The first account I composed, Theophilus, about all that Jesus began to do and teach, until the day when He was taken up to heaven, after He had by the Holy Spirit given orders to the apostles whom He had chosen. 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 of the things concerning the kingdom of God. Gathering them together, He commanded them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait for what the Father had promised, “Which,” He said, “you heard of from Me; for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.”
the first account - the first account was the book of Luke
"Acts is the sequel to Luke's Gospel and this introduces us immediately to a fact which is vital to a proper understanding and a correct interpretation of the book. If the former treatise concerned what Jesus had begun to do and to teach until His ascension, then this treatise must concern what He continued to do after His ascension." (CR Stam)
Theophilus - means "dear to God" or "friend of God" He was probably a Roman official, since the title "most excellent" (Lk 1:3) indicates an official position in Acts 23:26; 24:3; 26:25. (Both the Book of Luke and the Book of Acts were addressed to Theophilus.)
"From the frequent explanations of places and customs which occur in the two narratives addressed to him, it would appear that he was a Gentile convert, residing elsewhere than in Palestine. We may reasonably suppose also that he must have been a man of culture, in view of the fact that St. Luke wrote, largely for his information, two such books as the Gospel and the Acts. The fact that both treatises were addressed to him is a strong argument for the identity of their authorship." (T Walker)
"From a reliable source dating back to the second century we learn that he was an influential and wealthy man residing in the city of Antioch. He dedicated his magnificent palace, called a Basilica, to the preaching of the Gospel. Luke came most likely also from Antioch. He may have belonged to the household of Theophilus. It is not unlikely that Luke had received great kindness from Theophilus; some claim that he used to be a slave and became through Theophilus a free man." (A Gaebelein)
forty days - This is the only reference to the length of Christ's ministry on earth between His resurrection and His ascension.
"It is interesting to notice that, under the Mosaic dispensation, fifty days elapsed between the bringing of the sheaf of the wave offering, of which our Saviour's resurrection was the anti-type, and the Feast of Pentecost (Lev 23:15-21). If we add to the forty days of our Lord's post-resurrection life on earth the ten days during which His people waited for the Holy Ghost after His ascension, we arrive exactly at the fifty days which, according to the type, were to elapse between His resurrection and the day of Pentecost." (T Walker)
"In showing Himself alive by many infallible proofs for forty days, our Lord was preparing His apostles to bear powerful testimony to the people of Israel that the One whom they had crucified was indeed alive again and this it would be wisdom on their part to turn to Him in repentance and faith rather than continue their rebellion." (CR Stam)
Acts 1:3 and all four gospels give evidence that Christ was still preaching the kingdom after His resurrection.
And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” (Matt 28:18-20)
These signs will accompany those who have believed: in My name they will cast out demons, they will speak with new tongues; they will pick up serpents, and if they drink any deadly poison, it will not hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.” (Mk 16:17-18)
Then He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, and He said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Christ would suffer and rise again from the dead the third day, and that repentance for forgiveness of sins would be proclaimed in His name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem. (Lk 24:45-47)
So Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you; as the Father has sent Me, I also send you.” And when He had said this, He breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, their sins have been forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they have been retained.” (Jn 15:26)
baptized with the Holy Spirit - This promise was first fulfilled on the Day of Pentecost (see Acts 11:15-16). The mention of the coming of the Spirit made them think that the kingdom was about to be established. That's why they asked about this in verse 6.
"Our Lord clearly had the prophetic plan in mind here. According to prophecy Jerusalem was to be the glory of all the earth. It was from Jerusalem that blessing was to flow to the nations. It was at Jerusalem that He was to reign as the Son of David. Indeed, according to His own promise, the twelve were to reign there with Him, sitting on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel (Matt 19:28). Until Jerusalem, the capital of the Hebrew nation, accepted Messiah, world peace and prosperity could never be. Therefore the apostles were instructed to begin their ministry at Jerusalem...This baptism with the Holy Spirit was not, of course, the baptism of Jews and Gentiles into one body. The baptism into one body was to be effect by the Spirit (1 Cor 12:13), but this is associated with "the mystery," which was then as yet unknown. The baptism here referred to was to be a baptism with, or in, the Spirit for miraculous power. With regard to this subject too we find additional light in the parallel passage at the close of Luke's gospel, where we find the Lord saying: "And, behold, I send the promise of my father upon you: but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high" (Lk 24:49, and cf. Acts 1:8). Aside from other miraculous powers which this baptism was to bestow, it was also to empower them to live as worthy representatives of the King. The Apostle Paul exhorts us today to be filled with the Spirit (Eph 5:18) but the very fact that he exhorts indicates that today this filling is a provision of grace to be appropriated by faith. This was not so with the Pentecostal believers. They were filled with the Spirit because they were baptized with the Spirit, not in response to prayer or faith but in fulfillment of a promise. The Holy Spirit was to come and baptize His own at the very time, at the very place and for the very purpose predicted. The prophetic clock had not yet stopped ticking...True, the same Spirit who came in fulfillment of prophecy has stayed in connection with the mystery revealed through Paul, but His manifestation and operations in the present dispensation differ in many respects from those of the Pentecostal era. The Spirit who now baptizes believers into the death, the burial and the resurrection of Christ, into Christ Himself and into one body, was then to empower His servants to live pleasing to God, to speak by inspiration as prophets and to perform miracles." (CR Stam)
the first account - the first account was the book of Luke
"Acts is the sequel to Luke's Gospel and this introduces us immediately to a fact which is vital to a proper understanding and a correct interpretation of the book. If the former treatise concerned what Jesus had begun to do and to teach until His ascension, then this treatise must concern what He continued to do after His ascension." (CR Stam)
Theophilus - means "dear to God" or "friend of God" He was probably a Roman official, since the title "most excellent" (Lk 1:3) indicates an official position in Acts 23:26; 24:3; 26:25. (Both the Book of Luke and the Book of Acts were addressed to Theophilus.)
