Acts 11

Riverside^{(i) 1} THE apostles and the brethren throughout Judaea heard that the Gentiles also had received the message of God. ² When Peter went up to Jerusalem, those who were of the circumcision criticized him, ³ saying, "You went into the houses of uncircumcised men and ate with them." ⁴ But Peter began and explained consecutively all that had happened. He said, ⁵ "I was in the city of Joppa and was praying, and in a trance I saw a vision. Something like a great sheet was descending, lowered from heaven by the four corners, and it came to where I was. ⁶ I looked at it attentively and saw the fourfooted animals of the earth and the wild beasts and the reptiles and the birds of the air. ⁷ Then I heard a voice saying to me, 'Rise, Peter, kill and eat.' ⁸ I said, 'By no means, Lord, for never has anything common or unclean entered my mouth.' ⁹ The voice spoke again from heaven, 'What God has cleansed you must not think common.' ¹⁰ This happened three times and then everything was drawn up again into heaven. ¹¹ Immediately three men came to the house in which we were. They had been sent from Caesarea to me. ¹² The Spirit directed me to go with them without any questioning. These six brethren also went with me, and we entered the man's house. ¹³ He related to us how he had seen in his house an angel who stood and said, 'Send to Joppa for Simon who is called Peter. ¹⁴ He will speak to you words by which you and your whole household will be saved.' ¹⁵ When I began speaking the Holy Spirit fell on them, just as on us at the beginning, ¹⁶ and I remembered the words of the Lord how he said, 'John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.' ¹⁷ If then God gave to them the same gift that he gave to us on believing in the Lord Jesus, who was I that I could oppose God?" ¹⁸ On hearing this they ceased their criticism and gave glory to God, saying, "Then even to the Gentiles God has granted the change of heart that leads to life." ¹⁹ Those who were scattered abroad by the persecution that arose in connection with Stephen went as far as Phoenicia and Cyprus and Antioch, telling the message to none but Jews. ²⁰ Some of them were men of Cyprus and Cyrene, and they on reaching Antioch spoke also to the Greeks, telling them the good news of the Lord Jesus. ²¹ The hand of the Lord was with them, and a large number believed and turned to the Lord. ²² Word came to the ears of the church in Jerusalem regarding these men, and they sent Barnabas to Antioch. ²³ When he arrived and saw the grace of God he was delighted, and he encouraged all to be firmly faithful to the Lord. ²⁴ For he was a good man and full of the Holy Spirit and of faith. A considerable number were added to the Lord. ²⁵ Barnabas went away to Tarsus to look up Saul, ²⁶ and upon finding him he brought him to Antioch. For a whole year they met with the church and taught a large company, and it was in Antioch that the disciples were first called "Christians." ²⁷ In those days some prophets went down from Jerusalem to Antioch. ²⁸ One of them named Agabus arose and foretold through the Holy Spirit that a great famine was going to occur over all the inhabited world. (It happened in the time of Claudius.) ²⁹ Then the disciples determined, each according to his means, to send something for the help of the brethren who were living in Judaea. ³⁰ This they did, sending it to the elders by the hands of Barnabas and Saul.