The Jewish Annotated New Testament (68 page)

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Meanwhile the church throughout Judea, Galilee, and Samaria had peace and was built up. Living in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, it increased in numbers.

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Now as Peter went here and there among all the believers,
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he came down also to the saints living in Lydda.
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There he found a man named Aeneas, who had been bedridden for eight years, for he was paralyzed.
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Peter said to him, “Aeneas, Jesus Christ heals you; get up and make your bed!” And immediately he got up.
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And all the residents of Lydda and Sharon saw him and turned to the Lord.

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Now in Joppa there was a disciple whose name was Tabitha, which in Greek is Dorcas.
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She was devoted to good works and acts of charity.
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At that time she became ill and died. When they had washed her, they laid her in a room upstairs.
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Since Lydda was near Joppa, the disciples, who heard that Peter was there, sent two men to him with the request, “Please come to us without delay.”
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So Peter got up and went with them; and when he arrived, they took him to the room upstairs. All the widows stood beside him, weeping and showing tunics and other clothing that Dorcas had made while she was with them.
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Peter put all of them outside, and then he knelt down and prayed. He turned to the body and said, “Tabitha, get up.” Then she opened her eyes, and seeing Peter, she sat up.
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He gave her his hand and helped her up. Then calling the saints and widows, he showed her to be alive.
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This became known throughout Joppa, and many believed in the Lord.
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Meanwhile he stayed in Joppa for some time with a certain Simon, a tanner.

10
In Caesarea there was a man named Cornelius, a centurion of the Italian Cohort, as it was called.
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He was a devout man who feared God with all his household; he gave alms generously to the people and prayed constantly to God.
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One afternoon at about three o’clock he had a vision in which he clearly saw an angel of God coming in and saying to him, “Cornelius.”
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He stared at him in terror and said, “What is it, Lord?” He answered, “Your prayers and your alms have ascended as a memorial before God.
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Now send men to Joppa for a certain Simon who is called Peter;
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he is lodging with Simon, a tanner, whose house is by the seaside.”
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When the angel who spoke to him had left, he called two of his slaves and a devout soldier from the ranks of those who served him,
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and after telling them everything, he sent them to Joppa.

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About noon the next day, as they were on their journey and approaching the city, Peter went up on the roof to pray.
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He became hungry and wanted something to eat; and while it was being prepared, he fell into a trance.
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He saw the heaven opened and something like a large sheet coming down, being lowered to the ground by its four corners.
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In it were all kinds of four-footed creatures and reptiles and birds of the air.
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Then he heard a voice saying, “Get up, Peter; kill and eat.”
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But Peter said, “By no means, Lord; for I have never eaten anything that is profane or unclean.”
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The voice said to him again, a second time, “What God has made clean, you must not call profane.”
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This happened three times, and the thing was suddenly taken up to heaven.

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Now while Peter was greatly puzzled about what to make of the vision that he had seen, suddenly the men sent by Cornelius appeared. They were asking for Simon’s house and were standing by the gate.
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They called out to ask whether Simon, who was called Peter, was staying there.
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While Peter was still thinking about the vision, the Spirit said to him, “Look, three
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men are searching for you.
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Now get up, go down, and go with them without hesitation; for I have sent them.”
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So Peter went down to the men and said, “I am the one you are looking for; what is the reason for your coming?”
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They answered, “Cornelius, a centurion, an upright and God-fearing man, who is well spoken of by the whole Jewish nation, was directed by a holy angel to send for you to come to his house and to hear what you have to say.”
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So Peter
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invited them in and gave them lodging.

The next day he got up and went with them, and some of the believers
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from Joppa accompanied him.
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The following day they came to Caesarea. Cornelius was expecting them and had called together his relatives and close friends.
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On Peter’s arrival Cornelius met him, and falling at his feet, worshiped him.
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But Peter made him get up, saying, “Stand up; I am only a mortal.”
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And as he talked with him, he went in and found that many had assembled;
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and he said to them, “You yourselves know that it is unlawful for a Jew to associate with or to visit a Gentile; but God has shown me that I should not call anyone profane or unclean.
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So when I was sent for, I came without objection. Now may I ask why you sent for me?”

