THE BOOK OF ACTS - 1
The churches of Christ
Greet You
(Romans
ACTS
1 Dear Theophilus,
The first book which I wrote (* Luke) was about everything that Jesus
did and
taught, 2 from the
beginning until the day when he was carried up into heaven. He talked
to the
apostles whom he
had chosen. Through the Holy Spirit, Jesus told them what they must do.
3 After
his death, he
showed that he was alive. Jesus proved this by doing many convincing
things.
The apostles saw
him several times during 40 days. Jesus was talking about the
was together with them, he ordered them not to leave
Father's promise that you heard me talk about (* the Holy Spirit - see
John
immersed people in water, but in a few days you will be immersed in the
Holy
Spirit."
The Holy Spirit will Come
6 The apostles were all together. They
asked Jesus,
"Lord, is this the time for you to rebuild
the kingdom for
7 Jesus said to them, "The Father is the
only
One who has the authority to decide such dates
and times. It is not for you to know these things. 8 However,
when the
Holy Spirit comes upon
you, you will receive power. You will be my witnesses in
and to the farthest parts of the world."
Jesus Goes Back to Heaven
9 After Jesus said these things, he was
lifted up
into the sky. While the apostles were watching,
Jesus went into a cloud; they couldn't see him anymore. 10 As Jesus was
going
away, the apostles
were staring into the sky. Suddenly, two angels (* literally, men)
stood beside
them. They were
dressed in white clothes. 11 The two angels said, "Men from
looking into the sky? This Jesus who was carried away from you into
heaven will
return in the
same way that you saw him go."
They Were All Together
12 Then the apostles went back to
three-quarters of a mile [* literally, a Sabbath day's journey - see
Exodus
Joshua 3:4] from
were staying; this was in an upstairs room. The apostles were:
Peter
John
James
Andrew
Philip
Thomas
Bartholomew
Matthew
James (the son of Alphaeus)
Simon (known as the Revolutionary) [* literally, Zealot. The Zealots
were a
group
of Jewish men--political fanatics--who claimed to uphold the law of
Moses, even if it meant violence. They favored revolt against
Judas (the son of James).
14 They were all constantly praying with
the same
purpose. Jesus' brothers, some women, and
Mary (the mother of Jesus) were also there.
Someone Needed to Replace Judas Iscariot
15 During those days there was a meeting.
(There
were about 120 people present). Peter
stood up among them and said, 16-17 "Brothers and sisters, the
Scriptures
must come true which
the Holy Spirit spoke ahead of time through David's lips. He was
talking about
Judas Iscariot who
was one of our group; he had a part in this work. The Spirit said that
Judas
would guide men to
arrest Jesus. 18 Judas was paid money for doing this. (However, Judas
fell on
his head, and his
body broke open in the middle. All of his intestines poured out). His
dishonest
money was used to
buy a field for his body. 19 All of the people who lived in
why they named that field Akeldama. (In their language Akeldama means '
book of Psalms, this is written about Judas:
'People should not go near his property; No one should live
there!'
Psalm 69:25
and,
'Let another man take his work of overseeing.' Psalm 109:8
21-22 "So now another man must join us and
be
a witness that Jesus arose from death. This
man must be one of those men who was part of our group during the whole
time
that the Lord
Jesus was among us. It is necessary that this man has been with us from
the
time when John
started to immerse people, until the day when Jesus was carried away
from us to
heaven."
23 They found two men. One was Joseph
Barsabbas.
(He was also called Justus). The other
man was Matthias.
24-25 The apostles prayed, "Lord, You know
the
hearts of all men. Show us which one of
these two men You choose to be an apostle and to do this work. Judas
turned
away from it and
went where he belongs." 26 Then the apostles gave the two men lots (* a
reverent way of seeking
God's help in this decision - see Proverbs
he became an apostle like the other eleven.
The Apostles Speak Many Languages
2 When the day of Pentecost (*
Pentecost [a Sunday], a yearly Jewish feast of the wheat harvest,
held 50 days after Passover) came, they were all with the same purpose
in one
place. 2 Suddenly,
a noise came from the sky. It sounded like a strong wind blowing. This
noise
filled the whole
house where they were sitting. 3 They saw something which looked like
flames of
fire separating
and staying over each one of them. 4 They were all filled with the Holy
Spirit
and they began to
speak different languages; the Spirit was giving them the power to do
this.
5 There were some devout Jewish men staying
in
every country in the world. 6 A large group of them came together
because they
heard the noise.
They were confused. The apostles were speaking, and every man heard in
his own
language. 7
The Jewish people were all amazed at this. They didn't understand how
the
apostles could do this.
They said, "Look! These men whom we hear speaking are all from
of
them in our own native language. We are:
9 Parthians
Medes
Elamites
those living in
from
from
from
from
l0 from
from Pamphylia
from
from parts of
visitors from Rome
11
Cretans
Arabians.
Some of us were born Jews. Others are converts to Judaism. We can
hear these
men in our own
languages! We can all understand the wonderful things they are saying
about
God." 12 The people
were all amazed but confused. They asked each other, "What does this
mean?" 13 Other people
were laughing at the apostles. They were claiming that the apostles
were drunk.
Peter Preaches
14 Then Peter stood up with the other
eleven
apostles. He spoke loudly (* literally, raised his
voice): "My Jewish brothers and all of you who are staying in
you something you need to know. Listen carefully. 15 These men are not
drunk,
as you think; it is
only
Joel:
17 "God says: In the last days,
I will pour out of My Spirit upon all people.
Your sons and your daughters will prophesy.
Your young men will see visions.
Your old men will have special dreams.
18 At that time, I will pour out of My Spirit
upon My
servants,
both
men and women, and they will prophesy.
19 I will show amazing things in the sky
above.
I will
do miracles on the earth below.
There
will be blood, fire, and thick smoke.
20 The sun will be changed into darkness
and the moon will become red like blood.
Then the great
and
glorious day of the Lord will come.
21 And every person who trusts in the name of
the Lord
will be saved." Joel 2:28-32
22 "Men of Israel, listen to these words:
Jesus from
clearly showed this to you. God proved this by the powerful and amazing
things
which He did
through Jesus among you. You know this is true. 23 You killed this man
Jesus by
handing him
over to lawless men. They nailed him to a cross. But God knew ahead of
time
that all this would
occur; it was part of His plan which He made long ago. 24 Jesus
suffered the
pains of death, but
God set him free. God raised Jesus up from death. It was impossible for
death
to hold him. 25
This is what David said about Jesus:
'I always saw the Lord before me,
because He is at my right side to keep me secure.
26 So, my heart
was glad
and my mouth spoke with joy.
Yes, even my body will live with hope,
27 because You
won't
abandon my soul in death (* literally, Hades,
the Greek word for the unseen world of the dead).
You will not allow the body of Your holy one to decay in the grave.
28 You taught me
how to
live.
You came near me, and I felt great joy.' Psalm
16:8-11
29 "My Jewish brothers, I can tell you
plainly
about David, our ancestor. He died and was
buried. His grave is still here with us today. 30 David was a prophet.
God
vowed to David that
one of his descendants (Christ) would sit upon David's throne. 31 David
knew
this before it took
place. That is why David said this:
'He will not be left in death (*literally, Hades, the
Greek word for the unseen world of the dead).
His body will not decay in the grave.' Psalm
David was talking about the Messiah rising from death. 32 So Jesus,
not
David, is the one whom
God raised from death! We are all eye-witnesses of this! 33 Jesus was
lifted up
to heaven. Now
Jesus is with God--at His right side. The Father has now given the
promise of
the Holy Spirit to
Jesus. So now, Jesus poured out this which you see and hear. 34 David
did not
go up to heaven.
It was Jesus. David himself said:
'The Lord God said to my Lord (* In the Hebrew text of Psalms, the
first
"Lord"
is Yahweh; the second "Lord" is Adonai, referring to Christ).
"Sit at My right side
35 until I put your enemies under your feet" ' (* in your
control). Psalm 110:1
36 "Therefore, all the people of
Lord and Messiah, this man whom you nailed to the cross!"
37 When the people heard this, they felt a
sharp,
cutting pain in their conscience. They asked
Peter and the other apostles, "What should we do, brothers?"
38 Then Peter answered, "Change your hearts
and each one of you must be immersed by the
authority of Jesus the Messiah (* or, Jesus Christ), so that your sins
may be
forgiven. Then you
will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 This promise is for you
and for
your children. It is also
for people who are far away (* See Ephesians
call."
