He got up and was baptized, and after eating some food, he felt strong again. For several days he stayed with the disciples in Damascus.

Everyone who heard him was astonished and said, "This is the man who harassed those who were calling on Jesus' name in Jerusalem, isn't it? Didn't he come here to bring them in chains to the high priests?"

But Saul grew more and more persuasive, and continued to confound the Jews who lived in Damascus by proving that this man was the Messiah.

When Saul arrived in Jerusalem, he tried to join the disciples, but they all were afraid of him because they wouldn't believe he was a disciple.

Now when Peter was going around among all of the disciples, he also visited the saints living in Lydda.

There he found a man named Aeneas who was paralyzed and had been bedridden for eight years.

In Joppa there was a disciple named Tabitha, which in Greek is Dorcas. She was known for her good actions and acts of charity that she was always doing.

Since Lydda was near Joppa, the disciples heard that Peter was there and sent two men to him and begged him, "Come here quickly!"

So Peter got up and went with them. When he arrived, they took him upstairs. All the widows gathered around Peter, crying and showing him all the shirts and coats Dorcas had made while she was still with them.

Now in Caesarea there was a man named Cornelius, a centurion in what was known as the Italian Regiment.

He was a devout man who feared God, as did everyone in his home. He gave many gifts to the poor among the people and always prayed to God.

He became very hungry and wanted to eat, and while the food was being prepared, he fell into a trance

This happened three times. Then the sheet was quickly taken back into heaven.

While Peter was still at a loss to know what the vision he had seen could mean, the men sent by Cornelius asked for Simon's house and went to the gate.

They called out and asked if Simon who was called Peter was staying there.

Peter was still thinking about the vision when the Spirit told him, "Look! Three men are looking for you.

The men replied, "Cornelius, a centurion and an upright and God-fearing man who is respected by the whole Jewish nation, was instructed by a holy angel to send for you to come to his home to hear what you have to say."

The next day, they arrived in Caesarea. Cornelius was expecting them and had called his relatives and close friends together.

When Peter was about to enter, Cornelius met him, bowed down at his feet, and began to worship him.

and that is why I didn't hesitate when I was sent for. Now may I ask why you sent for me?"

Cornelius replied, "Four days ago at this very hour, three o'clock in the afternoon, I was praying in my home. All at once a man in radiant clothes stood in front of me

So I sent for you immediately, and it was good of you to come. All of us are here now in the presence of God to listen to everything the Lord has ordered you to say."

God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, and because God was with him, he went around doing good and healing everyone who was oppressed by the devil.

While Peter was still making this statement, the Holy Spirit fell on all the people who were listening to his message.

"I was in the town of Joppa praying when in a trance I saw a vision: Something like a large linen sheet descended down from heaven, lowered by its four corners, and it came right down to me.

This happened three times. Then everything was pulled back up to heaven.

"When I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell on them just as he was first given to us.

Now if God gave them the same gift that he gave us when we believed in the Lord Jesus, the Messiah, who was I to try to stop God?"

The hand of the Lord was with them, and a large number of people believed and turned to the Lord.

because he was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and faith. And so a large number of people was brought to the Lord.

When he found him, he brought him to Antioch, and for a whole year they were guests of the church and taught many people. It was in Antioch that the disciples were first called Christians.

When he saw how this was agreeable to the Jews, he proceeded to arrest Peter, too. This happened during the Festival of Unleavened Bread.

So Peter was kept in prison, but earnest prayer to God for him was being offered by the assembly.

That very night, before Herod was going to bring him out, Peter, bound with two chains, was sleeping between two soldiers, and guards in front of the door were watching the prisoners.

So Peter went out and began to follow him, not realizing that what was being done by the angel was real; he thought he was seeing a vision.

When Peter realized what had happened, he went to the house of Mary, the mother of John who was also called Mark, where a large number of people had gathered and were praying.

On recognizing Peter's voice, she was so overjoyed that she didn't open the gate but ran back inside and announced that Peter was standing at the gate.

