Shǐtúxíngzhuàn 1:3-11

3 Tā shòu haì zhī hòu , yòng xǔduō de píngjù , jiāng zìjǐ huó huó de xiǎn gĕi shǐtú kàn , sì shí tiān zhī jiǔ xiàng tāmen xiǎnxiàn , jiǎng shuō shén guó de shì .

4 Yēsū hé tāmen jùjí de shíhou , zhǔfu tāmen shuō , búyào líkāi Yēlùsǎlĕng , yào dĕnghòu fù suǒ yīngxǔ de , jiù shì nǐmen tīng wǒ shuō guō de .

5 Yuēhàn shì yòng shuǐ shīxǐ . dàn bù duō jǐ rì , nǐmen yào shòu Shènglíng de xǐ .

6 Tāmen jùjí de shíhou , wèn Yēsū shuō , Zhǔ a , nǐ fùxīng Yǐsèliè guó , jiù zaì zhè shíhou má .

7 Yēsū duì tāmen shuō , fù píng zhe zìjǐ de quánbǐng , suǒ déng de shíhou rìqī , bù shì nǐmen kĕyǐ zhīdào de .

8 Dàn Shènglíng jiànglín zaì nǐmen shēnshang , nǐmen jiù bì dé zhe nénglì . bìng yào zaì Yēlùsǎlĕng , Yóutaì quán dì , hé Sāmǎlìyà , zhídào dìjí , zuò wǒde jiànzhèng .

9 Shuō le zhè huà , tāmen zhēng kàn de shíhou , tā jiù beì qǔ shǎng shēng , yǒu yī duǒ yúncai bǎ tā jiē qù , biàn kàn bù jiàn tā le .

10 Dàng tā wǎng shàng qù , tāmen déngjīng wàng tiān de shíhou , hūrán yǒu liǎng gèrén , shēn chuān bái yī , zhàn zaì pángbiān , shuō ,

11 Jiālìlì rén nǎ , nǐmen wèishénme zhàn zhe wàng tiān ne . zhè líkāi nǐmen beì jiē shēng tiān de Yēsū , nǐmen jiàn tā zĕnyàng wǎng tiān shàng qù , tā hái yào zĕnyàng lái .

Shǐtúxíngzhuàn 1:3-11 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO ACTS

This book, in some copies, is called, "The Acts of the holy Apostles". It contains an history of the ministry and miracles of the apostles of Christ, and is a sort of a journal of their actions, from whence it takes its name. It begins at the ascension of Christ, and reaches to the imprisonment of the Apostle Paul at Rome; and is a history of upwards of thirty years: it gives an account of the first Gospel church at Jerusalem, and of the progress of the Gospel there, and in Judea, by the means of all the apostles, and particularly Peter, the minister of the circumcision, and who also first opened the door of faith to the Gentiles: it shows how the Gospel went forth from Jerusalem, and was spread in the Gentile world, especially by the Apostle Paul, whose companion Luke was, that was the writer of this book; for that it was written by him is very evident from the beginning of it, it being dedicated to the same person his Gospel is, and of which he makes mention; and in the Complutensian edition the book is called, "The Acts of the Apostles of Saint Luke the Evangelist"; and so the title of it in the Syriac version is, "the Book of the Acts: that is, the history of the blessed apostles, which my Lord Luke the Evangelist collected for the saints". It was by him written in the Greek language; and we are told {a}, that there was a version of it into the Hebrew language, and which was laid up in the library of the Jews at Tiberias; and is cited by R. Azarias {b} under the name of twlweph, "the Acts": of the authority of this book there has been no doubt, among the ancients, only Cerinthus the heretic endeavoured to discredit it; and it was not received by another sort of heretics called Severiani, from Severus, a disciple of Tatian {c}. It is a most excellent and useful work, showing the first planting of Christianity, and of Christian churches, both among the Jews and Gentiles; the spread and progress of the Gospel in several parts of the world; what sufferings the apostles endured for the sake of it; and with what patience and courage they bore them; and what success attended them; and is a standing proof and confirmation of the Christian religion.

{a} Epiphan. Contr. Haeres. l. 1. Haeres. 30. {b} Meor Enayim, p. 167. {c} Euseb. Eccl. Hist. l. 4. c. 29.