WEBVTT NOTE This file was generated by Descript 00:00:00.030 --> 00:00:02.860 Henry: Welcome to immerse, the daily bible reading experience. 00:00:02.988 --> 00:00:03.598 Day twelve. 00:00:04.019 --> 00:00:07.799 The next day, the council of all the rulers and elders and teachers 00:00:07.799 --> 00:00:09.929 of religious law met in Jerusalem. 00:00:10.559 --> 00:00:15.959 Anas the high priest was there, along with Caiaphas, John Alexander, and 00:00:15.964 --> 00:00:17.759 other relatives of the high priest. 00:00:18.209 --> 00:00:22.019 They brought in the two disciples and demanded by what power or in 00:00:22.019 --> 00:00:23.909 whose name Have you done this? 00:00:24.659 --> 00:00:28.799 Then Peter filled with the Holy Spirit said to them, rulers 00:00:28.799 --> 00:00:30.269 and elders of our people. 00:00:30.629 --> 00:00:34.769 Are we being questioned today because we've done a good deed for a crippled man? 00:00:35.339 --> 00:00:37.259 Do you want to know how he was healed? 00:00:37.859 --> 00:00:40.949 Let me clearly state to all of you and to all the people of 00:00:40.949 --> 00:00:44.999 Israel that he was healed by the powerful name of Jesus Christ, the 00:00:44.999 --> 00:00:49.499 Nazarene, the man you crucified, but whom God raised from the dead. 00:00:50.024 --> 00:00:53.894 For Jesus is the one referred to in the scriptures where it says, the 00:00:53.894 --> 00:00:57.584 stone that you builders rejected has now become the cornerstone. 00:00:58.304 --> 00:01:00.554 There is salvation in no one else. 00:01:00.944 --> 00:01:05.264 God has given no other name under heaven by which we must be saved. 00:01:05.714 --> 00:01:09.494 The members of the council were amazed when they saw the boldness 00:01:09.494 --> 00:01:13.244 of Peter and John for they could see that they were ordinary men with no 00:01:13.244 --> 00:01:14.924 special training in the scriptures. 00:01:15.494 --> 00:01:18.734 They also recognized them as men who had been with Jesus. 00:01:19.379 --> 00:01:22.439 But since they could see the man who had been healed standing 00:01:22.439 --> 00:01:25.829 right there among them, there was nothing the council could say. 00:01:26.519 --> 00:01:29.519 So they ordered Peter and John outta the council chamber and 00:01:29.519 --> 00:01:33.569 conferred among themselves, what should we do with these men? 00:01:33.869 --> 00:01:37.199 They asked each other the, we can't deny that they have performed a 00:01:37.199 --> 00:01:42.059 miraculous sign and everybody in Jerusalem knows about it, but to keep 00:01:42.059 --> 00:01:46.289 them from spreading their propaganda any further, we must warn them not to 00:01:46.289 --> 00:01:48.269 speak to anyone in Jesus' name again. 00:01:49.319 --> 00:01:53.009 So they called the apostles back in and commanded them never again to 00:01:53.009 --> 00:01:55.229 speak or teach in the name of Jesus. 00:01:55.949 --> 00:02:01.859 But Peter and John replied, do you think God wants us to obey you rather than him? 00:02:02.549 --> 00:02:06.209 We cannot stop telling about everything we have seen and heard. 00:02:07.319 --> 00:02:10.619 The council then threatened them further, but they finally let them 00:02:10.619 --> 00:02:14.309 go because they didn't know how to punish them without starting a riot. 00:02:14.999 --> 00:02:19.949 For everyone was praising God for this miraculous sign, the healing of a man 00:02:19.949 --> 00:02:22.859 who had been lame for more than 40 years. 00:02:24.509 --> 00:02:27.779 As soon as they were freed, Peter and John returned to the other 00:02:27.779 --> 00:02:31.529 believers and told them what the leading priests and elders had said. 00:02:32.339 --> 00:02:35.549 When they heard the report, all the believers lifted their 00:02:35.549 --> 00:02:37.379 voices together in prayer to God. 00:02:38.204 --> 00:02:43.244 Oh, sovereign Lord, creator of heaven and Earth, the sea and everything in them. 00:02:43.814 --> 00:02:48.224 You spoke long ago by the Holy Spirit through our ancestor, David, your servant, 00:02:48.224 --> 00:02:51.104 saying, why were the nations so angry? 