THE APOSTLES RETURN TO JERUSALEM. MATTHIAS IS CHOSEN IN PLACE OF JUDAS. THE HOLY SPIRIT IS SENT UPON THE DISCIPLES. PETER HEALS A LAME MAN AT THE BEAUTIFUL GATE OF THE TEMPLE. ANANIAS AND SAPPHIRA ARE SLAIN. THE APOSTLES ARE PUT INTO PRISON AND SCOURGED.
AFTER Jesus was taken up into heaven, the apostles returned to Jerusalem to wait there until the Holy Spirit should be sent upon them, as Jesus had commanded. And they gathered together in an upper room, and there prayed and gave thanks to God. Other disciples also were with them, the number of those who met together being about a hundred and twenty.
Then Peter stood up among them and said, Men and brethren, the words which the prophet spoke about Judas must come true, for it is written of him in the Scriptures that he should be put away from being an apostle, and another should take his place. Therefore of these men who have believed in Jesus, and been with him ever since he was baptized by John, until he was taken away from us up into heaven, one must be chosen who can go with us, and preach to the people about Jesus, and tell them that he has risen up from the dead. And the disciples agreed to what Peter said. Then they took two men, named Joseph and Matthias, and prayed, saying, Thou, Lord, who canst see every man's heart, show us which of these two thou hast chosen. And they cast lots to know which one it would be; and the lot fell on Matthias. And after that he was counted with the eleven apostles. When the day for the feast of harvest, or Pentecost, was come, the disciples were all met together in one place. And suddenly they heard a sound like the rushing of a great wind from heaven, which filled the house where they were sitting. And there appeared in the room what seemed to be flames of fire, in the shape of tongues, and one of these flames rested on the head of each of the disciples. Then the Holy Spirit came into them, as Jesus had promised, and they all began to speak in other languages, such as they had never understood before. The Holy Spirit made them able to do this, so that they might go to far off countries and preach the gospel there.
Now there were at that time in Jerusalem, Jews who had come from the countries where those languages were spoken; and when they heard the disciples, they were astonished, and asked, Do not all these men live in Galilee? How, then, are they able to speak the languages of those countries where we were born? Others, who did not understand the words that the disciples spoke, mocked them, and said they had been drinking wine and were drunken.
But Peter, standing up with the other apostles, said to the people, These men are not drunken, as you suppose, but God has sent his Holy Spirit into them. Therefore listen, ye men of Israel, to what I now say: Jesus of Nazareth, who did great miracles among you, which showed that God had sent him, you have taken and wickedly have put to death. But he has risen up from the dead, for it is written in the Scriptures that God would raise him up. And we, his apostles, have seen him since he rose. Therefore you, and all the children of Israel, may surely know that this Jesus, whom you have crucified, is the Saviour that was to come into the world.
When the Jews heard these words, they were filled with sorrow for what they had done, and they said to Peter and the other apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do? Peter answered them, Repent of your sins, and be baptized, and the Holy Ghost shall be given to you also; for God has promised to send him to you and your children, and to all who hear and obey him when he calls. Then great numbers believed on the Lord Jesus, so that about three thousand persons were baptized that same day. These all came and met together with the apostles, and with the rest of the disciples; and such as had money gave to those who had none. And they went to the temple to worship there, and did eat together in each others' houses, being full of joy: and God made all the people kind to them, and every day, others who repented and believed, came to the apostles and were baptized.
Now Peter and John went up together to the temple at the hour of prayer. And a poor man, who had been lame ever since he was born, was carried every day by his friends, and laid at the gate, called the Beautiful Gate of the temple, that he might ask alms, or gifts, of those who came up to worship. This man seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple, asked them for alms. Peter, fixing his eyes upon him, said, Look on us. And the man attended, for he supposed they would give something to him. Then Peter said, I have no silver and gold, but what I have I will give to thee. I tell thee, in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, to rise up and walk. And Peter took him by the right hand and lifted him up, and immediately his feet and ankle-bones were made strong, and he, leaping up, stood and walked and went with them into the temple, walking, and leaping, and praising God.
And all the people saw him, and knew that it was he who sat to ask for alms at the Beautiful Gate of the temple. And they were filled with wonder at what had been done, and ran together to the place where the apostles stood. Then Peter spoke to them, saying, You men of Israel, why wonder you at this? or why do you look so earnestly on us, as if we had made this man to walk? It is Jesus who has given us the power to make him well. Therefore, brethren, repent, and believe on Jesus, that when he shall come again at the Judgment day, your sins may be forgiven.
Now there was among the Jews a sect, or society of men, called Sadducees, who did not believe there would ever be any Judgment day, or that the dead would ever rise up from their graves. Some of these Sadducees belonged to the Council of the Sanhedrim, and were rulers over the people. And while Peter and John were speaking at the temple, they came there, being angry, because the apostles preached about Jesus and the resurrection, that is, the rising up from the dead. And they put them in prison to keep them till the next day, for it was now evening. Yet many of the people who heard the apostles, believed, so that the number of men was about five thousand.
The next day all the council met together. And when they had brought in Peter and John, they asked them, saying, By what power did you heal the lame man? Peter answered, Ye rulers of the people, and elders of Israel, If you ask us about the good deed done to the lame man, and how he was healed, we tell you it was by the power of Jesus of Nazareth, whom you crucified, that he was made well. For though you counted Jesus as nothing while he was on earth, yet God has made him to be the ruler over us all. Neither is there any other person in all the world, who can save us from being punished for our sins, except him.
