Acts 10:1-33

¹There was a man named Cornelius who lived in Caesarea, captain of the Italian Guard stationed there.

²He was a thoroughly good man. He had led everyone in his house to live worshipfully before God, was always helping people in need, and had the habit of prayer.a

³One day about three o''clock in the afternoon he had a vision. An angel of God, as real as his next-door neighbor, came in and said, "Cornelius."b

⁴Cornelius stared hard, wondering if he was seeing things. Then he said, "What do you want, sir?" The angel said, "Your prayers and neighborly acts have brought you to God''s attention.c

⁵Here''s what you are to do. Send men to Joppa to get Simon, the one everyone calls Peter.

⁶He is staying with Simon the Tanner, whose house is down by the sea."

⁷As soon as the angel was gone, Cornelius called two servants and one particularly devout soldier from the guard.

⁸He went over with them in great detail everything that had just happened, and then sent them off to Joppa.

⁹The next day as the three travelers were approaching the town, Peter went out on the balcony to pray. It was about noon.

¹⁰Peter got hungry and started thinking about lunch. While lunch was being prepared, he fell into a trance.

¹¹He saw the skies open up. Something that looked like a huge blanket lowered by ropes at its four corners settled on the ground.

¹²Every kind of animal and reptile and bird you could think of was on it.

¹³Then a voice came: "Go to it, Peter--kill and eat."

¹⁴Peter said, "Oh, no, Lord. I''ve never so much as tasted food that was not kosher."

¹⁵The voice came a second time: "If God says it''s okay, it''s okay."d

¹⁶This happened three times, and then the blanket was pulled back up into the skies.

¹⁷As Peter, puzzled, sat there trying to figure out what it all meant, the men sent by Cornelius showed up at Simon''s front door.

¹⁸They called in, asking if there was a Simon, also called Peter, staying there.

¹⁹Peter, lost in thought, didn''t hear them, so the Spirit whispered to him, "Three men are knocking at the door looking for you.

²⁰Get down there and go with them. Don''t ask any questions. I sent them to get you."

²¹Peter went down and said to the men, "I think I''m the man you''re looking for. What''s up?"

²²They said, "Captain Cornelius, a God-fearing man well-known for his fair play--ask any Jew in this part of the country--was commanded by a holy angel to get you and bring you to his house so he could hear what you had to say."

²³Peter invited them in and made them feel at home. The next morning he got up and went with them. Some of his friends from Joppa went along.

²⁴A day later they entered Caesarea. Cornelius was expecting them and had his relatives and close friends waiting with him.

²⁵The minute Peter came through the door, Cornelius was up on his feet greeting him--and then down on his face worshiping him!

²⁶Peter pulled him up and said, "None of that--I''m a man and only a man, no different from you."e

²⁷Talking things over, they went on into the house, where Cornelius introduced Peter to everyone who had come.

²⁸Peter addressed them, "You know, I''m sure that this is highly irregular. Jews just don''t do this--visit and relax with people of another race. But God has just shown me that no race is better than any other.

²⁹So the minute I was sent for, I came, no questions asked. But now I''d like to know why you sent for me."

³⁰Cornelius said, "Four days ago at about this time, midafternoon, I was home praying. Suddenly there was a man right in front of me, flooding the room with light.

³¹He said, "Cornelius, your daily prayers and neighborly acts have brought you to God''s attention.f

³²I want you to send to Joppa to get Simon, the one they call Peter. He''s staying with Simon the Tanner down by the sea.''

³³"So I did it--I sent for you. And you''ve been good enough to come. And now we''re all here in God''s presence, ready to listen to whatever the Master put in your heart to tell us."