Introduction

1 The first account I ^[a]composed, ^(A)Theophilus, about all that Jesus ^(B)began to do and teach, ² until the day when He ^(C)was taken up to heaven, after He ^(D)had given orders ^[b]by the Holy Spirit to ^(E)the apostles whom He had ^(F)chosen. ³ To ^[c]these ^(G)He also presented Himself alive after His suffering, by many convincing proofs, appearing to them over a period of forty days and speaking of ^(H)things regarding the kingdom of God. ^4 [d]Gathering them together, He commanded them ^(I)not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait for ^[e](J)what the Father had promised, “Which,” He said, “you heard of from Me; ⁵ for ^(K)John baptized ^[f]with water, but you will be baptized ^[g]with the Holy Spirit ^[h](L)not many days from now.”

⁶ So, when they had come together, they began asking Him, saying, “Lord, ^(M)is it at this time that You are restoring the kingdom to Israel?” ⁷ But He said to them, “It is not for you to know periods of time or appointed times which ^(N)the Father has set by His own authority; ⁸ but you will receive power ^(O)when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be ^(P)My witnesses both in Jerusalem and in all Judea, and ^(Q)Samaria, and as far as ^(R)the remotest part of the earth.”

The Ascension

⁹ And after He had said these things, ^(S)He was lifted up while they were watching, and a cloud took Him up, out of their sight. ¹⁰ And as they were gazing intently into the sky while He was going, then behold, ^(T)two men in white clothing stood beside them, ¹¹ and they said, “^(U)Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into the sky? This Jesus, who ^(V)has been taken up from you into heaven, will ^(W)come in the same way as you have watched Him go into heaven.”

The Upper Room

¹² Then they ^(X)returned to Jerusalem from the ^[i](Y)mountain called ^[j]Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, a ^[k]Sabbath day’s journey away. ¹³ When they had entered the city, they went up to ^(Z)the upstairs room where they were staying, that is, ^(AA)Peter, John, ^[l]James, and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, ^[m]James the son of Alphaeus, Simon the Zealot, and ^(AB)Judas the ^[n]son of ^[o]James. ¹⁴ All these ^(AC)were continually devoting themselves with one ^[p]mind to prayer, along with ^(AD)the women, and Mary the ^(AE)mother of Jesus, and with His ^(AF)brothers.

^15 [q]At this time Peter stood up among ^(AG)the brothers and sisters (a group of about 120 ^[r]people was there together), and said, ¹⁶ “^[s]Brothers, ^(AH)the Scripture had to be fulfilled, which the Holy Spirit foretold by the mouth of David concerning Judas, ^(AI)who became a guide to those who arrested Jesus. ¹⁷ For he was ^(AJ)counted among us and received his share in ^(AK)this ministry.” ¹⁸ (Now this man ^(AL)acquired a field with ^(AM)the price of his wickedness, and falling headlong, he burst open in the middle and all his intestines gushed out. ¹⁹ And it became known to all the residents of Jerusalem; as a result that field was called Hakeldama in ^(AN)their own language, that is, Field of Blood.) ²⁰ “For it is written in the book of Psalms:

and,

²¹ Therefore it is necessary that of the men who have accompanied us all the time that ^(AQ)the Lord Jesus went in and out ^[u]among us— ^22 (AR)beginning ^[v]with the baptism of John until the day that He ^(AS)was taken up from us—one of these must become a ^(AT)witness with us of His resurrection.” ²³ So they put forward two men, Joseph called Barsabbas (who was also called Justus), and ^(AU)Matthias. ²⁴ And they ^(AV)prayed and said, “You, Lord, who ^(AW)know the hearts of all people, show which one of these two You have chosen ²⁵ to ^[w]occupy ^(AX)this ministry and ^(AY)apostleship from which Judas turned aside to go to his own place.” ²⁶ And they ^[x](AZ)drew lots for them, and the lot fell ^[y]to ^(BA)Matthias; and he was added to ^(BB)the eleven apostles.

The Day of Pentecost

2 When ^(BC)the day of Pentecost ^[z]had come, they were all together in one place. ² And suddenly a noise like a violent rushing wind came from heaven, and it filled ^(BD)the whole house where they were sitting. ³ And tongues that looked like fire appeared to them, ^[aa]distributing themselves, and a tongue ^[ab]rested on each one of them. ⁴ And they were all ^(BE)filled with the Holy Spirit and began to ^(BF)speak with different ^[ac]tongues, as the Spirit was giving them the ability to speak out.

