Beginning

Peter and John are Tried before the Jewish Council

4 While they were speaking to the people, the priests, the commander of the Temple guards, and the Sadducees came to them. ² They were greatly disturbed that Peter and John^[a] were teaching the people and announcing that Jesus had been resurrected^[b] from the dead. ³ So they arrested them and placed them in custody until the next day, since it was already evening. ⁴ But many of those who heard their message believed, and the men grew to number about 5,000.

⁵ The next day, their rulers, elders, and scribes met in Jerusalem ⁶ with Annas the high priest, Caiaphas, John,^[c] Alexander, and the rest of the high priest’s family. ⁷ They made Peter and John^[d] stand in front of them and began asking, “By what power or by what name did you do this?”

⁸ Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, told them, “Rulers and elders of the people! ⁹ If we are being questioned today for a good deed done for someone who was sick or to learn how this man was healed, ¹⁰ you and all the people of Israel must understand that this man stands healthy before you because of the name of Jesus from Nazareth, whom you crucified, but whom God raised from the dead. ¹¹ He is

¹² There is no salvation by anyone else, for there is no other name under heaven given among people by which we must be saved.”

¹³ Now when the Jewish leaders^[f] saw the boldness of Peter and John and found out that they were uneducated and ordinary men, they were amazed and realized that they had been with Jesus. ¹⁴ And seeing the man who was healed standing with them, they could not say anything against them. ¹⁵ So they ordered them to leave the Council^[g] and began to discuss the matter among themselves. ¹⁶ They said, “What should we do with these men? For it’s obvious to everybody living in Jerusalem that an unmistakable sign has been done by them, and we cannot deny it. ¹⁷ But to keep it from spreading any further among the people, let us warn them never again to speak to anyone in this name.”

¹⁸ So they called Peter and John^[h] back in and ordered them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. ¹⁹ But Peter and John answered them, “You must decide whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than God, ²⁰ for we cannot stop talking about what we’ve seen and heard.”

²¹ So they threatened Peter and John^[i] even more and then let them go. They couldn’t find any way to punish them, because all the people were praising God for what had happened, ²² since the man on whom this sign of healing had been performed was more than 40 years old.

The Believers Pray for Boldness

²³ After they were released, Peter and John^[j] went to their fellow believers^[k] and told them everything the high priests and the elders had said. ²⁴ When they heard this, they all raised their voices to God and said, “Master, you made heaven and earth, the sea, and everything in them. ²⁵ You said by the Holy Spirit through the voice of our ancestor, your servant David,

²⁷ For in this city both Herod and Pontius Pilate actually met together with unbelievers^[o] and the people of Israel to oppose your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed, ²⁸ to carry out everything that your hand and will had predetermined to take place. ²⁹ Lord, pay attention to their threats now, and allow your servants to speak your word boldly ³⁰ as you stretch out your hand to heal and to perform signs and wonders through the name of your holy servant Jesus.”

³¹ When they had prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken, and all of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak messages from^[p] God boldly.

The Believers Share Their Possessions

³² Now all the believers were one in heart and soul, and nobody called any of his possessions his own. Instead, they shared everything they owned. ³³ With great power, the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and abundant grace was on them all, ³⁴ since none of them needed anything, because everyone who had land or houses would sell them and bring the money received for the things sold ³⁵ and lay it at the apostles’ feet. Then it was distributed to anyone who needed it. ³⁶ One man,^[q] Joseph, a descendant of Levi and a native of Cyprus, who was named Barnabas by the apostles (the name^[r] means “a son of encouragement”), ³⁷ sold a field that belonged to him, brought the money, and laid it at the apostles’ feet.

Ananias and Sapphira are Punished

5 But then a man named Ananias, with the consent of his wife Sapphira, sold some property. ² With his wife’s full knowledge, he kept back some of the money for himself and brought the remainder and laid it at the apostles’ feet.

³ Peter asked, “Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart so that you should lie to the Holy Spirit and keep back some of the money you got for the land? ⁴ As long as it remained unsold, wasn’t it your own? And after it was sold, wasn’t the money at your disposal? So how could you have thought of doing what you did? You didn’t lie only^[s] to men, but also^[t] to God!”

⁵ When Ananias heard these words, he fell down and died. And great fear seized everyone who heard about it. ⁶ The young men got up, wrapped him up, carried him outside, and buried him. ⁷ After an interval of about three hours, Ananias’^[u] wife came in, not knowing what had happened. ⁸ So Peter asked her, “Tell me, did you sell the land for that price?”

She answered, “Yes, that was the price.”

⁹ “How could you have agreed together to test the Spirit of the Lord?” Peter asked her. “Listen! The feet of the men who buried your husband are at the door, and these men^[v] will carry you outside as well.” ¹⁰ She instantly fell down at Peter’s^[w] feet and died. When the young men came in, they found her dead. So they carried her out and buried her next to her husband. ¹¹ And great fear seized the whole church and everyone else who heard about this.

