Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Acts 11:1
And the apostles and brethren that were in Judea heard that the Gentiles had also received the word of God.
Act 11:1-18. The Judo-Christians blame Peter. He makes his defence at Jerusalem
1. the apostles and brethren heard ] The news reached them before the return of St Peter to Jerusalem.
that the Gentiles had also received the word of God ] At this news, had there been no additional information about Peter’s eating with Cornelius, the disciples would have rejoiced, and would have welcomed this further spread of the word, as they did (Act 8:14) the conversion of the Samaritans, but to some, who were not only Christians, but strict observers of Jewish ritual, it was a cause of offence that Peter had consented to become the guest of a Gentile.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
And the apostles and brethren – The Christians who Were in Judea.
Heard … – So extraordinary an occurrence as that at Caesarea, the descent of the Holy Spirit on the Gentiles, and their reception into the church, would excite attention, and be likely to produce much sensitiveness in regard to the conduct of Peter and those with him. It was so contrary to all the ideas of the Jews, that it is not to be wondered at that it led to contention.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Act 11:1-8
And the apostles and brethren heard And when Peter was come up to Jerusalem, they that were of the circumcision contended with him.
The dispute in the early Church
Learn–
1. That even among Gods saints no one has been without blemish and folly.
2. That we must not put down the faults of the saints to wickedness.
3. That when we truly recognise and experience the universal love of God we shall be able to judge better of many events in Gods kingdom though they occur without the limits of our own Church. (Biblical Museum.)
Rents in the primitive Church
These are here represented–
I. For humility–in order to observe from them the power of the enemy, who never neglects to sow tares among the wheat.
II. For comfort–in order to recognise in them that nothing new befalls the Church in the divisions of the present day.
III. For doctrine–in order to see from them how the rents are to be healed by the power of evangelical truth and love. (K. Gerok.)
The ecclesiastical opposition
We have here–
I. A striking imperfection in the first Church. The apostles and brethren heard; and the point to be considered is the highly improper state of mind which the information produced. Instead of rejoicing at the event, and congratulating Peter, they called him to account as a criminal. This imperfection teaches us–
1. That antiquity does not confer infallibility. There are churches which are constantly referring us to the ancient and patristic for the final settlement of theological questions. Nay, there are men of antiquarian proclivities in every Church who refer to the past for the unerring and the perfect. Now, the fact that the Apostolic Church was imperfect exposes this folly.
2. That Christianity does not perfect its disciples at once. Some of these men had attained the rank of apostles, and yet had many errors to correct and habits to overcome. Christian excellence is a growth only, the germ of which is given at conversion; and unless the soil is well looked after, and the noxious weeded out, it will continue a frail and imperfect thing. Christians must grow in grace, etc.
II. A great man censured for a feeble work; which teaches us–
1. That Peter was not regarded as an infallible dictator in spiritual matters. The circumstance that he was called to account by the whole body of Christians goes against the assumption that he was vicar of Christ–the pope. Call no man rabbi: one is your Master, even Christ.
2. That mens works must not be determined by the judgment of contemporaries. The best works have generally met with contemporary censure. Men ahead of their time awaken envy and alarm. The greatest theologians have been the heretics of their age, and the greatest heroes its martyrs.
III. An inspired apostle conciliating his brethren. There was nothing of the haughtiness of modern primacy about Peter. He might have heard in silence and withdrawn in contempt, or denounced their ingratitude and narrowness. Instead of that he listens attentively, and offers a calm, generous, dignified reply.
1. He recites facts–those of the previous chapter, with the exception of his sermon which was productive of such mighty results. He bases his defence, not on what he said, but on what God did, which–
(1) Indicates his own modesty;
(2) rebukes vanity in preachers.
2. He makes an appeal (Act 11:17). This is the logic of his address–God had unmistakably indicated His will; who was he that he should oppose it?
III. A glorious victory over an old prejudice (Act 11:18).
1. They heartily acquiesced in the fact: They held their peace, feeling that the apostle had done the right thing.
2. They devoutly rejoiced in the fact: They glorified God. That which had pained them now filled them with delight.
3. They joyfully declared the fact: Then hath God, etc.
(1) Salvation is the life of man.
(2) Repentance is essential to salvation.
(3) Repentance is the gift of God through the gospel ministry. (D. Thomas, D. D.)
The best testimony of the servant of God against opposition and misapprehension
1. The Divine injunction of which he is conscious.
2. The eyes of men under which he acted.
3. The tranquillity of spirit with which he can vindicate himself.
4. The fruits of his work to which he is permitted to point. (K. Gerok.)
Religious contention
is the devils harvest. (Fontaine.)
Sectarianism, the strife of brethren
I recollect on one occasion conversing with a marine, who gave me a good deal of his history. He told me that the most terrible engagement he had ever been in was one between the ship to which he belonged and another English vessel, when, on meeting in the night, they mistook each other for enemies. Several persons were wounded and both vessels were much damaged by the firing. When the day broke great and painful was the surprise to find the English flag hoisted from both ships. They saluted each other, and wept bitterly together over their mistake. (W. Williams.)
Bigotry, Narrowness of
What a circumstance is that, that in 1624, at the request of the University of Paris, and especially of the Sorbonne, persons were forbidden by an arret of Parliament, on pain of death, to hold or teach any maxim contrary to ancient or approved authors, or to enter into any debate but such as should be approved by the doctors of the faculty of theology. So, again, after the telescope had been invented, many of the followers of Aristotle positively refused to look through the instrument because it threatened the overthrow of their masters doctrines and authority; and so when Galileo had discovered the satellites of Jupiter some persons were infatuated enough to attempt to write down these unwelcome additions to the solar system. (Paxton Hood.)
