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Acts 4

Acts 4 shows the risen Jesus’ authority through fearless witness, prayer under threat, and a community sharing its possessions.

Peter and John are arrested in Jerusalem while teaching the people about resurrection in Jesus. The next morning, the rulers question them about the healing of a man who now stands before the council. Peter names the risen Jesus as the source of healing and salvation. Threatened and released, the apostles return to the believers, who pray for boldness. The account then turns to their shared life, where testimony to Jesus’ resurrection accompanies the sale of property to meet needs.

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1As they spoke to the people, the priests and the captain of the temple and the Sadducees came to them,
2being upset because they taught the people and proclaimed in Jesus the resurrection from the dead.
3They laid hands on them, and put them in custody until the next day, for it was now evening.
4But many of those who heard the word believed, and the number of the men came to be about five thousand.
5In the morning, their rulers, elders, and scribes were gathered together in Jerusalem.
6Annas the high priest was there, with Caiaphas, John, Alexander, and as many as were relatives of the high priest.
7When they had stood Peter and John in the middle of them, they inquired, “By what power, or in what name, have you done this?”
8Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, “You rulers of the people and elders of Israel,
9if we are examined today concerning a good deed done to a crippled man, by what means this man has been healed,
10may it be known to you all, and to all the people of Israel, that in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead, this man stands here before you whole in him.
11He is ‘the stone which was regarded as worthless by you, the builders, which has become the head of the corner.’
12There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven that is given among men, by which we must be saved!”
13Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and had perceived that they were unlearned and ignorant men, they marveled. They recognized that they had been with Jesus.
14Seeing the man who was healed standing with them, they could say nothing against it.
15But when they had commanded them to go aside out of the council, they conferred among themselves,
16saying, “What shall we do to these men? Because indeed a notable miracle has been done through them, as can be plainly seen by all who dwell in Jerusalem, and we can’t deny it.
17But so that this spreads no further among the people, let’s threaten them, that from now on they don’t speak to anyone in this name.”
18They called them, and commanded them not to speak at all nor teach in the name of Jesus.
19But Peter and John answered them, “Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than to God, judge for yourselves,
20for we can’t help telling the things which we saw and heard.”
21When they had further threatened them, they let them go, finding no way to punish them, because of the people; for everyone glorified God for that which was done.
22For the man on whom this miracle of healing was performed was more than forty years old.
23Being let go, they came to their own company and reported all that the chief priests and the elders had said to them.
24When they heard it, they lifted up their voice to God with one accord and said, “O Lord, you are God, who made the sky, the earth, the sea, and all that is in them;
25who by the mouth of your servant David, said, ‘Why do the nations rage, and the peoples plot a vain thing?
26The kings of the earth take a stand, and the rulers plot together, against the Lord, and against his Christ.’
27“For truly, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles and the people of Israel, were gathered together against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed,
28to do whatever your hand and your counsel foreordained to happen.
29Now, Lord, look at their threats, and grant to your servants to speak your word with all boldness,
30while you stretch out your hand to heal; and that signs and wonders may be done through the name of your holy Servant Jesus.”
31When they had prayed, the place was shaken where they were gathered together. They were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and they spoke the word of God with boldness.
32The multitude of those who believed were of one heart and soul. Not one of them claimed that anything of the things which he possessed was his own, but they had all things in common.
33With great power, the apostles gave their testimony of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. Great grace was on them all.
34For neither was there among them any who lacked, for as many as were owners of lands or houses sold them, and brought the proceeds of the things that were sold,
35and laid them at the apostles’ feet; and distribution was made to each, according as anyone had need.
36Joses, who by the apostles was also called Barnabas (which is, being interpreted, Son of Encouragement), a Levite, a man of Cyprus by race,
37having a field, sold it and brought the money and laid it at the apostles’ feet.
World English BibleRead in NIV in Psalmlog →Highlighted verses are the most connected.
Key verses
Acts 4:12Peter moves from one man’s healing to the universal claim that salvation comes through Jesus alone.
Acts 4:11The rejected stone identifies Jesus as the one these rulers dismissed and God established as the cornerstone.
Acts 4:27The believers name the coalition against Jesus as they interpret their own threats through Scripture and God’s sovereign purpose.
Where this chapter reaches

Peter’s rejected stone quotation comes from Psalm 118, while the believers’ prayer quotes Psalm 2 to describe rulers opposing God’s anointed king. Luke recounts Herod’s and Pilate’s roles in the proceedings against Jesus, the same opposition named in this prayer.

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Notice

After reading the whole chapter

What stands out in the believers’ prayer after the threats, and how does it compare with your prayers?

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What connection do you notice between testimony to Jesus’ resurrection and the believers’ use of possessions?

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Questions people ask about Acts 4

What does Acts 4:12 mean by salvation in no other name?

Peter identifies Jesus Christ of Nazareth, crucified and raised by God, as the sole source of salvation. His answer begins with the healed man and broadens to everyone’s need to be saved. The name refers to Jesus himself and his authority; the words are no magic formula.

Why did the believers pray for boldness in Acts 4?

The council had ordered Peter and John to stop speaking or teaching in Jesus’ name. The believers bring those threats before God and ask for courage to keep speaking his word. Their prayer places the opposition under God’s rule, and verse 31 records the Spirit’s answer through bold speech.

Did everyone have to sell their possessions in Acts 4?

Acts 4 describes believers sharing possessions and owners selling lands or houses so that no one lacked what they needed. It records no command requiring every believer to sell everything. The emphasis falls on unity and distribution according to need, with Barnabas named as one concrete example.

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Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY). Scripture from the World English Bible (public domain). Arc diagram after Chris Harrison and Christoph Römhild (2007).