Acts of the Apostles 5

¹ There was another man, however, called Ananias. He and his wife, Sapphira, agreed to sell a property;

² but with his wife’s connivance he kept back part of the proceeds, and brought the rest and presented it to the apostles.

³ ‘Ananias,’ Peter said ‘how can Satan have so possessed you that you should lie to the Holy Spirit and keep back part of the money from the land?

⁴ While you still owned the land, wasn’t it yours to keep, and after you had sold it wasn’t the money yours to do with as you liked? What put this scheme into your mind? It is not to men that you have lied, but to God.’

⁵ When he heard this Ananias fell down dead. This made a profound impression on everyone present.

⁶ The younger men got up, wrapped the body in a sheet, carried it out and buried it.

⁷ About three hours later his wife came in, not knowing what had taken place.

⁸ Peter challenged her, ‘Tell me, was this the price you sold the land for?’ ‘Yes,’ she said ‘that was the price.’

⁹ Peter then said, ‘So you and your husband have agreed to put the Spirit of the Lord to the test! What made you do it? You hear those footsteps? They have just been to bury your husband; they will carry you out, too.’

¹⁰ Instantly she dropped dead at his feet. When the young men came in they found she was dead, and they carried her out and buried her by the side of her husband.

¹¹ This made a profound impression on the whole Church and on all who heard it.

¹³ No one else ever dared to join them, but the people were loud in their praise

¹⁴ and the numbers of men and women who came to believe in the Lord increased steadily.

¹⁵ that the sick were even taken out into the streets and laid on beds and sleeping-mats in the hope that at least the shadow of Peter might fall across some of them as he went past.

¹⁶ people even came crowding in from the towns round about Jerusalem, bringing with them their sick and those tormented by unclean spirits, and all of them were cured.

¹⁷ Then the high priest intervened with all his supporters from the party of the Sadducees. Prompted by jealousy,

¹⁸ they arrested the apostles and had them put in the common gaol.

¹⁹ But at night the angel of the Lord opened the prison gates and said as he led them out,

²⁰ ‘Go and stand in the Temple, and tell the people all about this new Life’.

²¹ They did as they were told; they went into the Temple at dawn and began to preach.

²² But when the officials arrived at the prison they found they were not inside, so they went back and reported,

²³ ‘We found the gaol securely locked and the warders on duty at the gates, but when we unlocked the door we found no one inside’.

²⁴ When the captain of the Temple and the chief priests heard this news they wondered what this could mean.

²⁵ Then a man arrived with fresh news. ‘At this very moment’ he said ‘the men you imprisoned are in the Temple. They are standing there preaching to the people.’

²⁶ The captain went with his men and fetched them. They were afraid to use force in case the people stoned them.

²⁷ When they had brought them in to face the Sanhedrin, the high priest demanded an explanation.

²⁸ ‘We gave you a formal warning’ he said ‘not to preach in this name, and what have you done? You have filled Jerusalem with your teaching, and seem determined to fix the guilt of this man’s death on us.’

²⁹ In reply Peter and the apostles said, ‘Obedience to God comes before obedience to men;

³⁰ it was the God of our ancestors who raised up Jesus, but it was you who had him executed by hanging on a tree.[*a]

³¹ By his own right hand God has now raised him up to be leader and saviour, to give repentance and forgiveness of sins through him to Israel.

³² We are witnesses to all this, we and the Holy Spirit whom God has given to those who obey him.’

³³ This so infuriated them that they wanted to put them to death.

³⁴ One member of the Sanhedrin, however, a Pharisee called Gamaliel, who was a doctor of the Law and respected by the whole people,[*b] stood up and asked to have the men taken outside for a time.

³⁵ Then he addressed the Sanhedrin, ‘Men of Israel, be careful how you deal with these people.

³⁶ There was Theudas who became notorious not so long ago. He claimed to be someone important, and he even collected about four hundred followers; but when he was killed, all his followers scattered and that was the end of them.

³⁷ And then there was Judas the Galilean, at the time of the census, who attracted crowds of supporters; but he got killed too, and all his followers dispersed.

³⁸ What I suggest, therefore, is that you leave these men alone and let them go. If this enterprise, this movement of theirs, is of human origin it will break up of its own accord;

³⁹ but if it does in fact come from God you will not only be unable to destroy them, but you might find yourselves fighting against God.’ His advice was accepted;

⁴⁰ and they had the apostles called in, gave orders for them to be flogged, warned them not to speak in the name of Jesus and released them.

⁴¹ And so they left the presence of the Sanhedrin glad to have had the honour of suffering humiliation for the sake of the name.

⁴² They preached every day both in the Temple and in private houses, and their proclamation of the Good News of Christ Jesus was never interrupted.