Acts 1-5

The Voice

Luke, in this his second volume concerning the genesis of the Christian movement, doesn’t preserve Jesus’ teachings during those mysterious meetings with His emissaries after His death. Surely they are filled with joy, curiosity, and amazement as His followers hang on His every word and gaze on the reality of His bodily resurrection as He describes the kingdom of God. His words are undoubtedly intended to prepare each of them for this journey, a journey with a clear destination in sight—the kingdom of God.

An integral part of this kingdom is the activity of the Holy Spirit to empower the people of God as they expand the kingdom beyond the region of Palestine. Luke records surprisingly little about the day-to-day life of these early Christians, about how they integrated their faith into their culture; but he does emphasize the work of the Spirit who empowers miracles and gives believers the means to testify of their faith before Jews and the outsiders.

1 To a lover of God, Theophilus: In my first book, I recounted the events of Jesus’ life—His actions, His teachings— ^2-3from the beginning of His life until He was taken up into heaven. After His great suffering and vindication, He showed His apostles that He was alive—appearing to them repeatedly over a period of 40 days, giving them many convincing proofs of His resurrection. As before, He spoke constantly of the kingdom of God. During these appearances, He had instructed His chosen messengers through the Holy Spirit, ⁴prohibiting them from leaving Jerusalem, but rather requiring them to wait there until they received what He called “the promise of the Father.”

Jesus: This is what you heard Me teach— ⁵that just as John ritually cleansed people with water through baptism,^[a] so you will be washed with the Holy Spirit very soon.

⁶When they had gathered just outside Jerusalem at the Mount of Olives, they asked Jesus,

Disciples: Is now the time, Lord—the time when You will reestablish Your kingdom in our land of Israel?

Jesus: ⁷The Father, on His own authority, has determined the ages and epochs of history, but you have not been given this knowledge. ⁸Here’s the knowledge you need: you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you. And you will be My witnesses, first here in Jerusalem, then beyond to Judea and Samaria, and finally to the farthest places on earth.

⁹As He finished this commission, He began to rise from the ground before their eyes until the clouds obscured Him from their vision. ¹⁰As they strained to get one last glimpse of Him going into heaven, the Lord’s emissaries^[b] realized two men in white robes were standing among them.

Two Men: ¹¹You Galileans, why are you standing here staring up into the sky? This Jesus who is leaving you and ascending to heaven will return in the same way you see Him departing.

¹²Then the disciples returned to Jerusalem—their short journey from the Mount of Olives was an acceptable Sabbath Day’s walk.

^13-14Back in the city, they went to the room where they were staying—a second-floor room. This whole group devoted themselves to constant prayer with one accord: Peter, John, James, Andrew, Philip, Thomas, Bartholomew, Matthew, James (son of Alphaeus), Simon (the Zealot), Judas (son of James), a number of women including Mary (Jesus’ mother), and some of Jesus’ brothers.

¹⁵As the disciples prayed, Peter stood among the group of about 120 people and made this proposal:

The Creator of heaven and earth is orchestrating a redemptive story that will radically change the course of history. The most significant supernatural event in the history of this newly formed church will be the filling of the Holy Spirit. Through the Holy Spirit, God will direct the church’s growth. But how does the early church make important decisions before the Holy Spirit descends on them?

The company of disciples turns to the practice of “drawing lots,” a practice used by saints for centuries to discover God’s providential leading. After much prayer, Joseph and Matthias most likely write their names on scraps; then someone draws the replacement’s name out of a bag. What seems like a 50/50 chance is, in fact, God’s way of imparting His will. The disciples aren’t putting their faith in “chance”; they are putting their faith in a God who lives. This living God isn’t distant; He is a player in their lives, active when His people seek Him and His will. They know God directs the process, start to finish, and determines whose name is drawn to join the eleven.

Peter: ^16-17My friends, everything in the Hebrew Scriptures had to be fulfilled, including what the Holy Spirit foretold through David about Judas. As you know, Judas was one of us and participated in our ministry until he guided the authorities to arrest Jesus. ¹⁸(He was paid handsomely for his betrayal, and he bought a field with the blood money. But he died on that land—falling so that his abdomen burst and his internal organs gushed out. ¹⁹News of this death spread to everyone in Jerusalem, so Judas’s property is known as Hakeldama, which means “field of blood.”) ²⁰In this way, one of David’s psalms was fulfilled: “May their camps be bleak, with not one left in any tent.”^[c] But the psalms also include these words: “Let his position of oversight be given to another.”^[d] ²¹So we need to determine his replacement from among the men who have been with us during all of the Lord Jesus’ travels among us— ²²from His baptism^[e] by John until His ascension. We need someone to join us as a witness of Jesus’ resurrection.

