I wrote the first narrative, Theophilus, about all that Jesus began to do and teach

Now, following His death on the cross [and resurrection], Jesus appeared alive [to His apostles] for forty days, and demonstrated by many convincing proofs [that He had been raised bodily from the dead]. [During that time] He also spoke to them about the [coming] kingdom of God.

[One day, as He was] gathered with these apostles, He urged them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait there until they received what the Father had promised them. (Jesus had previously discussed this with them). [See Luke 24:49].

For [Jesus had said, Matt. 3:11], "John immersed you [men] in water but [this time] you will be immersed in the Holy Spirit, and [it will happen] in just a few more days."

When the apostles had come together, they asked [Jesus], "Lord, are you ready to restore the kingdom [of God] to [the nation of] Israel [at this time]?"

Jesus replied, "You are not permitted to know the [specific] time or date [when this will happen]. For the Father has appointed it [to happen] when He determines [the right time].

And when Jesus had said these things, just as the apostles were watching [Him], He was taken up by a cloud [and disappeared] out of their sight.

They said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking up into heaven? This Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come in the same way that you have seen Him going into heaven.”

All these were continually united in prayer, along with the women, including Mary the mother of Jesus, and His brothers.

And in those days Peter standing up in the midst of the brothers, said??he multitude together was about a hundred and twenty??16 Men and brothers, it was necessary that the Scripture should be fulfilled which the Holy Spirit spoke before by the mouth of David, concerning Judas who became a guide to them that apprehended Jesus;

“Brothers, the Scripture had to be fulfilled that the Holy Spirit through the mouth of David spoke in advance about Judas, who became a guide to those who arrested Jesus.

(Now this man [Judas] paid for [in a sense] a [burial] field with the reward money he had received for his sinful act [of betraying Jesus, See Matt. 27:3-10]. [Then, some time after Judas hanged himself, See Matt. 27:5] he fell down headlong, [his swollen body] bursting so that his intestines gushed out.

“Therefore, from among the men who have accompanied us during the whole time the Lord Jesus went in and out among us—

from His immersion by John [the Immerser] until He was received up from us [in a cloud]. Of these people [we must choose] someone to become a witness with us [i.e., to tell people] of Jesus' resurrection [from the dead]."

“Men of Israel, listen to these words: This Jesus the Nazarene was a man pointed out to you by God with miracles, wonders, and signs that God did among you through Him, just as you yourselves know.

this very Jesus, I say, after He was betrayed, in accordance with the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God, you had wicked men kill by nailing Him to a cross;

King David said this about Jesus [Psa. 16:8ff], 'I always see the Lord in front of me, He is at my right side for protection;

because you [i.e., God] will not allow my soul [i.e., this is a reference to Jesus] to remain in Hades [i.e., the unseen place of the departed spirits], neither will you allow [the body of] your Holy One to decay.

David, foreseeing this, spoke of Christ being raised from the dead. [He said Jesus' spirit] would not be left in the unseen place of departed spirits, nor would His body decay.

“God has resurrected this Jesus. We are all witnesses of this.

Jesus is [now] exalted at the right side of God, and having received the promised Holy Spirit from His Father, He has poured out what you have seen and heard [here this day].

Now David is not the one who ascended into heaven for he [spoke of Jesus when he] said [Psa. 110:1], 'The Lord [i.e., God] said to my [i.e., David's] Lord [i.e., Jesus], sit at my right side

“Therefore let all the house of Israel know with certainty that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Messiah!”

“Repent,” Peter said to them, “and be baptized, each of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

And these [new converts] continued regularly [to listen] to the teaching of the apostles and to share with them; they broke bread [in memory of Jesus] and continued praying.

And all the believers [in Jesus] were together and shared everything.

But Peter said, “I don’t have silver or gold, but what I have, I give you: In the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, get up and walk!”

The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God of our fathers, has glorified His Servant Jesus, whom you handed over and denied in the presence of Pilate, when he had decided to release Him.

And by [means of] the name [of Jesus], that is, by faith in the [power of His] name, this [crippled] man, whom you now see and know, was healed. Yes, it is the faith that comes through Jesus that is responsible for this man's perfect health, as you now all see.

repent therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshment shall come from the presence of the Lord, who shall send Jesus Christ,

and that He may send Jesus, who has been appointed for you as the Messiah.

that is, to wit, Jesus Christ: which must receive heaven until the time that all things which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began, be restored again.

