1Theophilus, I wrote about Jesus in my earlier book. I wrote about all he did and taught ²until the day he was taken up to heaven. Before Jesus left, he gave orders to the apostles he had chosen. He did this through the Holy Spirit. ³After his suffering and death, he appeared to them. In many ways he proved that he was alive. He appeared to them over a period of 40 days. During that time he spoke about God’s kingdom.

⁴One day Jesus was eating with them. He gave them a command. “Do not leave Jerusalem,” he said. “Wait for the gift my Father promised. You have heard me talk about it. ⁵John baptized with water. But in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.”

⁶When the apostles met together, they asked Jesus a question. “Lord,” they said, “are you going to give the kingdom back to Israel now?”

⁷He said to them, “You should not be concerned about times or dates. The Father has set them by his own authority. ⁸But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you. Then you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem. You will be my witnesses in all Judea and Samaria. And you will be my witnesses from one end of the earth to the other.”

⁹After Jesus said this, he was taken up to heaven. They watched until a cloud hid him from their sight.

¹⁰While he was going up, they kept on looking at the sky. Suddenly two men dressed in white clothing stood beside them. ¹¹“Men of Galilee,” they said, “why do you stand here looking at the sky? Jesus has been taken away from you into heaven. But he will come back in the same way you saw him go.”

Matthias Is Chosen to Take the Place of Judas

¹²The apostles returned to Jerusalem from the Mount of Olives. It is almost a mile from the city. ¹³When they arrived, they went upstairs to the room where they were staying. Peter, John, James and Andrew were there. Philip, Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew were there too. So were James, son of Alphaeus, Simon the Zealot, and Judas, son of James. ¹⁴They all came together regularly to pray. The women joined them too. So did Jesus’ mother Mary and his brothers.

¹⁵In those days Peter stood up among the believers. About 120 of them were there. ¹⁶Peter said, “Brothers, a long time ago the Holy Spirit spoke through David’s mouth about Judas. What he said in Scripture had to come true. Judas was the guide for the men who arrested Jesus. ¹⁷But Judas was one of us. He shared with us in our work for God.”

¹⁸Judas bought a field with the reward he got for the evil thing he had done. He fell down headfirst in the field. His body burst open. All his insides spilled out. ¹⁹Everyone in Jerusalem heard about this. So they called that field Akeldama. In their language, Akeldama means The Field of Blood.

²⁰Peter said, “Here is what is written in the book of Psalms. It says,

“ ‘May his home be deserted.

May no one live in it.’

The Psalms also say,

“ ‘Let someone else take his place as leader.’

²¹So we need to choose someone to take his place. It will have to be a man who was with us the whole time the Lord Jesus lived among us. ²²That time began when John was baptizing. It ended when Jesus was taken up from us. The one we choose must join us in giving witness that Jesus rose from the dead.”

²³So they suggested two men. One was Joseph, who was called Barsabbas. He was also called Justus. The other man was Matthias. ²⁴Then they prayed. “Lord,” they said, “you know everyone’s heart. Show us which of these two you have chosen. ²⁵Show us who should take the place of Judas as an apostle. He gave up being an apostle to go where he belongs.” ²⁶Then they cast lots. Matthias was chosen. So he was added to the 11 apostles.

The Holy Spirit Comes at Pentecost

2The day of Pentecost came. The believers all gathered in one place. ²Suddenly a sound came from heaven. It was like a strong wind blowing. It filled the whole house where they were sitting. ³They saw something that looked like tongues of fire. The flames separated and settled on each of them. ⁴All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit. They began to speak in languages they had not known before. The Spirit gave them the ability to do this.

⁵Godly Jews from every country in the world were staying in Jerusalem. ⁶A crowd came together when they heard the sound. They were bewildered because they each heard the believers speaking in their own language. ⁷The crowd was really amazed. They asked, “Aren’t all these people from Galilee? ⁸Why, then, do we each hear them speaking in our own native language? ⁹We are Parthians, Medes and Elamites. We live in Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia. We are from Pontus, Asia, ¹⁰Phrygia and Pamphylia. Others of us are from Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene. Still others are visitors from Rome. ¹¹Some of the visitors are Jews. Others have accepted the Jewish faith. Also, Cretans and Arabs are here. We hear all these people speaking about God’s wonders in our own languages!” ¹²They were amazed and bewildered. They asked one another, “What does this mean?”