40 Peter was warning them with many other
words; he
was encouraging them, saying, "Be
saved from this twisted generation of people!" 41 Then those people who
accepted what Peter
said were immersed. On that day, about 3,000 people were added to the
group of
believers. 42
After this, the believers dedicated themselves to learning the teaching
of the
apostles, to sharing
with each other, to eating the supper of the Lord (* literally, "broke
bread," an idiom usually
referring to the Lord's supper), and to prayer.
The Group Grows
43 God was using the apostles to do many
powerful
and amazing things; every person felt
great respect for God. 44 All of the believers stayed together. They
shared
everything. 45 They
sold their property and the things they owned and they were dividing
the money,
giving it to
anyone who needed it. 46 Every day the believers met together with the
same
purpose in the
temple courtyard. They ate together in their homes, eating their food
with
joyful hearts. They
were very happy. 47 The believers were praising God. All of the people
liked
them. More and
more people were being saved every day; the Lord was adding them to the
congregation.
The Healing of the Lame Man
3 One day Peter and John went
up to
the temple courtyard. It was
(This was the time for prayer). 2 A man was there who had been crippled
all his
life. He couldn't
walk, so some friends carried him to the temple every day. They put him
beside
one of the gates
outside the temple. It was called Beautiful Gate. There the man begged
for
money from the people who were going into the temple area. 3 When he
saw Peter
and John about to go in, he began to ask them for money. 4 They looked
straight
at the crippled man and answered, "Look at us!" 5 He looked at them,
thinking that they might give him some money. 6 But Peter said, "I
don't
have any silver or gold, but I do have something else I can give you:
By the
authority of Jesus the Messiah (* or, Jesus Christ) from
Peter Speaks to the People
11 The crippled man who was healed was
holding onto
Peter and John. All of the people were
stunned. They ran to Peter and John at Solomon's Porch (* a covered
court on
the east side of the
temple complex. The Beautiful Gate opened to it). 12 When Peter saw
this, he
said to the people,
"Men of Israel, why are you surprised at this? You are staring at us as
though our power made this man walk. Do you think this was done because
we are
good? 13 No! God did it! He is the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of
Jacob--the
same God of all our ancestors. He gave glory to Jesus, His special
servant, but
you handed Jesus over to evil men. You rejected him in front of Pilate
after
Pilate had already decided to let him go free. 14 Jesus was holy and
innocent,
but you said you didn't want him. You told Pilate to give you a
murderer (*
Barabbas) instead of Jesus. 15 And so, you killed the one who gives
life, but
God raised him from death. We saw this with our own eyes. 16 It was the
authority of Jesus which made this crippled man well. This happened
because we
trusted in the power of Jesus. You can see this man and you know him.
He was
made completely well because of trusting in Jesus. You all saw it
happen!
17 "My brothers, I know you did those
things
to Jesus, because you didn't know what you
were doing. Your leaders did not understand, either. 18 God said that
these
things would happen.
All of the prophets who spoke for God long ago said that His Messiah
would
suffer and die. I
have told you how God made this happen. 19 So, change your hearts! Come
back to
God, so that
He may wipe out your sins. Then the Lord will give you times of
spiritual rest.
20 He will send
you the Messiah—Jesus, who before was preached to you. 21 But Jesus
must
stay in heaven until
the time when all things will be made whole again. God told about these
things
long ago when He
spoke through His holy prophets. 22 Moses said,
'The Lord your God will raise up a prophet for you
who is like me. He will come from among your
own people. You must obey everything he tells you.
23 If
any person does not obey that prophet, he will
die, cut off from God's people.' Deuteronomy 18:15-16, 19
24 Samuel and all of the other prophets after Samuel who spoke for
God
talked about these days.
25 You are the sons of the prophets. You have received the agreement
which God
made with
your ancestors. God said to Abraham, your ancestor,
'I will bless all nations of the earth. I will use
one of
your descendants to do this.' Genesis 22:18
26 God has raised up His son Jesus (* See
Isaiah
53:11; 42:1; Matthew 12:15-21). God sent
him to you first, to bless you by turning each one of you away from
doing evil
things."
Peter and John Speak to the Jewish Leaders
4 While Peter and John were
speaking
to the people, some men came to them. There were some
Jewish priests, the officer of the temple police, and some Sadducees. 2
They
were upset, because
the two apostles were teaching the people. Peter and John were
preaching that
people can rise
from death through the power of Jesus. 3 They arrested Peter and John
and put
them in jail. It
was already evening, so they kept Peter and John in jail until the next
day. 4
But, many of the
people who had heard Peter and John preach believed the things that
they said.
There were now
about 5,000 men in the group of believers.
5 The next day the Jewish leaders, the
elders, and
the teachers of the law met in
Annas (who was the high priest), Caiaphas, John, Alexander and everyone
from
the high priest's
family were there, 7 They made Peter and John stand in the center. The
Jewish leaders
asked them
again and again, "How did you make this crippled man well? What name
did
you use? By whose
authority did you do this?"
8 Then Peter was filled with the Holy
Spirit. He
said to them, "You elders and leaders of the
people: 9 Are you questioning us today about the good thing which was
done to
this crippled
man? Are you asking us who made him well? l0 We want all of you and all
the
people of
know that this man was made well by the authority of Jesus from
Jesus Christ)! Although you nailed him to the cross, God raised him
from death.
This man who
was crippled is now well and able to stand here before you because of
Jesus! 11
Jesus,
'the stone (* this refers to Jesus) which you builders thought was
worthless,
has become the cornerstone.' Psalm 118:22
12 Jesus is the only one who can save people. His authority is the
only
power given to the world
by which we can be saved."
13 The Jewish leaders saw that Peter and
John were
not afraid to speak. They were amazed
because they understood that the two men had no education or training.
Then
they realized that
Peter and John had been with Jesus. 14 When they saw the man standing
there
beside the two
apostles--that he was healed--they could find nothing to say against
the
apostles. 15 So, the
Jewish leaders ordered them to go outside. The Jewish Council wanted to
talk
among themselves.
16 They asked, "What shall we do with them? Everyone who lives in
men have performed a great miracle! That is clear. We cannot deny it.
17
However, we must
make them afraid to talk to anyone about this man. Then this problem
will not
spread among the
people."
18 So, the Jewish leaders called Peter and
John in
again. They warned the apostles not to say
anything or to teach anything by the authority of Jesus. 19 But Peter
and John
answered them,
"What do you think is right? What would God want? Should we obey you or
God? 20 We are not
able to be silent. We must tell people about the things we saw and
heard."
21-22 The Jewish
leaders could not find a way to punish the apostles, because all of the
people
were praising God
for what had been done. (This miracle was a proof from God. The man who
was
healed was more
than 40 years old)! So, the Jewish leaders threatened them again and
then let
them go free.
A Time for Prayer
23 Peter and John left the meeting of the
Jewish
leaders and went to their own group. They
told the group everything which the most important priests and the
Jewish
elders had said to
them. 24 When they heard this, they prayed to God with one purpose,
"Master, You are the God
who made the land, the sea, the sky, and everything in the world. 25
Our ancestor,
David, was
Your servant. With the help of the Holy Spirit he wrote these words:
'Why were the nations so mad?
Why did the people of the world plan things against God?
That is hopeless!
26 Why did the kings and the rulers of the earth,
come together against the Lord God and against His Messiah?'
Psalm 2:1-2
27 "These words came true when Herod
Antipas,
Pontius Pilate, the nations of the world, and
the Jewish people all 'came together' against Jesus here in Jerusalem.
Jesus is
Your holy servant,
the one You made Messiah. 28 These people who 'came together' against
Jesus
made Your plan
come true; it happened because of Your power and Your will. 29 And now,
Lord,
listen to what
they are saying. They are trying to make us afraid! Lord, we are Your
servants.
Help us to speak
the things You want us to say without fear. 30 Show your power: make
sick
people well, give
proofs, and cause miracles to take place by the power of Jesus, Your
holy
servant."
31 After the believers prayed, the place
where they
were meeting shook. They were all filled
with the Holy Spirit and they began to speak God's message without
fear.
The Believers Share
32 The group of believers were joined in
their
hearts and they were united in spirit. No one in
the group said that the things he had were his own. Instead, they
shared
everything. 33 The
apostles used great power to give evidence that the Lord Jesus had been
raised
from death. All of
the believers felt very thankful for God's great blessings. 34 They all
received the things they
needed. Everyone who owned fields or houses sold them. Then they
brought the
money 35 and
gave it to the apostles. Each person was given the things he needed.
36 One of the believers was named Joseph.
The
apostles called him Barnabas. (This name
means "a person who encourages others"). He was a Levite (* a member
of the tribe of Levi. It
included the priests and their helpers) born in
brought the money and gave it to the apostles.