²³The group put forward two men: Joseph (who was also known as Barsabbas or Justus) and Matthias.

Disciples: ²⁴Lord, You know everyone’s heart. Make it clear to us which of these two is Your choice ²⁵to take on this ministry as Your apostle, replacing Judas who went his own way to his own destination.

²⁶Then they drew lots, and the lot fell to Matthias, so he was added to the eleven apostles to reconstitute the twelve.

2 When the holy day of Pentecost came 50 days after Passover, they were gathered together in one place.

²Picture yourself among the disciples:

A sound roars from the sky without warning, the roar of a violent wind, and the whole house where you are gathered reverberates with the sound. ³Then a flame appears, dividing into smaller flames and spreading from one person to the next. ⁴All the people present are filled with the Holy Spirit and begin speaking in languages they’ve never spoken, as the Spirit empowers them.

⁵Because of the holy festival, there are devout Jews staying as pilgrims in Jerusalem from every nation under the sun. ⁶They hear the sound, and a crowd gathers. They are amazed because each of them can hear the group speaking in their native languages. ⁷They are shocked and amazed by this.

Pilgrims: Just a minute. Aren’t all of these people Galileans? ⁸How in the world do we all hear our native languages being spoken? ⁹Look—there are Parthians here, and Medes, Elamites, Mesopotamians, and Judeans, residents of Cappadocia, Pontus, and Asia, ¹⁰Phrygians and Pamphylians, Egyptians and Libyans from Cyrene, Romans including both Jews by birth and converts, ¹¹Cretans, and Arabs. We’re each, in our own languages, hearing these people talk about God’s powerful deeds.

¹²Their amazement becomes confusion as they wonder,

Pilgrims: What does this mean?

Skeptics: ¹³It doesn’t mean anything. They’re all drunk on some fresh wine!

This miraculous sign of God’s kingdom is astounding. The followers of Jesus are not known as people who drink too much wine with breakfast, so this fantastic episode requires some other kind of explanation. Unfortunately it is impossible to comprehend or explain what transpires on Pentecost. But this is not a novelty performance; rather, it is the foundation of the kingdom of God in that it establishes the church as the place where God moves on the earth through His Spirit. They expect a political kingdom, but God moves in people’s hearts to transform individuals and communities.

¹⁴As the twelve stood together, Peter shouted to the crowd,

Peter: Men of Judea and all who are staying here in Jerusalem, listen. I want you to understand: ¹⁵these people aren’t drunk as you may think. Look, it’s only nine o’clock in the morning! ¹⁶No, this isn’t drunkenness; this is the fulfillment of the prophecy of Joel. ¹⁷Hear what God says!

    In the last days,
    I will offer My Spirit to humanity as a libation.
    Your children will boldly speak the word of the Lord.
    Young warriors will see visions,
        and your elders will dream dreams.
¹⁸    Yes, in those days I shall offer My Spirit to all servants,
        both male and female, and they will boldly speak My word.
¹⁹    And in the heaven above and on the earth below,
    I shall give signs of impending judgment: blood, fire, and clouds of smoke.
²⁰    The sun will become a void of darkness,
        and the moon will become blood.
    Then the great and dreadful day of the Lord will arrive,
²¹    And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord
        will be liberated into God’s freedom and peace.^[f]

²²All of you Israelites, listen to my message: it’s about Jesus of Nazareth, a man whom God authenticated for you by performing in your presence powerful deeds, wonders, and signs through Him, just as you yourselves know. ²³This man, Jesus, who came into your hands by God’s sure plan and advanced knowledge, you nailed to a cross and killed in collaboration with lawless outsiders. ²⁴But God raised Jesus and unleashed Him from the agonizing birth pangs of death, for death could not possibly keep Jesus in its power. ²⁵David spoke of Jesus’ resurrection, saying:

    I see the Lord is ever present with me.
    I will not live in fear or abandon my calling because He guides my right hand.
²⁶    My heart is glad; my soul rejoices;
        my body is safe.
²⁷    You will not abandon me to experience the suffering of a miserable afterlife,
        nor leave Your Holy One to rot alone.
²⁸    Instead, You direct me on a path that leads to a beautiful life.
    As I walk with You, the pleasures are never-ending, and I know true joy and contentment.^[g]

