Acts 11:2-30

2And when Peter came up to Jerusalem, 12the Jewish believers took issue with him, 3saying, “3You 4went to 5uncircumcised men and ate with them.” 4But Peter began and explained at length to them 6in an orderly sequence, saying, 5“7I was in the city of Joppa praying; and in a trance I saw 8a vision, an 9object 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 10crawling creatures, and the birds of the sky. 7I also heard a voice saying to me, ‘Get up, Peter; 11kill and eat.’ 8But I said, ‘By no means, Lord, for nothing 12unholy or unclean has ever entered my mouth.’ 9But a voice from heaven answered a second time, ‘13What God has cleansed, no longer 14consider 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 15Caesarea came up to the house where we were staying. 1216And the Spirit told me to go with them 17without 18misgivings. 19These six brothers also went with me, and we entered the man’s house. 13And he reported to us how he had seen the angel 20standing in his house, and saying, ‘Send some men to Joppa and have Simon, who is also called Peter, brought here; 14and he will speak 21words to you by which you will be saved, you and 22all your household.’ 15And as I began to speak, 23the Holy Spirit fell upon them just 24as He did upon us at the beginning. 16And I remembered the word of the Lord, how He used to say, ‘25John baptized with water, but you will be baptized 26with the Holy Spirit.’ 17Therefore, if 27God gave them the same gift as He also gave to us after believing in the Lord Jesus Christ, 28who was I that I could 29stand in God’s way?” 18When they heard this, they 30quieted down and 31glorified God, saying, “Well then, God has also granted to the Gentiles the 32repentance that leads to life.”

1933So then those who were scattered because of the 34persecution that occurred in connection with Stephen made their way 35to 36Phoenicia, 37Cyprus, and 38Antioch, speaking the word to no one except to Jews alone. 20But there were some of them, men of 39Cyprus and 40Cyrene, who came to 41Antioch and began speaking to the 4243Greeks as well, 44preaching the good news of the Lord Jesus. 21And 45the hand of the Lord was with them, and 46a large number who believed turned to the Lord. 22The 47news about them 48reached the ears of the church in Jerusalem, and they sent 49Barnabas off 50to 51Antioch. 23Then when he arrived and 52witnessed 53the grace of God, he rejoiced and began to encourage them all with 54resolute heart to remain true to the Lord; 24for he was a good man, and 55full of the Holy Spirit and faith. And 5657considerable numbers were added to the Lord. 25And he left for 58Tarsus to look for Saul; 26and when he had found him, he brought him to 59Antioch. And for an entire year they 60met with the church and taught 61considerable numbers of people; and 62the disciples were first called 63Christians in 64Antioch.

27Now 65at this time some 66prophets came down from Jerusalem to 67Antioch. 28One of them, named 68Agabus, stood up and 69indicated 70by the Spirit that there would definitely be a severe famine 71all over the 72world. 73And this took place in the reign of 74Claudius. 29And to the extent that any of 75the disciples had means, each of them determined to send a contribution for the 76relief of 77the brothers and sisters living in Judea. 3078And they did this, sending it 79with 80Barnabas and Saul to the 81elders.