Acts 2–5

Pentecost

2When the day of Pentecost had arrived, they were all together in one place. ^f2Suddenly a sound like that of a violent rushing wind ^gcame from heaven, and it filled the whole house where they were staying. ^h3And tongues, like flames of fire that were divided, appeared to them and rested on each one of them. ⁴Then they were all filled ⁱwith the Holy Spirit and began to speak in different languages, as the Spirit gave them ability for speech. ^j

⁵There were Jews living in Jerusalem, devout men from every nation ^kunder heaven. ⁶When this sound occurred, a crowd came together and was confused because each one heard them speaking in his own language. ⁷And they were astounded and amazed, saying, ^l“Look, aren’t all these who are speaking Galileans? ^m8How is it that each of us can hear in our own native language? ⁹Parthians, Medes, Elamites; those who live in Mesopotamia, in Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, ⁿ¹⁰Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene; visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, ^o11Cretans and Arabs—we hear them speaking the magnificent acts of God in our own languages.” ¹²They were all astounded and perplexed, saying to one another, “What could this be?” ¹³But some sneered and said, “They’re full of new wine!” ^p

Peter’s Sermon

¹⁴But Peter stood up with the Eleven, raised his voice, and proclaimed to them: “Men of Judah and all you residents of Jerusalem, let me explain this ^qto you and pay attention to my words. ¹⁵For these people are not drunk, as you suppose, since it’s only nine in the morning. ^r16On the contrary, this is what was spoken through the prophet Joel:

¹⁷And it will be in the last days, says God,

that I will pour out My Spirit on all humanity;

then your sons and your daughters will prophesy,

your young men will see visions,

and your old men will dream dreams. ^s

¹⁸I will even pour out My Spirit

on My male and female slaves in those days,

and they will prophesy. ^t

¹⁹I will display wonders in the heaven above

and signs on the earth below:

blood and fire and a cloud of smoke.

²⁰The sun will be turned to darkness

and the moon to blood ^u

before the great and remarkable Day of the Lord ^v comes.

²¹Then everyone who calls

on the name of the Lord will be saved. ^wx

²²“Men of Israel, listen to these words: This Jesus the Nazarene was a man pointed out to you by God with miracles, wonders, and signs that God did among you through Him, just as you yourselves know. ^y23Though He was delivered up according to God’s determined plan and foreknowledge, you used ^zlawless people ^ato nail Him to a cross and kill Him. ^b24God raised Him up, ending the pains of death, ^cbecause it was not possible for Him to be held by it. ²⁵For David says of Him:

I saw the Lord ever before me;

because He is at my right hand,

I will not be shaken.

²⁶Therefore my heart was glad,

and my tongue rejoiced.

Moreover, my flesh will rest in hope,

²⁷because You will not leave me in Hades

or allow Your Holy One to see decay. ^d

²⁸You have revealed the paths of life to me;

You will fill me with gladness

in Your presence. ^ef

²⁹“Brothers, I can confidently speak to you about the patriarch David: He is both dead and buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. ^g30Since he was a prophet, he knew that God had sworn an oath to him to seat one of his descendants ^hion his throne. ^j31Seeing this in advance, he spoke concerning the resurrection of the Messiah:

He ^kwas not left in Hades,

and His flesh did not experience decay. ^lm

³²“God has resurrected ⁿthis Jesus. We are all witnesses of this. ³³Therefore, since He has been exalted to the right hand of God ^oand has received from the Father the promised Holy Spirit, ^pHe has poured out ^qwhat you both see and hear. ³⁴For it was not David who ascended into the heavens, but he himself says:

The Lord declared to my Lord,

‘Sit at My right hand

³⁵until I make Your enemies Your footstool.’ ^rs

³⁶“Therefore let all the house of Israel know with certainty that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Messiah!” ^t

Forgiveness through the Messiah

³⁷When they heard this, they came under deep conviction ^uand said to Peter and the rest of the apostles: “Brothers, what must we do?” ^v

³⁸“Repent,” ^wPeter said to them, “and be baptized, ^xeach of you, in the name ^yof Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. ³⁹For the promise is for you and for your children, and for all who are far off, ^zaas many as the Lord our God will call.” ⁴⁰And with many other words he testified and strongly urged them, saying, “Be saved from this corrupt ^bgeneration!” ^c

A Generous and Growing Church

⁴¹So those who accepted his message were baptized, and that day about 3,000 people were added to them. ⁴²And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, ^dto the fellowship, to the breaking of bread, and to the prayers. ^e

