Acts 9:43 – 10:33

Acts 9

⁴³ Peter stayed in Joppa for many days with a man named Simon the tanner.

Cornelius Sees a Vision

Acts 10

¹ At Caesarea there was a man named Cornelius, who was a centurion in what was called the Italian Regiment. ² He was devout and God-fearing, as was his entire family. He gave generous gifts to the poor and always prayed to God.

³ One day at about the ninth hour, ^[1] he clearly saw a vision in which an angel of God came to him and said, “Cornelius!”

⁴ Cornelius stared at him in terror and replied, “What is it, Lord?”

The angel told him, “Your prayers and your gifts to the poor have gone up as a memorial offering before God. ⁵ Now send men to Joppa to get a man named Simon, who is called Peter. ⁶ He is staying as a guest with Simon the tanner, whose house is by the sea.”

⁷ When the angel who spoke to him had left, Cornelius called two of his household servants and a devout soldier who was one of his personal attendants. ⁸ After explaining everything to them, he sent them to Joppa.

Peter Sees a Vision

⁹ The next day, as they were on their way and approaching the city, Peter went up on the roof to pray at about the sixth hour. ^{[2] 10} He became hungry and wanted to eat, but while they were preparing the meal, he fell into a trance. ¹¹ He saw heaven opened and an object coming down. It was like a large sheet being let down to earth by its four corners. ^{[3] 12} In it were all kinds of four-footed animals and reptiles ^[4] of the earth and birds of the sky.

¹³ Then a voice said to him, “Get up, Peter, kill and eat!”

¹⁴ But Peter said, “Certainly not, Lord, for I have never eaten anything impure or unclean.”

¹⁵ Yet the voice came to him a second time: “What God has made clean, you must not continue to call unclean.”

¹⁶ This happened three times, and then the object was immediately taken up to heaven. ^[5]

¹⁷ While Peter was inwardly perplexed about what the vision he had seen might mean, just then the men who were sent by Cornelius arrived. They had asked for directions to Simon’s house and were standing at the gate. ¹⁸ They called out, asking if Simon, who was also called Peter, was staying there as a guest.

¹⁹ While Peter was still deep in thought about the vision, the Spirit said to him, “See, three men are looking for you! ²⁰ Now get up, go downstairs, and don’t hesitate to go with them, because I have sent them.”

²¹ Peter went down to the men and said, “I am the one you are looking for. Why have you come?”

²² They replied, “Cornelius the centurion is a righteous and God-fearing man, who is highly respected by the whole Jewish nation. He was directed by a holy angel to send for you to come to his house and to listen to what you have to say.” ²³ So Peter invited them in and received them as guests.

Peter Goes to the Home of Cornelius

The next day, Peter got ready and left with them, and some of the brothers from Joppa went along with him. ²⁴ The following day, he arrived in Caesarea. Cornelius was expecting them and had called together his relatives and close friends. ²⁵ As Peter was about to enter the house, Cornelius met him, fell at his feet, and worshipped him. ²⁶ But Peter helped him up and said, “Stand up! I too am just a man.”

²⁷ While he talked with him, Peter went inside and found many people gathered there. ²⁸ He said to them, “You understand how unlawful it is for a Jewish man to associate with or visit anyone who is not a Jew. But God showed me that I should no longer continue to call anyone impure or unclean. ²⁹ That is why I came without objection when you sent for me. May I ask why you sent for me?”

³⁰ Cornelius replied, “From four days ago to this hour, I have been fasting. At the ninth hour, ^[6] I was praying in my house when a man in shining clothes suddenly stood in front of me. ³¹ He said, ‘Cornelius, your prayer has been heard and your gifts to the poor have been remembered in God’s sight. ³² Therefore send to Joppa and call for Simon, who is called Peter. He is staying as a guest in the house of Simon the tanner, by the sea. When he comes, he will speak to you. ^[7]’ ³³ So I sent for you immediately, and it was good of you to come. Now then, we are all here in the presence of God to listen to everything that the Lord ^[8] has instructed you to say.”

Acts 9:32-42

Acts 9

Peter Heals Aeneas and Raises Tabitha From the Dead

³² As Peter went around from place to place, he also went down to the saints who lived in Lydda. ³³ There he found a paralyzed man named Aeneas, who had been lying on a mat for eight years. ³⁴ Peter said to him, “Aeneas, Jesus Christ heals you. Get up and take care of your mat!” Immediately, he got up. ³⁵ All those who lived at Lydda and Sharon saw him, and they turned to the Lord.

