Cornelius’ Vision

10 Now at ^[a]Caesarea [Maritima] there was a man named Cornelius, a centurion of what was known as the ^[b]Italian Regiment, ² a devout man and one who, along with all his household, feared God. He made many charitable donations to the Jewish people, and prayed to God always. ³ About the ninth hour (3:00 p.m.) of the day he clearly saw in a vision an angel of God who had come to him and said, “Cornelius!” ⁴ Cornelius was frightened and stared intently at him and said, “What is it, lord (sir)?” And the angel said to him, “Your prayers and gifts of charity have ascended as a memorial offering before God [an offering made in remembrance of His past blessings]. ⁵ Now send men to ^[c]Joppa and have them call for a man named Simon, who is also called Peter [and invite him here]; ⁶ he is staying with Simon the tanner, whose house is by the sea.” ⁷ When the angel who was speaking to him had gone, Cornelius called two of his servants and a devout soldier from among his own personal attendants; ⁸ and after explaining everything to them, he sent them to Joppa.

⁹ The next day, as they were on their way and were approaching the city, Peter went up on ^[d]the roof of the house about the sixth hour (noon) to pray, ¹⁰ but he became hungry and wanted something to eat. While ^[e]the meal was being prepared he fell into a trance; ¹¹ and he saw the sky opened up, and an ^[f]object like a great sheet descending, lowered by its four corners to the earth, ¹² and it contained all kinds of four-footed animals and crawling creatures of the earth and birds of the air. ¹³ A voice came to him, “Get up, Peter, kill and eat!” ¹⁴ But Peter said, “Not at all, Lord, for I have never eaten anything that is common (unholy) and [ceremonially] unclean.” ¹⁵ And the voice came to him a second time, “What God has cleansed and pronounced clean, no longer consider common (unholy).” ¹⁶ This happened three times, and then immediately the object was taken up into heaven.

¹⁷ Now Peter was still perplexed and completely at a loss as to what his vision could mean when the men who had been sent by Cornelius, having asked directions to Simon’s house, arrived at the gate. ¹⁸ And they called out to ask whether Simon, who was also called Peter, was staying there. ¹⁹ While Peter was thoughtfully considering the vision, the Spirit said to him, “Now listen, three men are looking for you. ²⁰ Get up, go downstairs and go with them without hesitating or doubting, because I have sent them Myself.” ²¹ Peter went down to the men and said, “I am the one you are looking for. For what reason have you come?” ²² They said, “Cornelius, a centurion, an upright and God-fearing man well spoken of by all the Jewish people, was divinely instructed by a holy angel to send for you to come to his house and hear what you have to say.” ²³ So Peter ^[g]invited them in and gave them lodging [for the night].

Peter at Caesarea

The next day Peter got up and left with them, and some of the brothers from Joppa went with him. ²⁴ On the following day he [and the others] entered Caesarea. Cornelius was waiting for them, and had called together his relatives and close friends. ²⁵ When Peter arrived, Cornelius met him, and fell down at his feet and ^[h]worshiped him. ²⁶ But Peter raised him up, saying, “Stand up; I too am only a man.” ²⁷ As Peter talked with him, he entered [the house] and found a large group of people assembled. ²⁸ He said to them, “You know that it is unlawful for a Jewish man to associate with or befriend a Gentile, or to visit him; and yet God has shown me that I am not to call anyone common or [ceremonially] unclean. ²⁹ Therefore when I was sent for, I came without raising an objection. So I ask for what reason have you sent for me?”

³⁰ Cornelius said, “Four days ago to this hour, I was praying in my house during the ninth hour (3:00-4:00 p.m.); and a man [dressed] in bright, dazzling clothing suddenly stood before me, ³¹ and he said, ‘Cornelius, your prayer has been heard, and your acts of charity have been remembered before God [so that He is about to help you]. ³² Therefore send word to Joppa and invite Simon, who is also called Peter, to come to you. He is staying at the house of Simon the tanner by the sea.’ ³³ So I sent for you at once, and you have been kind enough to come. Now then, we are all here present before God to listen to everything that you have been instructed by the Lord [to say].”

Gentiles Hear Good News

³⁴ Opening his mouth, Peter said:

“Most certainly I understand now that God is not one to show partiality [to people as though Gentiles were excluded from God’s blessing], ³⁵ but in every nation the person who fears God and does what is right [by seeking Him] is acceptable and welcomed by Him. ³⁶ You know the message which He sent to the sons of Israel, announcing ^[i]the good news of peace through Jesus Christ, who is Lord of all— ³⁷ you know the things that have taken place throughout Judea, starting in Galilee after the baptism preached by John— ³⁸ how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with great power; and He went around doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, because God was with Him.^{(A) 39} We are [personally] eyewitnesses of everything that He did both in the land of the Jews and in Jerusalem [in particular]. They also put Him to death by hanging Him on a cross; ⁴⁰ God raised Him [to life] on the third day and caused Him to be plainly seen, ⁴¹ not to all the people, but to witnesses who were chosen and designated beforehand by God, that is, to us who ate and drank together with Him after He rose from the dead.^{(B) 42} He commanded us to preach to the people [both Jew and Gentile], and to solemnly testify that He is the One who has been appointed and ordained by God as Judge of the living and the dead. ⁴³ All the prophets testify about Him, that through His name everyone who believes in Him [whoever trusts in and relies on Him, accepting Him as Savior and Messiah] receives forgiveness of sins.”

