Acts 4; Acts 5; Acts 6

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Acts 4

1 Peter and John were still speaking to the people when some priests, the officer in charge of the Temple guards, and some Sadducees arrived.
2 They were annoyed because the two apostles were teaching the people that Jesus had risen from death, which proved that the dead will rise to life.
3 So they arrested them and put them in jail until the next day, since it was already late.
4 But many who heard the message believed; and the number grew to about five thousand.
5 The next day the Jewish leaders, the elders, and the teachers of the Law gathered in Jerusalem.
6 They met with the High Priest Annas and with Caiaphas, John, Alexander, and the others who belonged to the High Priest's family.
7 They made the apostles stand before them and asked them, "How did you do this? What power do you have or whose name did you use?"
8 Peter, full of the Holy Spirit, answered them, "Leaders of the people and elders:
9 if we are being questioned today about the good deed done to the lame man and how he was healed,
10 then you should all know, and all the people of Israel should know, that this man stands here before you completely well through the power of the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth - whom you crucified and whom God raised from death.
11 Jesus is the one of whom the scripture says, "The stone that you the builders despised turned out to be the most important of all.'
12 Salvation is to be found through him alone; in all the world there is no one else whom God has given who can save us."
13 The members of the Council were amazed to see how bold Peter and John were and to learn that they were ordinary men of no education. They realized then that they had been companions of Jesus.
14 But there was nothing that they could say, because they saw the man who had been healed standing there with Peter and John.
15 So they told them to leave the Council room, and then they started discussing among themselves.
16 "What shall we do with these men?" they asked. "Everyone in Jerusalem knows that this extraordinary miracle has been performed by them, and we cannot deny it.
17 But to keep this matter from spreading any further among the people, let us warn these men never again to speak to anyone in the name of Jesus."
18 So they called them back in and told them that under no condition were they to speak or to teach in the name of Jesus.
19 But Peter and John answered them, "You yourselves judge which is right in God's sight - to obey you or to obey God.
20 For we cannot stop speaking of what we ourselves have seen and heard."
21 So the Council warned them even more strongly and then set them free. They saw that it was impossible to punish them, because the people were all praising God for what had happened.
22 The man on whom this miracle of healing had been performed was over forty years old.
23 As soon as Peter and John were set free, they returned to their group and told them what the chief priests and the elders had said.
24 When the believers heard it, they all joined together in prayer to God: "Master and Creator of heaven, earth, and sea, and all that is in them!
25 By means of the Holy Spirit you spoke through our ancestor David, your servant, when he said, "Why were the Gentiles furious; why did people make their useless plots?
26 The kings of the earth prepared themselves, and the rulers met together against the Lord and his Messiah.'
27 For indeed Herod and Pontius Pilate met together in this city with the Gentiles and the people of Israel against Jesus, your holy Servant, whom you made Messiah.
28 They gathered to do everything that you by your power and will had already decided would happen.
29 And now, Lord, take notice of the threats they have made, and allow us, your servants, to speak your message with all boldness.
30 Reach out your hand to heal, and grant that wonders and miracles may be performed through the name of your holy Servant Jesus."
31 When they finished praying, the place where they were meeting was shaken. They were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to proclaim God's message with boldness.
32 The group of believers was one in mind and heart. None of them said that any of their belongings were their own, but they all shared with one another everything they had.
33 With great power the apostles gave witness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and God poured rich blessings on them all.
34 There was no one in the group who was in need. Those who owned fields or houses would sell them, bring the money received from the sale,
35 and turn it over to the apostles; and the money was distributed according to the needs of the people.
36 And so it was that Joseph, a Levite born in Cyprus, whom the apostles called Barnabas (which means "One who Encourages"),
37 sold a field he owned, brought the money, and turned it over to the apostles.
Scripture taken from the Good News Translation - Second Edition, Copyright 1992 by American Bible Society. Used by Permission.

Acts 5

1 But there was a man named Ananias, who with his wife Sapphira sold some property that belonged to them.
2 But with his wife's agreement he kept part of the money for himself and turned the rest over to the apostles.
3 Peter said to him, "Ananias, why did you let Satan take control of you and make you lie to the Holy Spirit by keeping part of the money you received for the property?
4 Before you sold the property, it belonged to you; and after you sold it, the money was yours. Why, then, did you decide to do such a thing? You have not lied to people - you have lied to God!"
5 As soon as Ananias heard this, he fell down dead; and all who heard about it were terrified.
6 The young men came in, wrapped up his body, carried him out, and buried him.
7 About three hours later his wife, not knowing what had happened, came in.
8 Peter asked her, "Tell me, was this the full amount you and your husband received for your property?" "Yes," she answered, "the full amount."
9 So Peter said to her, "Why did you and your husband decide to put the Lord's Spirit to the test? The men who buried your husband are at the door right now, and they will carry you out too!"
10 At once she fell down at his feet and died. The young men came in and saw that she was dead, so they carried her out and buried her beside her husband.
11 The whole church and all the others who heard of this were terrified.
12 Many miracles and wonders were being performed among the people by the apostles. All the believers met together in Solomon's Porch.
13 Nobody outside the group dared join them, even though the people spoke highly of them.
14 But more and more people were added to the group - a crowd of men and women who believed in the Lord.
15 As a result of what the apostles were doing, sick people were carried out into the streets and placed on beds and mats so that at least Peter's shadow might fall on some of them as he passed by.
16 And crowds of people came in from the towns around Jerusalem, bringing those who were sick or who had evil spirits in them; and they were all healed.
17 Then the High Priest and all his companions, members of the local party of the Sadducees, became extremely jealous of the apostles; so they decided to take action.
18 They arrested the apostles and put them in the public jail.
19 But that night an angel of the Lord opened the prison gates, led the apostles out, and said to them,
20 "Go and stand in the Temple, and tell the people all about this new life."
21 The apostles obeyed, and at dawn they entered the Temple and started teaching. The High Priest and his companions called together all the Jewish elders for a full meeting of the Council; then they sent orders to the prison to have the apostles brought before them.
22 But when the officials arrived, they did not find the apostles in prison, so they returned to the Council and reported,
23 "When we arrived at the jail, we found it locked up tight and all the guards on watch at the gates; but when we opened the gates, we found no one inside!"
24 When the chief priests and the officer in charge of the Temple guards heard this, they wondered what had happened to the apostles.
25 Then a man came in and said to them, "Listen! The men you put in prison are in the Temple teaching the people!"
26 So the officer went off with his men and brought the apostles back. They did not use force, however, because they were afraid that the people might stone them.
27 They brought the apostles in, made them stand before the Council, and the High Priest questioned them.
28 "We gave you strict orders not to teach in the name of this man," he said; "but see what you have done! You have spread your teaching all over Jerusalem, and you want to make us responsible for his death!"
29 Peter and the other apostles answered, "We must obey God, not men.
30 The God of our ancestors raised Jesus from death, after you had killed him by nailing him to a cross.
31 God raised him to his right side as Leader and Savior, to give the people of Israel the opportunity to repent and have their sins forgiven.
32 We are witnesses to these things - we and the Holy Spirit, who is God's gift to those who obey him."
33 When the members of the Council heard this, they were so furious that they wanted to have the apostles put to death.
34 But one of them, a Pharisee named Gamaliel, who was a teacher of the Law and was highly respected by all the people, stood up in the Council. He ordered the apostles to be taken out for a while,
35 and then he said to the Council, "Fellow Israelites, be careful what you do to these men.
36 You remember that Theudas appeared some time ago, claiming to be somebody great, and about four hundred men joined him. But he was killed, all his followers were scattered, and his movement died out.
37 After that, Judas the Galilean appeared during the time of the census; he drew a crowd after him, but he also was killed, and all his followers were scattered.
38 And so in this case, I tell you, do not take any action against these men. Leave them alone! If what they have planned and done is of human origin, it will disappear,
39 but if it comes from God, you cannot possibly defeat them. You could find yourselves fighting against God!" The Council followed Gamaliel's advice.
40 They called the apostles in, had them whipped, and ordered them never again to speak in the name of Jesus; and then they set them free.
41 As the apostles left the Council, they were happy, because God had considered them worthy to suffer disgrace for the sake of Jesus.
42 And every day in the Temple and in people's homes they continued to teach and preach the Good News about Jesus the Messiah.
Scripture taken from the Good News Translation - Second Edition, Copyright 1992 by American Bible Society. Used by Permission.

Acts 6

1 Some time later, as the number of disciples kept growing, there was a quarrel between the Greek-speaking Jews and the native Jews. The Greek-speaking Jews claimed that their widows were being neglected in the daily distribution of funds.
2 So the twelve apostles called the whole group of believers together and said, "It is not right for us to neglect the preaching of God's word in order to handle finances.
3 So then, friends, choose seven men among you who are known to be full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom, and we will put them in charge of this matter.
4 We ourselves, then, will give our full time to prayer and the work of preaching."
5 The whole group was pleased with the apostles' proposal, so they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and the Holy Spirit, and Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolaus, a Gentile from Antioch who had earlier been converted to Judaism.
6 The group presented them to the apostles, who prayed and placed their hands on them.
7 And so the word of God continued to spread. The number of disciples in Jerusalem grew larger and larger, and a great number of priests accepted the faith.
8 Stephen, a man richly blessed by God and full of power, performed great miracles and wonders among the people.
9 But he was opposed by some men who were members of the synagogue of the Freedmen (as it was called), which had Jews from Cyrene and Alexandria. They and other Jews from the provinces of Cilicia and Asia started arguing with Stephen.
10 But the Spirit gave Stephen such wisdom that when he spoke, they could not refute him.
11 So they bribed some men to say, "We heard him speaking against Moses and against God!"
12 In this way they stirred up the people, the elders, and the teachers of the Law. They seized Stephen and took him before the Council.
13 Then they brought in some men to tell lies about him. "This man," they said, "is always talking against our sacred Temple and the Law of Moses.
14 We heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth will tear down the Temple and change all the customs which have come down to us from Moses!"
15 All those sitting in the Council fixed their eyes on Stephen and saw that his face looked like the face of an angel.
Scripture taken from the Good News Translation - Second Edition, Copyright 1992 by American Bible Society. Used by Permission.