5 There was a man named
Ananias. His
wife's name was Sapphira. Ananias sold some land which
he had 2 and, from the sale, he gave some of the money to the
apostles.
But, he kept back part of
the money for himself. His wife knew this (* She conspired with her
husband.
Ananias wanted
everyone to think he and his wife had given all the money). 3 Peter
asked him,
"Ananias, why did
you let Satan fill your heart? You lied to the Holy Spirit. You misused
the
sale price of the land. 4
Before you sold the field, it belonged to you. Even after you sold it,
you
could have used the
money any way you wanted. Why did you think of doing this evil thing?
You lied
to God, not to
men!" 5-6 When Ananias heard these words, he fell down and died. Some
young men came and
wrapped up his body. Then they carried it out and buried it. Everyone
who heard
about this was
filled with fear.
7 About three hours later, the wife of
Ananias came
in, but she did not know what had
happened to her husband. 8 Peter said to her, "Tell me, how much money
did
you receive for your
field? Was it this much?" (* giving the amount Ananias had said. Then
Peter would know if
Sapphira were lying).
Sapphira answered, "Yes, that was all we got for the field."
9 Peter asked her, "Why did you and your
husband agree to test the Spirit of the Lord? Listen!
Do you hear those footsteps? The men who buried your husband are at the
door!
They will carry
you out in the same way." 10 At that moment Sapphira fell down at
Peter's
feet and died. The
young men came in and saw that she was dead. The men carried her out
and buried
her next to
her husband.11 The whole congregation and all of the other people who
heard
about these things
were filled with fear.
Power from God
12 The apostles did many miracles and
powerful
things among the people. The apostles were
together in Solomon's Porch (* the temple of Herod the Great); they all
had the
same purpose. 13
None of the other believers dared to join the apostles, but all of the
people
were saying good
things about them. 14 And more and more people were added to the group
of
believers. 15
People began to bring their sick into the streets. They put their sick
on
little beds and mattresses
for Peter's shadow to touch them when he came by (* They thought that
if the
sick could be close
enough to Peter's shadow, this would be enough to heal them). 16 They
were
coming from all the
towns to
these people were healed.
The Apostles are Arrested
17 The high priest and all of his friends
(a sect
called the Sadducees) became very jealous. 18
They grabbed the apostles and put them in the public jail, 19 but,
during the
night, an angel of the
Lord opened the gates of the jail. The angel led the apostles outside
and said,
20 "Go and stand in
the temple courtyard. Tell the people everything about this new life in
Jesus." 21 When the
apostles heard this, they went into the temple courtyard. It was early
in the
morning. The apostles
began to teach the people.
The high priest and his friends came
together. They
called a meeting of the Jewish leaders and
all the important older men of the sons of
apostles to them. 22 When the guards came to the jail, they couldn't
find the
apostles there. So,
they went back and told this to the Jewish leaders. 23 They said, "The
jail was shut and locked.
The guards were standing at the gates, but when we opened the doors, no
one was
in there!" 24
The captain of the temple guards and the most important priests heard
this.
They were confused.
They wondered, "What will happen because of this?" 25 Then another
man came and told them,
"Listen! The men you had put in jail are standing in the temple
courtyard.
They are teaching the
people!" 26 Then the captain and his men went out and brought the
apostles
back. However, the
soldiers did not use force, because they were afraid of the people. The
people
might become
angry and kill the soldiers with stones.
27 The soldiers brought the apostles to the
Jewish
Council and made them stand before their
leaders. The high priest questioned the apostles. 28 He said, "We
warned
you never to teach with
this man's authority, but look what you've done! You have filled
You are trying to put the blame on us for the death of this man Jesus."
29 Peter and the other apostles answered,
"We
must obey God, not men! 30 The God of our
ancestors raised up Jesus from death. He is the one you killed, having
hung him
upon a cross of
wood. 31 Jesus is the one whom God raised to His right side to be our
leader
and savior. God did
this, so that
sins. 32 We saw all of these things happen. The Holy Spirit has shown
you that
we are telling you
the truth! God has given the Spirit to those who obeyed Him."
33 When the Jewish leaders heard these
words, they
became very angry. They started to make
plans to kill the apostles. 34 One of the Pharisees in the Jewish
Council stood
up. His name was
Gamaliel. He was a teacher of the law and all of the people respected
him. He
ordered the men to
take the apostles outside for a few minutes. 35 Then he said to them,
"Men
of
what you are about to do to these men! 36 Remember when Theudas
appeared? He
claimed that
he was an important man. About 400 men joined him, but he was killed.
And all
of the men who
followed him were scattered. They were never able to do anything. 37
Later, a
man named Judas
came from
followers away but he was destroyed and all his followers were
scattered. 38 So
now I tell you:
Stay away from these men! Let them alone. If this plan or this effort
comes
from men, it will fail.
39 But if this is from God, then you will not be able to stop them. You
might
even be fighting
against God Himself!"
The Jewish leaders then agreed with what
Gamaliel
said. 40 They called in the apostles again.
They whipped the apostles and commanded them not to talk to the people
ever
again about the
name of Jesus. After that they let them go free. 41 The apostles left
the
Jewish Council, but they
were happy, because they were given the honor of suffering dishonor for
the
name of Jesus. 42
The apostles didn't stop teaching people. They kept on telling the
people the
Good News that
Jesus is the Messiah. Every day they did this in the temple courtyard
and in
each home.
Seven Men are Chosen
6 More and more people were
becoming
followers of Jesus. But during this same time, the
Greek--speaking Jewish followers had an argument with the
Aramaic--speaking
followers. They
claimed that their widows were not getting their share of the things
which the
widows received
each day. 2 The twelve apostles called the whole group of followers
together.
They said to them,
"It is wrong for us to quit teaching God's message to serve tables
instead. 3 So, brothers, pick out
seven of your own men. They must be known to be full of wisdom and full
of the
Spirit. We will
confirm them to be over this work. 4 Then we will use all of our time
to pray
and to teach the
message of God."
5 The whole group liked this idea. So, they
chose
these men:
Stephen, a man of great faith and full of the Holy Spirit
Philip
Prochorus
Nicanor
Timon
Parmenas
Nicolas, a man from
6 Then they put these men before the apostles, who prayed and placed
their
hands on them (* a
common practice when appointing people to special duties - Numbers
27:22-23)
7 God's message was influencing more and
more
people. The group of followers in
became larger and larger. Even many of the Jewish priests were obedient
to the
faith.
Stephen Taken Prisoner
8 Since Stephen was full of faith and
power, he was
working miracles among the people to
show great proofs from God. 9 But, some Jews stood up and argued with
Stephen.
They were
from a synagogue called "A Synagogue for Freed Men" [* freedmen or
sons of men freed from
slavery]. (This synagogue was also for Jews from the cities of
helping Stephen speak with wisdom. His words were so powerful that the
Jews
could not argue
with him. 11 So they secretly paid some men to say, "We heard Stephen
say
some evil things
against Moses and against God!" 12 In this way, they stirred up the
people, the Jewish elders, and
the teachers of the law. They became so angry that they came and
grabbed
Stephen. Then they
took him to the Jewish Council. 13 They brought some men into the
meeting.
These men were
told to tell lies about Stephen. The men said, "This man always says
irreverent things against this
holy place (* the temple) and against the law of Moses. 14 We heard him
say
that Jesus from
passed down to us." 15 Everyone sitting in the Jewish Council stared at
Stephen. They saw that
his face looked like the face of an angel.
Stephen's Speech
7 Then the high priest asked Stephen, "Are these things true?"
2 Stephen answered, "My Jewish fathers and
brothers, listen to me. Our glorious God
appeared to Abraham, our ancestor, while he was in
'Leave your
country and
your relatives!
Go to
another
country.
I will
show you
where to go.' Genesis 12:1
4 So Abraham left the country of
died, God sent him to this same land where you live now. 5 But God did
not give
Abraham any of
this land--not even a foot of it! God promised that in the future He
would give
this land to
Abraham and his descendants; it would belong to them. (This was before
Abraham
had any
children). 6 This is what God said to him: 'Your descendants will live
as
strangers in another
country. The people there will make them slaves and do evil things to
them for
400 years (*
Stephen was using round numbers here. The total time was actually 430
years -
see Exodus
12:40-41; Galatians 3:17). 7 I will judge that nation which will
make
them slaves.' And God also
said,
'After those
things happen, your children will come
out of that country to worship Me in this place.' Exodus 3:12
8 God made an agreement with Abraham; the sign was circumcision (*
cutting
off the foreskin of
the male sex organ, as a sign of God's agreement with
Abraham had a son, Abraham circumcised him when he was eight days old.
