Cornelius Calls for Peter

10 A man named Cornelius lived in Caesarea. He was a Roman commander in the Italian Regiment. ² Cornelius and all his family were faithful and worshiped God. He gave freely to people who were in need. He prayed to God regularly. ³ One day about three o’clock in the afternoon he had a vision. He saw clearly an angel of God. The angel came to him and said, “Cornelius!”

⁴ Cornelius was afraid. He stared at the angel. “What is it, Lord?” he asked.

The angel answered, “Your prayers and gifts to poor people are like an offering to God. So he has remembered you. ⁵ Now send men to Joppa. Have them bring back a man named Simon. He is also called Peter. ⁶ He is staying with another Simon, a man who works with leather. His house is by the sea.”

⁷ The angel who spoke to him left. Then Cornelius called two of his servants. He also called a godly soldier who was one of his attendants. ⁸ He told them everything that had happened. Then he sent them to Joppa.

Peter Has a Vision

⁹ It was about noon the next day. The men were on their journey and were approaching the city. Peter went up on the roof to pray. ¹⁰ He became hungry. He wanted something to eat. While the meal was being prepared, Peter had a vision. ¹¹ He saw heaven open up. There he saw something that looked like a large sheet. It was being let down to earth by its four corners. ¹² It had all kinds of four-footed animals in it. It also had reptiles and birds in it. ¹³ Then a voice told him, “Get up, Peter. Kill and eat.”

¹⁴ “No, Lord! I will not!” Peter replied. “I have never eaten anything that is not pure and ‘clean.’ ”

¹⁵ The voice spoke to him a second time. It said, “Do not say anything is not pure that God has made ‘clean.’ ”

¹⁶ This happened three times. Right away the sheet was taken back up to heaven.

¹⁷ Peter was wondering what the vision meant. At that very moment the men sent by Cornelius found Simon’s house. They stopped at the gate ¹⁸ and called out. They asked if Simon Peter was staying there.

¹⁹ Peter was still thinking about the vision. The Holy Spirit spoke to him. “Simon,” he said, “three men are looking for you. ²⁰ Get up and go downstairs. Don’t let anything keep you from going with them. I have sent them.”

²¹ Peter went down and spoke to the men. “I’m the one you’re looking for,” he said. “Why have you come?”

²² The men replied, “We have come from Cornelius, the Roman commander. He is a good man who worships God. All the Jewish people respect him. A holy angel told him to invite you to his house. Then Cornelius can hear what you have to say.” ²³ Then Peter invited the men into the house to be his guests.

Peter Goes to the House of Cornelius

The next day Peter went with the three men. Some of the believers from Joppa went along. ²⁴ The following day he arrived in Caesarea. Cornelius was expecting them. He had called together his relatives and close friends. ²⁵ When Peter entered the house, Cornelius met him. As a sign of respect, he fell at Peter’s feet. ²⁶ But Peter made him get up. “Stand up,” he said. “I am only a man myself.”

²⁷ As he was talking with Cornelius, Peter went inside. There he found a large group of people. ²⁸ He said to them, “You know that it is against our law for a Jew to enter a Gentile home. A Jew shouldn’t have any close contact with a Gentile. But God has shown me that I should not say anyone is not pure and ‘clean.’ ²⁹ So when you sent for me, I came without asking any questions. May I ask why you sent for me?”

³⁰ Cornelius answered, “Three days ago at this very hour I was in my house praying. It was three o’clock in the afternoon. Suddenly a man in shining clothes stood in front of me. ³¹ He said, ‘Cornelius, God has heard your prayer. He has remembered your gifts to poor people. ³² Send someone to Joppa to get Simon Peter. He is a guest in the home of another Simon, who works with leather. He lives by the sea.’ ³³ So I sent for you right away. It was good of you to come. Now we are all here. And God is here with us. We are ready to listen to everything the Lord has commanded you to tell us.”

³⁴ Then Peter began to speak. “I now realize how true it is that God treats everyone the same,” he said. ³⁵ “He accepts people from every nation. He accepts anyone who has respect for him and does what is right. ³⁶ You know the message God sent to the people of Israel. It is the good news of peace through Jesus Christ. He is Lord of all. ³⁷ You know what has happened all through the area of Judea. It started in Galilee after John preached about baptism. ³⁸ You know how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power. Jesus went around doing good. He healed all who were under the devil’s power. God was with him.

