Bible in 90 Days

People will hate the disciples

¹⁸ ‘The people who belong to this world may hate you. But remember this: They hated me before they hated you. ¹⁹ If you belonged to this world, this world's people would love you. They would love you because you would belong with them. But I chose you so that you would be separate from this world's people. You do not belong with them, so they hate you. ²⁰ Remember what I told you: “No servant is more important than his master is.” If they have caused trouble for me, they will also cause trouble for you. But if they have obeyed my message, they will also obey your message. ²¹ They will do all these things to you because you belong to me. They will do them because they do not know the one who sent me.

²² I have come and I have spoken my message to them. If I had not done that, they would not have been guilty of their sin. But now they cannot say, “We have not done anything wrong.” ²³ Anyone who hates me also hates my Father. ²⁴ When I was with them, I did many great things. Nobody else ever did things like that. If I had not done those great things among them, they would not have known what is wrong. But they have seen what I did. As a result, they have hated me, and they have hated my Father too. ²⁵ Their book of God's Law says, “They hated me without any good reason.”^[a] What that book already said long ago had to happen.

²⁶ When I return to my Father, I will send the Helper to you. The Helper is God's Spirit who speaks only true things. He comes to you from the Father. I will send him to you and he will speak true things about me. ²⁷ You also must speak to people about me, because you have been with me from the beginning.’

16 Jesus then said, ‘I have told you all these things, so that you will not turn away from God. ² People will send you away from their meeting places. There will be a time when people will want to kill you. When they do this, they will even think that they are doing what God wants. ³ They will do these things to you because they have never known either the Father or me. ⁴ But I have told you this so that you will remember. When they begin to do these things, you will remember that I told you about them already.’

The work of God's Spirit

‘I did not tell you these things at the beginning, because I was with you. ⁵ But now I will go to the Father who sent me. But none of you asks me, “Where will you go?” ⁶ And now you are very sad, because I have told you these things. ⁷ But what I tell you is true. It will be better for you if I go away. Because, if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I do go away, I will send him to you. ⁸ When he comes, he will show the people of this world what they are like. He will show clearly that they are wrong. They are wrong about what sin really is. They are wrong about who is right with God. They are wrong about how God judges people. ⁹ They are wrong about sin, because they do not believe in me. ¹⁰ They are wrong about who is right with God, because I will go to the Father. Then you will not see me again. ¹¹ They are wrong about how God judges people, because God has already judged Satan, the ruler of this world.

¹² I have many more things to tell you. But you are not strong enough to know them now. ¹³ But the Spirit will come. He is the one who shows people true things about God. When he comes, he will be a guide to you. He will help you to understand everything that is true. He will not speak on his own authority. He will tell you only what he hears from the Father. He will tell you about things that will happen after this time. ¹⁴ He will take my message and he will tell it to you. In that way, he will give me honour. ¹⁵ Everything that the Father has is mine. That is why I said, “The Spirit will take what is mine and then he will tell it to you.” ’

The disciples will be sad first but after that they will be happy

¹⁶ Jesus then said, ‘After a short time, you will not see me any more. But soon after that, you will see me again.’ ¹⁷ Some of his disciples said to each other, ‘What does he mean? He says, “After a short time, you will not see me any more, but soon after that you will see me.” He also says, “It is because I go to the Father.” ¹⁸ What does he mean when he says, “a short time”? We do not know what he is talking about!’

¹⁹ Jesus knew that they wanted to ask him about this. So he said to them, ‘I said, “After a short time, you will not see me. But soon after that, you will see me again.” Perhaps you are asking each other about that. ²⁰ I tell you this: You will be sad and you will cry. But the people who belong to this world will be happy. Yes, you will be sad. But soon after that, you will become happy instead. ²¹ It will be like this. When a woman is soon to give birth to a baby, she is sad. She knows that it will be painful. But after the baby is born, she is happy. She forgets her pain, because now she is so happy. She is happy because her child has been born into the world. ²² It is like that for you. You are sad now. But I will see you again, and then you will be happy. You will be really happy. Nobody will be able to take away your joy.

²³ When that day arrives, you will not ask me for anything. I tell you this: The Father will help you with anything that you ask him for in my name. ²⁴ Until now, you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask God, and you will receive what you ask for. Then you will be completely happy.

²⁵ I have spoken to you with words and stories that are like pictures. But there will be a time when I will not speak like that any more. Instead, I will speak clearly to you about the Father. ²⁶ When that day arrives, you yourselves will ask the Father in my name.^[b] I do not say that I will ask the Father on your behalf. ²⁷ I will not need to do that, because the Father himself loves you. He loves you because you love me, and you have believed that I came from God. ²⁸ Yes, I came from the Father, and I came into this world. Now I will leave this world and I will return to the Father.’

²⁹ Jesus' disciples said to him, ‘Now you are speaking clearly. You are not speaking with words that are like pictures! ³⁰ Now we are sure that you know everything. You do not even need to ask people what they are thinking. Because of this, we believe that you came from God.’ ³¹ Jesus answered them, ‘You say that you believe in me now. ³² But it will happen very soon that all of you will run away to your own homes. Yes, that time has already arrived. You will run away and leave me alone. But I will not really be alone, because the Father is always with me. ³³ I have told you these things so that you will have peace. You will be like that because you live together with me. In this world, you will have trouble. But be brave! I have destroyed the power of this world.’

Jesus prays for himself

17 After Jesus said this, he looked up to heaven. He said, ‘Father, the time has now arrived. Show everyone how great your Son is. So then I, the Son, can show how great you are. ² You gave me authority over all people. You did this so that I could give people life for ever. Those are the people that you gave to me. ³ What does it mean for people to live with you for ever? It means that they know you, the one who is the only true God. They also know me, Jesus Christ, the one that you have sent. ⁴ I have shown people here on the earth how great you are. In that way, I have finished the work that you gave to me to do. ⁵ So, Father, now that I return to you, show people how great I am. Before the world began, I had great glory with you. Show again that I am great like that.’

Jesus prays for his disciples

⁶ ‘You gave some people to me who were from this world.^[c] I have shown them who you are. They were yours and you gave them to me. They have obeyed your message. ⁷ Everything that I have comes from you. Now they know that you gave me everything. ⁸ I gave to them the message that you gave to me. They accepted that message. They know certainly that I came from you. They believe that you sent me.

⁹ I pray for them. I am not praying for the people who belong to this world. No, I am praying for those people that you have given to me. I am praying for them because they are yours. ¹⁰ Everything that I have is yours. And everything that you have is mine. These people have shown how great I am. ¹¹ I will not remain in the world any longer. I will return to you now. But they will still be here in the world. Holy Father, please keep them safe in your name. That is the powerful name that you gave to me. Then they can be united in the same way that you and I are united. ¹² While I was with them, I kept them safe in the power of your name. That is the name that you gave to me. I kept them safe so that only one of them turned away from you. That was the man who had to become lost. The Bible already said that it would happen in that way.^[d]

¹³ Now, Father, I will come to you. I am saying these things while I am still in the world. Then these people, my disciples, can be completely happy. I want them to be completely happy in the same way that I am happy. ¹⁴ I have given your message to them. The world's people have hated them because they do not belong to the world. They do not belong to the world, in the same way that I do not belong to the world. ¹⁵ I am not asking that you will take them out of the world. But I ask you to keep them safe from the Devil. ¹⁶ They do not belong to the world, in the same way that I do not belong to the world. ¹⁷ Help them to belong completely to you, as they follow the truth. Your message is the truth. ¹⁸ I have sent them into the world, in the same way that you sent me into the world. ¹⁹ On their behalf I give myself to you, so that I belong completely to you. Then they also can completely belong to you, as they follow the truth.’

