The Early Church

There he found a man named Aeneas who had lain bedridden for eight years, because he was paralyzed.

Kefa said to him, “Aeneas! Yeshua the Messiah is healing you! Get up, and make your bed!”

Everyone living in Lud and the Sharon saw him, and they turned to the Lord. Now in Yafo there was a talmidah named Tavita

(which means “gazelle”); she was always doing tzedakah and other good deeds.

It happened that just at that time, she took sick and died. After washing her, they laid her in a room upstairs.

Lud is near Yafo, and the talmidim had heard that Kefa was there, so they sent two men to him and urged him, “Please come to us without delay.”

Kefa got up and went with them. When he arrived, they led him into the upstairs room. All the widows stood by him, sobbing and showing all the dresses and coats Tavita had made them while she was still with them.

But Kefa put them all outside, kneeled down and prayed. Then, turning to the body, he said, “Tavita! Get up!” She opened her eyes; and on seeing Kefa, she sat up.

He offered her his hand and helped her to her feet; then, calling the believers and the widows, he presented her to them alive.

This became known all over Yafo, and many people put their trust in the Lord.

Kefa stayed on in Yafo for some time with a man named Shim‘on, a leather-tanner.

There was a man in Caesarea named Cornelius, a Roman army officer in what was called the Italian Regiment.

He was a devout man, a “God-fearer,” as was his whole household; he gave generously to help the Jewish poor and prayed regularly to God.

One afternoon around three o’clock he saw clearly in a vision an angel of God coming in and saying to him, “Cornelius!”

Cornelius stared at the angel, terrified. “What is it, sir?” he asked. “Your prayers,” replied the angel, “and your acts of charity have gone up into God’s presence, so that he has you on his mind.

Now send some men to Yafo to bring back a man named Shim‘on, also called Kefa.

He’s staying with Shim‘on the leather-tanner, who has a house by the sea.”

As the angel that had spoken to him went away, Cornelius called two of his household slaves and one of his military aides, who was a godly man;

he explained everything to them and sent them to Yafo.

The next day about noon, while they were still on their way and approaching the city, Kefa went up onto the roof of the house to pray.

He began to feel hungry and wanted something to eat; but while they were preparing the meal, he fell into a trance

in which he saw heaven opened, and something that looked like a large sheet being lowered to the ground by its four corners.

In it were all kinds of four-footed animals, crawling creatures and wild birds.

Then a voice came to him, “Get up, Kefa, slaughter and eat!”

But Kefa said, “No, sir! Absolutely not! I have never eaten food that was unclean or treif.”