The work that Jesus’ *apostles did
An EasyEnglish Version with Notes (1200 word vocabulary) of the Book of Acts
Ruth Davies and Shirley Chapman
The translated Bible text has been through Advanced Checking.
Words in boxes are comments on the text.
A word list at the end explains words with a *star by them.
Luke wrote this book in the year *AD 63. He was not a *Jew but he was a *disciple of Jesus. He was a doctor. Luke was one of Paul’s friends. Sometimes he went with Paul when Paul travelled from country to country. He went to Rome with Paul and he stayed there with him.
Luke wrote the book to send to Theophilus. Theophilus was an important *Roman man. This is the second book that Luke wrote for him. The first book is called ‘Luke’. In this second book, Luke tells us how God first gave his *Holy Spirit to the *apostles. He writes about the work of the *apostles in Jerusalem and in cities in many other countries. He tells us how more and more people believed in Jesus. He also writes about problems between Christians. Some of these were *Jews and some of them were not.
He also tells us that the leaders of the *Jews did not believe in Jesus. They wanted the *apostles to stop teaching the people about Jesus.
The book is in 5 parts:
A How more people believed in Jesus in Judea and Jerusalem.
1 How the *apostles took God’s message about Jesus to the cities near Jerusalem.
2 How the *apostles took God’s message about Jesus to the cities in other countries. The other countries were near Judea.
B How Paul travelled to many countries with the good news about Jesus. He also taught people who were not *Jews about Jesus.
3 Where Paul went on his first journey to teach people about Jesus.
4 Where Paul went on his second journey to teach people about Jesus.
5 Paul’s last big journey, when he went to Rome.
v1 Jesus began to do many things when he was working on earth. He also began to teach people many things. I told you about all these things in the first book that I wrote for you, Theophilus.
That first book is called ‘Luke’.
v2 I told you about the things that Jesus did until God took Him up into *heaven. Jesus had chosen some men to be his *apostles. He had told them by the *Holy Spirit what they must do. Then God took Jesus back to heaven. v3 Jesus had died and then he became alive again. During the 40 days after that, he showed himself many times to his *apostles. He showed himself in different ways. They could then be sure that Jesus was really alive again. The *apostles often saw Jesus, and he talked to them about the *Kingdom of God.
We can read about this in Luke chapter 24 and John, chapters 20 and 21.
v4 While Jesus was still with his *apostles, he spoke to them. He said, ‘Do not leave Jerusalem yet. You must wait there for my Father’s gift that I told you about. My Father promised to give it to you. v5 John *baptised people with water, but after a few days God will *baptise you with the *Holy Spirit.’
v6 Jesus’ *apostles all met together with him. ‘*Lord’, they said, ‘will you at this time give the people of *Israel their *Kingdom back? Will they now rule their own country again?’
v7 ‘My Father decides when things will happen in the world’, Jesus replied. ‘He does not want you to know when this will happen. v8 But the *Holy Spirit will come to you, and he will cause you to become powerful. The *Holy Spirit will cause your *spirit to be strong. Then you can tell other people about me. You will tell people about me in Jerusalem, in Judea, in Samaria and in all other countries.’
v9 When Jesus had finished speaking to his *apostles, God took him up into God’s home. The *apostles watched Jesus go. Then a cloud hid him and the *apostles could not see him any longer.
v10 The *apostles were still looking carefully up into the sky when *suddenly two men appeared. The men were wearing white clothes and they stood near the *apostles.
We think that these men were *angels.
v11 Then they spoke to the *apostles. ‘You men from Galilee, you should not still be standing here’, they said. ‘You should not still look up into the sky. God has taken Jesus into *heaven. You saw the way that Jesus went up to *heaven. One day, he will return in the same way.’
All this happened on the east side of the hill called the Mount of Olives. This hill is between Jerusalem and the town called Bethany. *Olive trees grow there.
v12 Then the *apostles returned to Jerusalem from the hill called the Mount of *Olives. The Mount of Olives was about one kilometre from the city. v13 When the *apostles arrived in Jerusalem, they went upstairs. And they went into the room where they were staying. The names of the *apostles were Peter, John, James and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew. The other apostles, James the son of Alphaeus, Simon the Zealot, and Judas, the son of James, were also there.
A Zealot or Patriot was someone who fought for his government or against the *Roman government.
v14 The *apostles often met together in a group to pray. They prayed together with Mary, Jesus’ mother, other women and his brothers. v15 A few days after that, about 120 people met together. These people all believed in Jesus. Peter stood up and he spoke to them. v16 ‘My friends’, he said, ‘Long ago, the *Holy Spirit spoke to King David and David wrote down this message. He wrote about the things that Judas would do.’
We can read more about what Judas did in Luke chapter 22.
‘These things had to happen and now they have happened. Judas showed the soldiers how to catch Jesus. Judas helped them to do it. v17 Judas was in our group, because Jesus chose him. He chose Judas to work together with us.’
v18 The *priests gave Judas some money because he had helped them. Judas bought a field with that money. But he then fell down in that field and he died. His body broke open and the inside of his body fell out. v19 All the people who lived in Jerusalem heard about the death of Judas. So the people called that field Akeldama in their own language. Akeldama means ‘The Field of Blood’.
We can read about Judas and the money in Matthew 27:3-7.
v20 Peter continued, ‘King David wrote in the book of Psalms,
“So the house that he had will be empty.
Nobody should live in it.” ’
We can read that in Psalm 69:25.
‘King David also wrote in the same book,
“So, another person must do his work.” ’
We can read that in Psalm 109:8.
v21 ‘Because of this, we need to choose another man’, said Peter. ‘This man must have been together with us from the beginning. He must have been in our group all the time that Jesus was with us. v22 The man must have been with us when John was *baptising people. He must have stayed with us while Jesus was working. He must have been with us when Jesus went up to *heaven. Then he can say to the people, “I know that our master died. I saw him after he became alive again.” ’
v23 So the group said the names of two men. One of these men was Joseph, who had two other names. People also called him Barsabbas and sometimes people called him Justus. The other man was called Matthias. v24 Then the whole group prayed. ‘*Lord, you know what everybody is really thinking’, they said. ‘Please show us which man you have chosen. Which of these two men do you want to be an *apostle? v25 Judas left his work as an *apostle. He has gone to the right place for him.’
v26 Then the group chose which of the men would do the work of an *apostle. It happened that they chose Matthias. So Matthias took the place of Judas and he became the *twelfth *apostle, together with the other 11 men.
They chose Matthias in this way. They wrote the names of Joseph and Matthias on two pieces of stone. Then they put the pieces of stone into a jar. They then poured one stone out of the jar. The stone had Matthias’s name on it. This showed that Matthias was the right man to be an *apostle. In those days, sometimes people did this when they had to choose someone.
v1 Then the day that the *Jews called ‘The Day of *Pentecost’ came. All the *believers were meeting together in a house in Jerusalem.
The *Jewish Day of *Pentecost was 50 days after they ate the *Passover meal.
v2 Then, *suddenly, as they were sitting together, they heard a noise. The sound came from the sky. It was like the sound of a strong wind. They could hear the noise everywhere in the house. v3 Then they saw something move, like many small separate fires. The small fires moved in the room and they touched every person. v4 God filled each person with the *Holy Spirit. Then the *believers began to speak in foreign languages that they had not learned. They spoke like that because the *Holy Spirit helped them.
v5 At that time, other *Jews, who prayed to God every day, were living in Jerusalem. They came from many different countries in the world. v6 The *believers made a loud noise when they spoke these other languages. When these other *Jews heard this loud noise, they came together in a large crowd. Each person could hear the *disciples speaking in their own language. This confused them. And so they did not know what to think. v7 But they were very surprised. ‘These men who are speaking like this are from Galilee’, they said. v8 ‘We do not know what is happening. We can all hear them speak in the language of our own home country. v9 Some of us are from Parthia, Media and Elam. Some of us are from Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia. Some of us are from Pontus and *Asia. v10 Some of us are from Phrygia and Pamphylia. Some of us are from *Egypt. Some of us are from near the town called Cyrene. Cyrene is in the country called Libya. Some of us are from Rome. v11 Some of us are *Jews. Some of us do not have *Jewish parents, but now we believe in the God of the *Jews. Some of us are from Crete and some of us are from Arabia. But we all hear these people speaking in our own languages. They are speaking about all the great things that God has done.’ v12 All the people were very surprised. They did not understand what was happening. ‘How can we explain all this?’ they asked each other.
v13 Other people *laughed at the *disciples. They said to each other, ‘These people are drunk!’
v14 Peter was with the other 11 *apostles and he stood up. He began to speak to the crowd with a loud voice. He explained to them what was happening.
