'In the first book, Theophilus, I dealt with all that Jesus did and taught until the day he was taken up, after giving instructions through the holy Spirit to the apostles whom he had chosen. He presented himself alive to them by many proofs after he had suffered, appearing to them during forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God. While meeting with them, he enjoined them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for “the promise of the Father about which you have heard me speak; for John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the holy Spirit (Acts 1:1-5).”
The first book was the Gospel of Luke and St. Luke the Evangelist is also presumed to be the author of the Acts of the Apostles. The risen Lord gave final instructions through the holy Spirit to the Apostles before he ascended to heaven. The 40 days means a ‘sufficient’ period of time where the risen Christ appeared to the apostles and taught them about the Kingdom of God. He also appeared to over 500 believers (1 Cor. 15:3-8). At the beginning of his life Jesus was presented in the temple in Jerusalem (Lk. 2:22). Jerusalem is the place where the Christian Church was born at Pentecost. Luke presented Jesus as ascending shortly before Pentecost by the statement; “But in a few days you will be baptized with the holy Spirit (v. 5).”
Almighty God, we offer our meagre prayers of thanksgiving and supplications with the hope that through the power of the Holy Spirit they may be acceptable to you. Grant us the grace to recognize you when you are with us and the understanding to do what you ask of us. This we pray through Christ our Lord. Amen!
References:
Raymond E. Brown, Joseph A. Fitzmyer, & Roland E. Murphy, (Eds.). (1990, 1968). The New Jerome Biblical Commentary. Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentis Hall, Inc.
Jose M. Casciaro, Santiago Ausin, Gonzalo Aranda, Claudio Basevi, Vincente Balaguer, Francisco Varo, James Gavigan, Brian McCarthy & Thomas McGovern (Eds.). (2017). The Navarre Bible - New Testament. Dublin 8, Ireland: Four Courts Press.
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