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ToBeLikeHim.com Return
to Acts Series The Book of Acts Series Acts, Chapter 11 John Baugh October, 2009 Acts
11 (New American Standard Bible) Acts 11 A Personal note on the
study of the Book of Acts As I study the letter from Luke to Theophilus
that we call the Book of Acts, I keep in mind Luke’s words as he begins the
letter that we call the Gospel of Luke. 1In as much as many have undertaken to compile an account of
the things accomplished among us, 2just as they were handed down to us by those who from the
beginning were eyewitnesses and servants of the word, 3it seemed fitting for me as
well, having investigated everything carefully from the beginning, to write
it out for you in consecutive order, most excellent Theophilus; 4so that you may know the
exact truth about the things you have been taught. As
I understand from his introduction to his Gospel, Luke (in addition to being
a medical doctor) was a careful investigator. Keeping this in mind, I believe
for all of the materials we have from Luke, his words were supported by
interviews with those involved in the event up to the point where his
reporting is based on his personal experience as he joins Paul’s missionary
team in Troas, in Acts 16:10. The
events reported in Acts 11 no doubt are the personal recollections of the
apostle Peter and those who were personally involved in the occurrences in
Jerusalem and Luke revealed these events from a reporter’s perspective. Peter Reports at
Jerusalem 1Now the
apostles and the brethren who were throughout Judea heard that the Gentiles
also had received the word of God. 2And when Peter came up
to Jerusalem, those who were circumcised took issue with him, 3saying,
"You went to uncircumcised men and ate with them." Peter’s
actions in Caesarea and the openness of his relations with the gentiles there
would have been a huge problem with many of the Jews who had turned to Jesus.
Granted, they were followers of The Way, but they were still Jews, and
carried all of the prejudice that had been a part of that religion for
generations. In his gospel, when John refers to those who were circumcised,
he is making a negative reference and this negativity also comes across in
Luke’s recounting of what took place in Jerusalem after Peter’s return from
the house of Cornelius the centurion in Caesarea. By
the way, “coming up to Jerusalem” generally indicates a change in altitude
(traveling up the hills to the higher elevation of Jerusalem) and not a
northward journey. Luke
separates the apostles from the brethren in his story. This probably
indicates that the brethren had more of a problem with what Peter did than
the apostles. We
are all human, but the words of the “circumcised” have a painful bite (some
2,000 years later). I read them as saying, “I can’t believe you went into the
house of those (heathen) people, ate their food and then offered them Our
Jesus!” If
this was the opinion of the Circumcised brethren, it certainly was not God’s
opinion and Peter knows that he must explain this to those who questioned his
actions in Caesarea. 4But Peter
began speaking and proceeded to explain to them in orderly sequence, saying, 5"I
was in the city of Joppa praying; and in a trance I saw a vision, an object
coming down like a great sheet lowered by four corners from the sky; and it
came right down to me, 6and when I had fixed my gaze on it and was
observing it I saw the four-footed animals of the earth and the wild beasts
and the crawling creatures and the birds of the air. 7I also heard
a voice saying to me, 'Get up, Peter; kill and eat.' 8But I said,
'By no means, Lord, for nothing unholy or unclean has ever entered my mouth.' 9But a voice
from heaven answered a second time, 'What God has cleansed, no longer
consider unholy.' 10"This
happened three times, and everything was drawn back up into the sky. 11And
behold, at that moment three men appeared at the house in which we were
staying, having been sent to me from Caesarea. 12The Spirit told
me to go with them without misgivings These six brethren also went with me
and we entered the man's house. 13And he reported to us how he had
seen the angel standing in his house, and saying, 'Send to Joppa and have
Simon, who is also called Peter, brought here; 14and he will speak
words to you by which you will be saved, you and all your household.' 15And
as I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell upon them just as He did upon us at
the beginning. 16And I remembered the word of the Lord, how He
used to say, 'John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the
Holy Spirit.' 17Therefore if God gave to them the same gift as He
gave to us also after believing in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I that I
could stand in God's way?" Peter
did the only thing he could do. He began explaining what happened in Caesarea
in an orderly sequence. He started at the beginning and proceeded in orderly
sequence: -
He was where God had sent him -
He was praying -
God placed him in a trance and he received a vision -
God told him, “What God has cleansed, no longer consider
unholy.” -
It was repeated three times. There could be no doubt what
God’s will was. -
And men from Caesarea came, asking him to come with them to
the house of a Centurion named Cornelius. And in keeping with God’s will he
went, accompanied by six brethren. -
