not only in the New Testament, apart from v. 1, but also in second-century Christian literature. According to John’s Gospel, the gift of the Spirit was imparted on Easter evening and not 50 days later (John 20:19–23). 1—Luke used biblical language to introduce the narrative and mark the beginning of a new phase in the story of God with his people. The Greek text is similar to the language of Luke 9:51. The fulfillment of the promise of Jesus is about to take place (cf. 1:4–8). The members of the