²⁹My fellow Israelites, I can say without question that David our ancestor died and was buried, and his tomb is with us today. ³⁰David wasn’t speaking of himself; he was speaking as a prophet. He saw with prophetic insight that God had made a solemn promise to him: God would put one of his descendants on His throne. ³¹Here’s what David was seeing in advance; here’s what David was talking about—the Anointed One would be resurrected. Think of David’s words about Him not being abandoned to the place of the dead nor being left to decay in the grave. ³²He was talking about Jesus, the One God has raised, whom all of us have seen with our own eyes and announce to you today. ³³Since Jesus has been lifted to the right hand of God—the highest place of authority and power—and since Jesus has received the promise of the Holy Spirit from the Father, He has now poured out what you have seen and heard here today. ³⁴Remember: David couldn’t have been speaking of himself rising to the heavens when he said,

    The Master said to my master,
    “Sit here at My right hand,
        in the place of honor and power,
³⁵    And I will gather Your enemies together,
        lead them in on hands and knees,
        and You will rest Your feet on their backs.”^[h]

³⁶Everyone in Israel should now realize with certainty what God has done: God has made Jesus both Lord and Anointed King—this same Jesus whom you crucified.

³⁷When the people heard this, their hearts were pierced; and they said to Peter and his fellow apostles,

Pilgrims: Our brothers, what should we do?

Peter: ³⁸Reconsider your lives; change your direction. Participate in the ceremonial washing of baptism^[i] in the name of Jesus God’s Anointed, the Liberating King. Then your sins will be forgiven, and the gift of the Holy Spirit will be yours. ³⁹For the promise of the Spirit is for you, for your children, for all people—even those considered outsiders and outcasts—the Lord our God invites everyone to come to Him.

Just as God raised Jesus from a decaying body, Peter holds out hope for God to liberate those who follow Him from their decaying culture.

⁴⁰Peter was pleading and offering many logical reasons to believe. ⁴¹Whoever made a place for his message in their hearts received the baptism;^[j] in fact, that day alone, about 3,000 people joined the disciples.

⁴²The community continually committed themselves to learning what the apostles taught them, gathering for fellowship, breaking bread, and praying. ⁴³Everyone felt a sense of awe because the apostles were doing many signs and wonders among them. ⁴⁴There was an intense sense of togetherness among all who believed; they shared all their material possessions in trust. ⁴⁵They sold any possessions and goods that did not benefit the community and used the money to help everyone in need. ⁴⁶They were unified as they worshiped at the temple day after day. In homes, they broke bread and shared meals with glad and generous hearts. ⁴⁷The new disciples praised God, and they enjoyed the goodwill of all the people of the city. Day after day the Lord added to their number everyone who was experiencing liberation.

Although this young and thriving church has no political influence, property, fame, or wealth, it is powerful. Its power is centered in living the gospel. The people value one another more than any possessions. They come together as a large, passionate, healthy family where it is natural to pray and share all of life together. The kingdom of God is blossoming on earth as these lovers of God embrace the teachings of Jesus. In the days ahead, the church will lose much of this initial beauty and appeal; it will become consumed with a desire for material possessions, cultural influence, and power.

3 One day at three o’clock in the afternoon, a customary time for daily prayer, Peter and John walked to the temple. ²Some people were carrying in a man who had been paralyzed since birth. Every day they brought him to a place near the beautiful gate (one of the temple entrances) so he could beg for money from people entering to worship. ³He saw Peter and John coming and asked them for a contribution. ⁴Peter gazed intensely at him—so did John.

Peter: Look at us.

⁵The man looked up at them, assuming they were about to give him some money.

Peter: ⁶I want to give you something, but I don’t have any silver or gold. Here’s what I can offer you: stand up and walk in the name of Jesus of Nazareth, the Anointed One.

⁷Then Peter took the man’s right hand and lifted him to his feet. Instantly the man’s feet and ankles grew strong. ⁸He jumped and walked, accompanying Peter and John into the temple where he walked, jumped for joy, and shouted praises to God. ^9-11A crowd ran to the commotion, and they gathered around this man in an open area called Solomon’s Porch. There he was, standing on his own two feet, holding on to Peter and John. They knew exactly who he was—the beggar they passed at the beautiful gate every day. Everyone was absolutely amazed at this wonderful miracle; they were speechless, stunned.

Just as Jesus promised, the Spirit comes on believers in power, enabling them to do miracles like this. Now they can participate in the truth of the good news.