His
son's name was
Isaac. Isaac also circumcised his son Jacob and Jacob did the same for
his
sons. These sons later
became the twelve fathers (* literally, patriarchs - Genesis 35:22-26).
9 "These fathers, Joseph's brothers, became
jealous of him. They sold Joseph to be a slave in
them all. Pharaoh, the king of
which God gave Joseph. Pharaoh gave Joseph the job of being governor of
allowed Joseph to rule over all the people in Pharaoh's house. 11 But
the whole
the
people suffer terribly. Our ancestors could find nothing to eat. 12 But
Jacob
heard that there was
wheat stored in
trip to
he was. And, Pharaoh learned about Joseph's family. 14 Then Joseph sent
some
men to invite
Jacob, his father, to come to
So Jacob went down to
moved to Shechem. They were placed in a grave there. (It was the same
grave in
Shechem that
Abraham had bought from the sons of Hamor. He paid them with silver).
17 "In
was soon to come true). There were more and more of our people in
king began to rule over
He persecuted our ancestors; he forced them to put their babies
outdoors to
die. 20 During this
time, Moses was born. He was no ordinary baby. For three months they
took care
of Moses in his
father's house. 21 When they put Moses outside, Pharaoh's daughter took
him in.
She raised him
as if he were her own son. 22 The Egyptians taught Moses everything
they knew.
He was
powerful in the things he said and did.
23 "When Moses was about 40 years old, he
thought it would be good to visit his brothers, the
sons of
defended him. Moses punished the Egyptian for hurting that brother.
Moses hit
the Egyptian so
hard that the man died. 25 Moses was thinking his brothers would
understand
that God was using
him to save them, but they did not understand. 26 The next day Moses
saw two of
the sons of
you doing wrong to one another?' 27 The man who was doing wrong to the
other
man pushed
Moses away. He said to Moses, 'Who made you our ruler and judge? 28 Do
you want
to kill me,
as you killed the Egyptian man yesterday?' 29 When Moses heard him say
this, he
ran away from
30 "After 40 years, Moses was in the desert
on
him in the flame of a burning bush. 31 When Moses saw this, he was
amazed. He
went nearer to
look at it more closely. He heard a Voice; it was the Lord's. 32 The
Lord God
said, 'I am the same
God of your ancestors--the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the
God of
Jacob.' Moses
began to shake with fear. He was afraid to look at the bush. 33 The
Lord said
to him, 'Take off
your shoes, because the place where you are now standing is holy
ground. 34 I
have seen My
people suffer much in
And now, Moses, I am sending you back to
35 "This Moses was the same man the people
of
'Who made you a ruler and judge over us?' Moses is the same man whom
God sent
to be a ruler
and deliverer. God sent Moses with the help of an angel. This was the
angel
that Moses saw in the
burning bush. 36 So, Moses led the people out. He did powerful
things and
miracles in
the
these words to the sons of
me. He will come from among your own brothers. Listen to Him!’ 38 This
is
the same Moses who
was with the congregation in the desert at
and with our ancestors. There at
live. Moses gave us these commands.
39 "But our ancestors didn't want to obey
Moses. They rejected him. In their hearts, they
wanted to go back to Egypt. 40 Our ancestors said to Aaron, 'Make us
some gods
to lead us!
Moses brought us out of Egypt, but we don't know what has happened to
him.' 41
So, the people
made an idol which looked like a calf. Then they brought sacrifices to
it. The
people were very
happy with what they had made with their own hands! 42 But God turned
against
them. He
stopped trying to change their hearts. They were worshiping the sun,
the moon,
and the stars.
This is what is written in the writings of the prophets; God says:
'People of Israel, you killed animals
and offered sacrifices in the desert for 40 years,
but these sacrifices were not for Me.
43 You
carried
with you the tent for Moloch
and the image of the star of your god, Rephan-
statues which you made to worship.
So, I will send you away beyond Babylon.' Amos 5:25-27
44 "God spoke to our ancestors in a special
tent; it was with the people in the desert. God
commanded Moses how to make this tent. He made it like the pattern
which God
showed him. 45
Later Joshua led our fathers to capture the lands of the other nations.
Our
people went in and God
drove those people out. When our people went into this new land, they
took this
same tent with
them. They had received it from their ancestors. They kept it until the
time of
David. 46 God was
very pleased with David. David asked God to allow him to build a house
for Him,
the God (*
Some manuscripts have "house" instead of "God") of Jacob,
47 but Solomon was the one who
actually built it.
48 However, the Highest One does not live
in houses
which men build with their hands. This is
what the prophet Isaiah wrote:
49 'The Lord God says, "Heaven is My throne.
The earth is a place to rest My feet.
What kind of house could you build for Me?
There is no place where I need to rest!
50 Remember, I made all these things!" ' " Isaiah 66:1-2
51 Stephen continued speaking: "You
stubborn
leaders! Your hearts are not circumcised! You
won't listen to God! You are always against what the Holy Spirit is
trying to
tell you. Your
ancestors did this, and you are just like them! 52 Your ancestors
persecuted
every prophet who
ever lived.Those prophets said long ago that the righteous one (*
Jesus) would
come, but your
ancestors killed the prophets. And now, you have turned against this
righteous
one and murdered
him. 53 You are the people who received the law of Moses, the commands
which
God gave
through the angels--but you don't obey the law!"
They Kill Stephen
54 When the Jewish leaders heard Stephen
say these
things, they became very angry. They
were so mad that they were grinding their teeth at Stephen. 55 Stephen
was full
of the Holy
Spirit. He looked up into the sky and saw the glory of God, and Jesus
standing
at God's right side.
56 He said, "Look! I see heaven open. And, I see the Son of Man (*
Jesus)
standing at God's right
side!"
57 Then they all shouted with a loud voice.
They
covered their ears with their hands. Together
they all ran at Stephen. 58 They took him out of the city to stone him
to
death. The men, who told
lies against Stephen, gave their robes to a young man named Saul (*
Paul). 59
Then they began to
throw stones at Stephen, but Stephen was praying. He said, "Lord Jesus,
receive my spirit!" 60
He fell on his knees and shouted this: "Lord, don't blame them for this
sin!" After Stephen said
that, he died.
Saul approved of the killing of Stephen.
The Congregation Is Persecuted
8 1-3 Some good men buried
Stephen.
They cried very loudly for him (* It was a custom in
a fierce attack on the congregation in
went into their homes. He dragged out men and women and put them in
jail. All
of the believers
had to leave
told people (* In the beginning, they thought that the message was
given only
to Jewish believers - including Samaritans and converts to Judaism) the
Good
News about Jesus.
Simon the Magician
5 Philip (* not the apostle Philip, but
rather, one
of the seven men mentioned in Acts 6) went
to the city of
they saw the miracles that he was doing. With a single purpose, they
all
listened very carefully to
the things Philip said. 7 Many of these people had evil spirits. The
spirits
came out of them; they
made a loud noise. There were also many paralyzed and crippled people.
Philip
healed them. 8
This made the people in that city very happy.
9 However, there was in that city a man
named Simon
who did magic tricks before Philip
came. He amazed all the people of
great man. 10 All of the people--the least important and the most
important--had listened closely
to Simon. The people said, "This man is the power of God which is
called
'The Great Power'!" 11
Simon had amazed the people with his magic tricks for so long that the
people
became his
followers. 12 But, Philip told the people the Good News about the
authority of Jesus the Messiah (* or, Jesus Christ). Men and women
believed
Philip and were
immersed. 13 Simon himself also believed and was immersed. Simon stayed
near
Philip. He
saw the miracles and the very powerful things which Philip did. Simon
was
amazed.
14 The apostles were still in
God's message. So, the apostles sent Peter and John to the people in
John arrived, they prayed for the Samaritan believers to receive the
Holy Spirit.
16 (These people
had been immersed by the authority of the Lord Jesus, but the Holy
Spirit had
not yet come down
on any of them). [* Acts
19:6]. 17 The two apostles put their hands on the people. Then the
people
received the Holy
Spirit.
18 Simon saw that the gifts of the Spirit
were
given to people when the apostles put their
hands on them. So, Simon offered the apostles some money. 19 Simon
said,
"Give me this power
so that when I put my hands on a person, he will receive the Holy
Spirit."
20 Peter said to Simon, "You and your money
should both be destroyed! You thought you
could buy God's gift with money. 21 Your heart is not right before God.
You
cannot have a part
with us or a share in this work. 22 Change your heart! Turn away from
this evil
thing which you
have done. Pray to the Lord God. Perhaps He will forgive you for
thinking this
in your heart. 23 I
can see that you are full of bitter jealousy and bound by sin."
