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Studies in Acts

Studies in Acts

Peter Explains His Actions (Acts 11:1-18)

Verses 1-18 Philip, the deacon, had already admitted a Gentile into the church, but Peter was the first apostle to have that privilege. In neither case was there a requirement of circumcision or adherence to the ceremonial law. The news travelled quickly to the Jewish believers in Jerusalem. They were perturbed, to say the least. Remember – see Acts 9:31 – the Jewish church had been enjoying a time of peace. Fraternizing with Gentiles was feared to be the beginning of more persecution. The Jewish believers did not know that the wall of Mosaic ordinances was no longer standing. According to them, Gentiles could indeed be saved, but for that, they must become Jews and submit to the Law of Moses (cf. Matthew 23:15). In this way, they supposed that the prophecies about the conversion of the Gentiles would be fulfilled.

When Peter arrived in Jerusalem, he was criticized for entering the house of a Gentile and eating there. “You paid a visit to uncircumcised men. But in addition, you also ate with them!” To think that Gentiles often ate meat that came from a sacrifice to an idol (1 Corinthians 10:28), and that Romans enjoyed eating pork! Their reaction was not surprising: the Jerusalem believers had not yet heard Peter’s explanation. But several years later the same issue would sow deep division in the young Christian churches. It would focus on the question: How is a person justified? Through faith alone? Or through the total sum of believing in Jesus + observing the law? (cf. Acts 15:1–5; Romans 3:21; Galatians 2:15–21; Philippians 3:9–11).

Peter begins his story with the vision of the animals and how three times he had refused to kill and eat and then was told that he should not call anything impure that God has made clean. The timing of the arrival of the men from Caesarea, immediately after the vision no doubt helped Peter accept their invitation.

Peter was not acting on his own authority, but at the command of the Holy Spirit. For that Spirit had unburdened him by setting aside all his objections. The six brothers from Joppa could confirm his report. The upshot was that they could not oppose the Holy Spirit. This is how it came about that they entered the house of a Gentile. The six brothers were immediately confirmed in the correctness of their course of action, for Cornelius told how he had seen the angel standing in his house, who had said: “Send someone to Joppa, to Simon, also called Peter, and ask him to come here. He will tell you how you and your entire household can be saved.” For God’s rule remained the same: the entire household was considered to belong to the covenant, according to the promise (Genesis 17:7; Acts 2:39; 16:15, 33), unless through their own unbelief they rejected this grace.

Were there perhaps still some objections against Peter’s actions? Then those were completely removed (v. 18) by means of his crowning argument: “And when I had begun speaking to them for some time, the Holy Spirit descended upon them, exactly as he had descended upon us at Pentecost” (cf. 10:46). He remembered that the Lord had said: “John baptized [only] with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit” (Acts 1:5). This was something that Peter had learned from John the Baptist as well: “He who is coming after me is mightier than I . . . He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire” (Matthew 3:11). After his resurrection, Messiah Jesus had indeed baptized a multitude of Jews from many countries on Pentecost with the Holy Spirit. But now Peter saw for the first time the full riches of Jesus’ promise. For in Caesarea God had bestowed the very same Gift (i.e., the Holy Spirit) to non-Jewish believers, just as he had to the Jewish believers (cf. 15:7–9). For Peter, only one conclusion remained: If God had opened the church doors for Gentiles as well, then no Jew was going to keep it shut.

This was how Peter attempted to convince his concerned brothers of the fact that he had acted exclusively on God’s instructions. Did they not see clearly that God was leading in these shocking events? First, no one less than an angel had given the promise to Cornelius. Second, a voice from heaven had revealed to Peter that converted Gentiles no longer needed to submit to the law of Moses. And third, the Holy Spirit had validated their citizenship by descending upon them. In sum, everything that had concerned the Jewish brothers happened at God’s initiative: believing Gentiles should from now on be received into God’s church as having equal standing with Jewish believers.

However, even Peter would later, in a moment of weakness, retreat from eating with Gentiles. He would be severely admonished for this by Paul. For in so doing, Peter was undermining the equal standing of Gentile believers and was giving the impression that in the Kingdom of God, Jews constituted the elite and Gentiles were second-class citizens (Galatians 2:11–14).

The Church in Antioch (Acts (1:19-30)

Verses 19-21: Luke now tells of events further afield. Antioch was the capital of the Roman province of Syria. After Rome and Alexandria, it was the largest city in the Roman empire. People estimate that at that point, half a million people lived there, of whom 300,000 were slaves. In addition to Syrians, Greeks, and Romans, there were people from Persia, as well as from India and China. According to tradition, Luke also came from there. The citizens worshipped Jupiter, Apollos, and Artemis, the goddess of fertility. Temple prostitution and other immorality was rife. In this depraved metropolis, the Lord Jesus founded a church. One that would quickly become very significant as a beachhead for proclaiming the gospel in the Gentile world. For from this city, Paul would later begin his missionary journeys throughout the Roman empire. Thereby the church in Antioch would acquire a central place among the other Christian churches.

Among the refugees who were scattered after Stephen’s martyrdom, there were some Jews who had come from the island of Cyprus. Born and raised in a foreign land, these Jews were accustomed to dealing with Gentiles. When they arrived in Antioch, they spoke also with Greeks about the Lord Jesus. Did they dare to do this because they had heard that in Caesarea, at the command of God, Peter had baptized the Roman officer Cornelius and his household? Or did they do this spontaneously, without needing Peter’s example? Perhaps they had learned a similar lesson from Stephen? In any case, “a great number of people believed and turned to the Lord.” Did Luke himself come to conversion at this time as well?

Verses 22-24: Barnabas was once again sent on a delicate mission. They could not have appointed a more suitable delegate for this assignment. For Barnabas was a real peacemaker (9:26–27). As a Jew, he could get along well with Jews, and as a Cypriot, he could get along with the Cyprian brothers who had proclaimed the gospel in Antioch to Gentiles. He saw the evidence of the grace of God and encouraged the new believers, and the church grew.

Verses 25-26: Barnabas then thought of Paul and went to find him in his home city, Tarsus. Paul/Saul may have been disowned and disinherited by his family and was not easily found (Philippians 3:8). Barnabas probably knew that Paul, being a great scholar, would become the more crucial person in teaching the new converts, but he was humble enough to let that happen. He brought Paul to Antioch and for a year they taught the believers. Antioch remained an important centre of the Christian church for three centuries. Ignatius of Antioch (c. 35 – c. 110) was the third Bishop or Patriarch of Antioch. The name ‘Christians’ was first used only by the Antioch population. The Christians themselves referred to each other as ‘brother’ or ‘believer’ or ‘disciple.’ Later, as in 1 Peter 4:16, they applied the term ‘Christian’ to themselves.

Verses 27-30: Some prophets came from Jerusalem and foretold “a severe famine,” which happened during the reign of Claudius (AD 41-54). The new believers sent relief (probably money) to the mother church in Jerusalem to alleviate the suffering of the Christians there. No doubt they were grateful to the Jerusalem church for spreading the Good News to Antioch and were aware of their indebtedness. The disciples gave “according to their ability.”

Questions:

What can we learn about accountability and transparency from this passage?

If people were to tell you that the Holy Spirit or an Angel had told them to change the moral teachings of Christianity, how would you answer them? (see Galatians 1:8 and 2 Corinthians 11:12-15)

What should our priorities be when giving aid to those who are suffering? (Galatians 6:10)

– Alida Sewell