Acts 1–2

1ST CHAPTER

Introduction

¹In my first book, Theophilus, I wrote about what Jesus began to do and teach. This included everything from the beginning ⸤of his life⸥ ²until the day he was taken to heaven. Before he was taken to heaven, he gave instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles, whom he had chosen. 

Jesus Ascends to Heaven

³After his death Jesus showed the apostles a lot of convincing evidence that he was alive. For 40 days he appeared to them and talked with them about God’s kingdom. 

⁴Once, while he was meeting with them, he ordered them not to leave Jerusalem but to wait there for what the Father had promised. Jesus said to them, “I’ve told you what the Father promises: ⁵John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.” 

⁶So when the apostles came together, they asked him, “Lord, is this the time when you’re going to restore the kingdom to Israel?” 

⁷Jesus told them, “You don’t need to know about times or periods that the Father has determined by his own authority. ⁸But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes to you. Then you will be my witnesses to testify about me in Jerusalem, throughout Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” 

⁹After he had said this, he was taken to heaven. A cloud hid him so that they could no longer see him. 

¹⁰They were staring into the sky as he departed. Suddenly, two men in white clothes stood near them. ¹¹They asked, “Why are you men from Galilee standing here looking at the sky? Jesus, who was taken from you to heaven, will come back in the same way that you saw him go to heaven.” 

A New Apostle Takes Judas’ Place

¹²Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mountain called the Mount of Olives. It is near Jerusalem, about half a mile away. 

¹³When they came into the city, Peter, John, James, Andrew, Philip, Thomas, Bartholomew, Matthew, James (son of Alphaeus), Simon the Zealot, and Judas (son of James) went to the second-story room where they were staying. 

¹⁴The apostles had a single purpose as they devoted themselves to prayer. They were joined by some women, including Mary (the mother of Jesus), and they were joined by his brothers. 

¹⁵At a time when about 120 disciples had gathered together, Peter got up and spoke to them. 

He said, ¹⁶“Brothers, what the Holy Spirit predicted through David in Scripture about Judas had to come true. Judas led the men to arrest Jesus. ¹⁷He had been one of us and had been given an active role in this ministry. ¹⁸With the money he received from the wrong he had done, he bought a piece of land where he fell headfirst to his death. His body split open, and all his internal organs came out. ¹⁹Everyone living in Jerusalem knows about this. They even call that piece of land Akeldama, which means ‘Field of Blood’ in their dialect. ²⁰You’ve read in Psalms, ‘Let his home be deserted, and let no one live there,’ and ‘Let someone else take his position.’ 

“Therefore, someone must be added to our number to serve with us as a witness that Jesus came back to life. ²¹He must be one of the men who accompanied Jesus with us the entire time that the Lord Jesus was among us. ²²This person must have been with us from the time that John was baptizing people to the day that Jesus was taken from us.”^a

²³The disciples determined that two men were qualified. These men were Joseph (who was called Barsabbas and was also known as Justus) and Matthias. ²⁴Then they prayed, “Lord, you know everyone’s thoughts. Show us which of these two you have chosen. ²⁵Show us who is to take the place of Judas as an apostle, since Judas abandoned his position to go to the place where he belongs.” 

²⁶They drew names to choose an apostle. Matthias was chosen and joined the eleven apostles. 

2ND CHAPTER

The Believers Are Filled with the Holy Spirit

¹When Pentecost, the fiftieth day after Passover, came, all the believers were together in one place. ²Suddenly, a sound like a violently blowing wind came from the sky and filled the whole house where they were staying. ³Tongues that looked like fire appeared to them. The tongues arranged themselves so that one came to rest on each believer. ⁴All the believers were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages as the Spirit gave them the ability to speak. 

⁵Devout Jewish men from every nation were living in Jerusalem. ⁶They gathered when they heard the wind. Each person was startled to recognize his own dialect when the disciples spoke. 

⁷Stunned and amazed, the people in the crowd said, “All of these men who are speaking are Galileans. ⁸Why do we hear them speaking in our native dialects? ⁹We’re Parthians, Medes, and Elamites. We’re people from Mesopotamia, Judea, Cappadocia, Pontus, the province of Asia, ¹⁰Phrygia, Pamphylia, Egypt, and the country near Cyrene in Libya. We’re Jewish people, converts to Judaism, and visitors from Rome, ¹¹Crete, and Arabia. We hear these men in our own languages as they tell about the miracles that God has done.” 