Bigotry is concealed selfishness
Sir Humphry Davy, when he introduced his safety lamp, which has saved so many valuable lives, declined to take out a patent for it, saying that his sole object was to serve the cause of humanity. What of men who claim prescriptive rights to the gospel of Jesus Christ! (W. Baxendale.)
Peter reports to the Church
1. The importance of the centurions baptism rested not simply on its being the issue of a series of Divine interpositions, but on its being accepted as the commencement of a new era. Its recognition by the Church, however, hinged on its having been brought about by God. Hence Peters narrative was necessary before the new conditions of membership could be welcomed.
2. The news reached Jerusalem before Peter, and in an imperfect form, viz., that Peter had been treating uncircumcised men ecclesiastically and socially as though they were circumcised. Why they did not know, and hence they hardly knew whether to be glad or vexed.
3. Peter gave his report when they of the circumcision were disputing with him, i.e., those who afterwards came to form, and had when Luke was writing formed, the Judaizing party. The strong Jewish prejudice which was to work such mischief must have already been latent in the minds of many baptized Jews. This was the first occasion on which that prejudice was stirred into activity. The apostles would have inquired into the spiritual side of the transaction–the reception of Christ by heathen–whereas the question raised was merely that of eating. Nor would the heads of the Church have used the phrase rendered softly men uncircumcised, an untranslated expression of rude and displeased contempt.
4. Peter met the question with a calm and careful narrative of facts. It can hardly fail to startle those who know how his name has been used to cover the most unbounded claims, that he should be reduced to justify his apostolic action. Yet this is in perfect accord with the whole New Testament. The Church is never represented as a close oligarchy, much less as an empire with an infallible head. Before the assembly of the faithful this Prince of the apostles, this Rock Man, to whom Jesus had given the keys, was content to plead, and that on a matter which could justify itself, and to disputatious brethren whom he might have treated with contempt.
5. Peter passed over matters already known to detail the circumstances which prepared him for the reception of Cornelius–the vision, the coincident arrival of the messengers, the monition of the Holy Ghost–a threefold strand spun by a celestial hand, which drew him with a force he dared not withstand. So far the incident had been personal; now came the corroborative evidence of the six brethren who were witnesses that the Masters promise to baptize His disciples with the Divine Spirit was fulfilled. Nay, more; God had bestowed that Spirit on the original disciples, not because of their Jewish birth or circumcision, but simply because they had believed on Christ. To the Gentiles, therefore, who believed had now come the very same free gift, to prove that neither circumcision availeth anything nor uncircumcision. In Peters words there lies, as in a seed, the whole doctrine of free grace and justification by faith, and no better commentary on them can be found than in Gal 2:15-16, which was addressed to Peter when he renounced for a time the position that he here defends.
6. The general enthusiasm over this new-won freedom and the happy consciousness of a wider brotherhood broke forth in praise. It might have been hoped that the Church would now pass from its subordination to the Mosaic law into the spiritual freedom of Christ. Alas! the rise of a Gentile Church at Antioch soon after came to be viewed with rivalry, and a synod at Jerusalem could not compose the strife. Upon Peters vacillation Paul became the rock which turned aside from the Gentile Churches a current which would have swept Christianity into Mosaic legalism and exclusiveness. Yet in their convictions the two apostles were one.
7. The limitation which for so many centuries confined Gods favour to one tribe was one which must have forever shut out us and our fathers. In His wise pleasure He bad elected Israel, and might have let the election stand. But the very election contemplated ultimate catholicity. Israel was made a guarded focus of light just that it might one day enlighten the Gentiles. But, in spite of their prophets, they kept to their tribes what God had given to mankind. Thus it came that the grace of life had to tear itself away from their grip to overspread the globe. Yet it was by the hands of Jews after all that the grace of God was first conveyed to Gentiles in Caesarea, and by Jewish missionaries that the gospel has at length reached ourselves. (J. O. Dykes, D. D.)
Peter to Jewish Christians
1. This differs from the previous speeches of the apostle (except the first), in that it is not an appeal to men to become Christians, but an explanation to Christians of a fresh course of action taken in the service of Christ.
2. While Peter tarried at Caesarea the apostles and brethren heard with surprise of this unexpected victory of the gospel. He was well aware of the necessity for a full explanation, and therefore went straight to Jerusalem, and with excellent judgment took the six Jewish Christians from Joppa who had baptized the believing Gentiles, who could corroborate his story.
3. They that were of the circumcision contended with him, not apparently about the preaching of the gospel to the Gentiles, or even their baptism, but about his eating with them. They were displeased that an apostle had broken a tradition of strict Judaism.
4. Such a condition of mind we regard with wonder and pity; and yet something very like it is far too common in modern Christendom. Who has not seen Christian faith miserably united with small-minded prejudices? And this also we see, that narrowness of sympathy goes with dulness of perception. These Jews could not see anything more important than the question whether Peter did well or ill in sitting at table with the uncircumcised. So now: the more that men make of external restriction in religion, the more they incapacitate their minds for appreciating what is spiritual and permanent. Note–
I. The position taken by even the leading apostle.
1. The name of Peter has been used to cover the claim of supremacy advanced by the Pope. But here we see that the brethren were not afraid to contend with him; and he made no attempt to silence the objectors by dint of authority, but patiently explained his action till he won their approval. Is it not plain that there was no such thing as Popedom known to St. Peter? There was not even oligarchic government by the apostles. The Church had leaders and guides; but the wisdom of Christ was imparted to the whole body, not to a few conspicuous members only.