24 Simon answered, "Both of you pray to the
Lord God for me! Pray that the things you have
said will not happen to me!"
25 Then the two apostles told the people
the things
which they had seen Jesus do. The
apostles preached the message of the Lord. Then they went back to
went through many Samaritan villages and preached the Good News to the
people.
Philip and the Ethiopian
26 An angel of the Lord spoke to Philip.
The angel
said, "Get ready and go south. Go to the
road which leads down to the town of
27 So Philip got ready and went. On the road he saw a man from the
country of
man was an important officer (* literally, a eunuch) in the service of
Candace,
the queen of the
Ethiopians. He was responsible for taking care of all her money. This
man had
gone to
to worship. 28 Now he was on his way home. He was sitting in his
chariot and
reading from the
book of Isaiah, the prophet. 29 The Spirit said to Philip, "Go to that
chariot and stay near it." 30
So Philip ran toward it, and he heard the man reading aloud. He was
reading
from the prophet
Isaiah. Philip asked him, "Do you understand what you are reading?"
31 The man answered, "How can I understand?
I
have no one to explain it to me!" Then he
invited Philip to climb in and sit with him. 32 He was reading this
part of
Scripture:
"He was
like a sheep when it is taken away to be killed.
He was like a lamb which makes no sound
when someone cuts off its wool.
33 He was shamed; all his rights
were
taken away.
His life on earth was ended.
There will be no story about his descendants." Isaiah 53:7-8
34 The officer asked Philip, "Please, tell
me,
who is the prophet talking about? Is he talking
about himself or about someone else?" 35 Philip began to speak. He
started
with this same
Scripture and told the man the Good News about Jesus.
36 While they were traveling down the road,
they
came to some water. The officer said,
"Look! Here is water! What is stopping me from being immersed?" 37
And Philip said, “If you
believe with all your heart, you may.” And he answered, “I believe
that Jesus Christ is the Son of
God." 38 Then the officer gave a command for the chariot to stop. Both
Philip and the officer
went down into the water, and Philip immersed him. 39 When they came up
out of
the water, the
Spirit of the Lord took Philip away; the officer did not see him. The
officer
continued on his way
home. He was very happy. 40 Philip appeared in a town called Azotus (*
ancient
next to the
in all the towns along the way from Azotus to
Paul Meets Jesus
9 In
them. So, he went to the high priest. 2 Saul asked him to write letters
to the
Jews of the
synagogues in the city of
were followers of The Way. If he found any believers there, men or
women, he
would tie them up
and bring them back to
3 So, Saul went to
suddenly shined all around him. 4 Saul fell to the ground. He heard a
voice
saying to him: "Saul!
Saul! Why are you persecuting me?"
5 Saul asked "Who are you, Lord?"
The Lord answered, "I am Jesus. I am the
one
you are persecuting. By fighting me you are
only hurting yourself” (* literally, It is hard for you to kick against
the pricks). 6 Saul was
trembling and afraid. He asked, “What should I do, Lord?” The
Lord answered, “Get up now and
go into the city. Someone there will tell you what you must do."
7 The men traveling with Saul stood there.
They
said nothing. The men heard the voice, but
they saw no one. 8 Saul got up from the ground. He opened his eyes, but
he
couldn't see anything.
So, the men with Saul held his hand and led him into
not see; he didn't eat or drink.
10 There was a follower of Jesus in
different men named Ananias in Acts - 5:1;
in a vision, saying: "Ananias!"
Ananias answered, "Here I am, Lord."
11 The Lord said to Ananias, "Get up and go
to
for a man named Saul, from the city of
named Ananias came to him and put his hands on him, so that he could
see
again."
13 But Ananias answered, "Lord, many people
have told me about this man Saul. They told
me about how many terrible things he did to your holy people in
to
name."
15 But the Lord Jesus said to Ananias, "Go!
I
have chosen Saul for an important work. He will
carry my name to kings, to the Jewish people, and to other nations. 16
I will
show Saul the things
he must suffer for my name."
17 So Ananias left and went to the house of
Judas.
He put his hands on Saul and said, "Saul,
my brother, the Lord Jesus sent me. He is the one you saw on the road
when you
came here. He
sent me, so that you may see again and so that you may be filled with
the Holy
Spirit." 18
Immediately, something which looked like fish scales fell off Saul's
eyes. Saul
could see again!
He got up and was immersed. 19 Then he ate some food and began to feel
strong
again.
Paul Preaches Jesus
Saul stayed with the followers of Jesus in
20 Very soon he began to preach about Jesus in the synagogues, "Jesus is the Son of God!"
21 Everyone who heard Saul was surprised.
They were
saying, "This is the same man who was
in
the same thing, to arrest the followers of Jesus and take them back to
priests."
22 But Saul became more and more powerful.
He
proved that Jesus is the Messiah. His proofs
were so strong that the Jewish leaders who lived in Damascus didn't
know how to
answer him.
Paul Escapes from Damascus
23 After many days, the Jewish leaders made
plans
to kill Saul. 24 The Jews were watching
the city gates day and night. They wanted to kill him, but Saul learned
about
their plan. 25 One
night some followers helped him leave the city. The followers put him
in a
basket. Then they
lowered him down through a hole in the city walls (* He spent a part of
this
time in Arabia where
he received the gospel directly from Jesus - Galatians 1:17).
Paul Goes to Jerusalem
26 Then Saul went to Jerusalem. He was
trying to
join the group of followers, but they were
all afraid of him; they didn't believe that Saul truly was a follower
of Jesus,
27 but Barnabas
accepted him and brought him to the apostles. Barnabas told them that
Saul had
seen the Lord
Jesus on the road to Damascus. He explained to the apostles how the
Lord had
spoken to Saul.
Then he told them how in Damascus Saul had preached to the people in
the name
of the Lord
without fear. 28 And so, Saul stayed with the followers. He went
everywhere in
Jerusalem. 29 He
preached with the authority of the Lord Jesus without fear. Saul
often
talked with the Jewish
people who spoke Greek. He had arguments with them. So, they were
trying to
kill him. 30 When
the brothers learned about this, they took Saul to the city of
Caesarea. From
Caesarea, they sent
Saul to the city of Tarsus.
31 Everywhere in Judea, Galilee, and Samaria,
God's
people (* The Greek word is ekklesia)
had a time of peace. With the help of the Holy Spirit, the group became
stronger and stronger.
The believers showed that they respected the Lord by the way they
lived.
Because of this, the
group of believers grew larger and larger.
Aeneas
32 Peter was traveling through all of the
towns
around Jerusalem. He visited the holy people
who lived in the town of Lydda. 33 In Lydda he met a paralyzed man
named
Aeneas. Aeneas had
not been able to leave his bed for the past eight years. 34 Peter said
to him,
"Aeneas, Jesus Christ
(* or, Jesus the Messiah) heals you. Get up and make your bed! You can
do this
for yourself
now!" Aeneas got up immediately. 35 All of the people living in Lydda
and
on the plain of Sharon
saw him. These people turned to the Lord Jesus.
Dorcas
36 In the town of Joppa, there was a
follower of
Jesus named Tabitha. (Her Greek name,
Dorcas, means "a deer"). She always did good things for people. She
always gave to people in
need. 37 While Peter was in Lydda, Tabitha became sick and died. They
washed
her body and put
it in an upstairs room. 38 The followers in Joppa heard that Peter was
in
Lydda. (Lydda is near
Joppa) [* about a two and a half hour walk from Lydda to Joppa]. So,
they sent
two men to
Peter. They begged him, "Hurry, please come quickly!"
39 Peter got ready and went with them.
When he arrived, they took him to the
upstairs
room. All of the widows stood around Peter.
They were crying. They showed him the shirts and robes which Dorcas had
made
while
she was still alive.
40 Peter sent everyone out of the room. He
kneeled
down and prayed. Then he turned to
Tabitha's body and said, "Tabitha, get up!" She opened her eyes. When
she saw Peter, she sat up.
41 He gave her his hand and helped her stand up. Then he called the
holy people
and the widows
into the room. He showed them Tabitha; she was alive!
42 People everywhere in Joppa learned about
this.
Many of these people believed in the Lord
Jesus. 43 Peter stayed in Joppa for many days. He stayed with a man
named Simon
who was a
leather-worker (* This was an unclean occupation to very strict Jews,
but this
did not seem to
bother Peter).
Cornelius
10 In the city of Caesarea
there was a
man named Cornelius. He was an officer in the "Italian"
regiment of the Roman army. 2 Cornelius was a good man. He and everyone
who
lived in his
home worshiped the true God. He gave much of his money to the poor
people.