Peter (to the crowd): ¹²Why are you so amazed, my fellow Israelites? Why are you staring at my friend and me as though we did this miracle through our own power or made this fellow walk by our own holiness? ¹³We didn’t do this—God did! The God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob—the God of our ancestors has glorified Jesus, God’s servant—the same Jesus whom you betrayed and rejected in front of Pilate, even though Pilate was going to release Him. ¹⁴He is the Holy and Righteous One, but you rejected Him and asked for a murderer to be released to you instead. ¹⁵You not only rejected Him, but you killed Him—the very Author of life! But God raised Jesus from the dead, whom my friend John and I have seen with our own eyes. ¹⁶So that’s how this miracle happened: we have faith in the name of Jesus, and He is the power that made this man strong—this man who is known to all of you. It is faith in Jesus that has given this man his complete health here today, in front of all of you.

¹⁷Listen, friends, I know you didn’t fully realize what you were doing when you rejected and betrayed Jesus. I know that you, and your rulers as well, were acting in ignorance. ¹⁸God was at work in all this, fulfilling what He had predicted through all the prophets—that the Anointed One would suffer. ¹⁹So now you need to rethink everything and turn to God so your sins will be forgiven and a new day can dawn, days of refreshing times flowing from the Lord. ²⁰Then God may send Jesus the Anointed, whom God has chosen for you. ²¹He is in heaven now and must remain there until the day of universal restoration comes—the restoration which in ancient times God announced through the holy prophets. ²²Moses, for example, said, “The Eternal One your God will raise up from among your people a prophet who will be like me. You must listen to Him. ²³And whoever does not listen to His words will be completely uprooted from among the people.”^[k]

²⁴Every prophet, from Samuel through all of his successors, agreed. ²⁵You are the descendants of these prophets, and you are the people of God’s covenant to your ancestors. God’s word to Abraham includes you: “Because of your descendants, all the families of the earth will be blessed.”^[l] ²⁶So when God raised up His Servant, God sent Him first to you, to begin blessing you by calling you to change your path from evil ways to God’s ways.

4 The conversation continued for a few hours there in Solomon’s porch. Suddenly, the head of the temple police and some members of the Sadducean party interrupted Peter and John. ²They were annoyed because Peter and John were enthusiastically teaching that in Jesus, resurrection of the dead is possible—an idea the Sadducees completely rejected. ³So they arrested Peter, John, and the man who was healed and kept them in jail overnight. ⁴But during these few afternoon hours between the man’s miraculous healing and their arrest, Peter and John already had convinced about 5,000 more people to believe their message about Jesus!

⁵The next morning, the Jewish leaders—their officials, elders, and scholars—called a meeting in Jerusalem ⁶presided over by Annas (the patriarch of the ruling priestly clan), along with Caiaphas (his son-in-law), John, Alexander, and other members of their clan. ⁷They made their prisoners stand in the middle of the assembly and questioned them.

Jewish Leaders: Who gave you the authority to create that spectacle in the temple yesterday?

Peter (filled with the Spirit): ⁸Rulers and elders of the people, ⁹yesterday a good deed was done. Someone who was sick was healed. If you’re asking us how this happened, ¹⁰I want all of you and all of the people of Israel to know this man standing in front of you—obviously in good health—was healed by the authority of Jesus of Nazareth, the Anointed One. This is the same Jesus whom you crucified and whom God raised from the dead. ¹¹He is “the stone that you builders rejected who has become the very stone that holds together the entire foundation”^[m] on which a new temple is being built. ¹²There is no one else who can rescue us, and there is no other name under heaven given to any human by whom we may be rescued.

¹³Now the leaders were surprised and confused. They looked at Peter and John and realized they were typical peasants—uneducated, utterly ordinary fellows—with extraordinary confidence. The leaders recognized them as companions of Jesus, ¹⁴then they turned their attention to the third man standing beside them—recently lame, now standing tall and healthy. What could they say in response to all this?

¹⁵Because they were at a loss about what to do, they excused the prisoners so the council could deliberate in private.

Jewish Leaders: ¹⁶What do we do with these fellows? Anyone who lives in Jerusalem will know an unexplainable sign has been performed through these two preachers. We can’t deny their story. ¹⁷The best we can do is try to keep it from spreading. So let’s warn them to stop speaking to anybody in this name.

