Acts 3-11

Devotionals, Articles, and Bible Study Resources on Acts 3-11

1One afternoon Peter and John were going up to the temple at the hour of prayer, the ninth hour.
2And a man who was lame from birth was being carried to the temple gate called Beautiful, where he was put every day to beg from those entering the temple courts.
3When he saw Peter and John about to enter, he asked them for money.
4Peter looked directly at him, as did John. “Look at us!” said Peter.
5So the man gave them his attention, expecting to receive something from them.
6But Peter said, “Silver or gold I do not have, but what I have I give you: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, get up and walk!”
7Taking him by the right hand, Peter helped him up, and at once the man’s feet and ankles were made strong.
8He sprang to his feet and began to walk. Then he went with them into the temple courts, walking and leaping and praising God.
9When all the people saw him walking and praising God,
10they recognized him as the man who used to sit begging at the Beautiful Gate of the temple, and they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him.
11While the man clung to Peter and John, all the people were astonished and ran to them in the walkway called Solomon’s Colonnade.
12And when Peter saw this, he addressed the people: “Men of Israel, why are you surprised by this? Why do you stare at us as if by our own power or godliness we had made this man walk?
13The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God of our fathers, has glorified His servant Jesus. You handed Him over and rejected Him before Pilate, even though he had decided to release Him.
14You rejected the Holy and Righteous One and asked that a murderer be released to you.
15You killed the Author of life, but God raised Him from the dead, and we are witnesses of the fact.
16By faith in the name of Jesus, this man whom you see and know has been made strong. It is Jesus’ name and the faith that comes through Him that has given him this complete healing in your presence.
17And now, brothers, I know that you acted in ignorance, as did your leaders.
18But in this way God has fulfilled what He foretold through all the prophets, saying that His Christ would suffer.
19Repent, then, and turn back, so that your sins may be wiped away,
20that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and that He may send Jesus, the Christ, who has been appointed for you.
21Heaven must take Him in until the time comes for the restoration of all things, which God announced long ago through His holy prophets.
22For Moses said, ‘The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your brothers. You must listen to Him in everything He tells you.
23Everyone who does not listen to Him will be completely cut off from among his people.’
24Indeed, all the prophets from Samuel on, as many as have spoken, have proclaimed these days.
25And you are sons of the prophets and of the covenant God made with your fathers when He said to Abraham, ‘Through your offspring all the families of the earth will be blessed.’
26When God raised up His Servant, He sent Him first to you to bless you by turning each of you from your wicked ways.”
1While Peter and John were speaking to the people, the priests and the captain of the temple guard and the Sadducees came up to them,
2greatly disturbed that they were teaching the people and proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection of the dead.
3They seized Peter and John, and because it was evening, they put them in custody until the next day.
4But many who heard the message believed, and the number of men grew to about five thousand.
5The next day the rulers, elders, and scribes assembled in Jerusalem,
6along with Annas the high priest, Caiaphas, John, Alexander, and many others from the high priest’s family.
7They had Peter and John brought in and began to question them: “By what power or what name did you do this?”
8Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, “Rulers and elders of the people!
9If we are being examined today about a kind service to a man who was lame, to determine how he was healed,
10then let this be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel: It is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified but whom God raised from the dead, that this man stands before you healed.
11This Jesus is
‘the stone you builders rejected,
which has become the cornerstone.’
12Salvation exists in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.”
13When they saw the boldness of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they marveled and took note that these men had been with Jesus.
14And seeing the man who had been healed standing there with them, they had nothing to say in response.
15So they ordered them to leave the Sanhedrin and then conferred together.
16“What shall we do with these men?” they asked. “It is clear to everyone living in Jerusalem that a remarkable miracle has occurred through them, and we cannot deny it.
17But to keep this message from spreading any further among the people, we must warn them not to speak to anyone in this name.”
18Then they called them in again and commanded them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus.
19But Peter and John replied, “Judge for yourselves whether it is right in God’s sight to listen to you rather than God.
