ's tomb after the
resurrection?
Who Moved the Stone? Frank Morson
John in describing the purpose of His Gospelwrote that "these have been
written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Sonof God; and
that believing you may have life in His name." (Jn 20:31)
Convincing proofs (KJV = infalliable)(5039)(tekmerion)from tekmairo = to
prove by sure signs from tekmar = goal, mark, sign) describes a sign or
evidence that removes doubt. BDAG says tekmerionis "that which causes
something to be known in a convincing and decisive manner." Thayer - "that
from which something is surely and plainly known; an indubitable evidence, a
proof." Luke is saying that the resurrectionof Jesus is beyond dispute! This is
the only NT use. There are 3 uses in the Septuagint but only in the
Apocryphal books - 3 Ma. 3:24; Wis. 5:11; Wis. 19:13.
Vincent writes that tekmerion "is akin to tekmar, a fixed boundary, goal, end;
and hence a fixed or sure sign or token."
CleonRogers adds that tekmerion means a "convincing and decisive proof. In
logic demonstrative proof; in medical language demonstrative evidence, a sure
symptom; in legallanguage prooffrom which there was no getting away, an
indication which is irrefutable and indisputable." (New Linguistic and
ExegeticalKeyto the Greek NT)

Robertson- Tekmērionis only here in the N. T., though an old and common
word in ancient Greek and occurring in the Koiné (papyri, etc.). The verb
τεκμαιρω [tekmairō], to prove by sure signs, is from τεκμαρ[tekmar], a sign.
Luke does not hesitate to apply the definite word “proofs” to the evidence for
the ResurrectionofChrist after full investigation on the part of this scientific
historian. Aristotle makes a distinction betweentekmērion (proof) and
sēmeion(sign) as does Galenthe medical writer.
The Gospelof Luke ends with a description of the lastof Jesus'appearances
to the apostles overa period of forty days with a promise of the Spirit's
coming and an allusion to His ascension...
While they were telling these things, He Himself stood in their midst and *said
to them, “Peacebe to you.” 37 But they were startled and frightened and
thought that they were seeing a spirit. 38 And He said to them, “Why are you
troubled, and why do doubts arise in your hearts? 39 “See My hands and My
feet, that it is I Myself; touch Me and see, fora spirit does not have flesh and
bones as you see that I have.” 40 And when He had said this, He showedthem
His hands and His feet. 41 While they still could not believe it because oftheir
joy and amazement, He said to them, “Have you anything here to eat?” 42
They gave Him a piece of a broiled fish; 43 and He took it and ate it before
them. 44 Now He said to them, “These are My words which I spoke to you
while I was still with you, that all things which are written about Me in the
Law of Moses andthe Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.” 45 Then He
opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, 46 and He said to them,
“Thus it is written, that the Christ would suffer and rise again from the dead
the third day, 47 and that repentance for forgiveness of sins would be
proclaimed in His name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem. 48 “You
are witnessesofthese things. 49“And behold, I am sending forth the promise
of My Fatherupon you; but you are to stay in the city until you are clothed
with powerfrom on high.” 50 And He led them out as far as Bethany, and He
lifted up His hands and blessedthem. 51 While He was blessing them, He

parted from them and was carriedup into heaven. 52 And they, after
worshiping Him, returned to Jerusalemwith greatjoy, 53 and were
continually in the temple praising God. (Luke 24:36-53-note)
TEN RECORDED APPEARANCES
OVER FORTYDAYS
Appearing to them over a period of forty days - Jesus was letting Himself be
seen. Recallthat He had kept some disciples from recognizing Him on the
road to Emmaus (Lk 24:13-15, 16-note), but Luke records that He "allowed
Himself to be seen," (cf Lk 24:30, 31-note)by more than 500 witnesses. Many
of these witnesses remainedalive over the next 30 years during this crucial
time when the events of Acts took place.
Pentecostmeans fiftieth - Jesus appearedfor forty days and ascended. The
Spirit of Jesus descendedten days later on Pentecost.
Kistemaker(BakerNT Commentary-Acts) gives a more complete summary of
Jesus'post-resurrectionappearances writing that "According to the four
Gospelaccounts, Acts, and Paul’s first epistle to the Corinthians, Jesus
appearedten times in the period betweenEasterand AscensionDay. He
showedhimself to
1. The women at the tomb (Matt. 28:9–10)
2. Mary Magdalene (Mark 16:9–11;John 20:11–18)
3. Two men of Emmaus (Mark 16:12; Luke 24:13–32)
4. Peter in Jerusalem(Luke 24:34;1 Cor. 15:5)

5. Ten disciples (Luke 24:36–43;John 20:19–23)
6. Eleven disciples (John 20:24–29;1 Cor. 15:5)
7. Seven disciples fishing in Galilee (John 21:1–23)
8. Eleven disciples in Galilee (Matt. 28:16–20;Mark 16:14–18)
9. Five hundred persons (presumably in Galilee;1 Cor. 15:6)
10. James, the brother of the Lord (1 Cor. 15:7)
Bob Utley has another list - Jesus showedhimself to severalpeople to confirm
His resurrection. (There are more appearanceslistedbut) Obviously some of
these refer to the same appearance. Jesuswantedthem to know for sure He
was alive!
1. the women at the tomb, Matt. 28:9
2. the eleven disciples at the setmeeting in Galilee, Matt. 28:16
3. Simon, Luke 24:34
4. the two on the road to Emmaus, Luke 24:15
5. disciples in the upper room, Luke 24:36
6. Mary Magdalene, John20:15
7. ten disciples in the upper room, John 20:20
8. elevendisciples in the upper room, John 20:26
9. sevendisciples at the Sea of Galilee, John21:1
10. Cephas (Peter), 1 Cor. 15:5
11. the Twelve (Apostles), 1 Cor. 15:5
12. 500 brethren, 1 Cor. 15:6 combined with Matt. 28:16-17

13. James (His earthly family), 1 Cor. 15:7
14. all the apostles, 1 Cor. 15:7
15. Paul, 1 Cor. 15:8 (Acts 9)
The phrase over 40 days in Greek does not signify He was continuously with
the apostles. The NET Note adds that "as the other NT accounts ofJesus'
appearances make clear, Jesus was notcontinually visible to the apostles
during the forty days, but appearedto them on various occasions."
Robertsonadds on over a period of forty days - At intervals (dia = between)
during the forty days, ten appearancesbeing known to us. Jesus was not with
them continually now in bodily presence. The period of forty days is given
here alone. The Ascensionwas thus ten days before Pentecostwhen the Holy
Spirit came. Moses was in the mount forty days (Ex. 24:18) and Jesus fasted
forty days (Mt. 4:2, Lk 4:2-). In the Gospelof Luke 24 this separationof forty
days betweenthe Resurrectionand the Ascensionis not drawn.
Vincent on forty days - The only passagewhere the interval betweenthe
resurrectionand the ascensionis given.
The phrase forty days occurs 22x in 22v in the Bible
Gen. 7:4; Gen. 7:12; Gen. 7:17; Gen. 8:6; Gen. 50:3; Exod. 24:18; Exod.
34:28;Num. 13:25; Num. 14:34; Deut. 9:9; Deut. 9:11; Deut. 9:18; Deut. 9:25;
Deut. 10:10;1 Sam. 17:16;1 Ki. 19:8; Ezek. 4:6; Jon. 3:4; Matt. 4:2; Mk.
1:13; Lk. 4:2; Acts 1:3
Constable comments that "As 40 days of temptation in the wilderness
precededJesus’earthly ministry (Luke 4:2-note), so He introduced His

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