Acts 1:12 - Printer Friendly

ESV: Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, a Sabbath day’s journey away.

NIV: Then the apostles returned to Jerusalem from the hill called the Mount of Olives, a Sabbath day's walk from the city.

NASB: Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mountain called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, a Sabbath day’s journey away.

CSB: Then they returned to Jerusalem from the Mount of Olives, which is near Jerusalem--a Sabbath day's journey away.

NLT: Then the apostles returned to Jerusalem from the Mount of Olives, a distance of half a mile.

KJV: Then returned they unto Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is from Jerusalem a sabbath day's journey.

NKJV: Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, a Sabbath day’s journey.

Jesus took the disciples "as far as Bethany" (Luke 24:50), told them to expect the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:5), and rose into the clouds (Acts 1:9). While the disciples stood stunned at the sudden departure of their teacher and friend, two men, presumably angels, broke their reverie, telling them Jesus would return in the same way (Acts 1:10–11).

The Mount of Olives is actually a ridge with three summits, stretching two miles north to south, east of Jerusalem. Bethany is on the far, east side, about a mile and a half from Jerusalem. A Sabbath day's journey is less than a mile, so the exact travel of the disciples is unclear.

The Mount of Olives holds a significant place in the life of Jesus. It is where He started His ride in the triumphal entry (Matthew 21:1) and where He and the disciples slept from that day until the crucifixion (Luke 21:37). After the Last Supper, Jesus took the disciples to the garden of Gethsemane on the Mount of Olives where He was betrayed by Judas, abandoned by His friends, and arrested (Matthew 26:36, 47–56). And when Jesus returns, "his feet shall stand on the Mount of Olives that lies before Jerusalem on the east, and the Mount of Olives shall be split in two from east to west by a very wide valley" (Zechariah 14:4), inaugurating Jesus' destruction of the Antichrist and His reign in the millennial kingdom.

The disciples no longer have the immediate presence of Jesus, but they have each other. They will join in an upper room and pray, about 120 people total (Acts 1:13–15). Before they even receive the Holy Spirit, the first task of the incipient church is to seek God's guidance.

Acts 1:12–26 records what happens when the Jesus-followers pray. Jesus has ascended (Acts 1:9). The Holy Spirit is coming (Acts 1:5). The apostles don't really know what these things mean, but they know where to start. They join the other Jesus-followers in Jerusalem and start praying. The next order of business is to find a replacement for Judas Iscariot, who betrayed Jesus (Matthew 26:14–16, 47–50) and then hanged himself (Matthew 27:3–10). The remaining eleven apostles don't know this yet, but their third task will literally be to change the world.

Acts 1 sets the stage for the establishment of the church and the spread of the gospel. Jesus is alive but if the Holy Spirit is to come Jesus must ascend into heaven (John 16:7). The disciples obey His last instructions and wait in Jerusalem. Peter uses Old Testament Scripture to show the group of about 120 they must choose a disciple to replace Judas. The man must have been with them from Jesus' baptism to His ascension. Joseph Barsabbas and Matthias are put forward and, in the last use of the lots found in the Bible, Matthias is chosen.

Acts 1 is the second letter Luke wrote for Theophilus. In it, he narrates the transition between Jesus' ministry as described in the Gospel of Luke and the development and spread of the church. The disciples have received a temporary indwelling of the Holy Spirit (John 20:22), and Jesus has spent forty days reassuring His faithful followers (Acts 1:3), appearing to over five hundred in that short time (1 Corinthians 15:6). Now, the disciples complete some administrative-like tasks before the Holy Spirit can begin the ministry of the church on Pentecost (Acts 2).

The summary of the book of Acts is provided in Jesus' words in Acts 1:8: ''But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.'' In Acts 2:1–13, the Christ-followers receive the Holy Spirit. Acts 2:14—7:60 describes the rapid growth of the church in Jerusalem. Chapters 8—12 find Jewish persecution inadvertently spreading the gospel throughout Judea and Samaria. And in chapters 13—28, Paul and his companions spread the good news throughout the Roman Empire.