Cornelius always
prayed to God. 3 One afternoon about three o'clock, Cornelius clearly
saw a
vision. In the vision,
an angel of God came to him and said, "Cornelius!"
4 Cornelius stared at the angel. He became afraid and asked, "What do you want, sir?"
The angel said to Cornelius, "God has heard
your prayers. He has seen your gifts to the poor
people. God has not forgotten the things you have done. 5 Send some men
now to
the town of
Joppa. Send for a man named Simon. He is also called Peter. 6 Simon is
staying
with another man
named Simon, who is a leather-worker. He has a house beside the ocean.
He will
tell you what to
do.” 7 The angel who spoke to Cornelius left. Then Cornelius called two
of his servants and a
soldier. This soldier was a good man. They always stayed close to
Cornelius. 8
Cornelius
explained everything to these three men. Then he sent them to Joppa.
9 The next day, these men came near
Joppa. At
that time, Peter was going up to the roof to
pray. It was about noon.10 Peter was hungry and wanted to eat. But
while they
were preparing
the food for Peter to eat, a vision came to him. 11 He saw something
coming
down through the
open sky. It looked like a big sheet coming down to the ground. It was
being
lowered to the
ground by its four corners. 12 Every kind of animal was in it--animals
which
walk on four feet,
wild animals, animals which crawl on the ground, and birds which fly in
the
air. 13 Then a voice
said to Peter, "Get up, Peter; kill any one of these animals and eat .
14 But Peter said, "I would never do that,
Lord! I have never eaten food which is unholy or
not pure."
15 But the voice said to him the second
time,
"God has made these things pure. Don't call
them 'unholy'!" 16 This happened a third time. Then the whole thing was
taken back up into the
sky again.
17 Peter was wondering what this vision
meant. Then
the men whom Cornelius had sent found
Simon's house. They were standing at the gate.18 They asked, "Is Simon
Peter staying here?"
19 While Peter was still thinking about the
vision,
the Spirit said to him, "Listen, three men are
looking for you. 20 Get up and go downstairs. Go with these men and
don't have
any doubts. I
have sent them to you." 21 So, Peter went downstairs to the men sent
from
Cornelius. He said, "I
am the man you are looking for. Why did you come here?"
22 The men answered, "A holy angel told
Cornelius to invite you to his house. Cornelius is a
Roman army officer. He is a good man; he worships God. All of the
Jewish people
respect him.
The angel told Cornelius to invite you to his house, so that he may
listen to
the things you have to
say." 23 Peter asked the men to come in and stay for the night.
The next day, Peter got ready and went away
with
the three men. Some of the Jewish brothers
from Joppa went with Peter. 24 The next day they came into the city of
Caesarea. Cornelius was
waiting for them. He had already called in his relatives and close
friends. 25
When Peter entered
the house, Cornelius met him. Cornelius fell down at Peter's feet and
worshiped
him. 26 But Peter
made him get up. Peter said, "Stand up! I am only a man, like you" (*
Compare Revelation 22:8-
9). 27 Peter continued talking with Cornelius. Then Peter went inside
and saw a
large group of
people there. 28 Peter said to them, "You people understand that it is
forbidden for a Jewish man
to associate with or visit any non-Jewish person. But God has shown me
that I
should not call any
person 'unholy' or 'unclean.' 29 That is why I didn't argue when the
men
invited me to come here.
Now, please tell me why you sent for me."
30 Cornelius said, "Four days ago I was
fasting until this same time. At three o'clock in the
afternoon I was praying in my house. Suddenly, there was an angel
standing before me. He was
dressed in shining clothes. 31 The man said, 'Cornelius! God has heard
your
prayer. He has seen
your gifts to the poor people. God has not forgotten the things you
have done.
32 So, send
someone to the city of Joppa. Ask Simon Peter to come. Peter is staying
in the
house of another
man named Simon, who is a leather-worker. His house is beside the
ocean. Peter
will speak to
you when he comes.’ 33 So, I sent for you immediately. It was very good
of you to come here.
Now we are all here in the presence of God. We want to hear everything
that the
Lord has
commanded you to tell us."
The Good News Is for Everyone!
34 Peter began to speak, "Now I understand!
God treats everyone the same. 35 God accepts
any person who worships Him and does what is right. It doesn't matter
what race
a person comes
from. 36 God has spoken to the sons of Israel. He sent them the Good
News, that
peace has come
through Jesus the Messiah, who is the Lord of all men! 37 You know what
occurred
all over
Judea. It began in Galilee after John preached to the people about
immersion.
38 You know about
Jesus from Nazareth. God anointed him with the Holy Spirit and power.
Jesus
went everywhere
doing good things for people. He healed everyone who was ruled by the
Devil.
God was with
Jesus. 39 We saw all of the things that he did in Judea and in
Jerusalem. But
Jesus was killed; they
put him on a cross made of wood. 40 However, on the third day after his
death,
God raised Jesus
to life! God allowed a few people to see him clearly. 41 Jesus was not
seen by
all of the people;
only the witnesses whom God had already chosen--they saw him. We are
those
witnesses! We ate
and drank with Jesus after he was raised from death. 42 Jesus commanded
us to
preach to the
people. He told us to tell them that he is the one whom God chose to be
the
judge of all people,
living or dead. 43 Every person who commits himself to Jesus will be
forgiven
through the
authority of Jesus. All of the prophets say that this is true ...."
The Holy Spirit Comes upon Them
44 While Peter was still speaking these
words, the
Holy Spirit came upon all those people who
were listening to his speech. 45 The Jewish believers who came with
Peter were
amazed. They
were shocked because the gift of the Holy Spirit was poured out on
people who
were not Jewish.
46 These Jewish believers heard them speaking different languages and
praising
God. Then Peter
said, 47 "Can we refuse to allow these people to be immersed in water?
They have received the
Holy Spirit the same as we did!" 48 So, Peter commanded that Cornelius
and
his relatives and
friends be immersed by the authority of Jesus the Messiah. Then they
asked
Peter to stay with
them for a few days.
Peter Explains
11 The apostles and the
brothers in
Judea heard that non-Jewish people had also accepted God's
message. 2 However, there were some Jewish believers who argued with
Peter when
he came
back to Jerusalem. 3 They said, "You went into the homes of men who are
not Jewish! (* It was
forbidden for Jews to go into non-Jewish homes). You even ate with
them!"
4 Then Peter began to explain the whole
story to
them. 5 He said, "I was in the town of Joppa.
While I was praying, a vision came to me. In the vision, I saw
something coming
down from the
sky. It looked like a big sheet. It was being lowered to the ground by
its four
corners. It came
down and stopped very near to me. 6 After staring, I looked inside it
and I saw
animals, both
tame and wild. I saw animals which crawl and birds which fly in the
air. 7 I
heard a voice say to
me, 'Get up, Peter. Kill any of these animals and eat!' 8 But I said,
'I would
never do that, Lord! I
have never eaten anything that is unholy or not pure.' 9 But the voice
from the
sky answered a
second time, 'God has made these things pure. Don't call them unholy!'
10 This
happened a third
time. Then the whole thing was pulled back up into the sky. 11 Suddenly
three
men came to the
house where I was staying. These three men were sent to me from the
city of
Caesarea. 12 The
Spirit told me to go along with them without doubts. These six brothers
here
also went with me.
We went into the house of Cornelius. 13 Cornelius told us about the
angel that
he had seen
standing in his house. The angel said to him, 'Send someone to Joppa.
Invite
Simon Peter to
come. 14 He will tell you words by which you and everyone in your group
will be
saved.' 15 After
I began my speech, the Holy Spirit came upon them, the same as He did
upon us
in the beginning
(* See Acts 2:1-13). 16 Then I remembered the words of the Lord Jesus
when he
used to say:
'John immersed people in water, but you will be immersed in the Holy
Spirit!'
17 God gave the
like gift to these people that He gave to us who believed in the Lord
Jesus,
the Messiah. So,
could I stop God?"
18 When the group heard these things, they
stopped
arguing. They gave glory to God and
said, "Then God is allowing non-Jewish people to change their hearts
and
have life, too!"
The New Believers in Antioch
19 The believers were scattered by the
persecution
which occurred after Stephen was killed (*
See Acts 7:59-8:3). Some of the believers went to places far away, like
Phoenicia, Cyprus, and
Antioch in Syria. The believers told the message in these places, but
they told
it only to Jews. 20
However, some of these believers came to the city of Antioch. They were
men
from Cyprus and
Cyrene. These men were also talking to non-Jews (* This was the first
time this
ever happened),
telling them the Good News, that Jesus is Lord. 21 The Lord was helping
the
believers. A large
group of people believed and turned to the Lord.
