But, in order for the world to know that I love the Father, I am [always] doing what the Father commands me to. Let us get up, and leave here." [i.e., leave the room where they had eaten the Passover meal. See 13:1 with 18:1].

They would not be guilty of sinning if I had not come and spoken to them. But now [that I have], they have no excuse for their sin.

If I had not performed the [miraculous] deeds among them which no one else had done, they would not be guilty of sinning. But now they have both seen and hated both me and my Father.

But I have told you these things so that, when the time comes [for people to do such things], you will remember that I had warned you. I did not tell you them at the beginning [of my ministry] because I was with you [i.e., to protect you from persecution].

And now, Father, honor me in your presence with the honor I had with you before the world was [created].

After Jesus had said these things He went out with His disciples across the Kidron valley. [Note: This was a "wadi," or dry creek bed which carried a torrent of water during the rainy season. It ran parallel with the east wall of Jerusalem, between the city and the Mount of Olives]. There was an [olive] orchard there and Jesus and His disciples went into it.

Now Judas, who [was soon to] turn Jesus over [to the Jewish authorities] also knew where this place was, for Jesus had frequently met there with His disciples.

Now when Jesus had said to them, "I am [He]," they [all] moved backward and fell to the ground. [Note: This appears to have been done by some miraculous power].

[He said this] so the words He had spoken [previously] would be fulfilled [See 17:12], "I did not lose any of those men you [i.e., God] gave me."

So, Simon Peter, who had a sword, drew it out and struck the head priest's slave, cutting off his right ear. Now the slave's name was Malchus.

Now Caiaphas was the one who had advised the Jews that it was profitable for one man to die for the people. [See 11:50].

Now the [head priest's] slaves and the [Temple] guards were standing around a charcoal fire they had made to warm themselves by, because it was cold. And Peter was also warming himself with them.

So, Annas had Him tied up and sent Him [on] to Caiaphas, the head priest.

Now Simon Peter had been standing and warming himself [by the outdoor charcoal fire]. So, someone asked him, "Are you not one of His disciples, too?" Peter denied it, saying, "[No], I am not."

One of the head priest's slaves, who was a relative of the man whose ear Peter had cut off, said, "Did I not see you in the orchard with him?"

Then, early in the morning they led Jesus from Caiaphas to [governor Pilate's] headquarters. But the Jewish authorities would not enter it, because [if they had] they would have become ceremonially unclean, and could not eat the Passover meal. [Note: This was because they regarded a Gentile house as defiling].

[They said this] so that the words Jesus had spoken would be fulfilled, regarding the kind of death He would die. [Note: Jesus had predicted he would be "lifted up," indicating a Roman crucifixion. See 12:32-33].

So, Pilate then took Jesus and had Him flogged.

After [hearing] this, Pilate tried to release Jesus, but the Jews shouted out, "If you release this man, you are no friend of Caesar's. Everyone who claims to be a king [i.e., as they had accused Jesus of doing. See 18:37] is in opposition to Caesar."

Then Pilate had an inscription written and placed on the cross [i.e., on the upright portion, above His head]. It read, "Jesus from Nazareth, the King of the Jews."

So, when the [Roman] soldiers had crucified Jesus, they took His clothing and divided them into four parts, one for each soldier. They also took His seamless coat [i.e., which was left over], woven from top [to bottom] in one piece,

Now Jesus knew that everything had been completed [i.e., relating to His crucifixion], so then He said, in order to fulfill Scripture [Psa. 69:21], "I am thirsty."

And another Scripture says [Zech. 12:10], "People will look at him whom they [had] pierced."

Now there was an [olive] orchard at the place where Jesus was crucified. And in the orchard there was a new grave site [i.e., a cave-like tomb] where no one had ever been buried.

So, they placed Jesus' body there, for it was the Day of Preparation and that was the closest grave site. [Note: Since this was the day before the Passover Festival, and the next day was also the regular weekly Sabbath, they had to bury the body before sundown to comply with Jewish restrictions against working on a Sabbath day].

Now early [in the morning], while it was still dark on the first day of the week [i.e., Sunday], Mary from Magdala went to the [cave-like] tomb and saw the stone [had been] removed from [the entrance of] the tomb.

Then Simon Peter, who had been following him, also arrived and went [straight] into the cave-like tomb and saw the linen cloths lying there.

Now the cloth that had been around Jesus' head was not lying with the [other] linen cloths, but was rolled up by itself.

Finally, the other disciple, who had arrived at the cave-like tomb first, went on into it. And [when] he saw [the grave clothes, but no body], he believed [in Jesus' resurrection].

and there she saw two angels [dressed] in white [clothing] sitting where Jesus' body had lain, one at His head and one at His feet.

So, Mary from Magdala went and told the disciples, "I have seen the Lord," and that He had said these things to her. [See Matt. 28:7-10].