2. It is not well that anyone should reckon himself above question from the brethren. It is quite possible that they may find fault through ignorance; but in such a case Christs servant must not give way to irritation, but calmly explain what they have misunderstood. Let him tell the unvarnished truth, and leave it to the heavenly Master to vindicate him.
II. The best way to remove misunderstandings among brethren.
1. Nine-tenths of the fault finding comes of defective information. The objectors here knew but very partially what Peters conduct had been, and none of the reasons. They heard that he had been living among Gentiles, but nothing of the visions or of the spiritual results. They certainly laid themselves open to a sharp reproof. But the apostle did not even make complaint. He wished to conciliate their better judgment, and preserve peace in the Church.
2. This, too, conveys, a most valuable lesson to those who find their course of action called into question. It will be often found that fault finders proceed on most inaccurate information; and, by doing so, they lay themselves open to retort. But the object of Christs servant should be not to triumph over an unreasonable brother, but to gain victories for the truth and maintain peace and charity.
III. The most effective answer to sticklers on points of order.
1. St. Peter did not enter into an argument upon the permanence of those restrictions which had separated the Jews from the Gentiles. He was himself scarcely prepared for such an argument, though a new light had been cast into his mind by the vision. No such light, however, had fallen on those at Jerusalem; and it would have been worse than useless to argue. Peter took them on ground which no Christian could call in question. As the Word of life was being preached to the Gentiles the Holy Ghost fell on them, just as on the Jews at Pentecost. Did not that one momentous fact settle all questions, overcome all misgivings?
2. This way of handling a difficulty makes short work with many Church controversies about holy orders, correct ritual, and the like. In ways that we consider exceptional, and through the labours of persons whose ordination has but an uncertain validity, thousands have been converted from sin to righteousness. This seems to us to be matter of fact which only a desperate bigotry can ignore? Surely when we see that sinners are turned from their evil ways our simple duty is to acknowledge the work of God whenever and wherever He pleases to work and give Him thanks.
IV. The true place and justification of baptism. The Gentiles at Caesarea having been baptized with the Holy Ghost, it was impossible to deny to them baptism with water. Indeed, there are not two baptisms, but one, having an outer form and inner sense. The former requires water, the latter the grace of the Holy Spirit. Superstition holds that the former always involves the latter, and therefore urges people to be baptized, or to have their infants baptized, in order that by that rite they may receive the Holy Ghost. This is Christening of which the Bible knows nothing. It is enough to trace the dispensation of baptism through these early chapters. At Jerusalem they that received the Word of salvation were baptized. At Samaria they that believed the good tidings were baptized. On the road to Gaza the Ethiopian treasurer first received Philips preaching of Jesus, and then was baptized. At Damascus, Saul, through the intervention of Ananias, was filled with the Holy Ghost. Then he arose, and was baptized. So here. Conclusion:
1. Peters speech had a marked success. The Jewish brethren glorified God, saying, Then to the Gentiles also hath God granted repentance into life. Would that they had cherished this mood! What controversies would have been avoided! What trouble might have been spared to Paul!
2. These disciples had a clear conception of repentance–
(1) In its origin as the gift of Gods grace;
(2) in its issue as unto life. And with this doctrine ought the fallow ground of mens hearts to be broken. It is Gods command; it is Gods gift; it is Gods encouragement: Turn ye; why will ye die? (D. Fraser, D. D.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
CHAPTER XI.
Peter returns to Jerusalem, and is accused of having associated
with the Gentiles, 1-3.
He defends himself by relating at large the whole business
concerning Cornelius, 4-17.
His defense is accepted, and the whole Church glorifies God for
having granted unto the Gentiles repentance unto life, 18.
An account of the proceedings of those who were scattered abroad
by the persecution that was raised about Stephen; and how they
had spread the Gospel among the circumcision, in Phoenice,
Cyprus, and Antioch, 19-21.
The Church at Jerusalem, hearing of this, sends Barnabas to
confirm them in the faith, 22, 23.
His character, 24.
He goes to Tarsus to seek Saul, whom he brings to Antioch, where
the disciples are first called CHRISTIANS, 25, 26.
Certain prophets foretell the dearth which afterwards took place
in the reign of the Emperor Claudias, 27, 28.
The disciples send relief to their poor brethren to Judea, by
the hands of Barnabas and Saul, 29. 30.
NOTES ON CHAP. XI.
Verse 1. And the apostles and brethren that were in Judea] According to Calmet, Judea is here put in opposition to Caesarea, which, though situated in Palestine, passed for a Greek city, being principally inhabited by Pagans, Greeks, or Syrians.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
And brethren; the rest of the believers, who had not only one God to their Father, but one church to their mother, and were born of the same Spirit, and were fed by the same milk of the word of God.
The Gentiles had also received the word of God; this was a most incredible thing unto them who were of the seed of Abraham according to the flesh, and were not acquainted with that mystery that Abraham should have a seed of his faith, upon whom all the promises were entailed. These looked upon the Gentiles as most execrable persons, such as the apostle describes, Eph 2:12, that had no hope, and were without God; and therefore no less than a miracle, and that well attested, as this was, could make them change their opinion.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
1-11. the apostles and brethren . .. in Judearather, “throughout Judea.”
