#DUPE# (1994) - full transcript
[gentle music]
[thunder crashing]
[people shouting]
[suspenseful music]
- Watch out the rope
is about to break!
[suspenseful music swelling]
[girl screaming]
[woman screaming]
- Get it, get it off!
- Get the doctor!
- [Man] There's
been an accident.
[thunder crashing]
[suspenseful music]
- [Man] Luke, was
one of the first
non-Jewish converts
to Christianity.
A valued and loyal companion
of the Apostle Paul,
he traveled extensively with him
throughout the Middle
East and Europe.
[dramatic music]
[gentle music]
- In my former book, Theophilus,
I wrote about all
that Jesus began to do
and to teach until the day
he was taken up to Heaven
after giving instructions
through the Holy Spirit
to the apostles he had chosen.
After his suffering,
he showed himself to these men
and gave many convincing
proofs that he was alive.
He appeared to them
over a period of 40 days
and spoke about
the kingdom of God.
On one occasion while
he was eating with them,
he gave them this command.
- Do not leave Jerusalem,
but wait for the gift
my Father promised,
which you have heard
me speak about.
For John baptized with water,
but in a few days
you will be baptized
with the Holy Spirit.
- [Luke] So, when they met
together, they asked him.
- Lord, are you
at this time going
to restore the
kingdom to Israel?
- [Luke] He said to them.
- It is not for you
to know the times
or dates the Father has
set by his own authority.
[gentle music]
But you will receive power
when the Holy
Spirit comes on you,
and you will be my
witnesses in Jerusalem,
and in all Judea and Samaria,
and to the ends of the Earth.
- [Luke] After he said this,
he was taken up before
their very eyes,
[dramatic music]
and a cloud hid him
from their sight.
They were looking intently up
into the sky as he was going,
when suddenly two men dressed
in white stood beside them.
- Men of Galilee.
- They said.
- Why do you stand here
looking into the sky?
- This same Jesus, who has been
taken from you into Heaven,
will come back in the same way
you have seen him
go into Heaven.
- [Luke] Then they
returned to Jerusalem
from the hill called
the Mount of Olives,
a Sabbath day's
walk from the city.
[apostles chatting]
When they arrived,
they went upstairs
to the room where
they were staying.
Those present were Peter,
John, James, and Andrew,
Philip, and Thomas,
Bartholomew, and Matthew,
James, son of Alphaeus,
and Simon the Zealot,
and Judas, son of James.
They all joined together
constantly in prayer,
along with the women and
Mary, the mother of Jesus,
and with his brothers.
[gentle music]
In those days Peter stood
up among the believers,
a group numbering
about a 120, and said.
- Brothers, the scripture
had to be fulfilled,
which the Holy
Spirit spoke long ago
through the mouth of
David concerning Judas,
who served as guide for
those who arrested Jesus.
He was one of our number
and shared in our ministry.
- [Luke] With the reward
he got for his wickedness,
Judas bought a field;
there he fell headlong,
his body burst open
and all his intestines
spilled out.
Everyone in Jerusalem
heard about this,
so they called that field
in their language Akeldama,
that is Field of Blood.
- For.
- Said Peter.
- It is written in
the Book of Psalms:
May his place be deserted.
Let there be no
one to dwell in it,
and may another take
his place of leadership.
Therefore it is necessary
to choose one of the men
who have been with
us the whole time
the Lord Jesus went
in and out among us.
Beginning from John's
baptism to the time--
- When.
- Jesus was taken up from us,
for one of these
must become a witness
with us of his resurrection.
- [Luke] So they
proposed two men:
Joseph, called Barsabbas,
also known as
Justus, and Matthias.
[gentle music]
Then they prayed.
- Lord, you know
everyone's heart.
Show us which of these
two you have chosen
to take over this
apostolic ministry,
which Judas left to
go where he belongs.
- [Luke] Then they cast lots,
and the lot fell to Matthias.
So he was added to
the eleven apostles.
[sheep bleating]
When the day of Pentecost came,
they were all
together in one place.
Suddenly a sound
like the blowing
of a violent wind
came from Heaven
and filled the whole house
where they were sitting.
[wind blowing swiftly]
[dramatic music]
They saw what seemed
to be tongues of fire
that separated and came
to rest on each of them.
[disciples cheering]
All of them were filled
with the Holy Spirit
and began to speak
in other tongues
as the Spirit enabled them.
[people cheering]
Now there were staying in
Jerusalem God-fearing Jews
from every nation under Heaven.
When they heard this sound,
a crowd came together
in bewilderment,
because each one heard them
speaking in his own language.
Utterly amazed, they asked.
- Are not all these who
are speaking Galileans?
Then how is it that each of us
hears them in his
own native language?
- Parthians, Medes,
and Elamites,
residents of Mesopotamia.
- Judea, and Cappadocia,
Pontus, and Asia,
Phrygia, and Pamphylia, Egypt,
and the parts of
Libya near Cyrene.
- Visitors from Rome,
both Jews and
converts to Judaism,
Cretans, and Arabs.
- We hear them declaring
the wonders of God
in our own tongues.
- [Luke] Amazed and perplexed,
they asked one another.
- What does this mean?
- [Luke] Some, however,
made fun of them and said.
- They have had too much wine.
[crowd chuckling]
- [Luke] Then Peter
stood up with the 11,
raised his voice and
addressed the crowd.
- Fellow Jews,
and all of you who
live in Jerusalem,
let me explain this to you.
Listen carefully to what I say.
These men are not
drunk, as you suppose.
It's only 9:00 in the morning.
No, this is what was
spoken by the prophet Joel:
"In the last days," God says,
"I will pour out my
Spirit on all people.
"Your sons and
daughters will prophesy.
"Your young men
will see visions.
"Your old men will dream dreams.
"Even on my servants,
both men and women,
"I will pour out my
Spirit in those days,
"and they will prophesy.
"I will show wonders
in the Heaven above
"and signs on the Earth below,
"blood and fire and
billows of smoke.
"The sun will be
turned to darkness
"and the moon to blood
"before the coming of the great
"and glorious day of the Lord.
"And everyone who calls
"on the name of the
Lord will be saved."
Men of Israel, listen to this.
Jesus of Nazareth was
a man accredited by God
to you by miracles,
wonders, and signs,
which God did among
you through him,
as you yourselves know.
This man was handed over to you
by God's set purpose
and foreknowledge,
and you with the
help of wicked men
put him to death by
nailing him to the cross.
But God raised
him from the dead,
freeing him from
the agony of death,
because it was impossible for
death to keep its hold on him.
David said about him,
"I saw the Lord
always before me.
"Because he is at my right
hand, I will not be shaken.
"Therefore my heart is glad
and my tongue rejoices.
"My body also will live in hope,
"because you will not
abandon me to the grave.
"Nor will you let your
holy one see decay.
"You have made known to
me the paths of life.
"You will fill me with
joy in your presence."
Brothers, I can
tell you confidently
that the patriarch David
died and was buried,
and his tomb is
here to this day.
But he was a prophet
and knew that God
had promised him on
oath that he would place
one of his descendants
on his throne.
Seeing what was ahead, he spoke
of the resurrection
of the Christ,
that he was not
abandoned to the grave,
nor did his body see decay.
God has raised
this Jesus to life,
and we are all
witnesses of the fact.
Exalted to the
right hand of God,
he has received from the
Father the promised Holy Spirit
and has poured out what
you now see and hear.
For David did not ascend
to heaven and yet he said,
"The Lord said to my
Lord sit at my right hand
"until I make your enemies
a footstool for your feet."
Therefore, let all Israel
be assured of this.
God has made this Jesus,
whom you crucified,
both Lord and Christ.
- [Luke] When the
people heard this,
they were cut to the heart
and said to Peter and
the other apostles.
- Brothers, what shall we do?
- [Luke] Peter replied.
- Repent and be baptized
every one of you
in the name of Jesus Christ
for the forgiveness
of your sins.
And you will receive the
gift of the Holy Spirit.
The promise is for
you and your children
and for all who are far off,
for all whom the Lord
our God will call.
[dramatic music]
- With many other
words he warned them,
and he pleaded with them,
"Save yourselves from
this corrupt generation."
Those who accepted his
message were baptized,
and about 3,000 were added
to their number that day.
They devoted themselves
to the apostles' teaching
and to the fellowship,
to the breaking of
bread and to prayer.
Everyone was filled with awe.
And many wonders
and miraculous signs
were done by the apostles.
All the believers were together
and had everything in common.
Selling their
possessions and goods,
they gave to anyone
as he had need.
Every day they continued
to meet together in
the temple court.
They broke bread in their homes
and ate together with
glad and sincere hearts,
praising God and enjoying
the favor of all the people.
And the Lord added
to their number daily
those who were being saved.
One day Peter and John
were going up to the temple
at the time of prayer at
3:00 in the afternoon.
Now a man crippled from
birth was being carried
to the temple gate
called Beautiful,
where he was put
every day to beg
from those going into
the temple courts.
When he saw Peter and
John about to enter,
he asked them for money.
Peter looked straight
at him, as did John.
Then Peter said.
- Look at us!
- [Luke] So the man
gave them his attention,
expecting to get
something from them.
Then Peter said.
- Silver or gold I do not have,
but what I have I give you.
In the name of Jesus
Christ of Nazareth, walk.
[dramatic music]
- [Luke] Taking him by the
right hand, he helped him up,
and instantly the man's feet
and ankles became strong.
He jumped to his feet
and began to walk.
[beggar chuckling]
Then he went with them
into the temple courts,
walking, and jumping,
and praising God.
When all the people saw him
walking and praising God,
they recognized him as
the same man who used to
sit begging at the temple
gate called Beautiful,
and they were filled with wonder
and amazement at what
had happened to him.
While the beggar held
onto Peter and John,
all the people were
astonished and came running
to them in the place
called Solomon's Colonnade.
When Peter saw this,
he said to them.
- Men of Israel, why
does this surprise you?
Why do you stare at us
as if by our own power
or godliness we had
made this man walk?
The God of Abraham,
Isaac, and Jacob,
the God of our fathers has
glorified his servant Jesus.
You handed him
over to be killed,
and you disowned
him before Pilate,
though he had decided
to let him go.
You disowned the Holy
and Righteous One
and asked that a murderer
be released to you.
You killed the author of life,
but God raised
him from the dead.
We are witnesses of this.
By faith in the name of Jesus,
this man whom you see
and know was made strong.
It is Jesus' name and the
faith that comes through him
that has given this
complete healing to him
as you can all see.
Now, brothers, I know that
you acted in ignorance,
as did your leaders.
But this is how God fulfilled
what he had foretold
through all the prophets,
saying that his
Christ would suffer.
Repent then, and turn to God,
[dramatic music]
so that your sins
may be wiped out,
that times of refreshing
may come from the Lord,
and that he may send the Christ,
who has been appointed
for you, even Jesus.
He must remain in Heaven
until the time comes
for God to restore everything,
as he promised long ago
through his holy prophets.
For Moses said, "The Lord
your God will raise up for you
"a prophet like me from
among your own people.
"You must listen to
everything he tells you.
"Anyone who does
not listen to him
"will be completely cut
off from among his people."
Indeed, all the
prophets from Samuel on,
as many as have spoken
have foretold these days.
And you are heirs
of the prophets
and of the covenant God
made with your fathers.
He said to Abraham
through your offspring
all peoples on Earth
will be blessed.
When God raised up his servant,
he sent him first
to you to bless you
by turning each of you
from your wicked ways.
- [Luke] The priests and the
captain of the temple guard
and the Sadducees
came up to Peter
and John while they were
speaking to the people.
They were greatly disturbed
because the apostles
were teaching the people
and proclaiming in Jesus the
resurrection of the dead.
They seized Peter and John
and because it was evening,
they put them in jail
until the next day.
But many who heard
the message believed,
and the number of men
grew to about 5,000.
The next day the rulers, elders,
and the teachers of the
law met in Jerusalem.
Annas the high priest was there,
and so were Caiaphas,
John, Alexander,
and other men of the
high priest's family.
They had Peter and John
brought before them
and began to question them.
- By what power or what
name did you do this?
- [Luke] Then Peter, filled
with the Holy Spirit,
said to them.
- Rulers and elders
of the people,
if we are being called
to account today
for an act of kindness
shown to a cripple
and are asked how he was
healed, then know this
you and all the
people of Israel,
[dramatic music]
it is by the name of
Jesus Christ of Nazareth,
whom you crucified but whom
God raised from the dead,
that this man stands
before you healed.
He is the stone you
builders rejected,
which has become the capstone.
Salvation is found
in no one else.
For there is no other
name under Heaven
given to man by which
we must be saved.
- [Luke] When they saw the
courage of Peter and John
and realized that they were
unschooled, ordinary men,
they were astonished,
and they took note
that these men had
been with Jesus.
But since they could see the man
who had been healed
standing there with them,
there was nothing
they could say.
So they ordered them to
withdraw from the Sanhedrin
and then conferred together.
- What are we going
to do with these men?
- [Luke] They asked.
- Everybody living
in Jerusalem knows
they have done an
outstanding miracle,
and we cannot deny it.
But to stop this thing
from spreading any
further among the people,
we must warn these men to speak
no longer to anyone
in this name.
[suspenseful music]
- [Luke] Then they
called them in again
and commanded them not to speak
or teach at all in
the name of Jesus.
But Peter and John replied.
- Judge for yourselves
whether it is right
in God's sight to obey
you rather than God.
- For we cannot help speaking
about what we have
seen and heard.
- [Luke] After further
threats they let them go.
They could not decide
how to punish them,
because all the people
were praising God
for what had happened.
For the man who was
miraculously healed
was over 40 years old.
On their release, Peter
and John went back
to their own people
and reported all that
the chief priests and
elders had said to them.
When they heard this,
they raised their voices
together in prayer to God.
- Sovereign Lord.
- They said.
- You made the
Heaven, and the Earth,
and the sea, and
everything in them.
- You spoke by the Holy
Spirit through the mouth
of your servant,
our father David.
Why do the nations rage
and the peoples plot in vain?
The kings of the
Earth take their stand
and the rulers gather
together against the Lord
and against his anointed one.
- Indeed Herod
and Pontius Pilate
met together with the gentiles
and the people of
Israel in this city
to conspire against
your holy servant,
Jesus, whom you anointed.
- They did what your power
and will had decided
beforehand should happen.
- Now, Lord, consider
their threats
and enable your servants
to speak your word
with great boldness.
- Stretch out your hand to heal
and perform miraculous
signs and wonders
through the name of
your holy servant Jesus.
- [Luke] After they prayed,
the place where they
were meeting was shaken.
And they were all filled
with the Holy Spirit
and spoke the word
of God boldly.
[ground rumbling loudly]
All the believers were
one in heart and mind.
No one claimed that any of
his possessions was his own,
but they shared
everything they had.
With great power the
apostles continued to testify
to the resurrection
of the Lord Jesus.
And much grace
was upon them all.
There were no needy
persons among them.
For from time to time those who
owned land or houses sold them,
brought the money from the sales
and put it at the
apostles' feet,
and it was distributed
to anyone as he had need.
Joseph, a Levite from Cyprus,
whom the apostles
called Barnabas,
which means son of
encouragement, sold
a field he owned
and brought the money and
put it at the apostles' feet.
Now a man named Ananias
together with his wife Sapphira
also sold a piece of property.
With his wife's full knowledge,
he kept back part of
the money for himself,
but brought the rest and put
it at the apostles' feet.
Then Peter said, "Ananias,
how is it that Satan has so
"filled your heart that you
have lied to the Holy Spirit
"and have kept for
yourself some of the money
"you received for the land?
"Didn't it belong to
you before it was sold?
"And after it was sold,
"wasn't the money
at your disposal?
"What made you think
of doing such a thing?
"You have not lied
to men but to God."
When Ananias heard this,
he fell down and died.
And great fear seized all
who heard what had happened.
Then some young men came
forward, wrapped up his body,
and carried him
out and buried him.
About three hours
later his wife came in,
not knowing what had happened.
Peter asked her, "Tell me,
"is this the price you and
Ananias got for the land?"
"Yes," she said,
"that is the price."
Peter said to her,
"How could you agree
"to test the Spirit of the Lord?
"Look, the feet of the men
"who buried your
husband are at the door,
"and they will
carry you out also."
At that moment she fell
down at his feet and died.
Then the young men came
in and finding her dead,
carried her out and buried
her beside her husband.
Great fear seized
the whole church
and all who heard
about these events.
The apostles performed
many miraculous signs
and wonders among the people.
And all the believers
used to meet together
in Solomon's Colonnade.
No one else dared join them,
even though they were highly
regarded by the people.
Nevertheless, more and more
men and women
believed in the Lord
and were added to their number.
[people chatting distantly]
As a result, people brought
the sick into the streets
and laid them on beds and mats,
so that at least Peter's shadow
might fall on some of
them as he passed by.
[people chatting distantly]
[dramatic music]
Crowds gathered also from
the towns around Jerusalem,
bringing their sick and those
tormented by evil spirits
and all of them were healed.
Then the high priest
and all his associates,
who were members of the
party of the Sadducees,
were filled with jealousy.
They arrested the apostles
and put them in the public jail.
But during the night
an angel of the Lord
opened the doors of the
jail and brought them out.
[bright music]
- Go and stand in
the temple courts.
- [Luke] He said.
- And tell the people
the fullness, that
there is new life.
- [Luke] At daybreak they
entered the temple courts,
as they had been told, and
began to teach the people.
When the high priest and
his associates arrived,
they called together
the Sanhedrin,
the full assembly of
the elders of Israel,
and sent to the jail
for the apostles.
But on arriving at the jail,
the officers did
not find them there.
So they went back and reported.
- We found the jail
securely locked,
with the guards
standing at the doors,
but when we opened them,
we found no one inside.
- [Luke] On hearing this report,
the captain of the temple guard
and the chief
priests were puzzled,
wondering what
would come of this.
Then someone came and said.
- Look, the men you put in jail
are standing in the temple
courts teaching the people.
- [Luke] At that, the captain
went with his officers
and brought the apostles.
They did not use force,
because they feared
that the people
would stone them.
Having brought the apostles,
they made them appear
before the Sanhedrin
to be questioned
by the high priest.
- We gave you strict orders
not to teach in this name.
- He said.
- Yet you have
filled Jerusalem
with your teaching
[councilmen muttering]
and are determined to make us
guilty of this man's blood.
- [Luke] Peter and the
other apostles replied.
- We must obey God
rather than men.
The God of our fathers
raised Jesus from the dead,
whom you had killed by
hanging him on a tree.
God exalted him to his own
right hand as Prince and Savior
that he might give repentance
and forgiveness
of sins to Israel.
- [Man] They must kill them!
[council muttering]
- We are witnesses
of these things,
and so is the Holy Spirit,
whom God has given to
those who obey him.
- [Luke] When they heard
this, they were furious
and wanted to put them to death.
But a Pharisee named Gamaliel,
a teacher of the law,
who was honored
by all the people,
stood up in the Sanhedrin
and ordered that
the men be put outside
for a little while.
[dramatic music]
Then he addressed them.
- Men of Israel,
consider carefully what you
intend to do to these men.
Some time ago Theudas appeared,
claiming to be somebody,
and about 400 men
rallied to him.
He was killed,
all his followers
were dispersed,
and it all came to nothing.
After him, Judas the Galilean
appeared in the
days of the census
and led a band of
people in revolt.
He too was killed,
and all his followers
were scattered.
Therefore, in the present
case I advise you:
Leave these men alone.
Let them go.
[suspenseful music]
For if their purpose or activity
is of human origin,
it will fail.
But if it is from God,
you will not be able
to stop these men.
You will only find yourselves
fighting against God.
- [Luke] His speech
persuaded them.
They called the apostles
in and had them flogged.
Then they ordered
them not to speak
in the name of Jesus
and let them go.
The apostles left the
Sanhedrin rejoicing
because they had
been counted worthy
of suffering disgrace
for the name.
[gentle music]
Day after day in
the temple courts
and from house to house,
they never stopped teaching
and proclaiming the good news
that Jesus is the Christ.
In those days when the number
of disciples was increasing,
the Grecian Jews among
them complained against
the Hebraic Jews because their
widows were being overlooked
in the daily
distribution of food.
So the 12 gathered all the
disciples together and said,
"It would not be right
for us to neglect
"the ministry of the word of
God in order to wait on tables.
"Brothers, choose seven
men from among you
"who are known to be full
of the Spirit and wisdom.
"We will turn this
responsibility over to them,
"and we'll give our
attention to prayer
"and the ministry of the word."
This proposal pleased
the whole group.
They chose Stephen,
a man full of faith
and of the Holy Spirit,
also Philip, Procorus,
Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas,
and Nicolas from Antioch,
a convert to Judaism.
They presented these
men to the apostles,
who prayed and laid
their hands on them.
So the word of God spread.
The number of disciples in
Jerusalem increased rapidly,
and a large number of priests
became obedient to the faith.
[gentle music]
Now Stephen, a man full
of God's grace and power,
did great wonders and miraculous
signs among the people.
Opposition arose,
however, from members
of the Synagogue of the
Freedmen, as it was called.
Jews of Cyrene and Alexandria
as well as the provinces
of Cilicia and Asia,
these men began to
argue with Stephen.
But they could not stand
up against his wisdom
or the Spirit by
whom him he spoke.
Then they secretly
persuaded some men to say,
"We have heard Stephen
speak words of blasphemy
"against Moses and against God."
[gentle music]
So they stirred up the people
and the elders and the
teachers of the law.
They seized Stephen and brought
him before the Sanhedrin.
They produced false
witnesses who testified.
- This fellow never stops
speaking against this holy place
and against the law.
- For we have heard him say
that this Jesus of Nazareth
will destroy this place
and change the customs
Moses handed down to us.
[people muttering]
- [Luke] All who were
sitting in the Sanhedrin
looked intently at Stephen,
and they saw that his face
was like the face of an angel.
Then the high priest asked him.
- Are these charges true?
- [Luke] To this he replied.
- Brothers and
fathers, listen to me.
[gentle music]
The God of glory appeared
to our father Abraham
while he was still
in Mesopotamia,
before he lived in Haran.
"Leave your country and
your people," God said,
"and go to the land
I will show you."
So he left the land of the
Chaldeans and settled in Haran.
After the death of his father,
God sent him to this land
where you are now living.
He gave him no inheritance
here, not even a foot of ground,
but God promised him
that he and his
descendants after him
would possess the land,
even though at that time
Abraham had no child.
God spoke to him in this way,
"You descendants
will be strangers
"in a country not their own,
"and they will be enslaved
and mistreated 400 years.
"But I will punish the
nation they serve as slaves,"
God said, "And afterward they
will come out of that country
"and worship me in this place."
Then he gave Abraham the
covenant of circumcision.
And Abraham became
the father of Isaac
and circumcised him eight
days after his birth.
Later Isaac became
the father of Jacob,
and Jacob became the father
of the 12 patriarchs.
Because the patriarchs
were jealous of Joseph,
they sold him as a
slave into Egypt.
But God was with him
and rescued him from
all his troubles.
He gave Joseph wisdom
and enabled him to gain
the goodwill of
Pharaoh, king of Egypt.
So he made him ruler over
Egypt and all his palace.
Then a famine struck
all Egypt and Canaan,
bringing great suffering,
and our fathers
could not find food.
When Jacob heard that
there was grain in Egypt,
he sent our fathers
on their first visit.
On their second visit,
Joseph told his
brothers who he was,
and Pharaoh learned
about Joseph's family.
After this, Joseph sent
for his father Jacob
and his whole family, 75 in all.
Then Jacob went down to Egypt,
where he and our fathers died.
Their bodies were
brought back to Shechem
and placed in the tomb that
Abraham had bought from
the sons of Hamor at Shechem
for a certain sum of money.
As the time drew near
for God to fulfill his
promise to Abraham,
the number of our people
in Egypt greatly increased.
Then another king, who
knew nothing about Joseph,
became ruler of Egypt.
He dealt treacherously
with our people
and oppressed our
forefathers by forcing them
to throw out their newborn
babies so that they would die.
At that time Moses was born,
and he was no ordinary child.
For three months he was cared
for in his father's house.
When he was placed outside,
Pharaoh's daughter took him
and brought him
up as her own son.
Moses was educated in all
the wisdom of the Egyptians
and was powerful in
speech and action.
When Moses was 40 years old,
he decided to visit
his fellow Israelites.
He saw one of them being
mistreated by an Egyptian,
so he went to his defense
and avenged him by
killing the Egyptian.
Moses thought that his
own people would realize
that God was using him to
rescue them, but they did not.
The next day Moses came
upon two Israelites
who were fighting.
He tried to reconcile
them by saying,
"Men, you are brothers.
"Why do you want to
hurt each other?"
But the man who was
mistreating the other
pushed Moses aside and said,
"Who made you ruler
and judge over us?
"Do you want to kill me
"as you killed the
Egyptian yesterday?"
When Moses heard this,
he fled to Midian,
where he settled as a
foreigner and had two sons.
After 40 years had passed,
an angel appeared to Moses in
the flames of a burning bush
in the desert near Mount Sinai.
When he saw this, he
was amazed at the sight.
As he went over to
look more closely,
he heard the Lord's voice.
"I am the God of your fathers,
the God of Abraham,
Isaac, and Jacob."
Moses trembled with fear
and did not dare to look.
Then the Lord said to him,
"Take off your sandals.
"The place where you are
standing is holy ground.
"I have indeed seen
"the oppression of
my people in Egypt.
"I have heard their groaning
"and have come down
to set them free.
"Now come, I will send
you back to Egypt."
This is the same Moses
whom they had rejected
with the words,
"Who made you ruler and judge?"
He was sent to be their ruler
and deliverer by God himself,
through the angel who
appeared to him in the bush.
He led them out of Egypt
and did wonders and
miraculous signs in Egypt,
at the Red Sea and for
40 years in the desert.
This is that Moses who
told the Israelites,
"God will send you a prophet
like me from your own people."
He was in the assembly in
the desert with the angel
who spoke to him on Mount
Sinai, and with our fathers,
and he received living
words to pass on to us.
But our fathers
refused to obey him.
Instead, they rejected him
and in their hearts
turned back to Egypt.
They told Aaron, "Make us
gods who will go before us.
"As for this fellow Moses,
who led us out of Egypt,
"we don't know what
has happened to him."
That was the time they made
an idol in the form of a calf.
They brought sacrifices to
it, and held a celebration
in honor of what
their hands had made.
But God turned away,
and gave them over to the
worship of the heavenly bodies.
This agrees with what is written
in the book of the prophets:
Did you bring me
sacrifices and offerings
40 years in the desert,
O' house of Israel?
You have lifted up the
tabernacle of Molek
and the star of your god Rephan,
the idols you made to worship.
Therefore, I will send you
into exile beyond Babylon.
Our forefathers had the
tabernacle of the testimony
with them in the desert.
It had been made as
God directed Moses,
according to the
pattern he had seen.
Having receiving the tabernacle,
our fathers under Joshua
brought it with them
when they took the
land from the nations
God drove out before them.
It remained in the land
until the time of David,
who enjoyed God's favor
and asked that he might provide
a dwelling place for
the God of Jacob.
But it was Solomon who
built a house for him.
However, the Most High does
not live in houses made by men.
As the prophet says,
"Heaven is my throne,
"and the Earth is my footstool.
"What kind of house will you
build for me," says the Lord,
"Or where will my
resting place be?
"Has not my hand made
all these things?"
You stiff-necked people
with uncircumcised
hearts and ears.
You are just like your fathers.
You always resist
the Holy Spirit.
Was there ever a prophet your
fathers did not persecute?
They even killed
those who predicted
the coming of the Righteous One.
And now you have betrayed
and murdered him.
You who have received the law
that was put into
effect through angels
but have not obeyed it.
[councilmen yelling angrily]
[suspenseful music]
- [Luke] When they heard
this, they were furious
and gnashed their teeth at him.
But Stephen, full
of the Holy Spirit,
looked up to Heaven and
saw the glory of God,
and Jesus standing at
the right hand of God.
- Look.
- [Luke] He said.
- I see Heaven open,
and the Son of Man standing
at the right hand of God.
- [Luke] At this they
covered their ears.
Yelling at the top of their
voices, they all rushed at him,
[ominous music]
[councilmen yelling]
dragged him out of the city
and began to stone him.
[suspenseful music swelling]
Meanwhile, the witnesses
laid their clothes
at the feet of a
young man named Saul.
While they were stoning
him, Stephen prayed.
- Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.
- [Luke] Then he fell on
his knees and cried out.
- Lord, do not hold
this sin against them.
- [Luke] When he had said
this, he fell asleep.
[councilmen yelling angrily]
And Saul was there giving
approval to his death.
[suspenseful music]
[people yelling]
On that day a great persecution
broke out against the
church in Jerusalem,
and all except the
apostles were scattered
throughout Judea and Samaria.
Godly men buried Stephen
and mourned deeply for him.
But Saul began to
destroy the church.
Going from house to house,
he dragged off both men and
women and put them in prison.