‘You people, who are also *Jews like us, listen to me. And all you people, who live here in Jerusalem, listen to me. I will explain to you everything that is happening. v15 Some of you think that my friends here are drunk. But they are not drunk, because it is only 9 o’clock in the morning.’
The *Jewish day began at 6 o’clock in the morning. On the Day of *Pentecost, the *Jews prayed at 9 o’clock. Then they ate their first meal of the day at 10 o’clock. So at 9 o’clock they would not yet have had any food or drink that day. So they could not be drunk.
v16 ‘Something different is happening here. Joel was a *prophet and he spoke God’s words about it a long time ago. He said that one day this would happen. This is what Joel said.’
We can read what Joel said in Joel 2:28-32.
v17 ‘ “This is what I will do in the last days”, God says.
“I will give my *Spirit to all people.
Your sons and daughters will speak my message to people.
Your young men will see pictures from me in their minds.
And your old men will see things in their dreams.
v18 At that time, I will give my *Spirit.
Yes, I will even give my *Spirit to the men and women who are my servants.
Then they will speak my message to people.
v19 I will cause special things to appear in the sky.
I will also cause special things to appear on the earth. They will be powerful things that only I can do.
There will be blood, fire and thick dark smoke.
v20 And the sun will become dark, and it will not shine any longer.
The moon will become dark red like the colour of blood.
These things will happen before the *Lord God’s very important day comes.
On that day, my light will shine everywhere.
v21 People will ask me to save them and I will give them new life”, God said.’
We do many wrong things. The result is that we are separated from God. God’s message is that only Jesus can save us from the result of these wrong things. Jesus can bring us close to God again. We must say sorry to God for all these wrong things that we have done. We must tell God that now we will obey him. Then God will welcome us into his *kingdom. God will give us a new life.
v22 ‘Now, people of *Israel, listen to what I am saying!’ Peter said. ‘God sent Jesus of Nazareth to the earth to work for him. God worked by Jesus and did many powerful and special things. Because of this, people should know that God had sent Jesus. You know about all this. These things happened here, and you saw them. v23 God knew that the *Romans would give Jesus to you. God had decided that this should happen. So you killed Jesus. You let bad men fix him to the *cross. v24 And so Jesus died. But God caused him to become alive again. God saved Jesus from the power of death. It was impossible for Jesus to stay dead. v25 A long time ago, King David spoke about Jesus.
“I saw the *Lord in front of me all the time”, he said.
“He is next to me, so nothing will cause me trouble.
v26 I am very happy because of this,
so I must talk about it.
I know that I am a man.
But I know that you have promised me these things. So they will certainly happen.
v27 So you will not leave my *soul with all the dead people.
Your servant loves you.
And so you will not let anything destroy his body when he dies.
v28 You have shown me the good paths that lead me to true life.
You are next to me, so I am completely happy.” ’
We can read this also in Psalm 16:8-11.
v29 ‘People of *Israel’, Peter then said, ‘I must speak clear words to you about King David. Long ago he was our *ancestor and king. David died and people buried his body in the ground. The place where people buried him is still here today. v30 David spoke words from God. He knew what God had promised him. God promised David that a special man from his *family would be a king. This man would be a king like David. v31 And David understood what God would do in future days. So David spoke about this special man that God would send to the world. When this person died, God would cause him to become alive again. David said that God would not let him remain dead among dead people. He said that nothing would destroy his body. v32 This man that David talked about was Jesus. Jesus died. But God caused him to become alive again. We ourselves saw this. v33 God took him back to his right side in *heaven. So now Jesus is sitting in the most important place, next to his Father.’
An *ancestor is a person who belonged to the same *family. But he lived a long time ago.
‘God is Jesus’ Father, and he gave Jesus the *Holy Spirit. God had promised Jesus that he would do this. Now Jesus has given us the *Holy Spirit today as a gift. You are seeing and hearing the result of this. v34 David did not go up into *heaven like Jesus did. But David said.
“The *Lord God said to my *Lord:
Sit here next to me at my right side.
v35 While you sit here, I will beat your enemies.
They will be under you, like a place to put your feet.” ’
We can read this also in Psalm 110:1.
v36 ‘All you people of *Israel must be sure to know this. You killed Jesus on a *cross. But it is this same Jesus that God chose as that special person. God caused him to be *Lord.’
v37 The people heard what Peter said to them. Then they had much trouble in their minds. So they asked Peter and the other *apostles for help. ‘Friends, what must we do?’ they said.
v38 ‘Each of you has done wrong things’, Peter told them. ‘You must tell God that you are sorry about that. Then you must stop doing those wrong things. You must obey God and you must do right things. Then someone with the authority of Jesus Christ will *baptise you. And God will *forgive you for all the wrong things that you have done. Then God will give you his gift, which is the *Holy Spirit. v39 God has promised to *forgive you and your children. He has also promised to give the *Holy Spirit to you and to your children. He has also promised this to people who live in other countries. God has chosen many people to believe in him. He includes all of them in his promise.’
v40 So Peter told the people what they must do. He also told them many other things. He continued to speak with serious words to them. He said, ‘Save yourselves from the *punishment that God will send. God will send it to bad people who are alive now.’
v41 Many of the people who listened to Peter believed his words. So the *apostles *baptised them. About three thousand joined the group that same day. They all believed in Jesus.
v42 These new *believers stayed with the *apostles so that they could learn more about Jesus. And they all became good friends with everyone else in the group. They prayed together and they ate meals together.
People who believed in Jesus were called *believers. When they ate together they also remembered his death for them.
v43 The *Holy Spirit worked with the *apostles. He caused them to be powerful, so that they could make sick people well. And they could do many other special things. All the people were very surprised and afraid because of these special things. v44 All the *believers continued to be good friends with each other. They ate meals together, and they learned more about Jesus. They continued to pray together. They gave each other some of the things that they had. v45 They sold some of their own things. Then they gave that money to other *believers who needed it. v46 The whole group of *believers met together every day in the Great House of God. They ate their meals together in each other’s homes and they were all very happy together. They thanked God for everything. v47 The *believers often said how great and important God was. All the other people liked the *believers. And they thought that the *believers were very good people. Every day, more people asked the *Lord to save them. So he was making the group of those who believed in him much bigger.
v1 One day, Peter and John went to the Great House of God in Jerusalem. It was 3 o’clock in the afternoon. This was the time that everyone went there to pray. v2 There was a man who could not walk. He had never been able to walk. Every day, his friends put him at the gate of the Great House of God. It was called the Beautiful Gate. As people were going through the gate into the Great House of God, the man asked them for money. His friends were carrying him to the gate when Peter and John came to the gate. v3 Then the man saw Peter and John come through the gate. So he asked them to give him some money. v4 Peter and John looked at the man’s face. And Peter said to him, ‘Look at us!’ v5 So the man looked at Peter and John. He thought that they would give him some money.
v6 Then Peter said to the man, ‘I do not have any money. But I do have something else that I will give to you. Jesus Christ from Nazareth gave me authority to do this. So I *order you to walk!’ v7 Peter then held the man’s right hand to help him stand up. Immediately the man’s feet and ankles became strong. v8 So the man jumped up and he stood on his feet. Then he began to walk about and he went into the Great House of God with Peter and John. He was walking and jumping. And he was saying to God, ‘You, God, are very powerful and good.’ v9 A large crowd of people were with Peter and John. They saw the man walking. And they heard him saying good things about God. v10 ‘Look!’ they said. ‘We know this man. He usually sits at the Beautiful Gate. He used to have weak legs and he asked people for money. What has happened? He can now walk!’ they said to each other. They were all very surprised.
v11 The man was still holding Peter and John as they went to *Solomon’s Porch. And the people were very surprised about what they were seeing. So they ran to them there. v12 Peter saw all the people. They were running towards him. So he said to them, ‘People of *Israel, you should not be so surprised about what you have seen. You should not look at us so much. Perhaps you think that we ourselves are powerful. Maybe you think that we are very good people. But we are not so powerful or so good that we could cause this man to walk. v13 Jesus was the special servant of God. Our *ancestors Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and other people prayed to this same God long ago. God gave his authority to Jesus and caused him to be powerful. He showed people that Jesus was a very great and important person.’