³⁶ In Joppa there was a disciple named Tabitha, which in Greek is Dorcas. ^[1] She was always doing good deeds and acts of charity. ³⁷ At that time she became sick and died. After they had washed her, they laid her in an upstairs room. ³⁸ Since Lydda is near Joppa, when the disciples heard that Peter was there, they sent two men to him, who urged him, “Come to us without delay!”

³⁹ Peter got up and went with them. When he arrived, they led him to the room upstairs. All the widows stood beside him, weeping and showing him the robes and clothing that Dorcas made while she was still with them.

⁴⁰ After Peter sent them all outside, he got down on his knees and prayed. Then he turned toward the body and said, “Tabitha, get up!” She opened her eyes, and when she saw Peter, she sat up. ⁴¹ He gave her his hand and helped her stand up. After he called the saints and the widows, he presented her to them alive.

⁴² This became known all over Joppa, and many believed in the Lord.

Acts 9:19b-31

Acts 9

Saul (Paul) Proclaims Jesus

¹⁹ Saul stayed with the disciples in Damascus for several days. ²⁰ Immediately he began to proclaim Jesus in the synagogues, saying, “He is the Son of God.”

²¹ All who heard him were amazed and said, “Isn’t this the one who raised havoc in Jerusalem among those who call on this name? Didn’t he come here for this very purpose: to bring them as prisoners to the chief priests?” ²² But Saul continued to get stronger and kept confounding the Jews who lived in Damascus by proving that Jesus is the Christ.

²³ After many days had passed, the Jews conspired to kill him, ²⁴ but Saul was informed of their plot. They were watching the gates both day and night in order to kill him. ²⁵ But his ^[1] disciples took him at night and let him down through an opening in the wall by lowering him in a basket. ^[2]

²⁶ When Saul came to Jerusalem, he tried to join the disciples, but they were all afraid of him because they did not believe that he was a disciple. ²⁷ But Barnabas took him and brought him to the apostles. He described to them how Saul had seen the Lord on the road and that the Lord had spoken to him, and how in Damascus he had preached fearlessly in the name of Jesus.

²⁸ Saul stayed with them, coming and going freely in Jerusalem and speaking boldly in the name of the Lord. ²⁹ He kept on talking and debating with the Greek-speaking Jews, but they were looking for a way to kill him. ³⁰ When the brothers ^[3] learned about this, they brought him down to Caesarea and sent him off to Tarsus.

³¹ Then the church throughout Judea, Galilee, and Samaria enjoyed peace as it was strengthened. It grew in numbers as it lived in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit.

Acts 9:1-19a

Acts 9

Jesus Appears to Saul on the Road to Damascus

¹ Meanwhile, Saul was still breathing out murderous threats against the disciples of the Lord. He went to the high priest ² and asked him for letters to the synagogues of Damascus, so that if he found any men or women belonging to the Way, he might bring them to Jerusalem as prisoners.

³ As he went on his way and was approaching Damascus, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. ⁴ He fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?”

⁵ He asked, “Who are you, Lord?”

He replied, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. ⁶ But get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you need to do.”

⁷ The men traveling with him stood there speechless. They heard the voice but did not see anyone.

⁸ They raised Saul up from the ground, but when he opened his eyes, he could not see anything. They took him by the hand and led him into Damascus. ⁹ For three days he could not see, and he did not eat or drink.

Ananias Is Sent to Saul

¹⁰ There was a disciple in Damascus named Ananias. The Lord said to him in a vision, “Ananias!”

He answered, “Here I am, Lord.”

¹¹ The Lord told him, “Get up and go to the street called Straight, and at the house of Judas ask for a man from Tarsus named Saul. In fact, at this very moment he is praying. ¹² In a vision he has seen a man named Ananias come in and lay his hands on him so that he can regain his sight.”

¹³ Ananias answered, “Lord, I have heard from many people about this man and how much harm he did to your saints in Jerusalem. ¹⁴ And he has authority here from the chief priests to arrest all who call on your name.”

¹⁵ The Lord said to him, “Go! This man is my chosen instrument to carry my name before the Gentiles and kings and the people of Israel. ¹⁶ Indeed, I will show him how much he must suffer for my name.”