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
And the apostles and brethren that were in Judea,…. The rest of the twelve apostles, and the private members of the churches that were in Judea, for there were in it now more churches than that at Jerusalem, Ac 9:31
heard that the Gentiles had also received the word of God; as well as Samaria, Ac 8:14 the news by some means or other were quickly brought to them, and no doubt but they also heard that they had received the Holy Ghost, his extraordinary gifts, as well as his special grace, though no mention is made of them.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
| Peter’s Vindication. |
| |
1 And the apostles and brethren that were in Juda heard that the Gentiles had also received the word of God. 2 And when Peter was come up to Jerusalem, they that were of the circumcision contended with him, 3 Saying, Thou wentest in to men uncircumcised, and didst eat with them. 4 But Peter rehearsed the matter from the beginning, and expounded it by order unto them, saying, 5 I was in the city of Joppa praying: and in a trance I saw a vision, A certain vessel descend, as it had been a great sheet, let down from heaven by four corners; and it came even to me: 6 Upon the which when I had fastened mine eyes, I considered, and saw fourfooted beasts of the earth, and wild beasts, and creeping things, and fowls of the air. 7 And I heard a voice saying unto me, Arise, Peter; slay and eat. 8 But I said, Not so, Lord: for nothing common or unclean hath at any time entered into my mouth. 9 But the voice answered me again from heaven, What God hath cleansed, that call not thou common. 10 And this was done three times: and all were drawn up again into heaven. 11 And, behold, immediately there were three men already come unto the house where I was, sent from Csarea unto me. 12 And the Spirit bade me go with them, nothing doubting. Moreover these six brethren accompanied me, and we entered into the man’s house: 13 And he showed us how he had seen an angel in his house, which stood and said unto him, Send men to Joppa, and call for Simon, whose surname is Peter; 14 Who shall tell thee words, whereby thou and all thy house shall be saved. 15 And as I began to speak, the Holy Ghost fell on them, as on us at the beginning. 16 Then remembered I the word of the Lord, how that he said, John indeed baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost. 17 Forasmuch then as God gave them the like gift as he did unto us, who believed on the Lord Jesus Christ; what was I, that I could withstand God? 18 When they heard these things, they held their peace, and glorified God, saying, Then hath God also to the Gentiles granted repentance unto life.
The preaching of the gospel to Cornelius was a thing which we poor sinners of the Gentiles have reason to reflect upon with a great deal of joy and thankfulness; for it was the bringing of light to us who sat in darkness. Now it being so great a surprize to the believing as well as the unbelieving Jews, it is worth while to enquire how it was received, and what comments were made upon it. And here we find,
I. Intelligence was presently brought of it to the church in Jerusalem, and thereabouts; for Cesarea was not so far from Jerusalem but that they might presently hear of it. Some for good-will, and some for ill-will, would spread the report of it; so that before he himself had returned to Jerusalem the apostles and the brethren there and in Judea heard that the Gentiles also had received the word of God, that is, the gospel of Christ, which is not only a word of God, but the word of God; for it is the summary and centre of all divine revelation. They received Christ; for his name is called the Word of God, Rev. xix. 13. Not only that the Jews who were dispersed into the Gentile countries, and the Gentiles who were proselyted to the Jewish religion, but that the Gentiles also themselves, with whom it had hitherto been thought unlawful to hold common conversation, were taken into church-communion, that they had received the word of God. That is, 1. That the word of God was preached to them, which was a greater honour put upon them than they expected. Yet I wonder this should seem strange to those who were themselves commissioned to preach the gospel to every creature. But thus often are the prejudices of pride and bigotry held fast against the clearest discoveries of divine truth. 2. That it was entertained and submitted to by them, which was a better work wrought upon them than they expected. It is likely they had got a notion that if the gospel were preached to the Gentiles it would be to no purpose, because the proofs of the gospel were fetched so much out of the Old Testament, which the Gentiles did not receive: they looked upon them as not inclined to religion, nor likely to receive the impressions of it; and therefore were surprized to hear that they had received the word of the Lord. Note, We are too apt to despair of doing good to those who yet, when they are tried, prove very tractable.
II. That offence was taken at it by the believing Jews (Act 11:2; Act 11:3): When Peter had himself come up to Jerusalem, those that were of the circumcision, those Jewish converts that still retained a veneration for circumcision, contended with him. They charged it upon him as a crime that he went in to men uncircumcised, and did eat with them; and thereby they think he has stained, if not forfeited, the honour of his apostleship, and ought to come under the censure of the church: so far were they from looking upon him as infallible, or as the supreme head of the church that all were accountable to, and he to none. See here, 1. How much it is the bane and damage of the church, to monopolize it, and to exclude those from it, and from the benefit of the means of grace, that are not in every thing as we are. There are narrow souls that are for engrossing the riches of the church, as there are that would engross the riches of the world, and would be placed alone in the midst of the earth. These men were of Jonah’s mind, who, in a jealousy for his people, was angry that the Ninevites received the word of God, and justified himself in it. 2. Christ’s ministers must not think it strange if they be censured and quarrelled with, not only by their professed enemies, but by their professing friends; not only for their follies and infirmities, but for their good actions seasonably and well done; but, if we have proved our own work, we may have rejoicing in ourselves, as Peter had, whatever reflections we may have from our brethren. Those that are zealous and courageous in the service of Christ must expect to be censured by those who, under pretence of being cautious, are cold and indifferent. Those who are of catholic, generous, charitable principles, must expect to be censured by such as are conceited and strait-laced, who say, Stand by thyself, I am holier than thou.
III. Peter gave such a full and fair account of the matter of fact as was sufficient, without any further argument or apology, both to justify him, and to satisfy them (v. 4): He rehearsed the matter from the beginning, and laid it before them in order, and then could appeal to themselves whether he had done amiss; for it appeared all along God’s own work, and not his.
