Then the apostles returned to Jerusalem from the hill called the Mount of Olives, a Sabbath day’s walk from the city. When they arrived, they went upstairs to the room where they were staying. Those present were Peter, John, James and Andrew; Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew; James son of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot, and Judas son of James. They all joined together constantly in prayer, along with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers. In m

After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight.They were looking intently up into the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them. “Men of Galilee,” they said, “why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.” The joy of a returning friend. This is not a time for standing arou

Then they gathered around him and asked him, “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?” He said to them: “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” The disciples question and indeed their longing has been for the restoration of the kingdom. Thr

On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptised with the Holy Spirit.” For Luke, the Holy Spirit is pivotal to life in the kingdom. Major moments and shifts in the life of Jesus and the life of the church are marked by the activity of the Holy Spirit. The incarnation, the commiss

After his suffering, he presented himself to them and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive. He appeared to them over a period of forty day and spoke about the kingdom of God. It makes a great difference that Jesus is alive. It changes everything. Paul writes to the Romans (Romans 5:6-7) that for a good person someone may dare to die. We were not good but still Christ died for us. And no matter how daring the one dying and no matter how good the cause, that person wou

In my former book, Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus began to do and to teach until the day he was taken up to heaven, after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles he had chosen. What better way to become Theophilus (a ‘friend of God’: from Theos = God and philos = an active friendship) than to meet Jesus in the writings of Luke. The book of Acts is the second part of a two book story. The first, Luke’s gospel account, systematically reports eyewit