Book of Common Prayer

11 The apostles and other Christian brothers were in Judea. They heard that some people who were not Jews had also believed God's message.

² When Peter went back to Jerusalem, the leaders of the Jews found fault with him.

³ They asked, `Why did you visit people who are not Jews? Why did you eat with them?'

⁴ Peter explained to them all that had happened from the beginning.

⁵ `I was in the city of Joppa talking with God,' he said. `Something like a dream came over me. I saw a vision. I saw a bundle like a big blanket tied by the corners. It was let down from the sky. It came down to me.

⁶ When I looked at it, I wondered about it. I saw different kinds of tame animals, wild animals, snakes, and birds.

⁷ And I heard a voice say to me, "Get up, Peter. Kill some and eat."

⁸ But I said, "No, Lord, for I have never eaten anything that is not holy or clean."

⁹ Then the voice spoke from the sky a second time, saying, "What God has made clean, you must not call unholy."

¹⁰ This happened three times. Then everything was taken up into the sky again.

¹¹ Right then three men came to the house where we were. They had come from Caesarea for me.

¹² The Spirit told me to go with them and not to fear. These six brothers went with me too. We went into the man's house.

¹³ He told us that he had seen God's angel standing in his house. The angel said to him, "Send men to Joppa to call Simon whose other name is Peter.

¹⁴ He will tell you and all your family how to be saved."

¹⁵ And when I began to speak, the Holy Spirit came on them just as he had come on us at the beginning.

¹⁶ Then I remembered that the Lord said, "John baptised with water, but you will be baptised with the Holy Spirit."

¹⁷ God gave then the same gift as he gave to us who believed on the Lord Jesus Christ. If God gave them this gift, how could I stop him? I am only a man.'

¹⁸ When the people heard this, they were satisfied. They praised God saying, `God has allowed the people who are not Jews to turn to him and live.'

¹⁴ John was put in prison. Then Jesus went to Galilee. He told people the good news of God's kingdom.

¹⁵ `The time has come,' he said. `The kingdom of God is here. Stop your wrong ways, turn back to God and believe the good news.'

¹⁶ Jesus was walking by the Sea of Galilee. There he saw Simon and his brother Andrew. They were throwing a fishing net into the water. Their work was to catch fish.

¹⁷ Jesus said to them, `Come with me. The work I give you will be to catch people.'

¹⁸ Right away they left their nets and went with him.

¹⁹ Jesus went on from there and saw James and his brother John. Their father's name was Zebedee. They were in a boat mending their nets.

²⁰ Jesus called them. Right away they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the workmen and went with Jesus.

²¹ They went to the town of Capernaum. As soon as it was the Sabbath day, Jesus went into their meeting house and taught the people.

²² They were very much surprised at his teaching because he taught them as if he had the right to teach them. He did not teach them like their teachers called scribes.

²³ A man who had a bad spirit in him was in the meeting house at that time.

²⁴ He called out, `Jesus of Nazareth, what do you want to do to us? Have you come to kill us? I know who you are. You are the Holy One of God.'

²⁵ Jesus said to the spirit, `Be quiet! Come out of him!'

²⁶ The bad spirit threw the man around. It called out loud and then it came out of the man.

²⁷ The people were all surprised. They said one to another, `What is this? Is not this a new teaching? He tells the bad spirits what to do and even they obey him'

²⁸ The people all around Galilee heard right away about Jesus.