You people are descendants of these prophets and [recipients] of the Agreement God made with your forefathers when He said to Abraham [Gen. 12:3], 'And through your seed [i.e., your descendant Jesus] all the people of the earth will receive the blessings [of God].'

Unto you first God, having raised up his Son Jesus, sent him to bless you, in turning away every one of you from his iniquities.

because they were provoked that they were teaching the people and proclaiming the resurrection from the dead, using Jesus as the example.

But many of the people who heard the message [of God] believed [in Jesus] and the number of men [alone] came to be about five thousand.

let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene—whom you crucified and whom God raised from the dead—by Him this man is standing here before you healthy.

This Jesus is

the stone rejected by you builders,
which has become the cornerstone.

And there is salvation in no other One [than Jesus] for there is no other Name in the whole world, proclaimed by men, by which [a person] can be saved."

When they observed the boldness of Peter and John and realized that they were uneducated and untrained men, they were amazed and recognized that they had been with Jesus.

But we do not want this [teaching] to spread any further so let us threaten them [and demand] that they do not speak to anyone about Jesus anymore."

So they called for them and ordered them not to preach or teach at all in the name of Jesus.

The kings of the earth [i.e., Herod and Pilate] took their stand [against Jesus], and the rulers [of the Jews] gathered against the Lord and against His Anointed One [i.e., Christ].'

“For, in fact, in this city both Herod and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles and the people of Israel, assembled together against Your holy Servant Jesus, whom You anointed,

while You stretch out Your hand for healing, signs, and wonders to be performed through the name of Your holy Servant Jesus.”

And the apostles were giving testimony with great power to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was on all of them.

More and more believers in the Lord, crowds of men and women, were constantly being added to their number,

"You men, go and stand in the Temple and speak to all the people words about this Life [i.e., about Jesus]." [See John 14:6].

And when the apostles heard this, they entered the Temple about dawn and began teaching [about Jesus]. [A little later] the head priest and the Sadducees [see verse 17] called the Council [i.e., the Sanhedrin] and all of the ruling body of Jewish leaders together and sent to the jail to have the apostles brought in to them [for further questioning].

"We strictly commanded you not to teach in this name [i.e., the name of Jesus] and look [what you have done]; you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching and you intend to hold us responsible for this man's [i.e., Jesus'] death."

The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom you had murdered by hanging Him on a tree.

It is this Jesus whom God has exalted to his right hand, to be a Guide and a Savior, to give Israel repentance and forgiveness of sins.

After they called in the apostles and had them flogged, they ordered them not to speak in the name of Jesus and released them.

full of joy, that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for the name of Jesus.

Every day in the temple complex, and in various homes, they continued teaching and proclaiming the good news that Jesus is the Messiah.

The suggestion pleased the whole congregation; and they selected Stephen, a man full of faith [in Christ Jesus], and [filled with and led by] the Holy Spirit, and Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas (Nikolaos), a proselyte (Gentile convert) from Antioch.

And the message of God kept on growing and spreading, and the number of disciples continued to increase greatly in Jerusalem; and a large number of the priests were becoming obedient to the faith [accepting Jesus as Messiah and acknowledging Him as the Source of eternal salvation].

For we heard him say that Jesus, this Nazarene, will destroy this place and change the customs that Moses handed down to us.”

Which also our fathers that came after brought in with Jesus into the possession of the Gentiles, whom God drave out before the face of our fathers, unto the days of David;

Which one of the prophets did your forefathers not persecute? They [even] killed those who predicted the coming of the Righteous One [i.e., Jesus], whom you people betrayed and murdered.

But Stephen, filled by the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven. He saw God’s glory, with Jesus standing at the right hand of God, and he said,

They were stoning Stephen as he called out: “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit!”

But when they believed Philip, as he preached the good news about the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, both men and women were baptized.

For He had not yet come down on any of them; they had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.

Jesus) the apostles therefore gave them imposition of hands, and they received the holy spirit.

When Peter and John had testified [regarding the truth] and had proclaimed the message of God [to the people] they returned to Jerusalem, preaching the good news [about Jesus] in many Samaritan villages [on their way back].

