"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.

"He will come in the same way" – the second coming of the Lord will be similar to His ascension, that is, the Lord will appear again in His glorified body and in a way visible to all. This means that the Second Coming cannot be understood only allegorically, symbolically, as some rationalists understand it. The Lord Himself in the Gospel (Matthew 24:30) said that He would appear "in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory." This is now confirmed by the Angels. Thus, the second glorious coming of the Lord, bodily, visible, will be as certain as His bodily ascension.

"Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mountain called the Mount of Olives..." From this it is evident that the Lord ascended from the Mount of Olives, which was located to the east of Jerusalem. Since Theophilus apparently did not know Palestine, St. Luke explains that the Mount of Olives was at a distance of the Sabbath journey: according to the teaching of the rabbis, on the Sabbath it was allowed to walk no more than 2000 steps, that is, about a verst [2]. Such was the distance during the wandering of the Jews in the wilderness from the outermost tents of the Jewish camp to the tabernacle. Josephus also determines the distance of the Mount of Olives from Jerusalem, indicating that it is 5 or 6 stadia, which is just about our mile. The Mount of Olives, which had witnessed the Lord's greatest humiliation at His arrest in the Garden of Gethsemane, now became a witness to His highest glorification – the ascent into heaven, as the Son of God, to His Heavenly Father.

The Election of Matthew

(1:13-26)

Upon their return from the Mount of Olives, all eleven Apostles, whom the writer enumerates in full by name, dwelt, according to the Lord's commandment, together in the upper room, that is, in the upper room of the house, where, removed from the noise of the street, they could more freely devote themselves to prayer, preparing to receive the Holy Spirit. Perhaps it was the same upper room where the Last Supper was celebrated.

"They all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication" – these words indicate the special religious upsurge in which the Lord's disciples found themselves after His Ascension. According to Luke 24:52, they returned to Jerusalem "with great joy." This joy was expressed by them in intensified unanimous prayers. Being in Jerusalem, like sheep in the midst of wolves, they, of course, were especially in need of strengthening themselves from all temptations by such a prayer. Together with the Apostles were also the wives, headed by "Mary, the Mother of Jesus." These, of course, were the myrrh-bearing women, witnesses of the burial and resurrection of the Lord. There were also the above-mentioned brothers of the Lord, who until recently "did not believe in Him" (John 7:5), and now were already among the believers. There were also other believers, about 120 souls in total.

The holy Apostle Peter, "the mouth of the apostles, always fiery and supreme in the face of the apostles," in the words of St. John Chrysostom, standing in the midst of the disciples "even in those days," that is, in the period of time between the Ascension of the Lord and Pentecost, delivered a speech in which he proposed to the assembly to elect a new Apostle in place of the fallen Judas Iscariot. Here it is characteristic that "Peter does everything by common consent and does not dispose of anything autocratically and as a ruler" (Chrysostom). St. Peter explains the deep fall of Judas by the predestination of God, which, however, by no means destroys the free will of man. This predestination of God, expressed in prophecy, is based only on Divine foreknowledge: God knows how man will use his free will and predesceates depending on this. Removing the temptation of the terrible fall of Judas for others, St. Peter cites prophecies in order to show that there is nothing unusual in this event, for it had already been foretold, and therefore had to take place. The expression that Judas "received the lot of this ministry" cannot be understood to mean that he was chosen by the Lord by lot: it is only a figurative expression signifying election, which was often made by casting lots. The expression "lot of service" in Greek: "kliros tis diakonias" served as the basis for the subsequent naming of persons of the clergy "clergy". From the speech of St. Peter we learn the details of the terrible death of the traitor, about which the Gospels do not speak. The expression: "He acquired the land with unrighteous reward" is, of course, only a special figure of speech, indicating that with the money for which Judas betrayed Christ, land was later bought for the burial of strangers, nicknamed by the inhabitants of Jerusalem "Akeldama", which means: "Land of Blood". St. Luke explains this word to Theophilus, who did not know the Hebrew language: of course, Peter's listeners did not need this explanation, and therefore it cannot be thought that Peter expressed himself in his speech literally as the writer writes.