11:1 Now the apostles and the brothers who were in Judea heard that the gentiles had also accepted the word of God. |
11:2 But when Peter went up to Jerusalem, those who emphasized circumcision disagreed with him. |
11:3 They said, "You went to uncircumcised men and ate with them!" |
11:4 Then Peter began to explain to them point by point what had happened. He said, |
11:5 "I was in the town of Joppa praying when in a trance I saw a vision: Something like a large linen sheet was coming down from heaven, being lowered by its four corners, and it came right down to me. |
11:6 When I examined it closely, I saw four-footed animals of the earth, wild animals, reptiles, and birds of the air. |
11:7 I also heard a voice telling me, 'Get up, Peter! Kill something and eat it.' |
11:8 But I replied, 'Absolutely not, Lord, for nothing common or unclean has ever entered my mouth!' |
11:9 Then the voice from heaven answered a second time, 'You must stop calling common what God has made clean!' |
11:10 This happened three times. Then everything was pulled up to heaven again. |
11:11 "At that very moment three men arrived at the house where we were staying. They had been sent to me from Caesarea. |
11:12 The Spirit told me to go with them and not to treat them differently. These six brothers went with me, too, and we went into the man's house. |
11:13 Then he told us how he had seen the angel standing in his home and saying, 'Send messengers to Joppa and summon Simon, who is called Peter. |
11:14 He will speak words to you by which you and your entire home will be saved.' |
11:15 "When I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell on them just as he had on us at the beginning. |
11:16 Then I remembered the word of the Lord-how he had said, 'John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.' |
11:17 Now if God gave them the same gift that he gave us when we believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I to try to stop God?" |
11:18 When they heard this, they quieted down, and praised God, saying, "So God has given even the gentiles the repentance that leads to life." |
11:19 Now the people who were scattered by the persecution that started because of Stephen went as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus, and Antioch, speaking the word to no one except Jews. |
11:20 But among them were some men from Cyprus and Cyrene who came to Antioch and began talking to the Hellenistic Jews too, proclaiming the Lord Jesus. |
11:21 The hand of the Lord was with them, and a large number of people believed and turned to the Lord. |
11:22 News of this came to the ears of the church in Jerusalem, and so they sent Barnabas all the way to Antioch. |
11:23 When he arrived, he rejoiced to see what the grace of God had done, and with a hearty determination he continuously encouraged them all to remain faithful to the Lord. |
11:24 For he was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and faith. And so a large crowd was brought to the Lord. |
11:25 Then Barnabas left for Tarsus to look for Saul. |
11:26 When he found him, he brought him to Antioch, and for a whole year they were guests of the church and taught a large crowd. It was in Antioch that the disciples were first called Christians. |
11:27 At that time some prophets from Jerusalem came down to Antioch. |
11:28 One of them named Agabus got up and predicted by the Spirit that there would be a severe famine all over the world. This happened during the reign of Claudius. |
11:29 So every one of the disciples decided, as he was able, to send a contribution to the brothers living in Judea. |
11:30 They did this by sending Barnabas and Saul to the elders. |