20For we cannot stop speaking about what we have seen and heard.”
21After further threats they let them go. They could not find a way to punish them, because all the people were glorifying God for what had happened.
22For the man who was miraculously healed was over forty years old.
23On their release, Peter and John returned to their own people and reported everything that the chief priests and elders had said to them.
24When the believers heard this, they lifted up their voices to God with one accord. “Sovereign Lord,” they said, “You made the heaven and the earth and the sea and everything in them.
25You spoke by the Holy Spirit through the mouth of Your servant, our father David:
‘Why do the nations rage
and the peoples plot in vain?
26The kings of the earth take their stand
and the rulers gather together
against the Lord
and against His Anointed One.’
27In fact, this is the very city where Herod and Pontius Pilate conspired with the Gentiles and the people of Israel against Your holy servant Jesus, whom You anointed.
28They carried out what Your hand and will had decided beforehand would happen.
29And now, Lord, consider their threats, and enable Your servants to speak Your word with complete boldness,
30as You stretch out Your hand to heal and perform signs and wonders through the name of Your holy servant Jesus.”
31After they had prayed, their meeting place was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly.
32The multitude of believers was one in heart and soul. No one claimed that any of his possessions was his own, but they shared everything they owned.
33With great power the apostles continued to give their testimony about the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And abundant grace was upon them all.
34There were no needy ones among them, because those who owned lands or houses would sell their property, bring the proceeds from the sales,
35and lay them at the apostles’ feet for distribution to anyone as he had need.
36Joseph, a Levite from Cyprus, whom the apostles called Barnabas (meaning Son of Encouragement),
37sold a field he owned, brought the money, and laid it at the apostles’ feet.
1Now a man named Ananias, together with his wife Sapphira, also sold a piece of property.
2With his wife’s full knowledge, he kept back some of the proceeds for himself, but brought a portion and laid it at the apostles’ feet.
3Then Peter said, “Ananias, how is it that Satan has filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and withhold some of the proceeds from the land?
4Did it not belong to you before it was sold? And after it was sold, was it not at your disposal? How could you conceive such a deed in your heart? You have not lied to men, but to God!”
5On hearing these words, Ananias fell down and died. And great fear came over all who heard what had happened.
6Then the young men stepped forward, wrapped up his body, and carried him out and buried him.
7About three hours later his wife also came in, unaware of what had happened.
8“Tell me,” said Peter, “is this the price you and your husband got for the land?” “Yes,” she answered, “that is the price.”
9“How could you agree to test the Spirit of the Lord?” Peter replied. “Look, the feet of the men who buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out also.”
10At that instant she fell down at his feet and died. Then the young men came in and, finding her dead, carried her out and buried her beside her husband.
11And great fear came over the whole church and all who heard about these events.
12The apostles performed many signs and wonders among the people, and with one accord the believers gathered together in Solomon’s Colonnade.
13Although the people regarded them highly, no one else dared to join them.
14Yet more and more believers were brought to the Lord —large numbers of both men and women.
15As a result, people brought the sick into the streets and laid them on cots and mats, so that at least Peter’s shadow might fall on some of them as he passed by.
16Crowds also gathered from the towns around Jerusalem, bringing the sick and those tormented by unclean spirits, and all of them were healed.
17Then the high priest and all his associates, who belonged to the party of the Sadducees, were filled with jealousy. They went out
18and arrested the apostles and put them in the public jail.
19But during the night an angel of the Lord opened the doors of the jail and brought them out, saying,
20“Go, stand in the temple courts and tell the people the full message of this new life.”
21At daybreak the apostles entered the temple courts as they had been told and began to teach the people. When the high priest and his associates arrived, they convened the Sanhedrin — the full assembly of the elders of Israel — and sent to the jail for the apostles.
22But on arriving at the jail, the officers did not find them there. So they returned with the report:
23“We found the jail securely locked, with the guards posted at the doors; but when we opened them, we found no one inside.”
24When the captain of the temple guard and the chief priests heard this account, they were perplexed as to what was happening.
