Acts 1:4-26

I. PREPARATORIES FOR THE PENTECOST, Acts 1:4-26.

From among the events of the forty days Luke selects those only now which are preparatory to the great manifestation at the Pentecost. For, just as the section of the Gospel immediately succeeding the introduction narrates the preparation for the advent of the Son; so this section presents the preparation for that great advent of the Spirit. Hence, we have here successively, 1. The command to wait at Jerusalem for the Pentecostal baptism, 4, 5; 2. The promise of the gift or charisma of power, 6-8; 3. The ascension, which was the necessary condition of the Spirit’s mission, 9-14, 4. The re-completion of the apostolic number, in order that the full twelve may receive the Pentecostal inauguration, 15-26.