Acts 1:1–11
Jesus goes back to heaven
Ages 8 to 11
The account
Luke begins Acts by reminding Theophilus that his earlier writing told what Jesus began to do and teach. After Jesus suffered and died, he showed the apostles that he was alive. He appeared to them over forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God.
Jesus told the apostles not to leave Jerusalem. They were to wait for the promise of the Father, the Holy Ghost. The apostles asked whether Jesus would now restore the kingdom to Israel. Jesus answered that the times and seasons were under the Father's authority and were not for them to know.
Then Jesus told them what would happen when the Holy Ghost came upon them. They would receive power and be his witnesses in Jerusalem, in Judaea and Samaria, and to the farthest parts of the earth.
After Jesus said these things, the apostles watched as he was taken up. A cloud received him out of their sight. They kept looking toward heaven.
Two men in white clothing stood beside them and asked why they were gazing up into heaven. They said that this same Jesus, who had been taken into heaven, would come again in the same way they had seen him go.
The apostles had seen Jesus alive after his death. Now they had a clear instruction: wait for the Holy Ghost, then carry their witness far beyond Jerusalem.
Memory verse
And when he had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight.
Acts 1:9
Talk about it
- How long did Jesus appear to the apostles after his suffering?
- What did Jesus tell the apostles to wait for in Jerusalem?
- What did the two men in white clothing say after Jesus was taken up?
Try this
Draw four circles, one inside another, and label them Jerusalem, Judaea, Samaria and the farthest places. In each circle, write one way a message can move from one place to another.
What can we learn?
We can learn that waiting can be part of getting ready for an important task. The account also shows the apostles being given a mission much bigger than one city.
Ages 12 to 15
The account
The Book of Acts opens as a continuation of Luke's earlier account. Luke addresses Theophilus and refers back to what Jesus began to do and teach before he was taken up. After his suffering, Jesus showed himself alive to the apostles with many proofs. Over forty days he appeared to them and spoke about the kingdom of God.
While meeting with them, Jesus told the apostles not to leave Jerusalem. They were to wait for what the Father had promised. John had baptized with water, but Jesus said that they would soon be baptized with the Holy Ghost.
The apostles then asked a question that mattered deeply to them: was this the time when Jesus would restore the kingdom to Israel? Jesus did not give them a date or timetable. He said that the times and seasons were under the Father's authority and were not theirs to know. Instead, he turned their attention to the work ahead. When the Holy Ghost came upon them, they would receive power and would be witnesses to Jesus in Jerusalem, throughout Judaea and Samaria, and to the uttermost part of the earth.
After Jesus said this, the apostles watched as he was taken up. A cloud received him out of their sight. They continued looking toward heaven as he went.
Then two men in white clothing stood beside them. They addressed the apostles as men of Galilee and asked why they were standing there gazing into heaven. They said that this same Jesus, who had been taken from them into heaven, would come again in the same manner that they had seen him go.
This moment closes the period in which the risen Jesus was appearing to the apostles and opens the next part of Acts. The apostles had seen him alive after his death, heard his teaching about God's kingdom, and received a command to wait in Jerusalem for the Holy Ghost. Their task would not stay local. The pattern Jesus gave them moved outward from Jerusalem to the surrounding regions and then beyond them.
The account also leaves the apostles between two promises. The Holy Ghost would come soon, and Jesus would one day return. Acts immediately continues with the apostles in Jerusalem, waiting as Jesus had instructed.
Memory verse
And when he had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight.
Acts 1:9
Think about it
- Why does Acts mention that Jesus appeared over forty days and showed the apostles that he was alive?
- Why does Jesus answer the apostles' question about timing by turning their attention to the task ahead?
- What does the movement from Jerusalem to Judaea, Samaria and the uttermost part of the earth show about the scope of their witness?
- What does the message from the two men add to the apostles' understanding of Jesus' departure?
Going deeper
Acts 1 joins the end of Luke's Gospel to the beginning of the church's witness in Acts. Jesus' promise about the Holy Ghost points directly to Pentecost in Acts 2, while the outward movement from Jerusalem becomes a pattern for much of the rest of the book. The promise that Jesus will return also leaves the account looking forward as well as backward.
What can we learn?
This account shows that the apostles were not given every answer about timing. A lesson we can draw is that people can act faithfully on clear instructions even when some future details remain unknown.