RSV ~ Acts 1 Notes
Acts 1:1 | ISB Notes
the first book: The Gospel of Luke, which has a similar but more expanded dedication (Lk 1:1-4). This link with the preface of the Gospel has a direct bearing on the composition of Acts, i.e., Luke has gone to the same painstaking lengths to separate fact from fiction in preserving the historical memory of the earliest Christians. See note on Lk 1:2.
began to do and teach: Implies that what Jesus began to do in Luke he continues to do through his disciples in Acts. The Spirit directs this mission of the Church and is the driving force behind it (1:8; Lk 24:46-49).
Acts 1:3 | ISB Notes
many proofs: The Resurrection of Jesus is a miracle substantiated by multiple strands of historical evidence (CCC 640-44). (1) His tomb was empty Easter morning (Jn 20:4-9); (2) he presented himself alive to the apostles and other disciples that evening (Lk 24:13-31; Jn 20:19-20); (3) he invited eyewitnesses to touch his risen body and examine his wounds (Lk 24:36-43; Jn 20:26-29); (4) he showed himself risen to more than 500 people (1 Cor 15:6); and (5) his appearance to the Church’s fiercest adversary, Saul of Tarsus, transformed him into her most zealous apostle (9:1-19).
forty days: A period of final instruction between Easter Sunday and Ascension Thursday. The number 40 signifies a time of preparation for the disciples, just as Jesus underwent 40 days of preparation before his own ministry (Mt 4:2). For other symbolic meanings of the number 40, See note on Lk 4:2.
the kingdom of God: A central pillar in the apostolic preaching of Acts (8:12; 14:22; 19:8; 20:25; 28:23, 31).
Acts 1:4 | ISB Notes
promise of the Father: The Holy Spirit (Lk 24:49), poured out through Christ (2:33).
Acts 1:6 | ISB Notes
restore the kingdom: Judaism hoped for a militant Messiah who would redeem Israel from the yoke of Roman oppression (Lk 24:21) and rebuild the kingdom of David that had lain in ruins since the sixth century B.C. (Mk 11:10). These political aspirations are given a spiritual fulfillment in Acts with the enthronement of Christ in heaven (2:32-36; Lk 1:32-33) and the redemption of Israel and the Gentiles in the Church (5:31; 15:16-18; CCC 439, 672).
See essay: Kingdom Restoration at Acts 15.
• Two interrelated traditions echo in the question of the disciples. (1) The time of restoration evokes Yahweh’s promise to reunite the tribal family of Israel in the messianic age (Sir 48:10; Jer 50:19-20; Hos 11:11). This hope is confirmed in Luke (Lk 22:30) and kept alive throughout Acts (26:6-7). (2) Giving the kingdom to Israel recalls Daniel’s vision of the Son of man (Messiah) giving an everlasting kingdom to the saints (Dan 7:18, 22, 27). This hope is likewise confirmed in Luke (Lk 12:32; 22:29).
Acts 1:7 | ISB Notes
times or seasons: Jesus affirms the coming of the kingdom but conceals the precise timing determined by the Father. His words imply that speculation is pointless, although the parable in Lk 19:11-27 denied that the kingdom would come in its fullness when Jesus arrived in Jerusalem at the start of Passion Week.
Acts 1:8 | ISB Notes
power … Spirit … come upon: These terms also appear together in Lk 1:35, showing that the same Spirit who brought forth Christ in the womb of Mary is about to bring forth the Church in the world.
• The wording of this promise is inspired by Is 32:15.
witnesses: That is, to the dying and rising of Jesus (1:22; 2:32; 3:15; 5:32; 10:41). The word translates the Greek martys, from which the English term “martyr” is derived. All the disciples in Acts witness to Christ with their words and life, while Stephen and James offer the testimony of a martyr’s death (7:58-60; 12:1-2; CCC 857, 995).
See word study: at Rev 11.
• The witness motif comes from Isaiah, where the people of the covenant proclaim Yahweh as the God and Savior of all nations (Is 43:10-13; 44:8). This
missionary vocation of Israel to enlighten the world with the truth is now the mission of the Church (13:47). Jerusalem … Samaria … end of the earth: A thumbnail sketch of Acts: the gospel seizes Jerusalem (chaps. 1-7), spreads to Judea and Samaria (chaps. 8-12), and then stretches throughout the Roman Empire (chaps. 13-28).
• The outer limits of the mission recall Isaiah’s vision of salvation reaching the ends of the earth (Is 45:22; 48:20; 49:6; 62:11). Although writers in Jewish and pagan antiquity equated the outer rim of the world with the Atlantic coast of Spain, here the expression “end of the earth” signifies that the scope of the mission is unlimited rather than bound within geographical borders.
Acts 1:9 | ISB Notes
lifted up: The Ascension of Jesus culminates with his heavenly enthronement at the right hand of the Father (Mk 16:19). The traditional site of the Ascension is located on the crest of Mt. Olivet, directly east of Jerusalem (1:12). Theologically, the withdrawal of Christ’s visible presence from the world is not a withdrawal of his actual presence. He continues to live and wo
rk through the ministry of the pilgrim Church (Mt 18:20; 28:20; Gal 2:20) animated by the Spirit (2:4, etc.; CCC 659). See note on Jn 14:18. a cloud: Represents the divine presence in general (Ex 13:21; 24:16) and the Holy Spirit in particular (Is 63:11; CCC 697).
