Acts 1; Acts 2; Acts 3
1 In my former book, Theophilus, I wrote about all that
Jesus began to do and to teach 2 until the day he was taken up
to heaven, after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles he
had chosen. 3 After his suffering, he showed himself to these
men and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive. He appeared to them over
a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God. 4On one
occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: "Do
not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have
heard me speak about. 5 For John baptized with water, but in a
few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit." 6 So
when they met together, they asked him, "Lord, are you at this time going
to restore the kingdom to Israel?" 7 He said to them:
"It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his
own authority. 8 But you will receive power when the Holy
Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all
Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." 9 After
he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from
their sight. 10 They were looking intently up into the sky as
he was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them. 11 "Men
of Galilee," they said, "why do you stand here looking into the sky?
This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the
same way you have seen him go into heaven." 12 Then they
returned to Jerusalem from the hill called the Mount of Olives, a Sabbath day's
walk from the city. 13 When they arrived, they went upstairs
to the room where they were staying. Those present were Peter, John, James and
Andrew; Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew; James son of Alphaeus and
Simon the Zealot, and Judas son of James. 14 They all joined
together constantly in prayer, along with the women and Mary the mother of
Jesus, and with his brothers. 15 In those days Peter stood up
among the believers (a group numbering about a hundred and twenty) 16 and
said, "Brothers, the Scripture had to be fulfilled which the Holy Spirit
spoke long ago through the mouth of David concerning Judas, who served as guide
for those who arrested Jesus-- 17 he was one of our number and
shared in this ministry." 18(With the reward he got for his
wickedness, Judas bought a field; there he fell headlong, his body burst open
and all his intestines spilled out. 19 Everyone in Jerusalem
heard about this, so they called that field in their language Akeldama, that
is, Field of Blood.) 20 "For," said Peter, "it
is written in the book of Psalms, " 'May his place be deserted; let there
be no one to dwell in it,' and, " 'May another take his place of
leadership.' 21 Therefore it is necessary to choose one of the
men who have been with us the whole time the Lord Jesus went in and out among
us, 22 beginning from John's baptism to the time when Jesus
was taken up from us. For one of these must become a witness with us of his
resurrection." 23So they proposed two men: Joseph called
Barsabbas (also known as Justus) and Matthias. 24 Then they
prayed, "Lord, you know everyone's heart. Show us which of these two you
have chosen 25 to take over this apostolic ministry, which
Judas left to go where he belongs." 26 Then they cast
lots, and the lot fell to Matthias; so he was added to the eleven apostles.
1 When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in
one place. 2 Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent
wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. 3 They
saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each
of them. 4 All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and
began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them. 5 Now
there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under
heaven. 6 When they heard this sound, a crowd came together in
bewilderment, because each one heard them speaking in his own language. 7 Utterly
amazed, they asked: "Are not all these men who are speaking Galileans? 8 Then
how is it that each of us hears them in his own native language? 9 Parthians,
Medes and Elamites; residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and
Asia, 10 Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya
near Cyrene; visitors from Rome 11 (both Jews and converts to
Judaism); Cretans and Arabs--we hear them declaring the wonders of God in our
own tongues!" 12 Amazed and perplexed, they asked one
another, "What does this mean?" 13 Some, however,
made fun of them and said, "They have had too much wine. " 14 Then
Peter stood up with the Eleven, raised his voice and addressed the crowd:
"Fellow Jews and all of you who live in Jerusalem, let me explain this to
you; listen carefully to what I say. 15 These men are not
drunk, as you suppose. It's only nine in the morning! 16No, this is
what was spoken by the prophet Joel: 17 " 'In the last
days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and
daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will
dream dreams. 18 Even on my servants, both men and women, I
will pour out my Spirit in those days, and they will prophesy. 19 I
will show wonders in the heaven above and signs on the earth below, blood and
fire and billows of smoke. 20 The sun will be turned to
darkness and the moon to blood before the coming of the great and glorious day
of the Lord. 21 And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord
will be saved.' 22 "Men of Israel, listen to this: Jesus
of Nazareth was a man accredited by God to you by miracles, wonders and signs,
which God did among you through him, as you yourselves know. 23This
man was handed over to you by God's set purpose and foreknowledge; and you,
