¹⁸ And Jesus came and said to them, ^(A)“All authority ^(B)in heaven and on earth has been given to me. ^19 (C)Go therefore and ^(D)make disciples of ^(E)all nations, ^(F)baptizing them ^(G)in^{[a] (H)}the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,

Jesus Calls the First Disciples

³⁵ The next day again John was standing with two of his disciples, ³⁶ and he looked at Jesus as he walked by and said, “Behold, ^(A)the Lamb of God!” ³⁷ The two disciples heard him say this, and they followed Jesus. ³⁸ Jesus turned and saw them following and said to them, ^(B)“What are you seeking?” And they said to him, ^(C)“Rabbi” (which means Teacher), “where are you staying?” ³⁹ He said to them, “Come and you will see.” So they came and saw where he was staying, and they stayed with him that day, for it was about the tenth hour.^{[a] 40 (D)}One of the two who heard John speak and followed Jesus^[b] was Andrew, Simon Peter's brother. ⁴¹ He first found his own brother Simon and said to him, “We have found ^(E)the Messiah” (which means Christ). ⁴² He brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon the son of ^(F)John. You shall be called ^(G)Cephas” (which means ^(H)Peter^[c]).

Jesus Calls Philip and Nathanael

^43 (I)The next day Jesus decided ^(J)to go to Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, “Follow me.” ⁴⁴ Now ^(K)Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. ⁴⁵ Philip found ^(L)Nathanael and said to him, “We have found him of whom ^(M)Moses in the Law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus ^(N)of Nazareth, ^(O)the son of Joseph.” ⁴⁶ Nathanael said to him, ^(P)“Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” Philip said to him, “Come and see.” ⁴⁷ Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him and said of him, “Behold, ^(Q)an Israelite indeed, ^(R)in whom there is no deceit!” ⁴⁸ Nathanael said to him, “How ^(S)do you know me?” Jesus answered him, “Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.” ⁴⁹ Nathanael answered him, ^(T)“Rabbi, ^(U)you are the Son of God! You are the ^(V)King of Israel!” ⁵⁰ Jesus answered him, “Because I said to you, ‘I saw you under the fig tree,’ do you believe? You will see greater things than these.”

¹⁹ And while Peter was pondering ^(A)the vision, ^(B)the Spirit said to him, “Behold, three men are looking for you. ²⁰ Rise and go down and ^(C)accompany them without hesitation,^[a] for I have sent them.” ²¹ And Peter went down to the men and said, “I am the one you are looking for. What is the reason for your coming?” ²² And they said, “Cornelius, a centurion, an upright and ^(D)God-fearing man, who is well spoken of by the whole Jewish nation, was directed by ^(E)a holy angel to send for you to come to his house and ^(F)to hear what you have to say.” ²³ So he invited them in to be his guests.

The next day he rose and went away with them, and ^(G)some of ^(H)the brothers from Joppa accompanied him. ²⁴ And on the following day they entered Caesarea. Cornelius was expecting them and had called together his relatives and close friends. ²⁵ When Peter entered, Cornelius met him and ^(I)fell down at his feet and ^(J)worshiped him. ²⁶ But Peter lifted him up, saying, ^(K)“Stand up; I too am a man.” ²⁷ And as he talked with him, he went in and found many persons gathered. ²⁸ And he said to them, “You yourselves know how unlawful it is for a Jew ^(L)to associate with or to visit anyone of another nation, but ^(M)God has shown me that I should not call any person common or unclean. ²⁹ So when I was sent for, I came without objection. I ask then why you sent for me.”

³⁰ And Cornelius said, ^(N)“Four days ago, about this hour, I was praying in my house at ^(O)the ninth hour,^[b] and behold, ^(P)a man stood before me in bright clothing ³¹ and said, ‘Cornelius, ^(Q)your prayer has been heard and your alms have been remembered before God. ³² Send therefore to Joppa and ask for Simon who is called Peter. He is lodging in the house of Simon, a tanner, by the sea.’ ³³ So I sent for you at once, and you have been kind enough to come. Now therefore we are all here in the presence of God to hear all that you have been commanded by the Lord.”

Gentiles Hear the Good News

³⁴ So Peter opened his mouth and said: “Truly I understand that ^(R)God ^(S)shows no partiality, ³⁵ but ^(T)in every nation anyone who fears him and ^(U)does what is right is acceptable to him. ³⁶ As for ^(V)the word that he sent to Israel, ^(W)preaching good news of ^(X)peace through Jesus Christ (^(Y)he is Lord of all), ³⁷ you yourselves know what happened throughout all Judea, ^(Z)beginning ^(AA)from Galilee after the baptism that John proclaimed: ³⁸ how ^(AB)God anointed Jesus of Nazareth ^(AC)with the Holy Spirit and with ^(AD)power. He went about doing good and healing all ^(AE)who were oppressed by the devil, ^(AF)for God was with him. ³⁹ And ^(AG)we are witnesses of all that he did both in the country of the Jews and in Jerusalem. ^(AH)They put him to death by hanging him on a tree, ⁴⁰ but ^(AI)God raised him on ^(AJ)the third day and made him to ^(AK)appear, ^41 (AL)not to all the people but to us who had been chosen by God as ^(AM)witnesses, who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead. ⁴² And ^(AN)he commanded us to preach to the people and to testify ^(AO)that he is the one appointed by God to be judge ^(AP)of the living and the dead. ^43 (AQ)To him ^(AR)all the prophets bear witness that ^(AS)everyone who believes in him receives ^(AT)forgiveness of sins ^(AU)through his name.”

The Holy Spirit Falls on the Gentiles

⁴⁴ While Peter was still saying these things, ^(AV)the Holy Spirit fell on all who heard the word. ⁴⁵ And the believers from among ^(AW)the circumcised who had come with Peter were amazed, because ^(AX)the gift of the Holy Spirit ^(AY)was poured out even on the Gentiles. ⁴⁶ For they were hearing them ^(AZ)speaking in tongues and extolling God. Then Peter declared, ^47 (BA)“Can anyone withhold water for baptizing these people, who have received the Holy Spirit ^(BB)just as we have?” ⁴⁸ And he ^(BC)commanded them ^(BD)to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Then they asked him to remain for some days.