1. He takes it for granted that if they had rightly understood how the matter was they would not have contended with him, and commended him. And it is a good reason why we should be moderate in our censures, and sparing of them, because if we rightly understood that which we are so forward to run down perhaps we should see cause to run in with it. When we see others do that which looks suspicious, instead of contending with them, we should enquire of them what ground they went upon; and, if we have not an opportunity to do that, should ourselves put the best construction upon it that it will bear, and judge nothing before the time.
2. He is very willing to stand right in their opinion, and takes pains to give them satisfaction. He does not insist upon his being the chief of the apostles, for he was far from the thought of that supremacy which his pretended successors claim. Nor does he think it enough to tell them that he is satisfied himself in the grounds he went upon, and they need not trouble themselves about it; but he is ready to give a reason of the hope that is in him concerning the Gentiles, and why he had receded from his former sentiments, which were the same with theirs. It is a debt we owe both to ourselves and to our brethren to set those actions of ours in a true light which at first looked ill and gave offence, that we may remove stumbling-blocks out of our brethren’s way. Let us now see what Peter pleads in his own defence.
(1.) That he was instructed by a vision no longer to keep up the distinctions which were made by the ceremonial law; he relates the vision (Act 11:5; Act 11:6), as we had it before ch. x. 9, c. The sheet which was there said to be let down to the earth he here says came even to him, which circumstance intimates that it was particularly designed for instruction to him. We should thus see all God’s discoveries of himself, which he has made to the children of men, coming even to us, applying them by faith to ourselves. Another circumstance here added is that when the sheet came to him he fastened his eyes upon it, and considered it, <i>v. 6. If we would be led into the knowledge of divine things, we must fix our minds upon them, and consider them. He tells them what orders he had to eat of all sorts of meat without distinction, asking no questions for conscience’ sake, v. 7. It was not till after the flood (as it should seem) that man was allowed to eat flesh at all, Gen. ix. 3. That allowance was afterwards limited by the ceremonial law; but now the restrictions were taken off, and the matter set at large again. It was not the design of Christ to abridge us in the use of our creature-comforts by any other law than that of sobriety and temperance, and preferring the meat that endures to eternal life before that which perishes. He pleads that he was as averse to the thoughts of conversing with Gentiles, or eating of their dainties, as they could be, and therefore refused the liberty given him: Not so, Lord; for nothing common or unclean has at any time entered into my mouth, v. 8. But he was told from heaven that the case was now altered, that God had cleansed those persons and things which were before polluted; and therefore that he must no longer call them common, nor look upon them as unfit to be meddled with by the peculiar people (v. 9); so that he was not to be blamed for changing his thoughts, when God had changed the thing. In things of this nature we must act according to our present light; yet must not be so wedded to our opinion concerning them as to be prejudiced against further discoveries, when the matter may either be otherwise or appear otherwise; and God may reveal even this unto us, Phil. iii. 15. And, that they might be sure he was not deceived in it, he tells them it was done three times (v. 10), the same command given, to kill and eat, and the same reason, because that which God hath cleansed is not to be called common, repeated a second and third time. And, further to confirm him that it was a divine vision, the things he saw did not vanish away into the air, but were drawn up again into heaven, whence they were let down.
(2.) That he was particularly directed by the Spirit to go along with the messengers that Cornelius sent. And, that it might appear that the vision was designed to satisfy him in this matter, he observes to them the time when the messengers came–immediately after he had that vision; yet, lest this should not be sufficient to clear his way, the Spirit bade him go with the men that were then sent from Cesarea to him, nothing doubting (Act 11:11; Act 11:12); though they were Gentiles he went to, and went with, yet he must make no scruple of going along with them.
(3.) That he took some of his brethren along with him, who were of the circumcision, that they might be satisfied as well as he; and these he had brought up from Joppa, to witness for him with what caution he proceeded, foreseeing the offence that would be taken at it. He did not act separately, but with advice; not rashly, but upon due deliberation.
(4.) That Cornelius had a vision too, by which he was directed to send for Peter (v. 13): He showed us how he had seen a angel in his house, that bade him send to Joppa for one Simon, whose surname is Peter. See how good it is for those that have communion with God, and keep up a correspondence with heaven, to compare notes, and communicate their experiences to each other; for hereby they may strengthen one another’s faith: Peter is the more confirmed in the truth of his vision by Cornelius’s, and Cornelius by Peter’s. Here is something added in what the angel said to Cornelius; before it was, Send for Peter, and he shall speak to thee, he shall tell thee what thou oughtest to do (Act 10:6; Act 10:32); but here it is, “He shall tell thee words whereby thou and thy house shall be saved (v. 14), and therefore it is of vast concern to thee, and will be of unspeakable advantage, to send for him.” Note, [1.] The words of the gospel are words whereby we may be saved, eternally saved; not merely by hearing them and reading them, but by believing and obeying them. They set the salvation before us, and show us what it is; they open the way of salvation to us, and, if we follow the method prescribed us by them, we shall certainly be saved from wrath and the curse, and be for ever happy. [2.] Those that embrace the gospel of Christ will have salvation brought by it to their families: “Thou and all thy house shall be saved; thou and thy children shall be taken into covenant, and have the means of salvation; thy house shall be as welcome to the benefit of the salvation, upon their believing, as thou thyself, even the meanest servant thou hast. This day is salvation come to this house,” Luke xix. 9. Hitherto salvation was of the Jews (John iv. 22), but now salvation is brought to the Gentiles as much as ever it was with the Jews; the promises, privileges, and means of it are conveyed to all nations as amply and fully, to all intents and purposes, as ever it had been appropriated to the Jewish nation.
