1 And as they spake unto the people, the priests, and the captain of the temple, and the Sadducees, came upon them, 2 Being grieved that they taught the people, and preached through Jesus the resurrection from the dead. 3 And they laid hands on them, and put them in hold unto the next day: for it was now eventide. 4 Howbeit many of them which heard the word believed; and the number of the men was about five thousand.
5 ¶ And it came to pass on the morrow, that their rulers, and elders, and scribes, 6 And Annas the high priest, and Caiaphas, and John, and Alexander, and as many as were of the kindred of the high priest, were gathered together at Jerusalem. 7 And when they had set them in the midst, they asked, By what power, or by what name, have ye done this? 8 Then Peter, filled with the Holy Ghost, said unto them, Ye rulers of the people, and elders of Israel, 9 If we this day be examined of the good deed done to the impotent man, by what means he is made whole; 10 Be it known unto you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom ye crucified, whom God raised from the dead, even by him doth this man stand here before you whole. 11 This is the stone which was set at nought of you builders, which is become the head of the corner. 12 Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.
13 ¶ Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were unlearned and ignorant men, they marvelled; and they took knowledge of them, that they had been with Jesus. 14 And beholding the man which was healed standing with them, they could say nothing against it. 15 But when they had commanded them to go aside out of the council, they conferred among themselves, 16 Saying, What shall we do to these men? for that indeed a notable miracle hath been done by them is manifest to all them that dwell in Jerusalem; and we cannot deny it . 17 But that it spread no further among the people, let us straitly threaten them, that they speak henceforth to no man in this name. 18 And they called them, and commanded them not to speak at all nor teach in the name of Jesus. 19 But Peter and John answered and said unto them, Whether it be right in the sight of God to hearken unto you more than unto God, judge ye. 20 For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard. 21 So when they had further threatened them, they let them go, finding nothing how they might punish them, because of the people: for all men glorified God for that which was done. 22 For the man was above forty years old, on whom this miracle of healing was shewed.
23 ¶ And being let go, they went to their own company, and reported all that the chief priests and elders had said unto them. 24 And when they heard that, they lifted up their voice to God with one accord, and said, Lord, thou art God, which hast made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and all that in them is: 25 Who by the mouth of thy servant David hast said, Why did the heathen rage, and the people imagine vain things? 26 The kings of the earth stood up, and the rulers were gathered together against the Lord, and against his Christ. 27 For of a truth against thy holy child Jesus, whom thou hast anointed, both Herod, and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles, and the people of Israel, were gathered together, 28 For to do whatsoever thy hand and thy counsel determined before to be done. 29 And now, Lord, behold their threatenings: and grant unto thy servants, that with all boldness they may speak thy word, 30 By stretching forth thine hand to heal; and that signs and wonders may be done by the name of thy holy child Jesus.
31 ¶ And when they had prayed, the place was shaken where they were assembled together; and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and they spake the word of God with boldness. 32 And the multitude of them that believed were of one heart and of one soul: neither said any of them that ought of the things which he possessed was his own; but they had all things common. 33 And with great power gave the apostles witness of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus: and great grace was upon them all. 34 Neither was there any among them that lacked: for as many as were possessors of lands or houses sold them, and brought the prices of the things that were sold, 35 And laid them down at the apostles’ feet: and distribution was made unto every man according as he had need. 36 And Joses, who by the apostles was surnamed Barnabas, (which is, being interpreted, The son of consolation,) a Levite, and of the country of Cyprus, 37 Having land, sold it , and brought the money, and laid it at the apostles’ feet.
Pedro e João diante do Sinédrio
1 Enquanto Pedro e João ainda falavam ao povo, chegaram os sacerdotes, o capitão do templo e os saduceus, 2 ressentidos porque os apóstolos estavam ensinando o povo e anunciando, em Jesus, a ressurreição dentre os mortos. 3 Prenderam Pedro e João e os recolheram ao cárcere até o dia seguinte, pois já era tarde. 4 Porém muitos dos que ouviram a palavra creram, subindo o número desses homens a quase cinco mil.
5 No dia seguinte, as autoridades, os anciãos e os escribas se reuniram em Jerusalém 6 com o sumo sacerdote Anás, com Caifás, João, Alexandre e todos os que eram da linhagem do sumo sacerdote. 7 E, colocando os apóstolos diante deles, perguntaram:
— Com que poder ou em nome de quem vocês fizeram isso?