25Then someone came in and announced, “Look, the men you put in jail are standing in the temple courts teaching the people!”
26At that point, the captain went with the officers and brought the apostles— but not by force, for fear the people would stone them.
27They brought them in and made them stand before the Sanhedrin, where the high priest interrogated them.
28“We gave you strict orders not to teach in this name,” he said. “Yet you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching and are determined to make us responsible for this man’s blood.”
29But Peter and the other apostles replied, “We must obey God rather than men.
30The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom you had killed by hanging Him on a tree.
31God exalted Him to His right hand as Prince and Savior, in order to grant repentance and forgiveness of sins to Israel.
32We are witnesses of these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey Him.”
33When the Council members heard this, they were enraged, and they resolved to put the apostles to death.
34But a Pharisee named Gamaliel, a teacher of the law who was honored by all the people, stood up in the Sanhedrin and ordered that the men be put outside for a short time.
35“Men of Israel,” he said, “consider carefully what you are about to do to these men.
36Some time ago Theudas rose up, claiming to be somebody, and about four hundred men joined him. He was killed, all his followers were dispersed, and it all came to nothing.
37After him, Judas the Galilean appeared in the days of the census and drew away people after him. He too perished, and all his followers were scattered.
38So in the present case I advise you: Leave these men alone. Let them go! For if their purpose or endeavor is of human origin, it will fail.
39But if it is from God, you will not be able to stop them. You may even find yourselves fighting against God.”
40At this, they yielded to Gamaliel. They called the apostles in and had them flogged. Then they ordered them not to speak in the name of Jesus, and released them.
41The apostles left the Sanhedrin, rejoicing that they had been counted worthy of suffering disgrace for the Name.
42Every day, in the temple courts and from house to house, they did not stop teaching and proclaiming the good news that Jesus is the Christ.
1In those days when the disciples were increasing in number, the Grecian Jews among them began to grumble against the Hebraic Jews because their widows were being overlooked in the daily distribution of food.
2So the Twelve summoned all the disciples and said, “It is unacceptable for us to neglect the word of God in order to wait on tables.
3Therefore, brothers, select from among you seven men confirmed to be full of the Spirit and wisdom. We will appoint this responsibility to them
4and will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word.”
5This proposal pleased the whole group. They chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit, as well as Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas from Antioch, a convert to Judaism.
6They presented these seven to the apostles, who prayed and laid their hands on them.
7So the word of God continued to spread. The number of disciples in Jerusalem grew rapidly, and a great number of priests became obedient to the faith.
8Now Stephen, who was full of grace and power, was performing great wonders and signs among the people.
9But resistance arose from what was called the Synagogue of the Freedmen, including Cyrenians, Alexandrians, and men from the provinces of Cilicia and Asia. They began to argue with Stephen,
10but they could not stand up to his wisdom or the Spirit by whom he spoke.
11Then they prompted some men to say, “We heard Stephen speak words of blasphemy against Moses and against God.”
12So they stirred up the people, elders, and scribes and confronted Stephen. They seized him and brought him before the Sanhedrin,
13where they presented false witnesses who said, “This man never stops speaking against this holy place and against the law.
14For we have heard him say that Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place and change the customs that Moses handed down to us.”
15All who were sitting in the Sanhedrin looked intently at Stephen, and they saw that his face was like the face of an angel.
1Then the high priest asked Stephen, “Are these charges true?”
2And Stephen declared: “Brothers and fathers, listen to me! The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham while he was still in Mesopotamia, before he lived in Haran,
3and told him, ‘Leave your country and your kindred and go to the land I will show you.’
4So Abraham left the land of the Chaldeans and settled in Haran. After his father died, God brought him out of that place and into this land where you are now living.
5He gave him no inheritance here, not even a foot of ground. But God promised to give possession of the land to Abraham and his descendants, even though he did not yet have a child.
6God told him that his descendants would be foreigners in a strange land, and that they would be enslaved and mistreated four hundred years.
7‘But I will punish the nation that enslaves them,’ God said, ‘and afterward they will come forth and worship Me in this place.’
