Acts

Peter and John Before the Council

While Peter and John were still speaking to the crowd, the priests, the captain of the temple guard, and the Sadducees approached them.

They were very upset because the apostles were teaching the people and claiming that resurrection from the dead had been proven through Jesus.

Since it was already evening, they arrested them and kept them in custody until the next day.

Despite this, many who heard the message believed, and their numbers grew to about five thousand.

The next day, the Jewish leaders, elders, and teachers of the law gathered in Jerusalem.

Annias, the High Priest, Caiaphas, John, Alexander, and everyone from the high priestly family were present.

They brought Peter and John before them and started to question them:

How did you manage to do this? Whose name did you use?

Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, spoke up:

“Leaders of the people! Elders!

It is a fact that we are being examined today for a good deed done to a cripple. How was he healed?

You and all the people of Israel must know that this man stands before you cured through the name of Jesus Christ, the Nazorean. You had him crucified. But God raised him from the dead.

Jesus is the stone rejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone.

There is no salvation in anyone else; for there is no other Name given to humankind all over the world, by which we may be saved.”

They were amazed at Peter and John’s boldness, considering they were uneducated and untrained men. They also recognized that they had been with Jesus,

but, as the man who had been healed stood beside them, they could not respond.

So they told them to leave the council room while they discussed it among themselves.

They asked: “What shall we do with these men? Everyone who lives in Jerusalem knows that a remarkable sign has been given through them, and we cannot deny it.

But to stop this from spreading any further among the people, let us warn them never again to speak to anyone in the name of Jesus.”

So they called them back and told them not to speak, or teach at all, in the name of Jesus.

But Peter and John responded to them:

“Judge for yourselves, whether it is right in God’s eyes for us to obey you rather than God.

We cannot stop speaking about what we have seen and heard.”

Then the council threatened them again and released them. They couldn’t find a way to punish them because the people were glorifying God for what had happened.

The man who had been miraculously healed was over forty years old.

Prayer of the Community

As soon as Peter and John were released, they went to their friends and told them what the chief priests and elders had said.

When they heard it, they all raised their voices together and called out to God:

“Sovereign Lord, maker of heaven and earth, of the sea and everything in them,

you have put these words in the mouth of David our father and your servant through the Holy Spirit: Why did the pagan nations rage and the people conspire in folly?

The kings of the earth were aligned

and the princes gathered together

against the Lord and against his Messiah.

Indeed, in this very city, Herod, along with Pontius Pilate, the pagans, and the people of Israel, conspired against your holy servant, Jesus, whom you anointed.

So, they truly brought about everything your strong will had long decided would happen.

But now, Lord, look on their threats against us; grant your servants the courage to speak your word boldly.

Stretch out your hand to heal and perform signs and wonders through the name of Jesus, your holy servant.”

When they had prayed, the place where they were gathered shook; and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak God’s word boldly.

Community of Goods

The entire community of believers was united in heart and mind. No one claimed individual ownership of any possessions; instead, they shared everything in common.

With great power, the apostles testified to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, for they were living in a remarkable time of grace.

There was no one in need among them, for those who owned land or houses sold them and brought the proceeds to the apostles.

They laid it at their feet, and the apostles distributed it according to each person’s need.

This is what a man named Joseph did. He was a Levite from Cyprus, whom the apostles called Barnabas, meaning: ‘The encouraging one.’

He sold a piece of land he owned and gave the money to the apostles.