Those who had been scattered
preached the word
wherever they went.
Philip went down to
a city in Samaria
and proclaimed the Christ there.
When the crowds heard Philip
and saw the miraculous
signs he did,
they all paid close
attention to what he said.
With shrieks, evil
spirits came out of many,
and many paralytics and
cripples were healed.
So there was great
joy in that city.
Now for some time
a man named Simon
had practiced
sorcery in the city
and amazed all the
people of Samaria.
[dramatic music]
He boasted that he
was someone great,
and all the people,
both high and low,
gave him their
attention and exclaimed.
- This man has the divine
power, known as the great power.
- [Luke] They followed him
because he had amazed them
for a long time with his magic.
[Simon chuckling softly]
[man screaming]
- But when they believed
Philip, as he preached
the good news of
the kingdom of God
and the name of Jesus Christ,
they were baptized,
both men and women.
Simon himself believed
and was baptized.
And he followed
Philip everywhere,
astonished by the great
signs and miracles he saw.
- When the apostles in Jerusalem
heard that Samaria had
accepted the word of God,
they sent Peter
and John to them.
When they arrived,
they prayed for them
that they might receive
the Holy Spirit,
because the Holy Spirit had
not yet come upon any of them.
They had simply been baptized
into the name of the Lord Jesus.
Then Peter and John placed
their hands on them,
and they received
the Holy Spirit.
[sighing heavily]
When Simon saw that
the Spirit was given
at the laying on of
the apostles' hands,
he offered them money and said,
"Give me also this ability,
"so that everyone on
whom I lay my hands
"may receive the Holy Spirit."
[Luke chuckling]
Peter answered.
- May your money perish with
you, because you thought
you could buy the gift
of God with money.
You have no part or
share in this ministry,
because your heart is
not right before God.
Repent of this wickedness
and pray to the Lord.
Perhaps, he will forgive you
for having such a
thought in your heart.
For I see that you
are full of bitterness
and captive to sin.
- [Luke] Then Simon answered.
- Pray to the Lord for me,
so that nothing you have
said may happen to me.
[gentle music]
- [Luke] When they had testified
and proclaimed the
word of the Lord,
Peter and John
returned to Jerusalem,
preaching the gospel in
many Samaritan villages.
Now an angel of the
Lord said to Philip.
- Go south to the
road, the desert road,
[tense eerie music]
that goes down from
Jerusalem to Gaza.
- [Luke] So he started out,
[gentle music]
and on his way he met
an Ethiopian eunuch,
an important
official in charge of
all the treasury of Candace,
queen of the Ethiopians.
This man had gone to
Jerusalem to worship,
and on his way home was
sitting in his chariot
reading the book of
Isaiah the prophet.
The Spirit told Philip.
- [Spirit] Go to that
chariot and stay near it.
- [Luke] Then Philip
ran up to the chariot
and heard the man reading
Isaiah the prophet.
- Do you understand
what you are reading?
- [Luke] Philip asked.
- How can I.
- [Luke] He said.
- Unless someone
explains it to me?
- [Luke] So he invited Philip
to come up and sit with him.
[dramatic music]
The eunuch was reading
this passage of scripture:
- He was led like a
sheep to the slaughter,
and as a lamb before
the shearer is silent,
so he did not open his mouth.
In his humiliation he
was deprived of justice.
Who can speak of
his descendants?
For his life was
taken from the Earth.
- [Luke] The eunuch
asked Philip.
- Tell me, please, who is
the prophet talking about,
himself or someone else?
- [Luke] Then Philip
began with that
very passage of scripture
and told him the good
news about Jesus.
As they traveled along the road,
they came to some water
and the eunuch said.
- Look, here is water.
Why shouldn't I be baptized?
- [Luke] And he gave
orders to stop the chariot.
Then both Philip and the eunuch
went down into the water,
and Philip baptized him.
When they came up
out of the water,
the Spirit of the Lord
suddenly took Philip away,
[Philip groaning]
and the eunuch did
not see him again,
but went on his way rejoicing.
[chuckling happily]
Philip, however,
appeared at Azotus
and traveled about,
preaching the gospel
in all the towns until
he reached Caesarea.
Meanwhile, Saul was
still breathing out
murderous threats against
the Lord's disciples.
He went to the high
priest and asked him
for letters to the
synagogues in Damascus,
so that if he found
any there who belonged
to the Way, whether
men or women,
he might take them as
prisoners to Jerusalem.
[ominous music]
[horse braying]
As he neared Damascus
on his journey,
suddenly a light from
Heaven flashed around him.
[suspenseful music]
He fell to the ground and
heard a voice say to him.
- Saul.
Saul.
Why do you persecute me?
- Who are you, Lord?
- [Luke] Saul asked.
- I am Jesus, whom
you are persecuting.
- [Luke] He replied.
- Now get up and
go into the city,
and you will be told
what you must do.
- [Luke] The men traveling with
Saul stood there speechless.
They heard the sound
but did not see anyone.
[gasping heavily]
Saul got up from the ground,
but when he opened his
eyes, he could see nothing.
So they led him by the
hand into Damascus.
[birds chirping]
For three days he was blind
and did not eat
or drink anything.
In Damascus there was a
disciple named Ananias.
The Lord called to
him in a vision.
- [Jesus] Ananias.
[bright music]
- Yes, Lord.
- [Luke] He answered.
The Lord told him.
- [Jesus] Go to the house
of Judas on Straight Street
and ask for a man from Tarsus
named Saul, for he is praying.
In a vision he has seen
a man named Ananias come
and place his hands on
him to restore his sight.
- Lord.
- Ananias answered.
- I have heard many
reports about this man
and of all the harm he has done
to your saints in Jerusalem.
And he has come here with
authority from the chief priests
to arrest all who
call on your name.
- [Luke] But the
Lord said to Ananias.
- [Jesus] Go.
This man is my chosen instrument
to carry my name
before the gentiles
and their kings and before
the people of Israel.
I will show him how much
he must suffer for my name.
- [Luke] Then Ananias went
to the house and entered it.
Placing his hands
on Saul, he said.
- Brother Saul.
The Lord Jesus, who
appeared to you on the road
as you were coming
here, has sent me,
so that you may see again
and be filled with
the Holy Spirit.
- [Luke] Immediately,
something like scales
fell from Saul's eyes,
and he could see again.
[dramatic music]
[chuckling happily]
He got up and was baptized,
and after taking some food,
he regained his strength.
Saul spent several days with
the disciples in Damascus.
At once he began to
preach in the synagogues
that Jesus is the Son of God.
All those who heard it
were astonished and asked.
- Isn't he the man who
raised havoc in Jerusalem
among those who
call on this name?
- And hasn't he come
here to take them
as prisoners to
the chief priests?
- Yet Saul grew more
and more powerful
and baffled the Jews
living in Damascus
by proving that
Jesus is the Christ.
After many days had gone by,
the Jews conspired to kill him,
but Saul learned of their plan.
[suspenseful music]
Day and night they
kept close watch
on the city gates in
order to kill him.
But his followers took him
by night and lowered him
in a basket through an
opening in the wall.
[dramatic music]
When he came to Jerusalem, he
tried to join the disciples,
but they were all afraid of him,
not believing that he
really was a disciple.
But Barnabas took him
and brought him to the apostles.
He told them how Saul on his
journey had seen the Lord
and that the Lord
had spoken to him,
and how in Damascus
he had preached
fearlessly in the name of Jesus.
So Saul stayed with them
and moved about
freely in Jerusalem,
speaking boldly in
the name of the Lord.
He talked and debated
with the Grecian Jews,
but they tried to kill him.
When the brothers learned
of this, they took him
down to Caesarea and
sent him off to Tarsus.
Then the church
throughout Judea,
Galilee, and Samaria
enjoyed a time of peace.
It was strengthened and
encouraged by the Holy Spirit.
It grew in numbers living
in the fear of the Lord.
As Peter traveled
about the country,
he went to visit
the saints in Lydda.
There he found a
man named Aeneas,
a paralytic who'd been
bedridden for eight years.
"Aeneas," Peter said to him,
"Jesus Christ heals you.
"Get up and take
care of your mat."
Immediately Aeneas got up.
All those who lived in Lydda
and Sharon saw him and
turned to the Lord.
In Joppa there was a
disciple named Tabitha,
which when translated is Dorcas,
who was always doing good
and helping the poor.
About that time she
became sick and died,
and her body was washed and
placed in an upstairs room.
Now Lydda was near Joppa,
so when the disciples heard
that Peter was in Lydda,
they sent two men to
him and urged him.
Please come at once!
Peter went with them.
When he arrived, he was
taken upstairs to the room.
All the widows stood
around him crying
and showing him the
robes and other clothing
that Dorcas had made while
she was still with them.
[sighing] Peter sent
them all out of the room.
Then he got down on
his knees and prayed.
Turning toward the
dead woman, he said,
"Tabitha, get up."
She opened her eyes and
seeing Peter she sat up.
He took her by the hand
and helped her to her feet.
Then he called the
believers and the widows
and presented her to them alive.
[sighing] This became
known all over Joppa,
and many people
believed in the Lord.
Peter stayed in
Joppa for some time
with a tanner named Simon.
At Caesarea there was
a man named Cornelius,
a centurion in what was known
as the Italian Regiment.
He and all his family were
devout and God-fearing.
He gave generously
to those in need
and prayed to God regularly.
One day at about 3:00 in the
afternoon he had a vision.
He distinctly saw
an angel of God,
who came to him and said.
- Cornelius.
- [Luke] Cornelius
stared at him in fear.
- What is it, Lord?
- He asked.
The angel answered.
- Your prayers and
gifts to the poor
have come up as a memorial
offering before God.
Now send men to Joppa to
bring back a man named Simon
who is called Peter.
He is staying with
Simon the tanner,
whose house is by the sea.
- When the angel who
spoke to him had gone,
Cornelius called
two of his servants
and a devout soldier who
was one of his attendants.
[dramatic music]
He told them everything
that had happened
and sent them to Joppa.
About noon the following day
as they were on their journey
and approaching the city,
Peter went up on
the roof to pray.
He became hungry and
wanted something to eat,
and while the meal
was being prepared,
he fell into a trance.
He saw Heaven open and
something like a large sheet
being let down to Earth
by its four corners.
It contained all kinds
of four-footed animals,
as well as reptiles of the
Earth and birds of the air.
Then a voice told him,
"Get up, Peter, kill and eat."
"Surely not, Lord,"
Peter replied.
"I have never eaten
anything impure or unclean."
The voice spoke to
him a second time,
"Do not call anything impure
that God has made clean."
This happened three times,
and immediately the sheet
was taken back to Heaven.
While Peter was wondering about
the meaning of the vision,
the men sent by Cornelius found
out where Simon's house was
and stopped at the gate.
They called out asking if Simon,
who was known as Peter,
was staying there.
While Peter was still
thinking about the vision,
the Spirit said to him.
- [Spirit] Simon, three
men are looking for you.
So get up and go downstairs.
Do not hesitate to go with
them, for I have sent them.
- [Luke] Peter went down
and said to the men.
- I'm the one
you're looking for.
Why have you come?"
- [Luke] The men replied.
- We have come from
Cornelius the centurion.
He's a righteous
and God-fearing man,
who is respected by
all the Jewish people.
A holy angel told him to
have you to come to his house
so that he could hear
what you have to say.
- [Luke] Then Peter
invited the men
into the house to be his guests.
The next day Peter
started out with them,
and some of the brothers
from Joppa went along.
The following day he
arrived in Caesarea.
Cornelius was expecting
them and had called together
his relatives and close friends.
As Peter entered the
house, Cornelius met him
and fell at his
feet in reverence.
But Peter made him get up.
- Stand up.
- He said.
- I am only a man myself.
- [Luke] Talking with
him, Peter went inside
and found a large
gathering of people.
He said to them.
- You are well aware that
it is against our law
for a Jew to associate with
a gentile or visit him.
But God has shown
me that I should not
call any man impure or unclean.
So when I was sent for,
I came without
raising any objection.
May I ask why you sent for me?
- [Luke] Cornelius answered.
- Four days ago I was in my
house praying at this hour,
at 3:00 in the afternoon.
Suddenly, a man in shining
clothes stood before me
and said, "Cornelius,
God has heard your prayer
"and remembered your
gifts to the poor.
"Send to Joppa for Simon
who is called Peter.
"He is a guest in the
home of Simon the tanner,
"who lives by the sea."
So I sent for you immediately,
and it was good of you to come.
Now we are all here in the
presence of God to listen
to everything the Lord has
commanded you to tell us.
- [Luke] Then Peter
began to speak.
- I now realize how true it is
that God does not
show favoritism
but accepts men
from every nation
who fear him and
do what is right.
You know the message God
sent to the people of Israel,
telling the good news of
peace through Jesus Christ,
who is Lord of all.
You know what has
happened throughout Judea,
beginning in Galilee
after the baptism
that John preached how God
anointed Jesus of Nazareth
with the Holy Spirit and power,
and how he went
around doing good
and healing all who were
under the power of the devil,
because God was with him.
We are witnesses of
everything he did
in the country of the
Jews and in Jerusalem.
They killed him by
hanging him on a tree,
but God raised him from
the dead on the third day
and caused him to be seen.
He was not seen
by all the people,
but by witnesses whom
God had already chosen,
by us who ate and drank with him
after he rose from the dead.
He commanded us to
preach to the people
and to testify that he is
the one whom God appointed
as judge of the
living and the dead.
All the prophets
testify about him
that everyone who
believes in him
receives forgiveness of
sins through his name.
- [Luke] While Peter was
still speaking these words,
the Holy Spirit came on
all who heard the message.
The circumcised believers
who had come with Peter
were astonished that the
gift of the Holy Spirit
had been poured out
even on the gentiles.
For they heard them speaking
in tongues and praising God.
Then Peter said.
- Can anyone keep these people
from being baptized with water?
They have received the Holy
Spirit just as we have.
[gentle music]
- [Luke] So he ordered
that they be baptized
in the name of Jesus Christ.
Then they asked Peter to stay
with them for a few days.
[chuckling happily]
The apostles and the
brothers throughout Judea
heard that the gentiles also
had received the word of God.
So when Peter went
up to Jerusalem,
the circumcised believers
criticized him and said.
- You went into the house
of uncircumcised men
and ate with them.
- [Luke] Peter began
and explained everything
to them precisely
as it had happened.
- I was in the city
of Joppa praying,
and in a trance I saw a vision.
[gentle music]
I saw something
like a large sheet
being let down from Heaven
by its four corners,
and it came down to where I was.
I looked into it.
I saw four-footed
animals of the Earth,
wild beasts, reptiles,
and birds of the air.
Then I heard a voice telling me,
"Get up, Peter, kill and eat."
I replied, "Surely not, Lord.
"Nothing impure or unclean
has ever entered my mouth."
The voice spoke from
Heaven a second time,
"Do not call anything impure
that God has made clean."
This happened three times,
and then it was all
pulled up to heaven again.
Right then three men
who had been sent
to me from Caesarea
stopped at the house
where I was staying.
The Spirit told me
to have no hesitation
about going with them.
These six brothers
also went with me,
and we entered the man's house.
He told us how he had seen
an angel appear in his house
and say, "Send to Joppa for
Simon who is called Peter.
"He will bring you a
message through which you
"and all your household
will be saved."
As I began to speak, the
Holy Spirit came on them
as he had come on
us at the beginning.
Then I remembered what
the Lord had said:
John baptized with water,
but you will be baptized
with the Holy Spirit.
So if God gave them the
same gift as he gave us
who believed in the
Lord Jesus Christ,
who was I to think that
I could oppose God.
- When they heard this, they
had no further objections
and praised God,
saying, "So then,
"God has granted
even the gentiles
"repentance unto life."
Now those who had been
scattered by the persecution
in connection with Stephen
traveled as far as Phoenicia,
Cyprus, and Antioch, telling
the message only to Jews.
Some of them, however, men
from Cyprus and Cyrene,
went to Antioch and began
to speak to Greeks also,
telling them the good
news about the Lord Jesus.
The Lord's hand was with them,
and a great number
of people believed
and turned to the Lord.
[sighing] News of
this reached the ears
of the church in Jerusalem,
and they sent
Barnabas to Antioch.
When he arrived and saw the
evidence of the grace of God,
he was glad and encouraged
them all to remain true
to the Lord with
all their hearts.
He was a good man,
full of the Holy
Spirit and faith,
[sighing heavily]
[gentle music]
and a great number of people
were brought to the Lord.
Then Barnabas went to
Tarsus to look for Saul,
and when he found him, he
brought him to Antioch.
So for a whole year Barnabas
and Saul met with the church
and taught great
numbers of people.
The disciples were called
Christians first at Antioch.
During this time,
some prophets came down
from Jerusalem to Antioch.
One of them named Agabus
stood up and through
the Spirit predicted
that a severe
famine would spread
over the entire Roman world.
This happened during
the reign of Claudius.
The disciples, each
according to his ability,
decided to provide help for
the brothers living in Judea.
This they did,
sending their gift
to the elders by
Barnabas and Saul.
[dramatic music]
It was about this
time that King Herod
arrested some who
belonged to the church,
intending to persecute them.
He had James, the
brother of John,
put to death with the sword.
[people chatting distantly]
[ominous music]
[sword clanking]
[crowd cheering]
When he saw that this
pleased the Jews,
he proceeded to
seize Peter also.
This happened during the
Feast of Unleavened Bread.
[suspenseful music]
After arresting him,
he put him in prison,
handing him over to be guarded
by four squads of
four soldiers each.
Herod intended to bring him out
for public trial
after the Passover.
So Peter was kept in prison,
but the church was earnestly
praying to God for him.
The night before Herod
was to bring him to trial,
Peter was sleeping
between two soldiers,
bound with two chains,
and sentries stood
guard at the entrance.
Suddenly, an angel
of the Lord appeared
and a light shone in the cell.
He struck Peter on the
side and woke him up.
- Quick, get up.
- He said.
And the chains fell
off Peter's wrists.
Then the angel said to him.
- Put on your
clothes and sandals.
- [Luke] And Peter did so.
[dramatic music]
- Wrap your cloak around
you and follow me.
- [Luke] The angel told him.
Peter followed him
out of the prison,
but he had no idea
that what the angel
was doing was really happening.
He thought he was
seeing a vision.
They passed the first
and second guards
and came to the iron
gate leading to the city.
It opened for them by itself,
and they went through it.
When they had walked the
length of one street,
suddenly the angel left him.
Then Peter came to
himself and said.
- Now I know without a doubt
that the Lord sent his angel
and rescued me from
Herod's clutches
and from everything the Jewish
people were anticipating.
[chuckling happily]
- [Luke] When this
had dawned on him,
he went to the house of Mary,
the mother of John,
also called Mark,
where many people had
gathered and were praying.
Peter knocked at
the outer entrance,
and a servant girl named
Rhoda came to answer the door.
[dramatic music]
When she recognized Peter's
voice, she was so overjoyed
she ran back without
opening it and exclaimed.
- Peter is at the door!
- You're out of your mind.
- They told her.
[soft knocking on door]
When she kept insisting
that it was so,
they said, "It
must be his angel."
But Peter kept on knocking,
and when they opened
the door and saw him,
they were astonished.
Peter motioned with his
hand for them to be quiet
and described how the Lord
had brought him out of prison.
[gentle music]
- Tell James and the
brothers about this.
- [Luke] He said and then
he left for another place.
In the morning, there
was no small commotion
among the soldiers as to
what had become of Peter.
After Herod had a thorough
search made for him
and did not find him, he
cross-examined the guards
and ordered that
they be executed.
Then Herod went from
Judea to Caesarea
and stayed there awhile.
He had been quarreling with
the people of Tyre and Sidon.
They now joined together and
sought an audience with him.
Having secured the
support of Blastus,
a trusted personal
servant of the king,
they asked for peace,
because they depended
on the king's country
for their food supply.
[people cheering]
On the appointed day Herod,
wearing his royal
robes, sat on his throne
and delivered a public
address to the people.
They shouted.
- This is the voice of
a god, not of a man.
- [Luke] Immediately,
because Herod did not
give praise to God, an angel
of the Lord struck him down,
and he was eaten
by worms and died.
[suspenseful music]
But the word of God continued
to increase and spread.
When Barnabas and Saul had
finished their mission,
they returned from Jerusalem,
taking with them John,
also called Mark.
[gentle music]
In the church at Antioch there
were prophets and teachers:
Barnabas, Simeon called Niger,
Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen,
who had been brought up with
Herod the tetrarch, and Saul.
- He is with me.
- [Luke] While they were
worshiping the Lord and fasting,
the Holy Spirit said,
"Set apart for me
Barnabas and Saul
"for the work to which
I have called them."
So after they had
fasted and prayed,
they placed their hands
on them and sent them off.
The two of them, sent on
their way by the Holy Spirit,
went down to Seleucia and
sailed from there to Cyprus.
When they arrived at Salamis,
they proclaimed the word of
God in the Jewish synagogues.
John was with them
as their helper.
They traveled through
the whole island
until they came to Paphos.
There they met a Jewish sorcerer
and false prophet
named Bar-Jesus,
who was an attendant of the
proconsul Sergius Paulus.
The proconsul, an intelligent
man, sent for Barnabas
and Saul because he wanted
to hear the word of God.
But Elymas the sorcerer, for
that is what his name means,
opposed them and tried to turn
the proconsul from the faith.
Then Saul, who was
also called Paul,
filled with the Holy Spirit,
looked straight at
Elymas and said.
- You are a child of the devil
and an enemy of
everything that is right!
[dramatic music]
You are full of all kinds
of deceit and trickery.
Will you never stop perverting
the right ways of the Lord?
Now the hand of the
Lord is against you.
You are going to be blind,
and for a time you will be
unable to see the
light of the sun!
- [Luke] Immediately mist
and darkness came over him,
and he groped about seeking
someone to lead him by the hand.
[Elymas groaning]
When the proconsul saw what
had happened, he believed,
for he was amazed at the
teaching about the Lord.
[birds chirping]
From Paphos, Paul
and his companions
sailed to Perga in Pamphylia,
where John left them
to return to Jerusalem.
[somber music]
From Perga they went
on to Pisidian Antioch.
On the Sabbath they entered
the synagogue and sat down.
After the reading from
the law and the prophets,
the synagogue rulers sent
word to them, saying.
- Brothers, if you have a
message of encouragement
for the people, please speak.
- [Luke] Standing up,
Paul motioned with
his hand then said.
- Men of Israel, and you
gentiles who worship God,
listen to me.
The God of the people of
Israel chose our fathers.
He made the people prosper
during their stay in Egypt.
With mighty power, he led
them out of that country.
He endured their conduct for
about 40 years in the desert.
He overthrew seven
nations in Canaan,
and gave their land to his
people as their inheritance.
All this took about 450 years.
After this, God gave them judges
until the time of
Samuel the prophet.
Then the people
asked for a king,
and he gave them
Saul son of Kish,
of the tribe of Benjamin,
who ruled 40 years.
After removing Saul,
he made David their king.
He testified concerning him,
"I have found
David son of Jesse,
"a man after my own heart.
"He will do everything
I want him to do."
From this man's descendants
God has brought to Israel
the Savior Jesus,
as he promised.
Before the coming of Jesus,
John preached repentance
and baptism to all
the people of Israel.
As John was completing
his work, he said,
"Who do you think I am?
"I'm not that one, no.
"But he is coming after me
"whose sandals I'm
not worthy to untie."
Brothers, children of Abraham,
and you God-fearing gentiles,
it is to us that this message
of salvation has been sent.
The people of Jerusalem
and their rulers did
not recognize Jesus,
yet in condemning him
they fulfilled the words
of the prophets that
are read every Sabbath.
Though they found no proper
ground for a death sentence,
they asked Pilate to
have him executed.
When they had carried out all
that was written about him,
they took him down from the tree
and laid him in a tomb.
But God raised
him from the dead,
and for many days
he was seen by those
who had traveled with him
from Galilee to Jerusalem.
They are now his
witnesses to our people.
[gentle music]
We tell you the good news.
What God promised our fathers
he has fulfilled for us,
their children, by
raising up Jesus.
As it is written in
the second Psalm:
You are my son; today I
have become your Father.
The fact that God raised
him from the dead,
never to decay, is
stated in these words:
I will give you the holy
and sure blessings
promised to David.
So it is stated elsewhere:
You will not let your
Holy One see decay.
For when David had
served God's purpose
in his own generation,
he fell asleep.
He was buried with his
fathers and his body decayed.
But the one whom God raised
from the dead did not see decay.
Therefore, my brothers,
I want you to know
that through Jesus
the forgiveness of sins
is proclaimed to you.
[chuckling happily]
Through him everyone who
believes is justified
from everything you could
not be justified from
by the law of Moses.
[sighing heavily]
Take care that what the prophets
have said does
not happen to you.
Look, you scoffers,
wonder and perish.
For I am going to do
something in your days
that you would never believe,
even if someone told you.
- [Luke] As Paul and Barnabas
were leaving the synagogue,
the people invited
them to speak further
about these things
on the next Sabbath.
When the congregation
was dismissed,
many of the Jews and
devout converts to Judaism
followed Paul and Barnabas,
who talked with them
and urged them to continue
in the grace of God.
On the next Sabbath almost
the whole city gathered
to hear the word of the Lord.
When the Jews saw the crowds,
they were filled with jealousy
and talked abusively against
what Paul was saying.
Then Paul and Barnabas
answered them boldly.
- We had to speak the
word of God to you first.
Since you reject it and
do not consider yourselves
worthy of eternal life, we
now turn to the gentiles.
- For this is what the
Lord has commanded us.
I have made you a
light for the gentiles,
that you may bring salvation
to the ends of the Earth.
[crowd cheering]
- [Luke] When the
gentiles heard this,
they were glad and honored
the word of the Lord,
and all who were appointed
for eternal life believed.
The word of the Lord spread
through the whole region.
But the Jews incited
the God-fearing women
of high standing
and the leading men of the city.
They stirred up persecution
against Paul and Barnabas,
and expelled them
from their region.
[gentle music]
So they shook the
dust from their feet
in protest against them
and went to Iconium.
And the disciples
were filled with joy
and with the Holy Spirit.
[gentle music]
At Iconium Paul and Barnabas
went as usual into
the Jewish synagogue.
There they spoke so effectively
that a great number of
Jews and gentiles believed.
But the Jews who refused to
believe stirred up the gentiles
and poisoned their minds
against the brothers.
So Paul and Barnabas spent
considerable time there,
speaking boldly for the Lord,
who confirmed the
message of his grace
by enabling them to do
miraculous signs and wonders.
The people of the
city were divided;
some sided with the Jews,
others with the apostles.
There was a plot afoot among
both gentiles and Jews,
together with their leaders,
to mistreat them and stone them.
But they found out about it
and fled to the Lycaonian
cities of Lystra
and Derbe and to the
surrounding country
where they continued to
preach the good news.
In Lystra there sat a
man crippled in his feet
who was lame from birth
and had never walked.
He listened to Paul
as he was speaking.
[dramatic music]
Paul looked directly at him,
saw that he had faith to
be healed and called out.
- Stand up on your feet.
- [Luke] At that, the man
jumped up and began to walk.
[chucking happily]
When the crowd saw
what Paul had done,
they shouted in the
Lycaonian language,
"The gods have come down
to us in human form."
[lively music]
Barnabas they called Zeus,
and Paul they called Hermes
because he was
the chief speaker.
The priest of Zeus,
whose temple was just
outside the city,
brought bulls and
wreaths to the city gates
because he and the crowd wanted
to offer sacrifices to them.
When the apostles,
Barnabas and Paul,
heard of this, they
tore their clothes
and rushed out into
the crowd, shouting.
- Men! [groaning]
Why are you doing this?
[chuckling gently]
- We too are only men,
human like you.
We are bringing you good news,
telling you to turn from
these worthless things
to the living God,
who made Heaven and Earth
and sea and everything in them.
- In the past, he let all
nations go their own way.
Yet he has not left
himself without testimony.
He has shown kindness by
giving you rain from Heaven
[chuckling] and crops
in their seasons.
He provides you
with plenty of food
and fills your hearts with joy.
- Huh.
- [Luke] Even with these
words, they had difficulty
keeping the crowd from
sacrificing to them.
[dramatic music]
Then some Jews came from Antioch
and Iconium and
won the crowd over.
[people yelling]
[suspenseful music]
They stoned Paul and dragged
him outside the city,
thinking he was dead.
[gentle music]
But after the disciples
had gathered around him,
he got up and went
back into the city.
- The next day he and
Barnabas left for Derbe.
They preached the
good news in that city
and won a large
number of disciples.
Then they returned
to Lystra, Iconium,
and Antioch, strengthening
the disciples
and encouraging them to
remain true to the faith.
"We must go through
many hardships
to enter the kingdom
of God," they said.
[men chuckling gently]
[gentle music]
- Paul and Barnabas appointed
elders for them in each church
and with prayer and fasting,
committed them to the Lord,
in whom they had
put their trust.