8Then God gave Abraham the covenant of circumcision, and Abraham became the father of Isaac and circumcised him on the eighth day. And Isaac became the father of Jacob, and Jacob of the twelve patriarchs.
9Because the patriarchs were jealous of Joseph, they sold him as a slave into Egypt. But God was with him
10and rescued him from all his troubles. He granted Joseph favor and wisdom in the sight of Pharaoh king of Egypt, who appointed him ruler over Egypt and all his household.
11Then famine and great suffering swept across Egypt and Canaan, and our fathers could not find food.
12When Jacob heard that there was grain in Egypt, he sent our fathers on their first visit.
13On their second visit, Joseph revealed his identity to his brothers, and his family became known to Pharaoh.
14Then Joseph sent for his father Jacob and all his relatives, seventy-five in all.
15So Jacob went down to Egypt, where he and our fathers died.
16Their bones were carried back to Shechem and placed in the tomb that Abraham had bought from the sons of Hamor at Shechem for a price he paid in silver.
17As the time drew near for God to fulfill His promise to Abraham, our people in Egypt increased greatly in number.
18Then another king, who knew nothing of Joseph, arose over Egypt.
19He exploited our people and oppressed our fathers, forcing them to abandon their infants so they would die.
20At that time Moses was born, and he was beautiful in the sight of God. For three months he was nurtured in his father’s house.
21When he was set outside, Pharaoh’s daughter took him and brought him up as her own son.
22So Moses was educated in all the wisdom of the Egyptians and was powerful in speech and action.
23When Moses was forty years old, he decided to visit his brothers, the children of Israel.
24And when he saw one of them being mistreated, Moses went to his defense and avenged him by striking down the Egyptian who was oppressing him.
25He assumed his brothers would understand that God was using him to deliver them, but they did not.
26The next day he came upon two Israelites who were fighting, and he tried to reconcile them, saying, ‘Men, you are brothers. Why are you mistreating each other?’
27But the man who was abusing his neighbor pushed Moses aside and said, ‘Who made you ruler and judge over us?
28Do you want to kill me as you killed the Egyptian yesterday?’
29At this remark, Moses fled to the land of Midian, where he lived as a foreigner and had two sons.
30After forty years had passed, an angel appeared to Moses in the flames of a burning bush in the desert near Mount Sinai.
31When Moses saw it, he marveled at the sight. As he approached to look more closely, the voice of the Lord came to him:
32‘I am the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.’ Moses trembled with fear and did not dare to look.
33Then the Lord said to him, ‘Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.
34I have indeed seen the oppression of My people in Egypt. I have heard their groaning and have come down to deliver them. Now come, I will send you back to Egypt.’
35This Moses, whom they had rejected with the words, ‘Who made you ruler and judge?’ is the one whom God sent to be their ruler and redeemer through the angel who appeared to him in the bush.
36He led them out and performed wonders and signs in the land of Egypt, at the Red Sea, and for forty years in the wilderness.
37This is the same Moses who told the Israelites, ‘God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your brothers.’
38He was in the assembly in the wilderness with the angel who spoke to him on Mount Sinai, and with our fathers. And he received living words to pass on to us.
39But our fathers refused to obey him. Instead, they rejected him and in their hearts turned back to Egypt.
40They said to Aaron, ‘Make us gods who will go before us! As for this Moses who led us out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has happened to him.’
41At that time they made a calf and offered a sacrifice to the idol, rejoicing in the works of their hands.
42But God turned away from them and gave them over to the worship of the host of heaven, as it is written in the book of the prophets:
‘Did you bring Me sacrifices and offerings
forty years in the wilderness, O house of Israel?
43You have taken along the tabernacle of Molech
and the star of your god Rephan,
the idols you made to worship.
Therefore I will send you into exile
beyond Babylon.’
44Our fathers had the tabernacle of the Testimony with them in the wilderness. It was constructed exactly as God had directed Moses, according to the pattern he had seen.
