And he was seen many days of them which came up with him from Galilee to Jerusalem, who are his witnesses to the people.
he was.
Acts 1:3,11 To whom also he shewed himself alive after his passion by many infallible proofs, being seen of them forty days, and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God: …
Acts 10:41 Not to all the people, but unto witnesses chosen before of God, even to us, who did eat and drink with him after he rose from the dead.
Matthew 28:16 Then the eleven disciples went away into Galilee, into a mountain where Jesus had appointed them.
who.
Acts 1:8,22 But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth…
Acts 2:32 This Jesus hath God raised up, whereof we all are witnesses.
Acts 3:15 And killed the Prince of life, whom God hath raised from the dead; whereof we are witnesses.
by those who had accompanied Him from Galilee to Jerusalem.
This group primarily includes the apostles and other close followers of Jesus who had been with Him throughout His ministry. Galilee was the region where Jesus began His public ministry, and many of His disciples were called from there. The journey from Galilee to Jerusalem is significant as it represents the path of Jesus' ministry leading to His crucifixion and resurrection. This journey also fulfills the prophecy of the suffering servant who would be rejected and killed in Jerusalem (Isaiah 53).
They are now His witnesses
The term "witnesses" is crucial in the context of the early church. The apostles and other followers were eyewitnesses to Jesus' life, death, and resurrection, which gave them authority to testify about Him. This role of being a witness is emphasized in Acts 1:8, where Jesus commissions His disciples to be His witnesses "in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." The Greek word for witness, "martys," is also the root for the word "martyr," indicating the seriousness and potential cost of this testimony.
to our people.
This phrase indicates the initial focus of the apostles' witness: the Jewish people. The early Christian message was first proclaimed to the Jews, as they were the people of the covenant and the recipients of the promises of God (Romans 1:16). This aligns with the pattern seen throughout Acts, where the apostles often began their preaching in synagogues. However, the message was not limited to the Jews, as the gospel was intended for all nations, fulfilling the promise to Abraham that all peoples on earth would be blessed through his offspring (Genesis 12:3).
Acts 13:31 opens with concrete history: “and for many days He was seen….” Scripture records a literal forty-day window between the resurrection and the ascension (Acts 1:3). During that stretch:
- Jesus ate with the disciples (Luke 24:41-43), proving He was no phantom.
- He allowed them to touch Him (John 20:27), dispelling doubt.
- He taught them about “the kingdom of God” (Acts 1:3).
Every appearance added layer after layer of undeniable evidence. Our faith rests on facts, not feelings (1 Corinthians 15:5-7).
The risen Christ chose to reveal Himself to people who had walked with Him earlier. They had:
- Heard His teaching in Galilee (Matthew 5-7).
- Watched His miracles (Mark 6:30-44).
- Observed His sinless life up close (1 Peter 2:22).
Because they already knew Him, they could not mistake an imposter for their Lord (John 10:14). Their firsthand familiarity anchors the trustworthiness of their testimony.
This phrase sweeps across the whole terrain of Jesus’ ministry. Galilee represents three years of public proclamation (Luke 4:14-15); Jerusalem culminates in the cross and tomb (Luke 23:33, 50-53). By spanning that distance, Luke reminds us that:
- The witnesses saw the full arc of redemption—life, death, and resurrection.
- The gospel is not a regional rumor; it moved from rural hills to the nation’s holy city (Isaiah 2:3).
- The same Savior reigns over every place in between (Matthew 28:18-20).
The verb “are” highlights an ongoing commission. These men and women did not retire after the ascension; they spoke boldly (Acts 4:20). Their witness included:
- Preaching Christ crucified and risen (Acts 2:23-24).
- Performing signs that confirmed their message (Hebrews 2:3-4).
- Suffering for the name they proclaimed (Acts 5:40-42).
Their living testimony models what every believer is called to do—tell what we have experienced of Jesus (1 John 1:1-3).
Paul, addressing a synagogue in Pisidian Antioch, stresses that the original witnesses reported first “to our people,” the Jews (Romans 1:16). God keeps His promises to Israel (Acts 3:25-26):
- The resurrection validates Jesus as the long-awaited Messiah (Psalm 16:10; Acts 13:32-33).
- Israel’s privilege becomes the world’s blessing (Genesis 12:3; Acts 13:47).
- Even today, the gospel still calls Jewish hearts—and every heart—back to their covenant God (Romans 11:23-24).
Acts 13:31 packs a rich, literal narrative: the risen Jesus appeared repeatedly, to companions who knew Him well, across the very ground where He had lived and died. Those eyewitnesses continue to speak through Scripture, offering Israel—and the entire world—an unshakable foundation for faith.
(31) And he was seen many days.--The language is that of one who had conversed with the witnesses, and had convinced himself of the truth of their testimony. We find what the Apostle had in his thoughts in a more expanded form in 1Corinthians 15:3-8.Who are his witnesses.--More accurately, who are now his witnesses.
Unto the people.--The word is used in its distinctive sense as applied to those who were the people of God. (Comp. Acts 26:17; Acts 26:23.)
Verse 31. - For many days for many days, A.V.; that for which, A.V.; who are now for who are, A.V. and T.R. St. Paul thus confirms the statement in Acts 1:3 (see note to Acts 1:11). From Galilee to Jerusalem. Who are meant? and what ascent from Galilee to Jerusalem is here intended? The answer to the first question is, the eleven apostles, whose special office it was to bear witness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus (Acts 1:22, note). The answer to the second is, that the ascent from Galilee, where most of our Lord's appearances took place, to Jerusalem, shortly before the Ascension, is here intended, and that this passage is a distinct recognition by St. Luke of the Galilaean appearances. There is, as is well known, great obscurity, and apparent discrepancies in the accounts of our Lord's appearances after the Resurrection. St. Matthew seems to place them exclusively in Galilee (Matthew 28:7, 10, 16). St. Mark likewise (16: 7); but in the section 9-20 he mentions the appearance to Mary Magdalene and to the two disciples on the way to Emmaus, but gives no clue as to where the appearance to the eleven took place. St. Luke seems to place them exclusively in Judaea, but very curiously puts a mention of Galilee in the angel's mouth in the very place where, according to St. Matthew, he announced the Lord's appearance in Galilee. St. John, again places the three first appearances in Jerusalem (John 20.), but describes at length a third as having taken place in Galilee (John 21:2, 14). St. Paul (1 Corinthians 15:6) speaks of an appearance to five hundred brethren at once, which in all probability took place in Galilee, as only a hundred and twenty names were numbered at Jerusalem (Acts 1:15). It is, therefore, satisfactory to have this confirmation of the residence of the apostles in Galilee between the Resurrection and the Ascension in St. Luke's report of St. Paul's speech. Observe that St. Paul distinctly separates himself from these witnesses by the emphatic ἡμεῖς in ver. 32.