Jesus Is Taken Up Into Heaven
1Theophilus, I wrote about Jesus in my earlier book. I wrote about all he did and taught 2until the day he was taken up to heaven. Before Jesus left, he gave orders to the apostles he had chosen. He did this through the Holy Spirit. 3After his suffering and death, he appeared to them. In many ways he proved that he was alive. He appeared to them over a period of 40 days. During that time he spoke about God’s kingdom. 4One day Jesus was eating with them. He gave them a command. “Do not leave Jerusalem,” he said. “Wait for the gift my Father promised. You have heard me talk about it. 5John baptized with water. But in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.”
6Then the apostles gathered around Jesus and asked him a question. “Lord,” they said, “are you going to give the kingdom back to Israel now?”
7He said to them, “You should not be concerned about times or dates. The Father has set them by his own authority. 8But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you. Then you will tell people about me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria. And you will even tell other people about me from one end of the earth to the other.”
9After Jesus said this, he was taken up to heaven. The apostles watched until a cloud hid him from their sight.
10While he was going up, they kept on looking at the sky. Suddenly two men dressed in white clothing stood beside them. 11“Men of Galilee,” they said, “why do you stand here looking at the sky? Jesus has been taken away from you into heaven. But he will come back in the same way you saw him go.”
Matthias Is Chosen to Take the Place of Judas Iscariot
12The apostles returned to Jerusalem from the hill called the Mount of Olives. It is just over half a mile from the city. 13When they arrived, they went upstairs to the room where they were staying. Here is a list of those who were there.
Peter, John, James and Andrew,
Philip and Thomas,
Bartholomew and Matthew,
James son of Alphaeus, Simon the Zealot and Judas son of James
14They all came together regularly to pray. The women joined them too. So did Jesus’ mother Mary and his brothers.
15In those days Peter stood up among the believers. About 120 of them were there. 16Peter said, “Brothers and sisters, a long time ago the Holy Spirit spoke through David. He spoke about Judas Iscariot. What the Scripture said would happen had to come true. Judas was the guide for the men who arrested Jesus. 17But Judas was one of us. He shared with us in our work for God.”
18Judas bought a field with the payment he received for the evil thing he had done. He fell down headfirst in the field. His body burst open. All his insides spilled out. 19Everyone in Jerusalem heard about this. So they called that field Akeldama. In their language, Akeldama means the Field of Blood.
20Peter said, “Here is what is written in the Book of Psalms. It says,
“ ‘May his home be deserted.
May no one live in it.’ (Psalm 69:25)
The Psalms also say,
“ ‘Let someone else take his place as leader.’ (Psalm 109:8)
21So we need to choose someone to take his place. It will have to be a man who was with us the whole time the Lord Jesus was living among us. 22That time began when John was baptizing. It ended when Jesus was taken up from us. The one we choose must join us in telling people that Jesus rose from the dead.”
23So they suggested the names of two men. One was Joseph, who was called Barsabbas. He was also called Justus. The other man was Matthias. 24Then the believers prayed. They said, “Lord, you know everyone’s heart. Show us which of these two you have chosen. 25Show us who should take the place of Judas as an apostle. He gave up being an apostle to go where he belongs.” 26Then they cast lots. Matthias was chosen. So he was added to the 11 apostles.
应许圣灵降临
1提阿非罗啊，在前一封信中，我从耶稣的生平和教导开始， 2一直谈到祂借着圣灵吩咐了自己选立的使徒，然后被接回天上。 3祂受难后用许多确凿的证据证实自己活着，在四十天之内屡次向使徒显现，与他们谈论上帝的国。 4有一次，耶稣和他们在一起吃饭的时候，叮嘱他们：“你们不要离开耶路撒冷，要在那里等候我对你们说过的天父的应许。 5因为从前约翰用水给你们施洗，但再过几天，你们要受圣灵的洗。”
6他们跟耶稣在一起的时候问祂：“主啊，你要在这时候复兴以色列国吗？” 7耶稣回答说：“天父照祂的权柄定下的时间、日期不是你们可以知道的。 8但圣灵降临在你们身上后，你们必得到能力，在耶路撒冷、犹太全境和撒玛利亚，直到地极，做我的见证人。”
9耶稣说完这番话，就在他们眼前被提升天，被一朵云彩接去，离开了他们的视线。 10祂上升时，他们都定睛望着天空，忽然有两个身穿白衣的人站在他们身旁， 11说：“加利利人啊！你们为什么站在这里望着天空呢？这位离开你们被接到天上的耶稣，你们看见祂怎样升天，将来祂还要怎样回来。”
选立新使徒
12于是，他们从橄榄山回到耶路撒冷。橄榄山距离耶路撒冷不远，约是安息日允许走的路程1:12 按犹太人的传统，在安息日只能走约一公里远。。 13他们进城后，来到楼上自己住的房间。当时有彼得、约翰、雅各、安得烈、腓力、多马、巴多罗买、马太、亚勒腓的儿子雅各、激进党人西门、雅各的儿子犹大。 14他们和耶稣的母亲玛丽亚、耶稣的弟弟们及几个妇女在一起同心合意地恒切祷告。
15那时，约有一百二十人在聚会，彼得站起来说： 16“弟兄们，关于带人抓耶稣的犹大，圣灵借着大卫的口早已预言，这经文必须要应验。 17这人原本是我们中间的一员，与我们同担使徒的职分。”
18犹大用作恶得来的钱买了一块田，他头朝下栽倒在那里，肚破肠流。 19这消息很快传遍了耶路撒冷，当地人称那块田为“亚革大马”，就是“血田”的意思。
20彼得继续说：“诗篇上写道，‘愿他的家园一片荒凉，无人居住’，又说，‘愿别人取代他的职位。’ 21-22所以，我们必须另选一个人代替犹大，与我们一同为主耶稣的复活做见证。他必须是从主耶稣接受约翰的洗礼起一直到主升天，始终与我们在一起的人。”
23被提名的有别号巴撒巴又叫犹士都的约瑟和马提亚两个人。 24-25大家便祷告说：“主啊！你洞悉人的内心，求你指明这两个人中你要拣选哪一个来担负使徒的职分。犹大丢弃了这职分，去了他该去的地方。” 26然后，他们抽签，抽中了马提亚，就把他列入十一使徒中。
