5A man named Ananias and his wife, Sapphira, also sold some land. ²He kept part of the money for himself. Sapphira knew he had kept it. He brought the rest of it and put it down at the apostles’ feet.

³Then Peter said, “Ananias, why did you let Satan fill your heart? He made you lie to the Holy Spirit. You have kept some of the money you received for the land. ⁴Didn’t the land belong to you before it was sold? After it was sold, you could have used the money as you wished. What made you think of doing such a thing? You haven’t lied to just anyone. You’ve lied to God.”

⁵When Ananias heard this, he fell down and died. All who heard what had happened were filled with fear. ⁶Some young men came and wrapped up his body. They carried him out and buried him.

⁷About three hours later, the wife of Ananias came in. She didn’t know what had happened. ⁸Peter asked her, “Tell me. Is this the price you and Ananias sold the land for?”

“Yes,” she said. “That’s the price.”

⁹Peter asked her, “How could you agree to test the Spirit of the Lord? Listen! You can hear the steps of the men who buried your husband. They are at the door. They will carry you out also.”

¹⁰At that very moment she fell down at his feet and died. Then the young men came in. They saw that Sapphira was dead. So they carried her out and buried her beside her husband. ¹¹The whole church and all who heard about these things were filled with fear.

The Apostles Heal Many People

¹²The apostles did many miraculous signs and wonders among the people. All the believers used to meet together at Solomon’s Porch. ¹³No outsider dared to join them. But the people thought highly of them. ¹⁴More and more men and women believed in the Lord. They joined the other believers. ¹⁵So people brought those who were sick into the streets. They placed them on beds and mats. They hoped that at least Peter’s shadow might fall on some of them as he walked by. ¹⁶Crowds even gathered from the towns around Jerusalem. They brought their sick. They also brought those who were suffering because of evil spirits. All of them were healed.

An Angel Opens the Prison Doors

¹⁷The high priest and all his companions were Sadducees. They were very jealous of the apostles. ¹⁸So they arrested them and put them in the public prison. ¹⁹But during the night an angel of the Lord came. He opened the prison doors and brought the apostles out. ²⁰“Go! Stand in the temple courtyard,” the angel said. “Tell the people all about this new life.”

²¹Early the next day they did as they had been told. They entered the temple courtyard. There they began to teach the people.

The high priest and his companions arrived. They called the Sanhedrin together. The Sanhedrin was a gathering of all the elders of Israel. They sent for the apostles who were in prison. ²²The officers arrived at the prison. But they didn’t find the apostles there. So they went back and reported it. ²³“We found the prison locked up tight,” they said. “The guards were standing at the doors. But when we opened the doors, we didn’t find anyone inside.” ²⁴When the captain of the temple guard and the chief priests heard this report, they were bewildered. They wondered what would happen next.

²⁵Then someone came and said, “Look! The men you put in prison are standing in the temple courtyard. They are teaching the people.” ²⁶So the captain went with his officers and brought the apostles back. But they didn’t use force. They were afraid the people would kill them by throwing stones at them.

²⁷They brought the apostles to be judged by the Sanhedrin. The high priest questioned them. ²⁸“We gave you clear orders not to teach in Jesus’ name,” he said. “But you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching. You want to make us guilty of this man’s death.”

²⁹Peter and the other apostles replied, “We must obey God instead of people! ³⁰You had Jesus killed by nailing him to a cross. But the God of our people raised Jesus from the dead. ³¹Now Jesus is Prince and Savior. God has proved this by giving him a place of honor at his own right hand. He did it so that he could turn Israel away from their sins and forgive them. ³²We are witnesses of these things. And so is the Holy Spirit. God has given the Spirit to those who obey him.”

³³When the leaders heard this, they became very angry. They wanted to put the apostles to death. ³⁴But a Pharisee named Gamaliel stood up in the Sanhedrin. He was a teacher of the law. He was honored by all the people. He ordered the men to be taken outside for a little while. ³⁵Then he spoke to the Sanhedrin. “Men of Israel,” he said, “think carefully about what you plan to do to these men. ³⁶Some time ago Theudas appeared. He claimed he was really somebody. About 400 people followed him. But he was killed. All his followers were scattered. So they accomplished nothing. ³⁷After this, Judas from Galilee came along. This was in the days when the Romans made a list of all the people. Judas led a gang of men against the Romans. He too was killed. All his followers were scattered. ³⁸So let me give you some advice. Leave these men alone! Let them go! If their plans and actions are only human, they will fail. ³⁹But if their plans come from God, you won’t be able to stop these men. You will only find yourselves fighting against God.”

⁴⁰His speech won the leaders over. They called the apostles in and had them whipped. The leaders ordered them not to speak in Jesus’ name. Then they let the apostles go.

⁴¹The apostles were full of joy as they left the Sanhedrin. They considered it an honor to suffer shame for the name of Jesus. ⁴²Day after day, they kept teaching in the temple courtyards and from house to house. They never stopped telling the good news that Jesus is the Christ.

Seven Leaders Are Chosen

6In those days the number of believers was growing. The Jews who followed Greek practices complained against the Jews who followed only Jewish practices. They said that the widows of men who followed Greek practices were not being taken care of. They weren’t getting their fair share of food each day. ²So the Twelve gathered all the believers together. They said, “It wouldn’t be right for us to give up teaching God’s word in order to wait on tables. ³Brothers, choose seven of your men. They must be known as men who are wise and full of the Holy Spirit. We will turn this important work over to them. ⁴Then we can give our attention to prayer and to teaching the word.”

⁵This plan pleased the whole group. They chose Stephen. He was full of faith and of the Holy Spirit. Philip, Procorus, Nicanor, Timon and Parmenas were chosen too. The group also chose Nicolas from Antioch. He had accepted the Jewish faith. ⁶The group brought them to the apostles. Then the apostles prayed and placed their hands on them.

⁷So God’s word spread. The number of believers in Jerusalem grew quickly. Also, a large number of priests began to obey Jesus’ teachings.

Stephen Is Arrested

⁸Stephen was full of God’s grace and power. He did great wonders and miraculous signs among the people. ⁹But members of the group called the Synagogue of the Freedmen began to oppose him. Some of them were Jews from Cyrene and Alexandria. Others were Jews from Cilicia and Asia Minor. They all began to argue with Stephen. ¹⁰But he was too wise for them. They couldn’t stand up against the Holy Spirit who spoke through him.

¹¹Then in secret they talked some men into lying about Stephen. They said, “We heard Stephen speak evil things against Moses. He also spoke evil things against God.”

¹²So the people were stirred up. The elders and the teachers of the law were stirred up too. They arrested Stephen and brought him to the Sanhedrin. ¹³They found people who were willing to tell lies. The false witnesses said, “This fellow never stops speaking against this holy place. He also speaks against the law. ¹⁴We have heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place. He says Jesus will change the practices that Moses handed down to us.”

¹⁵All who were sitting in the Sanhedrin looked right at Stephen. They saw that his face was like the face of an angel.

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