45And our fathers who received it brought it in with Joshua when they dispossessed the nations God drove out before them. It remained until the time of David,
46who found favor in the sight of God and asked to provide a dwelling place for the God of Jacob.
47But it was Solomon who built the house for Him.
48However, the Most High does not dwell in houses made by human hands. As the prophet says:
49‘Heaven is My throne
and the earth is My footstool.
What kind of house will you build for Me, says the Lord,
or where will My place of repose be?
50Has not My hand made all these things?’
51You stiff-necked people with uncircumcised hearts and ears! You always resist the Holy Spirit, just as your fathers did.
52Which of the prophets did your fathers fail to persecute? They even killed those who foretold the coming of the Righteous One. And now you are His betrayers and murderers —
53you who received the law ordained by angels, yet have not kept it.”
54On hearing this, the members of the Sanhedrin were enraged, and they gnashed their teeth at him.
55But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, looked intently into heaven and saw the glory of God and Jesus standing at the right hand of God.
56“Look,” he said, “I see heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.”
57At this they covered their ears, cried out in a loud voice, and rushed together at him.
58They dragged him out of the city and began to stone him. Meanwhile the witnesses laid their garments at the feet of a young man named Saul.
59While they were stoning him, Stephen appealed, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.”
60Falling on his knees, he cried out in a loud voice, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” And when he had said this, he fell asleep.
1And Saul was there, giving approval to Stephen’s death. On that day a great persecution broke out against the church in Jerusalem, and all except the apostles were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria.
2God-fearing men buried Stephen and mourned deeply over him.
3But Saul began to destroy the church. Going from house to house, he dragged off men and women and put them in prison.
4Those who had been scattered preached the word wherever they went.
5Philip went down to a city in Samaria and proclaimed the Christ to them.
6The crowds gave their undivided attention to Philip’s message and to the signs they saw him perform.
7With loud shrieks, unclean spirits came out of many who were possessed, and many of the paralyzed and lame were healed.
8So there was great joy in that city.
9Prior to that time, a man named Simon had practiced sorcery in the city and astounded the people of Samaria. He claimed to be someone great,
10and all the people, from the least to the greatest, heeded his words and said, “This man is the divine power called the Great Power.”
11They paid close attention to him because he had astounded them for a long time with his sorcery.
12But when they believed Philip as he preached the gospel of the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women.
13Even Simon himself believed and was baptized. He followed Philip closely and was astounded by the great signs and miracles he observed.
14When the apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent Peter and John to them.
15On their arrival, they prayed for them to receive the Holy Spirit.
16For the Holy Spirit had not yet fallen upon any of them; they had simply been baptized into the name of the Lord Jesus.
17Then Peter and John laid their hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit.
18When Simon saw that the Spirit was given through the laying on of the apostles’ hands, he offered them money.
19“Give me this power as well,” he said, “so that everyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit.”
20But Peter replied, “May your silver perish with you, because you thought you could buy the gift of God with money!
21You have no part or share in our ministry, because your heart is not right before God.
22Repent, therefore, of your wickedness, and pray to the Lord. Perhaps He will forgive you for the intent of your heart.
23For I see that you are poisoned by bitterness and captive to iniquity.”
24Then Simon answered, “Pray to the Lord for me, so that nothing you have said may happen to me.”
25And after Peter and John had testified and spoken the word of the Lord, they returned to Jerusalem, preaching the gospel in many of the Samaritan villages.
26Now an angel of the Lord said to Philip, “Get up and go south to the desert road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.”
27So he started out, and on his way he met an Ethiopian eunuch, a court official in charge of the entire treasury of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians. He had gone to Jerusalem to worship,
28and on his return was sitting in his chariot reading Isaiah the prophet.
29The Spirit said to Philip, “Go over to that chariot and stay by it.”
30So Philip ran up and heard the man reading Isaiah the prophet. “Do you understand what you are reading?” Philip asked.
31“How can I,” he said, “unless someone guides me?” And he invited Philip to come up and sit with him.