¹⁷ Ananias left and entered the house. Laying his hands on Saul, he said, “Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, whom you saw on your way here, has sent me so that you may see again and be filled with the Holy Spirit.”

¹⁸ Immediately something like scales fell from his eyes, and he could see again. He got up and was baptized. ¹⁹ And after taking some food, he regained his strength.

Acts 8:26-40

Acts 8

Philip and the Ethiopian Eunuch

²⁶ Now an angel of the Lord said to Philip, “Get up and go south to the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” (This is an isolated area.) ²⁷ So he got up and went. And there was a man, an Ethiopian eunuch, a court official of Candace, Queen of the Ethiopians, who was in charge of all her treasury. He had come to Jerusalem to worship. ²⁸ He was on his way home, sitting in his chariot and reading the prophet Isaiah.

²⁹ The Spirit told Philip, “Go over there and stay close to that chariot.” ³⁰ Philip ran up to it and heard him reading Isaiah the prophet.

Philip asked, “Do you understand what you are reading?”

³¹ The man replied, “How can I unless someone explains it to me?” And he invited Philip to come up and sit with him.

³² Now the passage of Scripture the eunuch was reading was this:

³⁴ The eunuch said to Philip, “I ask you, who is the prophet talking about—himself or someone else?” ³⁵ Then Philip began to speak. Starting with that very passage of Scripture, he told him the good news about Jesus. ³⁶ As they were traveling along the road, they came to some water, and the eunuch said, “Look, here is water. What is there to prevent me from being baptized?” ^[3]

³⁸ He ordered the chariot to stop. Then both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water, and Philip baptized him. ³⁹ When they stepped up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord carried Philip away. The eunuch did not see him anymore, but went on his way rejoicing.

⁴⁰ Philip, however, found himself at Azotus. And as he went from place to place, he preached the gospel in all the towns until he came to Caesarea.

Acts 8:5-25

Acts 8

⁵ Philip went down to the city of Samaria and began preaching the Christ to them. ⁶ With one mind, the crowds paid close attention to what was being said by Philip when they heard him and saw the miraculous signs he was doing. ⁷ Unclean spirits, crying out with a loud voice, came out of many who were possessed, and many who were paralyzed and lame were healed. ⁸ So there was great joy in that city.

⁹ Now there was a man by the name of Simon, who had been practicing magic arts ^[1] in the city. He amazed the people of Samaria while claiming that he was someone great. ¹⁰ They all paid attention to him, from the least of them to the greatest, saying, “This man is the power of God that is called ‘Great.’” ¹¹ They paid attention to him, because he had amazed them for a long time with his magic arts. ¹² But when they believed Philip, as he preached the good news about the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women.

¹³ Then even Simon himself believed. After he was baptized, he stayed close to Philip. As he observed the signs and great miracles that were taking place, he was amazed.

The Apostles Send Peter and John to Samaria

¹⁴ When the apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent Peter and John to them. ¹⁵ When Peter and John arrived, they prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit, ¹⁶ for he had not yet come upon any of them. They had simply been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. ¹⁷ Then Peter and John laid their hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit.

¹⁸ When Simon saw that the Holy ^[2] Spirit was given through the laying on of the apostles’ hands, he offered them money ¹⁹ and said, “Give me this power too, so that anyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit.” ²⁰ But Peter said to him, “May your silver perish with you, because you thought you could obtain the gift of God with money! ²¹ You have no part or share in this matter, because your heart is not right in God’s sight. ²² So repent of this wickedness of yours and pray to the Lord. Perhaps the intent of your heart may be forgiven you. ²³ For I see that you are filled with bitter poison and chained by wickedness.”

²⁴ Then Simon answered, “Pray to the Lord for me so that nothing you have said may happen to me.”

²⁵ After Peter and John had testified and spoken the word of the Lord, they returned to Jerusalem, preaching the gospel to many villages of the Samaritans.

Acts 7:44 – 8:4

Acts 7

Stephen Defends Himself

⁴⁴ “Our fathers had the Tent of the Testimony in the wilderness. It was just like the model Moses had seen, just as he who spoke to Moses directed him to make it. ⁴⁵ After our fathers received it from him, they brought it in with Joshua when they took possession of the land from the nations God drove out before our fathers. It was here until the days of David. ⁴⁶ He found favor in the presence of God and asked that he might obtain a dwelling place for the God of Jacob. ^{[1] 47} But it was Solomon who built a house for him.

