Study Desk

They said, "We were sent by Cornelius, a Roman officer. He is a devout and God-fearing man, well respected by all the Jews. A holy angel instructed him to summon you to his house so that he can hear your message."

Peter told them, "You know it is against our laws for a Jewish man to enter a Gentile home like this or to associate with you. But God has shown me that I should no longer think of anyone as impure or unclean.

He told me, ‘Cornelius, your prayer has been heard, and your gifts to the poor have been noticed by God!

So I sent for you at once, and it was good of you to come. Now we are all here, waiting before God to hear the message the Lord has given you."

Then Peter replied, "I see very clearly that God shows no favoritism.

This is the message of Good News for the people of Israel—that there is peace with God through Jesus Christ, who is Lord of all.

And you know that God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power. Then Jesus went around doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him.

but God raised him to life on the third day. Then God allowed him to appear,

not to the general public, but to us whom God had chosen in advance to be his witnesses. We were those who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead.

And he ordered us to preach everywhere and to testify that Jesus is the one appointed by God to be the judge of all—the living and the dead.

For they heard them speaking in other tongues and praising God. Then Peter asked,

Soon the news reached the apostles and other believers in Judea that the Gentiles had received the word of God.

"But the voice from heaven spoke again: ‘Do not call something unclean if God has made it clean.'

And since God gave these Gentiles the same gift he gave us when we believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I to stand in God's way?"

When the others heard this, they stopped objecting and began praising God. They said, "We can see that God has also given the Gentiles the privilege of repenting of their sins and receiving eternal life."

Meanwhile, the believers who had been scattered during the persecution after Stephen's death traveled as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus, and Antioch of Syria. They preached the word of God, but only to Jews.

The people gave him a great ovation, shouting, "It's the voice of a god, not of a man!"

Instantly, an angel of the Lord struck Herod with a sickness, because he accepted the people's worship instead of giving the glory to God. So he was consumed with worms and died.

Meanwhile, the word of God continued to spread, and there were many new believers.

There, in the town of Salamis, they went to the Jewish synagogues and preached the word of God. John Mark went with them as their assistant.