1The first book I wrote, Theophilus, concerned all that Jesus began both to do and to teach, 2until the day in which he was received up, after he had given commandment through the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom he had chosen. 3To these he also showed himself alive after he suffered, by many proofs, appearing to them over a period of forty days and speaking about God’s Kingdom. 4Being assembled together with them, he commanded them, “Don’t depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which you heard from me. 5For John indeed baptized in water, but you will be baptized in the Holy Spirit not many days from now.”
6Therefore, when they had come together, they asked him, “Lord, are you now restoring the kingdom to Israel?”
7He said to them, “It isn’t for you to know times or seasons which the Father has set within his own authority. 8But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you. You will be witnesses to me in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the uttermost parts of the earth.”
9When he had said these things, as they were looking, he was taken up, and a cloud received him out of their sight. 10While they were looking steadfastly into the sky as he went, behold, two men stood by them in white clothing, 11who also said, “You men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into the sky? This Jesus, who was received up from you into the sky, will come back in the same way as you saw him going into the sky.”
12Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mountain called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, a Sabbath day’s journey away. 13When they had come in, they went up into the upper room where they were staying, that is Peter, John, James, Andrew, Philip, Thomas, Bartholomew, Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus, Simon the Zealot, and Judas the son of James. 14All these with one accord continued steadfastly in prayer and supplication, along with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers.
15In these days, Peter stood up in the middle of the disciples (and the number of names was about one hundred twenty), and said, 16“Brothers, it was necessary that this Scripture should be fulfilled, which the Holy Spirit spoke before by the mouth of David concerning Judas, who was guide to those who took Jesus. 17For he was counted with us, and received his portion in this ministry. 18Now this man obtained a field with the reward for his wickedness; and falling headlong, his body burst open and all his intestines gushed out. 19It became known to everyone who lived in Jerusalem that in their language that field was called ‘Akeldama,’ that is, ‘The field of blood.’ 20For it is written in the book of Psalms,
‘Let his habitation be made desolate.
Let no one dwell in it;’
and,
‘Let another take his office.’
21“Of the men therefore who have accompanied us all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, 22beginning from the baptism of John to the day that he was received up from us, of these one must become a witness with us of his resurrection.”
23They put forward two: Joseph called Barsabbas, who was also called Justus, and Matthias. 24They prayed and said, “You, Lord, who know the hearts of all men, show which one of these two you have chosen 25to take part in this ministry and apostleship from which Judas fell away, that he might go to his own place.” 26They drew lots for them, and the lot fell on Matthias; and he was counted with the eleven apostles.
As the Lord instructed His disciples on the coming of the Kingdom, He predicted an order of necessary events. Before the Son of Man's visible return "in His day" (Luke 17:24), He must first suffer many things and be rejected (17:25). Certainty of sequential activities in the future is possible because God has fixed (or decreed) all that occurs for the accomplishment of His eternal purpose. Predictive prophecy is future history. Jesus' fulfillment of messianic prophecies demonstrated the veracity of His claims, and the literal fulfillment of some prophecies in the past gives us reason to expect the literal fulfillment of other prophecies in the future. After His resurrection, when Jesus opened the minds of His disciples to understand the Scriptures, He first related the events of the immediate past to the prophecies of the distant past. He said "...'Thus it is written, and thus it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead the third day...'" (24:46, italics added for emphasis). Old Testament texts that predict these events include Psalms 16:10; 22; 118:22; and Isaiah 53. Next, he relates the events of the immediate future to the unfolding of the same divine will: "...'and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem'" (v. 47). Verse 47 practically outlines the events later recorded in the book of Acts (see Acts 1:8). As Luke tracks the march of Christ's ministry geographically, from Galilee to Jerusalem (in his Gospel), and from Jerusalem to Judea, Samaria and Rome (in the Acts), there is also a sense of progress toward the fulfillment of prophecy. It is a great comfort to know that history is destined to fulfill the plan of God for the good of the believer and the glory of God.