After going through Pisidia,
they came into Pamphylia,
and when they had preached
the word in Perga,
they went down to Attalia.
From Attalia they
sailed back to Antioch,
where they had been
committed to the grace of God
for the work they
had now completed.
On arriving there, they
gathered the church together
and reported all that
God had done through them
and how he had opened the
door of faith to the gentiles.
And they stayed there a long
time with the disciples.
[chuckling gently]
Some men came down
from Judea to Antioch
and were teaching the brothers:
Unless you were circumcised,
according to the
custom taught by Moses,
you cannot be saved.
This brought Paul and
Barnabas into sharp dispute
and debate with
them. [chuckling]
So Paul and Barnabas
were appointed,
along with some other
believers, to go up to Jerusalem
and see the apostles and
elders about this question.
The church sent
them on their way,
and as they traveled through
Phoenicia and Samaria,
they told how the gentiles
had been converted.
This news made all the
brothers very glad.
When they came to Jerusalem,
they were welcomed by the church
and the apostles and elders,
to whom they reported everything
God had done through them.
Then some of the
believers, who belonged to
the party of the Pharisees,
stood up and said.
- The gentiles
must be circumcised
and required to obey
the law of Moses.
- [Luke] The apostles
and elders met
to consider this question.
After much discussion, Peter
got up and addressed them.
- Brothers, you know
that some time ago
God made a choice among you
that the gentiles might hear
from my lips the message
of the gospel and believe.
God, who knows the heart,
showed that he accepted them
by giving the Holy Spirit to
them just as he did to us.
He made no distinction
between us and them;
for he purified their
hearts by faith.
Now then, why do
you try to test God
by putting on the necks
of the disciples a yoke
that neither we nor our
fathers have been able to bear?
No, we believe it is through
the grace of our Lord Jesus
that we are saved,
just as they are.
- [Luke] The whole
assembly became silent
as they listened to
Barnabas and Paul
telling about the
miraculous signs and wonders
God had done among the
gentiles through them.
When they finished,
James spoke up.
- Brothers, listen to me.
Simon has described to us
how God had first
showed his concern
by taking from the gentiles
a people for himself.
The words of the prophets
are in agreement with this,
as it is written:
After this I will return and
rebuild David's fallen tent.
Its ruins I will rebuild,
and I will restore it,
that the remnant of
men may seek the Lord,
and all the gentiles
who bear my name,
says the Lord, who
does these things
that have been known for ages.
It is my judgment, therefore,
that we should not
make it difficult
for the gentiles who
are turning to God.
Instead we should write to them,
telling them to abstain
from food polluted by idols,
from sexual immorality,
from the meat of strangled
animals and from blood.
For Moses has been preached
in every city from
the earliest times
and is read in the
synagogues on every Sabbath.
- [Luke] Then the
apostles and elders,
with the whole church,
decided to choose
some of their own men
and send them to Antioch
with Paul and Barnabas.
They chose Judas, called
Barsabbas, and Silas,
two men who were leaders
among the brothers.
With them they sent
the following letter:
- [Man] The apostles and
elders, your brothers.
To the Gentile believers in
Antioch, Syria, and Cilicia.
Greetings.
We have heard that
some went out from us
without our authorization
and disturbed you,
troubling your minds
by what they said.
So we all agreed to choose
some men and send them
to you with our dear
friends Barnabas and Paul,
men who have risked their lives
for the name of our
Lord Jesus Christ.
Therefore, we are
sending Judas and Silas
to confirm by word of
mouth what we are writing.
It seemed good to
the Holy Spirit
and to us not to burden
you with anything
beyond the following
requirements:
You are to abstain from
food sacrificed to idols,
from blood, from the meat
of strangled animals,
and from sexual immorality.
You will do well to avoid
these things, farewell.
- [Luke] The men were sent
off and went down to Antioch,
where they gathered
the church together
and delivered the letter.
The people read it and were glad
for its encouraging message.
Judas and Silas, who
themselves were prophets,
said much to encourage and
strengthen the brothers.
After spending some time
there, they were sent off
by the brothers with
the blessing of peace
to return to those
who had sent them.
But Paul and Barnabas
remained in Antioch,
where they and
many others taught
and preached the
word of the Lord.
Some time later Paul
said to Barnabas.
- Let us go back and visit
the brothers in all the towns
where we preached
the word of the Lord
and see how they're doing.
- [Luke] Barnabas
wanted to take John,
also called Mark, with them,
but Paul did not think
it wise to take him,
because he had deserted
them in Pamphylia
and had not continued
with them in the work.
They had such a sharp
disagreement that
they parted company.
Barnabas took Mark
and sailed for Cyprus,
but Paul chose Silas and left,
commended by the brothers
to the grace of the Lord.
He went through
Syria and Cilicia,
strengthening the churches.
He came to Derbe
and then to Lystra,
where a disciple
named Timothy lived,
whose mother was a
Jewess and a believer
but whose father was a Greek.
The brothers at Lystra and
Iconium spoke well of him.
Paul wanted to take him
along on the journey,
so he circumcised him because of
the Jews who lived in that area,
for they all knew that
his father was a Greek.
As they traveled
from town to town,
they delivered the decisions
reached by the apostles
and elders in Jerusalem
for the people to obey.
So the churches were
strengthened in the faith
and grew daily in numbers.
Paul and his companions traveled
throughout the region
of Phrygia and Galatia,
having been kept
by the Holy Spirit
from preaching the word
in the province of Asia.
When they came to
the border of Mysia,
they tried to enter Bithynia,
but the Spirit of Jesus
would not allow them to.
So they passed by Mysia
and went down to Troas.
[gentle music]
[crickets chirping]
[animal wailing]
[bell ringing]
During the night
Paul had a vision of a man
of Macedonia standing
and begging him.
- Come over to
Macedonia and help us.
- [Luke] After Paul
had seen the vision,
we got ready at once
to leave for Macedonia,
concluding that
God had called us
to preach the gospel to them.
[gentle music]
From Troas we put out to sea
and sailed straight
for Samothrace,
and the next day onto Neapolis.
From there we traveled to
Philippi, a Roman colony
and the leading city of
that district of Macedonia.
And we stayed
there several days.
On the Sabbath we went outside
the city gate to the river
where we expected to
find a place of prayer.
We sat down and began
to speak to the women
who had gathered there.
One of those listening
was a woman named Lydia,
a dealer in purple cloth
from the city of Thyatira,
who was a worshiper of God.
The Lord opened her heart to
respond to Paul's message.
When she and the members of
her household were baptized,
she invited us to her home.
- If you consider me a
believer in the Lord.
- [Luke] She said.
- Come and stay at my house.
- [Luke] And she persuaded us.
Once when we were going
to the place of prayer,
we were met by a slave
girl who had a spirit
by which she
predicted the future.
She earned a great deal of money
for her owners by
fortune-telling.
[villagers chatting]
This girl followed Paul and
the rest of us shouting.
- These men are servants
of the Most High God
who are telling you
the way to be saved.
- [Luke] She kept
this up for many days.
Finally, Paul became so
troubled that he turned around
and said to the spirit.
- In the name of Jesus Christ,
I command you to
come out of her.
- [Luke] At that moment
the spirit left her.
[slave girl groaning]
[dramatic music]
When the owners of the
slave girl realized
that their hope of
making money was gone,
they seized Paul and
Silas and dragged them
into the marketplace to
face the authorities.
[crowd yelling]
They brought them before
the magistrates and said.
- These men are Jews,
and are throwing our city
into an uproar by
advocating customs unlawful
for us Romans to
accept or practice.
[crowd yelling]
- [Luke] The crowd
joined in the attack
against Paul and Silas.
[dramatic music]
And the magistrates ordered
them to be stripped and beaten.
[suspenseful music]
[crowd yelling]
[whip smacking]
After they had been
severely flogged,
they were thrown into prison,
and the jailer was commanded
to guard them carefully.
Upon receiving such orders,
he put them in the inner cell
and fastened their
feet in the stocks.
[crickets chirping]
[dramatic music]
About midnight Paul and Silas
were praying and
singing hymns to God,
and the other prisoners
were listening to them.
[suspenseful music]
[people screaming]
Suddenly, there was such
a violent earthquake
that the foundations of
the prison were shaken.
At once all the prison
doors flew open.
Everybody's chains came loose.
The jailer woke up,
and when he saw the
prison doors open,
he drew his sword and
was about to kill himself
because he thought the
prisoners had escaped.
But Paul shouted.
- Don't harm yourself.
We are all here.
- [Luke] The jailer
called for lights,
rushed in and fell trembling
before Paul and Silas.
He then brought
them out and asked.
- Sirs.
What must I do to be saved?"
- [Luke] They replied.
- Believe in the Lord Jesus,
and you will be saved,
you and your household.
- [Luke] Then they spoke
the word of the Lord to him
and to all the
others in his house.
At that hour of the night
the jailer took them
and washed their wounds.
Then immediately he and all
his family were baptized.
The jailer brought
them into his house
and set a meal before them.
He was filled with joy
because he had come
to believe in God,
he and his whole family.
When it was daylight, the
magistrates sent their officers
to the jailer with the order.
- Release those men.
- [Luke] The jailer told Paul.
- The magistrates have ordered
that you and Silas be released.
Now you can leave.
Go in peace.
- [Luke] But Paul
said to the officers.
- They beat us publicly
without a trial,
even though we are
Roman citizens,
and threw us into prison.
And now do they want to
get rid of us quietly?
No!
Let them come themselves
and escort us out.
[dramatic music]
- [Luke] The officers reported
this to the magistrates,
and when they heard that Paul
and Silas were Roman citizens,
they were alarmed.
They came to appease them
and escorted them
from the prison,
requesting them
to leave the city.
After Paul and Silas
came out of the prison,
they went to Lydia's
house, where they met
with the brothers
and encouraged them.
Then they left.
When they had passed through
Amphipolis and Apollonia,
they came to Thessalonica,
where there was a
Jewish synagogue.
As was his custom was, Paul
went into the synagogue,
and on three Sabbath days
he reasoned with them
from the scriptures,
explaining and proving
that the Christ had to suffer
and rise from the dead.
- This Jesus I am proclaiming
to you is the Christ.
- [Luke] He said.
Some of the Jews were persuaded
and joined Paul and Silas,
as did a large number
of God-fearing Greeks
and not a few prominent women.
[man yelling]
But the Jews were jealous,
so they rounded up
some bad characters
from the marketplace,
formed a mob and started
a riot in the city.
[ominous music]
They rushed to Jason's house
in search of Paul and Silas
in order to bring
them out to the crowd.
But when they did not find
them, they dragged Jason
and some other brothers before
the city officials shouting.
- These men who
have caused trouble
all over the world
have now come here,
[dramatic music]
and Jason has welcomed
them into his house.
They are all defying
Caesar's decrees,
saying that there is another
king, one called Jesus.
- Crucify him!
[crowd yelling]
- When they heard
this, the crowd
and the city officials
were thrown into turmoil.
Then they made Jason
and the others post bond
and let them go.
As soon as it was
night, the brothers sent
Paul and Silas away to Berea.
On arriving there, they went
to the Jewish synagogue.
Now the Bereans were
of more noble character
than the Thessalonians,
for they received the
message with great eagerness
and examined the
scriptures every day
to see if what
Paul said was true.
Many of the Jews believed,
as did also a number
of prominent Greek women
and many Greek men.
When the Jews in Thessalonica
learned that Paul
was preaching the
word of God at Berea,
they went there too,
agitating the crowds
and stirring them up.
The brothers immediately
sent Paul to the coast,
but Silas and Timothy
stayed at Berea.
The men who escorted Paul
brought him to Athens
and then left with
instructions for Silas
and Timothy to join him
as soon as possible.
While Paul was waiting
for them in Athens,
he was greatly distressed to see
that the city was full of idols.
So he reasoned in the synagogue
with both Jews and the
God-fearing Greeks,
as well as in the
marketplace day-by-day
with those who
happened to be there.
A group of Epicurean
and Stoic philosophers
began to dispute with him.
Some of them asked.
- What is this
babbler trying to say?
- [Luke] Others remarked.
- [Man] He seems to be
advocating foreign gods.
- [Luke] They said this
because Paul was preaching
the good news about Jesus
and the resurrection.
Then they took him and
brought him to a meeting
of the Areopagus,
where they said to him.
- May we know what
this new teaching is
that you are presenting?
You are bringing some
strange ideas to our ears,
and we want to know
what they mean.
- [Luke] All the Athenians
and the foreigners
who lived there spent
their time doing nothing
but talking about and
listening to the latest ideas.
Paul then stood up
in the meeting of the
Areopagus and said.
- Men of Athens.
I see that in every way
you are very religious.
For as I walked around
and looked carefully
at your objects of worship,
I even found an altar
with this inscription:
To an unknown god.
Now what you worship
as something unknown
I am going to proclaim to you.
[gentle music]
The God who made the world
and everything in it is the
Lord of Heaven and Earth
and does not live in
temples built by hands.
And he is not served
by human hands,
as if he needed anything
because he himself
gives all men life and
breath and everything else.
From one man he made
every nation of men,
that they should
inhabit the whole Earth.
And he determined
the time set for them
and the exact places
where thy should live.
God did this so that
men would seek him
and perhaps reach out
for him and find him,
though he is not far
from each one of us.
For in him we live and
move and have our being.
As some of your own
poets have said,
"We are his offspring."
Therefore, since we
are God's offspring,
we should not think
that the divine being
is like gold or silver or stone,
an image made by man's
design and skill.
In the past God
overlooked such ignorance,
but now he commands all
people everywhere to repent.
For he has set a day when
he will judge the world
with justice by the
man he has appointed.
He has given proof of this
to all men by raising
him from the dead.
- [Luke] When they heard about
the resurrection of the dead,
some of them sneered,
but others said,
"We want to hear you
again on this subject."
At that, Paul left the council.
A few men became followers
of Paul and believed.
Among them was Dionysius,
a member of the Areopagus,
also a woman named Damaris,
and a number of others.
After this, Paul left
Athens and went to Corinth.
There he met a Jew named
Aquila, a native of Pontus,
who had recently come from
Italy with his wife Priscilla,
because Claudius had ordered
all the Jews to leave Rome.
Paul went to see them, and
because he was a tentmaker
as they were, he stayed
and worked with them.
Every Sabbath he reasoned
in the synagogue,
trying to persuade
Jews and Greeks.
When Silas and Timothy
came from Macedonia,
Paul devoted himself
exclusively to preaching,
testifying to the Jews
that Jesus was the Christ.
But when the Jews opposed
Paul and became abusive,
he shook out his clothes in
protest and said to them.
- Your blood be
on your own heads!
I am clear of my responsibility!
[suspenseful music]
From now on I will
go to the gentiles!
- [Luke] Then Paul left the
synagogue and went next door
to the house of Titius
Justus, a worshiper of God.
Crispus, the synagogue ruler,
and his entire household
believed in the Lord,
and many of the
Corinthians who heard
and believed and were baptized.
One night the Lord spoke
to Paul in a vision.
[dramatic music]
- [Jesus] Do not be afraid.
Keep on speaking.
Do not be silent.
For I am with you,
and no one is going to
attack and harm you,
because I have many
people in this city.
- [Luke] So Paul stayed
for a year and a half
teaching them the word of God.
While Gallio was
proconsul of Achaia,
the Jews made a
united attack on Paul
and brought him into court.
- This man.
- [Luke] They charged.
- Is persuading the
people to worship God
in ways contrary to the law.
- [Luke] Just as Paul
was about to speak,
Gallio said to the Jews.
- If you Jews were
making a complaint
about some misdemeanor
or serious crime,
it would be reasonable
for me to listen to you.
But since it involves
questions about words
and names and your own law,
settle the matter yourselves.
[dramatic music]
I will not be a
judge of such things!
- [Luke] So he had them
ejected from the court.
Then they all turned on
Sosthenes, the synagogue ruler
and beat him in
front of the court,
and Gallio showed
no concern whatever.
[suspenseful music]
Paul stayed on in
Corinth for some time.
Then he left the brothers
and sailed for Syria,
accompanied by
Priscilla and Aquila.
Before he sailed, he
had his hair cut off
at Cenchreae because
of a vow he had taken.
They arrived at Ephesus
where Paul left
Priscilla and Aquila.
He himself went
into the synagogue
and reasoned with the Jews.
When they asked him to spend
more time with
them, he declined.
But as he left, he promised.
- I will come back
if it is God's will.
- Then he set sail from Ephesus.
When he landed at Caesarea,
he went up and
greeted the church
and then went down to Antioch.
After spending some
time in Antioch,
Paul set out from there
and traveled from place to place
throughout the region
of Galatia and Phrygia,
strengthening all the disciples.
Meanwhile a Jew named Apollos,
a native of Alexandria,
came to Ephesus.
He was a learned man with a
thorough knowledge
of the scriptures.
He had been instructed
in the way of the Lord,
and he spoke with great fervor
and talked about
Jesus accurately,
though he knew only
the baptism of John.
He began to speak
boldly in the synagogue.
When Priscilla and
Aquila heard him,
they invited him to their home
and explained to him the
way of God more adequately.
When Apollos wanted
to go to Achaia,
the brothers and
sisters encouraged him
and wrote to the disciples
there to welcome him.
On arriving, he was a great help
to those who by
grace had believed.
For he vigorously refuted
the Jews in public debate,
proving from the scriptures
that Jesus was the Christ.
While Apollos was at Corinth,
Paul took the road
through the interior
and arrived at Ephesus.
There he found some
disciples and asked them,
"Did you receive the Holy
Spirit when you believed?"
They answered, "No.
"We have not even heard
there is a Holy Spirit."
So Paul asked them, "What
baptism did you receive?"
"John's baptism," they replied.
Paul said, "John's baptism
was a baptism of repentance.
"He told the people to believe
in the one coming after him,"
that is, in Jesus.
On hearing this,
they were baptized
into the name of the Lord Jesus.
When Paul placed
his hands on them,
the Holy Spirit came on them,
and they spoke in
tongues and prophesied.
There were about 12 men in all.
Paul entered the synagogue
and spoke boldly there
for three months,
arguing persuasively
about the kingdom of God.
But some of them
became obstinate.
They refused to believe and
publicly maligned the Way.
So Paul left them.
He took the disciples with him
and had discussions daily in
the lecture hall of Tyrannus.
This went on for two
years, so that all the Jews
and Greeks who lived
in the province of Asia
heard the word of the Lord.
God did extraordinary
miracles through Paul,
so that even
handkerchiefs and aprons
that had touched him
were taken to the sick,
and their illnesses were cured
and the evil spirits left them.
Some Jews who went around
driving out evil spirits
tried to invoke the
name of the Lord Jesus
over those who were
demon-possessed.
They would say,
"In the name of the
Jesus whom Paul preaches,
"I command you to come out."
Seven sons of Sceva,
a Jewish chief priest,
were doing this.
One day the evil
spirit answered them,
"Jesus I know and I know
about Paul, but who are you?"
Then the man who had the
evil spirit jumped on them
and overpowered them all.
He gave them such
a beating that they
ran out of the house
naked and bleeding.
When this became
known to the Jews
and Greeks living in Ephesus,
they were all seized with fear,
and the name of the Lord
Jesus was held in high honor.
Many of those who
believed now came
and openly confessed
their evil deeds.
A number who had
practiced sorcery
brought their scrolls together
and burned them publicly.
When they calculated the
value of the scrolls,
the total came to
50,000 drachmas.
In this way the word of the Lord
spread widely and grew in power.
After all this had happened,
Paul decided to go to Jerusalem,
passing through
Macedonia and Achaia.
"After I have been
there," he said,
"I must visit Rome also."
He sent two of his helpers,
Timothy and Erastus,
to Macedonia,
while he stayed in the province
of Asia a little longer.
About that time there arose
a great disturbance
about the Way.
A silversmith named Demetrius,
who made silver
shrines of Artemis,
brought in no little
business for the craftsman.
He called them
together, along with
the workmen in related
trades, and said.
- Men, you know, we receive
a good income from
this business.
And you see and hear how this
fellow Paul has convinced
and led astray large numbers
of people here in Ephesus
and in practically the
whole province of Asia.
He says
[gentle music]
that man-made gods
are no gods at all!
There's danger not
only that our trade
will lose its good name,
but also that the temple
of the great goddess
Artemis will be discredited.
And the goddess herself,
who is worshiped
throughout the province
of Asia and the world,
will be robbed of
her divine majesty.
[people shouting]
- When they heard this,
they were furious
and began shouting.
[tradesmen yelling]
[suspenseful music]
- Great is Artemis
of the Ephesians!
- [Luke] Soon the whole
city was in an uproar.
The people seized
Gaius and Aristarchus,
Paul's traveling
companions from Macedonia,
and rushed as one
man into the theater.
Paul wanted to appear
before the crowd,
but the disciples
would not let him.
Even some of the
officials of the province,
friends of Paul, sent
him a message begging him
not to venture into the theater.
The assembly was in confusion.
Some were shouting one
thing, some another.
Most of the people did not
even know why they were there.
The Jews pushed
Alexander to the front,
and some of the crowd
shouted instructions to him.
He motioned for silence in order
to make a defense
before the people.
But when they
realized he was a Jew,
they all shouted in unison
for about two hours.
- [Crowd] Great is
Artemis of the Ephesians!
- [Luke] The city clerk
quieted the crowd and said.
- Men of Ephesians.
Doesn't all the world know
that the city of Ephesus
is the guardian of the
temple of the great Artemis
and of her image which
fell from Heaven?
[crowd cheering]
Therefore, since these
facts are undeniable,
you ought be quiet and
not do anything rash.
You have brought these men here,
though they have
neither robbed temples,
nor blasphemed our goddess.
If then Demetrius and
his fellow craftsmen
have a grievance
against anybody,
the courts are open and
there are proconsuls.
They can press charges.
If there is anything further
you want to bring up,
it must be settled
in a legal assembly.
As it is, we are in danger
of being charged with rioting
because of today's events.
In that case, we would
not be able to account
for this commotion, since
there is no reason for it.
[crowd chatting]
- [Luke] After he had said
this, he dismissed the assembly.
[gentle music]
When the uproar had ended,
Paul sent for the disciples.
After encouraging them,
said goodbye and set
out for Macedonia.
He traveled through that area,
speaking many words of
encouragement to the people,
and finally arrived in Greece
where he stayed three months.
Because the Jews made
a plot against him
just as he was about
to sail for Syria,
he decided to go back
through Macedonia.
He was accompanied by Sopater,
son of Pyrrhus from Berea,
Aristarchus and Secundus
from Thessalonica,
Gaius from Derbe, Timothy
also, and Tychicus,
and Trophimus from
the province of Asia.
These men went on ahead
and waited for us at Troas.
But we sailed from Philippi
after the Feast of
Unleavened Bread,
and five days later joined
the others at Troas,
where we stayed seven days.
[soft knocking on door]
On the first day of the week
we came together to break bread.
Paul spoke to the
people and because
he intended to
leave the next day,
kept on talking until midnight.
There were many lamps
in the upstairs room
where we were meeting.
Seated in a window was a
young man named Eutychus,
who was sinking into a deep
sleep as Paul talked on and on.
When he was sound asleep,
he fell to the ground
from the third story
and was picked up dead.
Paul went down, threw
himself on the young man,
and put his arms around him.
- Don't be alarmed.
- [Luke] He said.
[dramatic music]
- He's alive.
[chuckling happily]
- [Luke] Then he
went upstairs again
and broke bread and ate.
After talking until
daylight, he left.
The people took the
young man home alive
and were greatly comforted.
[dramatic music]
We went on ahead to the
ship and sailed for Assos,
where we were going
to take Paul aboard.
He had made this arrangement
because he was
going there on foot.
When he met us at Assos,
we took him aboard
and went on to Mitylene.
The next day we set sail from
there and arrived off Chios.
The day after that we
crossed over to Samos,
and on the following
day arrived at Miletus.
Paul had decided to
sail past Ephesus
to avoid spending time
in the province of Asia,
for he was in a hurry
to reach Jerusalem,
if possible, by the
day of Pentecost.
From Miletus Paul
sent to Ephesus
for the elders of the church.
When they arrived,
he said to them.
- You know how I lived the
whole time I was with you,
from the first day I came
into the province of Asia.
I served the Lord with great
humility and with tears.
Although, I was severely tested
by the plots of the Jews.
You know that I
have not hesitated
to preach anything that
would be helpful to you
but have taught you publicly
and from house to house.
I have declared to
both Jews and Greeks
that they must turn
to God in repentance
and have faith in
our Lord Jesus.
And now, compelled
by the Spirit,
I am going to Jerusalem,
not knowing what will
happen to me there.
I only know that in every
city the Holy Spirit warns me
that prison and
hardships are facing me.
[chuckling happily]
However, I consider my
life worth nothing to me.
If only I may finish the race
and complete the task the
Lord Jesus has given me,
the task of testifying to
the gospel of God's grace.
[somber music]
Now I know that none of
you among whom I have gone
about preaching the kingdom
will ever see me again.
[Paul sobbing heavily]
Therefore, I
declare to you today
that I am innocent of
the blood of all men.
For I have not hesitated
to proclaim to you
the whole will of God.
Keep watch over yourselves
and all the flock
of which the Holy Spirit
has made you overseers.
Be shepherds of
the church of God,
which he bought
with his own blood.
I know that after I
leave, savage wolves will
come in among you and
will not spare the flock.
Even from your own
number men will arise
and distort the truth in order
to draw away
disciples after them.
So be on your guard.
Remember that for three
years I never stopped warning
each of you night
and day with tears.
Now I commit you to God
and to the word of his grace,
which can build you up
and give you an inheritance
among all those
who are sanctified.
I have not coveted anyone's
silver or gold or clothing.
You yourselves know
that these hands of mine
have supplied my own needs and
the needs of my companions.
In everything I
did, I showed you
that by this kind of hard
work we must help the weak,
remembering the words the
Lord Jesus himself said,
"It is more blessed to
give than to receive."
- [Luke] When he had
said this, he knelt down
with all of them and prayed.
They all wept as they
embraced him and kissed him.
What grieved them
most was his statement
that they would never
see his face again.
Then they accompanied
him to the ship.
[gentle music]
After we had torn
ourselves away from them,
we put out to sea and
sailed straight to Kos.
The next day we went to Rhodes
and from there to Patara.
We found a ship crossing
over to Phoenicia,
went on board and set sail.
After sighting Cyprus and
passing to the south of it,
we sailed on to Syria.
We landed at Tyre, where our
ship was to unload its cargo.
Finding the disciples there,
we stayed with them seven days.
Through the Spirit,
they urged Paul
not to go on to Jerusalem.
But when our time
was up, we left
and continued on our way.
All the disciples, and
their wives and children,
accompanied us out of the city.
There on the beach
we knelt to pray.
After saying goodbye
to each other,
we went aboard the ship,
and they returned home.
[dramatic music]
We continued our voyage from
Tyre and landed at Ptolemais,
where we greeted the brothers
and stayed with them for a day.
Leaving the next day,
we reached Caesarea
and stayed at the house
of Philip the evangelist,
one of the seven.
He had four unmarried
daughters who prophesied.
After we had been
there a number of days,
a prophet named Agabus
came down from Judea.
[dramatic music]
Coming over to us,
he took Paul's belt,
tied his own hands and
feet with it and said.
- The Holy Spirit says,
"In this way the Jews of
Jerusalem will bind the owner
"of this belt who will hand
him over to the gentiles."
- [Luke] When we heard this,
we and the people there
pleaded with Paul not
to go up to Jerusalem.
Then Paul answered.
- Why are you weeping
and breaking my heart?
I am ready not only to be bound,
but also to die in Jerusalem
for the name of the Lord Jesus.
- [Luke] When he would
not be dissuaded,
we gave up and said.
- The Lord's will be done.
- [Luke] After this, we got
ready and went up to Jerusalem.
Some of the disciples from
Caesarea accompanied us
and brought us to the home of
Mnason, where we were to stay.
He was a man from Cyprus and
one of the early disciples.
When we arrived at Jerusalem,
the brothers received us warmly.
The next day Paul and the
rest of us went to see James,
and all the elders were present.
Paul greeted them and
reported in detail what God
had done among the gentiles
through his ministry.
When they heard this,
they praised God.
Then they said to Paul.
- You see, brother,
how many thousands of
Jews have believed,
and all of them are
zealous for the law.
They have been informed
that you teach all the Jews
that live among the gentiles
to turn away from Moses,
telling them not to
circumcise their children
or live according
to our customs.
What shall we do?
They will certainly
hear that you have come,
so do what we tell you.
There are four men with
us who have made a vow.
Take these men, join in
their purification rites
and pay their expenses,
so that they can have
their heads shaved.
Then everybody will
know there is no truth
in these reports about you,
but that you yourself are
living in obedience to the law.
As for the gentile believers,
we have written to
them our decision
that they should abstain from
food sacrificed to idols,
from blood, from the meat
of strangled animals,
and from sexual immorality.
