John Wesley

In my first book, O Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus began to do and to teach,

“The former treatise - In that important season which reached from the resurrection of Christ to his ascension, the former treatise ends, and this begins: this describing the Acts of the Holy Ghost, (by the apostles,) as that does the acts of Jesus Christ.”

For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.”

“Ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost - And so are all true believers to the end of the world. But the extraordinary gifts of the Holy Ghost also are here promised.”

But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, and you will be My witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends…

“But ye shall receive power - and shall be witnesses to me - That is, ye shall be empowered to witness my Gospel, both by your preaching and suffering.”

When they arrived, they went to the upper room where they were staying: Peter and John, James and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James son of Alphaeus, Simon…

“They went up into the upper room - The upper rooms, so frequently mentioned in Scripture, were chambers in the highest part of the house, set apart by the Jews for private prayer.”

(Now with the reward for his wickedness Judas bought a field; there he fell headlong and burst open in the middle, and all his intestines spilled out.

“This man purchased a field with the reward of iniquity - That is, a field was purchased with the reward of his iniquity; though very possibly Judas might design the purchase.”

This became known to all who lived in Jerusalem, so they called that field in their own language Akeldama, that is, Field of Blood.)

“In their own tongue - This expression, That is, the field of blood, St. Luke seems to have added to the words of St. Peter, for the use of Theophilus and other readers who did not understand Hebrew.”

So they proposed two men: Joseph called Barsabbas (also known as Justus) and Matthias.

“And they appointed two - So far the faithful could go by consulting together, but no further. Therefore here commenced the proper use of the lot, whereby a matter of importance, which cannot be determined by any ordinary method, is committed to the Divine decision.”

When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place.

“At the pentecost of Sinai, in the Old Testament, and the pentecost of Jerusalem, in the New, where the two grand manifestations of God, the legal and the evangelical; the one from the mountain, and the other from heaven; the terrible, and the merciful one.”

They saw tongues like flames of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them.

“And there appeared distinct tongues, as of fire - That is, small flames of fire. This is all which the phrase, tongues of fire, means in the language of the seventy.”

And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.

“And this family praising God together, with the tongues of all the world, was an earnest that the whole world should in due time praise God in their various tongues.”

Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene; visitors from Rome,

“Roman sojourners - Born at Rome, but now living at Jerusalem. These seem to have come to Jerusalem after those who are above mentioned. All of them were partly Jews by birth, and partly proselytes.”

both Jews and converts to Judaism; Cretans and Arabs—we hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues!”

“Cretans - One island seems to be mentioned for all. The wonderful works of God - Probably those which related to the miracles, death, resurrection, and ascension of Christ, together with the effusion of his Spirit, as a fulfilment of his promises, and the glorious…”

But others mocked them and said, “They are drunk on new wine!”

“These mockers appear to have been some of the natives of Judea, and inhabitants of Jerusalem, (who understood only the dialect of the country,) by the apostle's immediately directing his discourse to them in the next verse.”

Then Peter stood up with the Eleven, lifted up his voice, and addressed the crowd: “Men of Judea and all who dwell in Jerusalem, let this be known to you…

“Men of Judea - That is, ye that are born in Judea. St. Peter spoke in Hebrew, which they all understood.”

The sun will be turned to darkness, and the moon to blood, before the coming of the great and glorious Day of the Lord.

“The moon shall be turned into blood - A bloody colour: before the day of the Lord - Eminently the last day; though not excluding any other day or season, wherein the Lord shall manifest his glory, in taking vengeance of his adversaries.”

But God raised Him from the dead, releasing Him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for Him to be held in its clutches.

“Having loosed the pains of death - The word properly means, the pains of a woman in travail. As it was not possible that he should be held under it - Because the Scripture must needs be fulfilled.”

David says about Him: ‘I saw the Lord always before me; because He is at my right hand, I will not be shaken.

“But it does not appear, that ever our Lord went into hell. His soul, when it was separated from the body, did not go thither, but to paradise, Luke xxiii, 43.”

God has raised this Jesus to life, to which we are all witnesses.

“He foreseeing this, spake of the resurrection Of Christ - St. Peter argues thus: It is plain, David did not speak this of himself. Therefore he spake of Christ's rising. But how does that promise of a kingdom imply his resurrection?”

Exalted, then, to the right hand of God, He has received from the Father the promised Holy Spirit and has poured out what you now see and hear.

“Being exalted by the right hand of God - By the right hand; that is, the mighty power of God. Our Lord was exalted at his ascension to God's right hand in heaven.”

Therefore let all Israel know with certainty that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ!”

“Lord - Jesus, after his exaltation, is constantly meant by this word in the New Testament, unless sometimes where it occurs, in a text quoted from the Old Testament.”

Selling their possessions and goods, they shared with anyone who was in need.

“And if the whole Christian Church had continued in this spirit, this usage must have continued through all ages.”

With one accord they continued to meet daily in the temple courts and to break bread from house to house, sharing their meals with gladness and sincerity of heart,

“Continuing daily - breaking the bread - in the Lord's Supper, as did many Churches for some ages. They partook of their food with gladness and singleness of heart - They carried the same happy and holy temper through all their common actions: eating and…”

One afternoon Peter and John were going up to the temple at the hour of prayer, the ninth hour.

“The chief hours of prayer were the third and ninth; at which seasons the morning and evening sacrifices were offered, and incense (a kind of emblem representing prayer) burnt on the golden altar.”

And a man who was lame from birth was being carried to the temple gate called Beautiful, where he was put every day to beg from those entering the temple…

“At the gate of the temple, called Beautiful - This gate was added by Herod the Great, between the court of the Gentiles and that of Israel.”

The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God of our fathers, has glorified His servant Jesus.

“The God of our fathers - This was wisely introduced in the beginning of his discourse, that it might appear they taught no new religion, inconsistent with that of Moses, and were far from having the least design to divert their regards from the God…”