Acts 5:38-39 [Gamaliel said] “My advice is, leave these men alone. Let them go. If they are planning and doing these things merely on their own, it will soon be overthrown. But if it is from God, you will not be able to overthrow them. You may even find yourselves fighting against God!” The success of Peter and John’s healing and preaching ministry was deeply irritating to the Jewish authorities. They were anxious to silence them but nothing seemed to be working. They tried imprisoning them but the apostles miraculously managed to escape and carry on their preaching ministry in the Temple. So ..read more

Acts 5:1-2 But there was a certain man named Ananias who, with his wife, Sapphira, sold some property. He brought part of the money to the apostles, claiming it was the full amount. With his wife’s consent, he kept the rest. This is a chilling story. Ananias and Sapphira were not obliged to give all the money from their property sale to the apostles, but they lied and said they had done so. They conspired together to trick the apostles and the result was that, when confronted with their lies, they both dropped dead (vv4–10). Given that everything seemed to have been going so well for the infan ..read more

[The council of the Jews] called the apostles back in and commanded them never again to speak or teach in the name of Jesus. But Peter and John replied, “Do you think God wants us to obey you rather than him? We cannot stop telling about everything we have seen and heard.” The miraculous healing of the lame man attracted great attention. This gave Peter a further opportunity to speak to the crowd. He explained that the healing had been done in the name of Jesus, pointing out that they had “killed the author of life but God raised him from the dead” (Acts 3:15). This was too much for the Jewish ..read more

Acts 2:46-47 They worshiped together at the Temple each day, met in homes for the Lord’s Supper, and shared their meals with great joy and generosity—all the while praising God and enjoying the goodwill of all the people. And each day the Lord added to their fellowship those who were being saved. What amazing days these were! The believers were seeing astonishing things happen and, not surprisingly, their numbers were growing day by day. It was an exceptional period in every way, and they had the added advantage that everyone spoke well of them. In the days to come, the Church would be reviled ..read more

Acts 2:43-45 A deep sense of awe came over them all, and the apostles performed many miraculous signs and wonders. And all the believers met together in one place and shared everything they had. They sold their property and possessions and shared the money with those in need. In his Pentecost day sermon, Peter referred to the fact that in his earthly life Jesus did “powerful miracles, wonders and signs” (v22). Now the apostles, empowered by the Holy Spirit, were able to continue Jesus’ ministry as they also performed miraculous signs and wonders. It’s no wonder that there was a deep sense of a ..read more

Acts 2:41-42 Those who believed what Peter said were baptised and added to the church that day—about 3,000 in all. All the believers devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, and to fellowship, and to sharing in meals (including the Lord’s Supper), and to prayer. I love the fact that what churches do today is so similar to this earliest description of the Church. The world looks completely different in almost every respect, but Christians continue to be nourished in the same way. Teaching was at the heart of their life together. We need to remember that it was decades before any part of th ..read more

Acts 2:38 I was very fond of my first satnav. I knew that I could completely trust its wise directions. On one occasion I was taking a group of friends to a railway station at the end of a conference. I spoke to them about the excellence of my satnav and the help that it had been to me. We weren’t far away from the station when my passengers expressed some surprise at the route we had taken. There was grass growing up the middle of the road and it certainly didn’t look ideal. However, it was the way the satnav had brought me so I assured them that it must be right. Then, to my horror, the road ..read more

Acts 2:36-37 In his Pentecost sermon, Peter carefully explained to his Jewish audience that what had happened to Jesus had been in fulfilment of God’s plans. He had been very respectful
of their patriarch King David but pointed out that, despite all his greatness, David had not risen from death, unlike Jesus, whom they had had a hand in crucifying. Peter’s sharp challenge pierced them to the heart and they wanted to know what to do in response. I wonder whether you can think of a moment when you were pierced to the heart. It’s agonising when you know that you cannot avoid the challenge that ha ..read more

Acts 2:17-18 Peter responded to the suggestion that Jesus’ followers were drunk by making the practical observation that it was far too early in the morning for anything like that (v15)! He then went on to point out that Joel, in the ninth century BC, had prophesied that in the last days the Spirit would be poured out upon everyone in exactly this way. In Old Testament times we often see the Spirit coming upon specific people – usually prophets, priests and kings. In this new era of the Spirit, it would be fundamentally different. The doors were flung open to everyone to receive the Spirit and ..read more

Acts 2:11-13 I love the carefulness of Dr Luke’s account of the day of Pentecost. He is giving us only a very brief summary of what actually happened, but he doesn’t miss out the fact that many people struggled to work out what on earth was going on! For us it is absolutely clear what a significant day it was, but for many people at the time it was thoroughly perplexing. Some asked genuine questions, and soon after Peter gave them a very full explanation. But other people concluded that the bizarre events could only be explained by alcohol. When God works in your life in a big way there will a ..read more