We can read about Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the Bible in the book called Genesis.
‘You gave Jesus to the rulers, and you told Pilate bad things about him. You wanted them to kill Jesus even after Pilate had spoken. “I do not believe that Jesus has done anything wrong”, he said. “I have already decided that Jesus should leave the prison.” v14 Jesus was completely good and he obeyed God all the time. But you did not accept him. There was also a bad man in the prison who had killed some people. You said to Pilate, “Please let the other man leave the prison. Do not let Jesus go out.” v15 Then you asked Pilate to kill Jesus. But God caused Jesus to become alive again. He is the person who leads people to true life. We ourselves saw Jesus alive again after he had died. v16 Now, you know that this man here had weak legs. But Jesus is powerful. Jesus’ authority caused this man’s legs to become strong. This really happened because Jesus is powerful. You can see that. This man believed that Jesus could cause his legs to become strong. So Jesus made him well. And you yourselves can see that he is walking.
v17 People, listen to what I say. You wanted Pilate’s soldiers to kill Jesus. At that time, you and your leaders did not know what you were doing. v18 Jesus was the Christ, the special person that God would send to the world. A long time ago, many men spoke words from God about him. They told people what would happen to the Christ. “Bad people will hurt the Christ, and he will have a lot of pain”, they said. God caused this to become true. v19 So you must say sorry to God for all the wrong things that you have done. You must say that you will obey God. Then God will *forgive you for all the wrong things that you have done. v20 Then the *Lord will be near to you and he will cause your *spirit to be strong. God has already chosen Jesus for you. He is the Christ, God’s special servant, and God will send him back to you again. v21 Jesus must stay in *heaven until the day that he will make everything new. Those men who spoke words from God a long time ago told us about this. v22 “God sent me to you”, Moses said to the people a long time ago. “He will also send another man later who will speak his words. This man will be one of your own people. You must listen to everything that he says to you. v23 God will take out from among his people everyone who does not obey this chosen man. God will then kill them.” ’
We can read what Moses said to the people in the book called Deuteronomy 18:14-21.
v24 ‘God gave this same message to Samuel many years ago. God then gave it to many other men who came after Samuel. And they all told us what would happen at this time. v25 The men who spoke God’s words told the people about God’s promises. God promised these things to your *ancestors, but you are also included in his promises. God said to Abraham. “By your *family, I will do a good thing for all the people on the earth.” ’
We can read about God’s promise to Abraham in Genesis 12:2-3.
v26 ‘God chose Jesus to be his special servant. Then God sent him to you first. God wants you to say sorry to him for all the wrong things that you have done. Then you will obey God because he wants to do good things for you.’
v1 Peter was still speaking to the crowd in *Solomon’s Porch and John was standing next to him. Then some *priests, *Sadducees and the leader of the policemen of the Great House of God came towards them. v2 These people were angry because of the things that Peter and John were saying to the crowd. They had said, ‘Jesus became alive again after he had died.’ This showed everyone that dead people could become alive again. v3 So the *priests, *Sadducees and the leader of the policemen took Peter and John away. And they put Peter and John in the prison, because by then it was late. They stayed in the prison all that night. v4 But many of the people in the crowd had believed Peter’s message. Soon there were 5000 men who believed in Jesus.
v5 The next day, the leaders of the *Jews met together in Jerusalem. The important *priests and the teachers of the *Law met together with them. v6 They met with Annas and Caiaphas who were the most important *priests. John and Alexander were also there and they were part of their *family. Other men from their *family were with them. v7 The men in the *Sanhedrin said to Peter and John, ‘Stand in front of us!’ They said to Peter and John, ‘How did you cause that man’s legs to become strong? Who gave you the power and the authority to do it?’
v8 Then the *Holy Spirit told Peter what to say to the men in the *Sanhedrin. So Peter answered them. ‘All you men are leaders of the people and you are the most important *Jews. v9 Today you are asking us questions about the good thing that we did for this man. You are asking us how we caused his legs to become strong. v10 Now I need to tell you and all the people of *Israel some things. Then you will all know how this happened. This man is standing with us in front of you. His legs are strong because Jesus Christ of Nazareth is powerful. Jesus has the authority to do this. You killed Jesus; you fixed him to a *cross. He died, but after that, God caused him to become alive again. v11 Men who spoke God’s words wrote this about Jesus a long time ago.
“The people who built the house did not want to use one special stone.
That special stone is the most important one.” ’
We can read this in Matthew 21:42. The *prophet was saying that Jesus is like ‘a special stone’.
v12 Then Peter said, ‘Only Jesus can save people from the result of all the wrong things they have done. There has never been another person in the world that could do this. God has not given any other man the authority to save us.’ v13 Then the men of the *Sanhedrin saw that Peter and John were very brave. They also knew that Peter and John were not important people. They had not been to a special school. So the men were very surprised about how Peter and John spoke. They also understood that Peter and John had been with Jesus.
The teachers of the *Law went to special schools. At these schools, they learned how to teach the people about God. Peter and John had never been to one of these schools. But they knew how to teach the people about God.
v14 The men of the *Sanhedrin could see the man who had had weak legs. And they could see that now his legs were strong. So they could not think of anything to say to Peter and John. v15 They *ordered Peter and John to go out of the room. Then the men of the *Sanhedrin talked to each other. v16 ‘What should we do with these men?’ they said. ‘Everyone who lives in Jerusalem knows about these things. They know that Peter and John did a very special thing for that man. So we cannot say that they did not do it. v17 But we want to stop more people from joining their group. So we must say to these men, “You must stop using the name of Jesus. You must stop speaking to people about Jesus.” ’
The people in Jerusalem knew that Peter and John had done a good thing for the man. The men in the *Sanhedrin had asked Pilate to kill Jesus for them. Now they were afraid of the people. They were afraid that more people would believe in Jesus. Then those people might fight against them.
v18 Then the men of the *Sanhedrin asked Peter and John to come back into the room. They said to Peter and John, ‘You must not speak or teach people again about Jesus. You do not have any authority.’ v19 Then Peter and John replied to them. ‘You must decide yourselves which of these things God wants us to do. Either we should obey you, or we should obey God. v20 We must continue to speak about these things. And we must tell people everything that we have seen and heard.’
v21 The leaders of the *Jews spoke in an angry way to them. ‘Peter and John, you must not speak to the people again about Jesus. If you do not obey us, then we will *punish you.’ Then they let Peter and John go away into the street again. They could not *punish Peter and John because they had helped the man to walk. All the people in Jerusalem were saying to God, ‘You are great and good and powerful.’ v22 The man whom God had caused to become well was more than 40 years old.
v23 So the leaders of the *priests and the important *Jews let Peter and John go out into the street again. Immediately, Peter and John went back to meet with all the other *believers. They told them what the leaders of the *priests and the important *Jews had said. v24 And the *believers listened to what Peter and John told them. Then they prayed together. ‘You are God and you rule over everything’, they prayed. ‘You made the sky, the earth and the sea. You also made everything that is in them. v25 King David, our *ancestor, was also your servant. You sent your *Holy Spirit to help him. And your Spirit told King David to say,
“People who were not *Jews were very angry.
The people made plans that would not happen.
v26 The kings on the earth prepared to fight.
The rulers of the world met together.
They wanted to fight against the *Lord.