- [Luke] The next
day Paul took the men
and purified himself
along with them.
Then he went to the temple
to give notice of the date
when the days of
purification would end
and the offering would
be made for each of them.
[ominous music]
[men chatting distantly]
When the seven days
were nearly over,
some Jews from the province of
Asia saw Paul at the temple.
They stirred up the whole
crowd and seized him shouting.
- Men of Israel, help us!
This is the man who
teaches all men everywhere
against our people and
our law and this place.
And besides, he has brought
Greeks into the temple area
and defiled this holy place.
[Paul groaning]
[suspenseful music]
- [Luke] They had
previously seen Trophimus,
the Ephesian, in the city
with Paul and assumed
that Paul had brought
him into the temple area.
The whole city was aroused,
and the people came running
from all directions.
[people cheering]
Seizing Paul,
they dragged him
from the temple,
and immediately the
gates were shut.
While they were trying
to kill him, news reached
the commander of the
Roman troops that
the whole city of
Jerusalem was in an uproar.
He at once took some
officers and soldiers
and ran down to the crowd.
When the rioters saw the
commander and his soldiers,
they stopped beating Paul.
The commander came
up and arrested him
and ordered him to be
bound with two chains.
Then he asked who he was
and what he had done.
Some in the crowd shouted
one thing and some another.
Since the commander
could not get
at the truth because
of the uproar,
he ordered that Paul be
taken into the barracks.
- [Soldier] Up!
[people muttering]
- [Luke] When Paul
reached the steps,
the violence of the
mob was so great
he had to be carried
by the soldiers.
The crowd that followed kept
shouting, "Away with him!"
As the soldiers were about to
take Paul into the barracks,
he asked the commander.
- [Paul] May I say
something to you?
- You speak Greek?
- He replied.
- Aren't you the Egyptian
who started a revolt
and led 4,000 terrorists out
into the desert sometime ago?
- [Luke] Paul answered.
- I am a Jew from
Tarsus in Cilicia,
a citizen of no ordinary city.
Please let me speak
to the people.
- [Luke] Having received
the commander's permission,
Paul stood on the steps
and motioned to the crowd.
When they were all silent,
he said to them in Aramaic.
- Brothers and fathers,
listen now to my defense.
- [Luke] When they heard him
speak to them in Aramaic,
they became very quiet.
Then Paul said.
- I am a Jew born
in Tarsus of Cilicia
but brought up in this city.
Under Gamaliel I was
thoroughly trained
in the law of our fathers,
and was just as zealous
for God as any of you are today.
I persecuted the followers
of this Way to their death,
arresting both men and women
and throwing them into prison,
as also the high priest and
all the council can testify.
I even obtained
letters from them
to their brothers in Damascus,
and went there to
bring these people
as prisoners to
Jerusalem to be punished.
About noon as I
came near Damascus,
[gentle music]
suddenly a bright light from
Heaven flashed around me.
I fell to the ground and
heard a voice say to me,
"Saul.
"Saul, why do you persecute me?"
"Who are you, Lord?" I asked.
"I am Jesus of Nazareth,
"whom you are
persecuting," he replied.
My companions saw the light,
but they did not understand
the voice of him who
was speaking to me.
"What shall I do,
Lord?" I asked.
"Get up," the Lord said,
"and go into Damascus.
"There you will be told all
"that you have been
assigned to do."
My companions led me by
the hand into Damascus,
because the brilliance of
the light had blinded me.
A man named Ananias
came to see me.
He was a devout
observer of the law
and highly respected by
all the Jews living there.
He stood beside me and said,
"Brother Saul,
receive your sight."
And at that very moment
I was able to see him.
Then he said,
"The God of our fathers has
chosen you to know his will
"and to see the Righteous One
"and to hear words
from his mouth.
"You will be his
witness to all men
"of what you have
seen and heard.
"And now what are
you waiting for?
"Get up [chuckling] be baptized
"and wash your sins away,
calling on his name."
When I returned to Jerusalem
and was praying at the temple,
I fell into a trance and
saw the Lord speaking.
"Quick!" he said to me.
"Leave Jerusalem immediately,
"because they will not accept
your testimony about me."
"Lord," I replied,
"these men know
"that I went from one
synagogue to another
"to imprison and beat
those who believe in you.
"And when the blood of your
martyr Stephen was shed,
"I stood there
giving my approval
"and guarding the clothes of
those who were killing him."
Then the Lord said to me,
"Go, I will send you far
away to the gentiles."
- [Luke] The crowd listened
to Paul until he said this.
Then they raised their
voices and shouted.
- Rid the Earth of him!
He is not fit to live!
- [Luke] As they were shouting
and throwing off their cloaks
and flinging dust into the air,
the commander ordered Paul to
be taken into the barracks.
He directed that he be flogged
and questioned in order
to find out why the people
were shouting at him like this.
As they stretched
him out to flog him,
Paul said to the
centurion standing there.
- Is it legal for you
to flog a Roman citizen
who hasn't even
been found guilty?
- [Luke] When the
centurion heard this,
he went to the commander
and reported it.
- What are you going to do?
- He asked.
- This man is a Roman citizen.
- [Luke] The commander
went to Paul and asked.
- Tell me, are you
a Roman citizen?
- Yes, I am.
- He answered.
Then the commander said.
- I had to pay a big
price for my citizenship.
- But I was born a citizen.
- [Luke] Paul replied.
[gentle music]
Those who were about to question
him withdrew immediately.
The commander
himself was alarmed
when he realized
that he had put Paul,
a Roman citizen, in chains.
The next day since the
commander wanted to find out
exactly why Paul was
being accused by the Jews,
he released him and
ordered the chief priests
and all the Sanhedrin
to assemble.
Then he brought Paul and
had him stand before them.
Paul looked straight at
the Sanhedrin and said.
- My brothers, I have
fulfilled my duty to God
in all good conscience
to this day.
- [Luke] At this the high
priest Ananias ordered
those standing near Paul
to strike him on the mouth.
[suspenseful music]
Then Paul said to him.
- God will strike you,
you whitewashed wall!
You sit there to judge
me according to the law,
yet you yourself violate
the law by commanding
that I be struck!
- [Luke] Those who were
standing near Paul said.
- You dare to insult
God's high priest!
- Paul replied.
- Brothers.
I did not realize that
he was the high priest.
For it is written:
Do not speak evil about
the ruler of your people.
- [Luke] Then Paul, knowing
that some of them were Sadducees
and the others Pharisees,
called out in the Sanhedrin.
- My brothers, I am a Pharisee,
the son of a Pharisees.
I stand on trial
because of my hope
in the resurrection of the dead!
- [Luke] When he said
this, a dispute broke out
between the Pharisees
and the Sadducees,
and the assembly was divided.
[councilmen arguing]
The Sadducees say that
there is no resurrection,
and that there are neither
angels nor spirits,
but the Pharisees
acknowledge them all.
There was a great uproar and
some of the teachers of the law
who were Pharisees stood
up and argued vigorously.
- We find nothing
wrong with this man.
- They said.
- What if a spirit
or an angel has spoken to him.
- [Luke] The dispute became
so violent that the commander
was afraid Paul would be
torn to pieces by them.
He ordered the troops to
go down and take him away
from them by force and
bring him into the barracks.
[suspenseful music]
[councilmen yelling]
The following night the Lord
stood near Paul and said.
- Take courage.
As you have testified
about me in Jerusalem,
so you must also
testify in Rome.
- The next morning the
Jews formed a conspiracy
and bound themselves
with an oath not to
eat or drink until
they had killed Paul.
More than 40 men were
involved in this plot.
They went to the chief
priests and elders and said,
"We have taken a solemn oath
"not to eat anything
until we have killed Paul.
"Now then, you and the
Sanhedrin petition the commander
"to bring him before you
on the pretext of wanting
"more accurate information
about his case.
"We are ready to kill
him before he gets here."
But when the son of Paul's
sister heard of this plot,
he went into the
barracks and told Paul.
Then Paul called one of
the centurions and said,
"Take this young man
to the commander.
"He has something to tell him."
So he took him to the commander.
The centurion said, "Paul,
the prisoner sent for me
"and asked me to bring
this young man to you
"because he has
something to tell you."
The commander took the
young man by the hand,
drew him aside and asked,
"What is it you
want to tell me?"
He said.
- The Jews have agreed
to ask you to bring Paul
before the Sanhedrin
tomorrow on the pretext
of wanting more accurate
information about him.
Don't give in to them,
because more than
40 of them are waiting
in ambush for him.
They have taken
an oath not to eat
or drink until
they've killed him.
They are ready now waiting
for your consent
to their request.
- The commander dismissed the
young man and cautioned him.
"Don't tell anyone that
you've reported this to me."
Then he called two of his
centurions and ordered them,
"Get ready a detachment of
200 soldiers, 70 horsemen
"and 200 spearmen to go to
Caesarea at 9:00 tonight.
"Provide mounts for Paul
"so that he may be taken
safely to Governor Felix."
He wrote a letter as follows:
- [Lysias] Claudius Lysias:
To His Excellency,
Governor Felix: Greetings.
This man was seized by the Jews,
and they were about to kill him,
but I came with my
troops and rescued him,
for I had learned that
he is a Roman citizen.
I wanted to know why
they were accusing him,
so I brought him
to their Sanhedrin.
I found that the
accusation had to do
with questions about their law,
but there was no
charge against him
that deserved death
or imprisonment.
When I was informed of a plot
to be carried out
against the man,
I sent him to you at once.
I also ordered his
accusers to present
to you their case against him.
- [Luke] So the soldiers,
carrying out their orders,
took Paul with them
during the night
and brought him as
far as Antipatris.
The next day they let the
cavalry go on with him,
while they returned
to the barracks.
When the cavalry
arrived in Caesarea,
they delivered the
letter to the governor
and handed Paul over to him.
[dramatic music]
The governor read the letter
and asked what
province he was from.
Learning that he was
from Cilicia, he said.
- I will hear your case
when your accusers get here.
- [Luke] Then he ordered
that Paul be kept
under guard in Herod's palace.
[dramatic music]
Five days later the
high priest Ananias
went down to Caesarea
with some of the elders
and a lawyer named Tertullus,
and they brought their charges
against Paul before
the governor.
When Paul was called in,
Tertullus presented
his case before Felix.
- We have enjoyed a long
period of peace under you,
and your foresight has brought
about reforms in this nation.
Everywhere and in every
way, most excellent Felix,
we acknowledge this
with profound gratitude.
But in order not to
weary you further,
I would request that you be
kind enough to hear us briefly.
We have found this man
to be a troublemaker,
stirring up riots among the
Jews all over the world.
He is a ringleader
of the Nazarene sect
and even tried to desecrate
the temple, so we seized him.
By examining him yourself,
you will be able
to learn the truth
about all these charges we
are bringing against him.
- [Luke] The Jews joined
in the accusation,
asserting that these
things were true.
When the governor motioned for
him to speak, Paul replied.
- I know that for
a number of years
you have been a judge
over this nation,
so I gladly make my defense.
You can easily verify that
no more than 12 days ago
I went up to
Jerusalem to worship.
My accusers did not find me
arguing with anyone
at the temple,
or stirring up a crowd
in the synagogues
or anywhere else in the city.
And they cannot prove to you
the charges they are
now making against me.
However, I admit that I
worship the God of our fathers
as a follower of the Way,
which they call a sect.
I believe everything
that agrees with the law
and that is written
in the prophets,
and I have the same hope
in God as these men.
That there will
be a resurrection
of both the righteous
and the wicked.
So, I strive always to keep
my conscience clear
before God and man.
After an absence
of several years,
I came to Jerusalem to bring
my people gifts for the poor
and to present offerings.
I was ceremonially
clean when they found me
in the temple courts doing this.
There was no crowd with me,
nor was I involved
in any disturbance.
But there are some Jews
from the province of Asia,
who ought to be here before you
and bring charges if they
have anything against me.
Or these who are here
should state what crime
they found in me when I
stood before the Sanhedrin,
unless it was this
one thing I shouted
as I stood in their presence.
It is concerning the
resurrection of the dead
that I am on trial
before you today.
- [Luke] Then Felix, who was
well acquainted with the Way,
adjourned the proceedings.
- When Lysias the
commander comes.
- [Luke] He said.
- I will decide your case.
[gentle music]
[Luke chuckling softly]
- He ordered the centurion
to keep Paul under guard
but to give him some freedom
and permit his friends to
take care of his needs.
Several days later Felix came
with his wife Drusilla,
who was Jewess.
He sent for Paul
and listened to him
as he spoke about
faith in Christ Jesus.
As Paul discoursed
on righteousness,
self-control, and
the judgment to come,
Felix was afraid and said,
"That's enough for
now you may leave.
"When I find it convenient,
I will send for you."
At the same time he was hoping
that Paul would
offer him a bribe,
so he sent for him frequently
and talked with him.
When two years had passed,
Felix was succeeded
by Porcius Festus,
but because Felix wanted to
grant a favor to the Jews,
he left Paul in prison.
Three days after
arriving in the province,
Festus went up from
Caesarea to Jerusalem where
the chief priests and Jewish
leaders appeared before him
and presented the
charges against Paul.
[ominous music]
They urgently requested
Festus as a favor to them
to have Paul transferred
to Jerusalem.
For they were preparing
an ambush to kill
him along the way.
Festus answered.
- Paul is being
held at Caesarea,
and I myself am
going there soon.
Let some of your
leaders come with me,
and press charges
against the man there
if he's done anything wrong.
- [Luke] After spending
eight or 10 days with them,
he went down to Caesarea.
The next day he
convened the court
and ordered that Paul
be brought before him.
When Paul appeared, the
Jews who had come down
from Jerusalem stood around
him bringing many serious
charges against, which
they could not prove.
Then Paul made his defense.
- I have done nothing wrong
against the law of the Jews
or against the temple
or against Caesar.
[sighing heavily]
- [Luke] Festus wishing to do
the Jews a favor said to Paul.
- Are you willing to
go up to Jerusalem
and stand trial before me
there on these charges?
- Paul answered.
- I am now standing
before Caesar's court,
where I ought to be tried.
I have not done any
wrong to the Jews,
as you yourself know very well.
If, however, I am guilty of
doing anything deserving death,
I do not refuse to die.
But if the charges
brought against me
by these Jews are not true,
no one has the right to
hand me over to them.
I appeal to Caesar.
- [Luke] After Festus had
conferred with his council,
he declared.
- You have appealed to
Caesar, to Caesar you will go.
[lively music]
- [Luke] A few days later
King Agrippa and Bernice
arrived at Caesarea to pay
their respects to Festus.
Since they were spending
many days there,
Festus discussed Paul's
case with the king.
He said.
- There is a man here whom
Felix left as a prisoner.
When I went to Jerusalem,
the chief priests
and the elders of the Jews
brought charges against him
and asked that he be condemned.
I told them that it is
not the Roman custom
to hand over any man before
he has faced his accusers
and has had an opportunity
to defend themselves
against their charges.
When they came here with me,
I did not delay the case,
but convened the
court the next day
and ordered the man
to be brought in.
When his accusers got up to
speak, they did not charge him
with any of the
crimes I'd expected.
Instead, they had
some points of dispute
with him about
their own religion
and about a dead
man named Jesus,
whom Paul claimed was alive.
I was at a loss how to
investigate such matters,
so I asked if he'd be
willing to go to Jerusalem
and stand trial there
on these charges.
When Paul made his
appeal to be held over
for the Emperor's decision,
I ordered him held until I
could send him to Caesar.
- [Luke] Then Agrippa
said to Festus.
- I would like to
hear this man myself.
- [Luke] He replied.
- Tomorrow you will hear him.
[lively music]
- [Luke] The next day
Agrippa and Bernice
came with great pomp and
entered the audience room
with the high-ranking officers
and the leading men of the city.
At the command of Festus,
Paul was brought in.
Festus said.
- King Agrippa,
and all who are present
with us, you see this man.
The whole Jewish community
has petitioned me
about him in Jerusalem
and here in Caesarea,
shouting that he ought
not to live any longer.
I found he had done
nothing deserving of death,
but because he made his
appeal to the Emperor,
I decided to send him to Rome.
But I have nothing definite
to write to His
Majesty about him.
Therefore, I have brought
him before all of you,
and especially before
you, King Agrippa,
so that as a result
of this investigation,
I may have something to write.
For I think it is unreasonable
to send on a prisoner
without specifying the
charges against him.
- [Luke] The Agrippa
said to Paul.
- You have permission
to speak for yourself.
- [Luke] So Paul
motioned with his hand
and began his defense.
- King Agrippa, I
consider myself fortunate
to stand before you today
as I make my defense
against all the
accusations of the Jews,
and especially so because
you are well acquainted
with all the Jewish
customs and controversies.
Therefore, I beg you to
listen to me patiently.
The Jews all know
the way I have lived
ever since I was a child,
from the beginning of my
life in my own country,
and also in Jerusalem.
They have known
me for a long time
and can testify, if
they are willing,
that I according to the
strictest sect of our religion,
I lived as a Pharisee.
And now it is because of my hope
in what God has
promised our fathers
that I am on trial today.
This is the promise
our 12 tribes
are hoping to see fulfilled
as they earnestly serve
God day and night.
O' King, it is
because of this hope
that the Jews are accusing me.
Why should any of
you consider it
incredible that God
raises the dead?
I too was convinced
that I ought to do
all that was possible
to oppose the name
of Jesus of Nazareth.
And that is just what
I did in Jerusalem.
On the authority of
the chief priests
I put many of the
saints in prison,
and when they were put to death,
I cast my vote against them.
Many a time I went from
one synagogue to another
to have them punished,
and I tried to force
them to blaspheme.
In my obsession against them,
I even went to foreign
cities to persecute them.
On one of these journeys
I was going to Damascus
with the authority and
commission of the chief priests.
About noon, O' King,
[gentle music]
as I was on the road, I
saw a light from Heaven,
brighter than the sun, blazing
around me and my companions.
We all fell to the ground,
and I heard a voice
saying to me in Aramaic,
"Saul, Saul, why do
you persecute me?
"It is hard for you to
kick against the goads."
Then I asked, "Who
are you, Lord?"
"I am Jesus, whom you are
persecuting," the Lord replied.
"Now get up and
stand on your feet.
"I have appeared to you to
appoint you as a servant
"and as a witness of
what you have seen of me
"and what I will show you.
"I will rescue you
from your own people
"and from the gentiles.
"I am sending you to
them to open their eyes
"and turn them from
darkness to light,
"and from the power
of Satan to God,
"so that they may receive
forgiveness of sins
"and a place among those who
are sanctified by faith in me."
So then, King Agrippa,
I was not disobedient to
the vision from Heaven.
First, to those in Damascus,
then to those in Jerusalem
and in all Judea,
and to the gentiles also I
preached that they should repent
and turn to God and prove their
repentance by their deeds.
That is why the Jews seized
me in the temple courts
and tried to kill me.
But I have had God's
help me to this very day,
and so I stand here and testify
to small and great alike.
I am saying nothing
beyond what the prophets
and Moses said would happen,
that the Christ would suffer
and as the first to
rise from the dead,
would proclaim light to his
own people and to the gentiles.
- [Luke] At this point Festus
interrupted Paul's defense.
- You're out of your mind, Paul!
- [Luke] He shouted.
- Your great learning
is driving you insane.
- [chuckling] I am not
insane, most excellent Festus.
- [Luke] Paul replied.
- What I am saying is
true and reasonable.
The king is familiar
with these things,
and I can speak freely to him.
I am convinced that none of
this has escaped his notice,
because it was not
done in a corner.
King Agrippa,
do you believe the prophets?
I know you do.
- [Luke] Then
Agrippa said to Paul.
- Do you think that
in such a short time
you can persuade me
to be a Christian?
- [Luke] Paul replied.
- Short time or long,
I pray God that not only you
but all who are
listening to me today
may become what I am,
except for these chains.
- [Luke] The king rose,
and with him the governor
and Bernice and those
sitting with them.
They left the room.
And while talking with
one another, they said.
- This man is not doing anything
that deserves death
or imprisonment.
- [Luke] Agrippa said to Festus.
- This man could
have been set free
if he had not
appealed to Caesar.
- When it was decided that
we would sail for Italy,
Paul and some other
prisoners were handed over
to a centurion named Julius,
who belonged to the
Imperial Regiment.
We boarded a ship from
Adramyttium about to sail
for ports along the coast
of the province of Asia,
and we put out to sea.
Aristarchus, a Macedonian from
Thessalonica, was with us.
The next day we landed at Sidon,
and Julius, in kindness to Paul,
allowed him to go
to his friends,
so they might provide
for his needs.
From there we put
out to sea again
and passed to the lee of Cyprus
because the winds
were against us.
When we had sailed
across the open sea
off the coast of
Cilicia and Pamphylia,
we landed at Myra in Lycia.
There the centurion
found an Alexandrian
ship sailing for Italy
and put us on board.
We made slow headway
for many days
and had difficulty
arriving off Cnidus.
When the wind did not allow
us to hold our course,
we sailed to the lee of
Crete, opposite Salmone.
We moved along the
coast with difficulty
and came to a place
called Fair Havens,
near the town of Lasea.
[gentle music]
Much time had been lost,
and sailing had already
become dangerous
because by now it
was after the fast.
So Paul warned them.
- Men, I can see that our
voyage is going to be disastrous
and bring great loss
to ship and cargo,
and to our own lives also.
- [Luke] But the centurion,
instead of listening
to what Paul said,
followed the advice of the pilot
and of the owner of the ship.
Since the harbor was
unsuitable to winter in,
the majority decided
that we should sail on,
hoping to reach Phoenix
and winter there.
This was a harbor in Crete,
facing both southwest
and northwest.
When a gentle south
wind began to blow,
they thought they'd
obtained what they wanted,
so they weighed anchor and
sailed along the shore of Crete.
[ominous music]
Before very long, a
wind of hurricane force,
called the Northeaster,
swept down from the island.
The ship was caught by the storm
and could not head
into the wind,
so we gave way to it
and were driven along.
As we passed to the lee of
a small island called Cauda,
we were hardly able to
make the lifeboat secure,
so the men had
hoisted it aboard.
Then they passed ropes under
the ship itself to
hold it together.
Fearing that they
would run aground
on the sandbars of Syrtis,
they lowered the sea anchor
and let the ship
be driven along.
We took such a violent battering
from the storm that the next day
they began to throw
the cargo overboard.
On the third day,
they threw the ship's
tackle overboard
with their own hands.
[suspenseful music]
When neither sun nor stars
appeared for many days
and the storm continued raging,
we finally gave up all
hope of being saved.
After the men had gone a
long time without food,
Paul stood up before
them and said.
- Men, you should
have taken my advice
not to sail from Crete.
Then you would have spared
yourselves this damage and loss.
But now I urge you to
keep up your courage,
because not one of
you will be lost.
Only the ship will be destroyed.
Last night an angel of the God,
who's I am and whom I serve,
stood beside me and said,
"Do not be afraid, Paul.
"You must stand
trial before Caesar,
"and God has
graciously given you
"the lives of all
who sail with you."
So, keep up your courage, men.
For I have faith in God
that it will happen
just as he told me.
Nevertheless, we must run
aground on some island.
[waves crashing]
[suspenseful music]
- [Luke] On the 14th night,
we were still being driven
across the Adriatic Sea
when about midnight the sailors
sensed they were
approaching land.
They took soundings
and found that
the water was a 120 feet deep.
A short time later they
took soundings again
and found it was 90 feet deep.
Fearing that we will be
dashed against the rocks,
they dropped four
anchors from the stern
and prayed for daylight.
In an attempt to
escape from the ship,
the sailors let the
lifeboat down into the sea,
pretending they
were going to lower
some anchors from the bow.
Then Paul said to the
centurion and the soldiers.
- Unless these men stay with
the ship, you cannot be saved.
- [Luke] So the
soldiers cut the ropes
that held the lifeboat
and let it fall away.
[suspenseful music]
Just before dawn Paul
urged them all to eat.
- For the last 14 days.
- [Luke] He said.
- You have been in
constant suspense
and have gone without food.
You haven't eaten anything.
Now I urge you to
take some food.
You need it to survive.
Not one of you will lose a
single hair from his head.
- [Luke] After he said
this, he took some bread
and gave thanks to God
in front of them all.
Then he broke it
and began to eat.
[dramatic music]
They were all encouraged and
ate some food themselves.
Altogether there were
276 of us on board.
When they had eaten as
much as they wanted,
they lightened the ship by
throwing the grain into the sea.
[suspenseful music]
When daylight came, they
did not recognize the land,
but they saw a bay
with a sandy beach,
where they decided to run the
ship aground if they could.
Cutting loose the anchors,
they left them in the sea
and at the same time untied the
ropes that held the rudders.
Then they hoisted the
foresail to the wind
and made for the beach.
But the ship struck a
sandbar and ran aground.
The bow stuck fast
and would not move,
and the stern was
broken to pieces
by the pounding of the surf.
The soldiers planned
to kill the prisoners
to prevent any of them from
swimming away and escaping.
But the centurion wanted
to spare Paul's life
and kept them from
carrying out their plan.
He ordered those who could swim
to jump overboard
first and get to land.
The rest were to
get there on planks
or on pieces of the ship.
In this way everyone
reached land in safety.
Once safely on shore,
we found out that the
island was called Malta.
The islanders showed
us unusual kindness.
They built a fire
and welcomed us all
because it was raining and cold.
[ominous music]
Paul gathered a
pile of brushwood
and as he put it on the fire,
a viper driven out by the heat
fastened itself on his hand.
When the islanders saw the
snake hanging from his hand,
they said to each other.
- This man must be a murderer.
For though he
escaped from the sea,
justice has not
allowed him to live.
- But Paul shook the
snake off into the fire
and suffered no ill effects.
The people expected him to
swell up or suddenly fall dead.
But after waiting a long time
and seeing nothing
unusual happen to him,
they changed their minds
and said he was a god.
There was an estate nearby
that belonged to Publius,
the chief official
of the island.
He welcomed us to his home
and for three days
entertained us hospitably.
His father was sick in bed,
suffering from
fever and dysentery.
[gentle music]
Paul went in to see
him, and after prayer,
placed his hands on
him and healed him.
[son chuckling happily]
When this had happened,
the rest of the sick
on the island came
and were cured.
They honored us in many ways,
and when we were ready to sail,
they furnished us with
the supplies we needed.
After three months
we put out to sea
in a ship that had
wintered in the island.
It was an Alexandrian ship
with the figurehead of the
twin gods Castor and Pollux.
We put in at Syracuse and
stayed there three days.
From there we set sail
and arrived at Rhegium.
The next day the
south wind came up,
and on the following
day we reached Puteoli.
[sighing] There we
found some brothers
who invited us to
spend a week with them.
And so we came to Rome.
[dramatic music]
The brothers there had
heard that we were coming,
and they traveled as far
as the Forum of Appius
and the Three
Taverns to meet us.
At the sight of these
men, Paul thanked God
and was encouraged.
When we got to Rome, Paul was
allowed to live by himself,
with a soldier to guard him.
Three days later he
called together the
leaders of the Jews.
When they had assembled,
Paul said to them.
- My brothers, although
I have done nothing
against our people, or against
the customs of our ancestors,
I was arrested in Jerusalem
and handed over to the Romans.
They examined me and
wanted to release me,
because I was not guilty of
any crime deserving death.
But when the Jews objected,
I was compelled to
appeal to Caesar,
not that I had any charge to
bring against my own people.
For this reason I have asked
to see you and talk with you.
It is because of
the hope of Israel
that I am bound with this chain.
[dramatic music]
- [Luke] They replied.
- We have not
received any letters
from Judea concerning you,
and none of the brothers
who have come from there
has reported or said
anything bad about you.
But we want to hear
what your views are,
for we know that
people everywhere
are talking against this sect.
- [Luke] They arranged to
meet Paul on a certain day,
and came in even larger numbers
to the place where
he was staying.
From morning till
evening, he explained
and declared to them
the kingdom of God,
and tried to convince
them about Jesus
from the law of Moses
and from the prophets.
Some were convinced
by what he said,
but others would not believe.
They disagreed among
themselves and began to leave
after Paul had made
this final statement.
[gentle music]
- The Holy Spirit spoke the
truth to your forefathers
when he said through
Isaiah the prophet:
Go to this people and say,
"You'll be ever hearing
but never understanding.
"You will be ever seeing
but never perceiving.
"For this people's heart
has become calloused.
"They hardly hear
with their ears,
"and they have
closed their eyes.
"Otherwise they might
see with their eyes,
"hear with their ears,
"understand with their hearts
"and turn and I
would heal them."
Therefore, I want you to know
that God's salvation
has been sent to the gentiles,
and they will listen.
- [Luke] For two whole years
Paul stayed there in
his own rented house
and welcomed all
who came to see him.
[dramatic music]
Boldly and without hindrance,
he preached the kingdom of God,
and taught about the
Lord Jesus Christ.
[gentle music]
[people chatting faintly]
- Doctor.
Go in peace.
- Grace and peace
to you, Captain.
