Acts 1-2

Contemporary English Version

1 ^(A) Theophilus, I first wrote to you^[a] about all that Jesus did and taught from the very first ²until he was taken up to heaven. But before he was taken up, he gave orders to the apostles he had chosen with the help of the Holy Spirit.

³For 40 days after Jesus had suffered and died, he proved in many ways that he had been raised from death. He appeared to his apostles and spoke to them about God's kingdom. ⁴^(B) While he was still with them, he said:

Don't leave Jerusalem yet. Wait here for the Father to give you the Holy Spirit, just as I told you he has promised to do. ⁵^(C) John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.

Jesus Is Taken to Heaven

⁶While the apostles were still with Jesus, they asked him, “Lord, are you now going to give Israel its own king again?”^[b]

⁷Jesus said to them, “You don't need to know the time of those events that only the Father controls. ⁸^(D) But the Holy Spirit will come upon you and give you power. Then you will tell everyone about me in Jerusalem, in all Judea, in Samaria, and everywhere in the world.” ⁹^(E) After Jesus had said this and while they were watching, he was taken up into a cloud. They could not see him, ¹⁰but as he went up, they kept looking up into the sky.

Suddenly two men dressed in white clothes were standing there beside them. ¹¹They said, “Why are you men from Galilee standing here and looking up into the sky? Jesus has been taken to heaven. But he will come back in the same way you have seen him go.”

Someone To Take the Place of Judas

^12-13^(F) The Mount of Olives was about a kilometer from Jerusalem. The apostles who had gone there were Peter, John, James, Andrew, Philip, Thomas, Bartholomew, Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus, Simon, known as the Eager One,^[c] and Judas the son of James.

After the apostles returned to the city, they went upstairs to the room where they had been staying.

¹⁴The apostles often met together and prayed with a single purpose in mind.^[d] The women and Mary the mother of Jesus would meet with them, and so would his brothers. ¹⁵One day there were about 120 of the Lord's followers meeting together, and Peter stood up to speak to them. ^16-17He said:

My friends, long ago by the power of the Holy Spirit, David said something about Judas, and what he said has now happened. Judas was one of us and had worked with us, but he brought the mob to arrest Jesus. ¹⁸^(G) Then Judas bought some land with the money he was given for doing that evil thing. He fell headfirst into the field. His body burst open, and all his insides came out. ¹⁹When the people of Jerusalem found out about this, they called the place Akeldama, which in the local language means “Field of Blood.”

²⁰^(H) In the book of Psalms it says,

“Leave his house empty,
and don't let anyone
live there.”

It also says,

“Let someone else
have his job.”

^21-22^(I) So we need someone else to help us tell others that Jesus has been raised from death. He must also be one of the men who was with us from the very beginning. He must have been with us from the time the Lord Jesus was baptized by John until the day he was taken to heaven.

²³Two men were suggested: One of them was Joseph Barsabbas, known as Justus, and the other was Matthias. ²⁴Then they all prayed, “Lord, you know what everyone is like! Show us the one you have chosen ²⁵to be an apostle and to serve in place of Judas, who got what he deserved.” ²⁶They drew names, and Matthias was chosen to join the group of the eleven apostles.

The Coming of the Holy Spirit

2 ^(J) On the day of Pentecost^[e] all the Lord's followers were together in one place. ²Suddenly there was a noise from heaven like the sound of a mighty wind! It filled the house where they were meeting. ³Then they saw what looked like fiery tongues moving in all directions, and a tongue came and settled on each person there. ⁴The Holy Spirit took control of everyone, and they began speaking whatever languages the Spirit let them speak.

⁵Many religious Jews from every country in the world were living in Jerusalem. ⁶And when they heard this noise, a crowd gathered. But they were surprised, because they were hearing everything in their own languages. ⁷They were excited and amazed, and said:

Don't all these who are speaking come from Galilee? ⁸Then why do we hear them speaking our very own languages? ⁹Some of us are from Parthia, Media, and Elam. Others are from Mesopotamia, Judea, Cappadocia, Pontus, Asia, ¹⁰Phrygia, Pamphylia, Egypt, parts of Libya near Cyrene, Rome, ¹¹Crete, and Arabia. Some of us were born Jews, and others of us have chosen to be Jews. Yet we all hear them using our own languages to tell the wonderful things God has done.

¹²Everyone was excited and confused. Some of them even kept asking each other, “What does all this mean?”

¹³Others made fun of the Lord's followers and said, “They are drunk.”