They would also fight against the special servant that God chose.” ’
v27 The *believers continued to pray. ‘Herod and Pontius Pilate met together with other people who are not *Jews. They also met with the people of *Israel who were here in Jerusalem. Together they spoke against Jesus. Jesus was your special servant and they all wanted to kill him. You had chosen him to be the *Christ. v28 Yes, God, you are powerful. And you had already decided what these men would do to Jesus. So they met together. And they did what you wanted to happen to Jesus. v29 God, you know how the men of the *Sanhedrin want to hurt Peter and John. You know what they said to your servants. So please help us to speak to the people again about you. And please cause us to become brave. v30 You are strong and you can cause sick people to become well. And you can also do other powerful things. The people will see these things happen when we speak Jesus’ name. You gave your authority to Jesus. He is very good and he is your servant. So please do these things.’
v31 The *believers finished praying. Then, the house where they were meeting together moved about. God filled them all with his *Holy Spirit. And the *Holy Spirit caused them to be very brave and they spoke to the people about Jesus again.
v32 All the *believers thought about everything in the same way. They did not keep any of their own things for themselves. They let all the other *believers use them. v33 The words of the *apostles were powerful and they told people about Jesus. ‘After Jesus died, God caused him to live again’, they said. They told them what they had seen. God helped the *believers in many different ways. v34 They had everything that they needed. Some *believers had land or houses, which they sold. They took the money that they received for these things. They brought it to the *apostles and gave it to them. v35 Then the *apostles gave the money to any of the *believers who needed it.
v36 There was a *believer called Joseph. He was from the *family of Levi. He was from the island called Cyprus. He helped the other *believers to work well. So the *apostles called him Barnabas. v37 Barnabas sold one of his fields. And he brought the money and he gave it all to the *apostles.
The *family of Levi were servants in the Great House of God, where they worked for the *priests. We can read about them in Numbers 3:5-13.
v1 But there was a man called Ananias and his wife who was called Sapphira. Together they sold one of their fields. v2 Ananias gave part of the money that he received to the *apostles. But he also kept part of the money for himself. Sapphira knew all about what Ananias had done.
Ananias gave his money to the *apostles. And then they would give it to other *believers who needed it. Ananias told the *apostles that he had given them all the money. But this was not true. He had only given them part of it.
v3 ‘Ananias, *Satan wanted you to say something that was not true. And you obeyed him’, Peter said to Ananias. ‘You should not have listened to him. You should not tell the *Holy Spirit something that is not true. You sold your field, but you did not give us all the money. You kept part of it for yourselves.’
The *Holy Spirit had told Peter what Ananias had done. Ananias did not need to tell him.
v4 ‘Before you sold the field, it was yours. And after you sold the field, the money was yours. You should not have decided to say that it was all the money. You did not only tell men something that was not true. You told God something that was not true.’
v5 As soon as he had heard Peter say this, Ananias fell down immediately. And he died. This frightened everyone who heard about it. v6 Some young men came into the room. They put cloths round Ananias’s dead body and they carried it outside. Then they buried it.
v7 About three hours later, Ananias’s wife, Sapphira, came into the room to see Peter. Sapphira did not know that Ananias was dead. v8 Peter asked Sapphira, ‘Tell me about this money that you gave us. Was this all the money that you and your husband received for your field?’ ‘Yes’, Sapphira answered. ‘That was all the money that we received.’
v9 ‘It was wrong for you and your husband to do this’, Peter said to her. ‘You should not have told God’s Spirit something that was not true. You knew that this was wrong. The men who have just buried your husband are at the door again now. And they will also carry you out.’
v10 Immediately, Sapphira fell down in front of Peter and she died. Then the young men came into the room. They saw that Sapphira was dead. So they carried her outside and they buried her next to her husband. v11 All the *believers, and many other people, heard about what had happened to Ananias and Sapphira. They were all very afraid.
v12 The *apostles were doing many powerful things in front of the people. All the *believers met together in a group. They met outside the Great House of God in a place called *Solomon’s Porch. v13 Those people who were not *believers did not sit with the group. They were afraid to do that. There were many people who said good things about the *believers. v14 More and more people became *believers and they joined the group. So now many men and women believed in Jesus. v15 People carried their sick friends into the streets and put them on beds and pieces of floor cloth. They did this because of all the special things that the *apostles were doing. Some people only wanted Peter’s shadow to pass over their sick friends.
God’s *Holy Spirit caused the *apostles to be powerful. They could cause sick people to become well again. In those days, people thought that shadows were powerful. And they thought that Peter’s shadow would cause sick people to become well again.
v16 Many people came into Jerusalem from the small towns near the city. They also brought their sick friends with them. They brought other people too. Bad *spirits inside them were giving them trouble. And God caused all these people to become well again.
v17 All the people liked the *apostles. And they liked what the apostles did. The most important *priest, his friends, and some of the *Sadducees, were not happy about this. So they decided to do something about the *apostles. v18 These important men took hold of the *apostles and they put them in the prison. v19 But during the night, one of God’s *angels opened the prison gates and he led the *apostles out. The *angel said to them, v20 ‘Go and stand in the Great House of God. Tell the people everything about this new way to live.’
v21 The *apostles heard the *angel and they obeyed him. Early the next morning, the *apostles went into the Great House of God. And then they began to teach the people. The most important *priest and his friends *ordered all the important *Jews to meet with them. He wanted all the men of the *Sanhedrin to meet together. Then the men of the *Sanhedrin sent policemen with a message to the prison. They *ordered the soldiers to bring the *apostles to them. v22 But when the policemen arrived at the prison, they did not find the *apostles there. So then the policemen returned to the men of the *Sanhedrin. And they told them what they had seen at the prison. v23 ‘We arrived at the prison’, they said. ‘We saw that the soldiers had locked the gates. They were standing at the gates and they were *guarding the prison. But when we opened the gates of the prison, we did not find any of the *apostles inside.’
The soldiers at the gates of the prison did not know that the *apostles were not inside.
v24 The leader of the policemen of the Great House of God and the leaders of the *priests heard about this. ‘We cannot understand what has happened to the *apostles’, they said.
v25 Then a man came and he brought them a message. ‘Listen to me!’ he said. ‘Those men that you put in the prison are now standing in the Great House of God. They are teaching the people.’ v26 The leader of the policemen then took his policemen with him to the Great House of God. He said to the *apostles, ‘Come back with us!’ The policemen did not hurt the *apostles or tie their arms and legs. They were afraid of the people. They thought that the people might throw stones at them.
v27 The policemen brought the *apostles into the room. They caused them to stand in front of the men of the *Sanhedrin. The most important *priest spoke to the *apostles. v28 ‘We *ordered that you must not teach the people again with the authority of Jesus. But now look at what you have done! Now people all over Jerusalem have heard you teaching. And you have taught the people that we *ordered the death of Jesus.’
v29 Peter and the other *apostles answered. ‘We must obey God’, they said, ‘rather than obey men. v30 The God of our *ancestors caused Jesus to be alive again. You fixed Jesus to a *cross and killed him. But then, God made him alive again. v31 God put Jesus next to him at his right side. Jesus is now the leader and the person who saves the people of *Israel. Because of this, he helps those who believe in him. He helps them to say, “We are sorry” to God for all the wrong things that they have done. Then God *forgives them and he helps them to do right things. v32 We tell people what we have seen and heard. He gives his *Holy Spirit to people who obey him. And the *Holy Spirit also tells people what God has done.’
v33 The men of the *Sanhedrin heard what the *apostles said to them. They were so angry that they wanted to kill the *apostles. v34 But one man did not agree. He stood up in front of the *Sanhedrin. He was called Gamaliel and he was a *Pharisee, a teacher of the *Law. All the men of the *Sanhedrin liked Gamaliel. And they thought that he was a good man. Gamaliel asked the policemen to take the *apostles out of the room. v35 When they had gone, Gamaliel spoke to the *Sanhedrin. ‘Men of *Israel!’ he said. ‘Be careful about what you want to do. Think again before you kill these men. v36 Remember what happened to Theudas a few years ago. That man told everyone, “I am a very important leader.” Then about 400 men came to join his group. But then somebody killed Theudas, and his men all went away in different directions. Nobody hears about them now. v37 Remember what happened to Judas from Galilee. That man appeared when the *Romans were counting the people. A crowd also came to help Judas, but somebody killed him. The men who followed Judas also went away in different directions. Nobody hears about them now either.’
Judas from Galilee would not pay money to the *Roman government. People joined Judas’s group and they helped him. They fought the *Roman soldiers. These people were called Zealots. This Judas was not the same man that Jesus chose to follow him.
