Acts 2–5

The Coming of the Holy Spirit

2When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. ²Suddenly a noise like a strong, blowing wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. ³They saw something like flames of fire that were separated and stood over each person there. ⁴They were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and they began to speak different languages ⁿ by the power the Holy Spirit was giving them.

⁵There were some religious Jews staying in Jerusalem who were from every country in the world. ⁶When they heard this noise, a crowd came together. They were all surprised, because each one heard them speaking in his own language. ⁷They were completely amazed at this. They said, “Look! Aren’t all these people that we hear speaking from Galilee? ⁸Then how is it possible that we each hear them in our own languages? We are from different places: ⁹Parthia, Media, Elam, Mesopotamia, Judea, Cappadocia, Pontus, Asia, ¹⁰Phrygia, Pamphylia, Egypt, the areas of Libya near Cyrene, Rome ¹¹(both Jews and those who had become Jews), Crete, and Arabia. But we hear them telling in our own languages about the great things God has done!” ¹²They were all amazed and confused, asking each other, “What does this mean?”

¹³But others were making fun of them, saying, “They have had too much wine.”

Peter Speaks to the People

¹⁴But Peter stood up with the eleven apostles, and in a loud voice he spoke to the crowd: “My fellow Jews, and all of you who are in Jerusalem, listen to me. Pay attention to what I have to say. ¹⁵These people are not drunk, as you think; it is only nine o’clock in the morning! ¹⁶But Joel the prophet wrote about what is happening here today:

¹⁷‘God says: In the last days

I will pour out my Spirit on all kinds of people.

Your sons and daughters will prophesy.

Your young men will see visions,

and your old men will dream dreams.

¹⁸At that time I will pour out my Spirit

also on my male slaves and female slaves,

and they will prophesy.

¹⁹I will show miracles

in the sky and on the earth:

blood, fire, and thick smoke.

²⁰The sun will become dark,

the moon red as blood,

before the overwhelming and glorious day of the Lord will come.

²¹Then anyone who calls on the Lord will be saved.’

²²“People of Israel, listen to these words: Jesus from Nazareth was a very special man. God clearly showed this to you by the miracles, wonders, and signs he did through Jesus. You all know this, because it happened right here among you. ²³Jesus was given to you, and with the help of those who don’t know the law, you put him to death by nailing him to a cross. But this was God’s plan which he had made long ago; he knew all this would happen. ²⁴God raised Jesus from the dead and set him free from the pain of death, because death could not hold him. ²⁵For David said this about him:

‘I keep the Lord before me always.

Because he is close by my side,

I will not be hurt.

²⁶So I am glad, and I rejoice.

Even my body has hope,

²⁷because you will not leave me in the grave.

You will not let your Holy One rot.

²⁸You will teach me how to live a holy life.

Being with you will fill me with joy.’

²⁹“Brothers and sisters, I can tell you truly that David, our ancestor, died and was buried. His grave is still here with us today. ³⁰He was a prophet and knew God had promised him that he would make a person from David’s family a king just as he was. ^{n 31}Knowing this before it happened, David talked about the Christ rising from the dead. He said:

‘He was not left in the grave.

His body did not rot.’

³²So Jesus is the One whom God raised from the dead. And we are all witnesses to this. ³³Jesus was lifted up to heaven and is now at God’s right side. The Father has given the Holy Spirit to Jesus as he promised. So Jesus has poured out that Spirit, and this is what you now see and hear. ³⁴David was not the one who was lifted up to heaven, but he said:

‘The Lord said to my Lord,

“Sit by me at my right side,

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

³⁶“So, all the people of Israel should know this truly: God has made Jesus—the man you nailed to the cross—both Lord and Christ.”

³⁷When the people heard this, they felt guilty and asked Peter and the other apostles, “What shall we do?”

³⁸Peter said to them, “Change your hearts and lives and be baptized, each one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. ³⁹This promise is for you, for your children, and for all who are far away. It is for everyone the Lord our God calls to himself.”

⁴⁰Peter warned them with many other words. He begged them, “Save yourselves from the evil of today’s people!” ⁴¹Then those people who accepted what Peter said were baptized. About three thousand people were added to the number of believers that day. ⁴²They spent their time learning the apostles’ teaching, sharing, breaking bread, ⁿ and praying together.