(5.) That which put the matter past all dispute was the descent of the Holy Ghost upon the Gentile hearers; this completed the evidence that it was the will of God that he should take the Gentiles into communion. [1.] The fact was plain and undeniable (v. 15): “As I began to speak” (and perhaps he felt some secret reluctance in his own breast, doubting whether he was in the right to preach to the uncircumcised), “presently the Holy Ghost fell on them in as visible signs as on us at the beginning, in which there could be no fallacy.” Thus God attested what was done, and declared his approbation of it; that preaching is certainly right with which the Holy Ghost is given. The apostle supposes this, when he thus argues with the Galatians: Received you the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith? Gal. iii. 2. [2.] Peter was hereby put in mind of a saying of his Master’s, when he was leaving them (ch. i. 5): John baptized with water; but you shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost, v. 16. This plainly intimated, First, that the Holy Ghost was the gift of Christ, and the product and performance of his promise, that great promise which he left with them when he went to heaven. It was therefore without doubt from him that this gift came; and the filling of them with the Holy Ghost was his act and deed. As it was promised by his mouth, so it was performed by his hand, and was a token of his favour. Secondly, That the gift of the Holy Ghost was a kind of baptism. Those that received it were baptized with it in a more excellent manner than any of those that even the Baptist himself baptized with water. [3.] Comparing that promise, so worded, with this gift just now conferred, when the question was started, whether these persons should be baptized or no, he concluded that the question was determined by Christ himself (v. 17): “Forasmuch then as God gave them the like gift as he did to us–gave it to us as believing in the Lord Jesus Christ, and to them upon their believing in him–What was I, that I could withstand God? Could I refuse to baptize them with water, whom God had baptized with the Holy Ghost? Could I deny the sign to those on whom he had conferred the thing signified? But, as for me, who was I? What! able to forbid God? Did it become me to control the divine will, or to oppose the counsels of Heaven?” Note, Those who hinder the conversion of souls withstand God; and those take too much upon them who contrive how to exclude from their communion those whom God has taken into communion with himself.
IV. This account which Peter gave of the matter satisfied them, and all was well. Thus, when the two tribes and a half gave an account to Phinehas and the princes of Israel of the true intent and meaning of their building themselves an altar on the banks of Jordan, the controversy was dropped, and it pleased them that it was so, Josh. xxii. 30. Some people, when they have fastened a censure upon a person, will stick to it, though afterwards it appear ever so plainly to be unjust and groundless. It was not so here; for these brethren, though they were of the circumcision, and their bias went the other way, yet, when they heard this, 1. They let fall their censures: they held their peace, and said no more against what Peter had done; they laid their hand upon their mouth, because now they perceived that God did it. Now those who prided themselves in their dignities as Jews began to see that God was staining their pride, by letting in the Gentiles to share, and to share equally, with them. And now that prophecy was fulfilled, Thou shalt no more be haughty because of my holy mountain, Zeph. iii. 11. 2. They turned them into praises. They not only held their peace from quarrelling with Peter, but opened their mouths to glorify God for what he had done by and with Peter’s ministry; they were thankful that their mistake was rectified, and that God had shown more mercy to the poor Gentiles than they were inclined to show them, saying, Then hath God also to the Gentiles granted repentance unto life! He hath granted them not only the means of repentance, in opening a door of entrance for his ministers among them, but the grace of repentance, in having given them his Holy Spirit, who, wherever he comes to be a Comforter, first convinces, and gives a sight of sin and sorrow for it, and then a sight of Christ and joy in him. Note, (1.) Repentance, if it be true, is unto life. It is to spiritual life; all that truly repent of their sins evidence it by living a new life, a holy, heavenly, and divine life. Those that by repentance die unto sin thenceforward live unto God; and then, and not till then, we begin to live indeed, and it shall be to eternal life. All true penitents shall live, that is, they shall be restored to the favour of God, which is life, which is better than life; they shall be comforted with the assurance of the pardon of their sins, and shall have the earnest of eternal life, and at length the fruition of it. (2.) Repentance is God’s gift; it is not only his free grace that accepts it, but his mighty grace that works it in us, that takes away the heart of stone, and gives us a heart of flesh. The sacrifice of God is a broken spirit; it is he that provides himself this lamb. (3.) Wherever God designs to give life he gives repentance; for this is a necessary preparative for the comforts of a sealed pardon and a settled peace in this world, and for the seeing and enjoying of God in the other world. (4.) It is a great comfort to us that God has exalted his Son Jesus, not only to give repentance to Israel, and the remission of sins (ch. v. 31), but to the Gentiles also.
Fuente: Matthew Henry’s Whole Bible Commentary
In Judea ( ). Throughout Judea (probably all Palestine), distributive use of . The news from Casearea spread like wildfire among the Jewish Christians. The case of the Samaritans was different, for they were half Jews, though disliked. But here were real Romans even if with Jewish affinities.
Had received (). First aorist middle indicative. The English idiom requires “had” received, the Greek has simply “received.”
Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament
In Judaea [ ] . More correctly, “throughout Judaea.”
Fuente: Vincent’s Word Studies in the New Testament
Peter Vindicates His Ministry to the Gentiles Before Brethren in Jerusalem, V. 1-18
1) “And the apostles and brethren,” (de hoi apostoloi
kai hoi adelphoi) “Then both the apostles and the brethren,” of the church, the saints at Jerusalem, and in Judea, Act 8:1; Act 8:3.
