Acts 3–4

The Lame Beggar Healed

3Now Peter and John were ^ogoing up to the temple at ^pthe hour of prayer, ^qthe ninth hour.^{1 2}And a man ^rlame from birth was being carried, ^swhom they laid daily at the gate of the temple that is called the Beautiful Gate ^tto ask alms of those entering the temple. ³Seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple, he asked to receive alms. ⁴And Peter directed his gaze at him, as did John, and said, “Look at us.” ⁵And he fixed his attention on them, expecting to receive something from them. ⁶But Peter said, ^u“I have no silver and gold, but what I do have I give to you. ^vIn the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk!” ⁷And he took him by the right hand and raised him up, and immediately his feet and ankles were made strong. ⁸And ^wleaping up, he stood and began to walk, and entered the temple with them, walking and leaping and praising God. ⁹And ^xall the people saw him walking and praising God, ¹⁰and recognized him as the one who sat at the Beautiful Gate of the temple, asking for alms. And they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him.

Peter Speaks in Solomon’s Portico

^11yWhile he clung to Peter and John, all the people, utterly astounded, ran together to them in ^zthe portico called Solomon’s. ¹²And when Peter saw it he addressed the people: “Men of Israel, why do you wonder at this, or why do you stare at us, as though by our own power or piety we have made him walk? ^13aThe God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, ^bthe God of our fathers, ^cglorified his servant² Jesus, whom ^dyou delivered over and ^edenied in the presence of Pilate, ^fwhen he had decided to release him. ¹⁴But you denied ^gthe Holy and ^hRighteous One, and ⁱasked for a murderer to be granted to you, ¹⁵and you killed ^jthe Author of life, ^kwhom God raised from the dead. To this we are witnesses. ¹⁶And ^lhis name—by ^mfaith in his name—has made this man strong whom you see and know, and the faith that is ⁿthrough Jesus³ has given the man this perfect health in the presence of you all.

¹⁷“And now, brothers, I know that ^oyou acted in ignorance, as did also your rulers. ¹⁸But what God ^pforetold ^qby the mouth of all the prophets, that ^rhis Christ would ^ssuffer, he thus fulfilled. ^19tRepent therefore, and ^uturn back, that ^vyour sins may be blotted out, ²⁰that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and that he may send the Christ ^wappointed for you, Jesus, ^21xwhom heaven must receive until the time for ^yrestoring all the things about which ^zGod spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets long ago. ²²Moses said, ‘The Lord God will raise up for you ^aa prophet like me from your brothers. You shall listen ^bto him in whatever he tells you. ²³And it shall be that every soul who does not listen to that prophet ^cshall be destroyed from the people.’ ²⁴And ^dall the prophets who have spoken, from Samuel and those who came after him, also proclaimed these days. ^25eYou are the sons of the prophets and of ^fthe covenant that God made with your fathers, saying to Abraham, ^g‘And in your offspring shall all the families of the earth be blessed.’ ^26hGod, ⁱhaving raised up his servant, sent him to you first, ^jto bless you ^kby turning every one of you from your wickedness.”

Peter and John Before the Council

4And as they were speaking to the people, the priests and ^lthe captain of the temple and ^mthe Sadducees came upon them, ²greatly annoyed because they were teaching the people and proclaiming ⁿin Jesus the resurrection from the dead. ³And they arrested them and ^oput them in custody until the next day, for it was already evening. ⁴But many of those who had heard the word believed, and ^pthe number of the men came to about five thousand.

⁵On the next day their rulers and elders and scribes gathered together in Jerusalem, ⁶with ^qAnnas the high priest and ^rCaiaphas and John and Alexander, and all who were of the high-priestly family. ⁷And when they had set them in the midst, they inquired, ^s“By what power or ^tby what name did you do this?” ⁸Then Peter, ^ufilled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, “Rulers of the people and elders, ⁹if we are being examined today ^vconcerning a good deed done to a crippled man, by what means this man has been healed, ¹⁰let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel that ^wby the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, ^xwhom God raised from the dead—by him this man is standing before you well. ^11yThis Jesus¹ is the stone that was ^zrejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone.^{2 12}And there is ^asalvation ^bin no one else, for ^cthere is no other ^dname under heaven given among men³ by which we must be saved.”

^13eNow when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated, common men, they were astonished. And they recognized that they had been with Jesus. ¹⁴But seeing the man who was healed ^fstanding beside them, ^gthey had nothing to say in opposition. ¹⁵But when they had commanded them to leave the council, they conferred with one another, ¹⁶saying, ^h“What shall we do with these men? For that ⁱa notable sign has been performed through them is evident to all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and we cannot deny it. ¹⁷But in order that it may spread no further among the people, let us warn them ^jto speak no more to anyone in this name.” ¹⁸So they called them and charged them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. ¹⁹But Peter and John answered them, ^k“Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than to God, you must judge, ²⁰for ^lwe cannot but speak of what ^mwe have seen and heard.” ²¹And when they had further threatened them, they let them go, finding no way to punish them, ⁿbecause of the people, for all were praising God ^ofor what had happened. ²²For the man on whom this sign of healing was performed was more than forty years old.

The Believers Pray for Boldness

²³When they were released, they went to their friends and reported what the chief priests and the elders had said to them. ²⁴And when they heard it, they lifted their voices ^ptogether to God and said, “Sovereign Lord, ^qwho made the heaven and the earth and the sea and everything in them, ²⁵who through the mouth of our father David, your servant,⁴ said by the Holy Spirit,

^r“ ‘Why did the Gentiles rage,

and the peoples plot in vain?

²⁶The kings of the earth set themselves,

and ^sthe rulers were gathered together,

against the Lord and against his ^tAnointed’⁵—

²⁷for truly in this city there were gathered together against your ^uholy servant Jesus, ^vwhom you anointed, both ^wHerod and ^xPontius Pilate, along ^ywith the Gentiles and ^zthe peoples of Israel, ^28ato do whatever your hand and ^byour plan had predestined to take place. ²⁹And now, Lord, ^clook upon their threats and grant to your servants to continue to speak your word with all ^dboldness, ³⁰while ^eyou stretch out your hand to heal, and signs and wonders are performed ^fthrough the name of your ^gholy servant Jesus.” ³¹And when they had prayed, ^hthe place in which they were gathered together was shaken, and ⁱthey were all filled with the Holy Spirit and ^jcontinued to speak the word of God with boldness.

They Had Everything in Common

³²Now the full number of those who believed were of ^kone heart and ^lsoul, and no one said that any of the things that belonged to him was his own, but ^mthey had everything in common. ³³And with great ⁿpower the apostles were giving their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and ^ogreat grace was upon them all. ^34pThere was not a needy person among them, for ^qas many as were owners of lands or houses sold them and brought the proceeds of what was sold ³⁵and ^rlaid it at the apostles’ feet, and ^sit was distributed to each as any had need. ³⁶Thus Joseph, who was also called by the apostles Barnabas (which means ^tson of encouragement), a Levite, a native of Cyprus, ³⁷sold a field that belonged to him and brought the money and ^ulaid it at the apostles’ feet.