Acts 11
Peter Reports to the Church at Jerusalem
1 Now the apostles and the brethren that were in Judea heard that the Gentiles also had received the word of God.
Peter had used the keys of the kingdom to open the last door to the Gentiles. This good news spread quickly to the other eleven apostles and the believers in Judea as well.
2 And when Peter was come up to Jerusalem, they that were of the circumcision contended with him,
Luke was a Jewish eyewitness, knowing the geography, as he recorded going "up" to Jerusalem. Those of the circumcision were a minority of Jewish believers who believed that these new Gentile converts must be circumcised for salvation.
The Greek word for "contended" is διεκρίνοντο (diekrinonto), meaning to over-judge and separate. The circumcision group actually over-judged the situation and then divided from the teaching of Peter.
3 saying, "Thou went in with men uncircumcised, and you did eat with them."
The Holy Spirit commanded Peter to go in and eat with these Gentiles, but the circumcision group condemned him for this action.
4 But Peter began, and expounded the matter unto them in order, saying,
The Greek word for "expounded" is ἐκτίθημι (extihami), meaning to explain in detail, just as you would do with a child.
The Greek word for "order" is καθεξῆς (kathexas), meaning chronological order.
Peter began to explain to them in detail, just as you would to a child, in the chronological order of the events.
5 “I was in the City of Joppa praying, and in a trance I saw a vision, a certain vessel descending, as it were a great sheet let down from heaven by four corners, and it came even unto me.”
Peter was in the city of Joppa. He went into a trance and saw a vision. A great sheet came down from heaven and it came directly to Peter.
6 “Upon which when I had fastened mine eyes, I considered, and saw the four-footed beasts of the earth and wild beasts and creeping things and birds of the heaven.”
The Greek word for "fastened" is ἀτενίζω (atenizo), meaning to stare at the object intensely.
The Greek word for "considered" is κατανοέω (katanoeo), meaning to consider in deep thought.
When Peter saw the vision, he stared intensely at the object and considered deeply the meaning of the vision. The four-footed beasts were kosher animals. The wild beasts were non-kosher animals. The creeping things and birds were a combination of kosher and non-kosher foods.
7 “And I heard also a voice saying unto me, ‘Rise, Peter, kill and eat.’”
Peter was commanded to rise from his kneeling position. He was told to kill, meaning that he would have to strangle the animal. He was told to eat, even though many of these items were non-kosher.
8 “But I said, not so, Lord, for nothing common or unclean hath ever entered into my mouth.”
Unclean would be non-kosher and common would be those that were strangled.
9 “But a voice answered the second time out of heaven, ‘What God has made clean, make not thou common.’”
What may have been common and unclean during the Mosaic Law was no longer common or unclean in the new Dispensation of Grace.
10 “And this was done thrice, and all were drawn up again into heaven.”
Peter was hard-headed, so God had to show him the vision three times.
11 “And behold, forthwith three men stood before the house in which we were, having been sent from Caesarea unto me.”
The Greek word for "and behold" is καὶ ἰδοὺ (kai idou). The καὶ is the Hebrew vav-consecutive conjunction, meaning that Luke is thinking in Hebrew and writing in Greek. ἰδοὺ (idou) means to see with spiritual eyes. As Peter was watching the visions, the three men from Casearea appeared.
12 “And the Spirit bade me go with them, making no distinction. And these six brethren also accompanied me, and we entered into the man's house.”
The Greek word for "distinction" is διακρίνω (diakrino), meaning not to doubt, hesitate, or discriminate.
The point that Peter was making to his critics was that the Holy Spirit directly told Peter to enter into this Gentile house. Therefore, the command by the Holy Spirit supersedes the opinions of his critics.
13 “And he told us how he had seen the angel standing in his house, and saying, ‘Send to Joppa, and fetch Simon, whose surname is Peter.’”
Peter informed his critics that an angelic visitor had supervised the whole affair.
14 “‘Who shall speak unto thee words, whereby thou shalt be saved, thou and all thy house.’”
Peter informed his critics that he was to give a message of salvation to the Gentiles. This verse shows that the Gentiles were devout, but not saved.
15 “And as I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell on them, even as on us at the beginning.”
Peter informed his critics that the Gentiles were baptized by the Holy Spirit at their conversion, similar to the conversion that the Jews experienced at Pentecost.
16 “And I remembered the word of the Lord, how he said, ‘John indeed baptized with water, but ye shall be baptized in the Holy Spirit.’”
Jesus prophesied in Acts 1:5 that the disciples would be baptized with the Holy Spirit. This prophesy was fulfilled in Acts 2 for the Jews, Acts 8 for the Samaritans, and Acts 10 for the Gentiles.
17 “If then God gave unto them the like gift as he did also unto us, when we believed on the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I, that I could withstand God?”
The Greek word for "gift" is δωρεά (dorea), meaning a free gift that was not earned, but given without repayment because of the generosity of the giver.
The Greek word δυνατός (dunatos) is left out of most English translations. It means divine power.
The Greek word for "withstand" is κωλύω (koluo), meaning to hinder.
