Acts 3–6

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 us who made him well? ¹⁰We want all of you and all the people to know that this man was made well by the power of Jesus Christ from Nazareth. You crucified him, but God raised him from the dead. This man was crippled, but he is now well and able to stand here before you because of the power of Jesus. ¹¹Jesus is

‘the stone ⁿ that you builders rejected,

which has become the cornerstone.’

¹²Jesus is the only One who can save people. No one else in the world is able to save us.”

¹³The leaders saw that Peter and John were not afraid to speak, and they understood that these men had no special training or education. So they were amazed. Then they realized that Peter and John had been with Jesus. ¹⁴Because they saw the healed man standing there beside the two apostles, they could say nothing against them. ¹⁵After the leaders ordered them to leave the meeting, they began to talk to each other. ¹⁶They said, “What shall we do with these men? Everyone in Jerusalem knows they have done a great miracle, and we cannot say it is not true. ¹⁷But to keep it from spreading among the people, we must warn them not to talk to people anymore using that name.”

¹⁸So they called Peter and John in again and told them not to speak or to teach at all in the name of Jesus. ¹⁹But Peter and John answered them, “You decide what God would want. Should we obey you or God? ²⁰We cannot keep quiet. We must speak about what we have seen and heard.” ²¹The leaders warned the apostles again and let them go free. They could not find a way to punish them, because all the people were praising God for what had been done. ²²The man who received the miracle of healing was more than forty years old.

The Believers Pray

²³After Peter and John left the meeting of leaders, they went to their own group and told them everything the leading priests and the elders had said to them. ²⁴When the believers heard this, they prayed to God together, “Lord, you are the One who made the sky, the earth, the sea, and everything in them. ²⁵By the Holy Spirit, through our father David your servant, you said:

‘Why are the nations so angry?

Why are the people making useless plans?

²⁶The kings of the earth prepare to fight,

and their leaders make plans together

against the Lord

and his Christ.’

²⁷These things really happened when Herod, Pontius Pilate, and some Jews and non-Jews all came together against Jesus here in Jerusalem. Jesus is your holy servant, the One you made to be the Christ. ²⁸These people made your plan happen because of your power and your will. ²⁹And now, Lord, listen to their threats. Lord, help us, your servants, to speak your word without fear. ³⁰Show us your power to heal. Give proofs and make miracles happen by the power of Jesus, your holy servant.”

³¹After they had prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. They were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and they spoke God’s word without fear.

The Believers Share

³²The group of believers were united in their hearts and spirit. All those in the group acted as though their private property belonged to everyone in the group. In fact, they shared everything. ³³With great power the apostles were telling people that the Lord Jesus was truly raised from the dead. And God blessed all the believers very much. ³⁴There were no needy people among them. From time to time those who owned fields or houses sold them, brought the money, ³⁵and gave it to the apostles. Then the money was given to anyone who needed it.

³⁶One of the believers was named Joseph, a Levite born in Cyprus. The apostles called him Barnabas (which means “one who encourages”). ³⁷Joseph owned a field, sold it, brought the money, and gave it to the apostles.

Ananias and Sapphira Die

5But a man named Ananias and his wife Sapphira sold some land. ²He kept back part of the money for himself; his wife knew about this and agreed to it. But he brought the rest of the money and gave it to the apostles. ³Peter said, “Ananias, why did you let Satan rule your thoughts to lie to the Holy Spirit and to keep for yourself part of the money you received for the land? ⁴Before you sold the land, it belonged to you. And even after you sold it, you could have used the money any way you wanted. Why did you think of doing this? You lied to God, not to us!” ^5–6When Ananias heard this, he fell down and died. Some young men came in, wrapped up his body, carried it out, and buried it. And everyone who heard about this was filled with fear.

⁷About three hours later his wife came in, but she did not know what had happened. ⁸Peter said to her, “Tell me, was the money you got for your field this much?”

Sapphira answered, “Yes, that was the price.”

⁹Peter said to her, “Why did you and your husband agree to test the Spirit of the Lord? Look! The men who buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out.” ¹⁰At that moment Sapphira fell down by his feet and died. When the young men came in and saw that she was dead, they carried her out and buried her beside her husband. ¹¹The whole church and all the others who heard about these things were filled with fear.

The Apostles Heal Many

¹²The apostles did many signs and miracles among the people. And they would all meet together on Solomon’s Porch. ¹³None of the others dared to join them, but all the people respected them. ¹⁴More and more men and women believed in the Lord and were added to the group of believers. ¹⁵The people placed their sick on beds and mats in the streets, hoping…