Luke 24:49

Luk 24:49. And behold, I send the promise of my Father — Emphatically so called, namely, the Holy Ghost, in his enlightening, renewing, and comforting influences, that you may be enabled to understand, love, obey, and adorn the gospel which you preach; and in his extraordinary and miraculous gifts, that you may attest the truth and importance of it to the world. But tarry ye in Jerusalem, &c. — As the divine wisdom hath seen fit that the first offers of mercy shall be made to this people, sinful as they are, and that the gospel dispensation, in its greatest glory, shall be opened here, and the fullest proof possible be given of its truth and importance, that those may be rendered inexcusable who shall continue to reject it; I charge you not to go from hence till you have received those gifts and graces with which you are to be furnished, for the perfect discharge of your ministry.

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

THIRD SECTION

THE GLEAMING CROWN

Luk_24:49-53

The Prophetic Promise; the Priestly Benediction; the Kingly Glory

(Parallel with Mar_16:19; Act_1:3-9)

49And, behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you: but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem [om., of Jerusalem21], until ye be endued with power from on high. 50And he led them out as far as to Bethany, and he lifted up his hands, and blessed them.51And it came to pass, while he blessed them, he was parted from them, and carried upinto heaven.22 52And they worshipped him,23 and returned to Jerusalem with great joy:53And were continually in the temple, praising and blessing God.24 Amen.

EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL

Luk_24:49. I send the promise of My Father.—Here the Lord speaks of the Holy Ghost, comp. Act_1:4-8, whom He had often before His death repeatedly promised, and He calls Him an ἐπαγγελία πατρός, not quia sibi promissum (Grotius), nor merely inasmuch as God has promised the bestowment of the gifts of the Spirit by prophetic oracles (Meyer), but with retrospective reference to utterances like Joh_14:16, et alibi, and to the symbolical act, Joh_20:22. That this first actual, but yet preliminary and prophetical, communication of the Spirit did not, therefore, exclude a later but abundant communication on the day of Pentecost lies in the nature of the case. The meaning of our Lord is given more fully by Luke when he, Act_1:4, makes Him speak of the promise of the Father, η̊ν ἠκούσατέ μου.

Καθίσατε.—The command which Luke gives to remain in the Capital is in conflict with Matthew (De Wette) only if we consider the silence of the former respecting the Galilean appearance as a denial, and forget that this last command was only given after this and immediately before the Ascension of the Lord. The remaining at Jerusalem was to be not only a μένειν, but a retired, although temporary and not long continued καθίζειν, because they must there wait till the promise of the Spirit was fulfilled, and they were not to wait in vain, but to be clothed with δύναμις ἐξ ὕψους, in consequence of the fulfilment of the promise of the Father. It is noticeable how Luke, at the end, as also at the beginning of his gospel, Luk_1:35, unites most intimately the conceptions of Spirit and power, without, however, entirely identifying them. As to the rest, we must compare Acts 1 with this whole concluding address and with the account of the Ascension, and in the treatment of this first chapter of Acts there will be occasion to discuss both more at length.

Luk_24:50. He led them out.—Out of Jerusalem, where He was, together with His disciples, on the fortieth, as well as on the first day.—As far as Bethany (ἕως εἰς, as far as to the neighborhood of Bethany. The reading of Lachmann, who has πρός B., does not appear to us worthy of acceptance.) The statement of the Acts that the disciples returned from the Mount of Olives is only apparently in conflict with this, if we consider that it was over this mountain that the way to the beloved Bethany passed, which lay on its eastern declivity; then the proceeding to this mountain, from whose summit our Lord appears to have ascended, may be called a leading out to the neighborhood of Bethany, although our Lord no longer entered into the last-named place. Perhaps, also, the name Bethany was given, not only to the particular village, but also to the whole region round about, to which also the Mount of Olives belongs. Thus, also, is the tradition justified which designates as the actual place of the Ascension, not the plain, but the middle of the three summits of the Mount of Olives, while, according to it, the angelic appearance shortly after the Ascension took place upon the highest summit. See Schubert, l. c. ii. p. 519.

He lifted up His hands.—Comp. Lev_9:22. After the prophetical promise, there follows the high-priestly benediction, as it were from the threshold of the heavenly sanctuary into which He is about to enter. “Jam non imposuit manus.” The Epistle to the Hebrews, with its Pauline coloring contains the more particular elaboration of this beautiful image, in which the nature and destiny of the whole earthly and heavenly life of the Lord are, as it were, completely symbolized. In the midst of (ἐν), not after (μετά), thus blessing is He parted from them. Διέστη ἀπ̓ αὐτῶν, He goes back a few steps from them, and immediately after that He is taken up. The passive ἀνεφέρ. does not require us to understand angels or other means by which He was lifted up from the earth, but it leaves room, at all events, for the cloud of which Luke, in His more particular account, Act_1:9, speaks.

Luk_24:52. With great joy.—Even in such little additions the fresh Pauline character of Luke does not belie itself. That they could now rejoice, in spite of the separation, nay, even over the departure of the Lord, because He was thereby exalted unto glory, and they should now soon receive the promise of the Father, is a speaking proof of the great progress which they in this forty days had made in this school of the best of Masters.