2) “That were in Judea heard,” (hoi ontes kata ten loudaian) “Those who were throughout Judea,” having scattered first on the great persecution of the church, (ekousan) “Heard” or received the report with astonishment, Act 8:4.
3) “That the Gentiles also had received,” (hoti kai ta ethne edeksanto) “That the Gentiles, nations, or various ethnic people had also received,” Jesus Christ and His word, Joh 1:11-12; Act 2:41; Act 10:44-48; Act 11:18.
4) “The word of God,” (ton logon tou theou) “The word (testimony) of God,” concerning the risen Lord, which Peter especially preached to the household of Cornelius, as Philip had preached it to the eunuch, Act 8:35; Act 10:36; Act 10:43.
This word is: a) “True from the beginning,” Psa 119:160.
b) “Inspired of God,” 2Ti 3:16-17.
c) “Quick and powerful,” Heb 4:12.
d) “The standard of judgement,” 2Ti 4:1-2.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
1. And the apostles. Whereas Luke declareth that the fame of one house which was converted was spread abroad everywhere amongst the brethren, that did arise by reason of admiration; for the Jews accounted it as a monster that the Gentiles should be gathered unto them as if they should have heard that there had been men made of stones. Again, the immoderate love of their nation did hinder them from acknowledging the work of God. For we see that through this ambition and pride the Church was troubled; because the equality which did diminish their dignity was not tolerable. For which cause they did contend stoutly to bring the necks of the Gentiles under the yoke. But forasmuch as it was foretold by so many prophecies of the prophets, that the Church should be gathered of all people after the coming of the Messiah, and forasmuch as Christ had given commandment to his apostles touching the preaching of the gospel throughout the whole world, how can it be that the conversion of a few men should move some, as some strange thing, and should terrify other some, as if it were some monster? I answer, that whatsoever was foretold touching the calling of the Gentiles, it was so taken as if the Gentiles should be made subject to the law of Moses, that they might have a place in the Church. But the manner of the calling, the beginning whereof they saw then, was not only unknown, but it seemed to be quite contrary to reason. For they did dream that it was impossible that the Gentiles could be mixed with the sons of Abraham, and be made one body with them, (the ceremonies being taken away,) but that there should be great injury done to the covenant of God; for to what end served the law save only to be the mid wall to note out the disagreement? Secondly, because they were acquainted with that difference during their whole life, the unlooked-for newness of the thing doth so pierce them, that they did forget all that which ought to have quieted their minds. Finally, they do not straightway comprehend the mystery, which, as Paul teacheth, was unknown to the angels from the creation of the world.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
THE EXPANSION OF THE CHURCH
Act 11:1-30.
DOUBTLESS that amazed them, such is the diffidence with which men attend upon the Divine promises. Had not the ascended Christ said, But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto Me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth (Act 1:8)? Gods plan never purposed an end with the Jew, nor limitations with Judea or even its relative, Samaria. The Gentile also and the ends of the earth were in His vision from the first. The Divine outlook is always so much larger than that of mortal man that he finds it difficult to exercise the same.
And when Peter was come up to Jerusalem, they that were of the circumcision contended with him, Saying, Thou wentest in to men uncircumcised, and didst eat with them (Act 11:2), as if by that step Peter had doomed his personal standing and disgraced the new Church. Alas, how easy it is for littleness and prejudice to draw lines and determine borders and even imagine that God Himself should not go beyond them!
But Peter rehearsed the matter from the beginning, and expounded it by order unto them, saying,
I was in the city of Joppa praying: and in a trance I saw a vision, A certain vessel descend, as it had been a great sheet, let down from heaven by four corners; and it came even to me:
Upon the which when I had fastened mine eyes, I considered, and saw four-footed beasts of the earth, and wild beasts, and creeping things, and fowls of the air.
And I heard a voice saying unto me, Arise, Peter; slay and eat.
But I said, Not so, Lord: for nothing common or unclean hath at any time entered into my mouth.
But the voice answered me again from Heaven, What God hath cleansed, that call not thou common.
And this was done three times: and all were drawn up again into Heaven.
And, behold, immediately there were three men already come unto the house where I was, sent from Caesarea unto me.
And the Spirit bade me go with them, nothing doubting. Moreover these six brethren accompanied me, and we entered into the mans house:
And he shewed us how he had seen an angel in his house, which stood and said unto him, Send men to Joppa, and call for Simon, whose surname is Peter;
Who shall tell thee words, whereby thou and all thy house shall be saved.
And as I began to speak, the Holy Ghost fell on them, as on us at the beginning.
Then remembered I the Word of the Lord, how that He said, John indeed baptised with water; but ye shall be baptised with the Holy Ghost.
Forasmuch then as God gave them the like gift as he did unto us, who believed on the Lord Jesus Christ; what was I, that I could withstand God?
When they heard these things, they held their peace, and glorified God, saying, Then hath God also to the Gentiles granted repentance unto life (Act 11:4-18).
The Divine program holds always and ever a place for expansion.
EXPANSION BY MISSIONS
We employ the term missions here in the sense of world-wide evangelization. Long before Peter had this experience, Christ had uttered for the Church His marching orders, and in the same language formulated a recipe for her success:
Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptising them in the Name of the Bather, and of the Son. and of the Holy Ghost:
Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world (Mat 28:19-20).
