21:43 For this reason I tell you that the kingdom of God will be taken from you and given to a people 6 who will produce its fruit.
17:20 Now at one point 7 the Pharisees 8 asked Jesus 9 when the kingdom of God 10 was coming, so he answered, “The kingdom of God is not coming with signs 11 to be observed, 17:21 nor will they say, ‘Look, here it is!’ or ‘There!’ For indeed, the kingdom of God is 12 in your midst.” 13
24:44 Then 14 he said to them, “These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me 15 in the law of Moses and the prophets and the psalms 16 must be fulfilled.” 24:45 Then he opened their minds so they could understand the scriptures, 17 24:46 and said to them, “Thus it stands written that the Christ 18 would suffer 19 and would rise from the dead on the third day, 24:47 and repentance 20 for the forgiveness of sins would be proclaimed 21 in his name to all nations, 22 beginning from Jerusalem. 23 24:48 You are witnesses 24 of these things. 24:49 And look, I am sending you 25 what my Father promised. 26 But stay in the city 27 until you have been clothed with power 28 from on high.”
1:1 From Paul, 30 an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother,
1 tn Or “Messiah”; both “Christ” (Greek) and “Messiah” (Hebrew and Aramaic) mean “one who has been anointed.”
2 tn Or “openness.”
3 sn Proclaiming…with complete boldness and without restriction. Once again Paul’s imprisonment is on benevolent terms. The word of God is proclaimed triumphantly and boldly in Rome. Acts ends with this note: Despite all the attempts to stop it, the message goes forth.
4 tn Aram “after this.”
5 tn Grk “and saying, ‘Repent.’” The participle λέγων (legwn) at the beginning of v. 2 is redundant in English and has not been translated.
6 tn Or “to a nation” (so KJV, NASB, NLT).
7 tn The words “at one point” are supplied to indicate that the following incident is not necessarily in chronological sequence with the preceding event.
8 sn See the note on Pharisees in 5:17.
9 tn Grk “having been asked by the Pharisees.” The passive construction has been translated as an active one in keeping with contemporary English style, and the direct object, Jesus, has been supplied from the context.
10 sn The kingdom of God is a major theme of Jesus. It is a realm in which Jesus rules and to which those who trust him belong. See Luke 6:20; 11:20; 17:20-21.
11 tn Or “is not coming in a way that it can be closely watched” (L&N 24.48). Although there are differing interpretations of what this means, it probably refers to the cosmic signs often associated with the kingdom’s coming in the Jewish view (1 En. 91, 93; 2 Bar. 53—74). See D. L. Bock, Luke (BECNT), 2:1412-14, also H. Riesenfeld, TDNT 8:150.
12 tn This is a present tense in the Greek text. In contrast to waiting and looking for the kingdom, it is now available.
13 tn This is a far better translation than “in you.” Jesus would never tell the hostile Pharisees that the kingdom was inside them. The reference is to Jesus present in their midst. He brings the kingdom. Another possible translation would be “in your grasp.” For further discussion and options, see D. L. Bock, Luke (BECNT), 2:1414-19.
14 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.
15 sn Everything written about me. The divine plan, events, and scripture itself are seen here as being one.
16 sn For a similar threefold division of the OT scriptures, see the prologue to Sirach, lines 8-10, and from Qumran, the epilogue to 4QMMT, line 10.
17 sn Luke does not mention specific texts here, but it is likely that many of the scriptures he mentioned elsewhere in Luke-Acts would have been among those he had in mind.
18 tn Or “Messiah”; both “Christ” (Greek) and “Messiah” (Hebrew and Aramaic) mean “one who has been anointed.”
19 tn Three Greek infinitives are the key to this summary: (1) to suffer, (2) to rise, and (3) to be preached. The Christ (Messiah) would be slain, would be raised, and a message about repentance would go out into all the world as a result. All of this was recorded in the scripture. The remark shows the continuity between Jesus’ ministry, the scripture, and what disciples would be doing as they declared the Lord risen.
20 sn This repentance has its roots in declarations of the Old Testament. It is the Hebrew concept of a turning of direction.
21 tn Or “preached,” “announced.”
22 sn To all nations. The same Greek term (τὰ ἔθνη, ta eqnh) may be translated “the Gentiles” or “the nations.” The hope of God in Christ was for all the nations from the beginning.
23 sn Beginning from Jerusalem. See Acts 2, which is where it all starts.
map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
24 sn You are witnesses. This becomes a key concept of testimony in Acts. See Acts 1:8.
25 tn Grk “sending on you.”
26 tn Grk “the promise of my Father,” with τοῦ πατρός (tou patros) translated as a subjective genitive. This is a reference to the Holy Spirit and looks back to how one could see Messiah had come with the promise of old (Luke 3:15-18). The promise is rooted in Jer 31:31 and Ezek 36:26.
27 sn The city refers to Jerusalem.
28 sn Until you have been clothed with power refers to the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. What the Spirit supplies is enablement. See Luke 12:11-12; 21:12-15. The difference the Spirit makes can be seen in Peter (compare Luke 22:54-62 with Acts 2:14-41).
29 tn Here αὐτοῦ (autou) has been translated as a subjective genitive (“he loves”).
30 tn Grk “Paul.” The word “from” is not in the Greek text, but has been supplied to indicate the sender of the letter.
31 tn The article with the genitive modifier τῆς πίστεως (th" pistew") is functioning as a possessive pronoun (ExSyn 215).
32 tn The genitive τῆς ἐνεργείας (th" energeia") has been translated as an objective genitive, “faith in the power.”