and, being assembled together with them, he charged them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father, which,'said he , ye heard from me:

And eating together with them, he commanded them, that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but should wait for the promise of the Father, which you have heard (saith he) by my mouth.

and, being assembled with them, commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to await the promise of the Father, which said he ye have heard of me.

and, being assembled together with them, he charged them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father, which, said he, ye heard from me:

And being assembled together with them, he commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father, which, saith he, 'Ye did hear of me;

And while in their company He charged them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait for the Father's promised gift. "This you have heard of," He said, "from me.

And when they were all together, with him, he gave them orders not to go away from Jerusalem, but to keep there, waiting till the word of the Father was put into effect, of which, he said, I have given you knowledge:

And dining with them, he instructed them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but that they should wait for the Promise of the Father, "about which you have heard," he said, "from my own mouth.

And once, when he had gathered them together, he charged them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait there for the fulfillment of the Father's promise – "that promise," he said, "of which you have heard me speak;

Gathering them together, he commanded, etc They had before done the duty of Apostles; but that lasted but a while; and, secondly, so far forth that they might with their preaching awake the Jews to hear their Master. And so that commandment to teach, which Christ had given them, (Matthew 10:7,) whilst he lived with them upon earth, was, as it were, a certain entrance into their apostleship which was to come, for which they were not yet ripe. Therefore, their ordinary function was not laid upon them, until such time as Christ was risen again; but they stirred up their nation (as I have said) like criers, that they might give ear to Christ. And then at length, after the resurrection, they were made Apostles, to publish abroad throughout the whole world that doctrine which was committed to them. And whereas after they were made Apostles, Christ commandeth them as yet to abstain from their office, that is done not without just cause; yea, many causes may be alleged why it should be so. That filthy forsaking of their Master was yet fresh; many notes and tokens of unbelief were yet fresh. Whereas, they had been so thoroughly taught, and had so suddenly forgotten all, they showed a manifest token of their great dullness of wit. Neither were they free from sluggishness, which could not otherwise fitly be purged, than by deferring the promised grace, that he might the more sharpen their desire. But this cause is chiefly to be noted, that the Lord did appoint a certain time for the sending of the Spirit, that the miracle might be the more apparent. Again, he suffered them to rest a while, that he might the better set forth the greatness of that business which he was about to commit unto them. And thereby is the truth of the gospel confirmed, because the Apostles were forbidden to address themselves to preach the same, until they should be well prepared in succession of time. And they were commanded to stay together, because they should all have one spirit given them. If they had been dispersed, the unity should not have been so well known. Though they were scattered abroad afterwards in divers places, yet because they brought that which they had from one and the same fountain, it was all one, as if they always had had all one mouth. Furthermore, it was expedient that they should begin to preach the gospel at Jerusalem, that the prophecy might be fulfilled, "There shall a law go out of Zion, and the word of the Lord out of Jerusalem," (Isaiah 2:3.) Although the participle sunalizomenos, may be diversely translated, yet Erasmus his translation did please me best, because the signification of gathering together will agree better with the text, [context.] They should wait for the promise It was meet that these should be accustomed to obey first, who should shortly after lay Christ's yoke upon the neck of the world. And surely they have taught us by their example, that we must work and rest at the Lord's pleasure alone. For if, during our life, we go on warfare under his banner and conduct, surely he ought to have no less authority over us than any earthly captain hath in his army. Therefore, as warlike discipline requireth this, that no man wage unless he be commanded by the captain, so it is not lawful for us either to go out, or to attempt any thing, until the Lord give the watchword; and so soon as he bloweth the retreat, we must stay, [halt.] Moreover, we are taught that we are made partakers of the gifts of God through hope. But we must mark the nature of hope as it is described in this place. For that is not hope which every man feigneth to himself unadvisedly, but that which is grounded on the promise of God. Therefore Christ cloth not suffer his apostles to look for whatsoever they will, but he addeth expressly the promise of the Father. Furthermore, he maketh himself a witness thereof; because we ought to be so sure and certain, that although all the engines of hell gainstand us, yet this may remain surely fixed in our minds, that we have believed God. I know, saith Paul, whom I have believed, (2-Timothy 1:12.) And here he putteth them in mind of those things which are written in John 14:15, 16, "I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may continue with you; I say the Spirit of truth," etc. Again, "I have spoken these things unto you while I am with you." "And the Spirit, whom my Father shall send in my name, shall teach you all things," (John 14:25, 26,) etc. And again, "When the Spirit of truth shall come, whom I will send from my Father, he shall bear witness of me," (John 15:26.) And again, "If I shall go hence, I will send you the Comforter, who shall reprove the world," (John 16:7.) And he had said long before, "He which believeth in me, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water," (John 7:38.)