³⁹ “We are witnesses of everything he did in the land of the Jews and in Jerusalem. They killed him by nailing him to a cross. ⁴⁰ But on the third day God raised him from the dead. God allowed Jesus to be seen. ⁴¹ But he wasn’t seen by all the people. He was seen only by us. We are witnesses whom God had already chosen. We ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead. ⁴² He commanded us to preach to the people. He told us to tell people that he is the one appointed by God to judge the living and the dead. ⁴³ All the prophets tell about him. They say that all who believe in him have their sins forgiven through his name.”

⁴⁴ While Peter was still speaking, the Holy Spirit came on all who heard the message. ⁴⁵ Some Jewish believers had come with Peter. They were amazed because the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on the Gentiles. ⁴⁶ They heard them speaking in languages they had not known before. They also heard them praising God.

Then Peter said, ⁴⁷ “Surely no one can keep these people from being baptized with water. They have received the Holy Spirit just as we have.” ⁴⁸ So he ordered that they be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Then they asked Peter to stay with them for a few days.

An Angel Helps Peter Escape From Prison

12 About this time, King Herod arrested some people who belonged to the church. He planned to make them suffer greatly. ² He had James killed with a sword. James was John’s brother. ³ Herod saw that the death of James pleased some Jews. So he arrested Peter also. This happened during the Feast of Unleavened Bread. ⁴ After Herod arrested Peter, he put him in prison. Peter was placed under guard. He was watched by four groups of four soldiers each. Herod planned to put Peter on public trial. It would take place after the Passover Feast.

⁵ So Peter was kept in prison. But the church prayed hard to God for him.

⁶ It was the night before Herod was going to bring him to trial. Peter was sleeping between two soldiers. Two chains held him there. Lookouts stood guard at the entrance. ⁷ Suddenly an angel of the Lord appeared. A light shone in the prison cell. The angel struck Peter on his side. Peter woke up. “Quick!” the angel said. “Get up!” The chains fell off Peter’s wrists.

⁸ Then the angel said to him, “Put on your clothes and sandals.” Peter did so. “Put on your coat,” the angel told him. “Follow me.” ⁹ Peter followed him out of the prison. But he had no idea that what the angel was doing was really happening. He thought he was seeing a vision. ¹⁰ They passed the first and second guards. Then they came to the iron gate leading to the city. It opened for them by itself. They went through it. They walked the length of one street. Suddenly the angel left Peter.

¹¹ Then Peter realized what had happened. He said, “Now I know for sure that the Lord has sent his angel. He set me free from Herod’s power. He saved me from everything the Jewish people were hoping would happen.”

¹² When Peter understood what had happened, he went to Mary’s house. Mary was the mother of John Mark. Many people had gathered in her home. They were praying there. ¹³ Peter knocked at the outer entrance. A servant named Rhoda came to answer the door. ¹⁴ She recognized Peter’s voice. She was so excited that she ran back without opening the door. “Peter is at the door!” she exclaimed.

¹⁵ “You’re out of your mind,” they said to her. But she kept telling them it was true. So they said, “It must be his angel.”

¹⁶ Peter kept on knocking. When they opened the door and saw him, they were amazed. ¹⁷ Peter motioned with his hand for them to be quiet. He explained how the Lord had brought him out of prison. “Tell James and the other brothers and sisters about this,” he said. Then he went to another place.

¹⁸ In the morning the soldiers were bewildered. They couldn’t figure out what had happened to Peter. ¹⁹ So Herod had them look everywhere for Peter. But they didn’t find him. Then Herod questioned the guards closely. He ordered that they be put to death.

Herod Dies

Then Herod went from Judea to Caesarea and stayed there. ²⁰ He had been quarreling with the people of Tyre and Sidon. So they got together and asked for a meeting with him. This was because they depended on the king’s country to supply them with food. They gained the support of Blastus and then asked for peace. Blastus was a trusted personal servant of the king.

²¹ The appointed day came. Herod was seated on his throne. He was wearing his royal robes. He made a speech to the people. ²² Then they shouted, “This is the voice of a god. It’s not the voice of a man.” ²³ Right away an angel of the Lord struck Herod down. Herod had not given praise to God. So he was eaten by worms and died.

²⁴ But God’s word continued to spread and many people believed the message.

Barnabas and Saul Are Sent Off

²⁵ Barnabas and Saul finished their task. Then they returned from Jerusalem. They took John Mark with them.