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Cornelius replied, “Four days ago at this very hour, at three o’clock, I was praying in my house when suddenly a man in dazzling clothes stood before me.
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He said, ‘Cornelius, your prayer has been heard and your alms have been remembered before God.
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Send therefore to Joppa and ask for Simon, who is called Peter; he is staying in the home of Simon, a tanner, by the sea.’
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Therefore I sent for you immediately, and you have been kind enough to come. So now all of us are here in the presence of God to listen to all that the Lord has commanded you to say.”

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Then Peter began to speak to them: “I truly understand that God shows no partiality,
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but in every nation anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him.
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You know the message he sent to the people of Israel, preaching peace by Jesus Christ—he is Lord of all.
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That message spread throughout Judea, beginning in Galilee after the baptism that John announced:
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how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power; how he went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him.
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We are witnesses to all that he did both in Judea and in Jerusalem. They put him to death by hanging him on a tree;
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but God raised him on the third day and allowed him to appear,
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not to all the people but to us who were chosen by God as witnesses, and who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead.
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He commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one ordained by God as judge of the living and the dead.
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All the prophets testify about him that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.”

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While Peter was still speaking, the Holy Spirit fell upon all who heard the word.
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The circumcised believers who had come with Peter were astounded that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on the Gentiles,
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for they heard them speaking in tongues and extolling God. Then Peter said,
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“Can anyone withhold the water for baptizing these people who have received the Holy Spirit just as we have?”
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So he ordered them to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Then they invited him to stay for several days.

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Now the apostles and the believers
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who were in Judea heard that the Gentiles had also accepted the word of God.
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So when Peter went up to Jerusalem, the circumcised believers
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criticized him,
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saying, “Why did you go to uncircumcised men and eat with them?”
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Then Peter began to explain it to them, step by step, saying,
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“I was in the city of Joppa praying, and in a trance I saw a vision. There was something like a large sheet coming down from heaven, being lowered by its four corners; and it came close to me.
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As I looked at it closely I saw four-footed animals, beasts of prey, reptiles, and birds of the air.
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I also heard a voice saying to me, ‘Get up, Peter; kill and eat.’
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But I replied, ‘By no means, Lord; for nothing profane or unclean has ever entered my mouth.’
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But a second time the voice answered from heaven, ‘What God has made clean, you must not call profane.’
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This happened three times; then everything was pulled up again to heaven.
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At that very moment three men, sent to me from Caesarea, arrived at the house where we were.
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The Spirit told me to go with them and not to make a distinction between them and us.
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These six brothers also accompanied me, and we entered the man’s house.
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He told us how he had seen the angel standing in his house and saying, ‘Send to Joppa and bring Simon, who is called Peter;
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he will give you a message by which you and your entire household will be saved.’
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And as I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell upon them just as it had upon us at the beginning.
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And I remembered the word of the Lord, how he had said, ‘John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’
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If then God gave them the same gift that he gave us when we believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I that I could hinder God?”
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When they heard this, they were silenced. And they praised God, saying, “Then God has given even to the Gentiles the repentance that leads to life.”

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Now those who were scattered because of the persecution that took place over Stephen traveled as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus, and Antioch, and they spoke the word to no one except Jews.
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But among them were some men of Cyprus and Cyrene who, on coming to Antioch, spoke to the Hellenists
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also, proclaiming the Lord Jesus.
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The hand of the Lord was with them, and a great number became believers and turned to the Lord.
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News of this came to the ears of the church in Jerusalem, and they sent Barnabas to Antioch.
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When he came and saw the grace of God, he rejoiced, and he exhorted them all to remain faithful to the Lord with steadfast devotion;
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for he was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and of faith. And a great many people were brought to the Lord.
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Then Barnabas went to Tarsus to look for Saul,
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and when he had found him, he brought him to Antioch. So it was that for an entire year they met with
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the church and taught a great many people, and it was in Antioch that the disciples were first called “Christians.”