Acts 10
10
1 Now there was a certain man in Caesarea, named Cornelius, a centurion of the cohort which is called Italian,
2 a devout man, fearing God with all his house, giving many alms to the people, and praying to God continually.
3 This man saw in a vision clearly, at about the ninth hour of the day, the Angel of God entering to him and saying to him: "Cornelius!"
4 And he, gazing at him, was seized by fear, and he said, "What is it, lord?" And he said to him: "Your prayers and your almsgiving have ascended as a memorial in the sight of God.
5 And now, send men to Joppa and summon a certain Simon, who is surnamed Peter.
6 This man is a guest with a certain Simon, a tanner, whose house is beside the sea. He will tell you what you must do."
7 And when the Angel who was speaking to him had departed, he called, out of those who were subject to him, two of his household servants and a soldier who feared the Lord.
8 And when he had explained everything to them, he sent them to Joppa.
9 Then, on the following day, while they were making the journey and approaching the city, Peter ascended to the upper rooms, so that he might pray, at about the sixth hour.
10 And since he was hungry, he wanted to enjoy some food. Then, as they were preparing it, an ecstasy of mind fell over him.
11 And he saw heaven opened, and a certain container descending, as if a great linen sheet were let down, by its four corners, from heaven to earth,
12 on which were all four-footed beasts, and the crawling things of the earth and the flying things of the air.
13 And a voice came to him: "Rise up, Peter! Kill and eat."
14 But Peter said: "Far be it from me, lord. For I have never eaten anything common or unclean."
15 And the voice, again a second time to him: "What God has purified, you shall not call common."
16 Now this was done three times. And immediately the container was taken up to heaven.
17 Now while Peter was still hesitant within himself as to what the vision, which he had seen, might mean, behold, the men who had been sent from Cornelius stood at the gate, inquiring about Simon's house.
18 And when they had called out, they asked if Simon, who is surnamed Peter, was a guest in that place.
19 Then, as Peter was thinking about the vision, the Spirit said to him, "Behold, three men seek you.
20 And so, rise up, descend, and go with them, doubting nothing. For I have sent them."
21 Then Peter, descending to the men, said: "Behold, I am the one whom you seek. What is the reason for which you have arrived?"
22 And they said: "Cornelius, a centurion, a just and God-fearing man, who has good testimony from the entire nation of the Jews, received a message from a holy Angel to summon you to his house and to listen to words from you."
23 Therefore, leading them in, he received them as guests. Then, on following the day, rising up, he set out with them. And some of the brothers from Joppa accompanied him.
24 And on the next day, he entered Caesarea. And truly, Cornelius was waiting for them, having called together his family and closest friends.
25 And it happened that, when Peter had entered, Cornelius went to meet him. And falling before his feet, he reverenced.
26 Yet truly, Peter, lifting him up, said: "Rise up, for I also am only a man."
27 And speaking with him, he entered, and he found many who had gathered together.
28 And he said to them: "You know how abominable it would be for a Jewish man to be joined with, or to be added to, a foreign people. But God has revealed to me to call no man common or unclean.
29 Because of this and without doubt, I came when summoned. Therefore, I ask you, for what reason have you summoned me?"
30 And Cornelius said: "It is now the fourth day, to this very hour, since I was praying in my house at the ninth hour, and behold, a man stood before me in a white vestment, and he said:
31 'Cornelius, your prayer has been heard and your almsgiving has been remembered in the sight of God.
32 Therefore, send to Joppa and summon Simon, who is surnamed Peter. This man is a guest in the house of Simon, a tanner, near the sea.'
33 And so, I promptly sent for you. And you have done well in coming here. Therefore, all of us are now present in your sight to hear all the things that were taught to you by the Lord."
34 Then, Peter, opening his mouth, said: "I have concluded in truth that God is not a respecter of persons.
35 But within every nation, whoever fears him and works justice is acceptable to him.
36 God sent the Word to the sons of Israel, announcing the peace through Jesus Christ, for he is the Lord of all.
37 You know that the Word has been made known throughout all Judea. For beginning from Galilee, after the baptism which John preached,
38 Jesus of Nazareth, whom God anointed with the Holy Spirit and with power, traveled around doing good and healing all those oppressed by the devil. For God was with him.
39 And we are witnesses of all that he did in the region of Judea and in Jerusalem, he whom they killed by hanging him on a tree.
40 God raised him up on the third day and permitted him to be made manifest,
41 not to all the people, but to the witnesses preordained by God, to those of us who ate and drank with him after he rose again from the dead.
42 And he instructed us to preach to the people, and to testify that he is the One who was appointed by God to be the judge of the living and of the dead.
43 To him all the Prophets offer testimony that through his name all who believe in him receive the remission of sins."
44 While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit fell over all of those who were listening to the Word.
45 And the faithful of the circumcision, who had arrived with Peter, were astonished that the grace of the Holy Spirit was also poured out upon the Gentiles.
46 For they heard them speaking in tongues and magnifying God.
47 Then Peter responded, "How could anyone prohibit water, so that those who have received the Holy Spirit would not be baptized, just as we also have been?"
48 And he ordered them to be baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Then they begged him to remain with them for some days.
