Peter Defends His Actions
111The apostles and brothers throughout Judea heard that the Gentiles had also received the word of God. 2When Peter went up to Jerusalem, those who insisted on circumcision criticized him, 3saying, “You went to visit men who were uncircumcised and ate with them!”
4So Peter began to explain everything to them, point by point. He said, 5“I was in the city of Joppa praying, and in a trance I saw a vision in which an object like a large sheet was let down from heaven by its four corners. It came right to me. 6When I inspected it very carefully, I saw four-footed animals of the earth, wild beasts, reptiles, and birds of the air. 7I also heard a voice telling me, ‘Get up, Peter! Kill and eat!’
8“But I replied, ‘Certainly not, Lord, for nothing impure or unclean has ever entered my mouth.’
9“A voice spoke from heaven a second time: ‘What God has made clean, you must not continue to call unclean.’ 10This happened three times, and then everything was pulled up into heaven again.
11“At that very moment, three men who had been sent to me from Caesarea arrived at the house where we were. 12The Spirit told me to go with them without any hesitation. These six brothers also accompanied me, and we entered the man's house. 13He told us how he saw an angel standing in his house and saying, ‘Send to Joppa and call for Simon, the one called Peter. 14He will speak words to you by which you and all your household will be saved.’
15“As I began to speak, the Holy Spirit came down on them, just as he came down on us at the beginning. 16Then I remembered how the Lord had said, ‘John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’[] 17So if God gave them the same gift as he gave us when we believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I to try to stand in God's way?” 18When they heard these things, they had no further objections, and they praised God, saying, “So then, God has granted repentance that results in life also to the Gentiles!”
The Church in Antioch
19Now those who had been scattered by the persecution that took place at the time of Stephen traveled as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus, and Antioch, speaking the word to no one except Jews. 20But there were some men from Cyprus and Cyrene who came to Antioch and also began to speak to the Greeks, preaching the good news about the Lord Jesus. 21The Lord's hand was with them, and a large number of people believed and turned to the Lord.
22A report about this reached the ears of the church in Jerusalem, and they sent Barnabas to go on[] to Antioch. 23When he arrived and saw God's grace, he was glad and encouraged them all to remain true to the Lord with devoted hearts. 24He was a good man who was full of the Holy Spirit and faith, and a large number of people were added to the Lord. 25Then Barnabas went to Tarsus to look for Saul. 26When he found him, he brought him to Antioch. So for a whole year they met with the church and taught a large number of people. It was in Antioch that the disciples were first called Christians.
The Church in Antioch Sends Relief to Jerusalem
27In those days some prophets came down from Jerusalem to Antioch. 28One of them, named Agabus, stood up and indicated by the Spirit that there was going to be a severe famine all over the known world. This took place during the time of Claudius. 29Each of the disciples, according to his ability, decided to send relief to the brothers[] who lived in Judea. 30They did this, sending it to the elders by means of Barnabas and Saul.