Luk_24:53. In the temple.—More particularly defined “in the upper chamber,” which probably belonged to the buildings of the temple, Act_1:12; Act_2:1. In the Doxological conclusion of his gospel also, Luke shows himself a genuine Paulinist, comp. Rom_11:36

DOCTRINAL AND ETHICAL

1. Although the account of the Ascension at the end of the Gospel of Luke, considered entirely by itself, and from a strictly historical point of view, does not perfectly satisfy us, yet the course of his representation offers us an advantage not to be rejected, that we from it learn so much the better to understand the near connection of the Resurrection and the Ascension. Over against the historical arbitrariness which almost identifies the Resurrection and the Ascension, as though the forty days had produced no essential alteration in the condition of our Lord, stands the shallow external interpretation, as though He after His Resurrection had continued to live yet forty days on earth in a wider or nearer circle, indeed, in separation from other men, and now, on the fortieth, is to be supposed to have exchanged converse with men for the society of angels. The one opinion, as little as the other, does full justice to the miracle of the Ascension. Without doubt, it must be apprehended as a special, and that as the last, stage in the history of the earthly manifestation of our Lord, but, at the same time, as a necessary consequence and as the most excellent crown of His Resurrection. “The Ascension of the Lord was the completion of the Resurrection and the perfect expression of the exaltation.” Martensen. Or to use Tholuck’s language (Stund. Christl. Andacht, p. 524): “His Resurrection is a Glorification, yet not a full Glorification.” From this position it causes comparatively little difficulty that Luke does not so sharply distinguish the appearance at the end of which the Ascension took place, from the other. Had the last appearance of our Lord not ended with the Ascension, then we should have had decidedly to assume that the one before the last had ended with such a miracle, whether with a visible or invisible one. “The opponents of the history of the Resurrection could, therefore, not have got the least advantage, even if they had succeeded in setting aside the actual history of the Ascension. The whole history of the Resurrection has an Ascensional character; the whole history of the Resurrection is to be regarded as a giant tree of His Ascension in the wider sense, as the crown of which the actual Ascension stands forth. Our opponents, therefore, with the setting aside of it, would only have cracked the summit of the tree, or rather, only have broken off a branch of the same. For the apostles, the Ascension was self-evidently understood from the Resurrection.” Lange, L. J., ii. p. 1766.

2. By this, however, it is by no means meant that the actual fact of a bodily visible Ascension of our Lord on the fortieth day is doubtful, or of subordinate importance. It has been asserted, among others, by Meyer, that quite early a twofold tradition grew up in this respect. According to the former, our Lord ascended to heaven on the very evening of the Resurrection (Mark, Gospel of Luke), according to the other, not till the fortieth day (Acts). But the indefinite statement in Mark, Luk_16:19 : μετὰ τὸ λαλῆσαι αὐτοῖς, surely does not constrain us to assume that our Lord, according to this gospel, ascended immediately after the preceding utterances; just as well might it be deduced from Luk_24:20 that the disciples, on the very same night or the following morning, had begun to preach and to do miracles. And, as it respects Luke, is it conceivable that he in his gospel should represent our Lord as leaving the earth in the night-time, when He had already at evening revealed Himself at Emmaus, and had appeared at least three hours after to the Eleven? In truth, unless we will invent absurdities for the Evangelist, it seems that we are constrained to assume that he, by the statement of a more exact chronology in the Acts, has not contradicted his gospel, but decidedly complemented it; how, moreover, assuming that his earlier account contained an actual incorrectness, could he have omitted to recall this, at least, with a brief word? Were his more detailed narrative to be put to the account of a later more or less mythical tradition, the pious invention would certainly not have contented itself with a final act of our Lord’s life so little pompous and brilliant, and if Luke, at the conclusion of his first work, had already the design of writing afterwards the history of the apostles also, he might, even in the interest of his historical pragmatism, consider it as desirable to touch here on our Lord’s Ascension only with a brief mention, and at the beginning of the history of the kingdom of God to come back more particularly to it. In no case can the course of the event itself offer convincing ground for doubt and contradiction. It may be called laughable, when some, in reference to the body of our Lord in the beginning of its glorified condition, will be talking about the laws of gravitation and the force of attraction. Heaven, it is true, is everywhere where God reveals His glory, but nothing hinders us, on the position of the Scripture, from supposing a locality of the creation where God permits His glory to be seen more immediately than anywhere else, and to conceive our Lord as repairing directly thither. Though it has been said a thousand times and repeated that we are not to understand heaven as a place, but as a condition, and must not here speak of a ποῦ, but only of a πῶς, yet we confess that we can only conceive the enjoyment of this condition as experienced in a locality where one is separated from this visible world. An exaggerated spiritualism might here easily mislead to Acosmism and Pantheism. And finally, as respects the often advanced objection, derived from the partial silence of the sacred authors, this silence appears to us neither so general nor so inexplicable as has been already countless times asserted. Respecting that of Matthew, see Lange on Matthew, p. 561. John evidently knows a visible Ascension, Joh_3:13; Joh_6:62; Joh_20:17, and must have assumed it, unless we are to suppose that he doubted of the fulfilment of such words uttered by his Master Himself. With Peter it is, 1Pe_3:22, also distinguished as a separate statement from His Resurrection, even as the descent into hell. Even so with Paul, Eph_1:19-20; Eph_2:5-6; Eph_4:8-10; Rom_8:34; Col_3:1, and in the Epistle to the Hebrews there is even almost more weight laid upon the Ascension of our Lord than upon His Resurrection. In short, in reference to most of the epistles we must agree with the opinion: “Even though the outward fact is not here found, yet so much the more is the dogmatically important consequence of the thus effected exaltation, the sitting at the right hand of God, found throughout the whole New Testament, and that in expressions which also indicate the event itself” (Schmidt, Bibl. Theol. d. N. S. i. p. 189). And as respects the gospels, all of them have set forth the Risen One in His glory, although two of them are silent as to the moment in which He has ascended this highest degree. Nay, this Ascension itself, the final goal of the earthly manifestation of the Lord, what is it itself in its turn but a transition to a new, but by no means to a last, period of His miraculous history? Here, according to our opinion, lies the deepest ground of the seemingly enigmatical phenomenon, that the miracle on the Mount of Olives is not placed more strongly in the foreground. No final point, but a point of rest, is it. The Lord is indeed gone away, but in order to return again, and the whole heavenly life into which the Ascension introduced Him is only a great interval, comprehending centuries, between His first and His second appearance. The angels themselves declare it: the history of the Lord in relation to the earth is with the Ascension not accomplished, but is only momentarily interrupted, in order afterwards to be continued. If a John and a Matthew in this hope saw the Lord ascend, why should they then feel themselves peremptorily obliged to fix the last moment of their being with Him with such diplomatic conscientiousness, as though thereby between the Master and the earth all connection were now and forever done away?