Jesus prays for everyone who will believe in him

²⁰ ‘I do not pray only for these people, my disciples. I pray also for those people who will believe in me because of my disciples' message. ²¹ I pray that all of them will become united. You, Father, are in me and I am in you. I pray that they also will be united in us. Then the world's people will believe that you sent me. ²² I have given to them the same honour that you gave to me. Now they can be united in the same way that you and I are united. ²³ I will be in them, and you will be in me, so that they can be completely united. As a result, the world's people will know that you sent me. They will also know that you love my own people as you love me.

²⁴ Father, you have given these people to me. I want them to be with me where I am. Then they will see how great I am. You made me great because you loved me. You loved me even before the world began. ²⁵ Father, you always do what is right. The world's people do not know you, but I know you. These disciples know that you have sent me. ²⁶ I have shown them what you are like. And I will continue to show them what you are like. Then they will love other people, in the same way that you love me. And I myself will be in them.’

Soldiers take Jesus to the leader of the priests

18 When Jesus had finished praying, he and his disciples went out. They went across the Kidron valley. On the other side, there was a garden. Jesus and his disciples went into it. ² Judas, who sold Jesus to his enemies, knew the garden. He knew the place because Jesus and his disciples had met there often. ³ The leaders of the priests and the Pharisees sent a group of soldiers and some officers with Judas. He led these soldiers and officers to the garden.^[e] The soldiers had weapons and they carried lights.

⁴ Jesus knew everything that would soon happen to him. He went towards them and he asked them, ‘Who are you looking for?’ ⁵ They answered, ‘Jesus, who comes from Nazareth.’ Jesus said, ‘That is who I am.’

Judas, who sold Jesus to his enemies, was standing there with the soldiers. ⁶ When Jesus said the words, ‘I am,’ the soldiers quickly moved away from him.^[f] They fell down to the ground. ⁷ So Jesus asked them again, ‘Who are you looking for?’ They said, ‘Jesus, who comes from Nazareth.’ ⁸ Jesus replied, ‘I have told you already, that is who I am. Since it is me that you are looking for, let these other men go.’ ⁹ Jesus said this because earlier he had said, ‘I have lost none of those people that you gave to me.’ This made what he had spoken earlier really happen.

¹⁰ Simon Peter had a sword. He took hold of it and he attacked the servant of the leader of the priests. He cut off the servant's right ear. The servant's name was Malchus. ¹¹ Then Jesus said to Peter, ‘Put your sword away in its place! My Father has decided what great pain I must have. I will obey him completely.’

¹² The group of soldiers, with their captain and the Jewish officers, took hold of Jesus. They tied him with ropes. ¹³ They led him first to Annas, who was the father of Caiaphas's wife. Caiaphas was the leader of the priests that year. ¹⁴ It was Caiaphas who had already spoken to the Jewish leaders. He had told them, ‘It is better that one man should die on behalf of the people.’^[g]

Peter says that he does not know Jesus

¹⁵ Simon Peter and another disciple followed Jesus. That other disciple and the leader of the priests knew each other. So that disciple went with Jesus into the yard of the house of the leader of the priests. ¹⁶ But Peter stayed outside by the gate. Then the other disciple went out again. He spoke to the girl who was watching at the gate. Then he brought Peter into the yard. ¹⁷ The girl who was at the gate asked Peter, ‘Are you another of this man's disciples?’ Peter replied, ‘No, I am not!’

¹⁸ It was cold. So the servants and the officers had made a fire. They were standing around it to make themselves warm. Peter went to stand with them, so that he could make himself warm too.

The leader of the priests asks Jesus questions

¹⁹ The leader of the priests asked Jesus questions about his disciples. He also asked about what Jesus taught. ²⁰ Jesus answered him, ‘I have always taught in the Jewish meeting places, or at the temple. Those are public places where all the Jews meet together. I have said nothing secretly. ²¹ So you do not need to ask me these questions. You can ask the people who heard me when I taught them. They know what I said.’

²² When Jesus said this, one of the soldiers hit him on the face. The soldier said, ‘You should not speak to the leader of the priests like that!’ ²³ Jesus replied, ‘If I said something wrong, tell us what it is. But if I said something that is true, you should not have hit me.’^{[h] 24} Then Annas sent Jesus to Caiaphas, the leader of the priests.^[i] Jesus still had ropes tied round his arms.

Peter says again that he does not know Jesus

²⁵ Simon Peter was still standing there by the fire to make himself warm. The other people there said to him, ‘You must also be one of that man's disciples.’ But Peter said, ‘No, I am not.’

²⁶ One of the people there was a servant of the leader of the priests. He belonged to the same family as the man whose ear Peter had cut off. This servant said to Peter, ‘I am sure that I saw you in the garden with Jesus.’ ²⁷ Again, Peter said, ‘No, that is not true.’ Immediately a cockerel sang.

Pilate asks Jesus questions

²⁸ The Jewish leaders took Jesus from Caiaphas's house to the Roman ruler's big house.^[j] It was early in the morning. The Jewish leaders wanted to follow the Jewish rules so that they could eat the Passover meal. They did not go into the ruler's house, because it would have made them unclean.^[k]

²⁹ So Pilate, the Roman ruler, went outside to meet them. He asked them, ‘What wrong thing do you say that this man has done?’ ³⁰ They replied, ‘We would not have brought him to you if he had done nothing wrong.’ ³¹ Pilate said to them, ‘You yourselves take him away. You should judge him by your own laws.’ The Jewish leaders replied, ‘We do not have authority to kill anyone when they have done something bad.’^{[l] 32} Jesus had already told people how he would die. These things happened to make his words become true.^[m]

³³ Pilate went back inside his palace. He told Jesus to come and stand in front of him. He asked Jesus, ‘Are you the king of the Jews?’ ³⁴ Jesus said, ‘Is that your own idea, or have other people spoken to you about me?’ ³⁵ Pilate replied, ‘I am not a Jew, am I? It was your own people and the leaders of your priests who brought you to me. What have you done?’

³⁶ Jesus said, ‘My kingdom does not belong to this world. If it did, my disciples would have fought for me. They would have fought so that the Jewish leaders could not take hold of me. No, my kingdom belongs to another place.’ ³⁷ Pilate said to him, ‘So that means you really are a king!’

Jesus answered, ‘You have said that I am a king! I was born for this reason: I came into the world to tell people the truth about God. Everyone who believes the truth listens to my message.’ ³⁸ Pilate said, ‘I do not know what truth is.’

