Hearts Harden

7 Now the Pharisees and some of the Torah scholars who had come from Jerusalem gathered around Yeshua. ² And they saw that some of His disciples were eating bread with unclean hands, that is, not washed. ³ (For the Pharisees and all Jewish people do not eat unless they wash their hands up to the elbow, keeping the tradition of the elders. ⁴ And when they come from the marketplace, they do not eat unless they perform a ritual washing.^[a] There are many other traditions they have received and hold, such as the washing of cups, pitchers, copper vessels.)^[b]

⁵ The Pharisees and Torah scholars questioned Yeshua, “Why don’t Your disciples walk according to the tradition of the elders? Why do they eat bread with unwashed hands?”

⁶ And He said to them, “Rightly did Isaiah prophesy about you hypocrites, as it is written,

⁸ Having left behind the commandment of God, you hold on to the tradition of men.”

⁹ He was also telling them, “You set aside the commands of God, in order that you may validate your own tradition. ¹⁰ For Moses said, ‘Honor your father and your mother,’ and, ‘He who speaks evil of father or mother must be put to death.’ ^{[d] 11} But you say if anyone tells his father or mother, ‘Whatever you might have gained from me is korban (that is, an offering to God),’ ¹² then you no longer permit him to do anything for his father or mother, ¹³ making void the word of God with your tradition that you’ve handed down. And you do many such things.”^[e]

¹⁴ Then Yeshua called the crowd again and began saying to them, “Hear Me, everyone, and understand. ¹⁵ There is nothing outside the man that can make him unholy by going into him. Rather, it is what comes out of the man that makes the man unholy.” ^{[f] (16) [g]}

¹⁷ When He had left the crowd and entered the house, His disciples questioned Him about the parable. ¹⁸ And He said to them, “Are you then also lacking understanding? Don’t you grasp that whatever goes into the man cannot make him unholy? ¹⁹ For it does not enter into the heart but into the stomach, and then goes out into the sewer, cleansing all foods.”^[h]

²⁰ And He continued, “It is what comes out of the man that makes the man unholy. ²¹ For from within, out of the heart of men, come evil intentions, sexual immorality, theft, murder, ²² adultery, greed, wickedness, deceit, lustfulness, envy, slander, pride, and foolishness. ²³ All these evil things come from within and make the man unholy.”

Ananias and Sapphira Lie to the Ruach

5 On the other hand, a man named Ananias together with his wife, Sapphira, sold a property. ² He kept back some of the proceeds, with his wife’s full knowledge, and brought part of it and set it at the feet of the emissaries.

³ But Peter said, “Ananias, why has satan filled your heart to lie to the Ruach ha-Kodesh and keep back part of the proceeds of the land? ⁴ While it remained unsold, it was your own, wasn’t it? And after it was sold, wasn’t it at your disposal? How did this deed get into your heart? You haven’t lied to men but to God.”

⁵ As soon as he heard these words, Ananias fell down and died. Great fear came upon all who heard about it. ⁶ The young men got up and wrapped him in a shroud, then carried him out and buried him.

⁷ After an interval of about three hours, his wife came in, not knowing what had happened. ⁸ Peter responded to her, “Tell me if you sold the land for this much.”

She said, “Yes, for that much.”

⁹ Then Peter said to her, “How did you agree to test the Ruach Adonai? Look, the feet of those who buried your husband are at the door—they will carry you out, too!”

¹⁰ Immediately she fell down at his feet and died. When the young men came back in, they found her dead and carried her out and buried her beside her husband. ¹¹ And great fear came over the whole community and all who heard these things.

The Centurion’s Vision

10 Now in Caesarea there was a man named Cornelius, a centurion of what was called the Italian Cohort. ² He was a devout man, revering God with all his household. He gave tzedakah generously to the people and prayed to God continually. ³ About the ninth hour of the day,^[a] he saw clearly in a vision an angel of God coming and saying to him, “Cornelius!”

⁴ He stared at him in terror and said, “What is it, Lord?”

The angel said to him, “Your prayers and tzedakah have gone up as a memorial offering before God. ⁵ Now send men to Joppa and call for Simon, also named Peter. ⁶ He is being entertained as a guest by Simon the tanner, whose house is beside the sea.”

⁷ When the angel speaking to him had left, he called two of his servants and a soldier from among those attached to his command. ⁸ After he explained everything to them, he sent them to Joppa.