[dramatic music]
[thunder crashing]
[people shouting]
[suspenseful music]
- Watch out the rope
is about to break!
[suspenseful music swelling]
[girl screaming]
[woman screaming]
- Get it, get it off!
- Get the doctor!
- [Man] There's
been an accident.
[thunder crashing]
[suspenseful music]
- [Man] Luke, was
one of the first
non-Jewish converts
to Christianity.
A valued and loyal companion
of the Apostle Paul,
he traveled extensively with him
throughout the Middle
East and Europe.
[dramatic music]
[gentle music]
- In my former book, Theophilus,
I wrote about all
that Jesus began to do
and to teach until the day
he was taken up to Heaven
after giving instructions
through the Holy Spirit
to the apostles he had chosen.
After his suffering,
he showed himself to these men
and gave many convincing
proofs that he was alive.
He appeared to them
over a period of 40 days
and spoke about
the kingdom of God.
On one occasion while
he was eating with them,
he gave them this command.
- Do not leave Jerusalem,
but wait for the gift
my Father promised,
which you have heard
me speak about.
For John baptized with water,
but in a few days
you will be baptized
with the Holy Spirit.
- [Luke] So, when they met
together, they asked him.
- Lord, are you
at this time going
to restore the
kingdom to Israel?
- [Luke] He said to them.
- It is not for you
to know the times
or dates the Father has
set by his own authority.
[gentle music]
But you will receive power
when the Holy
Spirit comes on you,
and you will be my
witnesses in Jerusalem,
and in all Judea and Samaria,
and to the ends of the Earth.
- [Luke] After he said this,
he was taken up before
their very eyes,
[dramatic music]
and a cloud hid him
from their sight.
They were looking intently up
into the sky as he was going,
when suddenly two men dressed
in white stood beside them.
- Men of Galilee.
- They said.
- Why do you stand here
looking into the sky?
- This same Jesus, who has been
taken from you into Heaven,
will come back in the same way
you have seen him
go into Heaven.
- [Luke] Then they
returned to Jerusalem
from the hill called
the Mount of Olives,
a Sabbath day's
walk from the city.
[apostles chatting]
When they arrived,
they went upstairs
to the room where
they were staying.
Those present were Peter,
John, James, and Andrew,
Philip, and Thomas,
Bartholomew, and Matthew,
James, son of Alphaeus,
and Simon the Zealot,
and Judas, son of James.
They all joined together
constantly in prayer,
along with the women and
Mary, the mother of Jesus,
and with his brothers.
[gentle music]
In those days Peter stood
up among the believers,
a group numbering
about a 120, and said.
- Brothers, the scripture
had to be fulfilled,
which the Holy
Spirit spoke long ago
through the mouth of
David concerning Judas,
who served as guide for
those who arrested Jesus.
He was one of our number
and shared in our ministry.
- [Luke] With the reward
he got for his wickedness,
Judas bought a field;
there he fell headlong,
his body burst open
and all his intestines
spilled out.
Everyone in Jerusalem
heard about this,
so they called that field
in their language Akeldama,
that is Field of Blood.
- For.
- Said Peter.
- It is written in
the Book of Psalms:
May his place be deserted.
Let there be no
one to dwell in it,
and may another take
his place of leadership.
Therefore it is necessary
to choose one of the men
who have been with
us the whole time
the Lord Jesus went
in and out among us.
Beginning from John's
baptism to the time--
- When.
- Jesus was taken up from us,
for one of these
must become a witness
with us of his resurrection.
- [Luke] So they
proposed two men:
Joseph, called Barsabbas,
also known as
Justus, and Matthias.
[gentle music]
Then they prayed.
- Lord, you know
everyone's heart.
Show us which of these
two you have chosen
to take over this
apostolic ministry,
which Judas left to
go where he belongs.
- [Luke] Then they cast lots,
and the lot fell to Matthias.
So he was added to
the eleven apostles.
[sheep bleating]
When the day of Pentecost came,
they were all
together in one place.
Suddenly a sound
like the blowing
of a violent wind
came from Heaven
and filled the whole house
where they were sitting.
[wind blowing swiftly]
[dramatic music]
They saw what seemed
to be tongues of fire
that separated and came
to rest on each of them.
[disciples cheering]
All of them were filled
with the Holy Spirit
and began to speak
in other tongues
as the Spirit enabled them.
[people cheering]
Now there were staying in
Jerusalem God-fearing Jews
from every nation under Heaven.
When they heard this sound,
a crowd came together
in bewilderment,
because each one heard them
speaking in his own language.
Utterly amazed, they asked.
- Are not all these who
are speaking Galileans?
Then how is it that each of us
hears them in his
own native language?
- Parthians, Medes,
and Elamites,
residents of Mesopotamia.
- Judea, and Cappadocia,
Pontus, and Asia,
Phrygia, and Pamphylia, Egypt,
and the parts of
Libya near Cyrene.
- Visitors from Rome,
both Jews and
converts to Judaism,
Cretans, and Arabs.
- We hear them declaring
the wonders of God
in our own tongues.
- [Luke] Amazed and perplexed,
they asked one another.
- What does this mean?
- [Luke] Some, however,
made fun of them and said.
- They have had too much wine.
[crowd chuckling]
- [Luke] Then Peter
stood up with the 11,
raised his voice and
addressed the crowd.
- Fellow Jews,
and all of you who
live in Jerusalem,
let me explain this to you.
Listen carefully to what I say.
These men are not
drunk, as you suppose.
It's only 9:00 in the morning.
No, this is what was
spoken by the prophet Joel:
"In the last days," God says,
"I will pour out my
Spirit on all people.
"Your sons and
daughters will prophesy.
"Your young men
will see visions.
"Your old men will dream dreams.
"Even on my servants,
both men and women,
"I will pour out my
Spirit in those days,
"and they will prophesy.
"I will show wonders
in the Heaven above
"and signs on the Earth below,
"blood and fire and
billows of smoke.
"The sun will be
turned to darkness
"and the moon to blood
"before the coming of the great
"and glorious day of the Lord.
"And everyone who calls
"on the name of the
Lord will be saved."
Men of Israel, listen to this.
Jesus of Nazareth was
a man accredited by God
to you by miracles,
wonders, and signs,
which God did among
you through him,
as you yourselves know.
This man was handed over to you
by God's set purpose
and foreknowledge,
and you with the
help of wicked men
put him to death by
nailing him to the cross.
But God raised
him from the dead,
freeing him from
the agony of death,
because it was impossible for
death to keep its hold on him.
David said about him,
"I saw the Lord
always before me.
"Because he is at my right
hand, I will not be shaken.
"Therefore my heart is glad
and my tongue rejoices.
"My body also will live in hope,
"because you will not
abandon me to the grave.
"Nor will you let your
holy one see decay.
"You have made known to
me the paths of life.
"You will fill me with
joy in your presence."
Brothers, I can
tell you confidently
that the patriarch David
died and was buried,
and his tomb is
here to this day.
But he was a prophet
and knew that God
had promised him on
oath that he would place
one of his descendants
on his throne.
Seeing what was ahead, he spoke
of the resurrection
of the Christ,
that he was not
abandoned to the grave,
nor did his body see decay.
God has raised
this Jesus to life,
and we are all
witnesses of the fact.
Exalted to the
right hand of God,
he has received from the
Father the promised Holy Spirit
and has poured out what
you now see and hear.
For David did not ascend
to heaven and yet he said,
"The Lord said to my
Lord sit at my right hand
"until I make your enemies
a footstool for your feet."
Therefore, let all Israel
be assured of this.
God has made this Jesus,
whom you crucified,
both Lord and Christ.
- [Luke] When the
people heard this,
they were cut to the heart
and said to Peter and
the other apostles.
- Brothers, what shall we do?
- [Luke] Peter replied.
- Repent and be baptized
every one of you
in the name of Jesus Christ
for the forgiveness
of your sins.
And you will receive the
gift of the Holy Spirit.
The promise is for
you and your children
and for all who are far off,
for all whom the Lord
our God will call.
[dramatic music]
- With many other
words he warned them,
and he pleaded with them,
"Save yourselves from
this corrupt generation."
Those who accepted his
message were baptized,
and about 3,000 were added
to their number that day.
They devoted themselves
to the apostles' teaching
and to the fellowship,
to the breaking of
bread and to prayer.
Everyone was filled with awe.
And many wonders
and miraculous signs
were done by the apostles.
All the believers were together
and had everything in common.
Selling their
possessions and goods,
they gave to anyone
as he had need.
Every day they continued
to meet together in
the temple court.
They broke bread in their homes
and ate together with
glad and sincere hearts,
praising God and enjoying
the favor of all the people.
And the Lord added
to their number daily
those who were being saved.
One day Peter and John
were going up to the temple
at the time of prayer at
3:00 in the afternoon.
Now a man crippled from
birth was being carried
to the temple gate
called Beautiful,
where he was put
every day to beg
from those going into
the temple courts.
When he saw Peter and
John about to enter,
he asked them for money.
Peter looked straight
at him, as did John.
Then Peter said.
- Look at us!
- [Luke] So the man
gave them his attention,
expecting to get
something from them.
Then Peter said.
- Silver or gold I do not have,
but what I have I give you.
In the name of Jesus
Christ of Nazareth, walk.
[dramatic music]
- [Luke] Taking him by the
right hand, he helped him up,
and instantly the man's feet
and ankles became strong.
He jumped to his feet
and began to walk.
[beggar chuckling]
Then he went with them
into the temple courts,
walking, and jumping,
and praising God.
When all the people saw him
walking and praising God,
they recognized him as
the same man who used to
sit begging at the temple
gate called Beautiful,
and they were filled with wonder
and amazement at what
had happened to him.
While the beggar held
onto Peter and John,
all the people were
astonished and came running
to them in the place
called Solomon's Colonnade.
When Peter saw this,
he said to them.
- Men of Israel, why
does this surprise you?
Why do you stare at us
as if by our own power
or godliness we had
made this man walk?
The God of Abraham,
Isaac, and Jacob,
the God of our fathers has
glorified his servant Jesus.
You handed him
over to be killed,
and you disowned
him before Pilate,
though he had decided
to let him go.
You disowned the Holy
and Righteous One
and asked that a murderer
be released to you.
You killed the author of life,
but God raised
him from the dead.
We are witnesses of this.
By faith in the name of Jesus,
this man whom you see
and know was made strong.
It is Jesus' name and the
faith that comes through him
that has given this
complete healing to him
as you can all see.
Now, brothers, I know that
you acted in ignorance,
as did your leaders.
But this is how God fulfilled
what he had foretold
through all the prophets,
saying that his
Christ would suffer.
Repent then, and turn to God,
[dramatic music]
so that your sins
may be wiped out,
that times of refreshing
may come from the Lord,
and that he may send the Christ,
who has been appointed
for you, even Jesus.
He must remain in Heaven
until the time comes
for God to restore everything,
as he promised long ago
through his holy prophets.
For Moses said, "The Lord
your God will raise up for you
"a prophet like me from
among your own people.
"You must listen to
everything he tells you.
"Anyone who does
not listen to him
"will be completely cut
off from among his people."
Indeed, all the
prophets from Samuel on,
as many as have spoken
have foretold these days.
And you are heirs
of the prophets
and of the covenant God
made with your fathers.
He said to Abraham
through your offspring
all peoples on Earth
will be blessed.
When God raised up his servant,
he sent him first
to you to bless you
by turning each of you
from your wicked ways.
- [Luke] The priests and the
captain of the temple guard
and the Sadducees
came up to Peter
and John while they were
speaking to the people.
They were greatly disturbed
because the apostles
were teaching the people
and proclaiming in Jesus the
resurrection of the dead.
They seized Peter and John
and because it was evening,
they put them in jail
until the next day.
But many who heard
the message believed,
and the number of men
grew to about 5,000.
The next day the rulers, elders,
and the teachers of the
law met in Jerusalem.
Annas the high priest was there,
and so were Caiaphas,
John, Alexander,
and other men of the
high priest's family.
They had Peter and John
brought before them
and began to question them.
- By what power or what
name did you do this?
- [Luke] Then Peter, filled
with the Holy Spirit,
said to them.
- Rulers and elders
of the people,
if we are being called
to account today
for an act of kindness
shown to a cripple
and are asked how he was
healed, then know this
you and all the
people of Israel,
[dramatic music]
it is by the name of
Jesus Christ of Nazareth,
whom you crucified but whom
God raised from the dead,
that this man stands
before you healed.
He is the stone you
builders rejected,
which has become the capstone.
Salvation is found
in no one else.
For there is no other
name under Heaven
given to man by which
we must be saved.
- [Luke] When they saw the
courage of Peter and John
and realized that they were
unschooled, ordinary men,
they were astonished,
and they took note
that these men had
been with Jesus.
But since they could see the man
who had been healed
standing there with them,
there was nothing
they could say.
So they ordered them to
withdraw from the Sanhedrin
and then conferred together.
- What are we going
to do with these men?
- [Luke] They asked.
- Everybody living
in Jerusalem knows
they have done an
outstanding miracle,
and we cannot deny it.
But to stop this thing
from spreading any
further among the people,
we must warn these men to speak
no longer to anyone
in this name.
[suspenseful music]
- [Luke] Then they
called them in again
and commanded them not to speak
or teach at all in
the name of Jesus.
But Peter and John replied.
- Judge for yourselves
whether it is right
in God's sight to obey
you rather than God.
- For we cannot help speaking
about what we have
seen and heard.
- [Luke] After further
threats they let them go.
They could not decide
how to punish them,
because all the people
were praising God
for what had happened.
For the man who was
miraculously healed
was over 40 years old.
On their release, Peter
and John went back
to their own people
and reported all that
the chief priests and
elders had said to them.
When they heard this,
they raised their voices
together in prayer to God.
- Sovereign Lord.
- They said.
- You made the
Heaven, and the Earth,
and the sea, and
everything in them.
- You spoke by the Holy
Spirit through the mouth
of your servant,
our father David.
Why do the nations rage
and the peoples plot in vain?
The kings of the
Earth take their stand
and the rulers gather
together against the Lord
and against his anointed one.
- Indeed Herod
and Pontius Pilate
met together with the gentiles
and the people of
Israel in this city
to conspire against
your holy servant,
Jesus, whom you anointed.
- They did what your power
and will had decided
beforehand should happen.
- Now, Lord, consider
their threats
and enable your servants
to speak your word
with great boldness.
- Stretch out your hand to heal
and perform miraculous
signs and wonders
through the name of
your holy servant Jesus.
- [Luke] After they prayed,
the place where they
were meeting was shaken.
And they were all filled
with the Holy Spirit
and spoke the word
of God boldly.
[ground rumbling loudly]
All the believers were
one in heart and mind.
No one claimed that any of
his possessions was his own,
but they shared
everything they had.
With great power the
apostles continued to testify
to the resurrection
of the Lord Jesus.
And much grace
was upon them all.
There were no needy
persons among them.
For from time to time those who
owned land or houses sold them,
brought the money from the sales
and put it at the
apostles' feet,
and it was distributed
to anyone as he had need.
Joseph, a Levite from Cyprus,
whom the apostles
called Barnabas,
which means son of
encouragement, sold
a field he owned
and brought the money and
put it at the apostles' feet.
Now a man named Ananias
together with his wife Sapphira
also sold a piece of property.
With his wife's full knowledge,
he kept back part of
the money for himself,
but brought the rest and put
it at the apostles' feet.
Then Peter said, "Ananias,
how is it that Satan has so
"filled your heart that you
have lied to the Holy Spirit
"and have kept for
yourself some of the money
"you received for the land?
"Didn't it belong to
you before it was sold?
"And after it was sold,
"wasn't the money
at your disposal?
"What made you think
of doing such a thing?
"You have not lied
to men but to God."
When Ananias heard this,
he fell down and died.
And great fear seized all
who heard what had happened.
Then some young men came
forward, wrapped up his body,
and carried him
out and buried him.
About three hours
later his wife came in,
not knowing what had happened.
Peter asked her, "Tell me,
"is this the price you and
Ananias got for the land?"
"Yes," she said,
"that is the price."
Peter said to her,
"How could you agree
"to test the Spirit of the Lord?
"Look, the feet of the men
"who buried your
husband are at the door,
"and they will
carry you out also."
At that moment she fell
down at his feet and died.
Then the young men came
in and finding her dead,
carried her out and buried
her beside her husband.
Great fear seized
the whole church
and all who heard
about these events.
The apostles performed
many miraculous signs
and wonders among the people.
And all the believers
used to meet together
in Solomon's Colonnade.
No one else dared join them,
even though they were highly
regarded by the people.
Nevertheless, more and more
men and women
believed in the Lord
and were added to their number.
[people chatting distantly]
As a result, people brought
the sick into the streets
and laid them on beds and mats,
so that at least Peter's shadow
might fall on some of
them as he passed by.
[people chatting distantly]
[dramatic music]
Crowds gathered also from
the towns around Jerusalem,
bringing their sick and those
tormented by evil spirits
and all of them were healed.
Then the high priest
and all his associates,
who were members of the
party of the Sadducees,
were filled with jealousy.
They arrested the apostles
and put them in the public jail.
But during the night
an angel of the Lord
opened the doors of the
jail and brought them out.
[bright music]
- Go and stand in
the temple courts.
- [Luke] He said.
- And tell the people
the fullness, that
there is new life.
- [Luke] At daybreak they
entered the temple courts,
as they had been told, and
began to teach the people.
When the high priest and
his associates arrived,
they called together
the Sanhedrin,
the full assembly of
the elders of Israel,
and sent to the jail
for the apostles.
But on arriving at the jail,
the officers did
not find them there.
So they went back and reported.
- We found the jail
securely locked,
with the guards
standing at the doors,
but when we opened them,
we found no one inside.
- [Luke] On hearing this report,
the captain of the temple guard
and the chief
priests were puzzled,
wondering what
would come of this.
Then someone came and said.
- Look, the men you put in jail
are standing in the temple
courts teaching the people.
- [Luke] At that, the captain
went with his officers
and brought the apostles.
They did not use force,
because they feared
that the people
would stone them.
Having brought the apostles,
they made them appear
before the Sanhedrin
to be questioned
by the high priest.
- We gave you strict orders
not to teach in this name.
- He said.
- Yet you have
filled Jerusalem
with your teaching
[councilmen muttering]
and are determined to make us
guilty of this man's blood.
- [Luke] Peter and the
other apostles replied.
- We must obey God
rather than men.
The God of our fathers
raised Jesus from the dead,
whom you had killed by
hanging him on a tree.
God exalted him to his own
right hand as Prince and Savior
that he might give repentance
and forgiveness
of sins to Israel.
- [Man] They must kill them!
[council muttering]
- We are witnesses
of these things,
and so is the Holy Spirit,
whom God has given to
those who obey him.
- [Luke] When they heard
this, they were furious
and wanted to put them to death.
But a Pharisee named Gamaliel,
a teacher of the law,
who was honored
by all the people,
stood up in the Sanhedrin
and ordered that
the men be put outside
for a little while.
[dramatic music]
Then he addressed them.
- Men of Israel,
consider carefully what you
intend to do to these men.
Some time ago Theudas appeared,
claiming to be somebody,
and about 400 men
rallied to him.
He was killed,
all his followers
were dispersed,
and it all came to nothing.
After him, Judas the Galilean
appeared in the
days of the census
and led a band of
people in revolt.
He too was killed,
and all his followers
were scattered.
Therefore, in the present
case I advise you:
Leave these men alone.
Let them go.
[suspenseful music]
For if their purpose or activity
is of human origin,
it will fail.
But if it is from God,
you will not be able
to stop these men.
You will only find yourselves
fighting against God.
- [Luke] His speech
persuaded them.
They called the apostles
in and had them flogged.
Then they ordered
them not to speak
in the name of Jesus
and let them go.
The apostles left the
Sanhedrin rejoicing
because they had
been counted worthy
of suffering disgrace
for the name.
[gentle music]
Day after day in
the temple courts
and from house to house,
they never stopped teaching
and proclaiming the good news
that Jesus is the Christ.
In those days when the number
of disciples was increasing,
the Grecian Jews among
them complained against
the Hebraic Jews because their
widows were being overlooked
in the daily
distribution of food.
So the 12 gathered all the
disciples together and said,
"It would not be right
for us to neglect
"the ministry of the word of
God in order to wait on tables.
"Brothers, choose seven
men from among you
"who are known to be full
of the Spirit and wisdom.
"We will turn this
responsibility over to them,
"and we'll give our
attention to prayer
"and the ministry of the word."
This proposal pleased
the whole group.
They chose Stephen,
a man full of faith
and of the Holy Spirit,
also Philip, Procorus,
Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas,
and Nicolas from Antioch,
a convert to Judaism.
They presented these
men to the apostles,
who prayed and laid
their hands on them.
So the word of God spread.
The number of disciples in
Jerusalem increased rapidly,
and a large number of priests
became obedient to the faith.
[gentle music]
Now Stephen, a man full
of God's grace and power,
did great wonders and miraculous
signs among the people.
Opposition arose,
however, from members
of the Synagogue of the
Freedmen, as it was called.
Jews of Cyrene and Alexandria
as well as the provinces
of Cilicia and Asia,
these men began to
argue with Stephen.
But they could not stand
up against his wisdom
or the Spirit by
whom him he spoke.
Then they secretly
persuaded some men to say,
"We have heard Stephen
speak words of blasphemy
"against Moses and against God."
[gentle music]
So they stirred up the people
and the elders and the
teachers of the law.
They seized Stephen and brought
him before the Sanhedrin.
They produced false
witnesses who testified.
- This fellow never stops
speaking against this holy place
and against the law.
- For we have heard him say
that this Jesus of Nazareth
will destroy this place
and change the customs
Moses handed down to us.
[people muttering]
- [Luke] All who were
sitting in the Sanhedrin
looked intently at Stephen,
and they saw that his face
was like the face of an angel.
Then the high priest asked him.
- Are these charges true?
- [Luke] To this he replied.
- Brothers and
fathers, listen to me.
[gentle music]
The God of glory appeared
to our father Abraham
while he was still
in Mesopotamia,
before he lived in Haran.
"Leave your country and
your people," God said,
"and go to the land
I will show you."
So he left the land of the
Chaldeans and settled in Haran.
After the death of his father,
God sent him to this land
where you are now living.
He gave him no inheritance
here, not even a foot of ground,
but God promised him
that he and his
descendants after him
would possess the land,
even though at that time
Abraham had no child.
God spoke to him in this way,
"You descendants
will be strangers
"in a country not their own,
"and they will be enslaved
and mistreated 400 years.
"But I will punish the
nation they serve as slaves,"
God said, "And afterward they
will come out of that country
"and worship me in this place."
Then he gave Abraham the
covenant of circumcision.
And Abraham became
the father of Isaac
and circumcised him eight
days after his birth.
Later Isaac became
the father of Jacob,
and Jacob became the father
of the 12 patriarchs.
Because the patriarchs
were jealous of Joseph,
they sold him as a
slave into Egypt.
But God was with him
and rescued him from
all his troubles.
He gave Joseph wisdom
and enabled him to gain
the goodwill of
Pharaoh, king of Egypt.
So he made him ruler over
Egypt and all his palace.
Then a famine struck
all Egypt and Canaan,
bringing great suffering,
and our fathers
could not find food.
When Jacob heard that
there was grain in Egypt,
he sent our fathers
on their first visit.
On their second visit,
Joseph told his
brothers who he was,
and Pharaoh learned
about Joseph's family.
After this, Joseph sent
for his father Jacob
and his whole family, 75 in all.
Then Jacob went down to Egypt,
where he and our fathers died.
Their bodies were
brought back to Shechem
and placed in the tomb that
Abraham had bought from
the sons of Hamor at Shechem
for a certain sum of money.
As the time drew near
for God to fulfill his
promise to Abraham,
the number of our people
in Egypt greatly increased.
Then another king, who
knew nothing about Joseph,
became ruler of Egypt.
He dealt treacherously
with our people
and oppressed our
forefathers by forcing them
to throw out their newborn
babies so that they would die.
At that time Moses was born,
and he was no ordinary child.
For three months he was cared
for in his father's house.
When he was placed outside,
Pharaoh's daughter took him
and brought him
up as her own son.
Moses was educated in all
the wisdom of the Egyptians
and was powerful in
speech and action.
When Moses was 40 years old,
he decided to visit
his fellow Israelites.
He saw one of them being
mistreated by an Egyptian,
so he went to his defense
and avenged him by
killing the Egyptian.
Moses thought that his
own people would realize
that God was using him to
rescue them, but they did not.
The next day Moses came
upon two Israelites
who were fighting.
He tried to reconcile
them by saying,
"Men, you are brothers.
"Why do you want to
hurt each other?"
But the man who was
mistreating the other
pushed Moses aside and said,
"Who made you ruler
and judge over us?
"Do you want to kill me
"as you killed the
Egyptian yesterday?"
When Moses heard this,
he fled to Midian,
where he settled as a
foreigner and had two sons.
After 40 years had passed,
an angel appeared to Moses in
the flames of a burning bush
in the desert near Mount Sinai.
When he saw this, he
was amazed at the sight.
As he went over to
look more closely,
he heard the Lord's voice.
"I am the God of your fathers,
the God of Abraham,
Isaac, and Jacob."
Moses trembled with fear
and did not dare to look.
Then the Lord said to him,
"Take off your sandals.
"The place where you are
standing is holy ground.
"I have indeed seen
"the oppression of
my people in Egypt.
"I have heard their groaning
"and have come down
to set them free.
"Now come, I will send
you back to Egypt."
This is the same Moses
whom they had rejected
with the words,
"Who made you ruler and judge?"
He was sent to be their ruler
and deliverer by God himself,
through the angel who
appeared to him in the bush.
He led them out of Egypt
and did wonders and
miraculous signs in Egypt,
at the Red Sea and for
40 years in the desert.
This is that Moses who
told the Israelites,
"God will send you a prophet
like me from your own people."
He was in the assembly in
the desert with the angel
who spoke to him on Mount
Sinai, and with our fathers,
and he received living
words to pass on to us.
But our fathers
refused to obey him.
Instead, they rejected him
and in their hearts
turned back to Egypt.
They told Aaron, "Make us
gods who will go before us.
"As for this fellow Moses,
who led us out of Egypt,
"we don't know what
has happened to him."
That was the time they made
an idol in the form of a calf.
They brought sacrifices to
it, and held a celebration
in honor of what
their hands had made.
But God turned away,
and gave them over to the
worship of the heavenly bodies.
This agrees with what is written
in the book of the prophets:
Did you bring me
sacrifices and offerings
40 years in the desert,
O' house of Israel?
You have lifted up the
tabernacle of Molek
and the star of your god Rephan,
the idols you made to worship.
Therefore, I will send you
into exile beyond Babylon.
Our forefathers had the
tabernacle of the testimony
with them in the desert.
It had been made as
God directed Moses,
according to the
pattern he had seen.
Having receiving the tabernacle,
our fathers under Joshua
brought it with them
when they took the
land from the nations
God drove out before them.
It remained in the land
until the time of David,
who enjoyed God's favor
and asked that he might provide
a dwelling place for
the God of Jacob.
But it was Solomon who
built a house for him.
However, the Most High does
not live in houses made by men.
As the prophet says,
"Heaven is my throne,
"and the Earth is my footstool.
"What kind of house will you
build for me," says the Lord,
"Or where will my
resting place be?
"Has not my hand made
all these things?"
You stiff-necked people
with uncircumcised
hearts and ears.
You are just like your fathers.
You always resist
the Holy Spirit.
Was there ever a prophet your
fathers did not persecute?
They even killed
those who predicted
the coming of the Righteous One.
And now you have betrayed
and murdered him.
You who have received the law
that was put into
effect through angels
but have not obeyed it.
[councilmen yelling angrily]
[suspenseful music]
- [Luke] When they heard
this, they were furious
and gnashed their teeth at him.
But Stephen, full
of the Holy Spirit,
looked up to Heaven and
saw the glory of God,
and Jesus standing at
the right hand of God.
- Look.
- [Luke] He said.
- I see Heaven open,
and the Son of Man standing
at the right hand of God.
- [Luke] At this they
covered their ears.
Yelling at the top of their
voices, they all rushed at him,
[ominous music]
[councilmen yelling]
dragged him out of the city
and began to stone him.
[suspenseful music swelling]
Meanwhile, the witnesses
laid their clothes
at the feet of a
young man named Saul.
While they were stoning
him, Stephen prayed.
- Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.
- [Luke] Then he fell on
his knees and cried out.
- Lord, do not hold
this sin against them.
- [Luke] When he had said
this, he fell asleep.
[councilmen yelling angrily]
And Saul was there giving
approval to his death.
[suspenseful music]
[people yelling]
On that day a great persecution
broke out against the
church in Jerusalem,
and all except the
apostles were scattered
throughout Judea and Samaria.
Godly men buried Stephen
and mourned deeply for him.
But Saul began to
destroy the church.
Going from house to house,
he dragged off both men and
women and put them in prison.
Those who had been scattered
preached the word
wherever they went.
Philip went down to
a city in Samaria
and proclaimed the Christ there.
When the crowds heard Philip
and saw the miraculous
signs he did,
they all paid close
attention to what he said.
With shrieks, evil
spirits came out of many,
and many paralytics and
cripples were healed.
So there was great
joy in that city.
Now for some time
a man named Simon
had practiced
sorcery in the city
and amazed all the
people of Samaria.
[dramatic music]
He boasted that he
was someone great,
and all the people,
both high and low,
gave him their
attention and exclaimed.
- This man has the divine
power, known as the great power.
- [Luke] They followed him
because he had amazed them
for a long time with his magic.
[Simon chuckling softly]
[man screaming]
- But when they believed
Philip, as he preached
the good news of
the kingdom of God
and the name of Jesus Christ,
they were baptized,
both men and women.
Simon himself believed
and was baptized.
And he followed
Philip everywhere,
astonished by the great
signs and miracles he saw.
- When the apostles in Jerusalem
heard that Samaria had
accepted the word of God,
they sent Peter
and John to them.
When they arrived,
they prayed for them
that they might receive
the Holy Spirit,
because the Holy Spirit had
not yet come upon any of them.
They had simply been baptized
into the name of the Lord Jesus.
Then Peter and John placed
their hands on them,
and they received
the Holy Spirit.
[sighing heavily]
When Simon saw that
the Spirit was given
at the laying on of
the apostles' hands,
he offered them money and said,
"Give me also this ability,
"so that everyone on
whom I lay my hands
"may receive the Holy Spirit."
[Luke chuckling]
Peter answered.
- May your money perish with
you, because you thought
you could buy the gift
of God with money.
You have no part or
share in this ministry,
because your heart is
not right before God.
Repent of this wickedness
and pray to the Lord.
Perhaps, he will forgive you
for having such a
thought in your heart.
For I see that you
are full of bitterness
and captive to sin.
- [Luke] Then Simon answered.
- Pray to the Lord for me,
so that nothing you have
said may happen to me.
[gentle music]
- [Luke] When they had testified
and proclaimed the
word of the Lord,
Peter and John
returned to Jerusalem,
preaching the gospel in
many Samaritan villages.
Now an angel of the
Lord said to Philip.
- Go south to the
road, the desert road,
[tense eerie music]
that goes down from
Jerusalem to Gaza.
- [Luke] So he started out,
[gentle music]
and on his way he met
an Ethiopian eunuch,
an important
official in charge of
all the treasury of Candace,
queen of the Ethiopians.
This man had gone to
Jerusalem to worship,
and on his way home was
sitting in his chariot
reading the book of
Isaiah the prophet.
The Spirit told Philip.
- [Spirit] Go to that
chariot and stay near it.
- [Luke] Then Philip
ran up to the chariot
and heard the man reading
Isaiah the prophet.
- Do you understand
what you are reading?
- [Luke] Philip asked.
- How can I.
- [Luke] He said.
- Unless someone
explains it to me?
- [Luke] So he invited Philip
to come up and sit with him.
[dramatic music]
The eunuch was reading
this passage of scripture:
- He was led like a
sheep to the slaughter,
and as a lamb before
the shearer is silent,
so he did not open his mouth.
In his humiliation he
was deprived of justice.
Who can speak of
his descendants?
For his life was
taken from the Earth.
- [Luke] The eunuch
asked Philip.
- Tell me, please, who is
the prophet talking about,
himself or someone else?
- [Luke] Then Philip
began with that
very passage of scripture
and told him the good
news about Jesus.
As they traveled along the road,
they came to some water
and the eunuch said.
- Look, here is water.
Why shouldn't I be baptized?
- [Luke] And he gave
orders to stop the chariot.
Then both Philip and the eunuch
went down into the water,
and Philip baptized him.
When they came up
out of the water,
the Spirit of the Lord
suddenly took Philip away,
[Philip groaning]
and the eunuch did
not see him again,
but went on his way rejoicing.
[chuckling happily]
Philip, however,
appeared at Azotus
and traveled about,
preaching the gospel
in all the towns until
he reached Caesarea.
Meanwhile, Saul was
still breathing out
murderous threats against
the Lord's disciples.
He went to the high
priest and asked him
for letters to the
synagogues in Damascus,
so that if he found
any there who belonged
to the Way, whether
men or women,
he might take them as
prisoners to Jerusalem.
[ominous music]
[horse braying]
As he neared Damascus
on his journey,
suddenly a light from
Heaven flashed around him.
[suspenseful music]
He fell to the ground and
heard a voice say to him.
- Saul.
Saul.
Why do you persecute me?
- Who are you, Lord?
- [Luke] Saul asked.
- I am Jesus, whom
you are persecuting.
- [Luke] He replied.
- Now get up and
go into the city,
and you will be told
what you must do.
- [Luke] The men traveling with
Saul stood there speechless.
They heard the sound
but did not see anyone.
[gasping heavily]
Saul got up from the ground,
but when he opened his
eyes, he could see nothing.
So they led him by the
hand into Damascus.
[birds chirping]
For three days he was blind
and did not eat
or drink anything.
In Damascus there was a
disciple named Ananias.
The Lord called to
him in a vision.
- [Jesus] Ananias.
[bright music]
- Yes, Lord.
- [Luke] He answered.
The Lord told him.
- [Jesus] Go to the house
of Judas on Straight Street
and ask for a man from Tarsus
named Saul, for he is praying.
In a vision he has seen
a man named Ananias come
and place his hands on
him to restore his sight.
- Lord.
- Ananias answered.
- I have heard many
reports about this man
and of all the harm he has done
to your saints in Jerusalem.
And he has come here with
authority from the chief priests
to arrest all who
call on your name.
- [Luke] But the
Lord said to Ananias.
- [Jesus] Go.
This man is my chosen instrument
to carry my name
before the gentiles
and their kings and before
the people of Israel.
I will show him how much
he must suffer for my name.
- [Luke] Then Ananias went
to the house and entered it.
Placing his hands
on Saul, he said.
- Brother Saul.
The Lord Jesus, who
appeared to you on the road
as you were coming
here, has sent me,
so that you may see again
and be filled with
the Holy Spirit.
- [Luke] Immediately,
something like scales
fell from Saul's eyes,
and he could see again.
[dramatic music]
[chuckling happily]
He got up and was baptized,
and after taking some food,
he regained his strength.
Saul spent several days with
the disciples in Damascus.
At once he began to
preach in the synagogues
that Jesus is the Son of God.
All those who heard it
were astonished and asked.
- Isn't he the man who
raised havoc in Jerusalem
among those who
call on this name?
- And hasn't he come
here to take them
as prisoners to
the chief priests?
- Yet Saul grew more
and more powerful
and baffled the Jews
living in Damascus
by proving that
Jesus is the Christ.
After many days had gone by,
the Jews conspired to kill him,
but Saul learned of their plan.
[suspenseful music]
Day and night they
kept close watch
on the city gates in
order to kill him.
But his followers took him
by night and lowered him
in a basket through an
opening in the wall.
[dramatic music]
When he came to Jerusalem, he
tried to join the disciples,
but they were all afraid of him,
not believing that he
really was a disciple.
But Barnabas took him
and brought him to the apostles.
He told them how Saul on his
journey had seen the Lord
and that the Lord
had spoken to him,
and how in Damascus
he had preached
fearlessly in the name of Jesus.
So Saul stayed with them
and moved about
freely in Jerusalem,
speaking boldly in
the name of the Lord.
He talked and debated
with the Grecian Jews,
but they tried to kill him.
When the brothers learned
of this, they took him
down to Caesarea and
sent him off to Tarsus.
Then the church
throughout Judea,
Galilee, and Samaria
enjoyed a time of peace.
It was strengthened and
encouraged by the Holy Spirit.
It grew in numbers living
in the fear of the Lord.
As Peter traveled
about the country,
he went to visit
the saints in Lydda.
There he found a
man named Aeneas,
a paralytic who'd been
bedridden for eight years.
"Aeneas," Peter said to him,
"Jesus Christ heals you.
"Get up and take
care of your mat."
Immediately Aeneas got up.
All those who lived in Lydda
and Sharon saw him and
turned to the Lord.
In Joppa there was a
disciple named Tabitha,
which when translated is Dorcas,
who was always doing good
and helping the poor.
About that time she
became sick and died,
and her body was washed and
placed in an upstairs room.
Now Lydda was near Joppa,
so when the disciples heard
that Peter was in Lydda,
they sent two men to
him and urged him.
Please come at once!
Peter went with them.
When he arrived, he was
taken upstairs to the room.
All the widows stood
around him crying
and showing him the
robes and other clothing
that Dorcas had made while
she was still with them.
[sighing] Peter sent
them all out of the room.
Then he got down on
his knees and prayed.
Turning toward the
dead woman, he said,
"Tabitha, get up."
She opened her eyes and
seeing Peter she sat up.
He took her by the hand
and helped her to her feet.
Then he called the
believers and the widows
and presented her to them alive.
[sighing] This became
known all over Joppa,
and many people
believed in the Lord.
Peter stayed in
Joppa for some time
with a tanner named Simon.
At Caesarea there was
a man named Cornelius,
a centurion in what was known
as the Italian Regiment.
He and all his family were
devout and God-fearing.
He gave generously
to those in need
and prayed to God regularly.
One day at about 3:00 in the
afternoon he had a vision.
He distinctly saw
an angel of God,
who came to him and said.
- Cornelius.
- [Luke] Cornelius
stared at him in fear.
- What is it, Lord?
- He asked.
The angel answered.
- Your prayers and
gifts to the poor
have come up as a memorial
offering before God.
Now send men to Joppa to
bring back a man named Simon
who is called Peter.
He is staying with
Simon the tanner,
whose house is by the sea.
- When the angel who
spoke to him had gone,
Cornelius called
two of his servants
and a devout soldier who
was one of his attendants.
[dramatic music]
He told them everything
that had happened
and sent them to Joppa.
About noon the following day
as they were on their journey
and approaching the city,
Peter went up on
the roof to pray.
He became hungry and
wanted something to eat,
and while the meal
was being prepared,
he fell into a trance.
He saw Heaven open and
something like a large sheet
being let down to Earth
by its four corners.
It contained all kinds
of four-footed animals,
as well as reptiles of the
Earth and birds of the air.
Then a voice told him,
"Get up, Peter, kill and eat."
"Surely not, Lord,"
Peter replied.
"I have never eaten
anything impure or unclean."
The voice spoke to
him a second time,
"Do not call anything impure
that God has made clean."
This happened three times,
and immediately the sheet
was taken back to Heaven.
While Peter was wondering about
the meaning of the vision,
the men sent by Cornelius found
out where Simon's house was
and stopped at the gate.
They called out asking if Simon,
who was known as Peter,
was staying there.
While Peter was still
thinking about the vision,
the Spirit said to him.
- [Spirit] Simon, three
men are looking for you.
So get up and go downstairs.
Do not hesitate to go with
them, for I have sent them.
- [Luke] Peter went down
and said to the men.
- I'm the one
you're looking for.
Why have you come?"
- [Luke] The men replied.
- We have come from
Cornelius the centurion.
He's a righteous
and God-fearing man,
who is respected by
all the Jewish people.
A holy angel told him to
have you to come to his house
so that he could hear
what you have to say.
- [Luke] Then Peter
invited the men
into the house to be his guests.
The next day Peter
started out with them,
and some of the brothers
from Joppa went along.
The following day he
arrived in Caesarea.
Cornelius was expecting
them and had called together
his relatives and close friends.
As Peter entered the
house, Cornelius met him
and fell at his
feet in reverence.
But Peter made him get up.
- Stand up.
- He said.
- I am only a man myself.
- [Luke] Talking with
him, Peter went inside
and found a large
gathering of people.
He said to them.
- You are well aware that
it is against our law
for a Jew to associate with
a gentile or visit him.
But God has shown
me that I should not
call any man impure or unclean.
So when I was sent for,
I came without
raising any objection.
May I ask why you sent for me?
- [Luke] Cornelius answered.
- Four days ago I was in my
house praying at this hour,
at 3:00 in the afternoon.
Suddenly, a man in shining
clothes stood before me
and said, "Cornelius,
God has heard your prayer
"and remembered your
gifts to the poor.
"Send to Joppa for Simon
who is called Peter.
"He is a guest in the
home of Simon the tanner,
"who lives by the sea."
So I sent for you immediately,
and it was good of you to come.
Now we are all here in the
presence of God to listen
to everything the Lord has
commanded you to tell us.
- [Luke] Then Peter
began to speak.
- I now realize how true it is
that God does not
show favoritism
but accepts men
from every nation
who fear him and
do what is right.
You know the message God
sent to the people of Israel,
telling the good news of
peace through Jesus Christ,
who is Lord of all.
You know what has
happened throughout Judea,
beginning in Galilee
after the baptism
that John preached how God
anointed Jesus of Nazareth
with the Holy Spirit and power,
and how he went
around doing good
and healing all who were
under the power of the devil,
because God was with him.
We are witnesses of
everything he did
in the country of the
Jews and in Jerusalem.
They killed him by
hanging him on a tree,
but God raised him from
the dead on the third day
and caused him to be seen.
He was not seen
by all the people,
but by witnesses whom
God had already chosen,
by us who ate and drank with him
after he rose from the dead.
He commanded us to
preach to the people
and to testify that he is
the one whom God appointed
as judge of the
living and the dead.
All the prophets
testify about him
that everyone who
believes in him
receives forgiveness of
sins through his name.
- [Luke] While Peter was
still speaking these words,
the Holy Spirit came on
all who heard the message.
The circumcised believers
who had come with Peter
were astonished that the
gift of the Holy Spirit
had been poured out
even on the gentiles.
For they heard them speaking
in tongues and praising God.
Then Peter said.
- Can anyone keep these people
from being baptized with water?
They have received the Holy
Spirit just as we have.
[gentle music]
- [Luke] So he ordered
that they be baptized
in the name of Jesus Christ.
Then they asked Peter to stay
with them for a few days.
[chuckling happily]
The apostles and the
brothers throughout Judea
heard that the gentiles also
had received the word of God.
So when Peter went
up to Jerusalem,
the circumcised believers
criticized him and said.
- You went into the house
of uncircumcised men
and ate with them.
- [Luke] Peter began
and explained everything
to them precisely
as it had happened.
- I was in the city
of Joppa praying,
and in a trance I saw a vision.
[gentle music]
I saw something
like a large sheet
being let down from Heaven
by its four corners,
and it came down to where I was.
I looked into it.
I saw four-footed
animals of the Earth,
wild beasts, reptiles,
and birds of the air.
Then I heard a voice telling me,
"Get up, Peter, kill and eat."
I replied, "Surely not, Lord.
"Nothing impure or unclean
has ever entered my mouth."
The voice spoke from
Heaven a second time,
"Do not call anything impure
that God has made clean."
This happened three times,
and then it was all
pulled up to heaven again.
Right then three men
who had been sent
to me from Caesarea
stopped at the house
where I was staying.
The Spirit told me
to have no hesitation
about going with them.
These six brothers
also went with me,
and we entered the man's house.
He told us how he had seen
an angel appear in his house
and say, "Send to Joppa for
Simon who is called Peter.
"He will bring you a
message through which you
"and all your household
will be saved."
As I began to speak, the
Holy Spirit came on them
as he had come on
us at the beginning.
Then I remembered what
the Lord had said:
John baptized with water,
but you will be baptized
with the Holy Spirit.
So if God gave them the
same gift as he gave us
who believed in the
Lord Jesus Christ,
who was I to think that
I could oppose God.
- When they heard this, they
had no further objections
and praised God,
saying, "So then,
"God has granted
even the gentiles
"repentance unto life."
Now those who had been
scattered by the persecution
in connection with Stephen
traveled as far as Phoenicia,
Cyprus, and Antioch, telling
the message only to Jews.
Some of them, however, men
from Cyprus and Cyrene,
went to Antioch and began
to speak to Greeks also,
telling them the good
news about the Lord Jesus.
The Lord's hand was with them,
and a great number
of people believed
and turned to the Lord.
[sighing] News of
this reached the ears
of the church in Jerusalem,
and they sent
Barnabas to Antioch.
When he arrived and saw the
evidence of the grace of God,
he was glad and encouraged
them all to remain true
to the Lord with
all their hearts.
He was a good man,
full of the Holy
Spirit and faith,
[sighing heavily]
[gentle music]
and a great number of people
were brought to the Lord.
Then Barnabas went to
Tarsus to look for Saul,
and when he found him, he
brought him to Antioch.
So for a whole year Barnabas
and Saul met with the church
and taught great
numbers of people.
The disciples were called
Christians first at Antioch.
During this time,
some prophets came down
from Jerusalem to Antioch.
One of them named Agabus
stood up and through
the Spirit predicted
that a severe
famine would spread
over the entire Roman world.
This happened during
the reign of Claudius.
The disciples, each
according to his ability,
decided to provide help for
the brothers living in Judea.
This they did,
sending their gift
to the elders by
Barnabas and Saul.
[dramatic music]
It was about this
time that King Herod
arrested some who
belonged to the church,
intending to persecute them.
He had James, the
brother of John,
put to death with the sword.
[people chatting distantly]
[ominous music]
[sword clanking]
[crowd cheering]
When he saw that this
pleased the Jews,
he proceeded to
seize Peter also.
This happened during the
Feast of Unleavened Bread.
[suspenseful music]
After arresting him,
he put him in prison,
handing him over to be guarded
by four squads of
four soldiers each.
Herod intended to bring him out
for public trial
after the Passover.
So Peter was kept in prison,
but the church was earnestly
praying to God for him.
The night before Herod
was to bring him to trial,
Peter was sleeping
between two soldiers,
bound with two chains,
and sentries stood
guard at the entrance.
Suddenly, an angel
of the Lord appeared
and a light shone in the cell.
He struck Peter on the
side and woke him up.
- Quick, get up.
- He said.
And the chains fell
off Peter's wrists.
Then the angel said to him.
- Put on your
clothes and sandals.
- [Luke] And Peter did so.
[dramatic music]
- Wrap your cloak around
you and follow me.
- [Luke] The angel told him.
Peter followed him
out of the prison,
but he had no idea
that what the angel
was doing was really happening.
He thought he was
seeing a vision.
They passed the first
and second guards
and came to the iron
gate leading to the city.
It opened for them by itself,
and they went through it.
When they had walked the
length of one street,
suddenly the angel left him.
Then Peter came to
himself and said.
- Now I know without a doubt
that the Lord sent his angel
and rescued me from
Herod's clutches
and from everything the Jewish
people were anticipating.
[chuckling happily]
- [Luke] When this
had dawned on him,
he went to the house of Mary,
the mother of John,
also called Mark,
where many people had
gathered and were praying.
Peter knocked at
the outer entrance,
and a servant girl named
Rhoda came to answer the door.
[dramatic music]
When she recognized Peter's
voice, she was so overjoyed
she ran back without
opening it and exclaimed.
- Peter is at the door!
- You're out of your mind.
- They told her.
[soft knocking on door]
When she kept insisting
that it was so,
they said, "It
must be his angel."
But Peter kept on knocking,
and when they opened
the door and saw him,
they were astonished.
Peter motioned with his
hand for them to be quiet
and described how the Lord
had brought him out of prison.
[gentle music]
- Tell James and the
brothers about this.
- [Luke] He said and then
he left for another place.
In the morning, there
was no small commotion
among the soldiers as to
what had become of Peter.
After Herod had a thorough
search made for him
and did not find him, he
cross-examined the guards
and ordered that
they be executed.
Then Herod went from
Judea to Caesarea
and stayed there awhile.
He had been quarreling with
the people of Tyre and Sidon.
They now joined together and
sought an audience with him.
Having secured the
support of Blastus,
a trusted personal
servant of the king,
they asked for peace,
because they depended
on the king's country
for their food supply.
[people cheering]
On the appointed day Herod,
wearing his royal
robes, sat on his throne
and delivered a public
address to the people.
They shouted.
- This is the voice of
a god, not of a man.
- [Luke] Immediately,
because Herod did not
give praise to God, an angel
of the Lord struck him down,
and he was eaten
by worms and died.
[suspenseful music]
But the word of God continued
to increase and spread.
When Barnabas and Saul had
finished their mission,
they returned from Jerusalem,
taking with them John,
also called Mark.
[gentle music]
In the church at Antioch there
were prophets and teachers:
Barnabas, Simeon called Niger,
Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen,
who had been brought up with
Herod the tetrarch, and Saul.
- He is with me.
- [Luke] While they were
worshiping the Lord and fasting,
the Holy Spirit said,
"Set apart for me
Barnabas and Saul
"for the work to which
I have called them."
So after they had
fasted and prayed,
they placed their hands
on them and sent them off.
The two of them, sent on
their way by the Holy Spirit,
went down to Seleucia and
sailed from there to Cyprus.
When they arrived at Salamis,
they proclaimed the word of
God in the Jewish synagogues.
John was with them
as their helper.
They traveled through
the whole island
until they came to Paphos.
There they met a Jewish sorcerer
and false prophet
named Bar-Jesus,
who was an attendant of the
proconsul Sergius Paulus.
The proconsul, an intelligent
man, sent for Barnabas
and Saul because he wanted
to hear the word of God.
But Elymas the sorcerer, for
that is what his name means,
opposed them and tried to turn
the proconsul from the faith.
Then Saul, who was
also called Paul,
filled with the Holy Spirit,
looked straight at
Elymas and said.
- You are a child of the devil
and an enemy of
everything that is right!
[dramatic music]
You are full of all kinds
of deceit and trickery.
Will you never stop perverting
the right ways of the Lord?
Now the hand of the
Lord is against you.
You are going to be blind,
and for a time you will be
unable to see the
light of the sun!
- [Luke] Immediately mist
and darkness came over him,
and he groped about seeking
someone to lead him by the hand.
[Elymas groaning]
When the proconsul saw what
had happened, he believed,
for he was amazed at the
teaching about the Lord.
[birds chirping]
From Paphos, Paul
and his companions
sailed to Perga in Pamphylia,
where John left them
to return to Jerusalem.
[somber music]
From Perga they went
on to Pisidian Antioch.
On the Sabbath they entered
the synagogue and sat down.
After the reading from
the law and the prophets,
the synagogue rulers sent
word to them, saying.
- Brothers, if you have a
message of encouragement
for the people, please speak.
- [Luke] Standing up,
Paul motioned with
his hand then said.
- Men of Israel, and you
gentiles who worship God,
listen to me.
The God of the people of
Israel chose our fathers.
He made the people prosper
during their stay in Egypt.
With mighty power, he led
them out of that country.
He endured their conduct for
about 40 years in the desert.
He overthrew seven
nations in Canaan,
and gave their land to his
people as their inheritance.
All this took about 450 years.
After this, God gave them judges
until the time of
Samuel the prophet.
Then the people
asked for a king,
and he gave them
Saul son of Kish,
of the tribe of Benjamin,
who ruled 40 years.
After removing Saul,
he made David their king.
He testified concerning him,
"I have found
David son of Jesse,
"a man after my own heart.
"He will do everything
I want him to do."
From this man's descendants
God has brought to Israel
the Savior Jesus,
as he promised.
Before the coming of Jesus,
John preached repentance
and baptism to all
the people of Israel.
As John was completing
his work, he said,
"Who do you think I am?
"I'm not that one, no.
"But he is coming after me
"whose sandals I'm
not worthy to untie."
Brothers, children of Abraham,
and you God-fearing gentiles,
it is to us that this message
of salvation has been sent.
The people of Jerusalem
and their rulers did
not recognize Jesus,
yet in condemning him
they fulfilled the words
of the prophets that
are read every Sabbath.
Though they found no proper
ground for a death sentence,
they asked Pilate to
have him executed.
When they had carried out all
that was written about him,
they took him down from the tree
and laid him in a tomb.
But God raised
him from the dead,
and for many days
he was seen by those
who had traveled with him
from Galilee to Jerusalem.
They are now his
witnesses to our people.
[gentle music]
We tell you the good news.
What God promised our fathers
he has fulfilled for us,
their children, by
raising up Jesus.
As it is written in
the second Psalm:
You are my son; today I
have become your Father.
The fact that God raised
him from the dead,
never to decay, is
stated in these words:
I will give you the holy
and sure blessings
promised to David.
So it is stated elsewhere:
You will not let your
Holy One see decay.
For when David had
served God's purpose
in his own generation,
he fell asleep.
He was buried with his
fathers and his body decayed.
But the one whom God raised
from the dead did not see decay.
Therefore, my brothers,
I want you to know
that through Jesus
the forgiveness of sins
is proclaimed to you.
[chuckling happily]
Through him everyone who
believes is justified
from everything you could
not be justified from
by the law of Moses.
[sighing heavily]
Take care that what the prophets
have said does
not happen to you.
Look, you scoffers,
wonder and perish.
For I am going to do
something in your days
that you would never believe,
even if someone told you.
- [Luke] As Paul and Barnabas
were leaving the synagogue,
the people invited
them to speak further
about these things
on the next Sabbath.
When the congregation
was dismissed,
many of the Jews and
devout converts to Judaism
followed Paul and Barnabas,
who talked with them
and urged them to continue
in the grace of God.
On the next Sabbath almost
the whole city gathered
to hear the word of the Lord.
When the Jews saw the crowds,
they were filled with jealousy
and talked abusively against
what Paul was saying.
Then Paul and Barnabas
answered them boldly.
- We had to speak the
word of God to you first.
Since you reject it and
do not consider yourselves
worthy of eternal life, we
now turn to the gentiles.
- For this is what the
Lord has commanded us.
I have made you a
light for the gentiles,
that you may bring salvation
to the ends of the Earth.
[crowd cheering]
- [Luke] When the
gentiles heard this,
they were glad and honored
the word of the Lord,
and all who were appointed
for eternal life believed.
The word of the Lord spread
through the whole region.
But the Jews incited
the God-fearing women
of high standing
and the leading men of the city.
They stirred up persecution
against Paul and Barnabas,
and expelled them
from their region.
[gentle music]
So they shook the
dust from their feet
in protest against them
and went to Iconium.
And the disciples
were filled with joy
and with the Holy Spirit.
[gentle music]
At Iconium Paul and Barnabas
went as usual into
the Jewish synagogue.
There they spoke so effectively
that a great number of
Jews and gentiles believed.
But the Jews who refused to
believe stirred up the gentiles
and poisoned their minds
against the brothers.
So Paul and Barnabas spent
considerable time there,
speaking boldly for the Lord,
who confirmed the
message of his grace
by enabling them to do
miraculous signs and wonders.
The people of the
city were divided;
some sided with the Jews,
others with the apostles.
There was a plot afoot among
both gentiles and Jews,
together with their leaders,
to mistreat them and stone them.
But they found out about it
and fled to the Lycaonian
cities of Lystra
and Derbe and to the
surrounding country
where they continued to
preach the good news.
In Lystra there sat a
man crippled in his feet
who was lame from birth
and had never walked.
He listened to Paul
as he was speaking.
[dramatic music]
Paul looked directly at him,
saw that he had faith to
be healed and called out.
- Stand up on your feet.
- [Luke] At that, the man
jumped up and began to walk.
[chucking happily]
When the crowd saw
what Paul had done,
they shouted in the
Lycaonian language,
"The gods have come down
to us in human form."
[lively music]
Barnabas they called Zeus,
and Paul they called Hermes
because he was
the chief speaker.
The priest of Zeus,
whose temple was just
outside the city,
brought bulls and
wreaths to the city gates
because he and the crowd wanted
to offer sacrifices to them.
When the apostles,
Barnabas and Paul,
heard of this, they
tore their clothes
and rushed out into
the crowd, shouting.
- Men! [groaning]
Why are you doing this?
[chuckling gently]
- We too are only men,
human like you.
We are bringing you good news,
telling you to turn from
these worthless things
to the living God,
who made Heaven and Earth
and sea and everything in them.
- In the past, he let all
nations go their own way.
Yet he has not left
himself without testimony.
He has shown kindness by
giving you rain from Heaven
[chuckling] and crops
in their seasons.
He provides you
with plenty of food
and fills your hearts with joy.
- Huh.
- [Luke] Even with these
words, they had difficulty
keeping the crowd from
sacrificing to them.
[dramatic music]
Then some Jews came from Antioch
and Iconium and
won the crowd over.
[people yelling]
[suspenseful music]
They stoned Paul and dragged
him outside the city,
thinking he was dead.
[gentle music]
But after the disciples
had gathered around him,
he got up and went
back into the city.
- The next day he and
Barnabas left for Derbe.
They preached the
good news in that city
and won a large
number of disciples.
Then they returned
to Lystra, Iconium,
and Antioch, strengthening
the disciples
and encouraging them to
remain true to the faith.
"We must go through
many hardships
to enter the kingdom
of God," they said.
[men chuckling gently]
[gentle music]
- Paul and Barnabas appointed
elders for them in each church
and with prayer and fasting,
committed them to the Lord,
in whom they had
put their trust.
After going through Pisidia,
they came into Pamphylia,
and when they had preached
the word in Perga,
they went down to Attalia.
From Attalia they
sailed back to Antioch,
where they had been
committed to the grace of God
for the work they
had now completed.
On arriving there, they
gathered the church together
and reported all that
God had done through them
and how he had opened the
door of faith to the gentiles.
And they stayed there a long
time with the disciples.
[chuckling gently]
Some men came down
from Judea to Antioch
and were teaching the brothers:
Unless you were circumcised,
according to the
custom taught by Moses,
you cannot be saved.
This brought Paul and
Barnabas into sharp dispute
and debate with
them. [chuckling]
So Paul and Barnabas
were appointed,
along with some other
believers, to go up to Jerusalem
and see the apostles and
elders about this question.
The church sent
them on their way,
and as they traveled through
Phoenicia and Samaria,
they told how the gentiles
had been converted.
This news made all the
brothers very glad.
When they came to Jerusalem,
they were welcomed by the church
and the apostles and elders,
to whom they reported everything
God had done through them.
Then some of the
believers, who belonged to
the party of the Pharisees,
stood up and said.
- The gentiles
must be circumcised
and required to obey
the law of Moses.
- [Luke] The apostles
and elders met
to consider this question.
After much discussion, Peter
got up and addressed them.
- Brothers, you know
that some time ago
God made a choice among you
that the gentiles might hear
from my lips the message
of the gospel and believe.
God, who knows the heart,
showed that he accepted them
by giving the Holy Spirit to
them just as he did to us.
He made no distinction
between us and them;
for he purified their
hearts by faith.
Now then, why do
you try to test God
by putting on the necks
of the disciples a yoke
that neither we nor our
fathers have been able to bear?
No, we believe it is through
the grace of our Lord Jesus
that we are saved,
just as they are.
- [Luke] The whole
assembly became silent
as they listened to
Barnabas and Paul
telling about the
miraculous signs and wonders
God had done among the
gentiles through them.
When they finished,
James spoke up.
- Brothers, listen to me.
Simon has described to us
how God had first
showed his concern
by taking from the gentiles
a people for himself.
The words of the prophets
are in agreement with this,
as it is written:
After this I will return and
rebuild David's fallen tent.
Its ruins I will rebuild,
and I will restore it,
that the remnant of
men may seek the Lord,
and all the gentiles
who bear my name,
says the Lord, who
does these things
that have been known for ages.
It is my judgment, therefore,
that we should not
make it difficult
for the gentiles who
are turning to God.
Instead we should write to them,
telling them to abstain
from food polluted by idols,
from sexual immorality,
from the meat of strangled
animals and from blood.
For Moses has been preached
in every city from
the earliest times
and is read in the
synagogues on every Sabbath.
- [Luke] Then the
apostles and elders,
with the whole church,
decided to choose
some of their own men
and send them to Antioch
with Paul and Barnabas.
They chose Judas, called
Barsabbas, and Silas,
two men who were leaders
among the brothers.
With them they sent
the following letter:
- [Man] The apostles and
elders, your brothers.
To the Gentile believers in
Antioch, Syria, and Cilicia.
Greetings.
We have heard that
some went out from us
without our authorization
and disturbed you,
troubling your minds
by what they said.
So we all agreed to choose
some men and send them
to you with our dear
friends Barnabas and Paul,
men who have risked their lives
for the name of our
Lord Jesus Christ.
Therefore, we are
sending Judas and Silas
to confirm by word of
mouth what we are writing.
It seemed good to
the Holy Spirit
and to us not to burden
you with anything
beyond the following
requirements:
You are to abstain from
food sacrificed to idols,
from blood, from the meat
of strangled animals,
and from sexual immorality.
You will do well to avoid
these things, farewell.
- [Luke] The men were sent
off and went down to Antioch,
where they gathered
the church together
and delivered the letter.
The people read it and were glad
for its encouraging message.
Judas and Silas, who
themselves were prophets,
said much to encourage and
strengthen the brothers.
After spending some time
there, they were sent off
by the brothers with
the blessing of peace
to return to those
who had sent them.
But Paul and Barnabas
remained in Antioch,
where they and
many others taught
and preached the
word of the Lord.
Some time later Paul
said to Barnabas.
- Let us go back and visit
the brothers in all the towns
where we preached
the word of the Lord
and see how they're doing.
- [Luke] Barnabas
wanted to take John,
also called Mark, with them,
but Paul did not think
it wise to take him,
because he had deserted
them in Pamphylia
and had not continued
with them in the work.
They had such a sharp
disagreement that
they parted company.
Barnabas took Mark
and sailed for Cyprus,
but Paul chose Silas and left,
commended by the brothers
to the grace of the Lord.
He went through
Syria and Cilicia,
strengthening the churches.
He came to Derbe
and then to Lystra,
where a disciple
named Timothy lived,
whose mother was a
Jewess and a believer
but whose father was a Greek.
The brothers at Lystra and
Iconium spoke well of him.
Paul wanted to take him
along on the journey,
so he circumcised him because of
the Jews who lived in that area,
for they all knew that
his father was a Greek.
As they traveled
from town to town,
they delivered the decisions
reached by the apostles
and elders in Jerusalem
for the people to obey.
So the churches were
strengthened in the faith
and grew daily in numbers.
Paul and his companions traveled
throughout the region
of Phrygia and Galatia,
having been kept
by the Holy Spirit
from preaching the word
in the province of Asia.
When they came to
the border of Mysia,
they tried to enter Bithynia,
but the Spirit of Jesus
would not allow them to.
So they passed by Mysia
and went down to Troas.
[gentle music]
[crickets chirping]
[animal wailing]
[bell ringing]
During the night
Paul had a vision of a man
of Macedonia standing
and begging him.
- Come over to
Macedonia and help us.
- [Luke] After Paul
had seen the vision,
we got ready at once
to leave for Macedonia,
concluding that
God had called us
to preach the gospel to them.
[gentle music]
From Troas we put out to sea
and sailed straight
for Samothrace,
and the next day onto Neapolis.
From there we traveled to
Philippi, a Roman colony
and the leading city of
that district of Macedonia.
And we stayed
there several days.
On the Sabbath we went outside
the city gate to the river
where we expected to
find a place of prayer.
We sat down and began
to speak to the women
who had gathered there.
One of those listening
was a woman named Lydia,
a dealer in purple cloth
from the city of Thyatira,
who was a worshiper of God.
The Lord opened her heart to
respond to Paul's message.
When she and the members of
her household were baptized,
she invited us to her home.
- If you consider me a
believer in the Lord.
- [Luke] She said.
- Come and stay at my house.
- [Luke] And she persuaded us.
Once when we were going
to the place of prayer,
we were met by a slave
girl who had a spirit
by which she
predicted the future.
She earned a great deal of money
for her owners by
fortune-telling.
[villagers chatting]
This girl followed Paul and
the rest of us shouting.
- These men are servants
of the Most High God
who are telling you
the way to be saved.
- [Luke] She kept
this up for many days.
Finally, Paul became so
troubled that he turned around
and said to the spirit.
- In the name of Jesus Christ,
I command you to
come out of her.
- [Luke] At that moment
the spirit left her.
[slave girl groaning]
[dramatic music]
When the owners of the
slave girl realized
that their hope of
making money was gone,
they seized Paul and
Silas and dragged them
into the marketplace to
face the authorities.
[crowd yelling]
They brought them before
the magistrates and said.
- These men are Jews,
and are throwing our city
into an uproar by
advocating customs unlawful
for us Romans to
accept or practice.
[crowd yelling]
- [Luke] The crowd
joined in the attack
against Paul and Silas.
[dramatic music]
And the magistrates ordered
them to be stripped and beaten.
[suspenseful music]
[crowd yelling]
[whip smacking]
After they had been
severely flogged,
they were thrown into prison,
and the jailer was commanded
to guard them carefully.
Upon receiving such orders,
he put them in the inner cell
and fastened their
feet in the stocks.
[crickets chirping]
[dramatic music]
About midnight Paul and Silas
were praying and
singing hymns to God,
and the other prisoners
were listening to them.
[suspenseful music]
[people screaming]
Suddenly, there was such
a violent earthquake
that the foundations of
the prison were shaken.
At once all the prison
doors flew open.
Everybody's chains came loose.
The jailer woke up,
and when he saw the
prison doors open,
he drew his sword and
was about to kill himself
because he thought the
prisoners had escaped.
But Paul shouted.
- Don't harm yourself.
We are all here.
- [Luke] The jailer
called for lights,
rushed in and fell trembling
before Paul and Silas.
He then brought
them out and asked.
- Sirs.
What must I do to be saved?"
- [Luke] They replied.
- Believe in the Lord Jesus,
and you will be saved,
you and your household.
- [Luke] Then they spoke
the word of the Lord to him
and to all the
others in his house.
At that hour of the night
the jailer took them
and washed their wounds.
Then immediately he and all
his family were baptized.
The jailer brought
them into his house
and set a meal before them.
He was filled with joy
because he had come
to believe in God,
he and his whole family.
When it was daylight, the
magistrates sent their officers
to the jailer with the order.
- Release those men.
- [Luke] The jailer told Paul.
- The magistrates have ordered
that you and Silas be released.
Now you can leave.
Go in peace.
- [Luke] But Paul
said to the officers.
- They beat us publicly
without a trial,
even though we are
Roman citizens,
and threw us into prison.
And now do they want to
get rid of us quietly?
No!
Let them come themselves
and escort us out.
[dramatic music]
- [Luke] The officers reported
this to the magistrates,
and when they heard that Paul
and Silas were Roman citizens,
they were alarmed.
They came to appease them
and escorted them
from the prison,
requesting them
to leave the city.
After Paul and Silas
came out of the prison,
they went to Lydia's
house, where they met
with the brothers
and encouraged them.
Then they left.
When they had passed through
Amphipolis and Apollonia,
they came to Thessalonica,
where there was a
Jewish synagogue.
As was his custom was, Paul
went into the synagogue,
and on three Sabbath days
he reasoned with them
from the scriptures,
explaining and proving
that the Christ had to suffer
and rise from the dead.
- This Jesus I am proclaiming
to you is the Christ.
- [Luke] He said.
Some of the Jews were persuaded
and joined Paul and Silas,
as did a large number
of God-fearing Greeks
and not a few prominent women.
[man yelling]
But the Jews were jealous,
so they rounded up
some bad characters
from the marketplace,
formed a mob and started
a riot in the city.
[ominous music]
They rushed to Jason's house
in search of Paul and Silas
in order to bring
them out to the crowd.
But when they did not find
them, they dragged Jason
and some other brothers before
the city officials shouting.
- These men who
have caused trouble
all over the world
have now come here,
[dramatic music]
and Jason has welcomed
them into his house.
They are all defying
Caesar's decrees,
saying that there is another
king, one called Jesus.
- Crucify him!
[crowd yelling]
- When they heard
this, the crowd
and the city officials
were thrown into turmoil.
Then they made Jason
and the others post bond
and let them go.
As soon as it was
night, the brothers sent
Paul and Silas away to Berea.
On arriving there, they went
to the Jewish synagogue.
Now the Bereans were
of more noble character
than the Thessalonians,
for they received the
message with great eagerness
and examined the
scriptures every day
to see if what
Paul said was true.
Many of the Jews believed,
as did also a number
of prominent Greek women
and many Greek men.
When the Jews in Thessalonica
learned that Paul
was preaching the
word of God at Berea,
they went there too,
agitating the crowds
and stirring them up.
The brothers immediately
sent Paul to the coast,
but Silas and Timothy
stayed at Berea.
The men who escorted Paul
brought him to Athens
and then left with
instructions for Silas
and Timothy to join him
as soon as possible.
While Paul was waiting
for them in Athens,
he was greatly distressed to see
that the city was full of idols.
So he reasoned in the synagogue
with both Jews and the
God-fearing Greeks,
as well as in the
marketplace day-by-day
with those who
happened to be there.
A group of Epicurean
and Stoic philosophers
began to dispute with him.
Some of them asked.
- What is this
babbler trying to say?
- [Luke] Others remarked.
- [Man] He seems to be
advocating foreign gods.
- [Luke] They said this
because Paul was preaching
the good news about Jesus
and the resurrection.
Then they took him and
brought him to a meeting
of the Areopagus,
where they said to him.
- May we know what
this new teaching is
that you are presenting?
You are bringing some
strange ideas to our ears,
and we want to know
what they mean.
- [Luke] All the Athenians
and the foreigners
who lived there spent
their time doing nothing
but talking about and
listening to the latest ideas.
Paul then stood up
in the meeting of the
Areopagus and said.
- Men of Athens.
I see that in every way
you are very religious.
For as I walked around
and looked carefully
at your objects of worship,
I even found an altar
with this inscription:
To an unknown god.
Now what you worship
as something unknown
I am going to proclaim to you.
[gentle music]
The God who made the world
and everything in it is the
Lord of Heaven and Earth
and does not live in
temples built by hands.
And he is not served
by human hands,
as if he needed anything
because he himself
gives all men life and
breath and everything else.
From one man he made
every nation of men,
that they should
inhabit the whole Earth.
And he determined
the time set for them
and the exact places
where thy should live.
God did this so that
men would seek him
and perhaps reach out
for him and find him,
though he is not far
from each one of us.
For in him we live and
move and have our being.
As some of your own
poets have said,
"We are his offspring."
Therefore, since we
are God's offspring,
we should not think
that the divine being
is like gold or silver or stone,
an image made by man's
design and skill.
In the past God
overlooked such ignorance,
but now he commands all
people everywhere to repent.
For he has set a day when
he will judge the world
with justice by the
man he has appointed.
He has given proof of this
to all men by raising
him from the dead.
- [Luke] When they heard about
the resurrection of the dead,
some of them sneered,
but others said,
"We want to hear you
again on this subject."
At that, Paul left the council.
A few men became followers
of Paul and believed.
Among them was Dionysius,
a member of the Areopagus,
also a woman named Damaris,
and a number of others.
After this, Paul left
Athens and went to Corinth.
There he met a Jew named
Aquila, a native of Pontus,
who had recently come from
Italy with his wife Priscilla,
because Claudius had ordered
all the Jews to leave Rome.
Paul went to see them, and
because he was a tentmaker
as they were, he stayed
and worked with them.
Every Sabbath he reasoned
in the synagogue,
trying to persuade
Jews and Greeks.
When Silas and Timothy
came from Macedonia,
Paul devoted himself
exclusively to preaching,
testifying to the Jews
that Jesus was the Christ.
But when the Jews opposed
Paul and became abusive,
he shook out his clothes in
protest and said to them.
- Your blood be
on your own heads!
I am clear of my responsibility!
[suspenseful music]
From now on I will
go to the gentiles!
- [Luke] Then Paul left the
synagogue and went next door
to the house of Titius
Justus, a worshiper of God.
Crispus, the synagogue ruler,
and his entire household
believed in the Lord,
and many of the
Corinthians who heard
and believed and were baptized.
One night the Lord spoke
to Paul in a vision.
[dramatic music]
- [Jesus] Do not be afraid.
Keep on speaking.
Do not be silent.
For I am with you,
and no one is going to
attack and harm you,
because I have many
people in this city.
- [Luke] So Paul stayed
for a year and a half
teaching them the word of God.
While Gallio was
proconsul of Achaia,
the Jews made a
united attack on Paul
and brought him into court.
- This man.
- [Luke] They charged.
- Is persuading the
people to worship God
in ways contrary to the law.
- [Luke] Just as Paul
was about to speak,
Gallio said to the Jews.
- If you Jews were
making a complaint
about some misdemeanor
or serious crime,
it would be reasonable
for me to listen to you.
But since it involves
questions about words
and names and your own law,
settle the matter yourselves.
[dramatic music]
I will not be a
judge of such things!
- [Luke] So he had them
ejected from the court.
Then they all turned on
Sosthenes, the synagogue ruler
and beat him in
front of the court,
and Gallio showed
no concern whatever.
[suspenseful music]
Paul stayed on in
Corinth for some time.
Then he left the brothers
and sailed for Syria,
accompanied by
Priscilla and Aquila.
Before he sailed, he
had his hair cut off
at Cenchreae because
of a vow he had taken.
They arrived at Ephesus
where Paul left
Priscilla and Aquila.
He himself went
into the synagogue
and reasoned with the Jews.
When they asked him to spend
more time with
them, he declined.
But as he left, he promised.
- I will come back
if it is God's will.
- Then he set sail from Ephesus.
When he landed at Caesarea,
he went up and
greeted the church
and then went down to Antioch.
After spending some
time in Antioch,
Paul set out from there
and traveled from place to place
throughout the region
of Galatia and Phrygia,
strengthening all the disciples.
Meanwhile a Jew named Apollos,
a native of Alexandria,
came to Ephesus.
He was a learned man with a
thorough knowledge
of the scriptures.
He had been instructed
in the way of the Lord,
and he spoke with great fervor
and talked about
Jesus accurately,
though he knew only
the baptism of John.
He began to speak
boldly in the synagogue.
When Priscilla and
Aquila heard him,
they invited him to their home
and explained to him the
way of God more adequately.
When Apollos wanted
to go to Achaia,
the brothers and
sisters encouraged him
and wrote to the disciples
there to welcome him.
On arriving, he was a great help
to those who by
grace had believed.
For he vigorously refuted
the Jews in public debate,
proving from the scriptures
that Jesus was the Christ.
While Apollos was at Corinth,
Paul took the road
through the interior
and arrived at Ephesus.
There he found some
disciples and asked them,
"Did you receive the Holy
Spirit when you believed?"
They answered, "No.
"We have not even heard
there is a Holy Spirit."
So Paul asked them, "What
baptism did you receive?"
"John's baptism," they replied.
Paul said, "John's baptism
was a baptism of repentance.
"He told the people to believe
in the one coming after him,"
that is, in Jesus.
On hearing this,
they were baptized
into the name of the Lord Jesus.
When Paul placed
his hands on them,
the Holy Spirit came on them,
and they spoke in
tongues and prophesied.
There were about 12 men in all.
Paul entered the synagogue
and spoke boldly there
for three months,
arguing persuasively
about the kingdom of God.
But some of them
became obstinate.
They refused to believe and
publicly maligned the Way.
So Paul left them.
He took the disciples with him
and had discussions daily in
the lecture hall of Tyrannus.
This went on for two
years, so that all the Jews
and Greeks who lived
in the province of Asia
heard the word of the Lord.
God did extraordinary
miracles through Paul,
so that even
handkerchiefs and aprons
that had touched him
were taken to the sick,
and their illnesses were cured
and the evil spirits left them.
Some Jews who went around
driving out evil spirits
tried to invoke the
name of the Lord Jesus
over those who were
demon-possessed.
They would say,
"In the name of the
Jesus whom Paul preaches,
"I command you to come out."
Seven sons of Sceva,
a Jewish chief priest,
were doing this.
One day the evil
spirit answered them,
"Jesus I know and I know
about Paul, but who are you?"
Then the man who had the
evil spirit jumped on them
and overpowered them all.
He gave them such
a beating that they
ran out of the house
naked and bleeding.
When this became
known to the Jews
and Greeks living in Ephesus,
they were all seized with fear,
and the name of the Lord
Jesus was held in high honor.
Many of those who
believed now came
and openly confessed
their evil deeds.
A number who had
practiced sorcery
brought their scrolls together
and burned them publicly.
When they calculated the
value of the scrolls,
the total came to
50,000 drachmas.
In this way the word of the Lord
spread widely and grew in power.
After all this had happened,
Paul decided to go to Jerusalem,
passing through
Macedonia and Achaia.
"After I have been
there," he said,
"I must visit Rome also."
He sent two of his helpers,
Timothy and Erastus,
to Macedonia,
while he stayed in the province
of Asia a little longer.
About that time there arose
a great disturbance
about the Way.
A silversmith named Demetrius,
who made silver
shrines of Artemis,
brought in no little
business for the craftsman.
He called them
together, along with
the workmen in related
trades, and said.
- Men, you know, we receive
a good income from
this business.
And you see and hear how this
fellow Paul has convinced
and led astray large numbers
of people here in Ephesus
and in practically the
whole province of Asia.
He says
[gentle music]
that man-made gods
are no gods at all!
There's danger not
only that our trade
will lose its good name,
but also that the temple
of the great goddess
Artemis will be discredited.
And the goddess herself,
who is worshiped
throughout the province
of Asia and the world,
will be robbed of
her divine majesty.
[people shouting]
- When they heard this,
they were furious
and began shouting.
[tradesmen yelling]
[suspenseful music]
- Great is Artemis
of the Ephesians!
- [Luke] Soon the whole
city was in an uproar.
The people seized
Gaius and Aristarchus,
Paul's traveling
companions from Macedonia,
and rushed as one
man into the theater.
Paul wanted to appear
before the crowd,
but the disciples
would not let him.
Even some of the
officials of the province,
friends of Paul, sent
him a message begging him
not to venture into the theater.
The assembly was in confusion.
Some were shouting one
thing, some another.
Most of the people did not
even know why they were there.
The Jews pushed
Alexander to the front,
and some of the crowd
shouted instructions to him.
He motioned for silence in order
to make a defense
before the people.
But when they
realized he was a Jew,
they all shouted in unison
for about two hours.
- [Crowd] Great is
Artemis of the Ephesians!
- [Luke] The city clerk
quieted the crowd and said.
- Men of Ephesians.
Doesn't all the world know
that the city of Ephesus
is the guardian of the
temple of the great Artemis
and of her image which
fell from Heaven?
[crowd cheering]
Therefore, since these
facts are undeniable,
you ought be quiet and
not do anything rash.
You have brought these men here,
though they have
neither robbed temples,
nor blasphemed our goddess.
If then Demetrius and
his fellow craftsmen
have a grievance
against anybody,
the courts are open and
there are proconsuls.
They can press charges.
If there is anything further
you want to bring up,
it must be settled
in a legal assembly.
As it is, we are in danger
of being charged with rioting
because of today's events.
In that case, we would
not be able to account
for this commotion, since
there is no reason for it.
[crowd chatting]
- [Luke] After he had said
this, he dismissed the assembly.
[gentle music]
When the uproar had ended,
Paul sent for the disciples.
After encouraging them,
said goodbye and set
out for Macedonia.
He traveled through that area,
speaking many words of
encouragement to the people,
and finally arrived in Greece
where he stayed three months.
Because the Jews made
a plot against him
just as he was about
to sail for Syria,
he decided to go back
through Macedonia.
He was accompanied by Sopater,
son of Pyrrhus from Berea,
Aristarchus and Secundus
from Thessalonica,
Gaius from Derbe, Timothy
also, and Tychicus,
and Trophimus from
the province of Asia.
These men went on ahead
and waited for us at Troas.
But we sailed from Philippi
after the Feast of
Unleavened Bread,
and five days later joined
the others at Troas,
where we stayed seven days.
[soft knocking on door]
On the first day of the week
we came together to break bread.
Paul spoke to the
people and because
he intended to
leave the next day,
kept on talking until midnight.
There were many lamps
in the upstairs room
where we were meeting.
Seated in a window was a
young man named Eutychus,
who was sinking into a deep
sleep as Paul talked on and on.
When he was sound asleep,
he fell to the ground
from the third story
and was picked up dead.
Paul went down, threw
himself on the young man,
and put his arms around him.
- Don't be alarmed.
- [Luke] He said.
[dramatic music]
- He's alive.
[chuckling happily]
- [Luke] Then he
went upstairs again
and broke bread and ate.
After talking until
daylight, he left.
The people took the
young man home alive
and were greatly comforted.
[dramatic music]
We went on ahead to the
ship and sailed for Assos,
where we were going
to take Paul aboard.
He had made this arrangement
because he was
going there on foot.
When he met us at Assos,
we took him aboard
and went on to Mitylene.
The next day we set sail from
there and arrived off Chios.
The day after that we
crossed over to Samos,
and on the following
day arrived at Miletus.
Paul had decided to
sail past Ephesus
to avoid spending time
in the province of Asia,
for he was in a hurry
to reach Jerusalem,
if possible, by the
day of Pentecost.
From Miletus Paul
sent to Ephesus
for the elders of the church.
When they arrived,
he said to them.
- You know how I lived the
whole time I was with you,
from the first day I came
into the province of Asia.
I served the Lord with great
humility and with tears.
Although, I was severely tested
by the plots of the Jews.
You know that I
have not hesitated
to preach anything that
would be helpful to you
but have taught you publicly
and from house to house.
I have declared to
both Jews and Greeks
that they must turn
to God in repentance
and have faith in
our Lord Jesus.
And now, compelled
by the Spirit,
I am going to Jerusalem,
not knowing what will
happen to me there.
I only know that in every
city the Holy Spirit warns me
that prison and
hardships are facing me.
[chuckling happily]
However, I consider my
life worth nothing to me.
If only I may finish the race
and complete the task the
Lord Jesus has given me,
the task of testifying to
the gospel of God's grace.
[somber music]
Now I know that none of
you among whom I have gone
about preaching the kingdom
will ever see me again.
[Paul sobbing heavily]
Therefore, I
declare to you today
that I am innocent of
the blood of all men.
For I have not hesitated
to proclaim to you
the whole will of God.
Keep watch over yourselves
and all the flock
of which the Holy Spirit
has made you overseers.
Be shepherds of
the church of God,
which he bought
with his own blood.
I know that after I
leave, savage wolves will
come in among you and
will not spare the flock.
Even from your own
number men will arise
and distort the truth in order
to draw away
disciples after them.
So be on your guard.
Remember that for three
years I never stopped warning
each of you night
and day with tears.
Now I commit you to God
and to the word of his grace,
which can build you up
and give you an inheritance
among all those
who are sanctified.
I have not coveted anyone's
silver or gold or clothing.
You yourselves know
that these hands of mine
have supplied my own needs and
the needs of my companions.
In everything I
did, I showed you
that by this kind of hard
work we must help the weak,
remembering the words the
Lord Jesus himself said,
"It is more blessed to
give than to receive."
- [Luke] When he had
said this, he knelt down
with all of them and prayed.
They all wept as they
embraced him and kissed him.
What grieved them
most was his statement
that they would never
see his face again.
Then they accompanied
him to the ship.
[gentle music]
After we had torn
ourselves away from them,
we put out to sea and
sailed straight to Kos.
The next day we went to Rhodes
and from there to Patara.
We found a ship crossing
over to Phoenicia,
went on board and set sail.
After sighting Cyprus and
passing to the south of it,
we sailed on to Syria.
We landed at Tyre, where our
ship was to unload its cargo.
Finding the disciples there,
we stayed with them seven days.
Through the Spirit,
they urged Paul
not to go on to Jerusalem.
But when our time
was up, we left
and continued on our way.
All the disciples, and
their wives and children,
accompanied us out of the city.
There on the beach
we knelt to pray.
After saying goodbye
to each other,
we went aboard the ship,
and they returned home.
[dramatic music]
We continued our voyage from
Tyre and landed at Ptolemais,
where we greeted the brothers
and stayed with them for a day.
Leaving the next day,
we reached Caesarea
and stayed at the house
of Philip the evangelist,
one of the seven.
He had four unmarried
daughters who prophesied.
After we had been
there a number of days,
a prophet named Agabus
came down from Judea.
[dramatic music]
Coming over to us,
he took Paul's belt,
tied his own hands and
feet with it and said.
- The Holy Spirit says,
"In this way the Jews of
Jerusalem will bind the owner
"of this belt who will hand
him over to the gentiles."
- [Luke] When we heard this,
we and the people there
pleaded with Paul not
to go up to Jerusalem.
Then Paul answered.
- Why are you weeping
and breaking my heart?
I am ready not only to be bound,
but also to die in Jerusalem
for the name of the Lord Jesus.
- [Luke] When he would
not be dissuaded,
we gave up and said.
- The Lord's will be done.
- [Luke] After this, we got
ready and went up to Jerusalem.
Some of the disciples from
Caesarea accompanied us
and brought us to the home of
Mnason, where we were to stay.
He was a man from Cyprus and
one of the early disciples.
When we arrived at Jerusalem,
the brothers received us warmly.
The next day Paul and the
rest of us went to see James,
and all the elders were present.
Paul greeted them and
reported in detail what God
had done among the gentiles
through his ministry.
When they heard this,
they praised God.
Then they said to Paul.
- You see, brother,
how many thousands of
Jews have believed,
and all of them are
zealous for the law.
They have been informed
that you teach all the Jews
that live among the gentiles
to turn away from Moses,
telling them not to
circumcise their children
or live according
to our customs.
What shall we do?
They will certainly
hear that you have come,
so do what we tell you.
There are four men with
us who have made a vow.
Take these men, join in
their purification rites
and pay their expenses,
so that they can have
their heads shaved.
Then everybody will
know there is no truth
in these reports about you,
but that you yourself are
living in obedience to the law.
As for the gentile believers,
we have written to
them our decision
that they should abstain from
food sacrificed to idols,
from blood, from the meat
of strangled animals,
and from sexual immorality.
- [Luke] The next
day Paul took the men
and purified himself
along with them.
