lectionary.com

Easter Season · Seventh Sunday of Easter · Year A

Acts 1:12-14

Devoted to Prayer Together

May 17, 2026

Triumphant Christ, Melozzo da Forli
Triumphant Christ, Melozzo da Forli, 1483Wikimedia Commons
A fragment of a destroyed apse fresco from Rome, salvaged and now scattered. Christ is seen steeply from below, rising, with angels in pieces around him.This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go.Melozzo da ForliAn Italian painter who mastered extreme foreshortening from below and worked for popes before his frescoes were largely destroyed.Wikimedia CommonsNo holding institution is recorded with the image; it is known from the public domain reproduction.Wikimedia Commons
Roman Lectionary
GospelJohn 17:1-11aJn 17:1-11a
Second Reading1 Pet. 4:13-161 Pt 4:13-16
First ReadingActs 1:12-14
Responsorial PsalmPs. 27:1, 4, 7-8 (13)Ps 27:1, 4, 7-8 (13)

Overview & Insights

“All these devoted themselves with one accord to prayer.” (Acts 1:14)

Three verses cover the whole interval between the ascension and Pentecost, and they describe no activity except prayer. Luke measures the walk back from the Mount of Olives as “a sabbath day’s journey” (v. 12), a rabbinic limit of about two thousand cubits, a detail supplied for readers who would not know it. The roll of names in v. 13 is his second apostolic list (cf. Luke 6:14-16), with Judas Iscariot absent and the vacancy filled in the verses immediately following, so the community’s first corporate act is to repair itself. The adverb describing their unity in v. 14 is a favorite of this book, used repeatedly in Acts and only once elsewhere in the New Testament (Romans 15:6). The company is wider than the eleven: the women who had followed from Galilee (Luke 8:2-3), Mary, named here for the last time in the New Testament, and the brothers of Jesus, whose earlier distance the gospels record plainly (John 7:5).

From Sermons.com: Join Today to access the most scholarly & well written preaching resources anywhere.

Take it further: Acts 1:12-14

Commentary

Commentary on Acts 1:6-14 Working Preacher (Luther Seminary)

Lutheran commentary on the return to Jerusalem and the widened circle of disciples, including women and Jesus' family.

Acts 1:6-14 Commentary Center for Excellence in Preaching

Reformed commentary tagged for this Sunday on the disciples' return to prayer in the upper room.

Seventh Sunday of Easter, Cycle A Agape Bible Study

Catholic walkthrough of this Sunday's readings, including the apostles' constant prayer with Mary.

The Seventh Sunday of Easter, Year A Catholic Productions (Dr. Brant Pitre)

Mass Readings Explained episode covering Acts 1 alongside this Sunday's other readings.

Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad, Easter 7 (A) The Episcopal Church, Sermons That Work

Anglican sermon for this Sunday reflecting on waiting in prayer between Ascension and Pentecost.

Background & Word Study

Book of Acts Summary (Acts 1-12) BibleProject

Overview video covering the opening chapters of Acts, including the return to Jerusalem.

Acts 1 Interlinear BibleHub

Greek interlinear for the chapter, useful for the list of the eleven and 'with one accord' in verse 14.

The Church Fathers

Catena on Acts 1 Catena Bible

Patristic comments verse by verse on the disciples' return to the upper room to pray.

Prep at sermons.com

Ready to write?

  • Full sermons on John 17:1-11a
  • Illustrations cleared for use in worship
  • Commentary, quotes, and Bible dictionary
Open it at sermons.com →

Trusted by pastors since 1995.

Free every Tuesday

Illustrations & Sermon Prep in your inbox

The coming Sunday’s readings, a cleared-for-use illustration, and a sermon-prep head start. One email, free.