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Beginning from the baptism of John, unto that same day that he was taken up from us, must one be ordained to be a witness with us of his resurrection.
Acts 1:22 · King James Version
Parallel translations
  • WEB beginning 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.”
  • BSB beginning from John’s baptism until the day Jesus was taken up from us. For one of these must become a witness with us of His resurrection.”
  • NKJV beginning from the baptism of John to that day when He was taken up from us, one of these must become a witness with us of His resurrection.”
  • NASB beginning with the baptism of John until the day that He was taken up from us—one of these must become a witness with us of His resurrection.”
  • NLT from the time he was baptized by John until the day he was taken from us. Whoever is chosen will join us as a witness of Jesus’ resurrection.”

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org

Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Quick answer

The replacement must have followed from John's baptism to the ascension and witnessed the resurrection. It defines the apostle's core task as testifying to the risen Christ.

Overview

Peter specifies that an apostle must witness to the resurrection, the central truth of the gospel. The candidate's involvement from John's baptism through the ascension qualifies him as a credible witness. This highlights that the church's message stands or falls on the reality of Christ's resurrection.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 10

  • Acts 1:2Until the day in which he was taken up, after that he through the Holy Ghost had given commandments unto the apostles whom he had chosen:
  • Acts 4:33And with great power gave the apostles witness of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus: and great grace was upon them all.
  • Mark 1:1–8The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God;
  • Acts 1:8–9But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.
  • John 15:27And ye also shall bear witness, because ye have been with me from the beginning.
  • Luke 3:1–18Now in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, Pontius Pilate being governor of Judaea, and Herod being tetrarch of Galilee, and his brother Philip tetrarch of Ituraea and of the region of Trachonitis, and Lysanias the tetrarch of Abilene,
  • Matt 3:1–17In those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judaea,
  • John 1:28–51These things were done in Bethabara beyond Jordan, where John was baptizing.
  • Acts 13:24–25When John had first preached before his coming the baptism of repentance to all the people of Israel.
  • Heb 2:3How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation; which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by them that heard him;

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (6)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Acts videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Acts 1:22YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on ActsMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.

Christ at the center

Acts is the risen Christ continuing his work by the Spirit through the church, as the apostles preach that there is salvation in no other name under heaven.

How Acts 1:22 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.

Original language

Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.