When Pilate had said that, he went outside again to the Jewish people there. He said to them, ‘I do not see that this man is guilty of anything wrong. I have no reason to punish him. ³⁹ But every year we do something for you Jews. We let one man go free from the prison at the time of your Passover festival. Do you want me to let the king of the Jews go free?’ ⁴⁰ They shouted their answer, ‘No, we do not want him! Let Barabbas go free!’ (Barabbas was a man who had attacked people and robbed them.)

19 Then Pilate told the soldiers to take Jesus outside. He told them to hit Jesus many times with a whip.

² The soldiers used some branches with thorns to make a crown for Jesus. They put it on his head. Then put a dark red coat on him too. They did all this as if he was a king. ³ They came to him many times and they were saying to him, ‘Hello, King of the Jews, you are great!’ At the same time they slapped his face with their hands.

⁴ Pilate went outside once more. He said to the crowd, ‘Listen to me. I will bring Jesus out here to you. You should know this: I do not say that this man is guilty of anything wrong. I have no reason to punish him.’ ⁵ Then Jesus came out. He was still wearing the hat of thorns on his head and the dark red coat. Pilate said to them, ‘Look. Here is the man!’ ⁶ When the leaders of the priests and their officers saw Jesus, they shouted, ‘Kill him! Kill him on a cross!’ Pilate said to them, ‘Take him for yourselves and kill him on a cross. I can find no reason why I should punish him.’ ⁷ The Jews answered, ‘We have a law which says that he must die. He must die because he said, “I am the Son of God.” ’

⁸ When Pilate heard that, he was even more afraid. ⁹ He went back into the house. He asked Jesus, ‘Where are you really from?’ But Jesus did not answer him. ¹⁰ Pilate said to him, ‘Are you refusing to speak to me? Remember that I have authority. I can let you go free, or I can let them kill you on a cross.’ ¹¹ Jesus answered, ‘You could have no power against me unless God had given it to you. So the man who sold me to you has done a worse thing than you have done.’ ¹² From that moment, Pilate tried to let Jesus go free. But the Jewish leaders shouted back, ‘If you let him go, you are not Caesar's friend. Nobody should say that he himself is a king. That shows that he is against Caesar!’

¹³ When Pilate heard those words, he brought Jesus outside. Pilate sat down on a special seat for the judge. The seat was in a place called ‘Gabbatha’ in the Jewish language. There were large flat stones there, which covered the ground. ¹⁴ It was about noon on the day when they prepared the Passover meal. Pilate said to the Jews, ‘Here is your king!’ ¹⁵ But they shouted, ‘Take him away! Take him away! Kill him on a cross!’ Pilate asked them, ‘Do you want me to kill your king on a cross?’ The leaders of the priests answered, ‘Caesar is the only ruler that we call king.’ ¹⁶ Then Pilate gave Jesus to them, so that they could kill him on a cross.

They fix Jesus to a cross

The soldiers took hold of Jesus. ¹⁷ He was carrying the cross on which they would kill him. He went out to the place called ‘The Place of the Skull’.^[n] This place is called ‘Golgotha’ in the Jewish language.^[o]

¹⁸ When they arrived there, the soldiers fixed Jesus to the cross. They put two other men on crosses near to him. They were on each side of him and Jesus was between them.

¹⁹ Pilate wrote a notice. Then the soldiers put it on the cross. It said: ‘Jesus from Nazareth, the King of the Jews’. ²⁰ The place where they put Jesus on the cross was near to the city. So many of the Jews read this notice. They could read it because Pilate had written the words in three languages. He had written it in the Jewish language and in the languages of the Roman people and the Greek people. ²¹ The leaders of the Jewish priests said to Pilate, ‘Do not write, “The King of the Jews”. Instead, write, “This man said that he is the King of the Jews.” ’ ²² Pilate answered, ‘I will not change what I have written.’

²³ After the soldiers had put Jesus on the cross, they took his clothes. They made them into four parts, one part for each soldier. They also took his long shirt, which was one single piece of cloth. ²⁴ So they said to each other, ‘We will not tear it. Instead, we will play a game with dice. The person who wins the game will have the shirt.’ This happened in the way that the Bible had already said:

²⁵ Some women stood near to Jesus while he was on the cross. They were his mother, his mother's sister, Mary the wife of Cleopas, and Mary from Magdala. ²⁶ Jesus saw his mother there. He also saw the disciple that he loved. That disciple was standing there, near Jesus' mother. So Jesus said to his mother, ‘Woman, look! There is your son.’ ²⁷ Then he said to the disciple, ‘Look! There is your mother.’ From that time, the disciple took Jesus' mother to live in his own home.

Jesus dies

²⁸ After this, Jesus knew that everything was now finished. Then he said, ‘I am thirsty.’ He said this so that things would happen in the way the Bible already said.^{[q] 29} There was a pot full of cheap wine there. So someone put a piece of cloth into the wine. They fixed the cloth to the end of a branch. The branch was from a plant called hyssop. Then they lifted the cloth up to Jesus' mouth. ³⁰ Jesus drank the wine. Then he said, ‘Everything is finished.’ He bent his head down and he let his spirit go.

A soldier puts a spear into Jesus

³¹ It was the day when the Jews prepare everything for their day of rest. The next day was the day for the Passover meal, so it was a very important day. The Jews did not want the men's bodies to stay on the crosses during that day of rest.^[r] So they asked Pilate to tell the soldiers to break the legs of those men.^[s] Then they could take the dead bodies down from the crosses.

³² So the soldiers went there. They broke the legs of the two men who were on the crosses next to Jesus. ³³ Then they went to Jesus. They saw that he was dead already. So they did not break his legs. ³⁴ But one of the soldiers put a spear into Jesus' side. Immediately, blood and water came out of his body. ³⁵ The man who saw these things has spoken about them. What he says is true. He knows that it really happened. He is telling you the truth so that you can believe. ³⁶ The Bible already said how it would happen. It says:

Joseph buries Jesus

³⁸ There was a man called Joseph who came from the town of Arimathea. He was one of Jesus' disciples, but he was afraid of the Jewish leaders. So he had not told people that he was a disciple of Jesus. Joseph went to Pilate and asked if he could take Jesus' dead body away. Pilate agreed. So Joseph went there and he took the body away. ³⁹ Nicodemus went with Joseph. He was the man who had visited Jesus at night. Nicodemus brought about 33 kilograms of spices called myrrh and aloes.^{[v] 40} The two men covered Jesus' dead body with these spices. And they tied long pieces of linen cloth around it many times. That is how the Jewish people prepare a dead body before they bury it. ⁴¹ There was a garden near the place where they had killed Jesus on the cross. In that garden there was a place where they could put the bodies of dead people. It was a new hole in the rock, where nobody had ever put a dead body before. ⁴² The next day was the Jewish day of rest. So they put Jesus in that hole in the rock, because it was near.

