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. 13When 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." 23 So 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. 3They
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. 5Now
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!" 12Amazed 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! 16 No,
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. 23 This
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. 24But 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.