⁴⁸ “However, the Most High does not live in houses made by human hands, just as the prophet says:

Stephen Condemns the Jewish Rulers

⁵¹ “You stiff-necked people, with uncircumcised hearts and ears! You always resist the Holy Spirit! You are doing just what your fathers did. ⁵² Which of the prophets did your fathers not persecute? They killed those who prophesied the coming of the Righteous One, and now you have become his betrayers and murderers— ⁵³ you who received the law as transmitted by angels, but did not keep it.”

The Stoning of Stephen

⁵⁴ When they heard these things, they were furious and gnashed their teeth at him. ⁵⁵ But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, gazed up into heaven and saw the glory of God and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. ⁵⁶ He said, “Look, I see heaven opened, and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.”

⁵⁷ But they screamed at the top of their voices, covered their ears, and rushed at him with one purpose in mind. ⁵⁸ They threw him out of the city and stoned him. The witnesses laid their cloaks at the feet of a young man named Saul.

⁵⁹ While they were stoning Stephen, he called out, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit!” ⁶⁰ Then he fell to his knees and cried out in a loud voice, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” After he said this, he fell asleep.

Acts 8

¹ Saul agreed with putting Stephen to death.

On that day a great persecution broke out against the church in Jerusalem, and all except the apostles were scattered throughout the countryside of Judea and Samaria. ² Godly men buried Stephen, and they mourned deeply for him.

³ But Saul was trying to destroy the church by going into one house after another, dragging off both men and women, and putting them in prison.

The Word of God Spreads in Samaria

⁴ So those believers who were scattered went around proclaiming the gospel message.

Acts 7:1-43

Acts 7

Stephen Defends Himself

¹ Then the high priest asked, “Are these things true?”

² Stephen said, “Gentlemen, brothers and fathers, listen! The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham when he was in Mesopotamia, before he lived in Haran. ³ God said to him, ‘Leave your land and your relatives and come to the land that I will show you.’ ^[1]

⁴ “Then he left the land of the Chaldeans and settled in Haran. After his father died, God had him move from there to this land where you are now living.

⁵ “He gave him no inheritance in this land, not even enough to set his foot on. But God promised to give it as a possession to him and to his descendants ^[2] after him, ^[3] even though Abraham still had no child. ⁶ God revealed that his descendants ^[4] would live as strangers in a foreign country, and that they would be enslaved and mistreated for four hundred years. ⁷ God added, ‘I will judge the nation that they will serve as slaves, and after that they will leave there and serve me in this place.’ ^[5]

⁸ “Then he gave Abraham the covenant of circumcision. So Abraham became the father of Isaac and circumcised him on the eighth day. Isaac became the father of Jacob, and Jacob became the father of the twelve patriarchs.

Stephen Defends Himself

⁹ “The patriarchs, filled with envy, sold Joseph into Egypt, but God was with him. ¹⁰ God rescued him from all his troubles and granted him favor and wisdom before Pharaoh, king of Egypt. And Pharaoh made him governor over Egypt and over his whole palace.

¹¹ “A famine came over all of Egypt and Canaan, causing great suffering, and our fathers found no food. ¹² But when Jacob heard that there was grain in Egypt, he sent our fathers on their first visit. ¹³ On their second visit, Joseph made himself known to his brothers, and Joseph’s family became known to Pharaoh. ¹⁴ Then Joseph sent word and invited his father Jacob and all his relatives to come to him, seventy-five people in all. ¹⁵ Jacob went down to Egypt, and there he died, he and our fathers. ¹⁶ Their bodies were brought back to Shechem and laid in the tomb that Abraham had bought for a sum of silver from the sons of Hamor in Shechem.

¹⁷ “As the time approached that God spoke about in the promise he had made ^[6] to Abraham, the people increased and multiplied in Egypt. ¹⁸ This continued until another king who knew nothing about Joseph became ruler of Egypt. ¹⁹ He took advantage of our people in a cunning way, and he mistreated our fathers by forcing them to get rid of their babies so that they would not survive. ^[7]

Stephen Defends Himself

²⁰ “At that time, Moses was born, and he was favored by God. For three months he was cared for in his father’s house. ²¹ After he was placed outside, ^[8] Pharaoh’s daughter took him in and brought him up as her own son. ²² Moses was educated in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and he was powerful in his words and actions.