The hole in the rock is empty

20 Early on the first day of the week, Mary from Magdala went to the hole in the rock. It was still dark. She saw that someone had removed the big stone from the front of the hole. ² So she ran to where Simon Peter was. He was with the other disciple, the one that Jesus loved. She said to them, ‘Somebody has taken the Lord's body out of the hole. We do not know where they have put him!’

³ So Peter and the other disciple started to go to the place where Jesus' body had been. ⁴ Both of them were running. But the other disciple ran faster than Peter ran. So he reached the hole first. ⁵ He bent himself down and he looked inside the hole. He saw the pieces of linen cloth that were lying there. But he did not go in. ⁶ Simon Peter had run behind the other disciple. When he arrived, he went into the hole. He saw the pieces of cloth that were lying there. ⁷ Also, he saw the piece of cloth that had been around Jesus' head. This was not in the same place as the long pieces of linen cloth. Someone had put it carefully in a separate place. ⁸ The other disciple had reached the place first, and now he also went inside. He saw and he believed. ⁹ They still did not understand what the Bible already said. It said that Jesus had to become alive again after he had died.^[w]

Jesus appears to Mary from Magdala

¹⁰ Then the disciples returned to the place where they were staying. ¹¹ But Mary stood outside the hole in the rock. She was crying. While she cried, she bent herself down to look inside the hole. ¹² She saw two angels there. They were wearing white clothes. They were sitting where Jesus' dead body had been. One angel was sitting where Jesus' head had been. The other angel was sitting where his feet had been.

¹³ They asked her, ‘Woman, why are you crying?’ She replied, ‘They have taken away my Lord. I do not know where they have put him.’ ¹⁴ When she had said this, she turned round. She saw a man who was standing there. It was Jesus, but she did not recognize him. ¹⁵ Jesus said to her, ‘Woman, why are you crying? Who are you looking for?’ Mary thought that he was the gardener. So she said, ‘Sir, if you have carried him away somewhere, please tell me. Tell me where you have put him. Then I will go and I will take him away.’

¹⁶ Jesus said to her, ‘Mary.’ She turned towards him and she said in the Jewish language, ‘Rabboni!’ (This means ‘Teacher’.) ¹⁷ Jesus said, ‘Do not hold on to me because I have not gone up to the Father yet. But go to my brothers, the disciples. Tell them, “Now I will go up to my Father. He is also your Father. He is my God, and he is your God.” ’ ¹⁸ Mary from Magdala took this message to the disciples. She went to them and she said, ‘I have seen the Lord!’ Then she told them the things that Jesus had said to her.

Jesus appears to his disciples

¹⁹ On the evening of that same day, the first day of the week, the disciples were meeting together. They had locked the doors of the room because they were afraid of the Jewish leaders. Then Jesus came and he stood among them. He said to them, ‘Peace be with you.’ ²⁰ After he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. The disciples were very, very happy when they saw the Lord. ²¹ Jesus said again, ‘Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, in the same way I am now sending you.’ ²² When he had said this, he breathed on them. He said, ‘Receive God's Holy Spirit. ²³ If you forgive a person's sins, God will forgive them too. If you do not forgive them, God will not forgive them.’

Jesus shows himself to Thomas

²⁴ One of the 12 disciples was called Thomas. (He was also called ‘the Twin’.) He was not with the other disciples when Jesus came to them. ²⁵ So the other disciples told him, ‘We have seen the Lord.’ But Thomas said to them, ‘I will never believe that he is alive again unless I myself see him. I want to see the marks of the nails in his hands. I want to touch where the nails were with my finger. I want to put my hand into his side where the spear went in. If I cannot do that, I will not believe.’

²⁶ Eight days after that, the disciples were in the house again. This time Thomas was with them. They had locked the door. But Jesus came and he stood among them. He said to them, ‘Peace be with you.’ ²⁷ Then he said to Thomas, ‘Put your finger in here. Look at my hands. Put your hand here, in my side. Do not refuse to believe what is true. Now, believe.’ ²⁸ Thomas answered him, ‘My Lord, and my God!’ ²⁹ Jesus said to him, ‘You believe because you have seen me. Other people have not seen me, but they do believe in me. God is really happy with those people.’

The purpose of this book

³⁰ Jesus did many other miracles while the disciples were with him. I have not written about all of them in this book. ³¹ But I have written about these things, so that you will be able to believe the truth. You will believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God. Because you believe in him, you will have life with God.

Jesus shows himself to the disciples again

21 After that, Jesus showed himself to the disciples again when they were by Lake Tiberias.^[x] This is how it happened. ² Simon Peter, Thomas the Twin and Nathanael were together. (Nathanael came from Cana in Galilee.) The sons of Zebedee (James and John) and two other disciples were also there. ³ Simon Peter said to the other disciples, ‘I will now go and catch fish.’ They replied, ‘We will come with you.’ So they went out and they got into the boat. But they caught nothing during that night.

⁴ Early in the morning, Jesus was standing on the shore of the lake. But the disciples did not know that it was Jesus who stood there. ⁵ Then Jesus asked them, ‘Friends, have you caught any fish?’ They answered, ‘No!’ ⁶ He said, ‘Throw your net out on the right side of the boat. If you do that, you will catch some fish.’ So they threw the net out into the water. Then they caught so many fish that they could not pull the net back into the boat.

⁷ The disciple that Jesus loved said to Peter, ‘It is the Lord!’ When Simon Peter heard him say, ‘It is the Lord,’ he put on his coat. (He had been wearing only a few clothes.) Then he jumped into the water. ⁸ The other disciples followed him in the boat. They pulled the net that was full of fish behind them. They were not far from the shore. It was about 100 metres away. ⁹ When they came to the shore, they saw that someone had lit a fire. Some fish were cooking on it. There was some bread there, too. ¹⁰ Jesus said to them, ‘Bring here some of the fish that you have just caught.’

¹¹ Simon Peter got back into the boat and he pulled the net onto the shore. It was full of 153 big fish. There were so many fish, but the net had not broken. ¹² Jesus said to them, ‘Come here and eat breakfast.’ None of the disciples was brave enough to ask him, ‘Who are you?’ They knew that it was the Lord. ¹³ So Jesus took the bread and he gave it to them. Then he did the same with the fish.

¹⁴ After Jesus died and became alive again, this was now the third time that he showed himself to his disciples.

Jesus talks to Peter

¹⁵ When they had finished eating, Jesus spoke to Simon Peter. He said, ‘Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these other disciples love me?’ Peter answered, ‘Yes Lord, you know that I love you.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Feed my lambs.’

¹⁶ Jesus asked him a second time, ‘Simon, son of John, do you love me?’ Peter answered, ‘Yes Lord, you know that I love you.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Take care of my sheep.’ ¹⁷ Jesus asked him a third time, ‘Simon, son of John, do you love me?’^[y] Peter was sad because Jesus asked him a third time, ‘Do you love me?’ So he said to Jesus, ‘Lord, you know everything. You know that I really love you!’ Jesus said to him, ‘Take care of my sheep. ¹⁸ I tell you this: When you were young, you put on your own clothes. Then you went to any place that you wanted to visit. But when you are old, it will be different. You will hold out your arms and someone else will tie your clothes for you. Then they will take you to a place where you do not want to go.’ ¹⁹ When Jesus said this, he was showing how Peter would die.^[z] His death would give honour to God. Then Jesus said to Peter, ‘Follow me.’