¹³But some people in the crowd made fun of the believers. “They’ve had too much wine!” they said.

Peter Speaks to the Crowd

¹⁴Then Peter stood up with the Eleven. In a loud voice he spoke to the crowd. “My Jewish friends,” he said, “let me explain this to you. All of you who live in Jerusalem, listen carefully to what I say. ¹⁵You think these people are drunk. But they aren’t. It’s only nine o’clock in the morning! ¹⁶No, here is what the prophet Joel meant. ¹⁷He said,

“ ‘In the last days, God says,

I will pour out my Holy Spirit on all people.

Your sons and daughters will prophesy.

Your young men will see visions.

Your old men will have dreams.

¹⁸In those days I will pour out my Spirit

even on those who serve me, both men and women.

When I do, they will prophesy.

¹⁹I will show wonders in the heavens above.

I will show miraculous signs on the earth below.

There will be blood and fire and clouds of smoke.

²⁰The sun will become dark.

The moon will turn red like blood.

This will happen before the coming of the great and glorious day of the Lord.

²¹Everyone who calls

on the name of the Lord will be saved.’

²²“Men of Israel, listen to this! Jesus of Nazareth was a man who had God’s approval. God did miracles, wonders and signs among you through Jesus. You yourselves know this. ²³Long ago God planned that Jesus would be handed over to you. With the help of evil people, you put Jesus to death. You nailed him to the cross. ²⁴But God raised him from the dead. He set him free from the suffering of death. It wasn’t possible for death to keep its hold on Jesus. ²⁵David spoke about him. He said,

“ ‘I know that the Lord is always with me.

He is at my right hand.

I will always be secure.

²⁶So my heart is glad. Joy is on my tongue.

My body also will be full of hope.

²⁷You will not leave me in the grave.

You will not let your Holy One rot away.

²⁸You always show me the path that leads to life.

You will fill me with joy when I am with you.’

²⁹“Brothers, you can be sure that King David died. He was buried. His tomb is still here today. ³⁰But David was a prophet. He knew that God had made a promise to him. He had taken an oath that someone in David’s family line would be king after him. ³¹David saw what was ahead. So he spoke about the Christ rising from the dead. He said that the Christ would not be left in the grave. His body wouldn’t rot in the ground. ³²God has raised this same Jesus back to life. We are all witnesses of this. ³³Jesus has been given a place of honor at the right hand of God. He has received the Holy Spirit from the Father. This is what God had promised. It is Jesus who has poured out what you now see and hear. ³⁴David did not go up to heaven. But he said,

“ ‘The Lord said to my Lord,

“Sit at my right hand.

³⁵I will put your enemies

under your control.” ’

³⁶“So be sure of this, all you people of Israel. You nailed Jesus to the cross. But God has made him both Lord and Christ.”

³⁷When the people heard this, their hearts were filled with shame. They said to Peter and the other apostles, “Brothers, what should we do?”

³⁸Peter replied, “All of you must turn away from your sins and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Then your sins will be forgiven. You will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. ³⁹The promise is for you and your children. It is also for all who are far away. It is for all whom the Lord our God will choose.”

⁴⁰Peter said many other things to warn them. He begged them, “Save yourselves from these evil people.” ⁴¹Those who accepted his message were baptized. About 3,000 people joined the believers that day.

The Believers Share Life Together

⁴²The believers studied what the apostles taught. They shared life together. They broke bread and ate together. And they prayed. ⁴³Everyone felt that God was near. The apostles did many wonders and miraculous signs. ⁴⁴All the believers were together. They shared everything they had. ⁴⁵They sold what they owned. They gave each other everything they needed. ⁴⁶Every day they met together in the temple courtyard. In their homes they broke bread and ate together. Their hearts were glad and honest and true. ⁴⁷They praised God. They were respected by all the people. Every day the Lord added to their group those who were being saved.

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