¹⁸The leaders brought the prisoners back in and prohibited them from doing any more speaking or teaching in the name of Jesus. ¹⁹Peter and John listened quietly and then replied,

Peter and John: You are the judges here, so we’ll leave it up to you to judge whether it is right in the sight of God to obey your commands or God’s. ²⁰But one thing we can tell you: we cannot possibly restrain ourselves from speaking about what we have seen and heard with our own eyes and ears.

^21-22The council threatened them again, but finally let them go because public opinion strongly supported Peter and John and this man who had received this miraculous sign. He was over 40 years old, so his situation was known to many people, and they couldn’t help but glorify God for his healing.

²³Peter and John, upon their release, went right to their friends and told the story—including the warning from the council. ²⁴The whole community responded with this prayer to God:

Community of Believers: God, our King, You made the heaven and the earth and the sea and everything they contain.^[n] ²⁵You are the One who, by the Holy Spirit, spoke through our ancestor David, Your servant, with these words:

    Why did the nations rage?
        Why did they imagine useless things?
²⁶    The kings of the earth took their stand;
        their rulers assembled in opposition
        against the Eternal One and His Anointed King.^[o]

²⁷This is exactly what has happened among us, here in this city. The foreign ruler Pontius Pilate and the Jewish ruler Herod, along with their respective peoples, have assembled in opposition to Your holy servant Jesus, the One You chose. ²⁸They have done whatever Your hand and plan predetermined should happen. ²⁹And now, Lord, take note of their intimidations intended to silence us. Grant us, Your servants, the courageous confidence we need to go ahead and proclaim Your message ³⁰while You reach out Your hand to heal people, enabling us to perform signs and wonders through the name of Your holy servant Jesus.

³¹They finished their prayer, and immediately the whole place where they had gathered began to shake. All the disciples were filled with the Holy Spirit, and they began speaking God’s message with courageous confidence.

The Holy Spirit changes everyone and everything. If there is any doubt about the power of the Spirit, just take a look at Peter. When Jesus was captured, Peter cowered in fear that he might be identified as a man who loved Jesus. Now this same man is preaching, healing, and pointing his finger in the face of Jewish officials who have captured him and John. With a boldness that is not his own, he blames them for the death of Jesus and does not cower at their show of violence.

³²During those days, the entire community of believers was deeply united in heart and soul to such an extent that they stopped claiming private ownership of their possessions. Instead, they held everything in common. ³³The apostles with great power gave their eyewitness reports of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. Everyone was surrounded by an extraordinary grace. ³⁴Not a single person in the community was in need because those who had been affluent sold their houses or lands and brought the proceeds ³⁵to the emissaries^[p] of the Lord. They then distributed the funds to individuals according to their needs. ^36-37One fellow, a Cyprian Levite named Joseph, earned a nickname because of his generosity in selling a field and bringing the money to the apostles in this way. From that time on, they called him Barnabas, which means “son of encouragement.”

This portrait of the early church as an unselfish community is captivating and inspiring. It presents a challenge for many followers of the Anointed One who want to show sacrificially their love to Him and His church. Many today wonder how to translate this into a modern culture so shaped by consumerism and self-interest, but no translation is necessary. These problems weren’t foreign to the early community. In contrast to the generosity and sincerity of some like Barnabas, Luke now explains that others gave not out of love, but out of a desire to be honored by the community.

5 Once a man named Ananias, with his wife Sapphira fully cooperating, committed fraud. He sold some property ²and kept some of the proceeds, but he pretended to make a full donation to the Lord’s emissaries.^[q]

Peter: ³Ananias, have you allowed Satan to influence your lies to the Holy Spirit and hold back some of the money? ⁴Look, it was your property before you sold it, and the money was all yours after you sold it. Why have you concocted this scheme in your heart? You weren’t just lying to us; you were lying to God.

⁵Ananias heard these words and immediately dropped to the ground, dead; fear overcame all those who heard of the incident. ⁶Some young men came, wrapped the body, and buried it immediately. ⁷About three hours had passed when Sapphira arrived. She had no idea what had happened.

Peter: ⁸Did you sell the land for such-and-such a price?

Sapphira: Yes, that was the price.

Peter: ⁹Why did the two of you conspire to test the Spirit of the Lord? Do you hear those footsteps outside? Those are the young men who just buried your husband, and now they will carry you out as well.

¹⁰She—like her husband—immediately fell dead at Peter’s feet. The young men came in and carried her corpse outside and buried it beside her husband. ¹¹The whole church was terrified by this story, as were others who heard it.

