Jesus Ascends Into Heaven

Acts 1

In my first account, Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus began to do and to teach, until the day he was take up, after he had given orders through the Holy Spirit to the apostles he had chosen. After his suffering, he presented himself to them alive with many convincing proofs. He appeared to them over a period of forty days, speaking about the Empire of God. When he had them gathered together, he commanded them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father, “Which,” he said, “y’all heard about from me. For John baptized with water, but in a few days y’all will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.”

So when they had gathered together, they asked him, “Lord, is this the time when you are going to restore the empire to Israel?”

He said to them, “It isn’t for y’all to know the times or periods the Father has set by his own authority. But y’all will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you*. Y’all will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

After he had said this, he was taken up while they were watching, and a cloud took him out of their sight. As he was going up, they were gazing into the sky, when suddenly two men stood by them in white clothing. They said, “Men of Galilee, why are y’all standing here looking into the sky? This Jesus, who has been taken from y’all into heaven, will come back in the same way y’all watched him go into heaven.”

Matthias Joins the Twelve

Then they returned to Jerusalem from the Mount of Olives, which is a Sabbath day’s journey from the city. When they arrived, they went to the room upstairs where they were staying. Peter, John, James, Andrew, Philip, Thomas, Bartholomew, Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus, Simon the Zealot, and Judas the son of James were there. They all joined together with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers in constant prayer with one mind.

In those days, Peter stood up among the siblings (a gathering of about one hundred twenty people), and said, “Siblings, it was necessary for the Scripture to be fulfilled, which the Holy Spirit foretold through the mouth of David concerning Judas, who became a guide for those who arrested Jesus. For he was counted among us and received a share of this deacon-work.” (Using the wages he earned for his wickedness, Judas bought a field where he fell headlong, his body burst open, and all his intestines gushed out. This became known to everyone who lived in Jerusalem, so they began to call that field in their language ‘Akeldama,’ that is, ‘The Field of Blood.’) “For it is written in the Book of Psalms,

‘Let his dwelling be become desolate. Let no one dwell in it;’+Psa 69:25

and,

‘Let another take his position as overseer.’+Psa 109:8

“Therefore, it is necessary to chose from the men who have accompanied us the whole time the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, beginning from the baptism of John to the day that Jesus was taken up from us. One of these must become a witness with us of his resurrection.”

They proposed two: Joseph called Barsabbas (also known as Justus) and Matthias. They prayed and said, “You Lord, the heart-knower of all people, show us which one of these two you have chosen to take a place in this deacon-work and apostleship from which Judas left to go to his own place.” They cast lots for them, and the lot fell to Matthias, so he was added to the eleven apostles.