Acts 2–5

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. 

3RD CHAPTER

A Lame Man Is Healed

¹Peter and John were going to the temple courtyard for the three o’clock prayer. ²At the same time, a man who had been lame from birth was being carried by some men. Every day these men would put the lame man at a gate in the temple courtyard. The gate was called Beautiful Gate. There he would beg for handouts from people going into the courtyard. ³When the man saw that Peter and John were about to go into the courtyard, he asked them for a handout. 

⁴Peter and John stared at him. “Look at us!” Peter said. ⁵So the man watched them closely. He expected to receive something from them. ⁶However, Peter said to him, “I don’t have any money, but I’ll give you what I do have. Through the power of Jesus Christ from Nazareth, walk!” ⁷Peter took hold of the man’s right hand and began to help him up. Immediately, the man’s feet and ankles became strong. ⁸Springing to his feet, he stood up and started to walk. He went with Peter and John into the temple courtyard. The man was walking, jumping, and praising God. 

⁹All the people saw him walking and praising God. ¹⁰They knew that he was the man who used to sit and beg at the temple’s Beautiful Gate. The people were amazed and stunned to see what had happened to him. ¹¹They were excited, and everyone ran to see them at the place called Solomon’s Porch. The man wouldn’t let go of Peter and John. 

¹²When Peter saw this, he said to the people, “Men of Israel, why are you amazed about this man? Why are you staring at us as though we have made him walk by our own power or godly life? ¹³The God of our ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob has glorified his servant Jesus. You handed Jesus over to Pilate. You rejected him in Pilate’s presence, even though Pilate had decided to let him go free. ¹⁴You rejected the man who was holy and innocent. You asked to have a murderer given to you, ¹⁵and you killed the source of life. But God brought him back to life, and we are witnesses to that. ¹⁶We believe in the one named Jesus. Through his power alone this man, whom you know, was healed, as all of you saw. 

¹⁷“And now, brothers, I know that like your rulers you didn’t know what you were doing. ¹⁸But in this way God made the sufferings of his Messiah come true. God had predicted these sufferings through all the prophets. ¹⁹So change the way you think and act, and turn ⸤to God⸥ to have your sins removed. ²⁰Then times will come when the Lord will refresh you. He will send you Jesus, whom he has appointed to be the Christ. ²¹Heaven must receive Jesus until the time when everything will be restored as God promised through his holy prophets long ago. 

²²“Moses said, ‘The Lord your God will send you a prophet, an Israelite like me. Listen to everything he tells you. ²³Those who won’t listen to that prophet will be excluded from the people.’ ²⁴Samuel and all the prophets who followed him spoke about these days. ²⁵You are the descendants of the prophets and the heirs of the promise^athat God made to our ancestors when he said to Abraham, ‘Through your descendant all people on earth will be blessed.’ ²⁶God has brought his servant back to life and has sent him to you first. God did this to bless you by turning every one of you from your evil ways.” 

4TH CHAPTER

Peter and John’s Trial in Front of the Jewish Council

¹Some priests, the officer in charge of the temple guards, and some Sadducees approached Peter and John while they were speaking to the people. ²These religious authorities were greatly annoyed. Peter and John were teaching the people and spreading the message that the dead will come back to life through Jesus. ³So the temple guards arrested them. Since it was already evening, they put Peter and John in jail until the next day. 

⁴But many of those who had heard the message became believers, so the number of men who believed grew to about 5,000. 

⁵The next day the Jewish rulers, the leaders, and the experts in Moses’ Teachings met in Jerusalem. ⁶The chief priest Annas, Caiaphas, John, Alexander, and the rest of the chief priest’s family were present. ⁷They made Peter and John stand in front of them and then asked, “By what power or in whose name did you do this?” 

⁸Then Peter, because he was filled with the Holy…