New Testament · Gospels and Acts

Acts chapter 4

While Peter and John were still talking to the crowd, the , the , and the came up to them, that Peter and John were teaching the people and announcing that Jesus proved the of the dead was real.They Peter and John and threw them in jail overnight since it was already evening.But many of the people who heard the message , and the number of men alone grew to about .The next day, the Jewish , elders, and gathered in Jerusalem. the high priest was there, along with , John, Alexander, and everyone else from the high priest’s family.They had Peter and John stand in the center and demanded, “By what power or in whose did you do this?”Then Peter, filled with , said to them, “Rulers and elders of the people,if we’re being questioned today about an shown to a man who couldn’t walk — how he was —then let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel: it is by the name of Jesus, , from Nazareth — the one you but God — it is by his name that this man stands in front of you completely healed.Jesus is ‘ that has become the .’There is no through anyone else, because there is no other under heaven given to humanity by which we must be rescued.When the council saw the of Peter and John and realized they were , men, they were astonished. Then they recognized them as men who had been with Jesus.And since they could see the man who had been healed standing right there with them, they couldn’t say anything against it.So they ordered Peter and John to leave the and then conferred among themselves.“What are we going to do with these men?” they asked each other. “Everyone living in Jerusalem knows an has happened through them — we can’t deny that.But to keep this from spreading any further among the people, let’s warn them to never speak to anyone in this name again.”So they called Peter and John back in and ordered them to stop speaking or teaching in the name of Jesus — period.But Peter and John fired back, “You decide — is it to listen to you rather than to God?Because we can’t stop talking about .”After threatening them further, the council let them go. They couldn’t figure out how to punish them because all the people were for what had happened.The man who had been was over forty years old.As soon as they were released, Peter and John went back to and reported everything the chief priests and elders had said to them.When the others heard this, they raised their voices together to God and said, “, you are the one who made the sky, the earth, the sea, and everything in them.You spoke through by the mouth of our ancestor , your servant, when he said: ‘Why did the rage and the peoples plot uselessly?The kings of the earth took their stand, and the rulers gathered together against and against .’And that’s exactly what happened. and actually met together in this city with and the people of Israel, against Jesus, , the one you anointed.They did exactly what your and your had already determined would happen.And now, Master, take note of their threats, and give your the ability to speak your message with ,while you to heal, and happen through the name of Jesus, .”When they finished praying, the place where they had gathered shook. They were all , and they began speaking God’s message with .The whole was . No one claimed that any of their possessions was their own — they shared everything.With great power, the continued giving about the resurrection of the Master Jesus, and an was on all of them.There wasn’t a single needy person among them, because everyone who owned land or houses would sell them, bring the money from the sales,and lay it . Then it was distributed to anyone who had a need.Joseph, a from whom the apostles called (which means “Son of Encouragement”), he owned, brought the money, and laid it at the apostles’ feet.