⁴³Then fear came over everyone, and many wonders and signs were being performed through the apostles. ^f44Now all the believers were together and held all things in common. ^g45They sold their possessions and property and distributed the proceeds to all, as anyone had a need. ^h46Every day they devoted themselves to meeting together in the temple complex, and broke bread from house to house. They ate their food with a joyful and humble attitude, ⁱ⁴⁷praising God and having favor with all the people. And every day the Lord added to them ^jthose who were being saved. ^k

Healing of a Lame Man

3Now Peter and John were going up together to the temple complex at the hour of prayer ^lat three in the afternoon. ^m2And a man who was lame from birth was carried there and placed every day at the temple gate called Beautiful, so he could beg from those entering the temple complex. ⁿ³When he saw Peter and John about to enter the temple complex, he asked for help. ⁴Peter, along with John, looked at him intently and said, “Look at us.” ⁵So he turned to them, ^oexpecting to get something from them. ⁶But Peter said, “I don’t have silver or gold, but what I have, I give you: In the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, get up and walk!” ^p7Then, taking him by the right hand he raised him up, and at once his feet and ankles became strong. ⁸So he jumped up, stood, and started to walk, and he entered the temple complex with them—walking, leaping, and praising God. ^q9All the people saw him walking and praising God, ¹⁰and they recognized that he was the one who used to sit and beg at the Beautiful Gate of the temple complex. So they were filled with awe and astonishment at what had happened to him. ^r

Preaching in Solomon’s Colonnade

¹¹While he ^swas holding on to Peter and John, all the people, greatly amazed, ran toward them in what is called Solomon’s Colonnade. ^t12When Peter saw this, he addressed the people: “Men of Israel, why are you amazed at this? Or why do you stare at us, as though we had made him walk by our own power or godliness? ¹³The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God of our fathers, ^uhas glorified His Servant Jesus, whom you handed over and denied in the presence of Pilate, ^vwhen he had decided to release Him. ¹⁴But you denied the Holy and Righteous One ^wand asked to have a murderer given to you. ^x15You killed the source ^yof life, whom God raised from the dead; we are witnesses of this. ^z16By faith in His name, His name has made this man strong, whom you see and know. So the faith that comes through Him has given him this perfect health in front of all of you.

¹⁷“And now, brothers, I know that you did it in ignorance, just as your leaders also did. ^a18But what God predicted through the mouth of all the prophets—that His Messiah would suffer—He has fulfilled ^bin this way. ¹⁹Therefore repent ^cand turn back, so that your sins may be wiped out, ^dthat seasons of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, ^e20and that He may send Jesus, who has been appointed ^ffor you as the Messiah. ²¹Heaven must welcome ^gHim until the times of the restoration of all things, which God spoke about by the mouth of His holy prophets from the beginning. ^h22Moses said: ⁱ

The Lord your God will raise up for you a Prophet like me from among your brothers. You must listen to Him in everything He will say to you. ²³And everyone who will not listen to that Prophet will be completely cut off from the people. ^jk

²⁴“In addition, all the prophets who have spoken, from Samuel and those after him, have also announced these days. ²⁵You are the sons of the prophets and of the covenant that God made with your ancestors, saying to Abraham, And all the families of the earth will be blessed through your offspring. ^lm26God raised up His Servant ⁿand sent Him first to you to bless you by turning each of you from your evil ways.” ^o

Peter and John Arrested

4Now as they were speaking to the people, the priests, the commander of the temple police, and the Sadducees confronted them, ^p2because they were provoked that they were teaching the people and proclaiming the resurrection from the dead, using Jesus as the example. ^qr3So they seized them and put them in custody until the next day, since it was already evening. ⁴But many of those who heard the message believed, and the number of the men came to about 5,000.

Peter and John Face the Jewish Leadership

⁵The next day, their rulers, elders, and scribes assembled in Jerusalem ⁶with Annas the high priest, Caiaphas, John and Alexander, and all the members of the high-priestly family. ^st7After they had Peter and John stand before them, they asked the question: “By what power or in what name have you done this?”

⁸Then Peter was filled with the Holy Spirit and said to them, “Rulers of the people and elders: ^uv9If we are being examined today about a good deed done to a disabled man—by what means he was healed— ¹⁰let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene—whom you crucified and whom God raised from the dead—by Him…