²⁰ Peter turned round and he saw the disciple that Jesus loved. He was the man who had been very near to Jesus at the supper. He had asked Jesus, ‘Lord, who will sell you to your enemies?’ Now this disciple was following behind them. ²¹ When Peter saw him, he asked Jesus, ‘Lord, what will happen to him?’ ²² Jesus answered him, ‘Perhaps I might want him to live until I return to this earth. But that should not matter to you. You must follow me!’

²³ At that time, people began to talk about these words that Jesus had said. Some disciples thought that Jesus meant that this disciple would not die. But Jesus did not say, ‘He will not die.’ Instead, he said to Peter, ‘Perhaps I might want him to live until I return to this earth. But that should not matter to you.’

²⁴ I am the disciple who saw these things. I am the one who wrote them down. We all know that what I have written about them is true.

²⁵ Jesus also did many other things. If people wrote about all those things, there would be very many books. I do not think that the whole world would have enough room for all those books.

Jesus speaks to his apostles and he goes up to heaven

1 Jesus did many things when he was living on earth. He also taught people many things. I told you about all these things in the first book that I wrote for you, Theophilus.^{[aa] 2} Those are the things that Jesus did before God took him up into heaven. Jesus had chosen some men to be his apostles. With the power of the Holy Spirit he told them what they must do. ³ After Jesus died on the cross, he became alive again. During the 40 days after that, he showed himself many times to his apostles. He showed himself in different ways. Then they could be really sure that he was alive again. During this time, Jesus spoke to his apostles about the kingdom of God.^[ab]

⁴ One time, when Jesus and his apostles were together, he said to them, ‘Do not leave Jerusalem yet. You must wait there until you receive my Father's gift. My Father promised to give it to you. I have already told you about it. ⁵ John baptized people with water, but after a few days God will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.’

⁶ While Jesus' apostles were together with him, they asked him, ‘Lord, at this time will you now give the kingdom back to us, the people of Israel?’

⁷ Jesus replied, ‘My Father decides when things will happen in the world. You do not need to know the day or the time when this will happen. ⁸ But the Holy Spirit will come to you, and he will give you power. The Holy Spirit will make your spirit strong. Then you will tell other people everywhere in the world about me. You will do that in Jerusalem, in Judea, in Samaria and in places far away.’

⁹ When Jesus had finished speaking to his apostles, God took him up to heaven. The apostles watched Jesus while he went up. Then a cloud hid him and they could not see him any more.

¹⁰ The apostles were still looking carefully up into the sky when suddenly two men appeared.^[ac] They were wearing white clothes and they stood near the apostles.

¹¹ The men said to the apostles, ‘You men from Galilee, you should not still be standing here and looking up into the sky. God has taken Jesus into heaven. You saw the way that Jesus went up to heaven. One day, he himself will return in the same way.’

The apostles choose Matthias

¹² Then the apostles left the Mount of Olives.^[ad] They returned to Jerusalem. This was a walk of about 1 kilometre. ¹³ When the apostles arrived back in Jerusalem, they went to their room. The room where they were staying was upstairs. Those apostles were Peter, John, James and Andrew; Philip and Thomas; Bartholomew and Matthew; also James the son of Alphaeus, Simon the Zealot, and Judas, the son of James.^[ae]

¹⁴ All these apostles often met together to pray. Mary who was Jesus' mother, other women and Jesus' brothers also met with them. ¹⁵ One day, about 120 people who believed in Jesus were meeting together. Peter stood up and he said to them, ¹⁶ ‘My friends, long ago, the Holy Spirit gave King David a message to speak from God.^[af] He spoke about the things that Judas would do. Judas was the one who showed the soldiers how to catch Jesus. These things had to happen in the way that David wrote in the Bible long ago.^{[ag] 17} Judas belonged to our group of disciples. Jesus chose him to work together with us.’

¹⁸ Judas received some money for the bad thing that he did. He bought a field with that money. But he fell down in that field and he died. His body broke open and the inside parts of his body poured out. ¹⁹ All the people who lived in Jerusalem heard about his death. So they called that field ‘Akeldama’ in their own language. ‘Akeldama’ means ‘The Field of Blood’.^[ah]

²⁰ Peter then said, ‘This is what King David wrote in the book of Psalms:

²¹ Peter then said, ‘Because of this, we must choose another man instead of Judas. That man must have been one of our group all the time that the Lord Jesus was with us. ²² That is, from the time when John was baptizing people until the time when Jesus went up to heaven. He must be someone who saw Jesus become alive again after he died, as we did.’

²³ So the apostles agreed the names of two men. One of them was Joseph. People also called him Barsabbas and sometimes people called him Justus. The other man was called Matthias. ²⁴ Then the whole group prayed, ‘Lord, you know what everybody is really like. Please show us which man you have chosen. ²⁵ Which of these two men do you want to be an apostle instead of Judas? Judas left his work as an apostle. He has now gone to the place where he belongs.’

²⁶ Then the group used lots to choose the name of one man. It happened that they chose Matthias. So Matthias now became the 12th apostle, together with the other 11 men.

The Holy Spirit comes

2 Then the day of the Pentecost festival arrived. All the believers were meeting together in one place.^{[ak] 2} Suddenly, as they were sitting together, they heard a noise. The noise came from the sky and it filled the whole house. It was like the sound of a strong wind. ³ Then they saw something that looked like many small fires. The separate fires moved and went to sit on each person there. ⁴ All the believers became full with the Holy Spirit. They began to speak in languages that they had not learned. They spoke whatever language the Holy Spirit helped them to speak.

⁵ At that time, Jews who came from many different countries in the world were staying in Jerusalem. They were Jews who carefully obeyed God's Law. ⁶ When these Jews heard the noise, a large crowd of them came together in that place. As the believers spoke, each person in the crowd could hear the message in their own language. This confused them. ⁷ They were very surprised and they said to each other, ‘These men who are speaking our languages are all from Galilee. ⁸ But each of us can hear them speak in the language of our own home country. How can this happen? ⁹ Some of us are from Parthia, Media and Elam. Some of us live in Mesopotamia, Judea, and Cappadocia. Some of us are from Pontus and Asia. ¹⁰ Some of us are from Phrygia and Pamphylia. Some of us are from Egypt. Some of us are from the country of Libya, near the town of Cyrene. Some of us have come from Rome to visit Jerusalem. ¹¹ Some of us were born as Jews. Others of us are Gentiles who now obey God as the Jews do. Some of us are from Crete and some of us are from Arabia. But we all hear these people speaking in our own languages. They are speaking about all the great things that God has done.’

¹² All the people were very surprised. They did not understand what was happening. ‘What does all this mean?’ they asked each other. ¹³ But some other people laughed at the disciples. They said, ‘These people have drunk too much wine!’

