Acts 10

(1) Cornelius Told to Fetch Peter

There was a man at Caesarea [a coastal town in modern-day Israel] named Cornelius. Cornelius was a centurion [commander of 100 soldiers] in the Italian battalion, and he was a devout man who respected God along with his entire household. He often gave money to the Jewish people, and he talked to God all the time. And at about 3pm that day, he saw a clear vision of God’s messenger [angel] coming to him and saying,

“Cornelius!”

Startled, Cornelius stared at him and said,

“What is it, sir?”

The messenger said,

“Your prayers and financial gifts ascended to form a memorial in front of God. Now dispatch some men to Joppa to find a man named Simon, who goes by “Peter.” He’s staying with a leather-maker named Simon whose house is on the coast.”

When the messenger left, Cornelius summoned two of his household workers and one of his personal attendant soldiers who was a believer. He explained everything to them and sent them to Joppa. 

(9) Peter Sees Vision about Cleanliness

The next day, as Cornelius’s men were approaching Joppa, Peter went up on the housetop around noon to talk to God while he was hungry and waiting for lunch to be prepared. Then he went into a haze and saw the sky open up with a large sheet being lowered down by its four corners. The sheet had all kinds of four-legged animals, reptiles, and birds in it. He heard a voice telling him,

“Go ahead, Peter. Kill these animals and eat them.”

Peter replied,

“Definitely not, Master. I’ve never eaten any foods that are impure or unholy.”

Then the voice said,

“Don’t regard something as unholy when God has cleaned it.”

This happened three times, until the sheet suddenly disappeared into the sky. 

(17) Cornelius’s Men Find Peter

Peter stood there completely baffled by what had just happened. And sure enough, that exact moment is when Cornelius’s men showed up at Simon’s front gate. They were asking if someone named Simon/Peter was staying there. Peter was still thinking about the vision, but the Spirit told him,

“See those three men looking for you? Get up, go downstairs, and join them without overthinking anything, because I Myself have sent them.”

So Peter went down to meet them and said,

“I’m the guy you’re looking for. What brings you here today?”

They said,

“There’s this centurion named Cornelius who’s a real stand-up guy and God-fearing man. Everyone in the entire Jewish district speaks highly of him. And a sacred angel divinely told him to find you in this house and hear a message from you.”

So Peter invited them in and received them as his guests. 

(23b) Cornelius Awaits Peter’s Message

The next day, Peter left with Cornelius’s men and a few other members of the spiritual family in Joppa. The day after that, they arrived in Caesarea, where Cornelius was waiting for them with a bunch of his close friends and relatives. When Peter got there, Cornelius went to meet him and fell at his feet, bowing flat on the ground out of reverence. But Peter picked him up and said,

“Stand up! I’m just a man like you are.”

As they started talking, Peter went inside and saw that lots of people were there. He said to them,

“You guys know that Moses’s law prohibits Jews from associating with foreigners or visiting them. Yet God has shown me that I shouldn’t think of anyone as unclean or unholy. That’s why I came without any objection when you guys asked me to come. So now… why did you guys invite me here in the first place?”

Cornelius said,

“Exactly 4 days ago to the hour, I was praying in my house at 3pm and God’s messenger told me that God hears my prayers, remembers my gifts, and that I should invite you here from Joppa. The messenger told me that you were staying at Simon’s house, a leather-maker who lives near the coast.

“So I sent people to find you right away, and you were kind enough to come. Now all of us are here in front of God to hear what the Master told you.”

(34) Jesus is for Every Ethnicity

Peter said,

“Now I truly understand that God isn’t biased. He welcomes people who respect Him and do the right thing, regardless of their ethnicity. He sent a message to Israel’s descendants announcing the good news about the peace available through Jesus the Chosen One, who rules over everything.

“You guys heard about everything that went on in Judea starting in Galilee after the baptism that John promoted. You heard about Jesus from Nazareth and how God appointed Him with the Different Spirit and power. You’ve heard about how He went around doing good and healing everyone who was oppressed by the one who spouts false accusations [devil]. God was with Him, and we witnessed all the things He did in the Jewish countryside and Jerusalem.

“Then they put Him to death by hanging Him on a wooden post, but God woke Him back to life on the third day. God didn’t let everyone see His resurrected form, but granted Him visibility with a smaller group of pre-selected eye-witnesses. (I’m talking about those of us who ate and drank with Him after His resurrection.) And He told us to announce to the people and earnestly protest about he He’s the One who God appointed to be the Judge of the living and the dead. All the prophets testified about Him, saying that everyone who believes in Him is forgiven of their bad choices through His name.”

(44) Different Spirit fills non-Jews

While Peter was still saying those words, the Different Spirit came down on everyone who was hearing his words. The Jewish believers that came with Peter had been circumcised (in alignment with Jewish tradition), and they were all stunned at how the Different Spirit had also been poured out on the non-Jews. They could hear the non-Jews talking in languages and speaking highly of God. Then Peter answered,

“No one can object to baptizing these guys in water when they’ve already received the Different Spirit in the same way that we did, right?”

Then he told them to be immersed into the name of Jesus the Chosen One. Then they asked Peter to stay with them for another few days. 

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Acts 9