00:02:51.614 --> 00:02:53.144 Why did they waste their time? 00:02:53.149 --> 00:02:57.584 With futile plans, the kings of the earth prepared for battle. 00:02:57.944 --> 00:03:01.724 The rulers gathered together against the Lord and against his Messiah. 00:03:02.624 --> 00:03:08.834 In fact, this has happened here in this very city for Herod Anus, Pontius Pilate, 00:03:08.834 --> 00:03:14.384 the governor, the Gentiles, and the people of Israel were all united against Jesus, 00:03:14.444 --> 00:03:16.964 your holy servant whom you anointed. 00:03:17.684 --> 00:03:21.704 But everything they did was determined beforehand, according to your will. 00:03:22.394 --> 00:03:27.044 And now, oh Lord, hear their threats and give us your servants great 00:03:27.044 --> 00:03:28.964 boldness in preaching your word. 00:03:29.594 --> 00:03:31.904 Stretch out your hand with healing power. 00:03:32.384 --> 00:03:35.114 May miraculous signs and wonders be done through the 00:03:35.114 --> 00:03:37.574 name of your holy servant Jesus. 00:03:38.474 --> 00:03:42.464 After this prayer, the meeting place shook and they were all 00:03:42.464 --> 00:03:43.934 filled with the Holy Spirit. 00:03:44.534 --> 00:03:47.234 Then they preached the word of God with boldness. 00:03:48.554 --> 00:03:52.814 All the believers were united in heart and mind, and they felt that 00:03:52.814 --> 00:03:54.584 what they owned was not their own. 00:03:54.914 --> 00:03:56.774 So they shared everything they had. 00:03:57.374 --> 00:04:02.054 The apostles testified powerfully to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and 00:04:02.054 --> 00:04:04.124 God's great blessing was upon them all. 00:04:04.754 --> 00:04:09.164 There were no needy people among them because those who owned land or houses 00:04:09.374 --> 00:04:13.214 would sell them and bring the money to the apostles to give to those in need. 00:04:14.084 --> 00:04:18.314 For instance, there was Joseph, the one, the apostles nicknamed Barnabas, 00:04:18.374 --> 00:04:20.294 which means son of encouragement. 00:04:20.804 --> 00:04:24.164 He was from the tribe of Levi and came from the island of Cyprus. 00:04:24.674 --> 00:04:30.104 He sold a field he owned and brought the money to the apostles, but there was 00:04:30.104 --> 00:04:35.414 a certain man named Ananias, who, with his wife Safira, sold some property. 00:04:35.894 --> 00:04:39.944 He brought part of the money to the apostles claiming it was the full amount. 00:04:40.334 --> 00:04:43.124 With his wife's consent, he kept the rest. 00:04:43.934 --> 00:04:48.944 Then Peter said, an Anais, why have you let Satan fill your heart? 00:04:49.544 --> 00:04:53.354 You lied to the Holy Spirit and you kept some of the money for yourself. 00:04:53.984 --> 00:04:59.234 The property was yours to sell or not sell as you wished, and after selling it, 00:04:59.414 --> 00:05:01.694 the money was also yours to give away. 00:05:02.414 --> 00:05:04.214 How could you do a thing like this? 00:05:04.544 --> 00:05:06.974 You weren't lying to us, but to God. 00:05:08.054 --> 00:05:12.824 As soon as Ananias heard these words, he fell to the floor and died. 00:05:13.664 --> 00:05:15.614 Everyone who heard about it was terrified. 00:05:16.274 --> 00:05:21.224 Then some young men got up, wrapped him in a sheet and took him out and buried him. 00:05:22.229 --> 00:05:25.919 About three hours later, his wife came in not knowing what had happened. 00:05:26.579 --> 00:05:31.229 Peter asked her, was this the price you and your husband received for your land? 00:05:31.979 --> 00:05:32.489 Yes. 00:05:32.609 --> 00:05:34.619 She replied, that was the price. 00:05:35.309 --> 00:05:39.719 And Peter said, how could the two of you even think of conspiring 00:05:39.724 --> 00:05:41.309 to test the spirit of the Lord? 00:05:41.309 --> 00:05:45.389 Like this, the young men who buried your husband are just outside the 00:05:45.389 --> 00:05:47.939 door, and they will carry you out too. 00:05:49.004 --> 00:05:51.554 Instantly, she fell to the floor and died. 00:05:52.274 --> 00:05:55.844 When the young men came in and saw that she was dead, they carried her 00:05:55.844 --> 00:05:57.884 out and buried her beside her husband. 