22 The congregation which was in Jerusalem
heard
about these new believers in Antioch in
Syria. So, the believers in Jerusalem sent Barnabas to Antioch. 23-24
Barnabas
was a good man.
He was full of the Holy Spirit and full of faith. When Barnabas went to
Antioch, he saw how
much God had blessed them. This made him very happy. He began to
encourage all
the believers
in Antioch. He told them, "Never lose your faith. Always obey the Lord
with all your hearts." A
large number of people became followers of the Lord Jesus.
25 Then Barnabas left for the city of
Tarsus. He
was looking for Saul. 26 When he found Saul,
Barnabas brought him to Antioch. Saul and Barnabas taught a large
crowd. For a
whole year they
met with the congregation. In Antioch, God called the followers of
Jesus
"Christians" for the first
time.
27 About that same time, some prophets went
down
from Jerusalem to Antioch. 28 Agabus
stood up and spoke. With the help of the Holy Spirit, he said, "A very
bad
time is coming to the
whole world. There will be very little food for people to eat." (This
famine occurred during the
time when Claudius was Caesar) [* the title of the supreme Roman
rulers.
"Caesar" became the
title of each emperor. This must have happened about 43-44 A.D.
Claudius became
emperor in 41
A.D. and ruled until 54 A.D.]. 29 The followers of Jesus decided that
they
would all try to help
their brothers and sisters who lived in Judea. Each believer planned to
send
them as much as he
could. 30 They gathered the money and gave it to Barnabas and Saul.
Then
Barnabas and Saul
brought it to the elders in Jerusalem.
Peter is Put in Jail
12 During that same
time, King
Herod Agrippa I began to persecute some members of the
congregation. 2 He ordered that James be killed with a sword. (James
was the
brother of John). 3
Herod Saw that the Jewish leaders liked this. So he decided to arrest
Peter,
too. (This happened
during the time of the Feast of Unleavened Bread). [* A yearly feast
when
unleavened bread (no
yeast to make the bread rise) was eaten. It lasted seven days - see
Leviticus
23:4-8]. 4 Herod had
Peter arrested and put in jail. He turned Peter over to a group of 16
soldiers
to guard him. Herod
wanted to wait until after the Passover Festival. Then he planned to
bring
Peter before the people.
5 So, Peter was kept in jail, but the congregation was constantly
praying to
God for Peter.
God Rescues Peter
6 Peter was sleeping between two of the
soldiers.
He was bound with two chains. More
soldiers were guarding the jail entrance. It was at night, and Herod
planned to
bring Peter
out to the people the next day. 7 Suddenly an angel of the Lord stood
there. A
light shined in the
cell. The angel touched Peter on the side and woke him up. The angel
said,
"Hurry, get up!" Then
the chains fell off of Peter's hands. 8 The angel said to Peter, "Get
dressed and put your shoes
on." So Peter did this. Then the angel said, "Put on your robe and
follow me." 9 Then the angel
went out and Peter followed. Peter didn't know if the angel was really
doing
this. He kept thinking
that he might be seeing a vision. l0 Peter and the angel went past the
first
guard and the second
guard. Then they came to the iron gate which separated them from the
city. The
gate opened for
them by itself. Peter and the angel went through it and walked about a
block.
Then the angel
suddenly left.
11 Then Peter realized what had happened.
He
thought, "Now I know that the Lord really did
send his angel to me. He rescued me from Herod and everything which the
Jewish
people were
expecting."
12 When Peter realized this, he went to
Mary's
house. She was the mother of John. (John was
also called Mark). Many people were gathered there; they were all
praying. 13
Peter knocked on
the outside door. A servant girl named Rhoda came to answer it. 14
Rhoda
recognized Peter's
voice. She was so happy she even forgot to open the door. Instead, she
ran
inside and told the
group. "Peter is at the door!”
15 The believers said to Rhoda, "You are
crazy!" But she kept insisting that it was true. So
they said, "It must be Peter's angel."
16 Peter continued to knock. When the
believers
opened the door, they saw Peter. They were
amazed. 17 Peter made a sign with his hand to tell them to be quiet. He
explained to them how
the Lord led him out of jail. He said, "Tell James and the other
brothers
what happened." Then
Peter left to go to another place.
18 The next day the soldiers were very
upset. They
wondered what had happened to Peter. 19
Herod looked everywhere for Peter, but couldn't find him. Herod asked
the
guards many
questions and tortured them. Then he gave the order that the guards be
killed.
Herod Dies
Later Herod left Judea. He went down to the
city of
Caesarea (* After Tiberius Caesar's time,
the Herods no longer headquartered in Jerusalem, but in Caesarea) and
stayed
there for a while.
20 Herod was very angry with the people from the cities of Tyre and
Sidon.
However, they were
able to get Blastus on their side. (Blastus was the king's personal
servant).
They came to Herod
with one purpose in mind: They wanted peace, because their country
needed food
from Herod's
country.
21 Herod decided on a day to meet with
them. On
that day Herod was wearing a beautiful
royal robe. He sat on his throne and made a speech to the people. 22
The people
shouted, "This is
not the voice of a man; it is the voice of a god!" 23 But Herod didn't
give the glory to God. So, an
angel of the Lord caused him to become sick. He was soon eaten by worms
inside
him, and he
died.
24 The message of God was spreading and
influencing
more and more people. The group of
believers became larger and larger.
25 After Barnabas and Saul finished their
work in
Jerusalem, they returned to Antioch. John
Mark went along with them.
Paul and Barnabas are Chosen
13 In the congregation
at
Antioch in Syria, there were some prophets and teachers. They were:
Barnabas
Simeon (also called Black)
Lucius (from the city of Cyrene)
Manaen (who had grown up with Herod Antipas, the ruler)
Saul.
2 They were all serving the Lord and fasting (* going without food for
a period
of time, usually
for spiritual reasons). The Holy Spirit said to them, "Appoint Barnabas
and Saul for My service; I
have chosen them to do a special work."
3 So, the congregation fasted and prayed.
They put
their hands on Barnabas and Saul (* Paul)
and sent them out.
On Cyprus
4 Barnabas and Saul were sent out by the
Holy
Spirit. They went to the city of Seleucia. Then
they sailed from Seleucia to the island of Cyprus. 5 When Barnabas and
Saul
came to the city of
Salamis, they were preaching God's message in the Jewish synagogues.
(John Mark
went along to
help them).
6 They went across the whole island to the
town of
Paphos. In Paphos, they met a Jewish man
who did tricks of magic. His name was Barjesus. He said he was a
prophet, but
he was not. 7
Barjesus always stayed close to Sergius Paulus, the governor. Sergius
Paulus
was a wise man. He
asked Barnabas and Saul to come to him; he wanted to hear God's
message. 8 But
Elymas, the
magician, opposed Saul and Barnabas. (Elymas is the name for Barjesus
in the
Greek language).
Elymas tried to turn the governor away from the faith. 9 However, Saul
was
filled with the Holy
Spirit. (Saul's other name was Paul). Paul looked straight at Elymas 10
and
said, "You son of the
Devil! You are an enemy of everything which is right! You are full of
evil
tricks and lies. You
always try to turn the Lord's truths into lies! 11 Now the Lord will
touch you
and you will be
blind. For a time, you won't be able to see the light which comes from
the
sun."
Then everything quickly became dark for
Elymas. He
walked around lost, trying to find
someone to lead him by the hand. 12 When the governor saw this, he
believed. He
was amazed at the teaching of the Lord.
In Antioch of Pisidia
13 Paul and those who were with him sailed
away
from Paphos. They came to Perga, a town
in Pamphylia. But John Mark left them; he went back home to Jerusalem.
14 They
continued their
trip from Perga and went to Antioch, a city in Pisidia. In Antioch, on
the
Sabbath day, they went
into the Jewish synagogue and sat down. 15 The law of Moses and the
writings of
the prophets
were read. Then the leaders of the synagogue sent a message to Paul and
Barnabas: "Brothers,
if you have something to say which will help the people here, please
speak."
16 Paul stood up. He raised his hand (* a
common
gesture calling for attention) and said,
"Men of Israel, and you other people who also worship the true God,
please
listen to me! 17 The
God of our people, Israel, chose our ancestors. God made His people
great
during the time that
they lived in Egypt as strangers. God brought them out of that country
with
great power. 18 For
40 years in the desert, God was patient with them. 19 He destroyed
seven
nations in the land of
Canaan, giving their land to His people. 20 All of this happened in
about 450
years.