Peter’s Vision

⁹ The next day, as the soldiers were traveling and approaching the city, Peter went up to the rooftop to pray, at about the sixth hour. ^{[b] 10} Now he became very hungry and wanted to eat; but while they were preparing something, he fell into a trance. ¹¹ He saw the heavens opened, and something^[c] like a great sheet coming down, lowered by its four corners to the earth. ¹² In it were all sorts of four-footed animals and reptiles and birds of the air.

¹³ A voice came to him, “Get up, Peter. Kill and eat.”

¹⁴ But Peter said, “Certainly not, Lord! For never have I eaten anything unholy or unclean.”^[d]

¹⁵ Again a voice came to him, a second time: “What God has made clean, you must not consider unholy.” ¹⁶ This happened three times, and the sheet was immediately taken up to heaven.

¹⁷ Now while Peter was puzzling about what the vision he had seen might mean, behold, the men sent by Cornelius found Simon’s house and appeared before the gate. ¹⁸ They called out and began to ask whether Simon, also called Peter, was staying in this place as a guest.

¹⁹ Now while Peter was mulling over the vision, the Ruach said to him, “Look here, three men are looking for you. ²⁰ But get up, go downstairs, and go with them without hesitating, because I Myself have sent them.”

²¹ Going down to the men, Peter said, “Here, I’m the one you’re looking for. What is the reason for your coming?”

²² And they said, “Cornelius, a centurion, a righteous and God-fearing man well-spoken of by all the Jewish people, was directed by a holy angel to summon you to his house and to hear a message from you.”

²³ So Peter invited them in to be his guests. The next day he got up and went with them, and some of the brothers from Joppa accompanied him.

Peter Goes to Cornelius

²⁴ The following day he entered Caesarea. Cornelius was waiting for them and had called together his relatives and close friends. ²⁵ As Peter entered, Cornelius met him and fell down at his feet and worshiped him.

²⁶ But Peter pulled him up, saying, “Stand up! I too am just a man.”

²⁷ Talking with him, Peter went inside and found many people gathered. ²⁸ He said to them, “You yourselves know that it is not permitted for a Jewish man to associate with a non-Jew or to visit him. Yet God has shown me that I should call no one unholy or unclean. ²⁹ So I came without objection when I was sent for. I ask, then, what is the reason why you sent for me?”

³⁰ Cornelius declared, “Four days ago at this hour, I was praying minchah^[e] in my house. Suddenly, a man stood in front of me in shining clothes. ³¹ He says, ‘Cornelius, your prayer has been heard and your tzedakah remembered before God. ³² Therefore send to Joppa and ask for Simon, who is also called Peter. He is staying in the house of Simon the tanner, by the sea.’ ³³ So I sent for you immediately, and you have been kind enough to come. Now then, we are all here before God to hear all that you have been commanded by the Lord.”

³⁴ Then Peter opened his mouth and said, “I truly understand that God is not one to show favoritism, ^{[f] 35} but in every nation the one who fears Him and does what is right is acceptable to Him.

Preserving Sanctity in God’s Living Temple

¹⁴ Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers.^[a] For what partnership is there between righteousness and lawlessness? Or what fellowship does light have with darkness? ¹⁵ What harmony does Messiah have with Belial^[b]? Or what part does a believer have in common with an unbeliever? ¹⁶ What agreement does God’s Temple have with idols?^[c] For we are the temple of the living God—just as God said,

7 Therefore, since we have these promises, loved ones, let us cleanse ourselves from all defilement of body and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.

Confronting Hypocrisy

¹¹ But when Peter came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he was clearly in the wrong— ¹² for before certain people came from Jacob, he regularly ate with the Gentiles; but when they came, he began to withdraw and separate himself, fearing those from the circumcision. ¹³ And the rest of the Jews joined him in hypocrisy, so that even Barnabas was carried away with their hypocrisy. ¹⁴ But when I saw that they were not walking in line with the truth of the Good News, I said to Peter in front of everyone, “If you—being a Jew—live like the Gentiles and not like the Jews, how can you force the Gentiles to live like Jews?”

¹⁵ We are Jews by birth and not sinners from among the Gentiles. ¹⁶ Yet we know that a person is set right not by deeds based on Torah, but rather through putting trust in Messiah Yeshua.^[a] So even we have put our trust in Messiah Yeshua, in order that we might be set right based on trust in Messiah and not by deeds based on Torah—because no human will be justified^[b] by deeds based on Torah.

¹⁴ Like obedient children, do not be shaped by the cravings you had formerly in your ignorance. ¹⁵ Instead, just like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves also in everything you do. ¹⁶ For it is written,