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49 And look, I am sending you[a] what my Father promised.[b] But stay in the city[c] until you have been clothed with power[d] from on high.”

Jesus’ Departure

50 Then[e] Jesus[f] led them out as far as Bethany,[g] and lifting up his hands, he blessed them. 51 Now[h] during the blessing[i] he departed[j] and was taken up into heaven.[k]

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Footnotes

  1. Luke 24:49 tn Grk “sending on you.”
  2. Luke 24:49 tn Grk “the promise of my Father,” with τοῦ πατρός (tou patros) translated as a subjective genitive. This is a reference to the Holy Spirit and looks back to how one could see Messiah had come with the promise of old (Luke 3:15-18). The promise is rooted in Jer 31:31 and Ezek 36:26.
  3. Luke 24:49 sn The city refers to Jerusalem.
  4. Luke 24:49 sn Until you have been clothed with power refers to the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. What the Spirit supplies is enablement. See Luke 12:11-12; 21:12-15. The difference the Spirit makes can be seen in Peter (compare Luke 22:54-62 with Acts 2:14-41).
  5. Luke 24:50 tn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.
  6. Luke 24:50 tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  7. Luke 24:50 sn Bethany was village on the Mount of Olives about 2 mi (3 km) from Jerusalem; see John 11:1, 18.
  8. Luke 24:51 tn Grk “And it happened that while.” The introductory phrase ἐγένετο (egeneto, “it happened that”), common in Luke (69 times) and Acts (54 times), is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated.
  9. Luke 24:51 tn Grk “while he blessed them.”
  10. Luke 24:51 tn Grk “he departed from them.”
  11. Luke 24:51 tc The reference to the ascension (“and was taken up into heaven”) is lacking in א* D it sys, but it is found in P75 and the rest of the ms tradition. The authenticity of the statement here seems to be presupposed in Acts 1:2, for otherwise it is difficult to account for Luke’s reference to the ascension there. For a helpful discussion, see TCGNT 162-63.tn For the translation of ἀνεφέρετο (anephereto) as “was taken up” see BDAG 75 s.v. ἀναφέρω 1.sn There is great debate whether this event equals Acts 1:9-11 so that Luke has telescoped something here that he describes in more detail later. The text can be read in this way because the temporal marker in v. 50 is vague.

49 I am going to send you what my Father has promised;(A) but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.”

The Ascension of Jesus

50 When he had led them out to the vicinity of Bethany,(B) he lifted up his hands and blessed them. 51 While he was blessing them, he left them and was taken up into heaven.(C)

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