Gentile Salvation Defended

11 The apostles and the brothers and sisters who were throughout Judea heard that the Gentiles had also received the word of God. When Peter went up to Jerusalem, the circumcision party criticized him,(A) saying, “You went to uncircumcised men and ate with them.”(B)

Peter began to explain to them step by step, “I(C) was in the town of Joppa praying, and I saw, in a trance, an object that resembled a large sheet coming down, being lowered by its four corners from heaven, and it came to me. When I looked closely and considered it, I saw the four-footed animals of the earth, the wild beasts, the reptiles, and the birds of the sky. I also heard a voice telling me, ‘Get up, Peter; kill and eat.’

“‘No, Lord!’ I said. ‘For nothing impure or ritually unclean has ever entered my mouth.’ But a voice answered from heaven a second time, ‘What God has made clean, you must not call impure.’

10 “Now this happened three times, and everything was drawn up again into heaven. 11 At that very moment, three men who had been sent to me from Caesarea arrived at the house where we were. 12 The Spirit told me to accompany them with no doubts at all. These six brothers also accompanied me, and we went into the man’s house.(D) 13 He reported to us how he had seen the angel standing in his house and saying, ‘Send to Joppa, and call for Simon, who is also named Peter. 14 He will speak a message to you by which you and all your household(E) will be saved.’

15 “As I began to speak, the Holy Spirit came down on them, just as on us at the beginning.(F) 16 I remembered the word of the Lord, how he said, ‘John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’(G) 17 If, then, God gave them the same gift that he also gave to us when we believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, how could I possibly hinder God?” (H)

18 When they heard this they became silent. And they glorified God, saying, “So then, God has given repentance resulting in life even to the Gentiles.”(I)

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Peter Reports to the Church in Jerusalem

11 Now the apostles and the brothers who were in Judea heard that the gentiles had also accepted the word of God. But when Peter went up to Jerusalem, those who emphasized circumcision[a] disagreed with him. They said, “You went to uncircumcised men and ate with them!”

Then Peter began to explain to them point by point what had happened. He said, “I was in the town of Joppa praying when in a trance I saw a vision: Something like a large linen sheet descended down from heaven, lowered by its four corners, and it came right down to me. When I examined it closely, I saw four-footed animals of the earth, wild animals, reptiles, and birds of the air. I also heard a voice telling me, ‘Get up, Peter! Kill something and eat it.’ But I replied, ‘Absolutely not, Lord, for nothing common or unclean has ever entered my mouth!’ Then the voice from heaven answered a second time, ‘You must stop calling common what God has made clean!’ 10 This happened three times. Then everything was pulled back up to heaven.

11 “At that very moment three men arrived at the house where we were staying. They had been sent to me from Caesarea. 12 The Spirit told me to go with them without hesitating. These six brothers went with me, too, and we entered the house of the man from Caesarea.[b] 13 Then he told us how he had seen an angel standing in his home and saying, ‘Send messengers[c] to Joppa and summon Simon, who is called Peter. 14 He will discuss with you how you and your entire household will be saved.’

15 “When I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell on them just as he was first given to us. 16 Then I remembered what the Lord had said: ‘John baptized with[d] water, but you will be baptized with[e] the Holy Spirit.’ 17 Now if God gave them the same gift that he gave us when we believed in the Lord Jesus, the Messiah,[f] who was I to try to stop God?”

18 When they heard this, they calmed down, and praised God by saying, “So God has given repentance that leads to life even to gentiles.”

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Footnotes

  1. Acts 11:2 Lit. those of the circumcision
  2. Acts 11:12 The Gk. lacks from Caesarea
  3. Acts 11:13 The Gk. lacks messengers
  4. Acts 11:16 Or in
  5. Acts 11:16 Or in
  6. Acts 11:17 Or Christ