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ACTS 12
criticized him. 3 “You entered the home of Gentiles* and even ate with them!” they said.
4 Then Peter told them exactly what had happened. 5 “I was in the town of Joppa,” he said,
“and while I was praying, I went into a trance
and saw a vision. Something like a large sheet
was let down by its four corners from the sky.
And it came right down to me. 6 When I looked
inside the sheet, I saw all sorts of tame and
wild animals, reptiles, and birds. 7 And I heard
a voice say, ‘Get up, Peter; kill and eat them.’
8 “‘No, Lord,’ I replied. ‘I have never eaten
anything that our Jewish laws have declared
impure or unclean.*’
9 “But the voice from heaven spoke again: ‘Do
not call something unclean if God has made it
clean.’ 10 This happened three times before the
sheet and all it contained was pulled back up
to heaven.
11 “Just then three men who had been sent
from Caesarea arrived at the house where we
were staying. 12 The Holy Spirit told me to go
with them and not to worry that they were Gentiles. These six brothers here accompanied me,
and we soon entered the home of the man who
had sent for us. 13 He told us how an angel had
appeared to him in his home and had told him,
‘Send messengers to Joppa, and summon a man
named Simon Peter. 14 He will tell you how you
and everyone in your household can be saved!’
15 “As I began to speak,” Peter continued, “the
Holy Spirit fell on them, just as he fell on us at
the beginning. 16 Then I thought of the Lord’s
words when he said, ‘John baptized with* water,
but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’
17 And since God gave these Gentiles the same
gift he gave us when we believed in the Lord
Jesus Christ, who was I to stand in God’s way?”
• Protection
ACT S 1 2 :5
When we look at the senseless violence
in the world and when we experience
personal suffering or tragedy, we
sometimes wonder if there is any point
in praying for safety. After all, bad
things happen to everyone, and isn’t
it self-centered of us to think that God
would give us special protection? This
wonderful story of the church’s earnest
prayer for Peter and his ensuing angelic
rescue demonstrates that God welcomes
all honest prayer. Most of our prayers
don’t receive such miraculous answers,
but that decision is up to God. It is our
responsibility to pray as we feel the need,
using what wisdom we have at the time.
page 992
18 When the others heard this, they stopped
objecting and began praising God. They said,
“We can see that God has also given the Gentiles the privilege of repenting of their sins and
receiving eternal life.”
The Church in Antioch of Syria
19 Meanwhile, the believers who had been scattered during the persecution after Stephen’s
death traveled as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus, and
Antioch of Syria. They preached the word of
God, but only to Jews. 20 However, some of the
believers who went to Antioch from Cyprus and
Cyrene began preaching to the Gentiles* about
the Lord Jesus. 21 The power of the Lord was with
them, and a large number of these Gentiles believed and turned to the Lord.
22 When the church at Jerusalem heard what
had happened, they sent Barnabas to Antioch. 23 When he arrived and saw this evidence
of God’s blessing, he was filled with joy, and
he encouraged the believers to stay true to the
Lord. 24 Barnabas was a good man, full of the
Holy Spirit and strong in faith. And many people
were brought to the Lord.
25 Then Barnabas went on to Tarsus to look
for Saul. 26 When he found him, he brought him
back to Antioch. Both of them stayed there with
the church for a full year, teaching large crowds
of people. (It was at Antioch that the believers*
were first called Christians.)
27 During this time some prophets traveled
from Jerusalem to Antioch. 28 One of them
named Agabus stood up in one of the meetings
and predicted by the Spirit that a great famine
was coming upon the entire Roman world. (This
was fulfilled during the reign of Claudius.) 29 So
the believers in Antioch decided to send relief
to the brothers and sisters* in Judea, everyone
giving as much as they could. 30 This they did,
entrusting their gifts to Barnabas and Saul to
take to the elders of the church in Jerusalem.
James Is Killed and Peter Is Imprisoned
About that time King Herod Agrippa*
began to persecute some believers in
the church. 2 He had the apostle James (John’s
brother) killed with a sword. 3 When Herod saw
how much this pleased the Jewish people, he
also arrested Peter. (This took place during the
Passover celebration.*) 4 Then he imprisoned
him, placing him under the guard of four
squads of four soldiers each. Herod intended to
bring Peter out for public trial after the Passover. 5 But while Peter was in prison, the church
prayed very earnestly for him.
12
11:3 Greek of uncircumcised men. 11:8 Greek anything common
or unclean. 11:16 Or in; also in 11:16b. 11:20 Greek the
Hellenists (i.e., those who speak Greek); other manuscripts read
the Greeks. 11:26 Greek disciples; also in 11:29. 11:29 Greek
the brothers. 12:1 Greek Herod the king. He was the nephew of
Herod Antipas and a grandson of Herod the Great. 12:3 Greek
the days of unleavened bread.