Cornelius Calls for Peter

10 A man named Cornelius lived in Caesarea. He was a Roman commander in the Italian Regiment. 2Cornelius and all his family were faithful and worshiped God. He gave freely to people who were in need. He prayed to God regularly. 3One day about three o’clock in the afternoon he had a vision. He saw an angel of God clearly. The angel came to him and said, “Cornelius!”

4Cornelius was afraid. He stared at the angel. “What is it, Lord?” he asked.

The angel answered, “Your prayers and gifts to poor people have come up like an offering to God. So he has remembered you. 5Now send men to Joppa. Have them bring back a man named Simon. He is also called Peter. 6He is staying with another Simon, a man who works with leather. His house is by the sea.”

7The angel who spoke to him left. Then Cornelius called two of his servants. He also called a godly soldier who was one of his attendants. 8He told them everything that had happened. Then he sent them to Joppa.

Peter Has a Vision

9It was about noon the next day. The men were on their journey and were approaching the city. Peter went up on the roof to pray. 10He became hungry. He wanted something to eat. While the meal was being prepared, Peter had a vision. 11He saw heaven open up. There he saw something that looked like a large sheet. It was being let down to earth by its four corners. 12It had all kinds of four-footed animals in it. It also had reptiles of the earth and birds of the air. 13Then a voice told him, “Get up, Peter. Kill and eat.”

14“No, Lord! I will not!” Peter replied. “I have never eaten anything that is not pure and ‘clean.’ ”

15The voice spoke to him a second time. “Do not say anything is not pure that God has made ‘clean,’ ” it said.

16This happened three times. Right away the sheet was taken back up to heaven.

17Peter was wondering what the vision meant. At that very moment the men sent by Cornelius found Simon’s house. They stopped at the gate 18and called out. They asked if Simon Peter was staying there.

19Peter was still thinking about the vision. The Holy Spirit spoke to him. “Simon,” he said, “three men are looking for you. 20Get up and go downstairs. Don’t let anything keep you from going with them. I have sent them.”

21Peter went down and spoke to the men. “I’m the one you’re looking for,” he said. “Why have you come?”

22The men replied, “We have come from Cornelius, the Roman commander. He is a good man who worships God. All the Jewish people respect him. A holy angel told him to invite you to his house. Cornelius wants to hear what you have to say.” 23Then Peter invited the men into the house to be his guests.

Peter Goes to the House of Cornelius

The next day Peter went with the three men. Some of the believers from Joppa went along. 24The following day he arrived in Caesarea. Cornelius was expecting them. He had called together his relatives and close friends.

25When Peter entered the house, Cornelius met him. As a sign of respect, he fell at Peter’s feet. 26But Peter made him get up. “Stand up,” he said. “I am only a man myself.”

27Talking with Cornelius, Peter went inside. There he found a large group of people. 28He said to them, “You know that it is against our law for a Jew to have anything to do with those who aren’t Jews. But God has shown me that I should not say anyone is not pure and ‘clean.’ 29So when you sent for me, I came without asking any questions. May I ask why you sent for me?”

30Cornelius answered, “Four days ago at this very hour I was in my house praying. It was three o’clock in the afternoon. Suddenly a man in shining clothes stood in front of me. 31He said, ‘Cornelius, God has heard your prayer. He has remembered your gifts to poor people. 32Send someone to Joppa to get Simon Peter. He is a guest in the home of another Simon, who works with leather. He lives by the sea.’ 33So I sent for you right away. It was good of you to come. Now we are all here. And God is here with us. We are ready to listen to everything the Lord has commanded you to tell us.”

34Then Peter began to speak. “I now realize how true it is that God treats everyone the same,” he said. 35“He accepts people from every nation. He accepts all who have respect for him and do what is right.

36“You know the message God sent to the people of Israel. It is the good news of peace through Jesus Christ. He is Lord of all. 37You know what has happened all through Judea. It started in Galilee after John preached about baptism. 38You know how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power. Jesus went around doing good. He healed all who were under the devil’s power. God was with him.

39“We are witnesses of everything he did in the land of the Jews and in Jerusalem. They killed him by nailing him to a cross. 40But on the third day God raised him from the dead. God allowed Jesus to be seen. 41But he wasn’t seen by all the people. He was seen only by us. We are witnesses whom God had already chosen. We ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead.

42“He commanded us to preach to the people. He told us to give witness that he is the one appointed by God to judge the living and the dead. 43All the prophets give witness about him. They say that all who believe in him have their sins forgiven through his name.”

44While Peter was still saying these things, the Holy Spirit came on all who heard the message. 45Some Jewish believers had come with Peter. They were amazed because the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on those who weren’t Jews. 46They heard them speaking in languages they had not known before. They also heard them praising God.

Then Peter said, 47“Can anyone keep these people from being baptized with water? They have received the Holy Spirit just as we have.” 48So he ordered that they be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Then they asked Peter to stay with them for a few days.

Peter Explains His Actions

11 The apostles and the believers all through Judea heard that people who were not Jews had also received God’s word. 2Peter went up to Jerusalem. There the Jewish believers found fault with him. 3They said, “You went into the house of those who aren’t Jews. You ate with them.”

4Peter explained everything to them. He told them exactly what had happened. 5“I was in the city of Joppa praying,” he said. “There I had a vision. I saw something that looked like a large sheet. It was being let down from heaven by its four corners. It came down to where I was. 6I looked into it and saw four-footed animals of the earth. There were also wild animals, reptiles and birds. 7Then I heard a voice speaking to me. ‘Get up, Peter,’ the voice said. ‘Kill and eat.’

8“I replied, ‘No, Lord! I will not! Nothing that is not pure and “clean” has ever entered my mouth.’

9“A second time the voice spoke from heaven. ‘Do not say anything is not pure that God has made “clean,” ’ the voice said. 10This happened three times. Then the sheet was pulled up into heaven.

11“Just then three men stopped at the house where I was staying. They had been sent to me from Caesarea. 12The Holy Spirit told me not to let anything keep me from going with them. These six brothers here went with me. We entered the man’s house. 13He told us how he had seen an angel appear in his house. The angel said, ‘Send to Joppa for Simon Peter. 14He has a message to bring to you. You and your whole family will be saved through it.’

15“As I began to speak, the Holy Spirit came on them. He came just as he had come on us at the beginning. 16Then I remembered the Lord’s words. ‘John baptized with water,’ he had said. ‘But you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’ 17God gave them the same gift he gave those of us who believed in the Lord Jesus Christ. So who was I to think that I could oppose God?”

18When they heard this, they didn’t object anymore. They praised God. They said, “So then, God has allowed even those who aren’t Jews to turn away from their sins and live.”