32The eunuch was reading this passage of Scripture:
“He was led like a sheep to the slaughter,
and as a lamb before the shearer is silent,
so He did not open His mouth.
33In His humiliation He was deprived of justice.
Who can recount His descendants?
For His life was removed from the earth.”
34“Tell me,” said the eunuch, “who is the prophet talking about, himself or someone else?”
35Then Philip began with this very Scripture and told him the good news about Jesus.
36As they traveled along the road and came to some water, the eunuch said, “Look, here is water! What is there to prevent me from being baptized?”
38And he gave orders to stop the chariot. Then both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water, and Philip baptized him.
39When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord carried Philip away, and the eunuch saw him no more, but went on his way rejoicing.
40But Philip appeared at Azotus and traveled through that region, preaching the gospel in all the towns until he came to Caesarea.
1Meanwhile, Saul was still breathing out murderous threats against the disciples of the Lord. He approached the high priest
2and requested letters to the synagogues in Damascus, so that if he found any men or women belonging to the Way, he could bring them as prisoners to Jerusalem.
3As Saul drew near to Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him.
4He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute Me?”
5“Who are You, Lord?” Saul asked. “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,” He replied.
6“Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.”
7The men traveling with Saul stood there speechless. They heard the voice but did not see anyone.
8Saul got up from the ground, but when he opened his eyes he could not see a thing. So they led him by the hand into Damascus.
9For three days he was without sight, and he did not eat or drink anything.
10In Damascus there was a disciple named Ananias. The Lord spoke to him in a vision, “Ananias!” “Here I am, Lord,” he answered.
11“Get up!” the Lord told him. “Go to the house of Judas on Straight Street and ask for a man from Tarsus named Saul, for he is praying.
12In a vision he has seen a man named Ananias come and place his hands on him to restore his sight.”
13But Ananias answered, “Lord, many people have told me about this man and all the harm he has done to Your saints in Jerusalem.
14And now he is here with authority from the chief priests to arrest all who call on Your name.”
15“Go!” said the Lord. “This man is My chosen instrument to carry My name before the Gentiles and their kings, and before the people of Israel.
16I will show him how much he must suffer for My name.”
17So Ananias went to the house, and when he arrived, he placed his hands on Saul. “Brother Saul,” he said, “the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you were coming here, has sent me so that you may see again and be filled with the Holy Spirit.”
18At that instant, something like scales fell from Saul’s eyes, and his sight was restored. He got up and was baptized,
19and after taking some food, he regained his strength. And he spent several days with the disciples in Damascus.
20Saul promptly began to proclaim Jesus in the synagogues, declaring, “He is the Son of God.”
21All who heard him were astounded and asked, “Isn’ t this the man who wreaked havoc in Jerusalem on those who call on this name? And hasn’ t he come here to take them as prisoners to the chief priests?”
22But Saul was empowered all the more, and he confounded the Jews living in Damascus by proving that Jesus is the Christ.
23After many days had passed, the Jews conspired to kill him,
24but Saul learned of their plot. Day and night they watched the city gates in order to kill him.
25One night, however, his disciples took him and lowered him in a basket through a window in the wall.
26When Saul arrived in Jerusalem, he tried to join the disciples, but they were all afraid of him, not believing that he was a disciple.
27Then Barnabas brought him to the apostles and described how Saul had seen the Lord, who spoke to him on the road to Damascus, and how Saul had spoken boldly in that city in the name of Jesus.
28So Saul stayed with them, moving about freely in Jerusalem and speaking boldly in the name of the Lord.
29He talked and debated with the Grecian Jews, but they tried to kill him.
30When the brothers learned of this, they took him down to Caesarea and sent him off to Tarsus.
31Then the church throughout Judea, Galilee, and Samaria experienced a time of peace. It grew in strength and numbers, living in the fear of the Lord and the encouragement of the Holy Spirit.
32As Peter traveled throughout the area, he went to visit the saints in Lydda.
33There he found a man named Aeneas, who had been paralyzed and bedridden for eight years.
