Chapter Eleven
After Being Criticized Peter Reports About What Happened in Caesarea
11:1 Now the apostles and the brothers who were throughout Judea heard that the Gentiles also had received the word of God. 2 So when Peter went up to Jerusalem, the circumcision party criticized him, saying, 3 “You went to uncircumcised men and ate with them.”
The word spread quickly about Peter going to a non-Jewish home and eating with them. When the other apostles and fellow Jewish believers heard this, some of them criticized Peter (Luke being a Gentile himself called the Israelite believers “the circumcision party”) accusing him of entering the home of Gentiles and then eating with them, a violation of their Jewish customs.
11:4 But Peter began and explained it to them in order: 5 “I was in the city of Joppa praying, and in a trance I saw a vision, something like a great sheet descending, being let down from heaven by its four corners, and it came down to me. 6 Looking at it closely, I observed animals and beasts of prey and reptiles and birds of the air. 7 And I heard a voice saying to me, ‘Rise, Peter; kill and eat.’ 8 But I said, ‘By no means, Lord; for nothing common or unclean has ever entered my mouth.’ 9 But the voice answered a second time from heaven, ‘What God has made clean, do not call common.’ 10 This happened three times, and all was drawn up again into heaven.
Instead of addressing their accusations directly, Peter walks them through all that he experienced during his vision (see Acts 10:9-33).
11:11 And behold, at that very moment three men arrived at the house in which we were, sent to me from Caesarea. 12 And the Spirit told me to go with them, making no distinction. These six brothers also accompanied me, and we entered the man’s house. 13 And he told us how he had seen the angel stand in his house and say, ‘Send to Joppa and bring Simon who is called Peter; 14 he will declare to you a message by which you will be saved, you and all your household.’ 15 As I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell on them just as on us at the beginning. 16 And I remembered the word of the Lord, how he said, ‘John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’ 17 If then God gave the same gift to them as he gave to us when we believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I that I could stand in God’s way?”
Peter continues by connecting his vision to the arrival of the three men arriving with the Greek word idou, translated here as “behold.” And that the Holy Spirit told him to go with them and make no distinction. When he arrived and met the man that sent for him (Peter doesn’t use Cornelius’ name in the retelling of the events of chapter ten), he reveals something that wasn’t previously reported, that when the angel spoke to Cornelius and he told him that Peter would, “declare to you a message by which you will be saved, you and all your household.” Peter notes that as he began to speak the Holy Spirit fell on them just as He did for them in the beginning. At which point he relayed that at that time he remembered Jesus’ words regarding being baptized with the Holy Spirit. Peter concluded with the question, if God gave the same gift of the Holy Spirit to the Gentiles as He did for them when they believed in Jesus, who was he to stand in God’s way?
11:18 When they heard these things they fell silent. And they glorified God, saying, “Then to the Gentiles also God has granted repentance that leads to life.”
They heard something that was contrary to what they were taught at an early age and believed their whole life, that God is not partial and loves the Gentiles as much as the Jews. A moment of silence to ponder this massive ‘presuppositional correction” is understandable. But they soon grasped what Peter had told them and glorified God, as they proclaimed that God has granted the Gentiles repentance that leads to life.
Considerations
Your Household
When the angel said, “a message by which you will be saved, you and all your household” he was speaking about the message from Peter that when heard by those listening would accept Jesus as their Savor. The angel was not implying that they would upon hearing Peter talk suddenly without thinking be saved, nor was he implying that his family would be saved automatically when he was saved. The Word of God is alive (see Hebrews 4:12; 1 Peter 1:23) and works to change our thinking (see 1 Thessalonians 2:13), but God will not violate our right to choose (see 2 Peter 3:9; Revelation 3:20).
The Enemy Within
Perhaps one of the hardest things to do in life is to deal with a paradigm shift (click here to read more about our worldviews) where something that we thought to be true turns out that it’s not. What we do with that new information is where the challenge begins. Do we accept the truth, or do we because it’s inconvenient or affects another part of our lives, reject it? Some, like many of the Jews during the New Testament period chose to reject the evidence of miracles in order to hang on to their beliefs, like no one from God would heal on the Sabbath, or that God would never accept worship from a Gentile. When we read the Bible we need to be willing to to face that enemy within us and recognize that we cannot limit God, as all things are possible (see Matthew 19:26).
The Christians in Antioch
11:19 Now those who were scattered because of the persecution that arose over Stephen traveled as far as Phoenicia and Cyprus and Antioch, speaking the word to no one except Jews.
The news of the death of Stephen (see Acts 7:54-60) and the fear of persecution forced many believers to move to Phoenicia (a Roman province along the Mediterranean coast at that time), north to Antioch, and to the Island of Cyprus, and would only speak to fellow Jews.
11:20 But there were some of them, men of Cyprus and Cyrene, who on coming to Antioch spoke to the Hellenists also, preaching the Lord Jesus. 21 And the hand of the Lord was with them, and a great number who believed turned to the Lord. 22 The report of this came to the ears of the church in Jerusalem, and they sent Barnabas to Antioch. 23 When he came and saw the grace of God, he was glad, and he exhorted them all to remain faithful to the Lord with steadfast purpose, 24 for he was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and of faith. And a great many people were added to the Lord.
There were some men from Cyprus and Cyrene (a city on the north coast of Africa) who upon arrival to Antioch began to speak to the Greek speaking Jews about Jesus being the Messiah. The hand of God was with them and many came to accept Jesus as their Savior. When the news of their successful outreach reached Jerusalem, the apostles sent Barnabas to investigate. Upon his arrival he saw the grace of God in action, which filled him with joy, so he encouraged them to always remain true to Jesus with all their hearts. Luke notes, in almost a parenthetical way, that Barnabas was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit, and of faith. Luke further notes again that many came and accepted Jesus (see verse 21).
11:25 So Barnabas went to Tarsus to look for Saul, 26 and when he had found him, he brought him to Antioch. For a whole year they met with the church and taught a great many people. And in Antioch the disciples were first called Christians.
While near on the northern coast, Barnabas traveled to Tarsus to find Saul, and after finding him he brought Saul to Antioch so that they could meet and teach the believers there. They were there in Antioch for one year. Luke calls our attention to the fact that it was in Antioch where the disciples of Jesus were first called Christians.
11:27 Now in these days prophets came down from Jerusalem to Antioch. 28 And one of them named Agabus stood up and foretold by the Spirit that there would be a great famine over all the world (this took place in the days of Claudius). 29 So the disciples determined, every one according to his ability, to send relief to the brothers living in Judea. 30 And they did so, sending it to the elders by the hand of Barnabas and Saul.
During their time in Antioch some people with the gift of prophecy traveled from Jerusalem to Antioch to share their insights from God. At one time a man named Agabus offered the prophecy that there would be a great famine all over the world (Greek oikoumenēn, a reference to the Roman Empire). So the believers in Antioch decided to send relief to the believers in Judea. They then sent Barnabas and Saul to Jerusalem with the gift. Luke informs us after the fact that this famine occurred during the reign of the Roman Emperor Claudius (ruled from 41 A.D. to 54 A.D.). The famine is acknowledged in Josephus’ “The Antiquities of the Jews”[1] but no date or duration is mentioned. The famine may have occurred a few years before Claudius expelled the Jews from Rome (49-50 A.D.).
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[1] Book 20, Chapter 2, Section 5.