• Christ’s return to the Father evokes the vision of Dan 7:13, where the messianic Son of man is carried to the Ancient o
f Days on the clouds of heaven. Interestingly, the next time Jesus appears in Acts he appears as the heavenly Son of man (7:55-56; CCC 664). There may also be an implied link with Moses and Elijah: not only were these men speaking about the departure of Jesus at his Transfiguration (Lk 9:30-31), but Jewish tradition holds that both Mose
s and Elijah were taken up to heaven (Rev 11:12) and that both gave a share of their spirit to their successors (Deut 34:9; 2 Kings 2:9-12). See essay: Jesus, the Son of Man at Lk 17.
Acts 1:11 | ISB Notes
in the same way: The departure of Jesus is the pattern and pledge of his future return. The same cloud that took him away will bring him back to retrieve the saints destined for glory (1 Thess 4:14-17).
• The Church’s earliest creeds affirm that Christ will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead (CCC 678-79).
Acts 1:12 | ISB Notes
sabbath day’s journey: Rabbinic tradition limited this distance to 2000 cubits, nearly three-quarters of a mile. The calculation is based on Ex 16:29 and Num 35:5.
Acts 1:13 | ISB Notes
the upper room: Refers back to the spacious room in Lk 22:12 where Jesus celebrated the Last Supper. One of the most reliable topographical traditions of ancient Jerusalem locates the cenacle on modern Mt. Zion, the southwestern hill of the city.
Acts 1:14 | ISB Notes
prayer: A vital expression of the Church’s life and mission in Acts (1:24; 2:42; 4:31; 6:6; 9:11;
10:9; 12:5, etc.; CCC 2623). the women: Disciples of Jesus
whose generosity helped to subsidize his public ministry (Mk 15:40-41; Lk 8:2-3). and Mary: The final appearance of Jesus’ Mother in the NT. his brethren: Cousins of Jesus once skeptical of his mission but now portrayed as disciples (Jn 7:5
). See note on Mt 12:46.
Acts 1:15 | ISB Notes
Peter stood up: The leadership role of Peter in the early Church was evident from the start. See essay: at Acts 2.
Acts 1:16 | ISB Notes
the Holy Spirit spoke: The apostles maintained the Jewish belief that the Scriptures of Israel embodied the words of God expressed in the written words of men. See note on 2 Pet 1:21.
Acts 1:18-19 | ISB Notes
Only Matthew and Luke record traditions about the demise of Judas Iscariot (Mt 27:3-10). Matthew apparently recounts the manner of Judas’ suicide (hanging), while Luke focuses on the results of his death (disembowelment). The brevity of both accounts makes it impossible to reconstruct the exact sequence of events. See note on Mt 27:5.
Acts 1:18 | ISB Notes
bought a field: Indirectly, since Judas returned the betrayal money to the Temple and th
e Jerusalem priests purchased the burial site (Mt 27:7-8).
Acts 1:19 | ISB Notes
their language: Aramaic. The perspective of the author is one of an outsider and supports the traditional notion that Luke was a Greek-speaking Gentile, i.e., someone whose first language was not a Semitic language. See introduction to Luke: Author.
Acts 1:20 | ISB Notes
the book of Psalms: Peter gives free quotations from the Psalter to explain the removal (Ps 69:25) and replacement of Judas (
Ps 109:8).
• Psalms 69 and 109 are imprecatory psalms that curse the enemies of God and Israel. In both, the righteous man groans in agony over the treachery of the wicked. Peter reads them messianically, i.e., the suffering Psalmist prefigures the suffering and betrayal of Christ by his enemies. office: The Greek term refers to a position of oversight and was used in early Christianity for an episcopal office or bishopric (1 Tim 3:1).
• The replacement of one apostle with another is a pattern repeated in the episcopal succession of bishops from the first century to the present day (1:26; CCC 77, 860).
Acts 1:21 | ISB Notes
accompanied us: Candidates for the vacant apostolic office had to have witnessed the full scope of Jesus’ ministry (1:22). Paul was a unique exception to this rule; though an apostle, he saw only the risen and glorified Jesus (26:15-18; 1 Cor 9:1).
Acts 1:26 | ISB Notes
cast lots: A process of selection using marked sticks or stones. It was not a game of chance but a venerated means of discerning God’s will (Lev 16:7-10; Prov 16:33). It was also a means for assigning ritual duties to Levitical priests serving in the Temple (1 Chron 24:31). Matthias: His enrollment with the Eleven reconstitutes the original number of the Twelve, who represent the restored tribes of Israel gathered around the Messiah (Lk 22:30; Rev 21:12-14; CCC 765). For Luke, the main point of the election is to recover the symbolic number 12, as seen in the fact that Matthias never again appears in the narrative of Acts. Note that the Twelve belong to the period of the Church’s founding and do not represent an ongoing institution in the life of the Church (no mention is made in Acts 12:2 of a replacement for the Apostle James after his martyrdom).