"Until the day in which He ascended." The Ascension of the Lord is indicated here as a turning point: it is the end of the Gospel and the beginning of the Apostolic history. Up to this moment, the Lord's visible activity on earth took place, and from this moment His invisible activity begins.

"Having given commandments to the Apostles by the Holy Spirit" – the importance of this turning point in the history of the salvation of mankind is that the Lord ascended, leaving to His Disciples a commandment-testament, as an expression of His last will to spread and establish His teaching throughout the world.

"By the Holy Spirit" – the Lord Jesus Christ created everything "by the Holy Spirit", for, in the words of Blessed Theophylact, "where the Son creates, the Spirit cooperates and is co-existent, as one in essence". This testament is not given to everyone, but only to those "whom He has chosen" – He has chosen for this great work.

In order that the Apostles might bear witness to Him in all the world, the Lord revealed Himself to them alive after His sufferings and death, and assured them of the truth of His resurrection, appearing to them for forty days. but he appeared to them many times, and only after forty days did he ascend from them to heaven. During this period He taught them the mysteries of the Kingdom of God, presumably the establishment of this Kingdom, or the Church of Christ, on earth, in order to prepare them for the Apostolic activity that lay ahead of them.

The Lord's Instructions and His Ascension

(1:4-12)

The Lord, "having gathered them together, commanded them: do not depart from Jerusalem," which required no small amount of self-denial from the disciples, for they, of course, would not want to remain in this city, hostile to their Teacher and to themselves. But such was the will of God: "For out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord out of Jerusalem" (Isaiah 2:3ff.) — it was precisely where the enmity against God and His Christ reached its highest expression that the abundance of God's grace and begin to spread the gospel throughout the world. With this heavy command to remain in the hostile city, the Lord immediately combined the joyful promise of sending down to the Apostles an all-powerful Protector and Guide from the Almighty Father – the Holy Spirit. Undoubtedly, by "promised of the Father" is meant precisely the Holy Spirit, Whom God the Father promised to send down through the prophets in the Old Testament (e.g., Isaiah 44:3; Joel 3:1).

"What ye have heard from me" — the Lord spoke to the Apostles about the Holy Spirit many times, and especially in His last farewell discourse, calling Him "another Comforter" (Luke 12:12; Matthew 10:20; John 14:16-17, 26; 15:26; 16:7, 13).

"For John baptized with water..." this descent of the Holy Spirit was also spoken of by the greatest of the prophets, St. John the Baptist, who contrasted his watery baptism, as a preparatory baptism, with "the baptism of the Holy Spirit" (Matthew 3:5; Luke 3:16; John 1:33). The expression "baptized with the Holy Spirit" figuratively indicates the fullness and abundance of the gifts of the Holy Spirit – the Apostles, as it were, will immerse themselves in this all-cleansing and life-giving power of the Holy Spirit.

"In a few days" – the Lord does not indicate the exact day of the descent of the Holy Spirit, so that the expectation would support in the Apostles an unceasing spiritual vigilance and a joyful desire for the fulfillment of this great promise, thereby kindling faith in them. This was fulfilled ten days after the Ascension of the Lord, on the day of the Jewish year of that year and the first Christian Pentecost [1].

"Is it not at this time, O Lord, that Thou dost restore the kingdom to Israel?" – this question indicates that the Apostles had not yet parted with the sensual conceptions of the Kingdom of the Messiah, common to all Jews. Only after the descent of the Holy Spirit upon them were they finally reborn spiritually. The Lord's disciples asked Him this question because they knew the prophet Joel's prediction about "an abundant outpouring of the gifts of the Holy Spirit in the Kingdom of the Messiah" (2:28). The Lord wisely removes this irrelevant question, saying: "It is not your business to know the times or seasons which the Father has set in His own power." In a few days, when the Holy Spirit descends upon them, they will no longer ask themselves the question: their business is to be witnesses of the Lord, that is, to preach His gospel, and for this they will receive the necessary "power when the Holy Spirit comes upon them."

"In Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the ends of the earth." Jerusalem, as the city in which the Lord was crucified, must first hear the preaching of the Messiah crucified and resurrected, then the Word of God must first be preached to all the chosen people of God in Judea, then to the Samaritans as the closest neighbors, and then to the pagans throughout the world.

"When He had said these things, He arose in their eyes, and a cloud took Him out of their sight" – two moments are indicated here: first, the Lord rose in the eyes of the disciples, separated Himself from the earth so that the disciples could follow Him with their eyes as He soared in the air, and then He disappeared behind the cloud. Perhaps this cloud was a symbol of the presence of the glory of God, which in the Old Testament appeared in the form of a bright cloud (cf. Matthew 17:5). Struck by the magnitude of the spectacle, the disciples probably stared for a long time, their eyes fixed on the heavens, when the Lord had already disappeared from them, until "two men" in white robes, undoubtedly angels, appeared to them. The white garment is a symbol of their heavenly purity and holiness: only angels could bring the news of the second coming of Christ to the disciples.

"Men of Galilee! Why do you stand and look up to heaven?" – in this question there is a gentle reproach to the disciples: there is no need for them to remain so long in such an inactive position – they must prepare for the responsible task ahead of them, to which they have been called by the ascended Lord. All the thoughts of the disciples, as well as, of course, all sincere followers of Christ, should henceforth be directed to the expectation of His Second Glorious Coming to earth, and all life should be a preparation for it.