And being assembled together - Margin, "or, eating together." This sense is given to this place in the Latin Vulgate, the Ethiopic, and the Syriac versions. But the Greek word has not properly this signification. It has the meaning of "congregating, or assembling." It should have been, however, translated in the active sense, "and having assembled them together." The apostles were scattered after his death. But this passage denotes that he had assembled them together by his authority, for the purpose of giving them a charge respecting their conduct when he should have left them. When this occurred does not appear from the narrative; but it is probable that it was not long before his ascension; and it is clear that the place where they were assembled was Jerusalem.
But wait for the promise of the Father - For the fulfillment of the promise respecting the descent of the Holy Spirit made by the Father.
Which ye have heard of me - Which I have made to you. See John 14:16, John 14:26; John 15:26; John 16:7-13.

And, being assembled together - Instead of συναλιζομενος, being assembled together, several good MSS. and versions read συναυλιζομενος, living or eating together, which refers the conversation reported here to some particular time, when he sat at meat, with his disciples. See Mark 16:14 : Luke 24:41-44. But probably the common reading is to be preferred; and the meeting on a mountain of Galilee is what is here meant.
The promise of the Father - The Holy Spirit, which indeed was the grand promise of the New Testament, as Jesus Christ was of the Old. And as Christ was the grand promise of the Old Testament, during the whole continuance of the old covenant; so is the Holy Ghost, during the whole continuance of the new. As every pious soul that believed in the coming Messiah, through the medium of the sacrifices offered up under the law, was made a partaker of the merit of his death, so every pious soul that believes in Christ crucified is made a partaker of the Holy Spirit. Thus, as the benefit of the death of Christ extended from the foundation of the world till his coming in the flesh, as well as after, so the inspiration of the Holy Spirit has been, and will be continued through the whole lapse of time, till his coming again to judge the world. It is by this Spirit that sin is made known, and by it the blood of the covenant is applied; and indeed, without this, the want of salvation cannot be discovered, nor the value of the blood of the covenant duly estimated. How properly do we still pray, and how necessary is the prayer, "Cleanse the thoughts of our hearts by the inspiration of thy Holy Spirit, that we may perfectly love thee, and worthily magnify thy name, through Jesus Christ our Lord! Amen." Communion Service.
Ye have heard of me - In his particular conversations with his disciples, such as those related John 14:16-26 (note); John 15:26 (note); John 16:7-15 (note); to which passages, and the notes on them the reader is requested to refer: but it is likely that our Lord alludes more particularly to the conversation he had with them on one of the mountains of Galilee.

And, being (c) assembled together with [them], commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which, [saith he], ye have heard of me.
(c) They were dispersed here and there, but he gathers them together so that all of them might together be witnesses of his resurrection.

And being assembled together with them,.... At their last meeting at Bethany, or Mount Olivet, which was by appointment: some render the words, as the Vulgate Latin, "and eating with them"; which was one of the proofs he gave of his being alive; and so the Syriac version renders it, "and when he had ate bread with them", and the Ethiopic version, "and dining with them", which he might do more than once; see John 21:12 this was the last time, when he
commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem; which does not necessarily infer, that they were then at Jerusalem; for they might be, and they seem rather to be at Bethany, or on the Mount of Olives, from whence they afterwards returned to Jerusalem; and from thence they had orders not to depart, where the blood of Christ had been shed, and where were his greatest enemies, and where the disciples might have no inclination to have gone, and much less to abide, but so it must be, partly for the glorifying of Christ by the effusion of his Spirit on the apostles in the place where he had suffered the most reproach; and partly because the Gospel, the word of the Lord, was to go out of this place, according to the prophecy in Isaiah 2:3 as also because a Gospel church was to be fixed there, and a very large number of souls to be converted, and added to it: wherefore they were bid to go thither, and not stir from thence,
but wait for the promise of the Father; that is, the pouring forth of the Spirit, which God the Father of Christ; and of his people, had promised should be in the last days, Joel 2:28 and which Christ had promised his disciples from the Father, John 14:16.
which, saith he, ye have heard of me; or "by", or "out of my mouth", as the Vulgate Latin and Ethiopic versions, and Beza's most ancient copy read; referring to the above passages, or to what follows: and which he the rather mentions, to assure them of its accomplishment, since it was both a promise of the Father, all whose promises are yea and amen; and he had also told them of it, neither of whose words could possibly fall to the ground.

should not depart from Jerusalem--because the Spirit was to glorify the existing economy, by descending on the disciples at its metropolitan seat, and at the next of its great festivals after the ascension of the Church's Head; in order that "out of Zion might go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem" (Isaiah 2:3; and compare Luke 24:49).

Commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem. Because, right in the citadel of his enemies, where he had been slain, the Risen Lord was to be first proclaimed, his Gospel preached, the Holy Spirit shed forth, and his kingdom established. Because, too, the prophet (Isaiah 2:3, Isaiah 2:5) had declared that Jerusalem should be the place where the Gospel should be first preached.
But wait for the promise of the Father. Joel 2:28; Zac 2:10; John 14:16; John 15:26; Matthew 3:11. They must wait for the Spirit, that they might speak, on the great day of the inauguration of the kingdom, as the Holy Spirit gave them utterance (Acts 2:4). The conditions of citizenship in the kingdom must be spoken by the Spirit.

Wait for the promise of the Father, which ye have heard from me - When he was with them a little before, as it is recorded, Luke 24:49.