When he arrived, he discovered that an Angel had appeared to
Cornelius telling him that Peter would come and speak words that would bring
salvation to him and his household. -
And Peter began to speak -
And he was interrupted by the Holy Spirit falling upon the
household of Cornelius, just as it did on those who were present at
Pentecost. -
And Peter understood that if the Holy Spirit was baptizing
the gentiles (with the Holy Spirit), who was he to stand in the way of God? Peter
knew he had been instructed by the Holy Spirit to go to Caesarea and seek out
the gentiles (Cornelius and his family and friends) in the vision, God had
told Peter that He included the gentiles among those he was seeking out as a
part of His Holy Kingdom. When Peter understood these things, there was no
other action he could undertake, and so he did the only thing that anyone who
had experienced the vision could do: "Therefore if God gave to them the same gift as He gave
to us also after believing in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I that I could
stand in God's way?" It
is interesting that Peter refers to God giving the “same gift” to the
gentiles as He gave to those at Pentecost. In Peter’s mind, the same gift
given to them makes the gentiles equals (equal membership in the body of Christ)
to the church in Jerusalem and the brethren there. His appeal to the brethren
is simple – “who was I that I could
stand in God’s way?” The brethren come to an
understanding 18When they
heard this, they quieted down and glorified God, saying, "Well then, God
has granted to the Gentiles also the repentance that leads to life." I
like the words that the American Standard Translation uses: “Well Then” And
the matter was largely settled. The brethren understood that God’s will had
been accomplished and that His desire was to include the gentiles in His
Kingdom and the new gentile believers were accepted. Luke does not indicate
the reluctance to accept their condition (uncircumcised) by some of the
brethren in Jerusalem, and this problem would not be addressed until the
Council of Jerusalem (Acts 15). Luke moves on to the
church at Antioch At this point, the thrust of Luke’s story of the expansion of the
early church shifts to the world of the gentiles and specifically to the
works of Hellenistic Jews, first to the Jews and then to the Hellenistic
gentiles in the Syrian city of Antioch. As Luke shifts his emphasis to
Antioch, he begins tracing the movement of the church toward Rome. Antioch is significant, because it will become the staging area and
springboard for missionary efforts to the other parts of the Roman empire.
Many Bible scholars see the city as the second headquarters of the growing
church. At that time, Antioch was the largest city in Syria. It was located on
the Orontes River, about 300 miles north of Jerusalem and about 20 miles
inland from the Mediterranean Sea. The region of ancient Antioch is now in
the southeastern corner of Turkey, and the City is now known as Antakya. Josephus called Antioch "the third city in the habitable earth
that was under the Roman empire". At that time, Antioch had a population
of 500,000 to 800,000 people. Only Rome and Alexandria were larger. According
to Josephus, the city had a large Jewish population. Antioch was the capital of the Roman province of Syria. It was an
important commercial and economic center. The agricultural produce of the
region was shipped through Antioch, and from there to destinations all over
the Mediterranean. Culturally, first-century Antioch was a melting pot of
Greek, Roman, Semitic, Arabic and Persian influences. The city was known for
its sophistication, culture and for its loose morals and vices. The Temple of
Daphne, where sex was enthroned and worshipped through priestesses who were
really religious prostitutes was located in Antioch. The temple of Daphne
apparently was a center for moral depravity of every kind, where priestesses
served the Temple during the day and fanned out across the city at night to
solicit and practice prostitution in the name of their goddess. When Luke opens his narrative concerning Antioch in Acts 11:19, a
flourishing church community already existed in Antioch. This church plays a
prominent part in Luke’s history of the gospel. No other city apart from
Jerusalem appears as frequently in Luke’s writings. At first mention, Luke
indicates the church in Antioch is the location where the mission to the
Gentiles has its roots (Acts 11:19-26). Soon after this point, Antioch will
soon become a mission-sponsoring church, sending Paul and Barnabas on tours
of evangelism (Acts 13:1-3). The apostle missionary and church builder Paul
will use Antioch as his home base of operations. The beginning of the
influence of Antioch 19So then
those who were scattered because of the persecution that occurred in connection
with Stephen made their way to Phoenicia and Cyprus and Antioch, speaking the
word to no one except to Jews alone. As
with all of the other efforts toward spreading of the gospel, the work in Antioch
began with efforts to bring the good news to the Jews in Antioch. Luke introduces his Antioch story by referring back to "those who
had been scattered by the persecution in connection with Stephen" (Acts
11:19, referring to Acts 8:1). Earlier, he mentioned these Hellenistic Jews
as people who "preached the word wherever they went" (Acts 8:4).
