Acts 11

Peter Reports in Jerusalem

1Now the apostles and 1the brothers and sisters who were throughout Judea heard that the Gentiles also had received the word of God. 2And when Peter came up to Jerusalem, 23the Jewish believers took issue with him, 3saying, “4You 5went to 6uncircumcised men and ate with them.” 4But Peter began and explained at length to them 7in an orderly sequence, saying, 5“8I was in the city of Joppa praying; and in a trance I saw 9a vision, an 10object coming down like a great sheet lowered by four corners from the sky; and it came to where I was, 6and I stared at it and was thinking about it, and I saw the four-footed animals of the earth, the wild animals, the 11crawling creatures, and the birds of the sky. 7I also heard a voice saying to me, ‘Get up, Peter; 12kill and eat.’ 8But I said, ‘By no means, Lord, for nothing 13unholy or unclean has ever entered my mouth.’ 9But a voice from heaven answered a second time, ‘14What God has cleansed, no longer 15consider unholy.’ 10This happened three times, and everything was drawn back up into the sky. 11And behold, at that moment three men who had been sent to me from 16Caesarea came up to the house where we were staying. 1217And the Spirit told me to go with them 18without 19misgivings. 20These six brothers also went with me, and we entered the man’s house. 13And he reported to us how he had seen the angel 21standing in his house, and saying, ‘Send some men to Joppa and have Simon, who is also called Peter, brought here; 14and he will speak 22words to you by which you will be saved, you and 23all your household.’ 15And as I began to speak, 24the Holy Spirit fell upon them just 25as He did upon us at the beginning. 16And I remembered the word of the Lord, how He used to say, ‘26John baptized with water, but you will be baptized 27with the Holy Spirit.’ 17Therefore, if 28God gave them the same gift as He also gave to us after believing in the Lord Jesus Christ, 29who was I that I could 30stand in God’s way?” 18When they heard this, they 31quieted down and 32glorified God, saying, “Well then, God has also granted to the Gentiles the 33repentance that leads to life.”

The Church in Antioch

1934So then those who were scattered because of the 35persecution that occurred in connection with Stephen made their way 36to 37Phoenicia, 38Cyprus, and 39Antioch, speaking the word to no one except to Jews alone. 20But there were some of them, men of 40Cyprus and 41Cyrene, who came to 42Antioch and began speaking to the 4344Greeks as well, 45preaching the good news of the Lord Jesus. 21And 46the hand of the Lord was with them, and 47a large number who believed turned to the Lord. 22The 48news about them 49reached the ears of the church in Jerusalem, and they sent 50Barnabas off 51to 52Antioch. 23Then when he arrived and 53witnessed 54the grace of God, he rejoiced and began to encourage them all with 55resolute heart to remain true to the Lord; 24for he was a good man, and 56full of the Holy Spirit and faith. And 5758considerable numbers were added to the Lord. 25And he left for 59Tarsus to look for Saul; 26and when he had found him, he brought him to 60Antioch. And for an entire year they 61met with the church and taught 62considerable numbers of people; and 63the disciples were first called 64Christians in 65Antioch.

27Now 66at this time some 67prophets came down from Jerusalem to 68Antioch. 28One of them, named 69Agabus, stood up and 70indicated 71by the Spirit that there would definitely be a severe famine 72all over the 73world. 74And this took place in the reign of 75Claudius. 29And to the extent that any of 76the disciples had means, each of them determined to send a contribution for the 77relief of 78the brothers and sisters living in Judea. 3079And they did this, sending it 80with 81Barnabas and Saul to the 82elders.