Then Philip opened his mouth, and began at the same scripture, and preached unto him Jesus.

And Philip said, If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest. And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.

But [later on] Philip appeared at Azotus and after leaving there he preached the good news [of Jesus] to all the towns along the way until he reached Caesarea. [Note: Caesarea was a town on the west coast of Palestine, named after the emperor Caesar].

and he asked for letters [of authority] from him to the synagogues at Damascus, so that if he found any men or women there belonging to the Way [believers, followers of Jesus the Messiah], men and women alike, he could arrest them and bring them bound [with chains] to Jerusalem.

And he said, Who art thou, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest: it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks.

The voice said, "I'm Jesus, whom you are persecuting. Now get up, go into the city, and you will be told what you are to do."

And Ananias went his way, and entered into the house; and putting his hands on him said, Brother Saul, the Lord, even Jesus, that appeared unto thee in the way as thou camest, hath sent me, that thou mightest receive thy sight, and be filled with the Holy Ghost.

Immediately he began proclaiming Jesus in the synagogues: “He is the Son of God.”

And everyone who heard him was amazed and exclaimed, "Is this not the man who tried to destroy all the people who called on [Jesus'] name in Jerusalem and has now come here [to Damascus] for the purpose of arresting them and bringing them before the leading priests?"

however Saul still gain'd ground, and confounded the Jews of Damascus, proving that Jesus was the Messias.

But Barnabas took him, and brought him to the apostles, and declared unto them how he had seen the Lord in the way, and that he had spoken to him, and how he had preached boldly at Damascus in the name of Jesus.

And he was with them coming in and going out at Jerusalem, and speaking boldly in the name of the Lord Jesus.

And he spake boldly in the name of the Lord Jesus, and disputed against the Grecians: but they went about to slay him.

And Peter said unto him, AEneas, Jesus Christ maketh thee whole: arise, and make thy bed. And he arose immediately.

And this [miracle] became known throughout all of Joppa and many people believed in [Jesus as] the Lord.

The word which God sent unto the children of Israel, preaching peace by Jesus Christ: (he is Lord of all:)

Ye yourselves, know what hath come to pass throughout the whole of Judaea, beginning from Galilee, after the immersion which John proclaimed, respecting Jesus who was of Nazareth: -

How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power: who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with him.

We are witnesses of everything Jesus did in the land of the Jews, including Jerusalem.

This Jesus God raised on the third day, and enabled him to appear,

And He commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that He [i.e., Jesus] is the One whom God ordained to be the Judge of people who are [now] alive and those who have [already] died.

All the prophets have testified [in their writings], that it is through the name of Jesus that every person who believes in Him will receive the forgiveness of sins."

And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Then they asked him to stay for a few days.

Forasmuch then as God gave them the like gift as he did unto us, who believed on the Lord Jesus Christ; what was I, that I could withstand God?

And some of them were men of Cyprus and Cyrene, which, when they were come to Antioch, spake unto the Grecians, preaching the Lord Jesus.

For Barnabas was a good man [privately and publicly—his godly character benefited both himself and others] and he was full of the Holy Spirit and full of faith [in Jesus the Messiah, through whom believers have everlasting life]. And a great number of people were brought to the Lord.

When they had gone through the whole island as far as Paphos, they came across a sorcerer, a Jewish false prophet named Bar-Jesus.

Of this man's seed hath God according to his promise raised unto Israel a Saviour, Jesus:

Before Jesus' appearance, John had already preached a baptism of repentance to all the people in Israel.

“Brothers, sons of Abraham’s family, and those among you who fear God, to us has been sent the message of this salvation [obtained through faith in Jesus Christ].

For the people living in Jerusalem, together with their ruling officials, did not understand [that Jesus was the Messiah] or what the message of the prophets, which is read every Sabbath day, really meant. So, [because of this] they [actually] made these Scripture predictions come true by condemning Jesus.

And when they had done everything that was predicted about Him, they took Jesus down from the tree [i.e., the cross] and placed Him in a tomb.

to you therefore we declare, that the promise which God had made to the fathers, he has now perform'd to us, who are their children, by his having raised up Jesus again.

God hath fulfilled the same unto us their children, in that he hath raised up Jesus again; as it is also written in the second psalm, Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee.