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The Acts of the Apostles 10

10 There was a man whose name was Cornelius who lived in the city of Caesarea. He was an officer who commanded 100 men in a large group of Roman soldiers from Italy. 2 He continually tried to do what would please God. He and his entire household were non-Jews who worshiped God. He often gave money to help poor Jewish people. He prayed to God regularly.

3 One day at about three o’clock in the afternoon, Cornelius saw a vision. He clearly saw an angel whom God had sent. He saw the angel coming into his room and saying to him, “Cornelius!” 4 Cornelius stared at the angel and became terrified. Then he asked fearfully, “Sir, what do you want?” The angel answered him, “You have been praying regularly to God. You often give money to help poor people. Those things have been like an offering to God, and he has noticed them. 5 So now command some men to go to Joppa. Tell them to bring back a man named Simon whose other name is Peter. 6 He is staying with a man, also named Simon, who makes leather. His house is near the ocean.” 7 When the angel who was speaking with Cornelius had gone, he summoned two of his household servants and a soldier who served him, one who also worshiped God. 8 He explained to them everything that the angel had said. Then he told them to go to the city of Joppa and ask Peter to come to Caesarea.

9 About noon the next day, those three men were traveling along the road. As they were approaching Joppa, Peter went up on the flat housetop to pray. 10 Peter became hungry and wanted something to eat. While some people were preparing the food, he saw a vision. 11 He saw an opening in the sky through which something like a large, square piece of cloth was coming down. Someone seemed to be lowering it by its four corners to the ground. 12 Inside the sheet were many different kinds of creatures. Some had four feet, others crawled on the ground, and others were wild birds. These included animals and birds that the Mosaic laws forbade Jews to eat. 13 Then he heard God say to him, “Go ahead, Peter, kill some of these and eat them.” 14 But Peter replied, “Lord, surely not! I have never eaten anything that our Jewish law says is unacceptable to you or that we must not eat!” 15 Then Peter heard God talk to him a second time. He said, “I am God, so if I have made something acceptable to eat, do not say that it is not acceptable to eat!” 16 This happened three times. Right after that, the sheet with the animals and birds went back up into the sky.

17 This left Peter trying to understand what that vision meant. Meanwhile, the men Cornelius had sent arrived in Joppa. They asked people how to get to Simon’s house. When people told them, they found the house and stood outside the gate. 18 They called from the gate and asked if a man whose name was Simon, whose other name was Peter, was staying there. 19 While Peter was still trying to understand what the vision meant, the Holy Spirit said to him, “Listen! Three men are here who want you to go with them. 20 So do not be reluctant. Go downstairs and go with them! Do not think that you should not go with them, because I have sent them here!” 21 So Peter went down to the men and said to them, “Greetings! I am the man you are looking for. Why have you come?” 22 They replied, “Cornelius, who is a Roman army officer, sent us here. He is a good man who worships God. All of the Jewish people who know about him speak well of him. An angel from God told Cornelius, ‘Have some men to go to Joppa and get Simon Peter. Bring him to your house and listen to what he has to say.’ ” 23 So Peter invited them into the house and told them that they should stay there that night.

The next day Peter got ready and went with the men. Several of the believers from Joppa also went with him. 24 The day after that, they arrived in the city of Caesarea. Cornelius was waiting for them. He had also invited his relatives and close friends to come, so they were there in his house too. 25 When Peter entered the house, Cornelius met him and bowed low in front of him to worship him. 26 But Peter grasped Cornelius by the hand and lifted him to his feet. He said, “Stand up! Do not bow down and worship me! I myself am only human, like you!”

27 While he was talking to Cornelius, Peter and the others entered the house. They saw that Cornelius had invited many people to come and hear Peter. 28 Then Peter said to them, “You all know that we Jews think we are disobeying our laws if we associate with people who are not Jews or visit them in their homes. However, God has shown me in a vision that I should not say that God only accepts people who are Jews. 29 So when you sent some men to ask me to come here, I came right away without objection. So, please tell me, why have you asked me to come here?”

30 Cornelius replied, “About this time three days ago, I was praying to God in my house, as I regularly do at three o’clock in the afternoon. Suddenly a man whose clothes shone brightly stood in front of me 31 and said, ‘Cornelius, God has heard your prayer. He has also noticed that you have often given money to help poor people, and he is pleased with that. 32 So now, send messengers to go to the city of Joppa in order to ask Simon, whose other name is Peter, to come here. He is staying near the ocean in a house that belongs to another man named Simon, who makes leather.’ 33 So I sent some men right away to ask you to come here. I certainly thank you for coming. Now we all are gathered here, knowing that God is with us. We want to hear all the things that the Lord God has commanded you to say. So please speak to us.”

34 So Peter began to speak to them. He said, “Now I understand that it is true that God does not favor only certain groups of people. 35 Instead, from every people group he accepts everyone who honors him and who does what pleases him. 36 You know what God told us Israelites. He proclaimed to us the good news that people could live peacefully with him because of what Jesus the Messiah has done. This Jesus is not Lord only over us Israelites. He is also the Lord who rules over all people. 37 You know what Jesus did throughout the land of Judea, beginning in Galilee. He started to do those things after John proclaimed to people that they should stop their sinful behavior. If they did, John baptized them. 38 You know that God gave his Holy Spirit to Jesus, the man from the town of Nazareth, and gave him the power to do miracles. You also know how Jesus went to many places, doing good deeds. Whenever he met people whom the devil was causing to suffer, he healed them. It was God who enabled Jesus to do those things.”

39 “We all saw the things Jesus did in Jerusalem and around every part of the land of Israel where he lived. His enemies killed him by nailing him to a wooden cross. 40 Jesus died on a Friday, but God brought him back to life that Sunday. God made sure that many people would see that he was certainly alive again. 41 At that time God did not let everyone see him. God had previously chosen some people to be witnesses that Jesus was alive. I am one of the people who saw him and even ate meals together with him just after God brought him back to life. 42 Jesus commanded us to preach to the people and tell them that God has chosen him to judge everyone one day. He will judge those who are still alive and those who have died before that day. 43 All the prophets who wrote about him long ago told the people about him. They wrote that if anyone believed in him, God would forgive whatever sins they had done, because of what this man, Jesus, would do for them.”

44 While Peter was still speaking about Jesus, suddenly the Holy Spirit came to all those people from other nations who were listening to the message. 45 The Jewish believers who had come with Peter from Joppa were amazed that God had so kindly given the Holy Spirit to people from all different nations too. 46 The Jewish believers knew that God had done that because they were hearing those people speak in other languages to tell how great God is. Then Peter said, 47 to the other Jewish believers who were there, “God has given them the Holy Spirit just as he gave him to us Jewish believers. Surely all of you would agree that we should baptize these people!” 48 Then Peter told Cornelius and his guests that they should receive baptism as believers in Jesus the Messiah. Peter and the believers who had come with him from Joppa baptized all of them. After they had received baptism, Cornelius invited Peter to stay with them for several days. So he and the other Jewish believers did that.

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