Study Desk

The apostles and the brothers who were throughout Judea heard that the Gentiles had welcomed God's message also.

When Peter went up to Jerusalem, those who stressed circumcision^[a] argued with him,^(a)

saying, "You visited uncircumcised men and ate with them!"^(b)

Peter began to explain to them in an orderly sequence, saying:

"I^(c) was in the town of Joppa praying, and I saw, in a visionary state, an object that resembled a large sheet coming down, being lowered by its four corners from heaven, and it came to me.

When I looked closely and considered it, I saw the four-footed animals of the earth, the wild beasts, the reptiles, and the birds of the sky.

Then I also heard a voice telling me, ‘Get up, Peter; kill and eat!'

"‘No, Lord!' I said. ‘For nothing common or ritually unclean has ever entered my mouth!'

But a voice answered from heaven a second time, ‘What God has made clean, you must not call common.'

"Now this happened three times, and then everything was drawn up again into heaven.

At that very moment, three men who had been sent to me from Caesarea arrived at the house where we were.

Then the Spirit told me to accompany them with no doubts at all. These six brothers accompanied me, and we went into the man's house.^(d)

He reported to us how he had seen the angel standing in his house and saying, ‘Send^[b] to Joppa, and call for Simon, who is also named Peter.

He will speak a message^[c] to you that you and all your household^(e) will be saved by.'

"As I began to speak, the Holy Spirit came down on them, just as on us at the beginning.^(f)

Then I remembered the word of the Lord, how He said, ‘John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.'^(g)

Therefore, if God gave them the same gift that He also gave to us when we believed on the Lord Jesus Christ, how could I possibly hinder God?"^(h)

When they heard this they became silent. Then they glorified God, saying, "So God has granted repentance resulting in life^[d] even to the Gentiles!"⁽ⁱ⁾

Those who had been scattered as a result of the persecution that started because of Stephen made their way as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus, and Antioch,^(j) speaking the message to no one except Jews.

But there were some of them, Cypriot and Cyrenian men, who came to Antioch and began speaking to the Hellenists,^[e][f] proclaiming the good news about the Lord Jesus.^(k)

The Lord's hand was with them, and a large number who believed turned to the Lord.^(l)

Then the report about them was heard by the church that was at Jerusalem, and they sent out Barnabas to travel^[g] as far as Antioch.

When he arrived and saw the grace of God, he was glad and encouraged all of them to remain true to the Lord with a firm resolve of the heart,^(m)

for he was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit⁽ⁿ⁾ and of faith. And large numbers of people were added^(o) to the Lord.

Then he^[h] went to Tarsus to search for Saul,

and when he found him he brought him to Antioch. For a whole year they met with the church and taught large numbers. The disciples^(p) were first called Christians at Antioch.^(q)

In those days some prophets came down from Jerusalem to Antioch.^(r)

Then one of them, named Agabus, stood up and predicted by the Spirit that there would be a severe famine throughout the Roman world.^[i] This took place during the time of Claudius.^[j](s)

So each of the disciples, according to his ability, determined to send relief to the brothers who lived in Judea.^(t)

They did this, sending it to the elders^(u) by means of Barnabas and Saul.

About that time King Herod cruelly attacked some who belonged to the church,

and he killed James,^(a) John's brother, with the sword.

When he saw that it pleased the Jews, he proceeded to arrest Peter too, during the days of Unleavened Bread.^(b)

After the arrest, he put him in prison and assigned four squads of four soldiers each to guard him, intending to bring him out to the people after the Passover.

So Peter was kept in prison, but prayer was being made earnestly to God for him by the church.

On the night before Herod was to bring him out for execution, Peter, bound with two chains, was sleeping between two soldiers, while the sentries in front of the door guarded the prison.

Suddenly an angel of the Lord^(c) appeared, and a light shone in the cell. Striking Peter on the side, he woke him up and said, "Quick, get up!" Then the chains fell off his wrists.^(d)

"Get dressed," the angel told him, "and put on your sandals." And he did so. "Wrap your cloak around you," he told him, "and follow me."

So he went out and followed, and he did not know that what took place through the angel was real, but thought he was seeing a vision.^(e)

After they passed the first and second guard posts, they came to the iron gate that leads into the city, which opened to them by itself. They went outside and passed one street, and immediately the angel left him.^(f)

Then Peter came to himself and said, "Now I know for certain that the Lord has sent His angel and rescued me from Herod's grasp and from all that the Jewish people expected."^(g)

When he realized this, he went to the house of Mary, the mother of John Mark,^[a](h) where many had assembled and were praying.

He knocked at the door in the gateway, and a servant named Rhoda came to answer.

She recognized Peter's voice, and because of her joy, she did not open the gate but ran in and announced that Peter was standing at the gateway.

"You're crazy!" they told her. But she kept insisting that it was true. Then they said, "It's his angel!"⁽ⁱ⁾

Peter, however, kept on knocking, and when they opened the door and saw him, they were astounded.

Motioning to them with his hand^(j) to be silent, he explained to them how the Lord had brought him out of the prison. "Report these things to James^[b](k) and the brothers," he said. Then he departed and went to a different place.

At daylight, there was a great commotion^[c] among the soldiers as to what could have become of Peter.

After Herod had searched and did not find him, he interrogated the guards and ordered their execution. Then Herod went down from Judea to Caesarea and stayed there.^(l)

He had been very angry with the Tyrians and Sidonians.^[d] Together they presented themselves before him. They won over Blastus, who was in charge of the king's bedroom, and through him they asked for peace, because their country was supplied with food from the king's country.^(m)

So on an appointed day, dressed in royal robes and seated on the throne, Herod delivered a public address to them.

The assembled people began to shout, "It's the voice of a god and not of a man!"

At once an angel of the Lord⁽ⁿ⁾ struck him because he did not give the glory to God, and he became infected with worms and died.^(o)

Then God's message flourished and multiplied.^(p)

After they had completed their relief mission, Barnabas and Saul returned to^[e] Jerusalem, taking along John who is called Mark.^(q)