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After His suffering, He presented Himself to them with many convincing proofs that He was alive. He appeared to them over a span of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God.
Acts 1:3 · Berean Standard Bible
Parallel translations
  • WEB To 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.
  • KJV To whom also he shewed himself alive after his passion by many infallible proofs, being seen of them forty days, and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God:
  • NKJV to whom He also presented Himself alive after His suffering by many infallible proofs, being seen by them during forty days and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God.
  • NASB To these He also presented Himself alive after His suffering, by many convincing proofs, appearing to them over a period of forty days and speaking of things regarding the kingdom of God.
  • NLT During the forty days after he suffered and died, he appeared to the apostles from time to time, and he proved to them in many ways that he was actually alive. And he talked to them about the Kingdom of God.

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

After His suffering Jesus showed Himself alive by many convincing proofs over forty days, teaching about God's Kingdom. It affirms the bodily resurrection as a historically attested fact.

Overview

Luke emphasizes the certainty of the resurrection through 'many proofs' and repeated appearances. The forty-day period of teaching about the Kingdom prepared the apostles for their mission. The resurrection is foundational to the gospel, validating Jesus' identity and securing the believer's hope.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 23

  • 1 Cor 15:5–7and that He appeared to Cephas and then to the Twelve.
  • Acts 13:31and for many days He was seen by those who had accompanied Him from Galilee to Jerusalem. They are now His witnesses to our people.
  • John 20:26Eight days later, His disciples were once again inside with the doors locked, and Thomas was with them. Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.”
  • 1 Jn 1:1That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our own eyes, which we have gazed upon and touched with our own hands—this is the Word of life.
  • John 21:1Later, by the Sea of Tiberias, Jesus again revealed Himself to the disciples. He made Himself known in this way:
  • John 21:14This was now the third time that Jesus appeared to the disciples after He was raised from the dead.
  • Matt 28:9Suddenly Jesus met them and said, “Greetings!” They came to Him, grasped His feet, and worshiped Him.
  • Acts 28:31Boldly and freely he proclaimed the kingdom of God and taught about the Lord Jesus Christ.
  • Matt 21:43Therefore I tell you that the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people who will produce its fruit.
  • Luke 17:20–21When asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, Jesus replied, “The kingdom of God will not come with observable signs.
  • 1 Th 2:12encouraging you, comforting you, and urging you to walk in a manner worthy of God, who calls you into His own kingdom and glory.
  • Col 1:13He has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of His beloved Son,
  • John 20:1–21Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the entrance.
  • Rom 14:17For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit.
  • Matt 28:16–17Meanwhile, the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain Jesus had designated.
  • Deut 9:9When I went up on the mountain to receive the tablets of stone, the tablets of the covenant that the LORD made with you, I stayed on the mountain forty days and forty nights. I ate no bread and drank no water.
  • Mark 16:10–14She went and told those who had been with Him, who were mourning and weeping.
  • Luke 24:1–53On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, the women came to the tomb, bringing the spices they had prepared.
  • Matt 3:2and saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near.”
  • Matt 4:2After fasting forty days and forty nights, He was hungry.
  • Deut 9:18Then I fell down before the LORD for forty days and forty nights, as I had done the first time. I did not eat bread or drink water because of all the sin you had committed in doing what was evil in the sight of the LORD and provoking Him to anger.
  • 1 Kgs 19:8So he got up and ate and drank. And strengthened by that food, he walked forty days and forty nights until he reached Horeb, the mountain of God.
  • Dan 2:44–45In the days of those kings, the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed, nor will it be left to another people. It will shatter all these kingdoms and bring them to an end, but will itself stand forever.

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (3)

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 1:3YouTube · 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 1:3 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.