34“Aeneas,” Peter said to him, “Jesus Christ heals you! Get up and put away your mat.” Immediately Aeneas got up,
35and all who lived in Lydda and Sharon saw him and turned to the Lord.
36In Joppa there was a disciple named Tabitha (which is translated as Dorcas), who was always occupied with works of kindness and charity.
37At that time, however, she became sick and died, and her body was washed and placed in an upper room.
38Since Lydda was near Joppa, the disciples heard that Peter was there and sent two men to urge him, “Come to us without delay.”
39So Peter got up and went with them. On his arrival, they took him to the upper room. All the widows stood around him, weeping and showing him the tunics and other clothing that Dorcas had made while she was still with them.
40Then Peter sent them all out of the room. He knelt down and prayed, and turning toward her body, he said, “Tabitha, get up!” She opened her eyes, and seeing Peter, she sat up.
41Peter took her by the hand and helped her up. Then he called the saints and widows and presented her to them alive.
42This became known all over Joppa, and many people believed in the Lord.
43And Peter stayed for several days in Joppa with a tanner named Simon.
1At Caesarea there was a man named Cornelius, a centurion in what was called the Italian Regiment.
2He and all his household were devout and God-fearing. He gave generously to the people and prayed to God regularly.
3One day at about the ninth hour, he had a clear vision of an angel of God who came to him and said, “Cornelius!”
4Cornelius stared at him in fear and asked, “What is it, Lord?” The angel answered, “Your prayers and gifts to the poor have ascended as a memorial offering before God.
5Now send men to Joppa to call for a man named Simon who is called Peter.
6He is staying with Simon the tanner, whose house is by the sea.”
7When the angel who spoke to him had gone, Cornelius called two of his servants and a devout soldier from among his attendants.
8He explained what had happened and sent them to Joppa.
9The next day at about the sixth hour, as the men were approaching the city on their journey, Peter went up on the roof to pray.
10He became hungry and wanted something to eat, but while the meal was being prepared, he fell into a trance.
11He saw heaven open and something like a large sheet being let down to earth by its four corners.
12It contained all kinds of four-footed animals and reptiles of the earth, as well as birds of the air.
13Then a voice said to him: “Get up, Peter, kill and eat!”
14“No, Lord!” Peter answered. “I have never eaten anything impure or unclean.”
15The voice spoke to him a second time: “Do not call anything impure that God has made clean.”
16This happened three times, and all at once the sheet was taken back up into heaven.
17While Peter was puzzling over the meaning of the vision, the men sent by Cornelius found Simon’s house and approached the gate.
18They called out to ask if Simon called Peter was staying there.
19As Peter continued to reflect on the vision, the Spirit said to him, “Behold, three men are looking for you.
20So get up! Go downstairs and accompany them without hesitation, because I have sent them.”
21So Peter went down to the men and said, “Here am I, the one you are looking for. Why have you come?”
22“Cornelius the centurion has sent us,” they said. “He is a righteous and God-fearing man with a good reputation among the whole Jewish nation. A holy angel instructed him to request your presence in his home so he could hear a message from you.”
23So Peter invited them in as his guests. And the next day he got ready and went with them, accompanied by some of the brothers from Joppa.
24The following day he arrived in Caesarea, where Cornelius was expecting them and had called together his relatives and close friends.
25As Peter was about to enter, Cornelius met him and fell at his feet to worship him.
26But Peter helped him up. “Stand up,” he said, “I am only a man myself.”
27As Peter talked with him, he went inside and found many people gathered together.
28He said to them, “You know how unlawful it is for a Jew to associate with a foreigner or visit him. But God has shown me that I should not call any man impure or unclean.
29So when I was invited, I came without objection. I ask, then, why have you sent for me?”
30Cornelius answered: “Four days ago I was in my house praying at this, the ninth hour. Suddenly a man in radiant clothing stood before me
31and said, ‘Cornelius, your prayer has been heard, and your gifts to the poor have been remembered before God.
32Therefore send to Joppa for Simon, who is called Peter. He is a guest in the home of Simon the tanner, by the sea.’