Peter speaks to the crowd

¹⁴ Peter was there with the other 11 apostles and he stood up with them. He began to speak to the crowd with a loud voice. He said, ‘You people who are Jews like us, listen carefully to me. All of you who live here in Jerusalem, you also listen to me. I will explain to you everything that is happening. ¹⁵ Some of you think that my friends here are drunk. But they are not drunk, because it is only nine o'clock in the morning.^{[al] 16} No, something different is happening here. Long ago, the prophet Joel spoke God's message about all this. This is what he said:^[am]

²² Peter then said, ‘People of Israel, listen to what I am saying! Jesus, the man from Nazareth, came with God's authority to do his work. God did many powerful and special things through him. These miracles showed you clearly that God had sent him. You know about all this. These things happened here, and you saw them. ²³ God knew that Jesus' enemies would give him to you. God had decided that this should happen. You let people who do not obey God's Law fix him to the cross. In that way you killed him. ²⁴ But after his death, God caused him to become alive again. God saved Jesus from the power of death. It was impossible for death to keep hold of him. ²⁵ A long time ago, King David spoke about the Messiah in this way:

²⁹ Peter then said, ‘Friends, people of Israel, I must speak clearly to you about our ancestor, King David. He died and people buried his body in the ground. You can still see the place where people buried him. ³⁰ He was a prophet. He knew what God had promised to do for him. He knew that one of his descendants would be king of God's people one day. ³¹ David understood what God would do in a future time. He did not speak about himself, but he spoke about the Messiah. He said that God would cause this man to become alive again after his death. God would not let him remain in Hades, the place for dead people. Nothing would destroy his body. ³² This man that David talked about is Jesus. After his death, God caused him to become alive again. We ourselves saw this happen. All of us saw it. ³³ God took Jesus back up to heaven. He caused Jesus to sit at his right side, the place of great honour. Jesus received the Holy Spirit from his Father God, so that he could give the Spirit to us. This is what God had promised to do. God has poured his Holy Spirit on us. Now you are seeing and hearing the result of this. ³⁴ King David himself did not go up into heaven like Jesus did. But David said:

³⁶ So all you people of Israel must be sure to know this: It is this same Jesus that God has chosen to be the Messiah. God has made him to be our Lord. But you fixed him to a cross and you killed him.’

³⁷ The people heard what Peter said to them. They were very upset. So they said to Peter and the other apostles, ‘Friends, tell us what we should do.’

³⁸ Peter said to them, ‘Each of you must stop doing wrong things. You must change how you live. If you believe in Jesus Christ, then we will baptize you. God will forgive you for the wrong things that you have done. Then you will receive the Holy Spirit, who is God's gift to you. ³⁹ God has promised to do all this for you and your children. He has also promised this to people who live far away in other places. The Lord our God will do it for all the people that he has called to come to him.’

⁴⁰ Peter also told them many other things. He continued to speak strongly to them. He told them to be careful and he said, ‘People who are alive today do not do what is right. Save yourselves from the punishment that God will send on them.’

⁴¹ Many of the people who listened to Peter believed his message. So the apostles baptized those people. About three thousand people who now believed in Jesus joined the group that same day.

How the believers lived

⁴² These new believers listened carefully to what the apostles taught them. They joined with everyone else in the group. They prayed together and they ate meals together.^[ap]

⁴³ The apostles did many miracles which showed that the power of God was with them. As a result, all the people were very surprised and afraid. ⁴⁴ All the believers continued to meet together often. They shared all their things with each other. ⁴⁵ They sold some of their own things. Then they gave that money to any believers who needed it. ⁴⁶ The whole group of believers met together every day in the yard of the temple. They shared their food and they ate meals together in each other's homes. They were very happy and they were honest with each other. ⁴⁷ All the time, they praised God. All the other people thought that the believers were good people. Every day, the Lord saved more people so that the group of believers grew bigger.

A man walks again!

3 One day, Peter and John went to the temple in Jerusalem. It was three o'clock in the afternoon. This was the time that everyone went there to pray. ² There was a man who could not walk. He had never been able to walk. Every day, his friends put him at the gate of the temple. It was called the Beautiful Gate. As people were going in through the gate, the man asked them for money. His friends were carrying him there when Peter and John arrived. ³ The man saw Peter and John as they were coming through the gate. So he asked them to give him some money. ⁴ Peter looked carefully at the man and so did John. Peter said to him, ‘Look at us!’ ⁵ So the man looked at Peter and John. He thought that they would give him some money.

⁶ Then Peter said to the man, ‘I do not have any money. But I do have something else that I will give to you. Jesus Christ from Nazareth gave me authority to do this. So now I tell you to walk!’ ⁷ Peter held the man's right hand and he helped him to stand up. Immediately the man's feet and ankles became strong. ⁸ The man jumped up and he stood on his feet. Then he began to walk about. He went into the temple with Peter and John. He was walking and jumping and he was praising God. ⁹ A large crowd of people were there. They saw the man walking. They heard him praising God. ¹⁰ ‘Look!’ they said. ‘We know this man. He usually sits at the Beautiful Gate of the temple and he asks people for money. What has happened to him?’ They were all very surprised.

Peter speaks to the crowd in the temple

¹¹ The man was still holding Peter and John as they went into the yard of the temple. All the people were very surprised about what they saw. So they ran to Peter and John at the place called Solomon's porch. ¹² Peter saw all the people who had come together. So he said to them, ‘People of Israel, you should not be so surprised about what you have seen. You should not look at us as if we ourselves are powerful. It is not because we obey God that we could cause this man to walk again. ¹³ It happened because of Jesus, who was the special servant of God. That is the God of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and our other ancestors who lived long ago.^[aq] God has raised his servant Jesus up to a place of honour.

You helped the rulers to take hold of Jesus. The Roman ruler Pilate had decided to let Jesus go free. But you turned against Jesus. ¹⁴ Jesus was God's Holy One who always did what was right. But you did not accept him. You told Pilate to let another man go free instead of Jesus. That man was in prison because he had killed people. ¹⁵ But Jesus is the person who leads people to true life. When you refused him, it meant that you killed him. But God made him alive again and raised him up from death. We ourselves saw him alive after he had died and we are telling you about it.

¹⁶ It is the power of Jesus that has made this man completely well again. We believe in him. We know that he has authority. You know this man. You saw that he had weak legs. Jesus has caused this man's legs to become strong. You can all see for yourselves what has happened. Yes, he is now well because we havetrusted Jesus and his power.