Peter informed his critics that he as a human does not have the divine power to hinder or stop God from giving the Gentiles the free gift of salvation. The gift was not earned, payment is not expected, and it was given because of the generosity of the Giver.
18 And when they heard these things, they held their peace, and glorified God, saying, “Then to the Gentiles also has God granted repentance unto life.”
The critics were silenced by the word of God and they praised him. Peter had used his keys to open the door of salvation for the Gentiles.
The Church at Antioch
19 They therefore that were scattered abroad upon the tribulation that arose about Stephen traveled as far as Phoenicia, and Cyprus, and Antioch, speaking the word to none save only to Jews.
After Stephen was martyred, the messianic Jews in Jerusalem were persecuted, so they scattered throughout Judea and Samaria. Phoenicia was the coastal region of the cities of Tyre and Sidon, about 200 miles from Jerusalem. Cyprus was the third largest island of the Mediterranean, off of the coast of Syrian, and about 300 miles from Jerusalem. Antioch was a pagan city, the third biggest city in the Roman Empire, behind Rome and Alexandria, and about 500 miles away from Jerusalem. The persecution did not stop the gospel, but instead, it spread all over the Roman Empire. Notice that the only missionary activities were still only to the Jews.
20 But there were some of them, men of Cyprus and Cyrene, who, when they were come to Antioch, spoke unto the Greeks also, preaching the Lord Jesus.
Cyprus was one of the most decadent cities in the Roman Empire. It was 1300 miles from Rome, but Roman literature recorded that their immoral stench had effected Rome. Cyrene was a city in North Africa, about 800 miles from Jerusalem. The messianic Jews were preaching Jesus to the Hellenistic Jews in the wicked city of Antioch.
21 And the hand of the Lord was with them, and a great number that believed turned unto the Lord.
The hand of God can move in blessing or judgement. Here, the hand of God moved in judgement. Many of the Hellenistic Jews were saved. This began the Church in Antioch, which would later become the main headquarters of the Apostle Paul.
22 And the report concerning them came to the ears of the church which was in Jerusalem, and they sent forth Barnabas as far as Antioch.
Barnabas was from Cyprus, so he would have a deep understanding of their culture. His given name by the Apostles was "son of encouragement," so he had the pastor skills to serve this group.
23 Who, when he was come, and had seen the grace of God, was glad, and he exhorted them all, that with purpose of heart they would cleave unto the Lord.
Barnabas began his ministry of encouragement, which was his specialty.
24 For he was a good man, and full of the Holy Spirit and of faith, and much people was added unto the Lord.
Luke wrote this description after the confrontation of Paul and Barnabas (Acts 15). Since Luke traveled with Paul, this must have been Paul's estimate of Barnabas as well. The church began to grow exponentially at Antioch.
25 And he went forth to Tarsus to seek for Saul.
The Antioch church was growing so large, that Barnabas needed an assistant pastor. He knew the perfect man for the job. Apparently, Saul's new faith caused him to be disinherited from his family in Jerusalem, so he was forced back to his home in Tarsus. At least five years had passed since Saul's conversion.
26 And when he had found him, he brought him unto Antioch. And it came to pass, that even for a whole year they were gathered together with the church, and taught much people, and that the disciples were called Christians first in Antioch.
Barnabas and Paul taught at Antioch for one year. During this time, the church grew so large, that it was seen as a distinctive religious sect from Judaism. For the first time, believers in Christ were called Christians, which many think was a derogatory term meaning the party of Christ.
27 Now in these days there came down prophets from Jerusalem unto Antioch.
Until the written word was completed, there were still prophets active in the local churches. Notice that the prophets came down from Jerusalem, meaning that Luke knew his geography. Charismatics like to use this verse to argue that there are still modern prophets in the modern churches today. However, Luke was recording the history of the early church, not the doctrine. The doctrine of the modern church can be found in Paul's epistles. In 1 Corinthians 13, Paul warned the Corinthians that tongues and prophecies would disappear.
28 And there stood up one of them named Agabus, and signified by the Spirit that there should be a great famine over all the world, which came to pass in the days of Claudius.
The prophet Agabus predicted the famine. Josephus, a secular Jewish historian, and Seutonis, a secular Roman historian, both reported that the famine occurred in 46-47 B.C. during the reign of Claudius, who was emperor of Rome.
29 And the disciples, every man according to his ability, determined to send relief unto the brethren that dwelt in Judea.
Even Paul, who persecuted the church and caused many of these Christians to lose their property, was involved in this ministry.
30 Which also they did, sending it to the elders by the hand of Barnabas and Saul.
The Greek word for elders is πρεσβύτερος (presbuteros), meaning mature men who have seasoned knowledge of bible doctrine. This is the first use of elders in the Bible. Elders were underneath the apostles in the early church. In 2 Timothy, near Paul's death, Paul used his apostolic authority to detail the qualifications and responsibilities of both elder and deacon offices. Again, Acts recorded the history of the early church. Paul recorded the doctrine of the modern church. It is wrong for chromatics to say that we need to return back to the church of Acts, which had so much power. It is right to say that we should return to the operation of the church as mentioned by Paul in 2 Timothy.