Luke has already reported that these Jews carried the gospel throughout Judea
and Samaria (Acts 8:1). Now Luke tells us that they have moved their efforts
as far as Phoenicia (north of Caesarea), the island of Cyprus, and to Antioch
(Acts 11:19). These exiled Jews from Jerusalem living in the areas Luke mentions
have preached the gospel, but only to other Jews (Acts 11:19). These
individuals are pushing out beyond the areas where Peter and Philip have done
missionary work—but not yet to Gentiles. The Gospel First preached
to the Gentiles: 20But there
were some of them, men of Cyprus and Cyrene, who came to Antioch and began
speaking to the Greeks also, preaching the Lord Jesus. 21And the
hand of the Lord was with them, and a large number who believed turned to the
Lord. Luke does not tell us what the reason is for those in Antioch to make
the evangelistic switch to begin preaching the gospel to the gentiles. Luke
mentions the change casually, as though no controversy occurs over it. It may
have been a gradual development, since Gentiles often attended synagogues. Or
these dispersed Christian Jews may have become aware of the conversion of
Cornelius, and took it as a precedent, which it was. Luke tells us that these evangelizers preached a message about Jesus
as Lord, rather than announcing him as the Messiah. In Luke’s words, they
were "preaching the Lord Jesus" (Acts 11:20). The word
"Lord" is more meaningful in Hellenistic culture; the word
"Messiah" has a Jewish meaning that would appeal less to a Gentile
audience. Regardless, reacting to the urging of the Spirit, these brethren
reaped the harvest provided by the Holy Spirit. So, Who first preached
the gospel to the Gentiles? The truth is, No one knows. The names of these Hellenistic evangelists
are never mentioned. In many ways this is one of the greatest events in all
history. And amazingly, the evangelization was conducted by obscure men and
women, not apostles, not pastors. The best designation for them is that they
were laymen, like us. They made no headlines on earth, but special editions
came off the presses of heaven because this was such a fantastic event. At
last the gospel broke through the Jewish barriers that had held it in and was
now reaching out to the Gentiles and beginning a new church: How successful was
this first evangelism effort to the gentiles? Luke shares good news concerning their efforts at evangelizing the
gentiles. 21And the hand
of the Lord was with them, and a large number who believed turned to the
Lord. It needs to be said that when Jesus is preached as Lord and people
look to Him and not themselves, hearts open and people turn to Him. This is
exactly what Luke reports here. More specifically, Luke tells us "the Lord’s hand was with
them" as they preached. The Holy Spirit validates their testimony, and
as a result "a great number of people believed and turned to the
Lord" (Acts 11:21). The Church in
Jerusalem hears about Antioch: 22The news
about them reached the ears of the church at Jerusalem, and they sent
Barnabas off to Antioch. 23Then when he arrived and witnessed the
grace of God, he rejoiced and began to encourage them all with resolute heart
to remain true to the Lord; 24for he was a good man, and full of
the Holy Spirit and of faith And considerable numbers were brought to the
Lord. Good news travels and before long, the church at Jerusalem hears about
the large number of Gentile converts in Antioch. They decide to dispatch a
delegation to check on the situation and select a representative to travel to
Antioch to provide a firsthand report of the activity there. The man chosen to represent Jerusalem in Antioch is Barnabas. He is a
name Luke has already mentioned as one who supported the church in Jerusalem
(Acts 4:36), and stood up for Saul when he came to Jerusalem (Acts 9:27)
Those in Jerusalem knew Barnabas as the “Son of Encouragement” who had a
reputation for piety and generosity and those are the roles he assumes in
Antioch. Barnabas is a special man. Luke tells us that he: 1 – Is willing to serve Luke reports that considerable numbers were brought to the Lord. Barnabas Acts and
changes take place that will impact the world. 25And he left
for Tarsus to look for Saul; 26and when he had found him, he
