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. ² But when Peter went up to Jerusalem, those who emphasized circumcision^[a] disagreed with him. ³ They said, “You went to uncircumcised men and ate with them!”

⁴ Then Peter began to explain to them point by point what had happened. He said, ⁵ “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. ⁶ When I examined it closely, I saw four-footed animals of the earth, wild animals, reptiles, and birds of the air. ⁷ I also heard a voice telling me, ‘Get up, Peter! Kill something and eat it.’ ⁸ But I replied, ‘Absolutely not, Lord, for nothing common or unclean has ever entered my mouth!’ ⁹ 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.”