3. Respecting the idea of the Ascension in connection with the corporeality of our Lord, and respecting the distinction of the Lutheran and the Reformed conception, Dogmatics and the History of Doctrines must speak. “Oh, that we might yet learn to stop at the right place!” R. Stier.

4. Our Lord’s bodily and visible Ascension is the worthy crown of the history of His earthly life. Many a word that He uttered is thereby most strikingly confirmed (Joh_6:62; Joh_20:17; Mat_28:18, et alibi), and the harmony of the events of His life becomes only through this miracle perfected. A second death, even had it been ever so soft, would have taken away the whole significance of His Resurrection, and the poetical expression (Hase): “Even as Moses’ grave, so was His never seen,” can only elicit an exclamation of astonishment and displeasure. “He a grave, He, who swallowed up death eternally!” (Olshausen). Whoever contents himself with saying that He went to the Father, although one does not know how, where, or when, such a one lets his history end with an unsatisfactory note of interrogation, and unthankfully repels the satisfactory solution which His first witnesses have given. Now, His manifestation displays itself to our eye as a ring whose ending is lost again in its beginning, while both Bethlehem and the Mount of Olives bear the stamp of a still and hidden, but even thereby heavenly greatness. And as the Ascension of the Lord thus first diffuses over His person a perfectly Satisfying light (Joh_6:62; Joh_16:28), so does this event stand as well with the incipient perfection as with the happy continuation of His work in direct connection. Never would the apostles without this miracle have been freed from the last remains of their earthly-minded expectations; now did they, on the other hand, become by this very means capable of receiving the Spirit of truth, of love, and of power. Never, so long as the visible presence of the Lord on a spot of earth had remained, could a kingdom have been founded that embraced all nations, and as little would, in this case, the Church have been able to maintain herself without an incessant intervention of continually increasing miracles. Now, raised above all finite limits, the Lord reigns everywhere where His word is preached in the power of the Holy Spirit, and, far from bringing any harm, it is His departure which for His people has become a source of incalculable gain (Joh_16:7). This whole event reveals the full glory of the kingdom of God, is surety for the highest blessing of the kingdom of God (Luk_24:49), and prophesies the final perfection of the kingdom of God. No wonder that the Ascension also has been painted and sung by the Christian art of all ages. We have only to mention the names in the first sphere, of Raphael, Peter Perugino, Titian, Paul Veronese, Ricci, Raphael Mengs, and others, and in the other the venerable Bede, Tersteegen, Lavater, Knapp, Luis de Leon, not to mention many Others.

5. Superficially considered, the homage which the apostles bring to the glorified Saviour appears to be more or less on a level with the reverence which often was rendered to the kings of the Orient, especially to the King of kings, the Messiah. See Mat_2:2; Mat_20:20. But if we consider that this homage was now offered by the disciples of the Lord at the moment when they see Him crowned with superhuman glory, and honor in Him more than ever the bearer of the Divine nature and majesty, then we shall hardly be content with the assertion that our Lord was here worshipped in His Messianic dignity, but must, on the contrary, acknowledge that He here, not only on account of His kingly rank, but also and above all, for His Divine nature, deserves the honor of adoration. Thus do we find in Luk_24:52 an intimation how the command, Joh_5:23, must be understood and followed.

6. The command of our Lord, before His departure, that His disciples should remain at Jerusalem, testifies as well to His wisdom as the final promise of the Holy Spirit gives witness of His love and might. But, at the same time, there lies in the manner in which His first friends fulfilled this command (Act_1:12-14), an apologetic element that must not be overlooked. With one accord do the disciples remain together; this is the first blessing of the exaltation of our Lord; now that their visible centre is wanting, the young church feels the necessity of an inward union more intimate than ever. Undisturbed and publicly are they ten days continually together; a proof that they had not stolen the corpse, and that the Jewish council itself does not believe its own charge. Composed and quietly do they wait; this is what no excited enthusiasts do. Praying do they expect the fulfilment of the promise of the Lord; the miracle of Pentecost was thereby a direct hearing of prayer, of whose inestimable blessing the consideration of the history of the apostles will now give further testimony.

HOMILETICAL AND PRACTICAL

The friends of the Lord are brought unto the school of waiting; therewith is their inner training perfected; so then; so previously (Jacob, Moses, David, &c.); so even yet.—“I will send upon you the promise of My Father.” Thus can only the Son of the Father, none of the servants, speak; how altogether differently Elijah, 2Ki_2:10.—The Benediction of the departing Lord: 1. The crown of His earthly manifestation; 2. the symbol of His heavenly life; 3. the prophecy of His coming in glory.—The Lord departs in order to remain.—The exalted King of the kingdom of God, the worthy object of the most reverential homage.—How can the disciples return with great joy to Jerusalem? 1. Faith sees in this farewell the highest glorifying of Jesus; 2. Love thinks of His gain, not of its own loss; 3. Hope waits unshaken for the fulfilment of all His promises.—Jerusalem the grave of the Old, the cradle of the New, Covenant—The inward connection of the young Church with the old Israelitish temple.—God’s glory the last word of our narrative, at the same time the concluding word of our whole gospel, and the final accord of the whole history of the world.