¹⁷ Friends, when you did all this to Jesus, you did not really know what you were doing. Your leaders also did not understand. ¹⁸ Jesus was God's Messiah. A long time ago, many of God's prophets spoke about him. They spoke God's message about what would happen to the Messiah. They said that he would suffer. God has now caused these things to happen. ¹⁹ So you must stop doing wrong things. Change how you live and turn to God. Then God will forgive you for all the wrong things that you have done. ²⁰ The Lord God will help you. Times will come when he will cause your spirit to be strong. He has already chosen Jesus as the one to help you. He is God's Messiah, and God will send him back to you again. ²¹ Jesus must stay in heaven until the day that God will cause everything to become new again. Long ago God gave his prophets a message about this, and they told that message to people. ²² For example, Moses said this about the Messiah a long time ago: “The Lord your God will send you a prophet. He will be one of your own people. He will speak God's message as I have done. You must obey everything that he says to you. ²³ God will punish anyone who does not obey that prophet. He will no longer be one of God's people and God will destroy him.” ’^[ar]

²⁴ Peter then said, ‘All of God's prophets spoke about what is happening in these days. Samuel was one of them, and all the prophets who came later also spoke the same message. ²⁵ You are the people who receive that message from God today. The promise that God made to bless our ancestors is the same promise that he makes to you. God said to our ancestor Abraham, “Through your descendants, I will bless all the people on the earth.”^[as]

²⁶ God chose Jesus to be his special servant. God sent him to you first. He wants to help you, so that you stop doing bad things. That is how he will bless you.’

The priests put Peter and John in prison

4 Peter and John were still speaking to the crowd in the yard of the temple. Then some priests, the leader of the police in the temple and some Sadducees came to them. ² They were angry because of the things that Peter and John were teaching the people there. They were teaching that Jesus had become alive again after his death. The Jewish leaders did not agree that dead people could become alive again. ³ So they took hold of Peter and John. They put them in prison, because by then it was evening time. They put them in the prison until the next day. ⁴ But many of the people who had heard Peter's message believed what he said. There were now about 5,000 men who believed in Jesus.

The Jewish leaders ask Peter and John questions

⁵ The next day, the Jewish rulers and other important Jews met together in Jerusalem. The teachers of God's Law met together with them. ⁶ They met with Annas who was the most important priest. Caiaphas, John and Alexander were also there. Other men from the family of the most important priest were with them too. ⁷ The Jewish leaders made Peter and John stand in front of them. They began to ask them questions. They said, ‘How did you cause that man's legs to become strong? Who gave you the power and the authority to do it?’

⁸ Then Peter became full with the Holy Spirit and he said to them, ‘All you men are rulers of the people and important Jews. ⁹ Today you are asking us questions about the good thing that we did for this man. Before that, he could not walk. You are asking us how we caused his legs to become strong. ¹⁰ Now I need to tell you and all the people of Israel what is true. Then you will know how this happened. This man is standing here in front of you and he is well. His legs are strong because of Jesus Christ of Nazareth and his authority. You fixed Jesus to a cross so that he died. But after that, God caused him to become alive again. ¹¹ The Bible says this about him:^[at]

¹² Then Peter said, ‘Only Jesus can save people. There has never been another person in the world that could do this. God has not given any other man the authority to save us.’

¹³ The Jewish leaders saw that Peter and John were not afraid of them. They also knew that they were not special people. They had not been to any school.^[au] So the leaders were very surprised about how Peter and John spoke. They understood that Peter and John had been friends with Jesus.

¹⁴ The man who was now well stood in front of the Jewish leaders. They could see that his legs had become strong again. So they could not say anything against Peter and John. ¹⁵ They told Peter and John to go out of the room where the leaders were meeting. Then they talked together to decide what they should do. ¹⁶ ‘What should we do with these men?’ they said. ‘Everyone who lives in Jerusalem knows about this miracle. They know that Peter and John did a great thing for that man. So we cannot say that they did not do it. ¹⁷ But we do not want any more people to know what has happened. So we must say to these men, “You must stop using the name of Jesus. You must stop teaching people about him.” ’^[av]

¹⁸ Then the Jewish leaders told Peter and John to come back into the room. They said to them, ‘You must not use the authority of Jesus to teach people any more. You must not speak about him.’ ¹⁹ Then Peter and John replied to the leaders, ‘What do you think God wants us to do? Should we obey you? Or should we obey God? You decide! ²⁰ We know what is right. We must continue to speak about these things. We must tell people about the things that we have seen and heard.’

²¹ The Jewish leaders were angry. They told Peter and John that they must obey them. Then they let Peter and John go free. All the people there were praising God because of the miracle. So the leaders could not decide how to punish Peter and John. ²² The man who became well because of this miracle was more than 40 years old.

The group of believers pray to God

²³ After the Jewish leaders let them go free, Peter and John went back to the group of believers. They told them what the leaders of the priests and the important Jews had said. ²⁴ The believers listened to what Peter and John told them. Then they all prayed together. They said to God, ‘You are the Lord who rules over everything. You made the sky, the earth and the sea. You also made everything that is in them. ²⁵ Our ancestor, King David, was your servant. You sent your Holy Spirit to him so that he spoke your message. You said through him,^[aw]

²⁷ Lord God, it has now happened like that. Herod and Pontius Pilate have met together here in Jerusalem. They met with Israelite people and with people of other nations. Together they made plans to kill your holy servant, Jesus. He is the one that you chose to be your Messiah. ²⁸ But you are powerful. These men did only what you said would happen. You had already decided on these events. ²⁹ Lord God, you know that the Jewish leaders want to punish Peter and John. We are your servants. Please help us not to be afraid. Help us to speak your message to people without fear. ³⁰ Show people that you are strong. Cause sick people to become well. Do other powerful things to show that you are God. It is the authority of your holy servant Jesus that will make these things happen.’

³¹ The believers finished praying. The house where they were meeting together shook. God filled them all with his Holy Spirit. That made them very brave and they spoke God's message clearly to people.

The believers help each other

³² All the believers agreed completely with each other about how they should live. They wanted to help each other. Nobody kept anything only for themselves. They let the other believers use it. ³³ The apostles continued to teach about the Lord Jesus. They spoke with great power. They told people, ‘After Jesus died, God caused him to live again. We saw that happen.’ God was very kind to all the believers and he helped them in many ways. ³⁴ Everyone had as much as they needed. Some believers had land or houses, which belonged to them. They sold those things and then they took the money to the apostles. ³⁵ Then the apostles gave the money to any of the believers who needed it.

³⁶ One of the believers was called Joseph. He was from the family of Levi. He was from the island called Cyprus. The apostles called him Barnabas because he liked to help people. ³⁷ Joseph sold a field that belonged to him. He took the money from this and he gave it to the apostles. He wanted them to use the money to help other believers.^[ax]

Ananias and Sapphira

5 But there was a man called Ananias among the group of believers. His wife was called Sapphira. Together they sold one of their fields. ² Ananias gave part of the money that he received to the apostles. But he kept part of the money for himself. Sapphira knew all about what Ananias had done.^[ay]

³ Peter said to Ananias, ‘Ananias, Satan wanted you to tell a lie and you have obeyed him. You have told a lie to the Holy Spirit. That is a bad thing to do! You sold your field, but you did not give us all the money. You kept part of it for yourselves.^{[az] 4} Before you sold the field, it belonged to you. And after you sold the field, the money was yours. You could choose what to do with it. But you chose to do a very bad thing. You did not only tell a lie to us men. You have told a lie to God.’

⁵ As soon as he heard Peter say this, Ananias fell down and he died. When people heard what had happened, they were all very afraid. ⁶ Some young men came into the room. They put cloths around Ananias's dead body and they carried it outside. Then they buried it.

