Acts 11; Acts 12; Acts 13

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Acts 11

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].

Acts 12

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.

Acts 13

1 Barnabas, Simeon (called the Black), Lucius (from Cyrene), Manaen (a close friend of Herod since childhood), and Saul were prophets and teachers in the church in Antioch.

2 While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, "Set Barnabas and Saul apart for me. I want them to do the work for which I called them."

3 After fasting and praying, Simeon, Lucius, and Manaen placed their hands on Barnabas and Saul, and released them [from their work in Antioch].

4 After Barnabas and Saul were sent by the Holy Spirit, they went to the city of Seleucia and from there sailed to the island of Cyprus.

5 Arriving in the city of Salamis, they began to spread God's word in the synagogues. John Mark had gone along to help them.

6 They went through the whole island as far as the city of Paphos. In Paphos they met a Jewish man named Barjesus. He was an astrologer who claimed to be a prophet.

7 He was associated with an intelligent man, Sergius Paulus, who was the governor of the island. The governor sent for Barnabas and Saul because he wanted to hear the word of God.

8 Elymas, whose name means astrologer, opposed them and tried to distort the meaning of the faith so that the governor wouldn't believe.

9 But Saul, also known as Paul, was filled with the Holy Spirit. He stared at Elymas

10 and said, "You are full of dirty tricks and schemes, you son of the devil! You hate everything that has God's approval. Quit trying to distort the truth about the way the Lord wants people to live.

11 The Lord is against you now. For a while you will be blind, unable to see the light of day." Suddenly, Elymas couldn't see a thing. He tried to find people to lead him.

12 When the governor saw what had happened, he believed. The Lord's teachings amazed him.

13 Paul and his men took a ship from Paphos and arrived in Perga, a city in Pamphylia. John Mark deserted them there and went back to Jerusalem.

14 Paul and Barnabas left Perga and arrived in Antioch, a city near Pisidia. On the day of worship they went into the synagogue and sat down.

15 After reading from Moses' Teachings and the Prophets, the synagogue leaders sent [a message] to Paul and Barnabas. The message said, "Brothers, if you have any words of encouragement for the people, feel free to speak."

16 Then Paul stood up, motioned with his hand, and said, "Men of Israel and converts to Judaism, listen to me.

17 The God of the people of Israel chose our ancestors and made them a strong nation while they lived as foreigners in Egypt. He used his powerful arm to bring them out of Egypt,

18 and he put up with them for about forty years in the desert.

19 Then he destroyed seven nations in Canaan and gave their land to his people as an inheritance.

20 He did all this in about four hundred and fifty years. "After that he gave his people judges until the time of the prophet Samuel.

21 "Then the people demanded a king, so God gave them Saul, son of Kish, from the tribe of Benjamin. After forty years

22 God removed Saul and made David their king. God spoke favorably about David. He said, 'I have found that David, son of Jesse, is a man after my own heart. He will do everything I want him to do.'

23 "God had the Savior, Jesus, come to Israel from David's descendants, as he had promised.

24 Before Jesus began his ministry, John [the Baptizer] told everyone in Israel about the baptism of repentance.

25 When John was finishing his work, he said, 'Who do you think I am? I'm not the person you're looking for. He will come later. I'm not even good enough to untie his sandals.'

26 "Brothers--descendants of Abraham and converts to Judaism--the message that God saves people was sent to us.

27 The people who live in Jerusalem and their rulers didn't know who Jesus was. They didn't understand the prophets' messages, which are read every day of worship. So they condemned Jesus and fulfilled what the prophets had said.

28 Although they couldn't find any good reason to kill him, they asked Pilate to have him executed.

29 When they had finished doing everything that was written about him, they took him down from the cross and placed him in a tomb.

30 But God brought him back to life,

31 and for many days he appeared to those who had come with him to Jerusalem from Galilee. These people are now witnesses and are testifying to the Jewish people about him.

32 We are telling you the Good News: What God promised our ancestors has happened.

33 God has fulfilled the promise for us, their descendants, by bringing Jesus back to life. This is what Scripture says in the second psalm: 'You are my Son. Today I have become your Father.'

34 "God stated that he brought Jesus back to life and that Jesus' body never decayed. He said, 'I will give you the enduring love promised to David.'

35 Another psalm says, 'You will not allow your holy one to decay.'

36 After doing God's will by serving the people of his time, David died. He was laid to rest with his ancestors, but his body decayed.

37 However, the man God brought back to life had a body that didn't decay.

38 "So, brothers, I'm telling you that through Jesus your sins can be forgiven. Sins kept you from receiving God's approval through Moses' Teachings.

39 However, everyone who believes in Jesus receives God's approval.

40 "Be careful, or what the prophets said may happen to you.

41 'Look, you mockers! Be amazed and die! I am going to do something in your days that you would not believe even if it were reported to you!'"

42 As Paul and Barnabas were leaving the synagogue, the people invited them to speak on the same subject the next day of worship.

43 When the meeting of the synagogue broke up, many Jews and converts to Judaism followed Paul and Barnabas. Paul and Barnabas talked with them and were persuading them to continue trusting God's good will.

44 On the next day of worship, almost the whole city gathered to hear the Lord's word.

45 When the Jews saw the crowds, they became very jealous. They used insulting language to contradict whatever Paul said.

46 Paul and Barnabas told them boldly, "We had to speak the word of God to you first. Since you reject the word and consider yourselves unworthy of everlasting life, we are now going to turn to people of other nations.

47 The Lord gave us the following order: 'I have made you a light for the nations so that you would save people all over the world.'"

48 The people who were not Jews were pleased with what they heard and praised the Lord's word. Everyone who had been prepared for everlasting life believed.

49 The word of the Lord spread throughout the whole region.

50 But Jews stirred up devout women of high social standing and the officials of the city. These people started to persecute Paul and Barnabas and threw them out of their territory.

51 In protest against these people, Paul and Barnabas shook the dust off their feet and went to the city of Iconium.

52 Meanwhile, the disciples [in Antioch] continued to be full of joy and the Holy Spirit.

Acts 11; Acts 12; Acts 13

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Acts 11

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