Acts 1:8
Listen to this page
Open the MP3 directly
The context
The verse answers the disciples' question about restoring the kingdom to Israel, which they ask just before the ascension. Jesus redirects the question from timing to witness and names a sequence that runs from Jerusalem outward. The ascension follows, and the rest of the book traces that geography.
What it establishes
The verse links the coming of the Spirit to power for witness and lays out the programmatic geography of Acts: Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria, the ends of the earth. It also treats the kingdom question as answered by mission rather than by a date.
What it does not establish
It does not define power as miracles. The word is tied here to witness, and the book shows both signs and ordinary speech under it, so restricting it to the spectacular is a choice, not a reading. Nor does it set a timetable.
Short note, first pass, October 2026. Corrections welcome.
Cited in these answers
- Statement of Faith
- How can you take the gospels as inspired when they don't even make that claim for themselves?
Part of Scripture, Opened — the exegetical layer behind every citation on this site. Scripture quotations are from the ESV.