The *Romans were counting the people when Jesus was born.
v38 ‘Now this same thing is happening again with these men. So I say that you must not do anything bad to them. Leave them alone. Perhaps these men are doing what some man told them to do. If that is true, then their work will fail. v39 But perhaps God has said that they must do this work. And if that is true, then you cannot stop them. You might even find that you are fighting against God!’ So the men of the *Sanhedrin did what Gamaliel said.
v40 They *ordered the *apostles to return to the room. Then they said to the policemen, ‘Hit these men with whips!’ Then the men of the *Sanhedrin said to the *apostles, ‘You must not teach the people again. Do not use the authority of Jesus.’ After that, they let the *apostles go out into the street again.
A whip was a stick with long pieces of strong material fastened at one end. Rulers used it to *punish people who did not obey the *law.
v41 So the *apostles walked away from the men of the *Sanhedrin. They were very happy because they thought to themselves, ‘God believes that we are good enough to receive *punishment because of Jesus.’ v42 So they continued to teach the people about Jesus. They spoke every day in people’s homes and in the Great House of God. They told the people that Jesus was the *Christ, the special servant of God. And so the *apostles told people all the good news about Jesus.
v1 At that time, more and more people every day became *believers in Jesus. Some *Jews in Jerusalem spoke the Greek language. Other *Jews in Jerusalem spoke the Aramaic language. The *Jews who spoke Greek had a problem with the other *Jews. Those who spoke Greek said to the other *Jews, ‘We have a problem with you. The husbands of some of your own women have died. They receive money from the *apostles every day to buy food. The husbands of some of the women in our group have also died. But the *apostles do not give these women money every day.’
Greek means the language that people spoke in Greece. Or it means someone who comes from that country. The *Jews who were born in Israel spoke the Aramaic language.
v2 The 12 *apostles heard about the problem. So they asked all those who believed in Jesus to meet together with them. The *apostles said, ‘Our work is to teach people the message from God. It is not right for us to stop doing this work. But we are giving out the money to those people who need things. That is not good.’ v3 So the *apostles said to the *believers, ‘Our friends, please choose 7 men from among you. You must know that the *Holy Spirit is living inside each of them. And they must know the things about God very well. We will ask these 7 men to do this work for us. v4 Then we will have more time to pray. We will also have more time to teach the people the good news about Jesus.’
v5 The whole group was happy with the *apostles’ words. So first they chose a man called Stephen. Stephen believed God really well. The *Holy Spirit lived inside him. The *believers also chose 6 other men. These other men were called Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas and Nicolaus. Nicolaus was from Antioch. He was not born a *Jew, but he had believed in the God of the *Jews. v6 The group asked these 7 men to stand up in front of the *apostles. Then the *apostles put their hands on each man. They asked God to help the 7 men with their special work.
v7 So more and more people heard the word of God. The number of *believers in Jesus in Jerusalem continued to grow greater and greater. And many of the *priests also believed in Jesus.
A very large number of *priests lived in Jerusalem and they worked in the Great House of God.
v8 God helped Stephen in special ways and caused him to do powerful things. The people saw Stephen do many special things. v9 But some men did not like Stephen. They did not like what Stephen taught about Jesus. These men were from one of the *synagogues in Jerusalem that was called the ‘*Synagogue of the Free Men’. The men from this *synagogue were *Jews from the cities called Cyrene and Alexandria. And some of them were from towns in Cilicia and *Asia. These men began to argue with Stephen.
v10 The *Holy Spirit gave Stephen great *wisdom and caused him to speak in a very powerful way. So Stephen spoke to the men from this *synagogue. And they could not say that he was wrong.
v11 So the men from the *synagogue gave money to some bad men. They paid them to say bad things about Stephen. But those things were not true. So the men who received the money said to the people, ‘We heard this man, Stephen, say bad things about Moses and about God.’
v12 People heard what these men said. And then the people became angry. The important *Jews and the teachers of the *Law also heard what these bad men were saying. They all became very angry. So they went up to Stephen and they took hold of him. Then they took him to stand in front of the men of the *Sanhedrin. v13 The important *Jews and the teachers of the *Law brought in some men to say bad things about Stephen. The things that they said were not true. The men said, ‘This man, Stephen, is always saying bad things about the Great House of God. He also says bad things about the *Law that God gave to Moses. v14 We heard Stephen talk about Jesus, who comes from Nazareth. He said that Jesus will destroy the Great House of God. He said, “Jesus will change all that Moses taught the people.” But Moses explained to us the right way to live.’
v15 All the men of the *Sanhedrin looked at Stephen. They saw that his face was very beautiful. And they thought that he was like an *angel.
v1 The most important *priest said to Stephen, ‘These men are saying things about what you have taught. Are these things true?’
v2 Stephen said, ‘Men of *Israel, listen to what I say. Our God is completely good and very powerful. He appeared to our *ancestor, Abraham, when Abraham was still living in Mesopotamia. This happened before he went to Haran. v3 God said to Abraham, “Leave your own country and your own *family. Go to a different country that I will show you.” ’
The country that God led Abraham to was called Canaan. This country is now called *Israel. Jerusalem city is also there.
v4 ‘So Abraham left his country where people called Chaldeans also lived. Then he moved to Haran and he stayed there. But when Abraham’s father died, God said to Abraham, “Leave this place.” So God then sent him to live here, in Canaan. This is where we are now.’
Abraham lived with his father in a city called Ur. Ur was in a country called Babylonia, which is now part of Iraq. Abraham moved with his father from Ur to live in Haran.
v5 ‘At that time, God did not give Abraham any part of Canaan for his own *family. He did not even give Abraham a very small piece of ground. But at that time, God gave a promise to Abraham. “This land will become your own country”, he said. “It will also be your children’s country.” When God said this to him, Abraham did not yet have any children. v6 This is what God said to him. “Your *family will live in a country that other people rule. The people in that country will cause your *family to be slaves for 400 years. They will not be kind to them. They will hit your *family to cause them to work more.” v7 Then God said, “I will *punish those people who caused your *family to work so much for them. After I have done that, your *family will leave that country. They will come to this place. And here they will tell me how great and important I am.” ’
We can read about God’s promise to Abraham in Genesis chapter 12. Abraham’s *family worked in *Egypt for 400 years. Then Moses led them out of that country to the country which became *Israel. Moses was standing on a big hill called Mount Sinai when God spoke to him. We can read about this in Exodus chapter 3.
v8 ‘Then God told the people of *Israel that they would be his special people. So that they would remember this special promise, God said, “You must *circumcise all your baby boys.”
Abraham became the father of Isaac. And Abraham *circumcised his son, Isaac, when the child was 8 days old. Isaac became the father of Jacob. Isaac also *circumcised his son. Jacob had 12 sons. These sons were the 12 important *ancestors of *Israel. Jacob *circumcised all of them.’
Jacob is also sometimes called *Israel. We can read the names of Jacob’s 12 sons in Genesis 35:23-26.
v9 ‘One of Jacob’s sons was called Joseph. Jacob loved Joseph more than he loved his other sons. For this reason, some of Jacob’s sons did not like their brother, Joseph. So one day they took Joseph and they sold him as a slave. The men that bought Joseph took him to *Egypt. There they sold him again and Joseph worked in *Egypt as a slave. All this time, God stayed near to Joseph. v10 God helped him with all his troubles and God gave him great *wisdom. At that time, Pharaoh was the king of *Egypt. God helped Joseph so that Pharaoh liked him. He saw that Joseph was very *wise, so he *ordered Joseph to rule *Egypt and everyone in *Pharaoh’s own house.
v11 Then one year there was no rain. The food plants did not grow in *Egypt or Canaan. So many people did not have enough food to eat. Our *ancestors also had no food. v12 Jacob heard that *Pharaoh had put a lot of wheat seeds in big huts. So he sent his sons to *Egypt to buy food from Pharaoh. This was the first time that they went to *Egypt.’
Wheat is a plant. People use wheat to make bread.
v13 ‘Jacob then sent his sons back to *Egypt for a second time. This time, Joseph told them that he was their brother. So then Pharaoh heard that Joseph’s brothers had arrived. He heard about Joseph’s *family. v14 After this, Joseph gave a message to his brothers. “Tell our father that I am here. Say that I want him to come. Say that he should bring all his *family from Canaan to *Egypt”, he said to them. There were 75 people in Jacob’s *family.
v15 So Jacob went to *Egypt with all his *family. And Jacob and his 12 sons lived there until they died.’
