The Early Church

When he saw Kefa and Yochanan about to enter, he asked them for some money.

But they stared straight at him; and Kefa said, “Look at us!”

The crippled man fixed his attention on them, expecting to receive something from them.

Kefa said, “I don’t have silver, and I don’t have gold, but what I do have I give to you: in the name of the Messiah, Yeshua of Natzeret, walk!”

And taking hold of him by his right hand, Kefa pulled him up. Instantly his feet and ankles became strong;

so that he sprang up, stood a moment, and began walking. Then he entered the Temple court with them, walking and leaping and praising God!

Everyone saw him walking and praising God.

They recognized him as the same man who had formerly sat begging at the Beautiful Gate of the Temple, and they were utterly amazed and confounded at what had happened to him.

While he clung to Kefa and Yochanan, all the people came running in astonishment toward them in Shlomo’s Colonnade.

Seeing this, Kefa addressed the people: “Men of Isra’el! Why are you amazed at this? Or why do you stare at us as if we had made this man walk through some power or godliness of our own?

The God of Avraham, Yitz’chak and Ya‘akov, the God of our fathers, has glorified his servant Yeshua — the same Yeshua you handed over and disowned before Pilate, even after he had decided to release him.

You denied the holy and innocent one, and instead asked for the reprieve of a murderer!

You killed the author of life! “But God has raised him from the dead! Of this we are witnesses.

And it is through putting trust in his name that his name has given strength to this man whom you see and know. Yes, it is the trust that comes through Yeshua which has given him this perfect healing in the presence of you all.

“Now, brothers, I know that you did not understand the significance of what you were doing; neither did your leaders.

But this is how God fulfilled what he had announced in advance, when he spoke through all the prophets, namely, that his Messiah was to die.

“Therefore, repent and turn to God, so that your sins may be erased;

so that times of refreshing may come from the Lord’s presence; and he may send the Messiah appointed in advance for you, that is, Yeshua.

He has to remain in heaven until the time comes for restoring everything, as God said long ago, when he spoke through the holy prophets.

For Moshe himself said, ‘Adonai will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your brothers. You are to listen to everything he tells you.

Everyone who fails to listen to that prophet will be removed from the people and destroyed.’

Indeed, all the prophets announced these days, starting with Sh’mu’el and continuing through all who followed.

“You are the sons of the prophets; and you are included in the covenant which God made with our fathers when he said to Avraham, ‘By your seed will all the families of the earth be blessed.’

So it is to you first that God has sent his servant whom he has raised up, so that he might bless you by turning each one of you from your evil ways.”

Kefa and Yochanan were still speaking to the people when the cohanim, the captain in charge of the Temple police, and the Tz’dukim came upon them,