²³ “But when he was forty years old, it entered his mind to visit his brothers, the sons of Israel. ²⁴ When he saw one of them being mistreated, he defended him and avenged the oppressed man by striking down the Egyptian. ²⁵ He thought that his brothers would understand that God was giving them deliverance by his hand, but they did not understand. ²⁶ The next day, he came across two of them while they were fighting, and he tried to reconcile them. He said, ‘Men, you are brothers. Why are you harming each other?’ ²⁷ But the one who was harming his neighbor pushed him away, saying, ‘Who made you a ruler and a judge over us? ²⁸ Do you want to kill me the same way you killed the Egyptian yesterday?’ ^{[9] 29} At this remark, Moses fled and lived as an exile in the land of Midian, where he became the father of two sons.

³⁰ “After forty years had passed, an angel of the Lord ^[10] appeared to him in the wilderness of Mount Sinai, in the flames of a burning bush. ³¹ When Moses saw it, he was amazed at the sight. As he went closer to look, the voice of the Lord said, ³² ‘I am the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of ^[11] Jacob.’ ^[12] Moses trembled and did not dare to look. ³³ Then the Lord said to him, ‘Take your sandals off your feet, because the place where you are standing is holy ground. ³⁴ I have certainly seen the oppression of my people in Egypt, and I have heard their groaning. I have come down to rescue them. Now come, I will send you to Egypt.’ ^[13]

³⁵ “This is the same Moses they had rejected by saying, ‘Who made you a ruler and judge?’ This is the one whom God sent to be a ruler and deliverer with the help of the angel who appeared to him in the bush. ³⁶ This is the one who led the people out, as he performed wonders and miraculous signs in Egypt, at the Red Sea, and in the wilderness for forty years. ³⁷ This is the Moses who said to the people of Israel, ‘God ^[14] will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your brothers.’ ^{[15] 38} This is the one who was in the assembly in the wilderness with the angel who spoke to him on Mount Sinai and with our fathers. He received living messages to give to us, ³⁹ but our fathers refused to obey him. Instead they pushed him away and turned back, in their hearts, to Egypt. ⁴⁰ They told Aaron, ‘Make gods for us 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.’ ^{[16] 41} That was the time when they made a calf, offered a sacrifice to the idol, and were taking delight in the works of their hands.

⁴² “But God turned away and gave them over to the worship of the heavenly bodies, as it is written in the book of the prophets:

Acts 6

Choosing the Seven

¹ In those days, as the number of disciples was increasing, a complaint arose from the Greek-speaking Jews against the Hebrew-speaking Jews, because their widows were being overlooked in the daily distribution of food.

² So the Twelve called together the whole group of disciples and said, “It is not right for us to neglect the word of God in order to wait on tables. ³ Brothers, carefully select from among you seven men with good reputations, who are full of the Holy ^[1] Spirit and wisdom. We will put them in charge of this service. ⁴ But we will devote ourselves to prayer and the ministry of the word.”

⁵ This proposal pleased the entire group. They chose Stephen, a man full of faith and the Holy Spirit, also Philip, Procorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicholas, a proselyte from Antioch.

⁶ They had these men stand before the apostles, who prayed and laid their hands on them.

⁷ The word of God kept on spreading, and the number of disciples in Jerusalem increased greatly. Also a large group of priests became obedient to the faith.

Stephen Is Arrested

⁸ Now Stephen, full of grace and power, was doing great wonders and miraculous signs among the people. ⁹ Some men who were from what is called the Synagogue of the Freedmen (Cyrenians, Alexandrians, and some from Cilicia and Asia) rose up and disputed with Stephen. ¹⁰ But they were unable to stand up against the wisdom and the Spirit by whom he was speaking.

¹¹ Then they secretly induced some men to say, “We heard Stephen speak blasphemous words against Moses and against God.” ¹² They stirred up the people, the elders, and the experts in the law. They came, dragged Stephen away, and brought him before the Sanhedrin. ¹³ They presented false witnesses who said, “This man never stops making threats against this holy place and the law. ¹⁴ In fact, we have heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place and will change the customs Moses handed down to us.”

¹⁵ All those who were sitting in the Sanhedrin were looking intently at Stephen, and they saw that his face was like the face of an angel.