Study Desk

And all the believers met together in one place and shared everything they had.

They sold their property and possessions and shared the money with those in need.

They worshiped together at the Temple each day, met in homes for the Lord's Supper, and shared their meals with great joy and generosity—

They all rushed out in amazement to Solomon's Colonnade, where the man was holding tightly to Peter and John.

While Peter and John were speaking to the people, they were confronted by the priests, the captain of the Temple guard, and some of the Sadducees.

They arrested them and, since it was already evening, put them in jail until morning.

They brought in the two disciples and demanded, "By what power, or in whose name, have you done this?"

The members of the council were amazed when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, for they could see that they were ordinary men with no special training in the Scriptures. They also recognized them as men who had been with Jesus.

So they ordered Peter and John out of the council chamber and conferred among themselves.

"What should we do with these men?" they asked each other. "We can't deny that they have performed a miraculous sign, and everybody in Jerusalem knows about it.

So they called the apostles back in and commanded them never again to speak or teach in the name of Jesus.

As soon as they were freed, Peter and John returned to the other believers and told them what the leading priests and elders had said.

When they heard the report, all the believers lifted their voices together in prayer to God: "O Sovereign Lord, Creator of heaven and earth, the sea, and everything in them—

After this prayer, the meeting place shook, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit. Then they preached the word of God with boldness.

All the believers were united in heart and mind. And they felt that what they owned was not their own, so they shared everything they had.

And Peter said, "How could the two of you even think of conspiring to test the Spirit of the Lord like this? The young men who buried your husband are just outside the door, and they will carry you out, too."

Instantly, she fell to the floor and died. When the young men came in and saw that she was dead, they carried her out and buried her beside her husband.

Crowds came from the villages around Jerusalem, bringing their sick and those possessed by evil spirits, and they were all healed.

They arrested the apostles and put them in the public jail.

So at daybreak the apostles entered the Temple, as they were told, and immediately began teaching. When the high priest and his officials arrived, they convened the high council—the full assembly of the elders of Israel. Then they sent for the apostles to be brought from the jail for trial.