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Acts 10
10
Peter’s Vision
1-3There was a man named Cornelius who lived in Caesarea, captain of the Italian Guard stationed there. He was a thoroughly good man. He had led everyone in his house to live worshipfully before God, was always helping people in need, and had the habit of prayer. One day about three o’clock in the afternoon he had a vision. An angel of God, as real as his next-door neighbor, came in and said, “Cornelius.”
4-6Cornelius stared hard, wondering if he was seeing things. Then he said, “What do you want, sir?”
The angel said, “Your prayers and neighborly acts have brought you to God’s attention. Here’s what you are to do. Send men to Joppa to get Simon, the one everyone calls Peter. He is staying with Simon the Tanner, whose house is down by the sea.”
7-8As soon as the angel was gone, Cornelius called two servants and one particularly devout soldier from the guard. He went over with them in great detail everything that had just happened, and then sent them off to Joppa.
9-13The next day as the three travelers were approaching the town, Peter went out on the balcony to pray. It was about noon. Peter got hungry and started thinking about lunch. While lunch was being prepared, he fell into a trance. He saw the skies open up. Something that looked like a huge blanket lowered by ropes at its four corners settled on the ground. Every kind of animal and reptile and bird you could think of was on it. Then a voice came: “Go to it, Peter—kill and eat.”
14Peter said, “Oh, no, Lord. I’ve never so much as tasted food that was not kosher.”
15The voice came a second time: “If God says it’s okay, it’s okay.”
16This happened three times, and then the blanket was pulled back up into the skies.
17-20As Peter, puzzled, sat there trying to figure out what it all meant, the men sent by Cornelius showed up at Simon’s front door. They called in, asking if there was a Simon, also called Peter, staying there. Peter, lost in thought, didn’t hear them, so the Spirit whispered to him, “Three men are knocking at the door looking for you. Get down there and go with them. Don’t ask any questions. I sent them to get you.”
21Peter went down and said to the men, “I think I’m the man you’re looking for. What’s up?”
22-23a They said, “Captain Cornelius, a God-fearing man well-known for his fair play—ask any Jew in this part of the country—was commanded by a holy angel to get you and bring you to his house so he could hear what you had to say.” Peter invited them in and made them feel at home.
God Plays No Favorites
23b-26 The next morning he got up and went with them. Some of his friends from Joppa went along. A day later they entered Caesarea. Cornelius was expecting them and had his relatives and close friends waiting with him. The minute Peter came through the door, Cornelius was up on his feet greeting him—and then down on his face worshiping him! Peter pulled him up and said, “None of that—I’m a man and only a man, no different from you.”
27-29Talking things over, they went on into the house, where Cornelius introduced Peter to everyone who had come. Peter addressed them, “You know, I’m sure that this is highly irregular. Jews just don’t do this—visit and relax with people of another race. But God has just shown me that no race is better than any other. So the minute I was sent for, I came, no questions asked. But now I’d like to know why you sent for me.”
30-32Cornelius said, “Four days ago at about this time, midafternoon, I was home praying. Suddenly there was a man right in front of me, flooding the room with light. He said, ‘Cornelius, your daily prayers and neighborly acts have brought you to God’s attention. I want you to send to Joppa to get Simon, the one they call Peter. He’s staying with Simon the Tanner down by the sea.’
33“So I did it—I sent for you. And you’ve been good enough to come. And now we’re all here in God’s presence, ready to listen to whatever the Master put in your heart to tell us.”
34-36Peter fairly exploded with his good news: “It’s God’s own truth, nothing could be plainer: God plays no favorites! It makes no difference who you are or where you’re from—if you want God and are ready to do as he says, the door is open. The Message he sent to the children of Israel—that through Jesus Christ everything is being put together again—well, he’s doing it everywhere, among everyone.
37-38“You know the story of what happened in Judea. It began in Galilee after John preached a total life-change. Then Jesus arrived from Nazareth, anointed by God with the Holy Spirit, ready for action. He went through the country helping people and healing everyone who was beaten down by the Devil. He was able to do all this because God was with him.
39-43“And we saw it, saw it all, everything he did in the land of the Jews and in Jerusalem where they killed him, hung him from a cross. But in three days God had him up, alive, and out where he could be seen. Not everyone saw him—he wasn’t put on public display. Witnesses had been carefully handpicked by God beforehand—us! We were the ones, there to eat and drink with him after he came back from the dead. He commissioned us to announce this in public, to bear solemn witness that he is in fact the One whom God destined as Judge of the living and dead. But we’re not alone in this. Our witness that he is the means to forgiveness of sins is backed up by the witness of all the prophets.”
44-46a No sooner were these words out of Peter’s mouth than the Holy Spirit came on the listeners. The believing Jews who had come with Peter couldn’t believe it, couldn’t believe that the gift of the Holy Spirit was poured out on “outsider” non-Jews, but there it was—they heard them speaking in tongues, heard them praising God.
46b-48 Then Peter said, “Do I hear any objections to baptizing these friends with water? They’ve received the Holy Spirit exactly as we did.” Hearing no objections, he ordered that they be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ.
Then they asked Peter to stay on for a few days.
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THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson. All rights reserved. Used by permission of NavPress. Represented by Tyndale House Publishers.