The Ascension of our Lord in its high significance: 1. For Himself, a. the confirmation of His words, b. the clearing up of the events of His life, c. the beginning of His most powerful and blessed activity; 2. for His apostles, a. the perfection of their training, b. the energy of their labor, c. the prophecy of their future; 3. for His people all, a. the Ascension the honor of mankind (Heb_2:5-9), b. the way of the renewal of the sinner (the Holy Spirit), c. the source of the joy, rest, and hope of Christians.—The Ascension a hearing of the Lord’s own prayer, Joh_17:5.—The feast of the Ascension the feast of the coronation of the Lord. This coronation: 1. The end of the Saviour’s strife; 2. the beginning of the highest honor; 3. the source of the richest blessing; 4. the pledge of the most blessed hope.—What sees the Christian when He on the Ascension morn directs his look believingly towards heaven? (comp. Act_7:56): 1. A glorified Son of Man; 2. an Almighty King; 3. an ever near Friend; 4. an open place of refuge; 5. an approaching triumph. But to see all this, we must (24:55), even as the first Christian martyr, be: a. a disciple of the Lord, b. filled with the Holy Spirit, and c. have our eyes directed towards heaven.—Heaven and earth considered in the light of the Ascension morn.—The Ascension the last palpable revelation of our Lord on earth: 1. His majesty; 2. His wisdom, a. time, b. place, c. witnesses, d. circumstances, e. consequences, of the Ascension; 3. His beneficent faithfulness to His own, comp. Mat_28:20.

Starke:—Osiander:—Whom God sends into the holy ministry, them does He also equip with the necessary gifts.—To the receiving of the Holy Spirit there belongs a patient waiting in prayer and consideration of the word.—Whom Jesus blesses, he is and remains blessed.—Beautiful and edifying is it when parents depart from the world, for they even thus bless their children.—Brentius:—Christ has at His Ascension bequeathed us the blessing, why do we longer fear the curse?—Bibl. Wirt.:—Jesus departed to prepare the place.—Hedinger:—Thus have we then a sure and open entrance to the sanctuary that is within the heavens, Heb_10:19-20.—J. Hall:—Rejoice, oh thou holy soul, for thy last conflict also shall be crowned with triumph.—The fellowship of the Spirit makes a fellowship in the worship of God.—Servants of God labor, pray, suffer, and praise God in fellowship.—Osiander:—Jesus is ours also, with all His treasures, therefore let us praise and glorify Him with the Father and the Holy Spirit.

Heubner:—The place of the Passion of Christ also the place of His glorification.—With blessing did He come, with blessing did He part.—How different this blessed parting from that on the cross !—The apostles showed after the Resurrection far more reverence for Jesus; they had a sense of His Godhead, therefore we read here for the first time: they worshipped Him.—Worship befits Christ, else would He not have received it.—The disciples return back, in prayer unseparated from Christ, no longer alone.—Arndt:—The Ascension of Christ the perfection: 1. Of His prophetical; 2. of His high-priestly; 3. of His kingly, office.—Schleiermacher:—The promises of the departing Redeemer.—Palmer:—The lovely position in which the departing Redeemer hath left us behind in this world: a. above our heads we have an opened heaven, b. above our eyes a blessed home, and c. under our feet the way which the feet of the Lord have smoothed and hallowed.—Ruperti:—Why do we stand after the Saviour has ascended and look towards heaven?—Schmid:—What the earth is to them who look after the Risen Saviour towards heaven.—Why does the Saviour point us at His Ascension to the Holy Spirit?—Ahlfeld:—The last will of our Lord Jesus Christ.—Steinmeyer:—The separation through the Ascension is the source of true union.—Souchon:—The comfort which the Ascension of Jesus Christ assures to us.—Tholuck:—The refreshing thoughts to which the history of the Ascension leads us: 1. The place of His suffering the place of His parting; 2. veiled is His beginning, veiled is His exit; 3. the conclusion of His ways is blessing for His people; 4. He has departed from us and yet has remained to us; 5. He remains veiled from His people till He shall appear in brightness.—W. Hofacker:—The significance of the Ascension-day: 1. As a day of the richest and most glorious blessing; 2. as a day of the grandest homage; 3. as a day of the most joyful encouragement.—Harless:—The way to the blessed understanding of the Ascension of Christ.—Von Kapff:—The Ascension of Christ as: 1. The glorification of Jesus; 2. of our human nature; 3. of our whole earth.—Schuur:—Heart and soul towards heaven! 1. Here is darkness, there is light; 2. here is strangeness, there is home; 3. here is combat, there is victorious palm; 4. here is sorrow, there is bliss.—Florey:—The Ascension of our Lord the crown of His glory.

Compare further on this whole section the well-digested essay of Dr. H. G. Hasse: Das Leben des verklärten Erlösers im Himmel, nach den eigenen Aussprüchen des Herrn, ein Beitrag zur Bibl. Theol. Leipsic, 1854, and Die Christl. Glaubenslehre, herausgegeben von dem Calwer Verein, 2 Theil, 2 Abthlg. pp. 266–286, Stuttgart, 1857.

Footnotes:

[21]Luk_24:49.—The ̔Ιερουσαλήμ of the Recepta is decidedly spurious. [Omitted by B., C.1, D., Cod. Sin., L., Itala, Vulgate, &c.—C. S.]

[22]Luk_24:51-52.—The words: ἀνεφέρέτο εἰς τὸν οὐρανόν and προσκυνήσαντες αὐψόν are, remarkably enough, omitted by the same authorities—D., several copies of the Itala, &c, see Tischendorf. Apparently the eye of the copyist slipped from και α(νεφερετο) to και α(υτοι), and he overlooked προσκυνησαντες, while he confounded αυτοι with αυτον. We thus comprehend better (against De Wette), how this was omitted, than how it should have been interpolated if not original. [Cod. Sin. omits the words; a much more important fact than their omission in D.—C. C. S.]