The other people told her, "You're out of your mind!" But she kept insisting that it was so. Then they said, "It's his angel."

When morning came, there was a great commotion among the soldiers as to what had become of Peter.

Immediately the angel of the Lord struck him down because he did not give glory to God, and he was eaten by worms and died.

When Barnabas and Saul had fulfilled their mission, they returned from Jerusalem, bringing with them John who was also called Mark.

He was associated with the proconsul Sergius Paulus, who was an intelligent man. He sent for Barnabas and Saul because he wanted to hear the word of God.

When the proconsul saw what had happened, he believed, because he was astonished at the Lord's teaching.

It was from this man's descendants that God, as he promised, brought to Israel a Savior, who is Jesus.

When John was finishing his work, he said, "Who do you think I am? I'm not the Messiah. No, but he is coming after me, and I'm not worthy to untie the sandals on his feet.'

For the people who live in Jerusalem and their leaders, not knowing who Jesus was, condemned him and so fulfilled the words of the prophets that are read every Sabbath.

When they had finished doing everything that was written about him, they took him down from the tree and placed him in a tomb.

Now David, after he had served God's purpose in his own generation, died and was buried with his ancestors, and so he experienced decay.

Now when an attempt was made by both gentiles and Jews, along with their authorities, to mistreat and stone them,

Now in Lystra there was a man sitting down who couldn't use his feet. He had been crippled from birth and had never walked.

He was listening to Paul as he spoke. Paul watched him closely, and when he saw that he had faith to be healed,

They began to call Barnabas Zeus, and Paul Hermes, because he was the main speaker.

The priest of the temple of Zeus, which was just outside the city, brought bulls and garlands to the gates. He and the crowds wanted to offer sacrifices.

Even by saying this, it was all Paul and Barnabas could do to keep the crowds from offering sacrifices to them.

But some Jews came from Antioch and Iconium and won over the crowds by persuasion. They stoned Paul and dragged him out of the town, thinking he was dead.

The whole crowd was silent as they listened to Barnabas and Paul tell about all the signs and wonders that God had done through them among the gentiles.

Then the apostles, the elders, and the whole church decided to choose some of their men to send with Paul and Barnabas to Antioch. These were Judas, who was called Barsabbas, and Silas, who were leaders among the brothers.

Barnabas wanted to take along John, who was called Mark,

but Paul did not think it was right to take along the man who had deserted them in Pamphylia and who had not gone with them into the work.

The disagreement was so sharp that they parted ways. Barnabas took Mark and sailed to Cyprus,

Paul also went to Derbe and Lystra, where there was a disciple named Timothy, the son of a believing Jewish wife whose husband was a Greek.

Timothy was highly regarded by the brothers in Lystra and Iconium.

Paul wanted this man to go with him, so he took him and had him circumcised because of the Jews who lived in that region, since everyone knew that Timothy's father was a Greek.

During the night Paul had a vision. A man from Macedonia was standing there and pleading with him, "Come over to Macedonia and help us!"

On the Sabbath day, we went out the city gate and walked along the river, where we thought there was a place of prayer. We sat down and began talking to the women who had gathered there.

A woman named Lydia, from the city of Thyatira, a dealer in purple goods, was listening to us. She was a worshiper of God, and the Lord opened her heart to listen carefully to what was being said by Paul.

When her owners realized that their hope of making money was gone, they grabbed Paul and Silas and dragged them before the authorities who met together in the public square.

Suddenly, there was an earthquake so violent that the foundations of the prison were shaken. All the doors immediately flew open, and everyone's chains were unfastened.

When the jailer woke up and saw the prison doors wide open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself, since he thought the prisoners had escaped.

He brought Paul and Silas upstairs into his house and set food before them. He was thrilled, as was his household, to believe in God.

Paul and Silas traveled through Amphipolis and Apollonia and came to Thessalonica, where there was a Jewish synagogue.

