Acts 11

Chapter 11

Peter Explains His Actions

1 Soon the news reached the apostles and other believerst in Judea that the Gentiles had received the word of God.2 But when Peter arrived back in Jerusalem, the Jewish believerst criticized him.

3 “You entered the home of Gentilest and even ate with them!” they said.
4 Then Peter told them exactly what had happened.5 “I was in the town of Joppa,” he said, “and while I was praying, I went into a trance and saw a vision. Something like a large sheet was let down by its four corners from the sky. And it came right down to me.6 When I looked inside the sheet, I saw all sorts of tame and wild animals, reptiles, and birds.

7 And I heard a voice say, ‘Get up, Peter; kill and eat them.’

8 “‘No, Lord,’ I replied. ‘I have never eaten anything that our Jewish laws have declared impure or unclean.t’
9 “But the voice from heaven spoke again: ‘Do not call something unclean if God has made it clean.’

10 This happened three times before the sheet and all it contained was pulled back up to heaven.
11 “Just then three men who had been sent from Caesarea arrived at the house where we were staying.12 The Holy Spirit told me to go with them and not to worry that they were Gentiles. These six brothers here accompanied me, and we soon entered the home of the man who had sent for us.13 He told us how an angel had appeared to him in his home and had told him, ‘Send messengers to Joppa, and summon a man named Simon Peter.

14 He will tell you how you and everyone in your household can be saved!’
15 “As I began to speak,” Peter continued, “the Holy Spirit fell on them, just as he fell on us at the beginning.16 Then I thought of the Lord’s words when he said, ‘John baptized witht water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’

17 And since God gave these Gentiles the same gift he gave us when we believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I to stand in God’s way?”

18 When the others heard this, they stopped objecting and began praising God. They said, “We can see that God has also given the Gentiles the privilege of repenting of their sins and receiving eternal life.”

The Church in Antioch of Syria

19 Meanwhile, the believers who had been scattered during the persecution after Stephen’s death traveled as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus, and Antioch of Syria. They preached the word of God, but only to Jews.20 However, some of the believers who went to Antioch from Cyprus and Cyrene began preaching to the Gentilest about the Lord Jesus.

21 The power of the Lord was with them, and a large number of these Gentiles believed and turned to the Lord.
22 When the church at Jerusalem heard what had happened, they sent Barnabas to Antioch.23 When he arrived and saw this evidence of God’s blessing, he was filled with joy, and he encouraged the believers to stay true to the Lord.

24 Barnabas was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and strong in faith. And many people were brought to the Lord.
25 Then Barnabas went on to Tarsus to look for Saul.

26 When he found him, he brought him back to Antioch. Both of them stayed there with the church for a full year, teaching large crowds of people. (It was at Antioch that the believerst were first called Christians.)
27 During this time some prophets traveled from Jerusalem to Antioch.28 One of them named Agabus stood up in one of the meetings and predicted by the Spirit that a great famine was coming upon the entire Roman world. (This was fulfilled during the reign of Claudius.)29 So the believers in Antioch decided to send relief to the brothers and sisterst in Judea, everyone giving as much as they could.

30 This they did, entrusting their gifts to Barnabas and Saul to take to the elders of the church in Jerusalem.

ACTS 11

Peter Reports to the Church //in Jerusalem

1 The apostles and the followers in Judea heard that Gentiles had accepted God's message. 2 So when Peter came to Jerusalem, some of the Jewish followers started arguing with him. They wanted Gentile followers to be circumcised, and

3 they said, “You stayed in the homes of Gentiles, and you even ate with them!”

4 Then Peter told them exactly what had happened:
5 I was in the town of Joppa and was praying when I fell sound asleep and had a vision. I saw heaven open, and something like a huge sheet held by its four corners came down to me. 6 When I looked in it, I saw animals, wild beasts, reptiles, and birds.

7 I heard a voice saying to me, “Peter, get up! Kill these and eat them.”

8 But I said, “Lord, I can't do that! I've never taken a bite of anything that is unclean and not fit to eat.”t
9 The voice from heaven spoke to me again, “When God says that something can be used for food, don't say it isn't fit to eat.”

10 This happened three times before it was all taken back into heaven.
11 Suddenly three men from Caesarea stood in front of the house where I was staying. 12 The Holy Spirit told me to go with them and not to worry. Then six of the Lord's followers went with me to the home of a man 13 who told us that an angel had appeared to him. The angel had ordered him to send to Joppa for someone named Simon Peter.

14 Then Peter would tell him how he and everyone in his house could be saved.
15 After I started speaking, the Holy Spirit was given to them, just as the Spirit had been given to us at the beginning. 16 t I remembered that the Lord had said, “John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.”

17 God gave those Gentiles the same gift that he gave us when we put our faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. So how could I have gone against God?

18 When they heard Peter say this, they stopped arguing and started praising God. They said, “God has now let Gentiles turn to him, and he has given life to them!”

The Church in Antioch

19  t Some of the Lord's followers had been scattered because of the terrible trouble that started when Stephen was killed. They went as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus, and Antioch, but they told the message only to the Jews.
20 Some of the followers from Cyprus and Cyrene went to Antioch and started telling Gentilest the good news about the Lord Jesus. 21 The Lord's power was with them, and many people turned to the Lord and put their faith in him.

22 News of what was happening reached the church in Jerusalem. Then they sent Barnabas to Antioch.
23 When Barnabas got there and saw how God had blessed them with undeserved grace, he was very glad. So he begged them to remain faithful to the Lord with all their hearts.

24 Barnabas was a good man of great faith, and he was filled with the Holy Spirit. Many more people turned to the Lord.
25 Barnabas went to Tarsus to look for Saul.

26 He found Saul and brought him to Antioch, where they met with the church for a whole year and taught many of its people. There in Antioch the Lord's followers were first called Christians.
27 During this time some prophets from Jerusalem came to Antioch. 28 t One of them was Agabus. Then with the help of the Spirit, he told that there would be a terrible famine everywhere in the world. And it happened when Claudius was Emperor.t 29 The followers in Antioch decided to send whatever help they could to the followers in Judea. 30 So they appointed Barnabas and Saul to take their gifts to the church leaders in Jerusalem.