ActsChapter 4

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¹Peter and John were still speaking to the people. Then the priests came up to them. The captain of the temple guard and the Sadducees came too. ²They were very upset because Peter and John were teaching the people. They were saying that in Jesus the dead will rise. ³They grabbed Peter and John. It was already evening, so they put them in jail until the next day. ⁴But many who heard the message believed. The number of men who believed grew to about 5,000. ⁵The next day the rulers, the elders, and the teachers of the law met in Jerusalem. ⁶Annas the high priest was there. So were Caiaphas, John, Alexander, and many others from the high priest's family. ⁷They had Peter and John brought in. Then they began to question them. "By what power did you do this?" they asked. "In whose name did you do it?" ⁸Then Peter was filled with the Holy Spirit. He said to them, "Rulers and elders of the people! ⁹If we are being questioned today about a kind act we did for a man who was lame, and how he was healed, ¹⁰then all of you should know this, and all the people of Israel too. This man stands in front of you healed by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth. You crucified Jesus, but God raised him from the dead. ¹¹This Jesus is 'the stone you builders rejected. It has become the cornerstone.' ¹²Salvation is found in no one else. For there is no other name under heaven given to people by which we must be saved." ¹³The leaders saw how bold Peter and John were. They knew these were plain, ordinary men who had not gone to school. So they were amazed. They saw that these men had been with Jesus. ¹⁴They also saw the man who had been healed standing there with them. So there was nothing they could say. ¹⁵So they ordered them to leave the Sanhedrin. Then they talked it over among themselves. ¹⁶"What should we do with these men?" they asked. "Everyone living in Jerusalem knows they've done an amazing miracle. We can't say it didn't happen. ¹⁷But we must stop this message from spreading any more among the people. So we must warn them not to speak to anyone in this name again." ¹⁸Then they called them back in. They ordered them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. ¹⁹But Peter and John answered, "You decide what is right in God's eyes. Should we listen to you or to God? ²⁰For we can't stop telling about what we have seen and heard." ²¹The leaders threatened them some more. Then they let them go. They couldn't find a way to punish them, because all the people were praising God for what had happened. ²²For the man who was healed by this miracle was more than forty years old. ²³After they were let go, Peter and John went back to their own people. They told them everything the chief priests and elders had said to them. ²⁴When the believers heard this, they all prayed to God together as one. "Lord who rules over all," they said, "you made the heavens and the earth and the sea. You made everything in them. ²⁵You spoke by the Holy Spirit through your servant, our father David. He said, 'Why are the nations so angry? Why do the peoples make useless plans? ²⁶The kings of the earth get ready to fight. The rulers join together against the Lord and against his Anointed One.' ²⁷And it really happened, right here in this city. Herod and Pontius Pilate made plans against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed. They joined with the Gentiles and the people of Israel. ²⁸They did what your power and your will had already decided would happen. ²⁹Now, Lord, look at how they threaten us. Help your servants to speak your word very boldly, ³⁰as you reach out your hand to heal and to do signs and wonders through the name of your holy servant Jesus." ³¹After they prayed, the place where they were meeting shook. They were all filled with the Holy Spirit. And they spoke the word of God boldly. ³²All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one said that anything he owned was his own. Instead, they shared everything they had. ³³The apostles kept telling with great power that the Lord Jesus had risen from the dead. And God's grace was richly on them all. ³⁴No one among them was in need, because those who owned land or houses sold them. They brought the money from the sales ³⁵and laid it at the apostles' feet. Then it was given out to anyone who needed it. ³⁶Joseph was a Levite from Cyprus. The apostles called him Barnabas, which means "Son of Encouragement." ³⁷He sold a field he owned. He brought the money and laid it at the apostles' feet.