Peter and John Before the Council

¹And as they were speaking to the people, the priests and lthe captain of the temple and mthe Sadducees came upon them, ²greatly annoyed because they were teaching the people and proclaiming nin Jesus the resurrection from the dead. ³And they arrested them and oput them in custody until the next day, for it was already evening. ⁴But many of those who had heard the word believed, and pthe number of the men came to about five thousand.

⁵On the next day their rulers and elders and scribes gathered together in Jerusalem, ⁶with qAnnas the high priest and rCaiaphas and John and Alexander, and all who were of the high-priestly family. ⁷And when they had set them in the midst, they inquired, s“By what power or tby what name did you do this?” ⁸Then Peter, ufilled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, “Rulers of the people and elders, ⁹if we are being examined today vconcerning a good deed done to a crippled man, by what means this man has been healed, ¹⁰let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel that wby the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, xwhom God raised from the dead—by him this man is standing before you well. ¹¹yThis Jesus1 is the stone that was zrejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone.2 ¹²And there is asalvation bin no one else, for cthere is no other dname under heaven given among men3 by which we must be saved.”

¹³eNow when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated, common men, they were astonished. And they recognized that they had been with Jesus. ¹⁴But seeing the man who was healed fstanding beside them, gthey had nothing to say in opposition. ¹⁵But when they had commanded them to leave the council, they conferred with one another, ¹⁶saying, h“What shall we do with these men? For that ia notable sign has been performed through them is evident to all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and we cannot deny it. ¹⁷But in order that it may spread no further among the people, let us warn them jto speak no more to anyone in this name.” ¹⁸So they called them and charged them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. ¹⁹But Peter and John answered them, k“Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than to God, you must judge, ²⁰for lwe cannot but speak of what mwe have seen and heard.” ²¹And when they had further threatened them, they let them go, finding no way to punish them, nbecause of the people, for all were praising God ofor what had happened. ²²For the man on whom this sign of healing was performed was more than forty years old.

The Believers Pray for Boldness

²³When they were released, they went to their friends and reported what the chief priests and the elders had said to them. ²⁴And when they heard it, they lifted their voices ptogether to God and said, “Sovereign Lord, qwho made the heaven and the earth and the sea and everything in them, ²⁵who through the mouth of our father David, your servant,4 said by the Holy Spirit,

r“‘Why did the Gentiles rage,

and the peoples plot in vain?

²⁶The kings of the earth set themselves,

and sthe rulers were gathered together,

against the Lord and against his tAnointed’5—

²⁷for truly in this city there were gathered together against your uholy servant Jesus, vwhom you anointed, both wHerod and xPontius Pilate, along ywith the Gentiles and zthe peoples of Israel, ²⁸ato do whatever your hand and byour plan had predestined to take place. ²⁹And now, Lord, clook upon their threats and grant to your servants to continue to speak your word with all dboldness, ³⁰while eyou stretch out your hand to heal, and signs and wonders are performed fthrough the name of your gholy servant Jesus.” ³¹And when they had prayed, hthe place in which they were gathered together was shaken, and ithey were all filled with the Holy Spirit and jcontinued to speak the word of God with boldness.

They Had Everything in Common

³²Now the full number of those who believed were of kone heart and lsoul, and no one said that any of the things that belonged to him was his own, but mthey had everything in common. ³³And with great npower the apostles were giving their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and ogreat grace was upon them all. ³⁴pThere was not a needy person among them, for qas many as were owners of lands or houses sold them and brought the proceeds of what was sold ³⁵and rlaid it at the apostles' feet, and sit was distributed to each as any had need. ³⁶Thus Joseph, who was also called by the apostles Barnabas (which means tson of encouragement), a Levite, a native of Cyprus, ³⁷sold a field that belonged to him and brought the money and ulaid it at the apostles' feet.