Peter Speaks to the Crowd

¹⁴Peter stood with the eleven apostles and spoke in a loud and clear voice to the crowd:

Friends and everyone else living in Jerusalem, listen carefully to what I have to say! ¹⁵You are wrong to think that these people are drunk. After all, it is only nine o'clock in the morning. ¹⁶But this is what God told the prophet Joel to say,

¹⁷^(K) “When the last days come,
I will give my Spirit
    to everyone.
Your sons and daughters
    will prophesy.
Your young men
    will see visions,
and your old men
    will have dreams.
¹⁸In those days I will give
    my Spirit to my servants,
both men and women,
    and they will prophesy.

¹⁹“I will work miracles
    in the sky above
and wonders
    on the earth below.
There will be blood and fire
    and clouds of smoke.
²⁰The sun will turn dark,
and the moon
    will be as red as blood
before the great
and wonderful day
    of the Lord appears.
²¹Then the Lord
will save everyone
    who asks for his help.”

²²Now, listen to what I have to say about Jesus from Nazareth. God proved he sent Jesus to you by having him work miracles, wonders, and signs. All of you know this. ²³^(L) God had already planned and decided that Jesus would be handed over to you. So you took him and had evil men put him to death on a cross. ²⁴^(M) But God set him free from death and raised him to life. Death could not hold him in its power. ²⁵^(N) What David said are really the words of Jesus,

“I always see the Lord
    near me,
and I will not be afraid
    with him at my right side.
²⁶Because of this,
    my heart will be glad,
my words will be joyful,
    and I will live in hope.
²⁷The Lord won't leave me
    in the grave.
I am his holy one,
and he won't let
    my body decay.
²⁸He has shown me
    the path to life,
and he makes me glad
    by being near me.”

²⁹My friends, it is right for me to speak to you about our ancestor David. He died and was buried, and his tomb is still here. ³⁰^(O) But David was a prophet, and he knew that God had made a promise he would not break. He had told David someone from his own family would someday be king.

³¹David knew this would happen, and so he told us Christ would be raised to life. He said God would not leave him in the grave or let his body decay. ³²All of us can tell you that God has raised Jesus to life!

³³Jesus was taken up to sit at the right side^[f] of God, and he was given the Holy Spirit, just as the Father had promised. Jesus is also the one who has given the Spirit to us, and this is what you are now seeing and hearing.

³⁴^(P) David didn't go up to heaven. So he wasn't talking about himself when he said, “The Lord told my Lord to sit at his right side, ³⁵until he made my Lord's enemies into a footstool for him.” ³⁶Everyone in Israel should then know for certain that God has made Jesus both Lord and Christ, even though you put him to death on a cross.

³⁷When the people heard this, they were very upset. They asked Peter and the other apostles, “Friends, what should we do?”

³⁸Peter said to them, “Turn to God and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. ³⁹This promise is for you and your children. It is for everyone our Lord God will choose, no matter where they live.”

⁴⁰Peter told them many other things as well. Then he said, “I beg you to save yourselves from what will happen to all these evil people.” ⁴¹On that day about 3,000 believed his message and were baptized. ⁴²They spent their time learning from the apostles, and they were like family to each other. They also broke bread^[g] and prayed together.

Life among the Lord's Followers

⁴³Everyone was amazed by the many miracles and wonders that the apostles worked. ⁴⁴^(Q) All the Lord's followers often met together, and they shared everything they had. ⁴⁵They would sell their property and possessions and give the money to whoever was in need. ⁴⁶Day after day they met together in the temple. They broke bread^[h] together in different homes and shared their food happily and freely, ⁴⁷while praising God. Everyone liked them, and each day the Lord added to their group others who were being saved.

Footnotes

1.1 I first wrote to you: The Gospel of Luke.
1.6 are you now going to give Israel its own king again: Or “Are you now going to rule Israel as its king?”
1.12,13 known as the Eager One: The Greek text has “Zealot,” a name later given to the members of a Jewish group that resisted and fought against the Romans.
1.14 met together and prayed with a single purpose in mind: Or “met together in a special place for prayer.”
2.1 Pentecost: A Jewish festival that came fifty days after Passover and celebrated the wheat harvest. Jews later celebrated Pentecost as the time when they were given the Law of Moses.
2.33 right side: The place of honor and power.
2.42 broke bread: They ate together and celebrated the Lord's Supper.
2.46 broke bread: See the note at 2.42.