Book of Common Prayer
Controversy and vindication
11 The apostles, and the brothers and sisters with them in Judaea, heard that the Gentiles had received the word of God. 2 So when Peter went up to Jerusalem, those who wanted to emphasize circumcision took issue with him.
3 “Why did you do it?” they asked. “Why did you go in to visit uncircumcised men and eat with them?”
4 So Peter began to explain it all, step by step.
5 “I was in the town of Joppa,” he said, “and I was praying. I was in a trance, and I saw a vision: something like a great sail suspended by its four corners was let down from heaven, and came towards me. 6 I stared at it, then I began to look in, and I saw four-footed land animals, wild beasts, reptiles and birds of the air. 7 I heard a voice, saying to me, ‘Get up, Peter! Kill and eat!’ 8 ‘Certainly not, Lord,’ I replied. ‘Nothing common or unclean has ever entered my mouth!’ 9 Then the voice came from heaven a second time: ‘What God made clean, you must not regard as common.’ 10 All this happened three times, and then the whole lot was drawn back up into heaven.
11 “Just then, suddenly, three men appeared at the house where I was, sent to me from Caesarea. 12 The spirit told me to go with them, without raising scrupulous objections. These six brothers also came with me, and we went into the man’s house. 13 He told us that he had seen an angel standing in his house and saying, ‘Send to Joppa and fetch Simon called Peter, 14 who will speak to you words by which you and all your house will be saved.’ 15 As I began to speak, the holy spirit fell on them, just as the spirit did on us at the beginning. 16 And I remembered the word which the Lord had spoken: ‘John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the holy spirit.’
17 “So, then,” Peter concluded, “if God gave them the same gift as he gave to us when we believed in the Lord Jesus the Messiah, who was I to stand in the way of God?”
18 When they heard this, they had nothing more to say. They praised God.
“Well, then,” they declared, “God has given the Gentiles, too, the repentance that leads to life!”
The calling of the disciples
14 After John’s arrest, Jesus came into Galilee, announcing God’s good news.
15 “The time is fulfilled!” he said; “God’s kingdom is arriving! Turn back, and believe the good news!”
16 As he went along beside the sea of Galilee he saw Simon and his brother Andrew. They were fishermen, and were casting nets into the sea.
17 “Follow me!” said Jesus to them. “I’ll have you fishing for people!”
18 Straight away they left their nets and followed him. 19 He went on a bit, and saw James, Zebedee’s son, and John his brother. They were in the boat mending their nets, 20 and he called them then and there. They left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired servants, and went off after him.
Exorcism and healings
21 They went to Capernaum. At once, on the sabbath, Jesus went into the synagogue and taught. 22 They were astonished at his teaching. He wasn’t like the legal teachers; he said things on his own authority.
23 All at once, in their synagogue, there was a man with an unclean spirit.
24 “What business have you got with us, Jesus of Nazareth?” he yelled. “Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are: you’re God’s Holy One!”
25 “Be quiet!” ordered Jesus. “And come out of him!”
26 The unclean spirit convulsed the man, gave a great shout, and came out of him. 27 Everyone was astonished.
“What’s this?” they started to say to each other. “New teaching—with real authority! He even tells the unclean spirits what to do, and they do it!”
28 Word about Jesus spread at once, all over the surrounding district of Galilee.
Scripture quotations from The New Testament for Everyone are copyright © Nicholas Thomas Wright 2011, 2018, 2019.