The Apostles Perform Many Miracles

¹² Now many signs and wonders were being performed by the apostles among the people, who were gathered together in Solomon’s Colonnade. ¹³ None of the others dared join them, although the rest of the people continued to hold them in high regard. ¹⁴ Nevertheless, believers were being added to the Lord in increasing numbers—both men and women. ¹⁵ As a result, people^[x] kept carrying their sick into the streets and placing them on stretchers and mats so that at least Peter’s shadow might fall on some of them as he went by. ¹⁶ Crowds continued coming in—even from the towns around Jerusalem—bringing their sick and those who were troubled by unclean spirits, and all of them were healed.

The Apostles are Tried before the Jewish Council

¹⁷ Then the high priest and all those from the sect of the Sadducees who were with him were filled with jealousy. So they went out, ¹⁸ arrested the apostles, and put them in the city jail. ¹⁹ But at night the angel of the Lord opened the prison doors and led them out. The angel^[y] told them, ²⁰ “Go, stand in the Temple, and keep on telling the people the whole message about this life they can have.”^[z]

²¹ After the apostles^[aa] heard this, they went into the Temple at daybreak and began to teach. The high priest and those who were with him arrived, called the Council^[ab] and all the elders of Israel together, and sent word^[ac] to the prison to have the men brought in. ²² When the Temple police got there, they did not find them in the prison. They came back and reported, ²³ “We found the prison securely locked and the guards standing at the doors, but when we opened them, we found no one inside.” ²⁴ When the commander of the Temple guards and the high priests heard these words, they were utterly at a loss as to what could have happened to them.

²⁵ Then someone came and told them, “Look! The men you put in prison are standing in the Temple and teaching the people!” ²⁶ So the commander of the Temple guards went with his men to bring them back without force, because they were afraid of being stoned to death by the people. ²⁷ When they brought them back, they made them stand before the Council,^[ad] and the high priest began to question them. ²⁸ He said, “We gave you strict orders not to teach in his name, didn’t we? Yet you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching and are determined to bring this man’s blood on us!”

²⁹ But Peter and the apostles answered, “We must obey God rather than men! ³⁰ The God of our ancestors raised Jesus to life after you killed him by hanging him on a tree. ³¹ God has exalted to his right hand this very man as our Leader and Savior in order to extend repentance and forgiveness of sins to Israel. ³² We are witnesses of these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who keep on obeying him.”

³³ When the Council^[ae] heard this, they became furious and wanted to kill them. ³⁴ But a Pharisee named Gamaliel, a teacher of the Law who was respected by all the people, stood up in the Council^[af] and ordered the men to be taken outside for a little while. ³⁵ Then he told them, “Fellow Israelis, consider carefully what you propose to do to these men. ³⁶ For in the recent past Theudas appeared, claiming that he was important, and about 400 men joined him. He was killed, and all his followers were dispersed and disappeared. ³⁷ After that man, at the time of the census, Judas the Galilean appeared and got people to follow him. He, too, died, and all his followers were scattered.

³⁸ “I’m telling you to keep away from these men for now. Leave them alone, because if this plan or movement is of human origin, it will fail. ³⁹ However, if it’s from God, you won’t be able to stop them, and you may even discover that you are fighting against God!”

So they were convinced by him. ⁴⁰ After calling in the apostles and beating them, they again^[ag] ordered them to stop speaking in the name of Jesus and let them go. ⁴¹ They left the Council,^[ah] rejoicing to have been considered worthy to suffer dishonor for the sake of the Name. ⁴² Every day in the Temple and from house to house they kept teaching and proclaiming that Jesus is the Messiah.^[ai]

Seven Men are Chosen to Help the Apostles

6 In those days, as the number of the disciples was growing larger and larger, a complaint was made by the Hellenistic Jews against the Hebraic Jews that their widows were being neglected in the daily distribution of food. ² So the Twelve called the whole group of disciples together and said, “It is not desirable for us to neglect messages from^[aj] God in order to wait on tables. ³ Therefore, brothers, appoint seven men among you who have a good reputation, who are full of the Spirit and wisdom, and we’ll put them in charge of this work. ⁴ Then we’ll devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word.”

⁵ This suggestion pleased the whole group. So they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and the Holy Spirit, Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolaus, a gentile convert to Judaism from Antioch. ⁶ They had these men stand before the apostles, who prayed and laid their hands on them.

⁷ So the word of God^[ak] continued to spread, and the number of disciples in Jerusalem continued to grow rapidly. Even a large number of priests became obedient to the faith.

Stephen is Arrested

⁸ Now Stephen, full of grace and power, was performing great wonders and signs among the people. ⁹ But some men who belonged to the Synagogue of the Freedmen (as it was called), as well as some Cyrenians, Alexandrians, and men from Cilicia and Asia, stood up and began to debate with Stephen. ¹⁰ But they could neither refute the wisdom nor withstand the Spirit by which he kept speaking. ¹¹ So they secretly got some men to say, “We have heard him speaking blasphemous words against Moses and God.” ¹² They stirred up the people, the elders, and the scribes. Then they rushed at Stephen,^[al] grabbed him, and brought him before the Council.^[am]

¹³ They had false witnesses stand up and say, “This man never stops saying things against this Holy Place and against the Law. ¹⁴ For we have heard him say that this Jesus from Nazareth^[an] will destroy this place and change the customs that Moses handed down to us.” ¹⁵ Then everyone who was seated in the Council^[ao] glared at him and saw that his face was like the face of an angel.