"From the frequent explanations of places and customs which occur in the two narratives addressed to him, it would appear that he was a Gentile convert, residing elsewhere than in Palestine. We may reasonably suppose also that he must have been a man of culture, in view of the fact that St. Luke wrote, largely for his information, two such books as the Gospel and the Acts. The fact that both treatises were addressed to him is a strong argument for the identity of their authorship." (T Walker)
"From a reliable source dating back to the second century we learn that he was an influential and wealthy man residing in the city of Antioch. He dedicated his magnificent palace, called a Basilica, to the preaching of the Gospel. Luke came most likely also from Antioch. He may have belonged to the household of Theophilus. It is not unlikely that Luke had received great kindness from Theophilus; some claim that he used to be a slave and became through Theophilus a free man." (A Gaebelein)
forty days - This is the only reference to the length of Christ's ministry on earth between His resurrection and His ascension.
"It is interesting to notice that, under the Mosaic dispensation, fifty days elapsed between the bringing of the sheaf of the wave offering, of which our Saviour's resurrection was the anti-type, and the Feast of Pentecost (Lev 23:15-21). If we add to the forty days of our Lord's post-resurrection life on earth the ten days during which His people waited for the Holy Ghost after His ascension, we arrive exactly at the fifty days which, according to the type, were to elapse between His resurrection and the day of Pentecost." (T Walker)
"In showing Himself alive by many infallible proofs for forty days, our Lord was preparing His apostles to bear powerful testimony to the people of Israel that the One whom they had crucified was indeed alive again and this it would be wisdom on their part to turn to Him in repentance and faith rather than continue their rebellion." (CR Stam)
Acts 1:3 and all four gospels give evidence that Christ was still preaching the kingdom after His resurrection.
And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” (Matt 28:18-20)
These signs will accompany those who have believed: in My name they will cast out demons, they will speak with new tongues; they will pick up serpents, and if they drink any deadly poison, it will not hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.” (Mk 16:17-18)
Then He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, and He said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Christ would suffer and rise again from the dead the third day, and that repentance for forgiveness of sins would be proclaimed in His name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem. (Lk 24:45-47)
So Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you; as the Father has sent Me, I also send you.” And when He had said this, He breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, their sins have been forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they have been retained.” (Jn 15:26)
baptized with the Holy Spirit - This promise was first fulfilled on the Day of Pentecost (see Acts 11:15-16). The mention of the coming of the Spirit made them think that the kingdom was about to be established. That's why they asked about this in verse 6.
"Our Lord clearly had the prophetic plan in mind here. According to prophecy Jerusalem was to be the glory of all the earth. It was from Jerusalem that blessing was to flow to the nations. It was at Jerusalem that He was to reign as the Son of David. Indeed, according to His own promise, the twelve were to reign there with Him, sitting on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel (Matt 19:28). Until Jerusalem, the capital of the Hebrew nation, accepted Messiah, world peace and prosperity could never be. Therefore the apostles were instructed to begin their ministry at Jerusalem...This baptism with the Holy Spirit was not, of course, the baptism of Jews and Gentiles into one body. The baptism into one body was to be effect by the Spirit (1 Cor 12:13), but this is associated with "the mystery," which was then as yet unknown. The baptism here referred to was to be a baptism with, or in, the Spirit for miraculous power. With regard to this subject too we find additional light in the parallel passage at the close of Luke's gospel, where we find the Lord saying: "And, behold, I send the promise of my father upon you: but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high" (Lk 24:49, and cf. Acts 1:8). Aside from other miraculous powers which this baptism was to bestow, it was also to empower them to live as worthy representatives of the King. The Apostle Paul exhorts us today to be filled with the Spirit (Eph 5:18) but the very fact that he exhorts indicates that today this filling is a provision of grace to be appropriated by faith. This was not so with the Pentecostal believers. They were filled with the Spirit because they were baptized with the Spirit, not in response to prayer or faith but in fulfillment of a promise. The Holy Spirit was to come and baptize His own at the very time, at the very place and for the very purpose predicted. The prophetic clock had not yet stopped ticking...True, the same Spirit who came in fulfillment of prophecy has stayed in connection with the mystery revealed through Paul, but His manifestation and operations in the present dispensation differ in many respects from those of the Pentecostal era. The Spirit who now baptizes believers into the death, the burial and the resurrection of Christ, into Christ Himself and into one body, was then to empower His servants to live pleasing to God, to speak by inspiration as prophets and to perform miracles." (CR Stam)
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