⁷ About three hours later, Ananias's wife, Sapphira, came into the room. She did not know what had happened to her husband. ⁸ Peter asked Sapphira, ‘Was this all the money that you and your husband received for your field?’ ‘Yes,’ Sapphira answered. ‘That was all the money that we received.’

⁹ Peter said to her, ‘It was wrong for you and your husband to do this bad thing. You agreed together to tell a lie to the Holy Spirit of the Lord God. Listen! The men who have just buried your husband are at the door again now. They will carry your body out too.’

¹⁰ Immediately, Sapphira fell down in front of Peter and she died. Then the young men came into the room. They saw that Sapphira was dead. So they carried her outside and they buried her body next to her husband. ¹¹ The whole group of believers, and many other people, heard about what had happened to Ananias and Sapphira. They were all very afraid.

The apostles do some powerful things for the people to see

¹² At that time, the apostles were doing many miracles that showed God's power among the people. All the believers often met together in the yard of the temple in a place called Solomon's porch. ¹³ The other people were afraid to meet with the group of believers. But people respected the believers very much. ¹⁴ More and more people became believers and they joined the group. So now many men and women believed in the Lord Jesus.

¹⁵ As a result, people carried their sick friends into the streets and put them on beds and mats. They hoped that Peter would pass that way and make their sick friends well again. They just wanted Peter's shadow to touch them.^{[ba] 16} Many people also came into Jerusalem from the small towns near the city. They brought their sick friends with them. Some of those sick people had bad spirits that gave them trouble. God caused all these sick people to become well again.

The most important priest puts the apostles in prison

¹⁷ People liked the apostles very much. So the most important priest and his friends who belonged to the Sadducees' group were very jealous. ¹⁸ These important men took hold of the apostles and they put them in the city's prison. ¹⁹ But during the night, one of the Lord God's angels came and he opened the prison gates. He led the apostles out of the prison. ²⁰ The angel said to them, ‘Go and stand in the yard of the temple. Tell the people everything about this new life that God gives.’

²¹ The apostles did what the angel told them to do. At dawn they went into the yard of the temple. They began to teach the people there.

Then the most important priest and his friends arrived. They told the group of Jewish leaders to meet with them. All the most important people in Israel were in that group. Then they sent their police to the prison to bring the apostles to the meeting place. ²² But when the police arrived at the prison, they did not find the apostles there. So the police returned to the Jewish leaders and they told them the news. ²³ They said, ‘We arrived at the prison. We saw that the soldiers had locked the gates. They were standing at the gates and they were watching carefully. But when we opened the gates of the prison, we did not find anyone there!’^[bb]

²⁴ The leader of the police of the temple and the leaders of the priests heard the news. They could not understand what had happened. They were afraid of what might happen next.

²⁵ Then a man came to the leaders. He said to them, ‘Listen! Those men that you put in the prison are now standing in the yard of the temple. They are teaching the people there.’ ²⁶ So the leader of the police took his men with him to find the apostles. They took hold of the apostles to take them back to the Jewish leaders. But they did not hurt them because they were afraid of the people. They thought that the people might be angry. They might throw stones at them to kill them.

²⁷ The police brought the apostles into the meeting room. They made them stand in front of the group of Jewish leaders. The most important priest said to the apostles, ²⁸ ‘We told you that you must not teach people any more with the authority of Jesus. But now look at what you have done! Now people everywhere in Jerusalem have heard your teaching. You also want people to think that we are guilty for the death of Jesus.’

²⁹ Peter and the other apostles answered, ‘We must obey God rather than obey people. ³⁰ You fixed Jesus to a cross so that he died. But then the God of our ancestors caused him to become alive again. ³¹ God raised Jesus and he put him in the most important place at his right side. Jesus is now the one who leads us and the one who saves us. He has made a way for the people of Israel to turn back to God. He wants us to stop doing wrong things. Then God will forgive us for our sins. ³² We tell people about what happened to Jesus. We ourselves saw these things. Now God has given his Holy Spirit to people who obey him. The Holy Spirit also shows that these things are true.’

³³ The group of Jewish leaders heard what the apostles said to them. They were so angry that they wanted to kill the apostles. ³⁴ But one man did not agree. He was called Gamaliel and he was a Pharisee, a teacher of the Law. All the people agreed that he was a good man. Gamaliel stood up in front of the group of Jewish leaders. He told the police to take the apostles out of the room. ³⁵ When they had gone, Gamaliel spoke to the group of leaders: ‘Men of Israel! Think carefully about what you want to do to these men. ³⁶ Remember what happened to Theudas a few years ago. That man told everyone, “I am a very important leader.” As a result, about 400 men joined his group. But then somebody killed him, and all his men went away. Nobody heard any more about them. ³⁷ Later, Judas from Galilee appeared at the time when the Romans were making a list of everyone's names.^[bc] Many people also came to help him fight against the Romans. But somebody killed him. His men also ran away and nothing more happened.^[bd]

³⁸ Now think about what is happening with these men. I tell you it would be better to leave them alone. Let them go free. If their message only comes from human ideas, all their work will fail. ³⁹ But perhaps what they are doing really does come from God himself. If that is true, then you cannot stop them. You might even find that you are fighting against God!’

⁴⁰ The Jewish leaders agreed with Gamaliel. They told the apostles to come back into the room. They told the police to hit them with whips. Then they said to the apostles, ‘You must not use the authority of Jesus to teach the people.’ After that, they let the apostles go free.^[be]

⁴¹ The apostles went away from the meeting of the Jewish leaders. They were very happy because they thought to themselves, ‘These leaders have done bad things to us because we obey Jesus. That shows that God accepts us as his people.’

⁴² Every day the apostles continued to teach people about Jesus. They spoke in people's homes and in the yard of the temple. All the time, they told people the good news that Jesus is God's Messiah.

The believers choose seven men

6 At that time, more and more people became disciples of Jesus. Among the believers, some were Jews who spoke the Greek language. Others were Jews who spoke the Aramaic language. The Jews who spoke Greek had a problem with the other Jews. They said, ‘The widows in our group do not receive the right help. Each day, when you give out the food and money, our widows receive less than they should get.’^[bf]

² The 12 apostles heard about the problem. They told all the believers to meet together with them. The apostles said, ‘Our work is to teach people God's message about Jesus. We do not have time to give out the food and money to people as well. ³ So, friends, please choose seven men from among you. You must know that each of them is full of the Holy Spirit. They must also be very wise. We will ask these seven men to do this work for us. ⁴ Then we will have more time to pray. We will also have more time to teach people God's message.’

⁵ The whole group of believers was happy with the apostles' words. So first they chose a man called Stephen. Stephen believed strongly in God and he was full of the Holy Spirit. The believers also chose six other men: Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas and Nicolas. Nicolas was from Antioch. He was not born as a Jew, but he had joined the Jews later. ⁶ The group of believers put these seven men in front of the apostles. The apostles prayed for each man and they put their hands on them. They gave them authority to do this special work.

⁷ So more and more people heard the message from God. The number of people in Jerusalem who believed in Jesus grew more and more. Many of the Jewish priests also believed the message about Jesus.^[bg]