33So I sent for you immediately, and you were kind enough to come. Now then, we are all here in the presence of God to listen to everything the Lord has instructed you to tell us.”
34Then Peter began to speak: “I now truly understand that God does not show favoritism,
35but welcomes those from every nation who fear Him and do what is right.
36He has sent this message to the people of Israel, proclaiming the gospel of peace through Jesus Christ, who is Lord of all.
37You yourselves know what has happened throughout Judea, beginning in Galilee with the baptism that John proclaimed:
38how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, and how Jesus went around doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, because God was with Him.
39We are witnesses of all that He did, both in the land of the Jews and in Jerusalem. And although they put Him to death by hanging Him on a tree,
40God raised Him up on the third day and caused Him to be seen —
41not by all the people, but by the witnesses God had chosen beforehand, by us who ate and drank with Him after He rose from the dead.
42And He commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that He is the One appointed by God to judge the living and the dead.
43All the prophets testify about Him that everyone who believes in Him receives forgiveness of sins through His name.”
44While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit fell upon all who heard his message.
45All the circumcised believers who had accompanied Peter were astounded that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on the Gentiles.
46For they heard them speaking in tongues and exalting God. Then Peter said,
47“Can anyone withhold the water to baptize these people? 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 him to stay for a few days.
1The apostles and brothers throughout Judea soon heard that the Gentiles also had received the word of God.
2So when Peter went up to Jerusalem, the circumcised believers took issue with him
3and said, “You visited uncircumcised men and ate with them.”
4But Peter began and explained to them the whole sequence of events:
5“I was in the city of Joppa praying, and in a trance I saw a vision of something like a large sheet being let down from heaven by its four corners, and it came right down to me.
6I looked at it closely and saw four-footed animals of the earth, wild beasts, reptiles, and birds of the air.
7Then I heard a voice saying to me, ‘Get up, Peter, kill and eat.’
8‘No, Lord,’ I said, ‘for nothing impure or unclean has ever entered my mouth.’
9But the voice spoke from heaven a second time, ‘Do not call anything impure that God has made clean.’
10This happened three times, and everything was drawn back up into heaven.
11Just then three men sent to me from Caesarea stopped at the house where I was staying.
12The Spirit told me to accompany them without hesitation. These six brothers also went with me, and we entered the man’s home.
13He told us how he had seen an angel standing in his house and saying, ‘Send to Joppa for Simon who is called Peter.
14He will convey to you a message by which you and all your household will be saved.’
15As I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell upon them, just as He had fallen upon us at the beginning.
16Then I remembered the word of the Lord, as He used to say, ‘John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’
17So if God gave them the same gift He gave us who believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I to hinder the work of God?”
18When they heard this, their objections were put to rest, and they glorified God, saying, “So then, God has granted even the Gentiles repentance unto life.”
19Meanwhile those scattered by the persecution that began with Stephen traveled as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus, and Antioch, speaking the message only to Jews.
20But some of them, men from Cyprus and Cyrene, went to Antioch and began speaking to the Greeks as well, proclaiming the good news about the Lord Jesus.
21The hand of the Lord was with them, and a great number of people believed and turned to the Lord.
22When news of this reached the ears of the church in Jerusalem, they sent Barnabas to Antioch.
23When he arrived and saw the grace of God, he rejoiced and encouraged them all to abide in the Lord with all their hearts.
24Barnabas was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and faith, and a great number of people were brought to the Lord.
25Then Barnabas went to Tarsus to look for Saul,
26and when he found him, he brought him back to Antioch. So for a full year they met together with the church and taught large numbers of people. The disciples were first called Christians at Antioch.
27In those days some prophets came down from Jerusalem to Antioch.
28One of them named Agabus stood up and predicted through the Spirit that a great famine would sweep across the whole world. (This happened under Claudius.)
29So the disciples, each according to his ability, decided to send relief to the brothers living in Judea.
30This they did, sending their gifts to the elders with Barnabas and Saul.
— Acts 3-11

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