When the rulers saw that Peter and John were poor and unlearned men, and yet were bold, and without fear, in speaking before them, they were astonished. But seeing the man who had been healed standing near them, they could not deny what the apostles had done. Then, commanding them to go for a little while out of the council, they talked among themselves, saying, What shall we do to these men, for that they have done a great miracle is known to all the people in Jerusalem, and we cannot contradict it. But that the news of it may spread no further, let us say that we will punish them if they preach any more to the people. Then they called Peter and John, and commanded them not to speak at all, nor teach about Jesus. But Peter and John answered them, saying, Whether it is right for us to obey you more than God, you yourselves, may judge; for we cannot help teaching the people about Jesus, and telling them of the things that we have seen and heard. So when the rulers had threatened again to punish them, they let them go because they could not prove any evil against them.
And being let go, Peter and John went to the other apostles, and to the disciples who were with them, and told of what the rulers had said. Then they all prayed together, saying, Lord, help us, that we may not be afraid to preach the gospel; and give us power to do miracles also in Jesus' name. And when they had prayed, the place was shaken where they were gathered together. God did this, so they might know that he heard their prayer and would give them what they asked him for. And they went out and preached again to the people, with boldness, not fearing what the rulers could do to them. And many heard them, and believed, and all who believed met together, helping and loving one another; and as many as had houses or lands sold them, and brought the money to the apostles that they might give alms to those who were poor.
But a man named Ananias, and Sapphira his wife, having land, sold it, and agreed together that they would bring part of the money to the apostles, and tell them that they brought all. They did this to deceive the apostles, and make them believe they were disciples of Jesus, while, in their hearts, they were not. But God told Peter of what they had done. Therefore when Ananias came with the money, and told Peter this lie, Peter said to him, Ananias was not the land thy own before it was sold, so that thou didst not have to sell it? And was not the money thy own after it was sold, to keep if thou didst want it? Why hast thou let Satan tempt thee to lie to the Holy Ghost? Peter said that Ananias had lied to the Holy Ghost, because the Holy Ghost was in Peter and the other apostles, helping them to teach the disciples and rule over them.
Then Peter told Ananias, that when he lied to the Holy Ghost he lied to God. Peter said this, because the Holy Ghost is God; not God the Father, nor God the Son, but God the Holy Ghost. As soon as Peter had spoken these words, Ananias fell down dead. So the Lord punished him for his sin. And when the disciples saw that he was dead, the young men who were there, took him and put grave-clothes upon him, and carried him out and buried him.
About three hours afterward, his wife, Sapphira, not knowing what had happened, came to the place where the disciples were. And Peter asked her, saying, Tell me, was the money thy husband brought us, all that you received for the land? She answered, Yes. And Peter said to her, Why have you agreed together to try and deceive the Spirit of the Lord? Behold, the men are at the door who have just buried thy husband, and they shall also carry thee out. Then she fell down at Peter's feet and died; and the young men came in and found her dead, and carrying her forth, buried her by her husband.
And great fear came upon all who heard of these things, so that no others dared try to deceive the apostles as Ananias and Sapphira had done. And the apostles preached to the people and did miracles among them, and many believed, both of men and women. And they brought out sick persons on beds and couches, and laid them in the streets, that if Peter could not touch them, at least his shadow might fall on them as he passed by to make them well. There came also a multitude out of the cities around Jerusalem, bringing with them those who were sick and who had evil spirits, and they were every one healed.
Then the high priest and the Sadducees, being angry at the apostles took hold of them and put them in the common prison. But in the night, the angel of the Lord came down and opened the prison doors and brought them out, and said, Go up to the temple and preach the gospel to the people. And they did as the angel commanded; for early in the morning they went up to the temple and preached there. But the high priest and the Sadducees, not knowing what the angel had done, called the council together, and sent to the prison to have the apostles brought. And the officers went to the prison, but did not find them. Then they came back to the council, saying, The prison, truly, we found shut, and the guards were keeping watch before the doors, but the men for whom you sent us were not there.
And the rulers in the council wondered what this could mean. But while they were in doubt about it, there came a messenger who said, The men whom you put in prison, are standing in the temple, teaching the people. Then the officers went and brought the apostles, yet without doing them any harm, lest the people should be angry. And when they had set them before the council, the high priest asked them saying, Did we not command you to speak no more about Jesus? But you have not obeyed us. Then Peter and the other apostles answered, and said, We ought to obey God rather than men. That Jesus whom you slew on the cross, God has raised up again, so that he may give the Jews new and penitent hearts, and forgive them their sins. And we, his apostles, are sent to tell you of these things.
When the high priest and the rulers heard what the apostles said, they were filled with madness against them, and talked with one another about some way of putting them to death. Then stood up one of the rulers, a learned man named Gamaliel, who was much thought of by all the Jews, and he commanded that the apostles should be sent out of the council for a little while. When they had gone, Gamaliel said, Ye rulers of Israel, be careful what you do to these men. For, a good while ago, a man named Theudas rose up, pretending that he was some great person, and about four hundred men followed him and obeyed what he told them. But before long he was slain, and all who had obeyed him, separated from one another. Afterward another man, named Judas, of Galilee, persuaded many persons to follow him, but he also perished, and those who had gone with him, were scattered. And now, I say to you, let these men alone and do them no harm; for if what they teach be untrue, it will soon come to nothing; but if God has sent them to speak to the people, you cannot stop them, and if you try to do so, you will be fighting against God.
And the men in the council agreed to what Gamaliel said. Yet they scourged the apostles, and commanded them not to preach any more, before they would let them go. Then the apostles went out of the council rejoicing that they were allowed to suffer pain for Jesus' sake. For by this time they had learned that Jesus did not come to set up an earthly kingdom, and that they would not be made rich and great for preaching his gospel, but that they would stay poor, and be persecuted like him, and afterward be rewarded when they should go to live with him in heaven.