The kings of the country of *Egypt were always called Pharaoh. We can read the story of Joseph in Genesis chapters 37 to 47.
v16 ‘When the people of *Israel left *Egypt, they carried with them the dead bodies of Joseph and his *family. They took them back to Shechem and they buried them in a hole in a rocky hill. Abraham had bought this hole and rock from the *family of a man called Hamor. He had paid money for it.’
Shechem was the place in Canaan where Jacob and his *family had lived. Jacob and Joseph knew that one day their families would return to Shechem. So Jacob asked his *family to take his dead body back to Shechem. We can read about this in Genesis 49:29-33. Much later, Joseph also asked his *family to take his dead body back to Shechem. We can read about this in Genesis 50:25 and Joshua 24:32.
v17 ‘Now there were many people in Jacob’s *family and they all lived in *Egypt. And soon God would cause his promise to Abraham to become true. v18 At this time, a different king ruled *Egypt. This king did not know anything about the things that Joseph had done. v19 He told our *ancestors things that were not true. He also did very bad things to them. He said that they must put their small babies out of their homes. He said that because he wanted the babies to die.
v20 It was at this time that Moses was born. He was a very beautiful baby and his mother kept him safe for three months in her own home. v21 Then Moses’ mother put him out of her home. But *Pharaoh’s daughter found Moses and she took him home with her. And he lived with her as her own son.’
We can read this story about Moses in Exodus 2:1-10. The people of *Egypt were called Egyptians.
v22 ‘The *Egyptians taught Moses all the things that they knew. He knew how to speak well. Moses said and did some very powerful things.
v23 One day, Moses went to see how his own people lived. He was 40 years old when he did this.’
Moses’ own people were the people of *Israel. They were called Israelites.
v24 ‘Moses saw one of the *Egyptians, who was hitting one of the *Israelites. So Moses went to help the *Israelite man and he killed the *Egyptian man. He did this because the *Egyptian had hurt one of Moses’ own people. v25 Moses wanted to help the *Israelites to get away from *Egypt. He thought to himself, “The *Israelites will know what I want to do. They will understand that God will use me to do this.” But the people did not understand. v26 On the next day, Moses saw two *Israelites, who were fighting each other. He wanted them to stop fighting. So he talked to them. “Men”, he said, “please listen to me. You are in the same *family. You should not hurt each other.”
v27 The man who was hurting the other man pushed Moses away. “You have no authority to rule us”, he said to Moses. “You have no authority to be our *judge. v28 Yesterday you killed an *Egyptian man. Do you want to kill me also?” the man asked Moses.
v29 Moses heard what the man said to him. So Moses ran away. He went to the country called Midian and he built a house there. He lived in it, and he and his wife had two sons.
v30 Moses lived in Midian for 40 years. Then, one day, he was in the *desert near the hill called Mount Sinai. He saw a bush there that was burning. An *angel appeared to him in the fire.’
A *desert is a very dry place. There is not much water there and often there is a lot of sand and stones. There are not many plants, and not many people live there.
v31 ‘Moses was very surprised by what he saw. He went near to the bush so that he could see it better. Then he heard God speak to him from the bush. v32 “I am the God of your *ancestors”, God said. “I am the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.” Moses was very frightened. He was too afraid to look at God, so he turned his face away from the bush.
v33 God said to Moses, “Remove your shoes from your feet, because you are standing in a very special place. This is my own place. v34 I have seen all the bad things that the *Egyptians are doing to my people. I have heard my people. They are crying. And I have come down here to save them. Come here and listen to me. And then I will send you back to *Egypt.” ’
We can read this story about Moses in Exodus chapter 3.
v35 Stephen said, ‘Moses is the man that the people of *Israel would not accept. “You have no authority to rule us”, they had said to him. “You have no authority to *judge us.” But God did send Moses to rule the people of *Israel. And he did send Moses to save them from the *Egyptians. God sent the *angel that appeared to him. The angel spoke to him from a bush that was burning. v36 It was Moses who led the people of *Israel out of *Egypt. The people saw him do many special things. He did some powerful things before the people left *Egypt. He did more special things by the Red Sea. Then he led the people through the *desert for 40 years and he did some more special things there also.’
We can read about this in Exodus chapters 7 to 17.
v37 ‘It was Moses who said to the people of *Israel, “God will send you a *prophet. He will speak words from God. And he will be one of your own *family, the same as I am one of your own *family.” v38 This is the same Moses that was with the people of *Israel in the *desert. They were near the big hill called Mount Sinai. Moses was also there with our *ancestors when the *angel spoke to him on Mount Sinai. He also received the message from God to give to us. God’s message was alive.
v39 But our *ancestors would not listen to Moses or obey him. They did not accept him and they wanted to go back to *Egypt. v40 So the people said to Aaron, “Please make us some gods that we can carry in front of us. Moses brought us out of *Egypt. But now we do not know what has happened to him.” ’
Aaron was the brother of Moses.
v41 ‘It was then that the people made something. It would be their god. It was like a young male cow, and the people made it from gold. They killed some animals and they burned them as a gift for their god. The people then had a big meal together because they were very happy. They thought that they had made something beautiful and strong. And they thought that it was powerful.’
We can read about this in Exodus 32:1-6.
v42 ‘So then God turned away from his people. He let them speak to the stars instead and he let them make gods of them. The people told the stars how great and beautiful they were. The people who spoke words from God wrote this: “God said,
‘People of *Israel, listen!
You did not kill and burn those animals as a gift for me.
When you were in the *desert for 40 years,
v43 you carried the house of the god called Moloch.
You also carried something else to put inside this house.
It was a smaller copy of another god of yours.
It was like the star of your god, Rephan.
You made these gods.
And you told them both how great and important they were.
So now I will send you away from your own country.
You will go to live in Babylon.’ ” ’
We can read this in Amos 5:25-27. Amos spoke these words from God. A model is a small copy made to look like the *original thing.
v44 ‘When our *ancestors were in the *desert, they carried a special tent with them. It contained God’s *Laws. It caused them to remember that God was there with them. God showed Moses how he wanted Moses and the people to make this special tent.’
A tent is a house that someone made out of cloth or animal skins. When people travel, they can carry it from one place to the next. God told Moses how to make this special tent. It was the place where they should meet him. There were two flat stones inside a special box in this tent. God had told Moses about his *Laws when he was on the hill called Mount Sinai. Moses wrote the *Law of God on these two stones. The people of *Israel carried the box with the stones all the time. We can read about this in Exodus chapter 19.
v45 ‘Our *ancestors gave the special *tent, which contained God’s *Law, to their families. They brought it with them when they came to this country. God gave this country to our people. And he caused the people that were already here to leave. At that time Joshua was their leader. The tent remained in Canaan until David became the king of *Israel.’
Many other people were already living in Canaan. But God had promised to give Canaan to the people of *Israel. Joshua helped the people of *Israel to fight the other people in Canaan. And God helped the people of *Israel to win their fights. So the people who had lived there went away from Canaan.
v46 ‘God helped King David very much, and King David caused God to be happy with him. So David said to God, “You are the God of our *ancestor Jacob. Can I make a special house where you can live?” v47 But David did not build the house for God. Solomon built it.’
Solomon was the son of King David. God did not want David to build the house for him. But David brought together the materials to build it.
v48 ‘But this also is true. Our God is of great importance. He does not live in a house that men have made. Isaiah spoke these words from God:
v49 “The sky is like an important seat. I sit there to rule.
The earth is like a small seat. It is like a place to put my feet on.
You could not build a better house for me to live in.
You could not make a better place for me to sit down.
v50 I have already made all these things myself”, God said to his servant Isaiah.’
v51 Then Stephen said to the people, ‘You people do not want to understand about God. You are the same as the people that do not believe in the true God. And you do not want to listen to God’s true message. So you are the same as your *ancestors. They also did not want to obey the *Holy Spirit. v52 Your *ancestors did bad things to every person who spoke words from God to them. God’s servants spoke about the completely good Man that God would send. But your *ancestors killed those servants. Now you have given to an enemy this true and special servant that God sent. And you have killed him. v53 You received God’s *Law, which *angels gave you. But you have not obeyed it.’
v54 The men of the *Sanhedrin listened to Stephen and they became more and more angry with him. They bit their teeth together because they were so angry. v55 Then the *Holy Spirit filled Stephen with his authority. Stephen looked up to *heaven and he saw how beautiful God is. God shone like a very bright light. Stephen also saw Jesus, who was standing at the right side of God. v56 ‘Look’, Stephen said. ‘I can see into *heaven. It is open! I can see the Son of Man and he is standing at the right side of God!’