[23]Luk_24:51-52.—The words: ἀνεφέρέτο εἰς τὸν οὐρανόν and προσκυνήσαντες αὐψόν are, remarkably enough, omitted by the same authorities—D., several copies of the Itala, &c, see Tischendorf. Apparently the eye of the copyist slipped from και α(νεφερετο) to και α(υτοι), and he overlooked προσκυνησαντες, while he confounded αυτοι with αυτον. We thus comprehend better (against De Wette), how this was omitted, than how it should have been interpolated if not original. [Cod. Sin. omits the words; a much more important fact than their omission in D.—C. C. S.]

[24]Luk_24:53.—In some MSS. αινουντες και, in others και ευλογουτες are wanting. Perhaps errors of a wearied hand at the end of tho Gospel. At all events, the number and the weight of the authorities, [B., C.1, Cod. Sin., L. omit α.κ., D. omits κ.ε.,] is not so great as to make it needful with Griesbach to suspect the former or with Tischendorf to omit the latter.

Lange's Commentary on the Holy Scriptures (Critical, Doctrinal, and Homiletical), ed. John Peter Lange, English translation edited by Philip Schaff (1864–1880) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

24:49 I will send the Holy Spirit: The Old Testament predicted that God would pour out his Spirit on all people (Isa 32:15; Jer 31:33; Ezek 36:26-27; Joel 2:28-32). This prediction was fulfilled on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2:14-21).

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Luk 24:49. Ἀποστέλλω, I send) The Present. Comp. note on Joh 20:17.[274]—τὴν ἐπαγγελίαν, the promise) i.e. the Spirit, who has been promised; Act 1:4; Act 2:33, notes. [Ammonius says, ὑπισχνεῖται is applied to one who undertakes or engages that he will give to him who has asked; ἘΠΑΓΓΈΛΛΕΤΑΙ, of one who of himself promises or engages to give.] This was clear to them from the conversation He had with them, Joh 14:16-17 [I will pray the Father, and He shall give you another Comforter, that He may abide with you for ever, even the Spirit of truth, which the world cannot receive, etc.]. For ἈΠΟΣΤΈΛΛΕΣΘΑΙ is for the most part used of persons; ΠΈΜΠΕΣΘΑΙ, of the person and of the thing. The abstract for the concrete is suitable to those times of the beginning of the Church; comp. note on Mat 4:17. [The first preaching was in the abstract, “The kingdom of God is at hand;” afterwards in the concrete, “The King,” or “Messiah.” The former suited the hidden beginnings of the Gospel; the latter, the glorification of Jesus.] So presently, δύναμιν, power.—ΤΟῦ ΠΑΤΡΌς ΜΟΥ, of My Father) The Father promised and gave His gifts through His Son.—Ἱερουσαλὴμ, Jerusalem) For it was there that they were about to receive the promise. [If they had not received this direction, they without a doubt would have left the city.—V. g.]—ἐνδύσησθε, until ye be clothed [endued]) suddenly and completely. We are naked whilst destitute of the heavenly power. They had heretofore been purified, viz. through the word, Joh 15:3 [“Now ye are clean through the word, which I have spoken unto you”]: now clothing also is promised to them.—ἐξ ὕψους, from on high) to which Jesus ascended. The height, put for heaven, is an expression from sacred poetry. See Eph 4:8, from Psa 68:18 [“When He ascended up on high, He led captivity captive”].

[274] “I ascend unto My Father,” not “I will ascend.” The time of His ascension, and, here in Luke, of the consequent sending down of the Spirit, being regarded as already present. So as to the second Coming, I come, ἔρχομαι, not I will come, Rev 22:20. See note on Luk 9:51.—E. and T.

Bengel's Gnomon of the New Testament — English translation (T&T Clark, Edinburgh, 1860) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Luk_24:49. Encouragement to this calling of bearing witness by assurance of the sending of the Spirit, and they were not to leave Jerusalem until after they had received this mission. Comp. Act_1:4. They were therefore soon to receive it, and not before their reception of it to enter upon their calling.

ἐγώ] it is I who send. The present of the near and certain future. Moreover, this assurance has as its presupposition the approaching ascension. Comp. Joh_7:39; Joh_16:7; Joh_16:13-15; Act_2:33.

καθίσατε κ.τ.λ.] In respect of the difference of the evangelical traditions about the place of sojourn of the risen Lord and His disciples, see on Mat_28:10. On καθίζειν, to remain, to abide in peace, comp. Act_18:11.

Jesus characterizes the gifts of the Holy Ghost by the expression τὴν ἐπαγγελίαν τοῦ πατρός μου (Act_1:4), so far as God promised the bestowal thereof by prophetic prediction.[280] Joe_3:1-2; Isa_44:1 ff.; Eze_36:27; Eze_39:29. Comp. Act_2:16 ff.; and on Eph_1:13; Gal_3:14. The pouring out of the Spirit is the realization of the promise of the Father.

ἕως οὖ ἐνδύσησθε δύναμιν ἐξ ὕψους] till ye have been endued with (definitely; hence without ἄν) power from on high (vim coelitus suppeditatam), to wit (comp. Act_1:8), by the Holy Spirit. The power is distinct from the Spirit Himself, Luk_1:35. The metaphoric use of ἐνδύεσθαι and other verbs of clothing, to denote spiritual relations into which man is translated or translates himself (comp. also Rom_13:14; Gal_3:27; Eph_4:24; Col_3:12), is not a Hebraism, but is also frequently found in the classical writers. See Kypke, I. p. 345. Comp. 1Ma_1:28; Sir_27:8; Test. XII. Patr. p. 587. So the Latin induere, Liv. iii. 33; Quint, Luk_1:1, and elsewhere; and the Hebrew לָבַשׁ, Jdg_6:34; 1Ch_12:18.

ἘΞ ὝΨΟΥς] comp. Eph_4:8.