brought him to Antioch And for an entire year they met with the church and
taught considerable numbers; and the disciples were first called Christians
in Antioch. Luke
does not indicate why Barnabas journeys to Tarsus, only that he does. He goes
there to find an old friend – the man still known as Saul, who Barnabas stood
up for in Jerusalem (Acts 9:27). Luke has not mentioned Saul since he left
Jerusalem for his hometown, but when Barnabas finds the emergence of many
converts into the new church, he leaves Antioch and goes to find Saul, then
brings him back to help with the growing church. In
his letter to the church in Corinth, Paul mentions this time of separation in
Tarsus (which some scholars think may have been as many as 10 years), but he
may have been preaching the gospel message in Syria and Cilicia (Galatians
1:21). Paul writes about the reaction of the Church in Jerusalem to his
ministry to the church in Galatia in these words: "The
man who formerly persecuted us is now preaching the faith he once tried to
destroy" (Galatians 1:23-24). In truth, there is not much written about the
time Saul was away from the Church in Jerusalem. It seems certain that Saul
continued preaching after leaving Jerusalem. Perhaps the five lashings he
received at the hands of the synagogue authorities (2 Corinthians 11:24),
together with some of his other afflictions and hardships enumerated in 2
Corinthians 11:23-27, occurred during those days in Tarsus, since they are
not mentioned in Luke’s records of his later missionary efforts. Perhaps more than anything else, during his time
in Tarsus Saul discovered that what he had regarded as his credentials for
activity, all that he had previously reckoned upon as useful in his life --
his ancestry, his orthodoxy, his morality, his zeal -- all has been wiped
out. He learned that they are not what make you an effective worker for Jesus
Christ, but that only your dependence upon Jesus at work in you makes the difference.
This is supported by what he writes in his letter t the church in Philippi
(Philippians 3:8), "he learned to count as manure all this other stuff,
in order that he might gain Christ" and reckon upon his power at work. When Saul had learned that, the Lord sent Barnabas over to Tarsus to
find him. God had his address all the time. Barnabas didn't; he had to look
for him. But when he found him he brought him to Antioch, ready to begin his
great worldwide ministry, that marvelous ministry of the Apostle Paul that
shook the world and has changed the course of human history time after time. Looking at Barnabas, there had to be a specific
reason for his searching out Saul. Perhaps because of the growth of new
believers in Antioch, the extent of Barnabas’ ministry was expanding so
rapidly that he believed he needed a co-worker. If that was the case,
evidently Barnabas was convinced that Saul would be the perfect choice to
help evangelize Antioch. He had already acted as Paul’s defender when he
encouraged the Jerusalem church to accept him (Acts 9:27). Now for a second
time, Barnabas became Paul’s advocate. He went to Tarsus looking for Paul,
and found him (Acts 11:25). The two of them returned to Antioch, and worked
together for a year, teaching large numbers of people. There is an interesting fact that should be mentioned. In Acts 11:25
and in some succeeding passages, Luke mentions Barnabas first and Paul second
(Acts 12:25; Acts 13:1, 2, 7). But soon, he will shift the listing order,
putting Paul first (Acts 13:43). However, Luke will again place Barnabas
first (Acts 14:14; Acts 15:12, 25), though Paul will be in first position at
times (Acts 13:46, 50; Acts 14:20; Acts 15:2, 22, 35). There seems to be no
consistency to this except that Luke balances the relationship. Each is
listed in first position eight times. The first use of a name As amazing as it sounds, at the end of verse
26, Luke makes a simple statement that has impacted the world for almost
2,000 years since. “and the disciples were first called Christians in Antioch.” During the time of church expansion at Antioch, outsiders in Antioch
begin to call the disciples by the term "Christian". In the Greek
noun form it is Cristianoi. This is a way of verbally identifying a