The Son of Man is another name for Jesus. Jesus often called himself the Son of Man when he talked to the people. Jesus was standing up, ready to receive Stephen.
v57 When the men of the *Sanhedrin heard these things, they shouted very loudly at him. They put their hands over their ears. Then together they ran towards him. v58 They took hold of Stephen and they pulled him out of the city. They removed their coats. And they gave them to a young man to keep them safe. This young man was called Saul. Then they began to throw stones at Stephen. v59 While the men were throwing stones at him, Stephen prayed to the *Lord. ‘*Lord Jesus’, he said, ‘please accept my *spirit.’ v60 Then Stephen fell down on his knees. He shouted loudly, ‘*Lord, please *forgive these men because they are doing this to me.’ After Stephen said this, he died.
v1 Saul was standing there. And he saw everything that happened. Saul said to the men of the *Sanhedrin, ‘It is good that you have killed Stephen.’
On the same day that Stephen died, the *Jews in Jerusalem began to do bad things to the *believers. All those who believed in Jesus left Jerusalem and they went in different directions. Some of them went to Judea and some of them went to Samaria. Only Jesus’ 12 *apostles stayed in Jerusalem.
Some *believers may have remained for a while. Those who were hurting them continued to do so. That is what we think.
v2 Some good men who obeyed God buried Stephen’s dead body. They were very sad that the people had killed him. They cried with loud voices. v3 But Saul brought great troubles to the *believers in Jerusalem. He wanted to stop people believing in Jesus. So Saul went from one house to other houses. He pulled the *believers out of their homes and he put both the men and the women into prison.
v4 The *believers who had left Jerusalem went to many different towns. In each town, they told the people the message about Jesus. v5 Philip went to the city called Samaria. And there he told the people the message about Jesus Christ. He said, ‘Jesus was the special person that God sent.’
v6 Crowds of people came together in the city to hear Philip speak. They listened to him carefully. And they saw him do many special things. v7 Some people had bad *spirits, which were living in them. Philip sent the bad *spirits out of them. And as the bad *spirits left them, they made a loud noise. Some other people had weak legs, and Philip caused their legs to become strong again. Some people could not move their arms and legs, but Philip caused them to become well again. v8 The people in that city were very happy.
The *Holy Spirit lived inside Philip. And he helped Philip to speak in a powerful way. Because of this he could do these special things for the people. People who lived in Samaria were called Samaritans.
v9 A man called Simon lived in Samaria. For a long time, he had used *magic to do many things which surprised the people. The people who lived in Samaria had watched him. And they believed that Simon was a very important person. v10 The important people in the city had watched Simon carefully. And the people who were not important had also watched him carefully. Everyone had said, ‘God has caused Simon to become powerful. He is a god himself.’ v11 Simon had used his *magic for a long time. The people watched him. He often surprised them with the things that he did. So they listened to him carefully. v12 But then Philip told them the message about how God rules as king. He told them all about Jesus. He said that Jesus was the *Christ, God’s special servant. Many men and women believed in Jesus, so Philip *baptised them. v13 Simon also believed the message and so Philip *baptised him. After this, Simon stayed close to Philip. Simon was very surprised at the many powerful and special things that Philip did.
v14 The *apostles were still living in Jerusalem. They heard that people in Samaria had believed God’s word. So the *apostles sent Peter and John to Samaria to talk to the people. v15 Philip had *baptised those who believed. And when the two *apostles arrived in Samaria, they prayed for these people. They asked God to give the new *believers the *Holy Spirit.
v16 Until then, the *Holy Spirit had not yet come down on these people. Philip had only *baptised them. He used the name of the *Lord Jesus when he did this. v17 When Peter and John put their hands on the head of each person, they received the *Holy Spirit.
v18 Simon saw that the *Holy Spirit came when Peter and John put their hands on each person. So he said to Peter and John, ‘Here is some money. I want to give it to you. v19 Please cause me also to be powerful. I want to do the same things as you. I want to put my hands on other people, so that they will receive the *Holy Spirit.’
v20 Peter answered Simon. ‘I hope that you and your money go to the place of *punishment. It is very wrong for you to think, “I can buy with money this gift which God gives.” v21 No, you cannot work with us because you are not thinking the right things. And you are not obeying God. v22 Tell God that you are sorry about these bad thoughts. Stop thinking like that and think right thoughts. Say to God, “Please *forgive me that I am thinking these bad things.” v23 I can see that you think wrong thoughts. You do not have what the *apostles have. And so you are angry. *Satan is ruling you like a slave.’
v24 Then Simon said to Peter and John, ‘Please, will you pray to God for me? Then none of these bad things that you have spoken about will happen to me.’
v25 Peter and John told the people what Jesus had done for them. After Peter and John had told the people a message from the *Lord, Peter and John returned to Jerusalem. And on their way, they talked to people in the villages in Samaria. They taught the people the good news about the *Kingdom of God.
v26 Then God sent an *angel to speak to Philip. He said, ‘Philip, prepare yourself and go south to the road between Jerusalem and Gaza. The road goes through the *desert.’
It was about 70 kilometres (45 miles) from Jerusalem to the town called Gaza.
v27 So Philip went and he was walking along this road. And, while he was walking, he met an important man from Ethiopia. This man kept Candace’s money safe. Candace was the queen of Ethiopia. The man was travelling home. He had been to Jerusalem to visit the Great House of God. He had thanked God that God was so good and great.
Ethiopia is a country in Africa. People who live there are called Ethiopians. Candace was a special name for their queen. We think that the man from Ethiopia was not a *Jew. But now he obeyed the God of the *Jews. The Ethiopian man was riding in a *cart that horses pulled. The *cart would move about as fast as a man can walk.
v28 Now the man was travelling home again in his *cart. And he was reading from the book that Isaiah the *prophet wrote. v29 The *Holy Spirit said to Philip, ‘Go to that *cart and walk at the side of it.’
v30 So Philip ran to the *cart and he walked close to it. He heard the man. He was reading aloud from the book called ‘Isaiah’. So Philip asked the man, ‘Do you understand the things that you are reading about?’
v31 The man answered, ‘I cannot understand it. First, I need someone to explain it to me.’ The man said to Philip, ‘Come up here and ride along in the *cart with me.’
v32 The man was reading this from the book of Isaiah,
‘People led him like they lead a sheep. It is a sheep that they are going to kill.
He did not make a noise.
He was like a young sheep. It does not make a noise,
when a man cuts the soft hair on its back.
He was like that. He did not say anything.
v33 People *laughed at him.
They said bad things about him. They said things that were not true.
Nobody can talk about his children, because he did not have any.
His life on earth has finished.’
We can read this in Isaiah 53:7-8. Isaiah wrote this about Jesus.
v34 The man from Ethiopia said to Philip, ‘Please tell me who the *prophet Isaiah wrote about. Was he writing about himself or about another person?’ v35 Then Philip explained to the man the words that Isaiah had written. He told the man the good news about Jesus. v36 When they were travelling along the road, they came to some water. The man said to Philip, ‘Look, here is a place where there is some water. Please will you *baptise me? Is there anything to stop you?’
v37 Philip said to him, ‘I can *baptise you if you really believe in Jesus.’ The man said to Philip, ‘I really do believe in Jesus. I believe that he is the Son of God.’
Most Bibles do not have 8:37. Perhaps Luke wrote it, but then people lost it. Perhaps Luke did not write it. Then somebody else wrote it after Luke had finished writing the book of Acts.
v38 The man from Ethiopia said to the man who was driving the *cart, ‘Please stop the *cart.’ Then Philip and the man from Ethiopia went down into the water, and Philip *baptised him. v39 They both walked out of the water again, and then the *Holy Spirit quickly took Philip away from that place. The man did not see Philip again and the man continued his journey. He was very happy.
