Acts 11; Acts 12

1 The apostles and the believers throughout Judea heard that people who were not Jewish had accepted God's word.

2 However, when Peter went to Jerusalem, the believers who insisted on circumcision began to argue with him.

3 They said, "You went to visit men who were uncircumcised, and you even ate with them."

4 Then Peter began to explain to them point by point what had happened. He said,

5 "I was praying in the city of Joppa when I fell into a trance. I saw something like a large linen sheet being lowered by its four corners from the sky. The sheet came near me.

6 I looked into the sheet very closely and saw tame animals, wild animals, reptiles, and birds.

7 I also heard a voice telling me, 'Get up, Peter! Kill these animals, and eat them.'

8 "But I answered, 'I can't do that, Lord! I've never put anything impure or unclean into my mouth.'

9 "A voice spoke from heaven a second time, 'Don't say that the things which God has made clean are impure.'

10 This happened three times. Then everything was pulled back into the sky again.

11 "At that moment three men arrived at the house where we were staying. They had been sent from Caesarea to find me.

12 The Spirit told me to go with them without any hesitation. Six believers [from Joppa] went with me, and we visited Cornelius' home.

13 "He told us that he had seen an angel standing in his home. The angel told him, 'Send messengers to Joppa, and summon a man whose name is Simon Peter.

14 He will give you a message that will save you and everyone in your home.'

15 "When I began to speak, the Holy Spirit came to these people. This was the same thing that happened to us in the beginning.

16 I remembered that the Lord had said, 'John baptized with water, but you will be baptized by the Holy Spirit.'

17 When they believed, God gave them the same gift that he gave us when we believed in the Lord Jesus Christ. So who was I to interfere with God?"

18 When the others heard this, they had no further objections. They praised God by saying, "Then God has also led people who are not Jewish to turn to him so that they can change the way they think and act and have eternal life."

19 Some of the believers who were scattered by the trouble that broke out following Stephen's death went as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus, and the city of Antioch. They spoke God's word only to Jewish people.

20 But other believers, who were from Cyprus and Cyrene, arrived in Antioch. They started to spread the Good News about the Lord Jesus to Greeks.

21 The Lord's power was with his followers, and a large number of people believed and turned to the Lord.

22 After the news about Antioch reached the church in Jerusalem, Barnabas was sent to Antioch.

23 When he arrived there, he was pleased to see what God had done for them out of kindness. So he encouraged all the people to remain solidly committed to the Lord.

24 Barnabas was a dependable man, and he was full of the Holy Spirit and faith. A large crowd believed in the Lord.

25 Then Barnabas left Antioch to go to the city of Tarsus to look for Saul.

26 After finding Saul, Barnabas brought him back to Antioch. Barnabas and Saul met with the church in Antioch for a whole year and taught a large group of people. The disciples were called Christians for the first time in the city of Antioch.

27 At that time some prophets came from Jerusalem to the city of Antioch.

28 One of them was named Agabus. Through the Spirit Agabus predicted that a severe famine would affect the entire world. This happened while Claudius was emperor.

29 All the disciples in Antioch decided to contribute whatever they could afford to help the believers living in Judea.

30 The disciples did this and sent their contribution with Barnabas and Saul to the leaders [in Jerusalem].

1 About that time King Herod devoted his attention to mistreating certain members of the church.

2 He had James, the brother of John, executed.

3 When he saw how this pleased the Jews, he arrested Peter too. This happened during the days of Unleavened Bread.

4 After capturing Peter, Herod had him thrown into prison with sixteen soldiers in squads of four to guard him. Herod wanted to bring Peter to trial in front of the people after Passover.

5 So Peter was kept in prison, but the church was praying very hard to God for him.

6 The night before Herod was going to bring Peter to trial, Peter was sleeping between two soldiers. His hands were bound with two chains, and guards were in front of the door. They were watching the prison.

7 Suddenly, an angel from the Lord stood near Peter, and his cell was filled with light. The angel nudged Peter's side, woke him up, and said, "Hurry! Get up!" At that moment the chains fell from Peter's hands.

8 The angel told him, "Put your shoes on, and get ready to go!" Peter did this. Then the angel told him, "Put your coat on, and follow me."

9 Peter followed the angel out of the cell. He didn't realize that what the angel was doing was actually happening. He thought he was seeing a vision.

10 They passed the first and second guardposts and came to the iron gate that led into the city. This gate opened by itself for them, so they went outside and up the street. The angel suddenly left Peter.

11 When Peter came to his senses, he said, "Now I'm sure that the Lord sent his angel to rescue me from Herod and from everything the Jewish people are expecting to happen to me."

12 When Peter realized what had happened, he went to the home of Mary, the mother of John Mark. Many people had gathered at her home and were praying.

13 Peter knocked on the door of the entryway, and a servant named Rhoda came to answer.

14 When she recognized Peter's voice, she was so happy that instead of opening the door, she ran back inside and reported, "Peter is standing at the door!"

15 The people told her, "You're crazy!" But she insisted that Peter was at the door. They said, "It has to be his angel."

16 But Peter kept knocking. When they opened the door, they were shocked to see him.

17 Peter motioned with his hand to quiet them down and told them how the Lord had taken him out of prison. He added, "Tell James and the other believers about this." Then he left and went somewhere else.

18 In the morning the soldiers were in an uproar over what had happened to Peter.

19 Herod searched for Peter but couldn't find him. So he questioned the guards and gave orders to have them executed. Then Herod left Judea and went to Caesarea, where he stayed for a while.

20 Herod was very angry with the people of Tyre and Sidon. They were going to meet with Herod. They had agreed on what they wanted to do: They enlisted the help of Blastus to ask Herod for terms of peace. This was because their cities depended on Herod for their food supply. (Blastus was in charge of the king's living quarters.)

21 The appointed day came. Herod, wearing his royal clothes, sat on his throne and began making a speech to them.

22 The people started shouting, "The voice of a god and not of a man!"

23 Immediately, an angel from the Lord killed Herod for not giving glory to God. Herod was eaten by maggots, and he died.

24 But God's word continued to spread and win many followers.

25 After Barnabas and Saul delivered the contribution [to the leaders in Jerusalem], they returned [to Antioch] from Jerusalem. They brought John Mark with them.