00:05:58.634 --> 00:06:03.584 Great fear gripped the entire church and everyone else who heard what had happened. 00:06:04.964 --> 00:06:08.504 The apostles were performing many miraculous signs and wonders among 00:06:08.504 --> 00:06:13.094 the people, and all the believers were meeting regularly at the temple in 00:06:13.094 --> 00:06:14.624 the area known as Solomon's Colonate. 00:06:15.914 --> 00:06:18.794 But no one else dared to join them, even though all the 00:06:18.794 --> 00:06:20.384 people had high regard for them. 00:06:21.044 --> 00:06:24.674 Yet, more and more people believed and were brought to the Lord, 00:06:25.184 --> 00:06:27.134 crowds of both men and women. 00:06:27.824 --> 00:06:31.664 As a result of the apostle's work, sick people were brought out into 00:06:31.664 --> 00:06:35.684 the streets on beds and mats, so that Peter's shadow might fall 00:06:35.684 --> 00:06:37.424 across some of them as he went by. 00:06:38.054 --> 00:06:42.224 Crowds came from the villages around Jerusalem bringing their sick, and 00:06:42.224 --> 00:06:44.084 those possessed by evil spirits. 00:06:44.474 --> 00:06:45.674 And they were all healed. 00:06:46.784 --> 00:06:51.344 The high priest and his officials who were Sadducees were filled with jealousy. 00:06:51.884 --> 00:06:54.734 They arrested the apostles and put them in the public jail. 00:06:55.274 --> 00:06:58.604 But an angel of the Lord came at night, opened the gates of 00:06:58.604 --> 00:06:59.924 the jail and brought them out. 00:07:00.464 --> 00:07:05.414 Then he told them, go to the temple and give the people this message of life. 00:07:06.164 --> 00:07:10.454 So at Daybreak, the apostles entered the temple as they were told, 00:07:10.754 --> 00:07:12.554 and immediately began teaching. 00:07:13.559 --> 00:07:17.609 When the high priest and his officials arrived, they convened the high council, 00:07:17.849 --> 00:07:19.919 the full assembly of the elders of Israel. 00:07:20.519 --> 00:07:24.089 Then they sent for the apostles to be brought from the jail for trial. 00:07:24.719 --> 00:07:28.319 But when the temple guards went to the jail, the men were gone. 00:07:28.979 --> 00:07:32.939 So they returned to the council and reported the jail was securely locked 00:07:32.999 --> 00:07:34.919 with the guards standing outside. 00:07:35.219 --> 00:07:37.829 But when we opened the gates, no one was there. 00:07:39.074 --> 00:07:41.774 When the captain of the Temple Guard and the leading priests 00:07:41.774 --> 00:07:45.674 heard this, they were perplexed, wondering where it would all end. 00:07:46.394 --> 00:07:48.674 Then someone arrived with Startling News. 00:07:49.094 --> 00:07:52.874 The men put in jail are standing in the temple teaching the people. 00:07:53.894 --> 00:07:56.984 The captain went with his temple guards and arrested the apostles, 00:07:57.434 --> 00:08:00.854 but without violence for, they were afraid the people would stone them. 00:08:01.574 --> 00:08:04.424 Then they brought the apostles before the high counsel where 00:08:04.424 --> 00:08:05.954 the high priest confronted them. 00:08:06.644 --> 00:08:10.994 We gave you strict orders never again to teach in this man's name. 00:08:11.144 --> 00:08:15.254 He said, instead, you have filled all Jerusalem with your teaching 00:08:15.254 --> 00:08:18.554 about him, and you want to make us responsible for his death. 00:08:19.694 --> 00:08:23.234 But Peter and the apostles replied, we must obey God 00:08:23.294 --> 00:08:25.274 rather than any human authority. 00:08:25.934 --> 00:08:30.134 The God of our ancestors raised Jesus from the dead after you killed 00:08:30.134 --> 00:08:31.904 him by hanging him on a cross. 00:08:32.504 --> 00:08:37.484 Then God put him in the place of honor at his right hand as Prince and Savior. 00:08:38.084 --> 00:08:42.344 He did this so the people of Israel would repent of their sins and be forgiven. 