Acts 11
11
Peter Reports to the Church
1Now the apostles and #ver. 29; See John 21:23the brothers#11:1 Or brothers and sisters who were throughout Judea heard that the Gentiles also had received the word of God. 2So when Peter went up to Jerusalem, #ch. 10:45; Gal. 2:12; Col. 4:11; Titus 1:10; [Rom. 4:12]the circumcision party#11:2 Or Jerusalem, those of the circumcision criticized him, saying, 3#Gal. 2:12, 14; [ch. 10:28] “You went to uncircumcised men and #[Luke 15:2]ate with them.” 4But Peter began and explained it to them in order: 5#For ver. 5-14, see ch. 10:9-32“I was in the city of Joppa praying, and in a trance I saw a vision, something like a great sheet descending, being let down from heaven by its four corners, and it came down to me. 6Looking at it closely, I observed animals and beasts of prey and reptiles and birds of the air. 7And I heard a voice saying to me, ‘Rise, Peter; kill and eat.’ 8But I said, ‘By no means, Lord; for nothing common or unclean has ever entered my mouth.’ 9But the voice answered a second time from heaven, ‘What God has made clean, do not call common.’ 10This happened three times, and all was drawn up again into heaven. 11And behold, at that very moment three men arrived at the house in which we were, sent to me from Caesarea. 12And the Spirit told me to go with them, #ch. 15:9 making no distinction. #ch. 10:23, 45These six brothers also accompanied me, and we entered the man’s house. 13And he told us how he had seen the angel stand in his house and say, ‘Send to Joppa and bring Simon who is called Peter; 14#ch. 10:22 he will declare to you a message by which #ch. 10:2; 16:15, 31-34; 18:8; John 4:53you will be saved, you and all your household.’ 15As I began to speak, #ch. 10:44 the Holy Spirit fell on them #ch. 2:4just as on us at the beginning. 16And I remembered the word of the Lord, how he said, #ch. 1:5; [ch. 19:2]; See Matt. 3:11‘John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’ 17If then #See ch. 10:47 God gave #See ch. 2:38 the same gift to them as he gave to us #Eph. 1:13; See ch. 10:43 when we believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, #[Rom. 9:20] who was I #ch. 10:47; See ch. 5:39that I could stand in God’s way?” 18When they heard these things they fell silent. And they #ch. 21:20 glorified God, saying, #[ch. 13:47; Matt. 8:11]; See ch. 10:34, 35 “Then to the Gentiles also God has #See ch. 5:31 granted #[2 Cor. 7:10]repentance that leads to life.”
The Church in Antioch
19 # ch. 8:1, 4 Now those who were scattered because of the persecution that arose over Stephen traveled as far as Phoenicia and Cyprus and Antioch, speaking the word to no one except Jews. 20But there were some of them, men of Cyprus and Cyrene, who on coming to Antioch spoke to the Hellenists#11:20 Or Greeks (that is, Greek-speaking non-Jews) also, #See John 7:35; See ch. 5:42preaching the Lord Jesus. 21And #ch. 13:11; Luke 1:66; [Ps. 80:17; 89:21] the hand of the Lord was with them, and a great number who believed #ch. 9:35turned to the Lord. 22The report of this came to the ears of the church in Jerusalem, and they sent Barnabas to Antioch. 23When he came and saw #ch. 13:43; 14:26; 20:24, 32; Rom. 5:15; 2 Cor. 6:1; Eph. 3:2, 7; Col. 1:6; Titus 2:11; Heb. 12:15; 1 Pet. 5:12; [ch. 4:33; 15:40] the grace of God, he was glad, and he exhorted them all to remain faithful to the Lord #2 Tim. 3:10with steadfast purpose, 24for he was a good man, #ch. 6:5 full of the Holy Spirit and of faith. And a great many people #ch. 5:14; [ver. 26]were added to the Lord. 25So Barnabas went to #ch. 9:30Tarsus to look for Saul, 26and when he had found him, he brought him to Antioch. For a whole year they met with the church and taught a great many people. And in Antioch the disciples were first called #ch. 26:28; 1 Pet. 4:16Christians.