⁵ Now there were Jews residing in Jerusalem, ^(BG)devout men from every nation under heaven. ⁶ And when ^(BH)this sound occurred, the crowd came together and they were bewildered, because each one of them was hearing them speak in his own ^[ad]language. ^7 (BI)They were amazed and astonished, saying, “^[ae]Why, are not all these who are speaking ^(BJ)Galileans? ⁸ And how is it that we each hear them in our own ^[af]language ^[ag]to which we were born? ⁹ Parthians, Medes, and Elamites, and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea, and ^(BK)Cappadocia, ^(BL)Pontus and ^[ah](BM)Asia, ^10 (BN)Phrygia and ^(BO)Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya around ^(BP)Cyrene, and ^[ai](BQ)visitors from Rome, both Jews and ^[aj](BR)proselytes, ¹¹ Cretans and Arabs—we hear them speaking in our own ^[ak]tongues of the mighty deeds of God.” ¹² And ^(BS)they all continued in amazement and great perplexity, saying to one another, “What does this mean?” ¹³ But others were jeering and saying, “^(BT)They are full of ^[al]sweet wine!”

Peter’s Sermon

¹⁴ But Peter, taking his stand with ^(BU)the other eleven, raised his voice and declared to them: “Men of Judea and all you who live in Jerusalem, ^[am]know this, and pay attention to my words. ¹⁵ For these people are not drunk, as you assume, ^(BV)since it is only the ^[an]third hour of the day; ¹⁶ but this is what has been spoken through the prophet Joel:

²² “Men of Israel, listen to these words: ^(BY)Jesus the Nazarene, ^(BZ)a Man ^[at]attested to you by God with ^[au]miracles and ^(CA)wonders and ^[av]signs which God performed through Him in your midst, just as you yourselves know— ²³ this Man, delivered over by the ^(CB)predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God, ^(CC)you nailed to a cross by the hands of ^[aw]godless men and put Him to death. ^24 [ax]But ^(CD)God raised Him from the dead, putting an end to the ^[ay]agony of death, since it ^(CE)was impossible for Him to be held ^[az]in its power. ²⁵ For David says of Him,

²⁹ “^[bd]Brothers, I may confidently say to you regarding the ^(CI)patriarch David that he both ^(CJ)died and ^(CK)was buried, and ^(CL)his tomb is ^[be]with us to this day. ³⁰ So because he was ^(CM)a prophet and knew that ^(CN)God had sworn to him with an oath to seat one ^[bf]of his descendants on his throne, ³¹ he looked ahead and spoke of the resurrection of the ^[bg]Christ, that ^(CO)He was neither abandoned to Hades, nor did His flesh ^[bh]suffer decay. ³² It is this Jesus whom ^(CP)God raised up, ^[bi]a fact to which we are all ^(CQ)witnesses. ³³ Therefore, ^[bj]since He has been exalted ^[bk](CR)at the right hand of God, and ^(CS)has received ^(CT)the promise of the Holy Spirit from the Father, He has ^(CU)poured out this which you both see and hear. ³⁴ For it was not David who ascended into ^[bl]heaven, but he himself says:

³⁶ Therefore let all the ^(CW)house of Israel know for certain that God has made Him both ^(CX)Lord and ^[bm]Christ—this Jesus ^(CY)whom you crucified.”

³⁷ Now when they heard this, they were ^[bn]pierced to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “^[bo]Brothers, ^(CZ)what are we to do?” ³⁸ Peter said to them, “^(DA)Repent, and each of you be ^(DB)baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. ³⁹ For ^(DC)the promise is for you and your children and for all who are ^(DD)far away, as many as the Lord our God will call to Himself.” ⁴⁰ And with many other words he solemnly ^(DE)testified and kept on urging them, saying, “^[bp]Be saved from this ^(DF)perverse generation!” ⁴¹ So then, those who had received his word were baptized; and that day there were added about three thousand ^[bq](DG)souls. ⁴² They were ^(DH)continually devoting themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to ^(DI)the breaking of bread and ^(DJ)to ^[br]prayer.

^43 [bs]Everyone kept feeling a sense of awe; and many ^(DK)wonders and ^[bt]signs were taking place through the apostles. ⁴⁴ And all the believers ^[bu]were together and ^(DL)had all things in common; ⁴⁵ and they ^(DM)would sell their property and possessions and share them with all, to the extent that anyone had need. ^46 (DN)Day by day continuing with one mind in the temple, and ^(DO)breaking bread ^[bv]from house to house, they were taking their ^[bw]meals together with gladness and ^[bx]sincerity of heart, ⁴⁷ praising God and ^(DP)having favor with all the people. And the Lord ^(DQ)was adding to ^[by]their number day by day ^(DR)those who were being saved.

Former Times of Help and Present Troubles.

For the music director. A ^[a]Maskil of the sons of Korah.