with the help of wicked men, put him to death by nailing him to the cross. 24 But
God raised him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death, because it
was impossible for death to keep its hold on him. 25 David
said about him: " 'I saw the Lord always before me. Because he is at my
right hand, I will not be shaken.26 Therefore my heart is glad and
my tongue rejoices; my body also will live in hope, 27 because
you will not abandon me to the grave, nor will you let your Holy One see decay. 28 You
have made known to me the paths of life; you will fill me with joy in your
presence.' 29 "Brothers, I can tell you confidently that
the patriarch David died and was buried, and his tomb is here to this day. 30 But
he was a prophet and knew that God had promised him on oath that he would place
one of his descendants on his throne.31 Seeing what was ahead, he
spoke of the resurrection of the Christ, that he was not abandoned to the
grave, nor did his body see decay. 32 God has raised this
Jesus to life, and we are all witnesses of the fact. 33 Exalted
to the right hand of God, he has received from the Father the promised Holy
Spirit and has poured out what you now see and hear. 34 For
David did not ascend to heaven, and yet he said, " 'The Lord said to my
Lord: "Sit at my right hand 35 until I make your enemies
a footstool for your feet." ' 36 "Therefore let all
Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both
Lord and Christ." 37 When the people heard this, they
were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, "Brothers,
what shall we do?" 38 Peter replied, "Repent and be
baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of
your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 The
promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off--for all whom
the Lord our God will call." 40 With many other words he
warned them; and he pleaded with them, "Save yourselves from this corrupt
generation." 41 Those who accepted his message were
baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day. 42 They
devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to the fellowship, to the
breaking of bread and to prayer. 43 Everyone was filled with
awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles. 44 All
the believers were together and had everything in common. 45 Selling
their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. 46 Every
day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in
their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, 47 praising
God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their
number daily those who were being saved.
1 One day Peter and John were going up to the temple at the
time of prayer--at three in the afternoon.2 Now a man crippled from
birth was being carried to the temple gate called Beautiful, where he was put
every day to beg from those going into the temple courts. 3 When
he saw Peter and John about to enter, he asked them for money. 4 Peter
looked straight at him, as did John. Then Peter said, "Look at us!" 5 So
the man gave them his attention, expecting to get something from them. 6 Then
Peter said, "Silver or gold I do not have, but what I have I give you. In
the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk."7 Taking him by
the right hand, he helped him up, and instantly the man's feet and ankles
became strong. 8 He jumped to his feet and began to walk. Then
he went with them into the temple courts, walking and jumping, and praising
God. 9 When all the people saw him walking and praising God, 10they
recognized him as the same man who used to sit begging at the temple gate
called Beautiful, and they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had
happened to him. 11 While the beggar held on to Peter and
John, all the people were astonished and came running to them in the place
called Solomon's Colonnade. 12 When Peter saw this, he said to
them: "Men of Israel, why does this surprise you? Why do you stare at us
as if by our own power or godliness we had made this man walk? 13 The
God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the God of our fathers, has glorified his
servant Jesus. You handed him over to be killed, and you disowned him before
Pilate, though he had decided to let him go. 14 You disowned
the Holy and Righteous One and asked that a murderer be released to you. 15 You
killed the author of life, but God raised him from the dead. We are witnesses
of this. 16 By faith in the name of Jesus, this man whom you
see and know was made strong. It is Jesus' name and the faith that comes
through him that has given this complete healing to him, as you can all see. 17 "Now,
brothers, I know that you acted in ignorance, as did your leaders. 18 But
this is how God fulfilled what he had foretold through all the prophets, saying
that his Christ would suffer. 19 Repent, then, and turn to
God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from
the Lord, 20 and that he may send the Christ, who has been
appointed for you--even Jesus. 21 He must remain in heaven
until the time comes for God to restore everything, as he promised long ago
through his holy prophets. 22 For Moses said, 'The Lord your
God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your own people; you
must listen to everything he tells you. 23 Anyone who does not
listen to him will be completely cut off from among his people.' 24 "Indeed,
all the prophets from Samuel on, as many as have spoken, have foretold these
days. 25 And you are heirs of the prophets and of the covenant
God made with your fathers. He said to Abraham, 'Through your offspring all
peoples on earth will be blessed.' 26 When God raised up his
servant, he sent him first to you to bless you by turning each of you from your
wicked ways."
