Nov 8 - Acts 5-7
Acts
1But a man named Ananias, with his wife Sapphira, sold a piece of property,2and with his wife's knowledge he kept back for himself some of the proceeds and brought only a part of it and laid it at the apostles' feet.3But Peter said, "Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and to keep back for yourself part of the proceeds of the land?4While it remained unsold, did it not remain your own? And after it was sold, was it not at your disposal? Why is it that you have contrived this deed in your heart? You have not lied to men but to God."5When Ananias heard these words, he fell down and breathed his last. And great fear came upon all who heard of it.6The young men rose and wrapped him up and carried him out and buried him.7After an interval of about three hours his wife came in, not knowing what had happened.8And Peter said to her, "Tell me whether you sold the land for so much." And she said, "Yes, for so much."9But Peter said to her, "How is it that you have agreed together to test the Spirit of the Lord? Behold, the feet of those who have buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out."10Immediately she fell down at his feet and breathed her last. When the young men came in they found her dead, and they carried her out and buried her beside her husband.11And great fear came upon the whole church and upon all who heard of these things.12Now many signs and wonders were regularly done among the people by the hands of the apostles. And they were all together in Solomon's Portico.13None of the rest dared join them, but the people held them in high esteem.14And more than ever believers were added to the Lord, multitudes of both men and women,15so that they even carried out the sick into the streets and laid them on cots and mats, that as Peter came by at least his shadow might fall on some of them.16The people also gathered from the towns around Jerusalem, bringing the sick and those afflicted with unclean spirits, and they were all healed.17But the high priest rose up, and all who were with him (that is, the party of the Sadducees), and filled with jealousy18they arrested the apostles and put them in the public prison.19But during the night an angel of the Lord opened the prison doors and brought them out, and said,20"Go and stand in the temple and speak to the people all the words of this Life."21And when they heard this, they entered the temple at daybreak and began to teach.Now when the high priest came, and those who were with him, they called together the council and all the senate of Israel and sent to the prison to have them brought.22But when the officers came, they did not find them in the prison, so they returned and reported,23"We found the prison securely locked and the guards standing at the doors, but when we opened them we found no one inside."24Now when the captain of the temple and the chief priests heard these words, they were greatly perplexed about them, wondering what this would come to.25And someone came and told them, "Look! The men whom you put in prison are standing in the temple and teaching the people."26Then the captain with the officers went and brought them, but not by force, for they were afraid of being stoned by the people.27And when they had brought them, they set them before the council. And the high priest questioned them,28saying, "We strictly charged you not to teach in this name, yet here you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching, and you intend to bring this man's blood upon us."29But Peter and the apostles answered, "We must obey God rather than men.30The God of our fathers raised Jesus, whom you killed by hanging him on a tree.31God exalted him at his right hand as Leader and Savior, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins.32And we are witnesses to these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey him."33When they heard this, they were enraged and wanted to kill them.34But a Pharisee in the council named Gamaliel, a teacher of the law held in honor by all the people, stood up and gave orders to put the men outside for a little while.35And he said to them, "Men of Israel, take care what you are about to do with these men.36For before these days Theudas rose up, claiming to be somebody, and a number of men, about four hundred, joined him. He was killed, and all who followed him were dispersed and came to nothing.37After him Judas the Galilean rose up in the days of the census and drew away some of the people after him. He too perished, and all who followed him were scattered.38So in the present case I tell you, keep away from these men and let them alone, for if this plan or this undertaking is of man, it will fail;39but if it is of God, you will not be able to overthrow them. You might even be found opposing God!" So they took his advice,40and when they had called in the apostles, they beat them and charged them not to speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go.41Then they left the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer dishonor for the name.42And every day, in the temple and from house to house, they did not cease teaching and preaching Jesus as the Christ.
1Now in these days when the disciples were increasing in number, a complaint by the Hellenists arose against the Hebrews because their widows were being neglected in the daily distribution.2And the twelve summoned the full number of the disciples and said, "It is not right that we should give up preaching the word of God to serve tables.3Therefore, brothers, pick out from among you seven men of good repute, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we will appoint to this duty.4But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word."5And what they said pleased the whole gathering, and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit, and Philip, and Prochorus, and Nicanor, and Timon, and Parmenas, and Nicolaus, a proselyte of Antioch.6These they set before the apostles, and they prayed and laid their hands on them.7And the word of God continued to increase, and the number of the disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests became obedient to the faith.8And Stephen, full of grace and power, was doing great wonders and signs among the people.9Then some of those who belonged to the synagogue of the Freedmen (as it was called), and of the Cyrenians, and of the Alexandrians, and of those from Cilicia and Asia, rose up and disputed with Stephen.10But they could not withstand the wisdom and the Spirit with which he was speaking.11Then they secretly instigated men who said, "We have heard him speak blasphemous words against Moses and God."12And they stirred up the people and the elders and the scribes, and they came upon him and seized him and brought him before the council,13and they set up false witnesses who said, "This man never ceases to speak words against this holy place and the law,14for we have heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place and will change the customs that Moses delivered to us."15And gazing at him, all who sat in the council saw that his face was like the face of an angel.