27Now in these days #See ch. 13:1prophets came down from Jerusalem to Antioch. 28And one of them named #ch. 21:10 Agabus stood up and foretold #See ch. 2:18; 8:29 by the Spirit that there would be a great #Matt. 24:7 famine over all the world (this took place in the days of #ch. 18:2Claudius). 29So the disciples determined, every one according to his ability, #[ch. 24:17; Rom. 15:26] to send relief to #ver. 1the brothers#11:29 Or brothers and sisters living in Judea. 30#ch. 12:25 And they did so, sending it to #ch. 14:23; 15:2, 4, 6; 16:4; 20:17; 21:18; 1 Tim. 5:17, 19; Titus 1:5; James 5:14; 2 John 1; 3 John 1the elders by the hand of Barnabas and Saul.
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The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
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Acts 11
11
Peter Returns to Jerusalem
1The apostles and the believers in Judea heard that non-Jewish people had accepted God’s teaching too. 2But when Peter came to Jerusalem, some Jewish believers#11:2 Jewish believers Literally, “those of circumcision.” This may mean Jews who thought all followers of Christ must be circumcised and obey the Law of Moses. See Gal. 2:12. argued with him. 3They said, “You went into the homes of people who are not Jews and are not circumcised, and you even ate with them!”
4So Peter explained the whole story to them. He said, 5“I was in the city of Joppa. While I was praying, I had a vision. I saw something coming down from heaven. It looked like a big sheet being lowered to the ground by its four corners. It came down close to me, 6and I looked inside. I saw all kinds of animals, including wild ones, as well as reptiles and birds. 7I heard a voice say to me, ‘Get up, Peter. Kill anything here and eat it!’
8“But I said, ‘I can’t do that, Lord! I have never eaten anything that is not pure or fit to be used for food.’
9“But the voice from heaven answered again, ‘God has made these things pure. Don’t say they are unfit to eat!’
10“This happened three times. Then the whole thing was taken back into heaven. 11Suddenly there were three men standing outside the house where I was staying. They had been sent from Caesarea to get me. 12The Spirit told me to go with them without wondering if it was all right. These six brothers here also went with me, and we went to the house of Cornelius. 13He told us about the angel he had seen standing in his house. The angel said, ‘Send some men to Joppa to get Simon, the one who is also called Peter. 14He will speak to you, and what he tells you will save you and everyone living in your house.’
15“After I began speaking, the Holy Spirit came on them just as he came on us at the beginning.#11:15 beginning The day of Pentecost described in Acts 2, when the Holy Spirit came on Jesus’ first followers to give them power to begin their work of telling the world the Good News of salvation through Jesus. 16Then I remembered the words of the Lord Jesus: ‘John baptized people in water, but you will be baptized in the Holy Spirit.’ 17God gave these people the same gift he gave us who believed in the Lord Jesus Christ. So how could I object to what God wanted to do?”
18When the Jewish believers heard this, they stopped arguing. They praised God and said, “So God is also allowing even those who are not Jews to change their hearts so that they can have the life he gives!”
The Good News Comes to Antioch
19The believers were scattered by the persecution#11:19 persecution A time when the Jewish leaders in Jerusalem were punishing people who believed in Christ. See Acts 8:1-4. that began when Stephen was killed. Some of them went as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus, and Antioch. They told the Good News in these places, but only to Jews. 20Some of these believers were men from Cyprus and Cyrene. When these men came to Antioch, they began speaking to people who were not Jews.#11:20 people who were not Jews Literally, “Hellenists,” meaning people who have been influenced by Greek culture. Some Greek copies have “Greeks.” They told them the Good News about the Lord Jesus. 21The Lord was helping these men, and a large number of people believed and decided to follow the Lord.
22When the church in Jerusalem heard about this, they sent Barnabas to Antioch. 23-24Barnabas was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and faith. When he went to Antioch and saw how God had blessed the believers there, he was very happy. He encouraged them all, saying, “Always be faithful to the Lord. Serve him with all your heart.” Many more people became followers of the Lord.
25Then Barnabas went to the city of Tarsus to look for Saul. 26When he found him, he brought him to Antioch. They stayed there a whole year. Every time the church came together, Barnabas and Saul met with them and taught many people. It was in Antioch that the followers of the Lord Jesus were called “Christ-followers” for the first time.
27About that same time some prophets went from Jerusalem to Antioch. 28One of them, named Agabus, stood up and spoke with the help of the Spirit. He said, “A very bad time is coming to the whole world. There will be no food for people to eat.” (This time of famine happened when Claudius was emperor.) 29The Lord’s followers decided that they would each send as much as they could to help their brothers and sisters who lived in Judea. 30They gathered the money and gave it to Barnabas and Saul, who took it to the elders in Judea.
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