The Believers Share

⁴³The apostles were doing many miracles and signs, and everyone felt great respect for God. ⁴⁴All the believers were together and shared everything. ⁴⁵They would sell their land and the things they owned and then divide the money and give it to anyone who needed it. ⁴⁶The believers met together in the Temple every day. They ate together in their homes, happy to share their food with joyful hearts. ⁴⁷They praised God and were liked by all the people. Every day the Lord added those who were being saved to the group of believers.

Peter Heals a Crippled Man

3One day Peter and John went to the Temple at three o’clock, the time set each day for the afternoon prayer service. ²There, at the Temple gate called Beautiful Gate, was a man who had been crippled all his life. Every day he was carried to this gate to beg for money from the people going into the Temple. ³The man saw Peter and John going into the Temple and asked them for money. ⁴Peter and John looked straight at him and said, “Look at us!” ⁵The man looked at them, thinking they were going to give him some money. ⁶But Peter said, “I don’t have any silver or gold, but I do have something else I can give you. By the power of Jesus Christ from Nazareth, stand up and walk!” ⁷Then Peter took the man’s right hand and lifted him up. Immediately the man’s feet and ankles became strong. ⁸He jumped up, stood on his feet, and began to walk. He went into the Temple with them, walking and jumping and praising God. ^9–10All the people recognized him as the crippled man who always sat by the Beautiful Gate begging for money. Now they saw this same man walking and praising God, and they were amazed. They wondered how this could happen.

Peter Speaks to the People

¹¹While the man was holding on to Peter and John, all the people were amazed and ran to them at Solomon’s Porch. ¹²When Peter saw this, he said to them, “People of Israel, why are you surprised? You are looking at us as if it were our own power or goodness that made this man walk. ¹³The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God of our ancestors, gave glory to Jesus, his servant. But you handed him over to be killed. Pilate decided to let him go free, but you told Pilate you did not want Jesus. ¹⁴You did not want the One who is holy and good but asked Pilate to give you a murderer ⁿ instead. ¹⁵And so you killed the One who gives life, but God raised him from the dead. We are witnesses to this. ¹⁶It was faith in Jesus that made this crippled man well. You can see this man, and you know him. He was made completely well because of trust in Jesus, and you all saw it happen!

¹⁷“Brothers and sisters, I know you did those things to Jesus because neither you nor your leaders understood what you were doing. ¹⁸God said through the prophets that his Christ would suffer and die. And now God has made these things come true in this way. ¹⁹So you must change your hearts and lives! Come back to God, and he will forgive your sins. Then the Lord will send the time of rest. ²⁰And he will send Jesus, the One he chose to be the Christ. ²¹But Jesus must stay in heaven until the time comes when all things will be made right again. God told about this time long ago when he spoke through his holy prophets. ²²Moses said, ‘The Lord your God will give you a prophet like me, who is one of your own people. You must listen to everything he tells you. ²³Anyone who does not listen to that prophet will die, cut off from God’s people.’ ^{n 24}Samuel, and all the other prophets who spoke for God after Samuel, told about this time now. ²⁵You are descendants of the prophets. You have received the agreement God made with your ancestors. He said to your father Abraham, ‘Through your descendants all the nations on the earth will be blessed.’ ^{n 26}God has raised up his servant Jesus and sent him to you first to bless you by turning each of you away from doing evil.”

Peter and John at the Council

4While Peter and John were speaking to the people, priests, the captain of the soldiers that guarded the Temple, and Sadducees came up to them. ²They were upset because the two apostles were teaching the people and were preaching that people will rise from the dead through the power of Jesus. ³The older leaders grabbed Peter and John and put them in jail. Since it was already night, they kept them in jail until the next day. ⁴But many of those who had heard Peter and John preach believed the things they said. There were now about five thousand in the group of believers.

⁵The next day the rulers, the elders, and the teachers of the law met in Jerusalem. ⁶Annas the high priest, Caiaphas, John, and Alexander were there, as well as everyone from the high priest’s family. ⁷They made Peter and John stand before them and then asked them, “By what power or authority did you do this?”

⁸Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, “Rulers of the people and you elders, ⁹are you questioning us about a good thing that was done to a crippled man? Are you asking…