[280] The discrepancy, apparent indeed, though too much insisted on by Strauss, II. p. 645 ff., between the passage before us and Joh_20:22 f. is perfectly explained when it is observed that in this passage the communication of the Spirit κατʼ ἐξοχήν, which was the substance of the prophetic promise, is meant, and that this which was to follow at Pentecost does not exclude an earlier and preliminary communication.

Meyer — Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament — English translation by Peter Christie, edited by Frederick Crombie (T&T Clark, 1880) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Luk 24:49 . τὴν ἐπαγγελίαν τ . π .: the promise is the Spirit spoken of in prophetic oracles (Isa 44:1 , Joe 2:28 , etc.). καθίσατε , sit still, patiently but with high hope. ἕως οὗ : without ἄν , because the power is expected to come without fail. ἐνδύσησθε : till ye be invested , a natural figure, and no mere Hebraism. Cf. Rom 13:14 , Gal 3:27 . There may be a reference to warlike armour ( δίκην πανοπλίας , Euthy. Zig.).

The Expositor's Greek Testament, edited by W. Robertson Nicoll (1897–1910) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Until the holy Ghost comes down from heaven upon you.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

I send--the present tense, to intimate its nearness.

promise of my Father--that is, what My Father hath promised; the Holy Ghost, of which Christ is the authoritative Dispenser (Joh 14:7; Rev 3:1; Rev 5:6).

endued--invested, or clothed with; implying, as the parallels show (Rom 13:14; Co1 15:53; Gal 3:27; Col 3:9-10), their being so penetrated and acted upon by conscious supernatural power (in the full sense of that word) as to stamp with divine authority the whole exercise of their apostolic office, including, of course, their pen as well as their mouth.

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Verse 49. The promise of my Father] That is, the Holy Ghost, promised, Joh 15:26. See Ac 1:4; Ac 2:33.

Until ye be endued with power] The energy of the Holy Ghost was to be communicated to them for three particular purposes.

1. That he might be in them, a sanctifying comforter, fortifying their souls and bringing to their remembrance whatever Jesus had before spoken to them.

2. That their preaching might be accompanied by his demonstration and power to the hearts of their hearers, so that they might believe and be saved.

3. That they might be able to work miracles to confirm their pretensions to a Divine mission, and to establish the truth of the doctrines they preached.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

49. the promise of my Father] both in the Prophecies of the Old Testament (Isa_44:3; Eze_36:26; Joe_2:28) and by His own mouth (Joh_14:16-17; Joh_14:20; Joh_15:26; Joh_16:7). Comp. Act_1:4-5; Act_1:8. It is difficult not to see in this expression a distinct allusion to the discourses which are recorded by St John alone.

until ye be endued] Rather, until ye put on the garment of. For the metaphor see Rom_13:14; Eph_4:24, &c. We are unclothed till we receive heavenly gifts. “They had been washed (Joh_15:3), now the clothing is promised.” Bengel.

There are ten recorded appearances of the Risen Christ (including that at the Ascension), of which St Luke only narrates three (the 4th, 5th, and 10th), though he alludes to others (e.g. the 3rd). They are

1. To Mary of Magdala. Joh_20:11-17 (‘Noli me tangere’)] Mar_16:9.

2. To other women, who adore Him. Mat_28:9-10.

3. To Peter. Luk_24:34; 1Co_15:5.

4. To the Disciples on the way to Emmaus. Luk_24:13-35; Mar_16:12-13.

5. To ten Apostles and others. Luk_24:36-49; Joh_20:19-23; Mar_16:14.

6. To the Eleven Apostles. The incredulity of Thomas removed. Joh_20:26-29.

7. To seven Apostles at the Lake of Galilee. Joh_21:1-24.

8. To five hundred on a hill of Galilee. Mat_28:16-20; Mar_16:15-18; 1Co_15:6.

9. To James, the Lord’s brother. 1Co_15:7.

10. Before the Ascension. Luk_24:50-51; Act_1:6-9.

Since more Appearances of the Risen Christ than those here narrated were well known to St Paul (1Co_15:5-7), it may be regarded as certain that they were known also to St Luke. If he here omits them it must be borne in mind (i) that neither he nor any of the Evangelists profess to furnish a complete narrative; (2) that St Luke especially shews a certain ‘economy’ (as has been already pointed out) in only narrating typical incidents; (iii) that he is here hastening to the close of his Gospel; and (iv) that he has other particulars to add in the Acts of the Apostles.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And were continually in the temple,.... At the time of worship, at the hours of prayer, or of public service; and perhaps always privately in an upper room in it, where they, with others, met frequently, and continued, with one accord, in prayer and supplication; See Gill on Act 1:14, a practice worthy of imitation, whether in the public or private way:

praising, and blessing God; for his Son Jesus Christ, who had died for their sins, was risen again for their justification, and was now ascended into heaven, to be their advocate there; and for all spiritual bless his Gospel to every creature.

Amen; so let him be praised, and blessed by all the saints, for all that is contained in this Gospel. In a manuscript copy of Beza's, it is added,

"the Gospel according to Saint Luke was published fifteen years after the ascension of Christ;''

See Gill on the title of this Gospel "Lu 1:1".

Next: John Introduction

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

49 And, behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you: but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high.

Ver. 49. Until ye be endued] Gr. ενδυσησθε, clothed. Carnal men are naked men; when the saints are arrayed with that fine white linen and shining, Rev 19:8.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

The promise of my Father - The promise which the Father had made to them “through” the Saviour. See Mat 10:19; Joh 14:16-17, Joh 14:26. The promise was, that they should be aided by the power of the Holy Spirit. He also doubtless referred to the promise of God, made in the days of Joel, respecting the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. See Joe 2:28-29, compared with Act 2:16-21.