"After this, God gave judges to our people,
until the time of Samuel, the prophet. 21 Then the
people asked for a king. God gave them Saul, the son of Kish. Saul was
from the
tribe of
Benjamin. He was king for 40 years. 22 After God removed Saul, He made
David
their king. God
vouched for David:
'David, the son of Jesse, is the man I like.
He will do all the things I want him to do.' 1 Samuel 13:14
23 God has brought one of David's descendants to Israel to be their
savior;
he is Jesus. God had
promised to do this. 24 Before Jesus came, John preached to all the
people of
Israel. John told the
people to change their hearts and to be immersed. 25 As John was
finishing his
work, he always
used to say, ‘Who do you think I am? I am not the Messiah. He is coming
later. I'm not worthy to
untie his shoes!’
26 "My brothers, sons in the family of
Abraham, and you non-Jews who also worship the true
God, listen! The news about this salvation has been sent to us. 27 The
Jews
living in Jerusalem
and the Jewish leaders did not realize it. The words that the prophets
wrote
about the Messiah
were read to the Jews every Sabbath day, but they didn't understand.
The Jewish
leaders
condemned the Messiah. When they did this, they made the words of the
prophets
come true! 28
They couldn't find any real reason why he should die, yet they asked
Pilate to
kill him. 29 These
Jews did all the things that the Scriptures said about him. Then they
took him
down from the
cross of wood and put him in a tomb. 30 But God raised him up from
death! 31
After this, for
many days, Jesus was seen by the people who had gone with him from
Galilee to
Jerusalem. They
are now his witnesses to the people. 32-33 We are telling you the Good
News:
God made a
promise to our fathers. We are their descendants and God has made this
promise
come true for
us. God did this by raising Jesus from death. We also read about this
in Psalm
2:
'You are My Son.
Today I have become your Father.' Psalm 2:7
34 God raised Jesus from death. Jesus will never go back to the grave and decay. So God said:
'I will give you the sure and holy promises
which I made to David.' Isaiah 55:3
35 But in another place God says:
'You will not let the body of Your holy one decay in the grave.' Psalm 16:10
36 But David did God's will during his own generation. Then he died.
David
was buried with his
fathers and his body did decay! 37 However, the one whom God raised
from death
did not decay!
38-39 "Brothers, you must understand what
we
are telling you: You can have forgiveness of
your sins through this man. The law of Moses could not make you right
with God,
but everyone
who believes the Good News is made right. 40 The prophets said
something would
take place. Be
careful! Don't let this happen to you:
41 'Look, you people who doubt!
Wonder and die!
During your time, I (* God) will do
something which you won't believe.
You wouldn't believe it,
even if someone were to explain it to you?" Habakkuk 1:5
42 While the Jews were leaving the
synagogue, the
people (* Gentiles) were begging Paul and
Barnabas to come back on the next Sabbath day and tell them more about
these
things. 43 After
the meeting, many converts to the Jewish faith (who worshiped the true
God) and
many of the
Jews followed Paul and Barnabas. Paul and Barnabas were persuading them
to
continue living in
the gracious love of God.
44 On the next Sabbath day, almost all the
people
in the city came together to hear the
message of the Lord. 45 The Jewish leaders saw the crowds there. So,
they
became very jealous.
They said some terrible contrary things and argued against the words
which Paul
said. 46 But
Paul and Barnabas were very bold. They said, "It was necessary that we
speak God's message to
you Jews first, but you won't listen. You are deciding that you are
unworthy of
having eternal life!
Therefore, we will now go to the people of other nations! 47 This is
what the
Lord God
commanded us to do:
‘I have made you a light for other nations,
so that you may show the way of salvation
to people all over the
world.'"
Isaiah 49:6
48 When the non-Jewish people heard Paul
say this,
they were happy. They gave honor to the
Lord's message, and many of the people believed the message. These were
the
people appointed
to have eternal life.
49 And so, the message of the Lord was
spreading
through the whole country. 50 But the
Jewish leaders stirred up some of the important religious women and the
leaders
of the city to
oppose Paul and Barnabas. They were angry. These people persecuted them
and
threw them out
of town. 51 So, Paul and Barnabas shook the dust off their feet (* a
gesture
meaning that one will
have no more to do with those people). Then they went to the town of
Iconium.
52 The followers
of Jesus in Antioch were happy and full of the Holy Spirit.
In Iconium
14 Then Paul and Barnabas went
to the
town of Iconium. They entered the Jewish synagogue.
(This is what they did in every town). They spoke to the people there
in such a
way that many
Jews and non-Jews believed what they said. 2 However, some of the Jews
did not
believe. These
Jews stirred up the non-Jewish people and made them persecute the
brothers. 3
The Lord helped
Paul and Barnabas to be bold, and they stayed in Iconium a long time.
Paul and
Barnabas
preached about how God forgives sins. The Lord proved what they said
was true;
He helped them
do miracles and wonders. 4 But, some of the people in the town agreed
with the Jews.
Other
people in the town believed Paul and Barnabas. So, the town was
divided.
5 Some non-Jewish people, some Jews, and
their
Jewish leaders tried to hurt Paul and
Barnabas. These people wanted to stone them to death. 6 When Paul and
Barnabas
learned about
this, they left that town. They went to Lystra and Derbe, towns in
Lycaonia,
and to the
surrounding area. 7 They told the Good News there, too.
In Lystra
8 In Lystra there was a man whose feet were
paralyzed. He had been born crippled; he had
never walked. This man was sitting there 9 and listening to Paul speak.
Paul
looked straight at
him. Paul saw that the man believed that God could heal him. 10 So,
Paul
shouted, "Stand up on
your feet!” The man jumped up and began walking around. 11 When the
crowd
saw what Paul
did, they shouted in their own Lycaonian language. They said, "The gods
have become like men!
They have come down to us!" 12 The people began to call Barnabas
"Zeus" (* the chief god of
the Greeks. Barnabas may have appeared to be the leader). They called
Paul
"Hermes"(* the son
of Zeus, the messenger of the gods), because he was the main speaker.
13 The
temple of Zeus
was near the town. The priest of this temple brought some bulls and
flowers to
the town gates.
The priest and the crowds wanted to give an offering, to worship Paul
and
Barnabas.
14 But when the apostles (* The word means
"special messengers" [from Antioch in Syria].
Here it does not refer to the original twelve apostles), Barnabas and
Paul, understood
what the
people were doing, they ripped their own clothes (* a sign of grief or
outrage). Then they ran in
among the crowd and shouted to them. 15 "Men, why are you doing these
things? We are not
gods! We have the same feelings you have! We came to tell you the Good
News. We
are telling
you to turn away from these worthless things. Turn to the true living
God. He
is the One who
made the land, the sea, the sky, and everything which is in them. 16 In
the
past, God let all the
nations do what they wanted. 17 But God did things to prove that He is
real: He
does good things
for you. He gives you rain from the sky and good harvests at the right
times.
He gives you plenty
of food and fills your hearts with joy." 18 Paul and Barnabas told the
crowds these things. The
people still wanted to offer sacrifices to worship them, but Paul and
Barnabas
stopped them.
19 Then some Jews came from Antioch in
Pisidia and
Iconium. They persuaded the people to
oppose Paul. And so, the people stoned Paul and dragged him out of the
town.
The people
thought that they had killed him. 20 The followers of Jesus gathered
around
Paul and he got up
and went back into town. The next day he and Barnabas left and went to
the town
of Derbe.
Paul and Barnabas Encourage Believers
21 Paul and Barnabas told the Good News in
the town
of Derbe, too. Many people became
followers of Jesus. Paul and Barnabas went back to the towns of Lystra,
Iconium, and Antioch in
Pisidia. 22 In those cities they made the followers of Jesus stronger.
They
helped them to stay in
the faith. They said, "We must suffer many things on our way into God's
kingdom." 23 They
appointed elders for each congregation. The believers fasted (* going
without
food for a period of
time, usually for spiritual reasons) and prayed for these men. These
men had
put their trust in the
Lord Jesus. So, Paul and Barnabas put them in the Lord's care.
24 Paul and Barnabas went through the
country of
Pisidia. Then they came to the country of
Pamphylia.. 25 They preached the story of Jesus in the town of Perga
and then
they went down to
the town of Attalia. 26 And from there Paul and Barnabas sailed away to
Antioch
in Syria. This is
the city where they had begun this work. The believers here had sent
them out
with God's
gracious love. Now their trip was over.
27 When Paul and Barnabas arrived, they
gathered
the congregation together. Paul and
Barnabas told them all about the things which God had done with them.
They
said, "God opened
a door so that non-Jewish people could believe too!" 28 They stayed
there
a long time with the
followers of Jesus.
Go To: Acts
Part 2