Author: Administrador

Our lection today is the first recorded faith crisis of the Early Church: What to do with the betrayer, Judas. We are not given access to the debates and deliberations that precede Peter’s explication, but the first thing I notice in this text is that the time was ripe for a faith crisis. An Ecclesial … Continue reading “Acts 1:15-17, 21-26 Commentary by Jacob Myers”

For well over two centuries (or more correctly, for two or three millennia) scholars, pastors, lay leaders, skeptics, devout believers, and dedicated unbelievers have debated the truth and accuracy of scripture Errors, inconsistencies, and contradictions have been alleged, refuted, explained away (sometimes torturously), or accepted. Some see them as evidence that the Bible is not … Continue reading “Acts 1:15-17, 21-26 Commentary by Frank L. Crouch”

Though Luke 24:51 intimates it, Acts 1:9 is the only place in the New Testament that graphically depicts the Lord’s ascension. The surrounding text is a semicolon between two exclamation points: Jesus’ resurrection (Luke 24:1-49) and subsequent forty days of his appearances (Acts 1:3), and the Day of Pentecost on which the church is dramatically … Continue reading “Acts 1:6-14 Commentary by C. Clifton Black”

Unfortunately, Jesus’ ascension has become easy to overlook. Therefore it’s easily considered irrelevant. Creativity-impaired liturgical traditions keep it hidden from plain sight when they insist we observe it on Thursdays. But even more damaging is the widespread ignorance of what the ascension might mean for our knowledge of who Jesus Christ is and our understanding … Continue reading “Acts 1:6-14 Commentary by Matt Skinner”

Falling forty days after Easter, Ascension Day has never held that important a place in the Church Calendar. Its place in Christian tradition, however, has been securely fixed by its prominent role in Christian creeds and confessions. A myriad of creeds and confessions echo the claim of the Niceno-Constantinopolitan Creed that Christ “ascended into heaven.”1 … Continue reading “Acts 1:6-14 Commentary by Mikeal C. Parsons”

Historically, Acts has been read by the church in worship during the Season of Easter. This is because it is the only narrative in the New Testament that tells the story of the community that formed in the wake of — that is, was formed by — Christ’s resurrection. As the second work in Luke’s … Continue reading “Acts 1:1-14 Commentary by O. Wesley Allen Jr.”

The Ascension seems like the poor cousin among church festivals: often overlooked, passed over without being missed. A few congregations will worship on the Thursday that comes 40 days after Easter. More congregations will observe the Ascension on the following Sunday, thus bumping the seventh Sunday of Easter from the calendar. Most, I suspect, will … Continue reading “Acts 1:1-11 Commentary by Brian Peterson”

Luke has connected Acts with his Gospel or his first book (proton), both of which are addressed to Theophilus (Luke 1:1-4; Acts 1:1). Perhaps Theophilus (a combination of the Greek noun theos, translated “God,” and the verb phileo, meaning “to love” or “cherish”) refers to a historical person and/or symbolically to readers who consider themselves … Continue reading “Acts 1:1-11 Commentary by Mitzi J. Smith”

On the liturgical calendar, this Sunday is known as Ascension Sunday. In the Christian tradition, it commemorates the ascension of Jesus into heaven. Ascension Day, celebrated 40 days after Easter, actually occurs on May 14 this year, but most of those who celebrate it will do so on Sunday. As Luke begins to write the … Continue reading “Acts 1:1-11 Commentary by Coleman Baker”

The book of Acts begins by reminding its reader, Theophilus, of an earlier book — the Gospel of Luke (Luke 1:1-4), placing the reader in the midst of an extended story with Jesus at the center. The first book portrays Jesus — the crucified, risen, and ascended redeemer — in the context of a drastic … Continue reading “Acts 1:1-11 Commentary by Frank L. Crouch”