Endued with power from on high - The power which would be given them by the descent of the Holy Spirit - the power of speaking with tongues, of working miracles, and of preaching the gospel with the attending blessing and aid of the Holy Spirit. This was accomplished in the gift of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost. See Acts 2.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

The promise of my Father; i.e. the Holy Ghost, whom Christ had promised that his Father and he would send. (John xiv. 26. and xvii. 7.) (Witham)

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

It is questioned by none, but by the promise of the Father our Lord meaneth the promise of the Spirit, as it came down in the days of Pentecost. This effusion of the Spirit was promised under the Old Testament, Isa 44:3; Jer 31:33; Eze 36:27; most eminently, Joe 2:28, the apostle himself interpreting this prophecy, Act 2:16-18. See also Act 1:8, where the fulfilling of this promise of the Father, as it is called Act 1:4, is put before—and ye shall be witnesses unto me, both in Jerusalem, and in Judea and in Samaria; and is also expounded by, But ye shall receive power, after the Holy Ghost is come upon you. Our Lord also had said, I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever. Joh 14:16. In this text he saith, that he will send him; so also Joh 15:26; Joh 16:7; thereby confirming his disciples in this, that he was equal with the Father, and that the Holy Ghost was sent by the Father and him, yet sent by the Father upon the prayer of the Son, and in his name, Joh 14:16,26. This Holy Spirit is also called, power from on high; the power of the Highest, Luk 1:35. But here the gifts of the Holy Ghost may be understood, as also in Act 1:8, where it is said this power should be received after that the Holy Ghost should come upon them: until this time should come, which was in the days of Pentecost, Act 2:1, the disciples were bound to stay at Jerusalem, which accordingly they did. And we may from hence conclude, that these words of our Saviour were spoken to his disciples after his appearance to them in Galilee, (of which Luke saith nothing), which was the place where (as most think) he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once, 1Co 15:6.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

49. And behold—A new point is here presented parallel with Act_1:4.

The promise of my Father—The

thing promised—Luke has not anywhere told us what this promise was; but his words presuppose what John tells us Luk_14:16-26; Luk_15:26; Luk_16:7-11.

Tarry… Jerusalem—This must have been uttered after the return to Jerusalem from the visit to Galilee.

Mat_28:16-20; Joh_21:1-24.

Endued with power—Clothed with power as with a garment.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And, behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you. Promised on the last Passover evening, (John 14-16; see especially Joh_14:16-26 Joh_15:26, 27 16:7, etc.) and fulfilled partly on the first Easter evening, when he breathed on them, (Joh_20:22) and completely on the first Pentecost. (Act_2:1, etc.) But tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high. These words apparently were spoken on the day of his ascension. (see Act_1:4)

The secret of spiritual strength.

How came it to pass that the apostles of our Lord became such strong men and did such noble work for their Master and for mankind so soon after they manifested such weakness as they did? We consider

I THEIR INSUFFICIENCY UP TO THE TIME OF THE ASCENSION. They had been receiving for many months the inestimable advantage of Christ"s own teaching for their mental enlightenment, and his own influence for their spiritual ennoblement. And this teaching and training cannot have been we may confidently say was not without very great value throughout their subsequent course. Yet they undoubtedly lacked something which would complete them for the great task before them. They showed but scant determination, (Mat_26:41, Mat_26:43) but feeble courage, (Mat_26:56) but little understanding of their Master"s aim; (Act_1:6) and this, too, at the very close of his ministry, when their great and special privilege was expiring. Something more they sadly needed to prepare them for their work.

II THE PROMISED POWER.

1. Its announcement and its confirmation. It was first predicted by the prophets who preceded our Lord; (Isa_44:3) and more particularly Joel. (Joe_2:28, Joe_2:29) It was renewed and confirmed, at first more indefinitely, and here more definitely, by our Lord. (Joh_14:16, 26 15:26, 27 16:7; text)

2. Its historical fulfilment. (Act_2:1-11)

3. Its permanent results. These men, whose character and whose fitness for their grand and lofty mission left much to be desired, "endued with power from on high," became wonderfully equipped for and admirably adapted to the noble mission to which Christ appointed them. They became strong

(1) to stand in the evil hour of temptation, defying the authority of Jewish council and the sword of Roman ruler; they became strong

(2) to suffer, rejoicing that they were "counted worthy to suffer shame" for the Master"s sake and Name; they became strong

(3) to testify, "with great power" giving witness to the Resurrection, and great grace being on them all; they became strong

(4) to grasp the great central and saving truths of the gospel, making known to their own compeers by their speech, and to all time by their letters, the "mystery which was hidden from the generations," the great and gracious purpose of God to the whole race of men; they became strong

(5) to build and work, to lay the foundation-stone of the gospel of Christ, (Eph_2:2-6) of that Church of the future which has already endured for eighteen centuries, and is more than ever bent on the conversion and conquest of the world. We know what made these weak men strong, these failing men to triumph. It was the power of the Holy Ghost resting upon them, opening their eyes that they might see, quickening their souls that they might feel, nerving their hearts that they might stand, strengthening their hands that they might labour and achieve.

III ITS LASTING LESSON. It is this which, if anything does, will make us strong also. What the Christian workman wants is the power which comes immediately from God, the inspiration of the Divine Spirit; in truth, the same bestowal as that which the apostles were now promised and afterwards received. The miraculous endowments which accompanied the gift of the Holy Ghost were but the accidents of the bestowal. The power to heal without failure or to speak without error was nothing to the power to testify without fear and to live without reproach. "Though on our heads no tongues of fire Their wondrous powers impart, we need, as much as they did then, the illuminating, sanctifying, empowering influences of Heaven Spirit in our heart." Without that, our most heroic efforts will fail; with it, our humblest endeavours will succeed. To gain that we must have

(1) purity of heart and aim;

(2) earnest and believing prayer. C.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Behold I send the promise - Emphatically so called; the Holy Ghost.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

upon you

See note, (See Scofield "Act 2:4")

The Scofield Reference Bible (1917 edition), notes by C. I. Scofield — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

49. τὴν ἐπαγγελίαν. Both in the Prophecies of the Old Testament (Isa 44:3; Eze 36:26; Joe 2:28) and by His own mouth (Joh 14:16-17; Joh 14:20; Joh 15:26; Joh 16:7). Comp. Act 1:4-5; Act 1:8. It is difficult not to see in this expression a distinct allusion to the discourses which are recorded by St John alone.

