ActsChapter 5

Tap any verse to comment or suggest a better wording.

¹Now a man named Ananias and his wife Sapphira also sold a piece of land. ²His wife knew all about it. He kept some of the money for himself. He brought the rest and laid it at the apostles' feet. ³Then Peter said, "Ananias, how did you let Satan fill your heart? You lied to the Holy Spirit. You kept back some of the money from the land. ⁴Didn't the land belong to you before it was sold? And after it was sold, wasn't the money yours to use? How could you think of doing such a thing? You haven't lied to people. You have lied to God!" ⁵When Ananias heard this, he fell down and died. Great fear came over all who heard what had happened. ⁶Then the young men came forward and wrapped up his body. They carried him out and buried him. ⁷About three hours later his wife came in too. She didn't know what had happened. ⁸"Tell me," Peter said, "is this the price you and your husband got for the land?" "Yes," she answered. "That's the price." ⁹Peter said to her, "How could you agree to test the Spirit of the Lord? Listen! The men who buried your husband are at the door. They will carry you out too." ¹⁰Right then she fell down at his feet and died. The young men came in and found her dead. So they carried her out and buried her beside her husband. ¹¹Great fear came over the whole church. It also came over all who heard about these things. ¹²The apostles did many signs and wonders among the people. All the believers met together as one at Solomon's Colonnade. ¹³The people thought very highly of them. But no one else dared to join them. ¹⁴Still, more and more people believed and were brought to the Lord. Large numbers of men and women came. ¹⁵So people carried the sick out into the streets. They laid them on cots and mats. They hoped that at least Peter's shadow might fall on some of them as he went by. ¹⁶Crowds also came from the towns around Jerusalem. They brought the sick and those troubled by evil spirits. And all of them were healed. ¹⁷Then the high priest and all his friends became very jealous. They belonged to the group called the Sadducees. They went out ¹⁸and arrested the apostles. They put them in the public jail. ¹⁹But during the night an angel of the Lord opened the doors of the jail. He brought them out and said, ²⁰"Go and stand in the temple courts. Tell the people the whole message about this new life." ²¹At sunrise the apostles went into the temple courts, as they had been told. They began to teach the people. Then the high priest and his friends arrived. They called the Sanhedrin together. That was the full council of the elders of Israel. Then they sent to the jail to have the apostles brought in. ²²But when the officers got to the jail, the apostles weren't there. So the officers went back and reported, ²³"We found the jail locked up tight. The guards were standing at the doors. But when we opened them, no one was inside." ²⁴The captain of the temple guard and the chief priests heard this report. They were puzzled. They wondered what was going on. ²⁵Then someone came in and said, "Listen! The men you put in jail are standing in the temple courts. They're teaching the people!" ²⁶So the captain went with his officers and brought the apostles in. But they didn't use force. They were afraid the people would stone them. ²⁷They brought the apostles in and made them stand in front of the Sanhedrin. There the high priest questioned them. ²⁸"We gave you strict orders not to teach in this name," he said. "But you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching. And you are set on blaming us for this man's death." ²⁹But Peter and the other apostles answered, "We must obey God, not people. ³⁰You killed Jesus by hanging him on a tree. But the God of our fathers raised him from the dead. ³¹God lifted him up to his right hand as Prince and Savior. He did this to give Israel the gift of turning back to God and having their sins forgiven. ³²We are witnesses of these things. So is the Holy Spirit. God has given the Spirit to those who obey him." ³³When the members of the Council heard this, they were furious. They decided to kill the apostles. ³⁴But a Pharisee named Gamaliel stood up in the Sanhedrin. He was a teacher of the law, and all the people respected him. He ordered that the apostles be taken outside for a little while. ³⁵Then he said, "Men of Israel, think carefully about what you plan to do to these men. ³⁶Some time ago a man named Theudas showed up. He said he was someone important. About 400 men joined him. But he was killed. All his followers were scattered, and it all came to nothing. ³⁷After him, Judas from Galilee showed up. It was in the days when the people were counted. He led people to follow him. He also died, and all his followers were scattered. ³⁸So in this case, here's my advice. Leave these men alone. Let them go! If their plan or work comes from people, it will fail. ³⁹But if it comes from God, you won't be able to stop them. You might even find yourselves fighting against God." ⁴⁰So they agreed with Gamaliel. They called the apostles in and had them whipped. They ordered them not to speak in the name of Jesus. Then they let them go. ⁴¹The apostles left the Sanhedrin full of joy. They had been counted worthy to suffer shame for the Name. ⁴²Every day they kept on teaching in the temple courts and from house to house. They never stopped telling the good news that Jesus is the Messiah.