1And the high priest said, "Are these things so?"2And Stephen said:"Brothers and fathers, hear me. The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham when he was in Mesopotamia, before he lived in Haran,3and said to him, 'Go out from your land and from your kindred and go into the land that I will show you.'4Then he went out from the land of the Chaldeans and lived in Haran. And after his father died, God removed him from there into this land in which you are now living.5Yet he gave him no inheritance in it, not even a foot's length, but promised to give it to him as a possession and to his offspring after him, though he had no child.6And God spoke to this effect--that his offspring would be sojourners in a land belonging to others, who would enslave them and afflict them four hundred years.7'But I will judge the nation that they serve,' said God, 'and after that they shall come out and worship me in this place.'8And he gave him the covenant of circumcision. And so Abraham became the father of Isaac, and circumcised him on the eighth day, and Isaac became the father of Jacob, and Jacob of the twelve patriarchs.9"And the patriarchs, jealous of Joseph, sold him into Egypt; but God was with him10and rescued him out of all his afflictions and gave him favor and wisdom before Pharaoh, king of Egypt, who made him ruler over Egypt and over all his household.11Now there came a famine throughout all Egypt and Canaan, and great affliction, and our fathers could find no food.12But when Jacob heard that there was grain in Egypt, he sent out our fathers on their first visit.13And on the second visit Joseph made himself known to his brothers, and Joseph's family became known to Pharaoh.14And Joseph sent and summoned Jacob his father and all his kindred, seventy-five persons in all.15And Jacob went down into Egypt, and he died, he and our fathers,16and they were carried back to Shechem and laid in the tomb that Abraham had bought for a sum of silver from the sons of Hamor in Shechem.17"But as the time of the promise drew near, which God had granted to Abraham, the people increased and multiplied in Egypt18until there arose over Egypt another king who did not know Joseph.19He dealt shrewdly with our race and forced our fathers to expose their infants, so that they would not be kept alive.20At this time Moses was born; and he was beautiful in God's sight. And he was brought up for three months in his father's house,21and when he was exposed, Pharaoh's daughter adopted him and brought him up as her own son.22And Moses was instructed in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and he was mighty in his words and deeds.23"When he was forty years old, it came into his heart to visit his brothers, the children of Israel.24And seeing one of them being wronged, he defended the oppressed man and avenged him by striking down the Egyptian.25He supposed that his brothers would understand that God was giving them salvation by his hand, but they did not understand.26And on the following day he appeared to them as they were quarreling and tried to reconcile them, saying, 'Men, you are brothers. Why do you wrong each other?'27But the man who was wronging his neighbor thrust him aside, saying, 'Who made you a ruler and a judge over us?28Do you want to kill me as you killed the Egyptian yesterday?'29At this retort Moses fled and became an exile in the land of Midian, where he became the father of two sons.30"Now when forty years had passed, an angel appeared to him in the wilderness of Mount Sinai, in a flame of fire in a bush.31When Moses saw it, he was amazed at the sight, and as he drew near to look, there came the voice of the Lord:32'I am the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham and of Isaac and of Jacob.' And Moses trembled and did not dare to look.33Then the Lord said to him, 'Take off the sandals from your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.34I have surely seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt, and have heard their groaning, and I have come down to deliver them. And now come, I will send you to Egypt.'35"This Moses, whom they rejected, saying, 'Who made you a ruler and a judge?'--this man God sent as both ruler and redeemer by the hand of the angel who appeared to him in the bush.36This man led them out, performing wonders and signs in Egypt and at the Red Sea and in the wilderness for forty years.37This is the Moses who said to the Israelites, 'God will raise up for you a prophet like me from your brothers.'38This is the one who was in the congregation in the wilderness with the angel who spoke to him at Mount Sinai, and with our fathers. He received living oracles to give to us.39Our fathers refused to obey him, but thrust him aside, and in their hearts they turned to Egypt,40saying to Aaron, 'Make for us gods who will go before us. As for this Moses who led us out from the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.'41And they made a calf in those days, and offered a sacrifice to the idol and were rejoicing in the works of their hands.42But God turned away and gave them over to worship the host of heaven, as it is written in the book of the prophets: "'Did you bring to me slain beasts and sacrifices, during the forty years in the wilderness, O house of Israel?43You took up the tent of Moloch and the star of your god Rephan, the images that you made to worship; and I will send you into exile beyond Babylon.'44"Our fathers had the tent of witness in the wilderness, just as he who spoke to Moses directed him to make it, according to the pattern that he had seen.45Our fathers in turn brought it in with Joshua when they dispossessed the nations that God drove out before our fathers. So it was until the days of David,46who found favor in the sight of God and asked to find a dwelling place for the God of Jacob.47But it was Solomon who built a house for him.48Yet the Most High does not dwell in houses made by hands, as the prophet says,49"'Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool. What kind of house will you build for me, says the Lord, or what is the place of my rest?50Did not my hand make all these things?'51"You stiff-necked people, uncircumcised in heart and ears, you always resist the Holy Spirit. As your fathers did, so do you.52Which of the prophets did not your fathers persecute? And they killed those who announced beforehand the coming of the Righteous One, whom you have now betrayed and murdered,53you who received the law as delivered by angels and did not keep it."54Now when they heard these things they were enraged, and they ground their teeth at him.55But he, full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God.56And he said, "Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God."57But they cried out with a loud voice and stopped their ears and rushed together at him.58Then they cast him out of the city and stoned him. And the witnesses laid down their garments at the feet of a young man named Saul.59And as they were stoning Stephen, he called out, "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit."60And falling to his knees he cried out with a loud voice, "Lord, do not hold this sin against them." And when he had said this, he fell asleep.