11Acts 11

1Now the Apostles, and the brethren in various parts of Judaea, heard that the Gentiles also had received God's Message;Select Acts 11:1

2and, when Peter returned to Jerusalem, the champions of circumcision found fault with him.Select Acts 11:2

3"You went into the houses of men who are not Jews," they said, "and you ate with them."Select Acts 11:3

4Peter, however, explained the whole matter to them from the beginning.Select Acts 11:4

5"While I was in the town of Jaffa, offering prayer," he said, "in a trance I saw a vision. There descended what seemed to be an enormous sail, being let down from the sky by ropes at the four corners, and it came close to me.Select Acts 11:5

6Fixing my eyes on it, I examined it closely, and saw various kinds of quadrupeds, wild beasts, reptiles and birds.Select Acts 11:6

7I also heard a voice saying to me, "`Rise, Peter, kill and eat.'Select Acts 11:7

8"`On no account, Lord,' I replied, `for nothing unholy or impure has ever gone into my mouth.'Select Acts 11:8

9"But a voice answered, speaking a second time from the sky, "`What God has purified, you must not regard as unholy.'Select Acts 11:9

10"This was said three times, and then everything was drawn up again out of sight.Select Acts 11:10

11"Now at that very moment three men came to the house where we were, having been sent from Caesarea to find me.Select Acts 11:11

12And the Spirit told me to accompany them without any misgivings. There also went with me these six brethren who are now present, and we reached the Centurion's house.Select Acts 11:12

13Then he described to us how he had seen the angel come and enter his house and say, "`Send to Jaffa and fetch Simon, surnamed Peter.Select Acts 11:13

14He will teach you truths by which you and all your family will be saved.'"Select Acts 11:14

15"And," said Peter, "no sooner had I begun to speak than the Holy Spirit fell upon them, just as He fell upon us at the first.Select Acts 11:15

16Then I remembered the Lord's words, how He used to say, "`John baptized with water, but you shall be baptized in the Holy Spirit.'Select Acts 11:16

17"If therefore God gave them the same gift as He gave us when we first believed on the Lord Jesus Christ, why, who was I to be able to thwart God?"Select Acts 11:17

18This statement of Peter's silenced his opponents. They extolled the goodness of God, and said, "So, then, to the Gentiles also God has given the repentance which leads to Life."Select Acts 11:18

19Those, however, who had been driven in various directions by the persecution which broke out on account of Stephen made their way to Phoenicia, Cyprus and Antioch, delivering the Message to none but Jews.Select Acts 11:19

20But some of them were Cyprians and Cyrenaeans, who, on coming to Antioch, spoke to the Greeks also and told them the Good News concerning the Lord Jesus.Select Acts 11:20

21The power of the Lord was with them, and there were a vast number who believed and turned to the Lord.Select Acts 11:21

22When tidings of this reached the ears of the Church in Jerusalem, they sent Barnabas as far as Antioch.Select Acts 11:22

23On getting there he was delighted to see the grace which God had bestowed; and he encouraged them all to remain, with fixed resolve, faithful to the Lord.Select Acts 11:23

24For he was a good man, and was full of the Holy Spirit and of faith; and the number of believers in the Lord greatly increased.Select Acts 11:24

25Then Barnabas paid a visit to Tarsus to try to find Saul.Select Acts 11:25

26He succeeded, and brought him to Antioch; and for a whole year they attended the meetings of the Church, and taught a large number of people. And it was in Antioch that the disciples first received the name of `Christians.'Select Acts 11:26

27At that time certain Prophets came down from Jerusalem to Antioch,Select Acts 11:27

28one of whom, named Agabus, being instructed by the Spirit, publicly predicted the speedy coming of a great famine throughout the world. (It came in the reign of Claudius.)Select Acts 11:28

29So the disciples decided to send relief, every one in proportion to his means, to the brethren living in Judaea.Select Acts 11:29

30This they did, forwarding their contributions to the Elders by Barnabas and Saul.Select Acts 11:30