Acts 1
(1) Jesus Promises Sacred Spirit
Dear Theophilus,
In my first book, I wrote about everything that Jesus started doing and teaching up until the point when He was taken to heaven. But before He went to heaven, the Sacred Spirit inside of Him compelled Him to set His chosen people on a mission. Also, He presented Himself to them as fully alive!—even after everything He had suffered. He proved Himself to be alive by appearing to them over a 40-day period and telling them things about God’s empire. He gathered them together and told them to stay in Jerusalem and wait for something that Dad had promised. Jesus told them,
“It’s something I told you about: John used water to baptize people, but you’ll be baptized with the Sacred Spirit in a few short days.”
(6) They’ll be Witnesses
So when all of them got together, they were asking Him,
“Captain, is this the moment You’ll restore Israel to power?”
He said,
“It’s not your place to know the moments or time periods that Dad lined up—He’s the one with that authority. But you guys will gain power when the Sacred Spirit joins you, and you’ll be eyewitnesses to Jerusalem [the city], Judea [the broader region], Samaria [a hostile culture], and the remotest parts of the world.”
(9) Jesus Floats Away
After He said all those things, and with all of them still watching, He was lifted up until he disappeared into a cloud, out of sight. As they were staring up into the sky, two men wearing white were standing next to them. They asked,
“Men from Galilee, why are standing here looking up into the sky? Jesus was taken away from you, up into the sky, but He’ll come back in the same way you just watched Him go into the sky.”
(12) Everyone Talks to God
So they left Mount Olive Grove and went back to Jerusalem, which is about ⅗ of a mile away. When they arrived at the city, the 11 of them went up to the second story of the place where they were staying. The 11 were: Peter, John, James, Andrew, Philip, Thomas, Bartholomew, Matthew, James (Alphaeus’s son), Simon the Zealot, and Judas (James’s son). With a unified mindset, all of them talked to God continually. The women who were there did the same thing along with Mary (Jesus’s mom) and Jesus’s brothers. (There were about 120 people there total.)
(15) Someone Should Replace Judas
Then Peter stood up in the middle of them and said,
“Spiritual family, the writings had to be fulfilled. A long time ago, through David, the Sacred Spirit told us about Judas who led the way for Jesus’s arresters. Judas had been one of us, but he played the role that was assigned to him in this ministry.”
(Judas had bought a plot of land with the earnings he received for his unethical doings, and he fell headlong there, bursting open with all his guts spilling out. Everyone in Jerusalem had heard about this, and that plot of land became known as Hakeldama which means “Field of Blood.”)
Peter continued,
“As it says in the book of Psalms,
Let his home become desolate, so that no one lives there,’ —Psalm 69:25
“And,
‘Let someone else fill his position.’ —Psalm 109:8
“That’s why we need to start thinking about the other men who have been with us the entire time Captain Jesus was here. They’ve been with us from the day John baptized Him up until the day Jesus was taken from us. One of those guys should become an eyewitness with us of Jesus’s resurrection.”
(23) Judas is Replaced
So they put two men forward: Joseph Barsabbas (who was also called Justus), and Matthias.
Then the group prayed, saying,
“Captain, You know everyone’s heart. Show us which one of these two You have chosen to serve on this quest since Judas turned away from this role to go his own place.”
So they rolled dice for them, and the outcome landed on Matthias. So Matthias was added to the 11 others who were being sent on the mission.
*Judas is the same name as Judah.