ἕως οὗ ἐνδύσησθε. ‘Until ye put on the garment of.’ For the metaphor see Rom 13:14; Eph 4:24, &c. We are unclothed till we receive heavenly gifts. “They had been washed (Joh 15:3), now the clothing is promised.” Bengel.

There are ten recorded appearances of the Risen Christ (including that at the Ascension), of which St Luke only narrates three (the 4th, 5th, and 10th), though he alludes to others (e.g. the 3rd). They are

Cambridge Greek Testament for Schools and Colleges (Cambridge University Press, 1896; 21 vols, various authors incl. Carr, Maclear, Plummer, Farrar, Lumby, Moule, M. R. James, Simcox) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

49.] This promise is explained (Act 1:5) to be the baptism with the Holy Ghost,—and the time is limited to ‘not many days hence.’

ἐγὼ ἐξαποστ.] The procession of the Holy Spirit from the Son is clearly here declared, as well as that from the Father. And consequently we find Peter, in Act 2:33, referring back to these very words, in ascribing the outpouring of the Spirit to the now exalted Saviour. In that verse, the ἐγώ of this is filled up by τῇ δεξιᾷ τοῦ θεοῦ ὑψωθείς—the proper supplement of it here also.

The promise itself is not found in the three Gospels, but expressly and frequently in John 14-16: see 14:16-26; 15:26; 16:7-11, 13, 14.

The present, ἐξαποστέλλω, is not = a future, but implies that the actual work is done, and the state brought in, by which that sending is accomplished;—viz. the giving of the πᾶσα ἐξουσία ἐν οὐρανῷ κ. ἐπὶ γῆς, Mat 28:18.

No stress need be laid on καθίσατε: see reff.

The word Ἱερουσ. is probably interpolated by some who, believing these words to represent the Galilæan discourse, placed it here for an explanation: or perhaps Act 1:4 gave occasion to it. This command must have been (historically) uttered after the return from Galilee: see above.

ἐνδύσ.] Though the verb is used in the O.T. (see Jdg 6:34: 2Ch 24:20: 1Ch 12:18) of inspiration by the Spirit, it here has its full meaning, of abiding upon and characterizing, as a garment does the person: this, as Stier remarks, was the true and complete clothing of the nakedness of the Fall.

Henry Alford, The Greek Testament (1849–1861) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

49. καὶ ἰδοὺ ἐγώ. The ἐγώ balances the preceding ὑμεῖς. “I have told you your part: this is mine.” The ἰδού is wanting in א D L, Latt. Boh. Syr-Sin. The combination ἰδοὺ ἐγώ (23:14; Act 10:21, Act 20:22) is extraordinarily frequent in LXX.

ἐξαποστέλλω τὴν ἐπαγγελίαν. Present of what will come in the immediate and certain future. Here first in the Gospels have we ἐπαγγελία in the technical sense of the “promise of God to His people”: see on Rom 1:2. The gift of the Spirit is specially meant: comp. Isa 43:3; Eze 36:27; Joe 2:28; Zec 12:10. “The promise” therefore means the thing promised. For ἰδοὺ ἐγὼ ἐξαποστέλλω comp. Jer 8:17; ἰδοὺ ἐγὼ ἀποστέλλω, 7:27; Mat 10:16; Mal 4:4 [3:23]: א* A C D N Γ Λ Π have ἀποστέλλω here. In Joh 15:26 and 16:7, where, as here, Christ speaks of the Spirit as His gift, πέμψω is used: in Joh 14:16 the Father δώσει at the petition of Christ.

ὑμεῖς δὲ καθίσατε ἐν τῇ πόλει. Once more an emphatic contrast between ἐγώ and ὑμεῖς. For καθίζειν of spending some time in a place comp. Act 18:11; Exo 16:29; Jdg 11:17, Jdg 19:4, Rth 3:1 [2:23]; 1Sa 1:23, etc. With the command here given comp. Act 1:4. To suppose that it was spoken on Easter Day involves a contradiction with Mat 28:7, Mat 28:10, Mat 28:16; Mar 16:7; Joh 21:1. It implies patient waiting.

ἐνδύσησθε … δύναμιν. The metaphor is common both in N.T. and LXX: Rom 13:14; 1Co 15:53; Gal 3:27; Col 3:10; Eph 4:24; Job 8:22, 29:14, 39:19; Ps. 34:26, Psa 92:1, etc. There is no need to discuss whether the Spirit is the δύναμις or confers it.

According to the best texts (א B C* L 33, Eus. Syr-Hier.) ἐξ ὔψους precedes δύναμιν and immediately follows ἐνδύσησθε, to which it belongs. Comp. Isa 32:15.

International Critical Commentary — older volumes (1896–1929), various authors — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

I send [εγω εξαποστελλω] . Rev., better, send forth, giving the force of ejx. I emphatic.

Endued with power. The Rev. has properly substituted the simpler clothed, which, to the English reader, conveys the exact figure in the word. This metaphorical sense of clothed is found in classical Greek.

Aristophanes has clothes with audacity; Homer, clothed with strength; Plutarch, clothes with nobility and wealth.

Marvin R. Vincent, Word Studies in the New Testament (1887–1900) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.