8 Então Pedro, cheio do Espírito Santo, lhes disse:
— Autoridades do povo e anciãos, 9 visto que hoje somos interrogados a propósito do benefício feito a um homem enfermo e do modo como ele foi curado, 10 saibam os senhores todos e todo o povo de Israel que, em nome de Jesus Cristo, o Nazareno, a quem vocês crucificaram e a quem Deus ressuscitou dentre os mortos, sim, em seu nome é que este está curado na presença de vocês. 11 Este Jesus é a pedra que vocês, os construtores, rejeitaram, mas ele veio a ser a pedra angular. 12 E não há salvação em nenhum outro, porque debaixo do céu não existe nenhum outro nome, dado entre os homens, pelo qual importa que sejamos salvos.
13 Ao verem a ousadia de Pedro e João, sabendo que eram homens iletrados e incultos, ficaram admirados; e reconheceram que eles haviam estado com Jesus. 14 Vendo que o homem que havia sido curado estava com eles, nada tinham a dizer em contrário. 15 E, mandando-os sair do Sinédrio, discutiam entre si, 16 dizendo:
— Que faremos com estes homens? Pois todos os moradores de Jerusalém sabem que um sinal notório foi feito por eles, e não o podemos negar. 17 Mas, para que não haja maior divulgação entre o povo, vamos ameaçá-los para não falarem mais neste nome a quem quer que seja.
18 Chamando-os, ordenaram-lhes que de modo nenhum falassem nem ensinassem no nome de Jesus. 19 Mas Pedro e João responderam:
— Os senhores mesmos julguem se é justo diante de Deus ouvirmos antes aos senhores do que a Deus; 20 pois nós não podemos deixar de falar das coisas que vimos e ouvimos.
21 Depois, ameaçando-os mais ainda, os soltaram, não tendo achado como os castigar, por causa do povo, porque todos glorificavam a Deus pelo que tinha acontecido. 22 Ora, o homem em quem tinha sido operado esse milagre de cura tinha mais de quarenta anos de idade.
A igreja em oração
23 Uma vez soltos, Pedro e João procuraram os irmãos e lhes contaram tudo o que os principais sacerdotes e os anciãos lhes tinham falado. 24 Ouvindo isto, unânimes, levantaram a voz a Deus e disseram:
— Tu, Soberano Senhor, fizeste o céu, a terra, o mar e tudo o que neles há! 25 Disseste por meio do Espírito Santo, por boca de Davi, nosso pai, teu servo:
“Por que se enfureceram
os gentios,
e os povos imaginaram
coisas vãs?
26 Os reis da terra se levantaram,
e as autoridades se juntaram
contra o Senhor
e contra o seu Ungido.”
27 — Porque de fato, nesta cidade, Herodes e Pôncio Pilatos, com gentios e gente de Israel, se juntaram contra o teu santo Servo Jesus, a quem ungiste, 28 para fazerem tudo o que a tua mão e o teu propósito predeterminaram. 29 Agora, Senhor, olha para as ameaças deles e concede aos teus servos que anunciem a tua palavra com toda a ousadia, 30 enquanto estendes a tua mão para fazer curas, sinais e prodígios por meio do nome do teu santo Servo Jesus.
31 Tendo eles orado, tremeu o lugar onde estavam reunidos. Todos ficaram cheios do Espírito Santo e, com ousadia, anunciavam a palavra de Deus.
A comunidade cristã
32 Da multidão dos que creram era um o coração e a alma. Ninguém considerava exclusivamente sua nem uma das coisas que possuía; tudo, porém, lhes era comum. 33 Com grande poder, os apóstolos davam testemunho da ressurreição do Senhor Jesus, e em todos eles havia abundante graça. 34 Não havia nenhum necessitado entre eles, porque os que possuíam terras ou casas, vendendo-as, traziam os valores correspondentes 35 e os depositavam aos pés dos apóstolos; então se distribuía a cada um conforme a sua necessidade.
A oferta de Barnabé
36 Então José, a quem os apóstolos chamavam de Barnabé, que quer dizer filho da consolação, um levita natural de Chipre, 37 vendeu um campo que possuía, trouxe o dinheiro e o depositou aos pés dos apóstolos.