In these formative days, God sends some strong messages about His work in the church: the power to heal, the beauty of life in the Spirit, and His hatred for arrogant religion. If God does not rebuke the married couple who chooses to make a show of their supposed generosity, then Christianity might drift in the wrong direction. While the Jewish leaders are using religion as a means to gain power and increase their reputations, the teachings of Jesus lead down a path toward the kingdom of God rather than toward human advancement. God chooses to expose these bad motives quickly, so that the church can give out of pure motives rather than out of a desire to appear righteous.

¹²Those were amazing days—with many signs and wonders being performed through the apostles among the people. The church would gather as a unified group in Solomon’s Porch, ¹³enjoying great respect by the people of the city—though most people wouldn’t risk publicly affiliating with them. ¹⁴Even so, record numbers of believers—both men and women—were added to the Lord. ¹⁵The church’s renown was so great that when Peter walked down the street, people would carry out their sick relatives hoping his shadow would fall on some of them as he passed. ¹⁶Even people from towns surrounding Jerusalem would come, bringing others who were sick or tormented by unclean spirits, all of whom were cured.

¹⁷Of course, this popularity elicited a response: the high priest and his affiliates in the Sadducean party were jealous, ¹⁸so they arrested the apostles and put them in the public prison. ¹⁹But that night, a messenger of the Lord opened the doors of the prison and led them to freedom.

Messenger of the Lord: ²⁰Go to the temple, and stand up to tell the people the whole message about this way of life from Jesus.

²¹At dawn they did as they were told; they returned to their teaching in the temple.

Meanwhile the council of Jewish elders was gathering—convened by the high priest and his colleagues. They sent the temple police to the prison to have the Lord’s emissaries^[r] brought for further examination; ²²but of course, the temple police soon realized they weren’t there. They returned and reported,

Temple Police: ²³The prison was secure and locked, and the guards were standing in front of the doors; but when we unlocked the doors, the cell was empty.

²⁴The captain of the temple police and the senior priests were completely mystified when they heard this. They had no idea what had happened. ²⁵Just then, someone arrived with this news:

Temple Messenger: You know those men you put in prison last night? Well, they’re free. At this moment, they’re at it again, teaching our people in the temple!

²⁶The temple police—this time, accompanied by their captain—rushed over to the temple and brought the emissaries^[s] of the Lord to the council. They were careful not to use violence, because the people were so supportive of them that the police feared being stoned by the crowd if they were too rough. ²⁷Once again the men stood before the council. The high priest began the questioning.

High Priest: ²⁸Didn’t we give you strict orders to stop teaching in this name? But here you are, spreading your teaching throughout Jerusalem. And you are determined to blame us for this man’s death.

Peter and the Apostles: ²⁹If we have to choose between obedience to God and obedience to any human authority, then we must obey God. ³⁰The God of our ancestors raised Jesus from death. You killed Jesus by hanging Him on a tree, ³¹but God has lifted Him high, to God’s own right hand, as the Prince, as the Liberator. God intends to bring Israel to a radical rethinking of our lives and to a complete forgiveness of our sins. ³²We are witnesses to these things. There is another witness, too—the Holy Spirit—whom God has given to all who choose to obey Him.

³³The council was furious and would have killed them; ³⁴but Gamaliel, a Pharisee in the council respected as a teacher of the Hebrew Scriptures, stood up and ordered the men to be sent out so the council could confer privately.

Gamaliel: ³⁵Fellow Jews, you need to act with great care in your treatment of these fellows. ³⁶Remember when a man named Theudas rose to notoriety? He claimed to be somebody important, and he attracted about 400 followers. But when he was killed, his entire movement disintegrated and nothing came of it. ³⁷After him came Judas, that Galilean fellow, at the time of the census. He also attracted a following; but when he died, his entire movement fell apart. ³⁸So here’s my advice: in this case, just let these men go. Ignore them. If this is just another movement arising from human enthusiasm, it will die out soon enough. ³⁹But then again, if God is in this, you won’t be able to stop it—unless, of course, you’re ready to fight against God!

⁴⁰The council was convinced, so they brought the apostles back in. They were flogged, again told not to speak in the name of Jesus, and then released. ⁴¹As they left the council, they weren’t discouraged at all. In fact, they were filled with joy over being considered worthy to suffer disgrace for the sake of His name. ⁴²And constantly, whether in public, in the temple, or in their homes, they kept teaching and proclaiming Jesus as the Anointed One, the Liberating King.