While Paul was waiting for them in Athens, his spirit was deeply disturbed to see the city full of idols.

Some Epicurean and Stoic philosophers also debated with him. Some asked, "What is this blabbermouth trying to say?" while others said, "He seems to be preaching about foreign gods." This was because Paul was telling the good news about Jesus and the resurrection.

For as I was walking around and looking closely at the objects you worship, I even found an altar with this written on it: "To an unknown god.' So I am telling you about the unknown object you worship.

Some men joined him and became believers. With them were Dionysius, who was a member of the Areopagus, a woman named Damaris, and some others along with them.

Then he left that place and went to the home of a man named Titius Justus, who worshipped God and whose house was next door to the synagogue.

While Gallio was proconsul of Achaia, the Jewish leaders gathered together, attacked Paul, and brought him before the judge's seat.

Paul was about to speak when Gallio admonished the Jewish leaders, "If there were some misdemeanor or crime involved, it would be reasonable to put up with you Jews.

After staying there for quite a while longer, Paul said goodbye to the brothers and sailed for Syria, accompanied by Priscilla and Aquila. He had his hair cut in Cenchrea, since he was under a vow.

Meanwhile, a Jew named Apollos arrived in Ephesus. He was a native of Alexandria, an eloquent man, and well versed in the Scriptures.

It was while Apollos was in Corinth that Paul passed through the inland districts and came to Ephesus. He found a few disciples there

Then Paul said, "John baptized when they repented, telling the people to believe in the one who was to come after him, that is, in Jesus."

The city was filled with confusion, and the people rushed into the theater together, dragging with them Gaius and Aristarchus, Paul's fellow travelers from Macedonia.

Meanwhile, some were shouting one thing and some another, since the crowd was confused, and most of them didn't know why they were meeting.

Some of the crowd concluded it was because of Alexander, since the Jews had pushed him to the front. So Alexander motioned for silence and tried to make a defense before the people.

But when they found out that he was a Jew, they all started to shout in unison for about two hours, "Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!"

When the uproar was over, Paul sent for the disciples and encouraged them. Then he said goodbye to them and left to go to Macedonia.

and stayed there for three months. When he was about to sail for Syria, a plot was initiated against him by the Jews, so he decided to go back through Macedonia.

He was accompanied by Sopater (the son of Pyrrhus) from Berea, Aristarchus and Secundus from Thessalonica, Gaius from Derbe, Timothy, and Tychicus and Trophimus from Asia.

A young man named Eutychus, who was sitting in a window, began to sink off into a deep sleep as Paul kept speaking longer and longer. Overcome by sleep, he fell down from the third floor and was picked up dead.

Paul had decided to sail past Ephesus to avoid spending time in Asia, as he was in a hurry to get to Jerusalem for the day of Pentecost, if that was possible.

We came in sight of Cyprus, and leaving it on our left, we sailed on to Syria and landed at Tyre because the ship was to unload its cargo there.

Some of the disciples from Caesarea went with us. They took us to the home of Mnason to be his guests. He was from Cyprus and had been an early disciple.

The whole city was in chaos. The people rushed together, grabbed Paul, dragged him out of the Temple, and at once the doors were sealed shut.

The crowd was trying to kill Paul when a report reached the tribune of the cohort that all Jerusalem was in an uproar.

Then the tribune came up, grabbed Paul, and ordered him to be tied up with two chains. He then asked who Paul was and what he had done.

Just as Paul was about to be taken into the barracks, he asked the tribune, "May I say something to you?"

as the high priest and the whole council of elders can testify about me. I also received letters from them to the brothers in Damascus, and I was going there to tie up those who were there and bring them back to Jerusalem to be punished.

"But while I was on my way and approaching Damascus about noon, a bright light from heaven suddenly flashed around me.

"He told me, "I'm Jesus from Nazareth, whom you are persecuting.' The men who were with me saw the light but didn't understand the voice of the one who was speaking to me.