follower of a group. Another way of saying this is that they were called “Men
of Christ” or “Those belonging to Christ”. For example, those of the party of
Herod are Herodianoi. The Caesariani are those who belong to
the party of Caesar. Members of one of the major Jewish religious sects are
the Pharisaioi. As these Christians talked about Jesus to men
everywhere -- Jesus the Christ, the Messiah -- the Gentiles around them
labeled them "Christ's men." (You can tell from this that they
didn't talk about the church; they talked about Jesus.) In those days, "Christian" was probably not a term the
disciples generally used for themselves, preferring names such as “brethren,”
"brothers," "disciples," or "saints." The two
other occurrences of the word "Christian" in the Bible are
references to the church made by outsiders such as Agrippa (Acts 26:28) and
persecutors in general (1 Peter 4:16). "It appears to have originated,
therefore, as a somewhat derogatory designation given not by the ‘believers’
themselves but by hostile observers. The use of the name
"Christian" by outsiders may indicate that people in Antioch
realize that the church is not just another sect of Judaism, since it
includes Gentiles as well. At first it was a contemptuous term, a term of reproach. "Look at
these crazy people! They come into our city, they don't worship our idols,
don't observe our moral (or immoral) standards, they live lives entirely
different from ours." So, contemptuously they called them "Christ's
men," Christians. Hopefully, the disciples immediately (and not
eventually) thought it was wonderful to be called Christ's men, so
(Hopefully) they adopted the name and began to call each other Christians.
I know of no one today who calls Christ Jesus Lord who does not embrace the
name Christian, even though the world has re-adopted the negativity that the
first users of that word in Antioch intended. Barnabas and Saul
return to Jerusalem 27Now at this
time some prophets came down from Jerusalem to Antioch. 28One of
them named Agabus stood up and began to indicate by the Spirit that there
would certainly be a great famine all over the world And this took place in
the reign of Claudius. 29And in the proportion that any of the
disciples had means, each of them determined to send a contribution for the
relief of the brethren living in Judea. 30And this they did, sending it in
charge of Barnabas and Saul to the elders. At the end of Chapter 11, Luke reports the appearance of certain
prophets who came from Jerusalem to Antioch. One of them, names Agabus (who
appears a second time in Acts 21:10) predicted the appearance of a great
famine throughout the world, and, although it is not stated here, that it
would be especially severe in Judea. This came true just a few months later.
This is one of the historical confirmations of the book of Acts. For not only
does Josephus, the Jewish historian, record this famine, but two Roman
historians speak of it as well. Suetonius and Tacitus both mention the great
famine in the days of Claudius. We can positively date this event in
A. D. 44-45. In response to the prophesy of Agabus, the brethren at Antioch agreed
to collect a relief contribution for the brethren in Judea. That contribution
was sent to Jerusalem by way of Barnabas and Saul. Luke’s mention of the relief fund for Judea ends his discussion of
Antioch. It may seem to be an abrupt conclusion, but it is a fitting one. The
new congregation in Antioch—composed of gentiles who a short time before were
considered questionable subjects for the gospel—responds generously to the
appeal for help in Judea. In doing this, the Gentile and Hellenistic
Christians of Antioch prove their faith, love and unity with the mother
church by sharing their material possessions with those less fortunate. While
less dramatic than the story of the Jerusalem Christians sharing their goods
that Luke writes about in Acts 2:44-45 and 4:32-37, this also illustrates the
continuing church practice to provide aid for the needy and poor. A note: This is the first time that “elders” are mentioned in the
church. They seem to be in charge of receiving the relief fund. This ends the study of Acts,
Chapter 11 Copyright © 2009, by ToBeLikeHim
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