After saying this, Jesus showed them His hands and His side, so they rejoiced when they saw the Lord [i.e., now convinced that He had indeed risen from the dead].

Then He said to Thomas, "Put your finger here [i.e., to touch the nail scars] and look at my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side [i.e., where the spear had pierced Him]. Stop doubting and believe [that it is really I]."

So, that disciple whom Jesus loved [i.e., probably the apostle John] said to Peter, "It is the Lord!" When Simon Peter heard it was the Lord, he wrapped his outer robe around him, (for he [had taken it off and] was wearing only his underclothing) and jumped into the lake.

So, after they had eaten, Jesus said to Simon Peter, "Simon, son of John, do you really love me more than these [other disciples do]?" Peter answered Him, "Yes, Lord, you know that I love you." [Note: Since two different Greek words for "love" are used in this conversation, some scholars see a distinction in their meaning. See Butler, Vol. II, pp. 453-457 for a discussion of these views]. Jesus replied to him, "[Then] feed my lambs."

Then Jesus asked him a third time, "Simon, son of John, do you [truly] love me?" Peter was sad because Jesus had asked him a third time, "Do you [even] love me?" So, he said to Jesus, "Lord, you know all things. You [surely] know that I love you." Jesus replied to him, "[Then] feed my sheep.

Peter turned around and saw the disciple whom Jesus loved [i.e., probably the apostle John] following [along behind him]. This was the same disciple who had leaned over close to Jesus at the [Passover] meal and asked Him, "Lord, who is it that will turn you over [to the Jewish authorities]?"

up until the day He returned to heaven. [Just before that time] He had given [certain] instructions to His [specially] selected apostles through [the direction of] the Holy Spirit.

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]?"

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.

Upon arriving at the house where they were staying, they went upstairs. [Those present were]: Peter, John, James, Andrew, Philip, Thomas, Bartholomew, Matthew, James, the son of Alpheus, Simon the Zealous [one] and Judas, the son of James. [Note: Judas Iscariot, the twelfth apostle, had already committed suicide].

(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.

Since he was a prophet and knew that God had pledged His word that one of his [i.e., David's] descendants would sit on his throne [as king];

[On their way] they met a certain man who had been crippled from birth. Every day he had been carried [by friends] and placed at the "Beautiful Gate" [as it was called] of the Temple [enclosure] where he begged for money from those entering the Temple.

And they recognized him as the same person who had sat at the "Beautiful Gate" of the Temple begging for money, and they were filled with wonder and amazement over what had happened to him.

And as this [former] crippled man stayed close beside Peter and John, all the people rushed toward them at "Solomon's Portico" [Note: This was a large covered area, with rows of columns, on the side of the Temple enclosure], completely astonished [at what had happened].

The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob --- the God of our forefathers --- has highly honored His servant Jesus, whom you people turned over [to the Roman authorities] and denied [Him freedom] in the presence of [governor] Pilate, who had already decided to release Him.

But this is the way God fulfilled the things which He had predicted through the prophets about the suffering of Christ.

who must be received into heaven until [God's appointed] times when everything will be restored [to its intended purpose]. God had spoken about this through the proclamations of His holy prophets of long ago.

and were greatly disturbed because they were teaching the people and proclaiming that Jesus had been raised from the dead.

And when these men had Peter and John brought before them, they asked, "By whose authority or in what name have you done this thing [i.e., healed the crippled man]?"

Now when these men saw how boldly Peter and John spoke, and perceived that they were uneducated and [even] ignorant men, they were quite surprised; then they recognized that they had been with Jesus.

And when the Council had threatened them some more, they [finally] released them because they could not find any reason to punish them. [Actually] they were worried about how the people felt [about the matter], since everybody was giving honor to God for the miracle that had been performed.

So, after Peter and John were released, they went [back to the other disciples] and reported everything the leading priests and elders [of the Jews] had said to them.

And after they had prayed, the place where they were gathered shook, and these disciples were all filled with [the power of] the Holy Spirit and they were able to speak the message of God with boldness.

and gave it to the apostles, who distributed it to each person who had a need.

and brought [only] a part of the selling price and gave it to the apostles; but the man and his wife had kept this a secret.

About three hours later Sapphira came in, not knowing what had happened [to her husband].

And so the Council agreed [with Gamaliel's advice] and when they called the apostles back in, they had them beaten and ordered them never to speak in the name of Jesus [again]; then they released them.

They had arranged for the false witnesses to say, "This man will not stop speaking against the Temple and the law of Moses,

But God gave him no inheritance [here at that time], no, not even a place [of his own] to stand on. Yet God promised that He would [someday] give it to him and to his descendants after him [i.e., the Israelites], as a [permanent] possession, even though [at that time] he had no child yet.

And God had spoken about this [beforehand] by saying that Abraham's descendants would live in a foreign country and that they would [eventually] be ill-treated as slaves for four hundred years.