00:08:42.944 --> 00:08:47.204 We are witnesses of these things, and so was the Holy Spirit who was 00:08:47.204 --> 00:08:49.454 given by God to those who obey him. 00:08:50.654 --> 00:08:55.244 When they heard this, the high council was furious and decided to kill them, 00:08:55.964 --> 00:09:01.409 but one member, a Pharisee named Gamal, Who was an expert in religious law 00:09:01.409 --> 00:09:05.519 and respected by all the people stood up and ordered that the men be sent 00:09:05.519 --> 00:09:07.409 outside the council chamber for a while. 00:09:08.249 --> 00:09:12.809 Then he said to his colleagues, the men of Israel, take care what you 00:09:12.809 --> 00:09:14.489 are planning to do to these men. 00:09:15.179 --> 00:09:20.039 Some time ago there was that fellow TDI who pretended to be someone great. 00:09:20.639 --> 00:09:25.019 About 400 others joined him, but he was killed and all his 00:09:25.019 --> 00:09:26.879 followers went their various ways. 00:09:27.419 --> 00:09:30.899 The whole movement came to nothing after him. 00:09:30.899 --> 00:09:34.379 At the time of the census, there was Judas of Galilee. 00:09:34.919 --> 00:09:38.189 He got people to follow him, but he was killed too, and all 00:09:38.194 --> 00:09:39.509 his followers were scattered. 00:09:40.409 --> 00:09:43.349 So my advice is leave these men alone. 00:09:43.859 --> 00:09:44.669 Let them go. 00:09:45.179 --> 00:09:47.849 If they are planning and doing these things merely on their 00:09:47.849 --> 00:09:49.619 own, it will soon be overthrown. 00:09:50.399 --> 00:09:53.939 But if it is from God, you will not be able to overthrow them. 00:09:54.374 --> 00:09:57.554 You may even find yourselves fighting against God. 00:09:58.844 --> 00:10:00.554 The others accepted his advice. 00:10:01.094 --> 00:10:03.464 They called in the apostles and had them flogged. 00:10:03.974 --> 00:10:06.524 Then they ordered them never again to speak in the name of 00:10:06.524 --> 00:10:08.474 Jesus, and they let them go. 00:10:09.344 --> 00:10:13.784 The apostles left the high counsel rejoicing that God had counted them worthy 00:10:14.084 --> 00:10:16.304 to suffer disgrace for the name of Jesus. 00:10:16.904 --> 00:10:21.314 And every day in the temple and from house to house, they continued 00:10:21.314 --> 00:10:23.564 to teach and preach this message. 00:10:23.894 --> 00:10:26.444 Jesus is the Messiah. 00:10:28.004 --> 00:10:32.714 But as the believers rapidly multiplied, there were rumblings of discontent. 00:10:33.434 --> 00:10:36.854 The Greek speaking believers complained about the Hebrews speaking 00:10:36.854 --> 00:10:40.604 believers, saying that their widows were being discriminated against 00:10:40.604 --> 00:10:42.284 in the daily distribution of food. 00:10:43.274 --> 00:10:46.094 So the 12 called a meeting of all the believers. 00:10:46.424 --> 00:10:50.654 They said we Apostles should spend our time teaching the word of 00:10:50.654 --> 00:10:52.964 God not running a food program. 00:10:53.444 --> 00:10:57.434 And so brothers select seven men who are well respected and are 00:10:57.434 --> 00:10:59.054 full of the spirit and wisdom. 00:10:59.564 --> 00:11:01.394 We will give them this responsibility. 00:11:01.934 --> 00:11:05.774 Then we Apostles can spend our time in prayer and teaching the word. 00:11:07.004 --> 00:11:09.974 Everyone liked this idea and they chose the following. 00:11:10.424 --> 00:11:15.374 Stephen, A man full of faith and the Holy Spirit, Philip Pros. 00:11:16.439 --> 00:11:22.739 Naer, Thyman, Parus and Nicholas of Antioch, an earlier 00:11:22.739 --> 00:11:24.239 convert to the Jewish faith. 00:11:25.079 --> 00:11:28.499 These seven were presented to the apostles who prayed for them as 00:11:28.504 --> 00:11:29.609 they laid their hands on them. 00:11:30.809 --> 00:11:33.029 So God's message continued to spread. 00:11:33.779 --> 00:11:37.529 The number of believers greatly increased in Jerusalem and many of 00:11:37.529 --> 00:11:39.539 the Jewish priests were converted to. 00:11:41.369 --> 00:11:44.219 This concludes today's Immer reading experience. 00:11:44.369 --> 00:11:45.569 Thank you for joining us.