Philip *baptised the man from Ethiopia because the man believed the good news about Jesus.
v40 Philip saw that he was now in Azotus. So he walked towards the town called *Caesarea. As he went through the towns on the way to Caesarea, he spoke to people. He told them the good news about the *Kingdom of God.
Azotus was a town 30 kilometres (20 miles) north of Gaza. *Caesarea was an important city in *Israel. The *Roman ruler sometimes lived there. *Caesarea was at the coast and it was an important port. It was 70 kilometres (about 45 miles) from Jerusalem. We think that Philip lived in *Caesarea for many years. Philip was still living in *Caesarea when Luke wrote about him again in Acts 21:8.
v1 All this time, Saul was saying that he wanted to kill all the *believers. So he went to see the most important *priest. v2 ‘Please will you write some letters for me?’ he said to the most important *priest. ‘I can give one of these letters to each leader of every *synagogue in Damascus. Perhaps some people there believe what Jesus taught. And if I find any people like that, I can take hold of them. I can tie them with *ropes. And I can bring all of them, men and women, back here to Jerusalem.’
Damascus was an important city and it was about 242 kilometres (150 miles) from Jerusalem. It was in Syria and many *Jews lived there. Damascus was one of the ten towns that the *Romans did not rule. These ten towns had their own rulers.
Saul needed letters from the most important *priest. Then he would have authority. He could catch any *believers that he found. People called the early Christians ‘Those who followed the Way of the *Lord’.
v3 Saul travelled towards Damascus. He was almost at the city when a very bright light *suddenly appeared. The light came from the sky, and it shone all round him. v4 Saul fell to the ground. He heard someone say to him, ‘Saul, Saul, you are fighting against me.’
v5 Saul asked, ‘*Lord, who are you?’ The voice said, ‘I am Jesus. And you are fighting against me. v6 Now you should get up and you should go into Damascus. Someone will come to you when you arrive in the city. He will tell you what to do.’
v7 The men who were with Saul stood still. They did not speak. They could hear that someone was talking. But they could not see anyone. v8 Saul stood up and he opened his eyes. But he could not see anything. The men who were with Saul held his hand. And they led him into Damascus. v9 For three days, Saul could not see anything. And for those three days he did not eat or drink anything.
v10 Ananias was a *believer who lived in Damascus. After Saul came to Damascus, Ananias had a dream. But Ananias was not asleep. In the dream, Jesus spoke to him. ‘Ananias’, Jesus said. Ananias answered him. He said, ‘Master, I am here.’
v11 ‘Prepare yourself and go to Straight Street’, said Jesus, ‘A man called Judas lives in that street. Go to his house. And ask for a man from Tarsus called Saul. He is praying to God.
v12 Saul has also had a dream when he was not asleep. In his dream, Saul saw you, Ananias. You came to see him. You put your hands on Saul so that he could see again.’
v13 ‘*Lord, many people have told me about this man’, Ananias said to the *Lord Jesus. ‘They told me about all the very bad things that he has done to your people in Jerusalem. v14 Now he has come to Damascus. And I know that he has brought letters with him from the leaders of the *priests. They have given him authority over everyone who follows you. He will take them away and he will tie them with *ropes.’
v15 But the *Lord said to Ananias, ‘Go and do this for me. I have chosen Saul to work for me. He will tell those who are not *Jews and their rulers about me. He will also tell the people of *Israel about me. v16 Saul will have many troubles because he will work for me. I myself will tell him about these things.’
v17 So Ananias went to Judas’s house. He went into the house, and he put his hands on Saul. Then he said to him, ‘*Brother Saul, the *Lord Jesus himself has sent me here to see you. It was Jesus that you saw on the road to Damascus. You saw him when you were coming here. He sent me to you so that you will be able to see again. God will also give his *Holy Spirit to you.’
Brother is a name that a Christian may call another Christian.
v18 Then immediately something fell from Saul’s eyes. It was like bits of fish skin. Then Saul could see again. So he stood up and Ananias *baptised him. v19 Then Saul ate some food and he felt strong again.
Saul stayed with the *believers in Damascus for a few days. v20 He immediately went to the *synagogues. There, he taught the people about Jesus. ‘Jesus is the son of God’, he said to them. v21 Many people heard what Saul said. They were all very surprised and they said to each other, ‘This is the same man who was in Jerusalem. We are sure about that. In Jerusalem, he killed people who believed in Jesus. Then he came here to Damascus to take hold of the *believers. He wanted to take them back to Jerusalem. There they would stand in front of the leaders of the *priests.’ v22 But then Saul was even more powerful when he taught the people. He said, ‘Jesus is the *Christ, the special person that God sent to us.’ Saul said all the right things about Jesus. So the *Jews who lived in Damascus could not answer him. v23 After many days, the *Jews met together. And they decided to kill Saul.
v24 But someone told Saul about this. The *Jews *guarded the gates of the city all day and all night. They wanted to catch Saul and to kill him. v25 But one night, Saul’s friends helped him to leave the city. They put Saul in a basket, and then they put the basket through a hole in the city wall. Then they let the basket go slowly down to the ground.
Paul’s friends tied a *rope to the basket and they held the *rope. Then they let the basket go down to the ground.
v26 When Saul returned to Jerusalem, he wanted to join the *believers there. But they were afraid of him. They did not believe that he was now a *disciple of Jesus. v27 A *believer called Barnabas helped Saul. He took Saul to talk to the *apostles. And Barnabas then explained to the *apostles what had happened to Saul. Barnabas said to them, ‘Saul saw the *Lord when he was on the road to Damascus. And the *Lord spoke to him. While Saul was in Damascus, he bravely spoke to the people with the authority of Jesus.’ v28 So, after that, Saul stayed with the *apostles. He went round all Jerusalem and taught the people in clear words, with the authority of Jesus. v29 Saul also talked with the *Jews who spoke the Greek language. He argued with them about Jesus. So they tried to kill him.
Greek means the language that people spoke in Greece. Or it means someone who comes from that country. Saul could speak the Greek language. Most people in that part of the world spoke Greek.
v30 The other *believers heard about this. So they took Saul to *Caesarea, and from there, Saul went away to Tarsus.
v31 Now there were *believers in Judea, Galilee and Samaria, and for some time they had no troubles. The *Holy Spirit helped them to become strong. More people became *believers. And they obeyed God in everything that they did.
Joppa was a town 45 kilometres (28 miles) from Jerusalem. At that time, it was an important sea port in Judea. Joppa was about 20 kilometres (12 miles) from Lydda.
v32 Now Peter often travelled to different places and one day he travelled to Lydda. Some *believers lived there, and Peter went to see them. v33 In Lydda, Peter met a man called Aeneas. Aeneas could not move his arms and legs, and so he lay on his bed all the time. He had done this for 8 years.
v34 Peter said to Aeneas, ‘Jesus will cause you to become well again. So stand up and pick up your things.’ Immediately Aeneas stood up. v35 Many people who were living in Lydda and Sharon saw Aeneas. And they began to obey the *Lord.
v36 A woman called Tabitha lived in Joppa. She was a *believer. Tabitha is a name in the *Aramaic language. In Greek, her name was Dorcas. Dorcas is the word for a deer. Dorcas did good things and she helped poor people all the time.
A deer is an animal that eats grass. It is like a goat. It can run very fast. Greek means the language that people spoke in Greece. The *Jews spoke the Hebrew and Aramaic languages.
v37 Dorcas became very ill and then she died. Women washed her dead body and they put it in the room upstairs. v38 Joppa was not very far from Lydda. And the *believers in Joppa heard that Peter was in Lydda. So they sent two men to him with a message. ‘Please hurry and come to Joppa’, they wrote in the message.
v39 Peter prepared himself and he returned to Joppa with the two men. When he arrived at Dorcas’s house, the women took him upstairs. Many other women were there. Their husbands had died. They were crying and they all came close to Peter. They showed him the shirts and coats that Dorcas had made. She made them while she was still with them.
v40 Peter put all these women out of the room. He went down on his knees and he prayed to God. Then he turned his head towards the dead body. ‘Tabitha’, he said. ‘Stand up!’ She opened her eyes. And when she saw Peter, she sat up. v41 Peter took her by the hand and he helped her to stand up. Then he asked all the *believers and the other women to come into the room. And he showed them that she was alive again. v42 The *believers told other people