Then he went to the temple
to give notice of the date
when the days of
purification would end
and the offering would
be made for each of them.
[ominous music]
[men chatting distantly]
When the seven days
were nearly over,
some Jews from the province of
Asia saw Paul at the temple.
They stirred up the whole
crowd and seized him shouting.
- Men of Israel, help us!
This is the man who
teaches all men everywhere
against our people and
our law and this place.
And besides, he has brought
Greeks into the temple area
and defiled this holy place.
[Paul groaning]
[suspenseful music]
- [Luke] They had
previously seen Trophimus,
the Ephesian, in the city
with Paul and assumed
that Paul had brought
him into the temple area.
The whole city was aroused,
and the people came running
from all directions.
[people cheering]
Seizing Paul,
they dragged him
from the temple,
and immediately the
gates were shut.
While they were trying
to kill him, news reached
the commander of the
Roman troops that
the whole city of
Jerusalem was in an uproar.
He at once took some
officers and soldiers
and ran down to the crowd.
When the rioters saw the
commander and his soldiers,
they stopped beating Paul.
The commander came
up and arrested him
and ordered him to be
bound with two chains.
Then he asked who he was
and what he had done.
Some in the crowd shouted
one thing and some another.
Since the commander
could not get
at the truth because
of the uproar,
he ordered that Paul be
taken into the barracks.
- [Soldier] Up!
[people muttering]
- [Luke] When Paul
reached the steps,
the violence of the
mob was so great
he had to be carried
by the soldiers.
The crowd that followed kept
shouting, "Away with him!"
As the soldiers were about to
take Paul into the barracks,
he asked the commander.
- [Paul] May I say
something to you?
- You speak Greek?
- He replied.
- Aren't you the Egyptian
who started a revolt
and led 4,000 terrorists out
into the desert sometime ago?
- [Luke] Paul answered.
- I am a Jew from
Tarsus in Cilicia,
a citizen of no ordinary city.
Please let me speak
to the people.
- [Luke] Having received
the commander's permission,
Paul stood on the steps
and motioned to the crowd.
When they were all silent,
he said to them in Aramaic.
- Brothers and fathers,
listen now to my defense.
- [Luke] When they heard him
speak to them in Aramaic,
they became very quiet.
Then Paul said.
- I am a Jew born
in Tarsus of Cilicia
but brought up in this city.
Under Gamaliel I was
thoroughly trained
in the law of our fathers,
and was just as zealous
for God as any of you are today.
I persecuted the followers
of this Way to their death,
arresting both men and women
and throwing them into prison,
as also the high priest and
all the council can testify.
I even obtained
letters from them
to their brothers in Damascus,
and went there to
bring these people
as prisoners to
Jerusalem to be punished.
About noon as I
came near Damascus,
[gentle music]
suddenly a bright light from
Heaven flashed around me.
I fell to the ground and
heard a voice say to me,
"Saul.
"Saul, why do you persecute me?"
"Who are you, Lord?" I asked.
"I am Jesus of Nazareth,
"whom you are
persecuting," he replied.
My companions saw the light,
but they did not understand
the voice of him who
was speaking to me.
"What shall I do,
Lord?" I asked.
"Get up," the Lord said,
"and go into Damascus.
"There you will be told all
"that you have been
assigned to do."
My companions led me by
the hand into Damascus,
because the brilliance of
the light had blinded me.
A man named Ananias
came to see me.
He was a devout
observer of the law
and highly respected by
all the Jews living there.
He stood beside me and said,
"Brother Saul,
receive your sight."
And at that very moment
I was able to see him.
Then he said,
"The God of our fathers has
chosen you to know his will
"and to see the Righteous One
"and to hear words
from his mouth.
"You will be his
witness to all men
"of what you have
seen and heard.
"And now what are
you waiting for?
"Get up [chuckling] be baptized
"and wash your sins away,
calling on his name."
When I returned to Jerusalem
and was praying at the temple,
I fell into a trance and
saw the Lord speaking.
"Quick!" he said to me.
"Leave Jerusalem immediately,
"because they will not accept
your testimony about me."
"Lord," I replied,
"these men know
"that I went from one
synagogue to another
"to imprison and beat
those who believe in you.
"And when the blood of your
martyr Stephen was shed,
"I stood there
giving my approval
"and guarding the clothes of
those who were killing him."
Then the Lord said to me,
"Go, I will send you far
away to the gentiles."
- [Luke] The crowd listened
to Paul until he said this.
Then they raised their
voices and shouted.
- Rid the Earth of him!
He is not fit to live!
- [Luke] As they were shouting
and throwing off their cloaks
and flinging dust into the air,
the commander ordered Paul to
be taken into the barracks.
He directed that he be flogged
and questioned in order
to find out why the people
were shouting at him like this.
As they stretched
him out to flog him,
Paul said to the
centurion standing there.
- Is it legal for you
to flog a Roman citizen
who hasn't even
been found guilty?
- [Luke] When the
centurion heard this,
he went to the commander
and reported it.
- What are you going to do?
- He asked.
- This man is a Roman citizen.
- [Luke] The commander
went to Paul and asked.
- Tell me, are you
a Roman citizen?
- Yes, I am.
- He answered.
Then the commander said.
- I had to pay a big
price for my citizenship.
- But I was born a citizen.
- [Luke] Paul replied.
[gentle music]
Those who were about to question
him withdrew immediately.
The commander
himself was alarmed
when he realized
that he had put Paul,
a Roman citizen, in chains.
The next day since the
commander wanted to find out
exactly why Paul was
being accused by the Jews,
he released him and
ordered the chief priests
and all the Sanhedrin
to assemble.
Then he brought Paul and
had him stand before them.
Paul looked straight at
the Sanhedrin and said.
- My brothers, I have
fulfilled my duty to God
in all good conscience
to this day.
- [Luke] At this the high
priest Ananias ordered
those standing near Paul
to strike him on the mouth.
[suspenseful music]
Then Paul said to him.
- God will strike you,
you whitewashed wall!
You sit there to judge
me according to the law,
yet you yourself violate
the law by commanding
that I be struck!
- [Luke] Those who were
standing near Paul said.
- You dare to insult
God's high priest!
- Paul replied.
- Brothers.
I did not realize that
he was the high priest.
For it is written:
Do not speak evil about
the ruler of your people.
- [Luke] Then Paul, knowing
that some of them were Sadducees
and the others Pharisees,
called out in the Sanhedrin.
- My brothers, I am a Pharisee,
the son of a Pharisees.
I stand on trial
because of my hope
in the resurrection of the dead!
- [Luke] When he said
this, a dispute broke out
between the Pharisees
and the Sadducees,
and the assembly was divided.
[councilmen arguing]
The Sadducees say that
there is no resurrection,
and that there are neither
angels nor spirits,
but the Pharisees
acknowledge them all.
There was a great uproar and
some of the teachers of the law
who were Pharisees stood
up and argued vigorously.
- We find nothing
wrong with this man.
- They said.
- What if a spirit
or an angel has spoken to him.
- [Luke] The dispute became
so violent that the commander
was afraid Paul would be
torn to pieces by them.
He ordered the troops to
go down and take him away
from them by force and
bring him into the barracks.
[suspenseful music]
[councilmen yelling]
The following night the Lord
stood near Paul and said.
- Take courage.
As you have testified
about me in Jerusalem,
so you must also
testify in Rome.
- The next morning the
Jews formed a conspiracy
and bound themselves
with an oath not to
eat or drink until
they had killed Paul.
More than 40 men were
involved in this plot.
They went to the chief
priests and elders and said,
"We have taken a solemn oath
"not to eat anything
until we have killed Paul.
"Now then, you and the
Sanhedrin petition the commander
"to bring him before you
on the pretext of wanting
"more accurate information
about his case.
"We are ready to kill
him before he gets here."
But when the son of Paul's
sister heard of this plot,
he went into the
barracks and told Paul.
Then Paul called one of
the centurions and said,
"Take this young man
to the commander.
"He has something to tell him."
So he took him to the commander.
The centurion said, "Paul,
the prisoner sent for me
"and asked me to bring
this young man to you
"because he has
something to tell you."
The commander took the
young man by the hand,
drew him aside and asked,
"What is it you
want to tell me?"
He said.
- The Jews have agreed
to ask you to bring Paul
before the Sanhedrin
tomorrow on the pretext
of wanting more accurate
information about him.
Don't give in to them,
because more than
40 of them are waiting
in ambush for him.
They have taken
an oath not to eat
or drink until
they've killed him.
They are ready now waiting
for your consent
to their request.
- The commander dismissed the
young man and cautioned him.
"Don't tell anyone that
you've reported this to me."
Then he called two of his
centurions and ordered them,
"Get ready a detachment of
200 soldiers, 70 horsemen
"and 200 spearmen to go to
Caesarea at 9:00 tonight.
"Provide mounts for Paul
"so that he may be taken
safely to Governor Felix."
He wrote a letter as follows:
- [Lysias] Claudius Lysias:
To His Excellency,
Governor Felix: Greetings.
This man was seized by the Jews,
and they were about to kill him,
but I came with my
troops and rescued him,
for I had learned that
he is a Roman citizen.
I wanted to know why
they were accusing him,
so I brought him
to their Sanhedrin.
I found that the
accusation had to do
with questions about their law,
but there was no
charge against him
that deserved death
or imprisonment.
When I was informed of a plot
to be carried out
against the man,
I sent him to you at once.
I also ordered his
accusers to present
to you their case against him.
- [Luke] So the soldiers,
carrying out their orders,
took Paul with them
during the night
and brought him as
far as Antipatris.
The next day they let the
cavalry go on with him,
while they returned
to the barracks.
When the cavalry
arrived in Caesarea,
they delivered the
letter to the governor
and handed Paul over to him.
[dramatic music]
The governor read the letter
and asked what
province he was from.
Learning that he was
from Cilicia, he said.
- I will hear your case
when your accusers get here.
- [Luke] Then he ordered
that Paul be kept
under guard in Herod's palace.
[dramatic music]
Five days later the
high priest Ananias
went down to Caesarea
with some of the elders
and a lawyer named Tertullus,
and they brought their charges
against Paul before
the governor.
When Paul was called in,
Tertullus presented
his case before Felix.
- We have enjoyed a long
period of peace under you,
and your foresight has brought
about reforms in this nation.
Everywhere and in every
way, most excellent Felix,
we acknowledge this
with profound gratitude.
But in order not to
weary you further,
I would request that you be
kind enough to hear us briefly.
We have found this man
to be a troublemaker,
stirring up riots among the
Jews all over the world.
He is a ringleader
of the Nazarene sect
and even tried to desecrate
the temple, so we seized him.
By examining him yourself,
you will be able
to learn the truth
about all these charges we
are bringing against him.
- [Luke] The Jews joined
in the accusation,
asserting that these
things were true.
When the governor motioned for
him to speak, Paul replied.
- I know that for
a number of years
you have been a judge
over this nation,
so I gladly make my defense.
You can easily verify that
no more than 12 days ago
I went up to
Jerusalem to worship.
My accusers did not find me
arguing with anyone
at the temple,
or stirring up a crowd
in the synagogues
or anywhere else in the city.
And they cannot prove to you
the charges they are
now making against me.
However, I admit that I
worship the God of our fathers
as a follower of the Way,
which they call a sect.
I believe everything
that agrees with the law
and that is written
in the prophets,
and I have the same hope
in God as these men.
That there will
be a resurrection
of both the righteous
and the wicked.
So, I strive always to keep
my conscience clear
before God and man.
After an absence
of several years,
I came to Jerusalem to bring
my people gifts for the poor
and to present offerings.
I was ceremonially
clean when they found me
in the temple courts doing this.
There was no crowd with me,
nor was I involved
in any disturbance.
But there are some Jews
from the province of Asia,
who ought to be here before you
and bring charges if they
have anything against me.
Or these who are here
should state what crime
they found in me when I
stood before the Sanhedrin,
unless it was this
one thing I shouted
as I stood in their presence.
It is concerning the
resurrection of the dead
that I am on trial
before you today.
- [Luke] Then Felix, who was
well acquainted with the Way,
adjourned the proceedings.
- When Lysias the
commander comes.
- [Luke] He said.
- I will decide your case.
[gentle music]
[Luke chuckling softly]
- He ordered the centurion
to keep Paul under guard
but to give him some freedom
and permit his friends to
take care of his needs.
Several days later Felix came
with his wife Drusilla,
who was Jewess.
He sent for Paul
and listened to him
as he spoke about
faith in Christ Jesus.
As Paul discoursed
on righteousness,
self-control, and
the judgment to come,
Felix was afraid and said,
"That's enough for
now you may leave.
"When I find it convenient,
I will send for you."
At the same time he was hoping
that Paul would
offer him a bribe,
so he sent for him frequently
and talked with him.
When two years had passed,
Felix was succeeded
by Porcius Festus,
but because Felix wanted to
grant a favor to the Jews,
he left Paul in prison.
Three days after
arriving in the province,
Festus went up from
Caesarea to Jerusalem where
the chief priests and Jewish
leaders appeared before him
and presented the
charges against Paul.
[ominous music]
They urgently requested
Festus as a favor to them
to have Paul transferred
to Jerusalem.
For they were preparing
an ambush to kill
him along the way.
Festus answered.
- Paul is being
held at Caesarea,
and I myself am
going there soon.
Let some of your
leaders come with me,
and press charges
against the man there
if he's done anything wrong.
- [Luke] After spending
eight or 10 days with them,
he went down to Caesarea.
The next day he
convened the court
and ordered that Paul
be brought before him.
When Paul appeared, the
Jews who had come down
from Jerusalem stood around
him bringing many serious
charges against, which
they could not prove.
Then Paul made his defense.
- I have done nothing wrong
against the law of the Jews
or against the temple
or against Caesar.
[sighing heavily]
- [Luke] Festus wishing to do
the Jews a favor said to Paul.
- Are you willing to
go up to Jerusalem
and stand trial before me
there on these charges?
- Paul answered.
- I am now standing
before Caesar's court,
where I ought to be tried.
I have not done any
wrong to the Jews,
as you yourself know very well.
If, however, I am guilty of
doing anything deserving death,
I do not refuse to die.
But if the charges
brought against me
by these Jews are not true,
no one has the right to
hand me over to them.
I appeal to Caesar.
- [Luke] After Festus had
conferred with his council,
he declared.
- You have appealed to
Caesar, to Caesar you will go.
[lively music]
- [Luke] A few days later
King Agrippa and Bernice
arrived at Caesarea to pay
their respects to Festus.
Since they were spending
many days there,
Festus discussed Paul's
case with the king.
He said.
- There is a man here whom
Felix left as a prisoner.
When I went to Jerusalem,
the chief priests
and the elders of the Jews
brought charges against him
and asked that he be condemned.
I told them that it is
not the Roman custom
to hand over any man before
he has faced his accusers
and has had an opportunity
to defend themselves
against their charges.
When they came here with me,
I did not delay the case,
but convened the
court the next day
and ordered the man
to be brought in.
When his accusers got up to
speak, they did not charge him
with any of the
crimes I'd expected.
Instead, they had
some points of dispute
with him about
their own religion
and about a dead
man named Jesus,
whom Paul claimed was alive.
I was at a loss how to
investigate such matters,
so I asked if he'd be
willing to go to Jerusalem
and stand trial there
on these charges.
When Paul made his
appeal to be held over
for the Emperor's decision,
I ordered him held until I
could send him to Caesar.
- [Luke] Then Agrippa
said to Festus.
- I would like to
hear this man myself.
- [Luke] He replied.
- Tomorrow you will hear him.
[lively music]
- [Luke] The next day
Agrippa and Bernice
came with great pomp and
entered the audience room
with the high-ranking officers
and the leading men of the city.
At the command of Festus,
Paul was brought in.
Festus said.
- King Agrippa,
and all who are present
with us, you see this man.
The whole Jewish community
has petitioned me
about him in Jerusalem
and here in Caesarea,
shouting that he ought
not to live any longer.
I found he had done
nothing deserving of death,
but because he made his
appeal to the Emperor,
I decided to send him to Rome.
But I have nothing definite
to write to His
Majesty about him.
Therefore, I have brought
him before all of you,
and especially before
you, King Agrippa,
so that as a result
of this investigation,
I may have something to write.
For I think it is unreasonable
to send on a prisoner
without specifying the
charges against him.
- [Luke] The Agrippa
said to Paul.
- You have permission
to speak for yourself.
- [Luke] So Paul
motioned with his hand
and began his defense.
- King Agrippa, I
consider myself fortunate
to stand before you today
as I make my defense
against all the
accusations of the Jews,
and especially so because
you are well acquainted
with all the Jewish
customs and controversies.
Therefore, I beg you to
listen to me patiently.
The Jews all know
the way I have lived
ever since I was a child,
from the beginning of my
life in my own country,
and also in Jerusalem.
They have known
me for a long time
and can testify, if
they are willing,
that I according to the
strictest sect of our religion,
I lived as a Pharisee.
And now it is because of my hope
in what God has
promised our fathers
that I am on trial today.
This is the promise
our 12 tribes
are hoping to see fulfilled
as they earnestly serve
God day and night.
O' King, it is
because of this hope
that the Jews are accusing me.
Why should any of
you consider it
incredible that God
raises the dead?
I too was convinced
that I ought to do
all that was possible
to oppose the name
of Jesus of Nazareth.
And that is just what
I did in Jerusalem.
On the authority of
the chief priests
I put many of the
saints in prison,
and when they were put to death,
I cast my vote against them.
Many a time I went from
one synagogue to another
to have them punished,
and I tried to force
them to blaspheme.
In my obsession against them,
I even went to foreign
cities to persecute them.
On one of these journeys
I was going to Damascus
with the authority and
commission of the chief priests.
About noon, O' King,
[gentle music]
as I was on the road, I
saw a light from Heaven,
brighter than the sun, blazing
around me and my companions.
We all fell to the ground,
and I heard a voice
saying to me in Aramaic,
"Saul, Saul, why do
you persecute me?
"It is hard for you to
kick against the goads."
Then I asked, "Who
are you, Lord?"
"I am Jesus, whom you are
persecuting," the Lord replied.
"Now get up and
stand on your feet.
"I have appeared to you to
appoint you as a servant
"and as a witness of
what you have seen of me
"and what I will show you.
"I will rescue you
from your own people
"and from the gentiles.
"I am sending you to
them to open their eyes
"and turn them from
darkness to light,
"and from the power
of Satan to God,
"so that they may receive
forgiveness of sins
"and a place among those who
are sanctified by faith in me."
So then, King Agrippa,
I was not disobedient to
the vision from Heaven.
First, to those in Damascus,
then to those in Jerusalem
and in all Judea,
and to the gentiles also I
preached that they should repent
and turn to God and prove their
repentance by their deeds.
That is why the Jews seized
me in the temple courts
and tried to kill me.
But I have had God's
help me to this very day,
and so I stand here and testify
to small and great alike.
I am saying nothing
beyond what the prophets
and Moses said would happen,
that the Christ would suffer
and as the first to
rise from the dead,
would proclaim light to his
own people and to the gentiles.
- [Luke] At this point Festus
interrupted Paul's defense.
- You're out of your mind, Paul!
- [Luke] He shouted.
- Your great learning
is driving you insane.
- [chuckling] I am not
insane, most excellent Festus.
- [Luke] Paul replied.
- What I am saying is
true and reasonable.
The king is familiar
with these things,
and I can speak freely to him.
I am convinced that none of
this has escaped his notice,
because it was not
done in a corner.
King Agrippa,
do you believe the prophets?
I know you do.
- [Luke] Then
Agrippa said to Paul.
- Do you think that
in such a short time
you can persuade me
to be a Christian?
- [Luke] Paul replied.
- Short time or long,
I pray God that not only you
but all who are
listening to me today
may become what I am,
except for these chains.
- [Luke] The king rose,
and with him the governor
and Bernice and those
sitting with them.
They left the room.
And while talking with
one another, they said.
- This man is not doing anything
that deserves death
or imprisonment.
- [Luke] Agrippa said to Festus.
- This man could
have been set free
if he had not
appealed to Caesar.
- When it was decided that
we would sail for Italy,
Paul and some other
prisoners were handed over
to a centurion named Julius,
who belonged to the
Imperial Regiment.
We boarded a ship from
Adramyttium about to sail
for ports along the coast
of the province of Asia,
and we put out to sea.
Aristarchus, a Macedonian from
Thessalonica, was with us.
The next day we landed at Sidon,
and Julius, in kindness to Paul,
allowed him to go
to his friends,
so they might provide
for his needs.
From there we put
out to sea again
and passed to the lee of Cyprus
because the winds
were against us.
When we had sailed
across the open sea
off the coast of
Cilicia and Pamphylia,
we landed at Myra in Lycia.
There the centurion
found an Alexandrian
ship sailing for Italy
and put us on board.
We made slow headway
for many days
and had difficulty
arriving off Cnidus.
When the wind did not allow
us to hold our course,
we sailed to the lee of
Crete, opposite Salmone.
We moved along the
coast with difficulty
and came to a place
called Fair Havens,
near the town of Lasea.
[gentle music]
Much time had been lost,
and sailing had already
become dangerous
because by now it
was after the fast.
So Paul warned them.
- Men, I can see that our
voyage is going to be disastrous
and bring great loss
to ship and cargo,
and to our own lives also.
- [Luke] But the centurion,
instead of listening
to what Paul said,
followed the advice of the pilot
and of the owner of the ship.
Since the harbor was
unsuitable to winter in,
the majority decided
that we should sail on,
hoping to reach Phoenix
and winter there.
This was a harbor in Crete,
facing both southwest
and northwest.
When a gentle south
wind began to blow,
they thought they'd
obtained what they wanted,
so they weighed anchor and
sailed along the shore of Crete.
[ominous music]
Before very long, a
wind of hurricane force,
called the Northeaster,
swept down from the island.
The ship was caught by the storm
and could not head
into the wind,
so we gave way to it
and were driven along.
As we passed to the lee of
a small island called Cauda,
we were hardly able to
make the lifeboat secure,
so the men had
hoisted it aboard.
Then they passed ropes under
the ship itself to
hold it together.
Fearing that they
would run aground
on the sandbars of Syrtis,
they lowered the sea anchor
and let the ship
be driven along.
We took such a violent battering
from the storm that the next day
they began to throw
the cargo overboard.
On the third day,
they threw the ship's
tackle overboard
with their own hands.
[suspenseful music]
When neither sun nor stars
appeared for many days
and the storm continued raging,
we finally gave up all
hope of being saved.
After the men had gone a
long time without food,
Paul stood up before
them and said.
- Men, you should
have taken my advice
not to sail from Crete.
Then you would have spared
yourselves this damage and loss.
But now I urge you to
keep up your courage,
because not one of
you will be lost.
Only the ship will be destroyed.
Last night an angel of the God,
who's I am and whom I serve,
stood beside me and said,
"Do not be afraid, Paul.
"You must stand
trial before Caesar,
"and God has
graciously given you
"the lives of all
who sail with you."
So, keep up your courage, men.
For I have faith in God
that it will happen
just as he told me.
Nevertheless, we must run
aground on some island.
[waves crashing]
[suspenseful music]
- [Luke] On the 14th night,
we were still being driven
across the Adriatic Sea
when about midnight the sailors
sensed they were
approaching land.
They took soundings
and found that
the water was a 120 feet deep.
A short time later they
took soundings again
and found it was 90 feet deep.
Fearing that we will be
dashed against the rocks,
they dropped four
anchors from the stern
and prayed for daylight.
In an attempt to
escape from the ship,
the sailors let the
lifeboat down into the sea,
pretending they
were going to lower
some anchors from the bow.
Then Paul said to the
centurion and the soldiers.
- Unless these men stay with
the ship, you cannot be saved.
- [Luke] So the
soldiers cut the ropes
that held the lifeboat
and let it fall away.
[suspenseful music]
Just before dawn Paul
urged them all to eat.
- For the last 14 days.
- [Luke] He said.
- You have been in
constant suspense
and have gone without food.
You haven't eaten anything.
Now I urge you to
take some food.
You need it to survive.
Not one of you will lose a
single hair from his head.
- [Luke] After he said
this, he took some bread
and gave thanks to God
in front of them all.
Then he broke it
and began to eat.
[dramatic music]
They were all encouraged and
ate some food themselves.
Altogether there were
276 of us on board.
When they had eaten as
much as they wanted,
they lightened the ship by
throwing the grain into the sea.
[suspenseful music]
When daylight came, they
did not recognize the land,
but they saw a bay
with a sandy beach,
where they decided to run the
ship aground if they could.
Cutting loose the anchors,
they left them in the sea
and at the same time untied the
ropes that held the rudders.
Then they hoisted the
foresail to the wind
and made for the beach.
But the ship struck a
sandbar and ran aground.
The bow stuck fast
and would not move,
and the stern was
broken to pieces
by the pounding of the surf.
The soldiers planned
to kill the prisoners
to prevent any of them from
swimming away and escaping.
But the centurion wanted
to spare Paul's life
and kept them from
carrying out their plan.
He ordered those who could swim
to jump overboard
first and get to land.
The rest were to
get there on planks
or on pieces of the ship.
In this way everyone
reached land in safety.
Once safely on shore,
we found out that the
island was called Malta.
The islanders showed
us unusual kindness.
They built a fire
and welcomed us all
because it was raining and cold.
[ominous music]
Paul gathered a
pile of brushwood
and as he put it on the fire,
a viper driven out by the heat
fastened itself on his hand.
When the islanders saw the
snake hanging from his hand,
they said to each other.
- This man must be a murderer.
For though he
escaped from the sea,
justice has not
allowed him to live.
- But Paul shook the
snake off into the fire
and suffered no ill effects.
The people expected him to
swell up or suddenly fall dead.
But after waiting a long time
and seeing nothing
unusual happen to him,
they changed their minds
and said he was a god.
There was an estate nearby
that belonged to Publius,
the chief official
of the island.
He welcomed us to his home
and for three days
entertained us hospitably.
His father was sick in bed,
suffering from
fever and dysentery.
[gentle music]
Paul went in to see
him, and after prayer,
placed his hands on
him and healed him.
[son chuckling happily]
When this had happened,
the rest of the sick
on the island came
and were cured.
They honored us in many ways,
and when we were ready to sail,
they furnished us with
the supplies we needed.
After three months
we put out to sea
in a ship that had
wintered in the island.
It was an Alexandrian ship
with the figurehead of the
twin gods Castor and Pollux.
We put in at Syracuse and
stayed there three days.
From there we set sail
and arrived at Rhegium.
The next day the
south wind came up,
and on the following
day we reached Puteoli.
[sighing] There we
found some brothers
who invited us to
spend a week with them.
And so we came to Rome.
[dramatic music]
The brothers there had
heard that we were coming,
and they traveled as far
as the Forum of Appius
and the Three
Taverns to meet us.
At the sight of these
men, Paul thanked God
and was encouraged.
When we got to Rome, Paul was
allowed to live by himself,
with a soldier to guard him.
Three days later he
called together the
leaders of the Jews.
When they had assembled,
Paul said to them.
- My brothers, although
I have done nothing
against our people, or against
the customs of our ancestors,
I was arrested in Jerusalem
and handed over to the Romans.
They examined me and
wanted to release me,
because I was not guilty of
any crime deserving death.
But when the Jews objected,
I was compelled to
appeal to Caesar,
not that I had any charge to
bring against my own people.
For this reason I have asked
to see you and talk with you.
It is because of
the hope of Israel
that I am bound with this chain.
[dramatic music]
- [Luke] They replied.
- We have not
received any letters
from Judea concerning you,
and none of the brothers
who have come from there
has reported or said
anything bad about you.
But we want to hear
what your views are,
for we know that
people everywhere
are talking against this sect.
- [Luke] They arranged to
meet Paul on a certain day,
and came in even larger numbers
to the place where
he was staying.
From morning till
evening, he explained
and declared to them
the kingdom of God,
and tried to convince
them about Jesus
from the law of Moses
and from the prophets.
Some were convinced
by what he said,
but others would not believe.
They disagreed among
themselves and began to leave
after Paul had made
this final statement.
[gentle music]
- The Holy Spirit spoke the
truth to your forefathers
when he said through
Isaiah the prophet:
Go to this people and say,
"You'll be ever hearing
but never understanding.
"You will be ever seeing
but never perceiving.
"For this people's heart
has become calloused.
"They hardly hear
with their ears,
"and they have
closed their eyes.
"Otherwise they might
see with their eyes,
"hear with their ears,
"understand with their hearts
"and turn and I
would heal them."
Therefore, I want you to know
that God's salvation
has been sent to the gentiles,
and they will listen.
- [Luke] For two whole years
Paul stayed there in
his own rented house
and welcomed all
who came to see him.
[dramatic music]
Boldly and without hindrance,
he preached the kingdom of God,
and taught about the
Lord Jesus Christ.
[gentle music]
[people chatting faintly]
- Doctor.
Go in peace.
- Grace and peace
to you, Captain.
[dramatic music]