¹²All of these devout men were stunned and puzzled. They asked each other, “What can this mean?” ¹³Others said jokingly, “They’re drunk on sweet wine.” 

Peter Talks to the Crowd

¹⁴Then Peter stood up with the eleven apostles. In a loud voice he said to them, “Men of Judea and everyone living in Jerusalem! You must understand this, so pay attention to what I say. ¹⁵These men are not drunk as you suppose. It’s only nine in the morning. ¹⁶Rather, this is what the prophet Joel spoke about: 

¹⁷‘In the last days, God says, 

I will pour my Spirit on everyone. 

Your sons and daughters will speak what God has revealed. 

Your young men will see visions. 

Your old men will dream dreams. 

¹⁸In those days 

I will pour my Spirit on my servants, on both men and women. 

They will speak what God has revealed. 

¹⁹I will work miracles in the sky and give signs on the earth: 

blood, fire, and clouds of smoke. 

²⁰The sun will become dark, 

and the moon will become as red as blood 

before the terrifying day of the Lord comes. 

²¹Then whoever calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.’ 

²²“Men of Israel, listen to what I say: Jesus from Nazareth was a man whom God brought to your attention. You know that through this man God worked miracles, did amazing things, and gave signs. ²³By using men who don’t acknowledge Moses’ Teachings, you crucified Jesus, who was given over ⸤to death⸥ by a plan that God had determined in advance. ²⁴But God brought him from death back to life and destroyed the pains of death, because death had no power to hold him. ²⁵This is what David meant when he said about Jesus: 

‘I always see the Lord in front of me. 

I cannot be moved because he is by my side. 

²⁶That is why my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices. 

My body also rests securely 

²⁷because you do not abandon my soul to the grave 

or allow your holy one to decay. 

²⁸You make the path of life known to me. 

In your presence there is complete joy.’ 

²⁹“Brothers, I can tell you confidently that our ancestor David died and was buried and that his tomb is here to this day. ³⁰David was a prophet and knew that God had promised with an oath that he would place one of David’s descendants on his throne. ³¹David knew that the Messiah would come back to life, and he spoke about that before it ever happened. He said that the Messiah wouldn’t be left in the grave and that his body wouldn’t decay. 

³²“God brought this man Jesus back to life. We are all witnesses to that. ³³God used his power to give Jesus the honored position—the one next to him on the heavenly throne. Jesus has also received and has poured out the Holy Spirit as the Father had promised, and this is what you’re seeing and hearing. ³⁴David didn’t go up to heaven, but he said, 

‘The Lord said to my Lord, 

the honored position—the one next to me [God the Father] on the heavenly throne— 

³⁵until I put your enemies under your control.” ’ 

³⁶“All the people of Israel should know beyond a doubt that God made Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ.” 

³⁷When the people heard this, they were deeply upset. They asked Peter and the other apostles, “Brothers, what should we do?” 

³⁸Peter answered them, “All of you must turn to God and change the way you think and act, and each of you must be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ so that your sins will be forgiven. Then you will receive the Holy Spirit as a gift. ³⁹This promise belongs to you and to your children and to everyone who is far away. It belongs to everyone who worships the Lord our God.” 

⁴⁰Peter said much more to warn them. He urged, “Save yourselves from this corrupt generation.” ⁴¹Those who accepted what Peter said were baptized. That day about 3,000 people were added ⸤to the group⸥. 

Life as a Christian

⁴²The disciples were devoted to the teachings of the apostles, to fellowship, to the breaking of bread, and to prayer. ⁴³A feeling of fear came over everyone as many amazing things and miraculous signs happened through the apostles. ⁴⁴All the believers kept meeting together, and they shared everything with each other. ⁴⁵From time to time, they sold their property and other possessions and distributed the money to anyone who needed it. ⁴⁶The believers had a single purpose and went to the temple every day. They were joyful and humble as they ate at each other’s homes and shared their food. ⁴⁷At the same time, they praised God and had the good will of all the people. Every day the Lord saved people, and they were added to the group.