⁴⁴ While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit fell on all those who were listening to the message [confirming God’s acceptance of Gentiles]. ⁴⁵ All the circumcised believers who came with Peter were amazed, because the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on the Gentiles. ⁴⁶ For they heard them talking in [unknown] tongues (languages) and exalting and magnifying and praising God. Then Peter said, ⁴⁷ “Can anyone refuse water for these people to be baptized, since they have received the Holy Spirit just as we did?” ⁴⁸ And he ordered that they be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Then they asked him to stay there for a few days.

Peter Reports at Jerusalem

11 Now the apostles and the believers who were throughout Judea heard [with astonishment] that the Gentiles also had received and accepted the word of God [the message concerning salvation through Christ]. ² So when Peter went up to Jerusalem, those of the circumcision [certain Jewish believers who followed the Law] took issue with him [for violating Jewish customs], ³ saying, “You went to uncircumcised men and [even] ate with them!” ⁴ But Peter began [at the beginning] and explained [the events] to them step by step, saying, ⁵ “I was in the city of Joppa praying; and in a trance I saw a vision of an object coming down from heaven, like a huge sheet being lowered by the four corners; and [it descended until] it came right down to me, ⁶ and looking closely at it, I saw all kinds of the four-footed animals of the earth and the wild beasts and the crawling creatures and the birds of the air [both clean and unclean according to the Law], ⁷ and I also heard a voice saying to me, ‘Get up, Peter; kill and eat.’ ⁸ But I said, ‘Not at all, Lord; for nothing common (unholy) or [ceremonially] unclean has ever entered my mouth.’ ⁹ But the voice from heaven answered a second time, ‘What God has cleansed and pronounced clean, no longer consider common (unholy).’ ¹⁰ This happened three times, and everything was drawn up again into heaven. ¹¹ And right then the three men who had been sent to me from Caesarea arrived at the house where we were staying. ¹² The Spirit told me to go with them without the slightest hesitation. So these six brothers also went with me and we went to the man’s house. ¹³ And Cornelius told us how he had seen the angel standing in his house, saying, ‘Send word to Joppa and have Simon, who is also called Peter, brought here; ¹⁴ he will bring a message to you by which you will be saved [and granted eternal life], you and all your household.’ ¹⁵ When I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell on them just as He did on us at the beginning [at Pentecost].^{(C) 16} Then I remembered the word of the Lord, how He used to say, ‘John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’ ¹⁷ So, if God gave Gentiles the same gift [equally] as He gave us after we accepted and believed and trusted in the Lord Jesus Christ [as Savior], who was I to interfere or stand in God’s way?” ¹⁸ When they heard this, they quieted down and glorified and praised God, saying, “Then God has also granted to the Gentiles repentance that leads to eternal life [that is, real life after earthly death].”

The Church at Antioch

¹⁹ So then [since they were unaware of these developments] those who were scattered because of the persecution that occurred in connection with [the stoning of] Stephen traveled as far as Phoenicia and Cyprus and Antioch, without telling the message [of salvation through Christ] to anyone except Jews. ²⁰ But there were some of them, men of Cyprus and Cyrene, who came to Antioch and began speaking to the Greeks as well, proclaiming [to them] the good news about the Lord Jesus. ²¹ And the hand (the power and presence) of the Lord was with them, and a great number who believed turned to the Lord [for salvation, accepting and drawing near to Jesus as Messiah and Savior]. ²² The news of this reached the ears of the church in Jerusalem, and they sent Barnabas to Antioch. ²³ When he arrived and saw the grace of God [that was bestowed on them], he rejoiced and began to encourage them all with an unwavering heart to stay true and devoted to the Lord. ²⁴ For Barnabas was a good man [privately and publicly—his godly character benefited both himself and others] and he was full of the Holy Spirit and full of faith [in Jesus the Messiah, through whom believers have everlasting life]. And a great number of people were brought to the Lord. ²⁵ And Barnabas left for Tarsus to search for Saul; ²⁶ and when he found him, he brought him back to Antioch. For an entire year they met [with others] in the church and instructed large numbers; and it was in Antioch that the disciples were first called Christians.^(D)

²⁷ Now at this time some prophets came down from Jerusalem to Antioch. ²⁸ One of them named Agabus stood up and prophesied through the [Holy] Spirit that a severe famine would come on the ^[j]entire world. And this did happen during the reign of ^[k]Claudius. ²⁹ So the disciples decided to send a contribution, each according to his individual ability, to the believers who lived in Judea. ³⁰ And this they did, sending the contribution to the elders by Barnabas and Saul.

Peter’s Arrest and Escape

12 Now at that time ^[l]Herod [Agrippa I] the king [of the Jews] arrested some who belonged to the church, intending to harm them. ² And he had James the brother of John put to death with a sword; ³ and when he saw that it pleased the Jews, he proceeded to have Peter arrested as well. This was during the days of Unleavened Bread [the Passover week]. ⁴ When he had seized Peter, he put him in prison, turning him over to four squads of soldiers of four each to guard him [in rotation throughout the night], planning after the Passover to bring him out before the people [for execution]. ⁵ So Peter was kept in prison, but fervent and persistent prayer for him was being made to God by the church.