Acts 1:12

Thursday, 7 October 2021 <p> </p> <p>Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, a Sabbath day’s journey. Acts 1:12</p> <p> </p> <p>The two men who appeared with the apostles just relayed the news of Christ’s promised return. With that complete, nothing more is said of them. It simply states, “Then they returned to Jerusalem.”</p> <p> </p> <p>In Luke 24, it says the following –</p> <p> </p> <p>“Now it came to pass, while He blessed them, that He was parted from them and carried up into heaven. 52 And they worshiped Him, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy, 53 and were continually in the temple praising and blessing God. Amen.” Luke 24:51-53</p> <p> </p> <p>The words, “And they worshiped Him,” appear to have occurred after His ascension. It may be that the confirming words of the two men that Jesus Christ is, in fact, the Lord (see previous commentary), resulted in a time of prayer and praise to God. If so, it is after this time of worship that they proceeded to head back to Jerusalem “from the mount called Olivet.”</p> <p> </p> <p>The word translated as “Olivet” is found only here in the Bible, Elaión. It is derived from elaia, meaning “an olive tree.” It is the area where an orchard of olive trees was located. The mountain ridge is one that is separated from Jerusalem by the Kidron Valley. Of this walk from the Mount of Olives to Jerusalem, Luke specifically says that it is “a Sabbath day’s journey.”</p> <p> </p> <p>There are two possibilities for the inclusion of this statement. The first is that it is a general term used to describe the distance if it were a Sabbath, even if it was not a Sabbath. In other words, even if this was not a Saturday (Sabbath), it is the distance that would be considered allowable to walk on a Sabbath. This maximum distance is two thousand cubits as is seen in Joshua 3:4. It is about three-quarters of a mile. Luke is careful to give specific distances elsewhere, such as in Luke 24:13.</p> <p> </p> <p>The other possibility