And God gave Abraham the Agreement which required circumcision [as an identifying mark] so when Abraham fathered Isaac he circumcised him when he was eight days old. Then Isaac had a son, Jacob; and Jacob had [as sons] the twelve patriarchs [i.e., ruling fathers of families].

Their bodies were carried back [from Egypt] to Shechem and buried in the tomb that Abraham had purchased in Shechem from the sons of Hamor for a sum of silver. [Note: "Shechem" was a town in Israel, the country which in New Testament times was known as Samaria].

"But as the time when [the fulfillment of] the promise [God had made] to Abraham approached, the number of people [i.e., Hebrews] in Egypt grew

until a new king, who had not known Joseph, began to rule.

When Moses heard this, he ran away and traveled to the country of Midian where he settled down and had two sons.

"This is the Moses who had said to the Israelites [Deut. 18:15], 'God will raise up a prophet from among your countrymen who will be like me [in some ways].'

This is the man who was with our forefathers and with the assembly [of Hebrews] in the wilderness [after] the angel had spoken to him at Mt. Sinai. He [is the one] who received the living messages [from God at Mt. Sinai] and gave them to us.

And so the people fashioned a calf [out of gold] and offered [an animal] sacrifice to this idol and [then] celebrated joyously over what they had done [See Exodus 32:4-6; 17-19].

"Our forefathers had the Tabernacle of the Testimony in the wilderness [i.e., the tent containing the ten commandments], which God instructed Moses to make according to the model he was shown.

Now the disciples, who had become scattered all over, went everywhere preaching the message [of God].

But a certain man named Simon, from there in Samaria, who had been amazing the people with his magical powers, was claiming to be someone great.

And people were paying attention to him because he had been amazing them with his magic for a long time.

Now when the apostles in Jerusalem heard that the people of Samaria had responded to the message of God, they sent Peter and John to them.

When these two apostles had come [to Samaria] they prayed for some [of the disciples] to receive [miraculous power from] the Holy Spirit,

for as yet [such power] had not fallen on any of them; they had only been immersed into the name of the Lord Jesus [i.e., with no accompanying miraculous powers].

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].

So, he went and [eventually] came across a man who was the Ethiopian Queen Candace's treasurer. He was a high official and was also a eunuch [Note: This was a man without normal sexual activity], who had been to Jerusalem to worship [i.e., probably as a Jewish proselyte].

Saul got up from the ground and opened his eyes but could not see anything, so had to be led by the hand into Damascus.

(Now Saul had seen [in a vision] a man named Ananias coming in and placing his hands on him, restoring his sight).

And after a number of days had passed [these] Jews conspired together to kill Saul,

So, Barnabas brought him to the [other] apostles and explained to them how he had seen the Lord [while] traveling on the road [to Damascus] and how he had boldly preached in the name of Jesus in that city.

And there he found a certain man named Aeneas who had been [confined to his] bed, paralyzed for eight years.

So, Peter got up and went with them. When he arrived they took him to the upstairs room [where Dorcas' body lay]. All the widows [i.e., her friends] stood near Peter, crying and showing [him] the coats and [other] clothing which Dorcas had made when she was alive.

He was very devoted [to his religious principles] and had great respect for God, along with the members of his household. He gave [money] liberally to poor people and prayed to God regularly.

When the angel who spoke with him had left, Cornelius called two of his house servants and a soldier who was devoted [to God], men who worked for him regularly,

AM], while he was wide awake, he had a vision in which an angel of God came to him [and spoke his name] "Cornelius."

And the believers of Jewish descent, who had come with Peter, were amazed [when they saw] that the gift of the Holy Spirit had [now] been poured out on the Gentiles also.

Now the apostles and the [other] brothers in Judea heard that the Gentiles had responded to the message of God.

Then I remembered what the Lord had said [See 1:4-5]: 'John immersed you [people] in water but you [apostles] will be immersed in the Holy Spirit.'

He had James, the brother of John, killed with the sword.

So, he followed the angel out [of the jail], not fully realizing what had happened, thinking [perhaps] he had seen [all this in] a vision.

Then when Peter realized what had actually happened, he said, "Now I know for certain that [it was] the Lord who sent His angel to rescue me from Herod's custody and from all that the Jewish people had planned [to do to me]."

[Upon entering the house] he held up his hand to quiet them, then went on to explain how the Lord had rescued him from jail. He said to them, "[Go] tell all this to James [the Lord's half-brother] and to [the rest of] the brothers." Then he left [them] and went elsewhere.

Now as soon as it got daylight there was a lot of commotion among the soldiers over what had become of Peter.

Barnabas and Saul returned [to Antioch] from Jerusalem after they had fulfilled their mission [i.e., of taking the contribution for the famine-stricken people of Judea. See 11:27-30]. They took John Mark [back to Antioch with them].