Acts 4
1 While they were speaking to the people, the priests, the captain of the temple, and the Sadducees came up to them,
2 annoyed because they were teaching the people and proclaiming, in Jesus, the resurrection of the dead.
3 They seized them and placed them in custody until the next day, since it was already evening.
4 But many of those who heard the word believed, and the number of the men reached about five thousand.
5 The next day, their rulers, elders, and teachers of the Law gathered in Jerusalem,
6 along with Annas the high priest, Caiaphas, John, Alexander, and all who belonged to the high-priestly family.
7 They stood them in the middle and asked, “By what power, or in whose name, did you do this?”
8 Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, “Rulers of the people and elders,
9 if we are being questioned today about a good deed done for a sick man, and how he was healed,
10 let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel: it was in the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, whom you crucified and whom God raised from the dead; by him this man stands before you, healed.
11 He is the stone that you builders rejected, which became the cornerstone.
12 There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven, given among people, by which we must be saved.”
13 When they saw the boldness of Peter and John and realized that they were uneducated and ordinary men, they were amazed; and they recognized that they had been with Jesus.
14 And seeing the man who had been healed standing there with them, they had nothing to say against it.
15 They ordered them to leave the council and discussed the matter among themselves:
16 “What are we going to do with these men? For a clear sign has been performed through them, evident to everyone living in Jerusalem, and we cannot deny it.
17 But so that this does not spread any further among the people, let us threaten them, so they will no longer speak to anyone in this name.”
18 So they called them in and ordered them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus.
19 But Peter and John answered them, “You decide whether it is right before God to listen to you rather than to God.
20 For we cannot stop speaking about what we have seen and heard.”
21 After threatening them further, they released them, finding no way to punish them because of the people, since everyone was glorifying God for what had happened.
22 For the man on whom this healing sign had been performed was more than forty years old.
23 After being released, they went to their own people and reported everything the chief priests and elders had said to them.
24 When they heard this, they raised their voices together to God and said, “Sovereign Lord, you made the heaven, the earth, the sea, and everything in them,
25 and by the Holy Spirit, through the mouth of our father David, your servant, you said: ‘Why did the nations rage, and the peoples plot in vain?
26 The kings of the earth took their stand, and the rulers gathered together against the Lord and against his Anointed One.’
27 For indeed, in this city Herod and Pontius Pilate gathered with the nations and the peoples of Israel against your holy Servant Jesus, whom you anointed,
28 to do everything that your hand and your plan had determined would happen.
29 And now, Lord, look at their threats, and grant your servants the boldness to speak your word,
30 as you stretch out your hand to heal, and as signs and wonders take place through the name of your holy Servant Jesus.”
31 When they had finished praying, the place where they were gathered shook; they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly.
32 The crowd of believers was of one heart and soul; no one said that anything they owned was their own, but they shared everything.
33 With great power the apostles bore witness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all.
34 There was no one needy among them, for all who owned lands or houses sold them and brought the proceeds of what they had sold.
35 They laid the money at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to each according to that person’s need.
36 Joseph, whom the apostles had nicknamed Barnabas—which means Son of Encouragement—a Levite, a native of Cyprus,
37 owned a field; he sold it, brought the money, and laid it at the apostles’ feet.
Read and listen to this chapter in the Shalem app, free: narration, chapter video and reading progress. Get the app