What is the context?
The disciples return from the Mount of Olives to Jerusalem, as Jesus instructed. They gather in the upper room where they are staying. The list names eleven apostles; Judas Iscariot is absent, and the following passage will address that vacancy.
They continue in prayer with one accord. The gathering includes the women, Mary the mother of Jesus, and His brothers. Luke shows a community waiting together on God rather than scattering after Jesus’s departure.
The passage describes shared devotion without recording the words of their prayers. It does not identify the room as certainly the room of the Last Supper or give us a complete schedule of their days.
How is this passage commonly understood?
Christians commonly understand this as the apostles and other followers responding to Jesus’s command with obedience and united prayer. The inclusion of Mary and the other women makes clear that the waiting community is wider than the eleven apostles alone. Wesley’s notes on verses 12–15 place the gathering and prayer within that continuing community.
Where does this fit in God's plan?
Luke 24:50–53 closes with Jesus blessing His followers, their return to Jerusalem, and their praise of God. Acts continues that response in a gathering devoted to prayer. Praise, waiting and witness belong to the same unfolding work: the community that will carry the message first receives the Lord’s direction and promise.
What is our position?
We don't have a position on this passage yet. When our study reaches a conclusion the text supports, it will appear here.