The command is clearGo ye therefore, and teach all nations. Mark puts it, Go ye into all the world. Dr. A. C. Dixon said, Expansion is the watchword of Christianity * *. The Church needs no Monroe doctrine. While she cannot take a sword of steel and go forth conquering and to conquer, it is her mission to take the Sword of the Spiritthe Word of Godand by its messages of peace and love, make converts in every kingdom and from every tribe. In these days when our statesmen are telling us that a new era is on for America, the Era of Expansion, and that this mighty territory is no longer content to exist as the United States, but must hold her possessions in the Orient and increase her islands in the Occident, what is to be the attitude of the Church of God? For two thousand years she has had full before her eyes her great Captains last command, Go ye, therefore, into all the world.
The means of her success is also appointed. And preach the Gospel to every creature. When Peter stood before this audience made up alike of Jew and Gentile, he declared how by a visit to Cornelius he had learned that God was no respecter of persons; and lo, as he preached to the people,
the Holy Ghost fell on them, as on us at the beginning.
Then remembered I the Word of the Lord, how that He said, John indeed baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost.
Forasmuch then as God gave them the like gift as He did unto us, who believed on the Lord Jesus Christ; what was I, that I could withstand God (Act 11:15-17)?
The Gospel proved itself the power of God for the salvation of the Gentiles, as also it had done for the salvation of the Jews.
When they heard these things, they held their peace, and glorified God, saying, Then hath God also to the Gentiles granted repentance unto life (Act 11:18).
That Gospel is no less potent now. The late Dr. Josiah Strong called our attention to a very important fact, namely this, that while the proportion of evangelical church-members to the whole population is three times as large now as it was a hundred years ago, the proportion of the population attending upon the services has not increased, but decreased instead. He affirms the fact that now the great majority of those who attend church services are communicants, and adds significantly, The Gospel has brought nearly all to acknowledge its claims, who have come statedly within the sphere of the pulpits influence. That emphasizes the fact that the Gospel is the changeless factor in the expansion of the church. When Paul lived, it was the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth. It is no less today. What folly, then, for men to expect church expansion by putting some man-made philosophy in its place! When great denominations come to a standstill, and church dignitaries inquire into the cause, they will find it to be always the same, namely, that something has occurred to keep the people and the Gospel apart, since the Gospel, when properly preached, has lost nothing of its power to convict of sin, of righteousness, and of the judgment to come, nothing of its power to save. If, therefore, one believes in expansion for the church, let him join in the endeavor to preach the Gospel to every creature.
The promise is adequate to expansion. Lo, I am with you alway. What more do we need? Having a clear command; having a God-appointed agency, and having so precious a promise, who does not see in these things the opportunity of ecclesiastical enlargement?
Charles Spurgeon once related how old Gascon, when asked if he could enter a certain fortress, and at the same time was given to understand that it was impregnable, said, Can the sun enter it? Yes. Well, then, where the sun can go, we can enter. Spurgeon comments, Whatever is possible, or whatever is impossible, Christians can do at Gods command, for God is with us. Do you not see that the words, God with us put impossibility out of all existence?
It was Paul who dared to say, I can do all things through Christ which strengthened me. Oh, that the present church would nail that speech before its mast! It was the Apostles sense of His presence and of His power that furnished the secret of their success. And, today, facing difficulties, as the church does, against frowning obstacles, as the church is, this very promise, Lo, I am with you alway, ought to fill her with conscious power and make her afraid to undertake nothing if only He directs.
Oh, God, our help in ages past!So prayed our fathers in the days of yore,Our cry the same across the troubled years,O Lord of hosts, where Thou art seen before,The faint grow stronger, and vanish all their fears, Speak Thou the word that holds the nations still,Come by Thy ways we know not in Thy might,Let brave hearts bind them to Thy righteous will And Thy clear purpose shine above the fight.
EXPANSION BY ACCESSIONS
Evangelism abroad insures growth at home. It was the experience of the early Church to find that in proportion as it spread out its endeavors, it strengthened the home plant. It is doubtful if there was any period in the history of the New Testament Church when its growth was more rapid than at the time when its members, scattered abroad, went everywhere preaching the Word.
Now they which were scattered abroad upon the persecution that arose about Stephen travelled as far as Phenice, and Cyprus and Antioch, preaching the Word to none but unto the Jews only.
And some of them were men of Cyprus and Cyrene, which, when they were come to Antioch, spake unto the Grecians, preaching the Lord Jesus.
And the hand of the Lord was with them: and a great number believed, and turned unto the Lord (Act 11:19-21).
More and more are we impressed with the fact that you cannot preach in one place in all the world without profiting the Church of God in other places. Sometimes when I have gone from home to aid in meetings in towns many miles removed, I have felt ill at ease, lest I might be neglecting my own work; but I am more and more convinced that no effort put forth abroad is without profit to the home work.
Years since when Mr. Moody went evangelizing into England, some Americans might have supposed that he was hardly loyal to his own people or faithful to the interests of his own land. Were there not impenitents here who needed his preaching, and since we had but one Moody among us, could we afford to spare him to the Old World? But never was there better illustration of the fact that evangelism abroad will bring back its blessing; that preaching to a strange people will profit our own kith and kin. It was Moody who set Henry Drummond on fire for souls; it was Moody who turned the whole ministry of B. P. Myers Christward; it was Moody who started John Robertson in search of a better way; it was Moody who taught John McNeil how to take men captive with the Word; it was Moody who discovered Campbell Morgan and invited him to America; and lo, his work among another people has returned us tenfold, for across that sea everyone of these has come to preach the Gospel to Moodys peoplethe Americans, and een now when the great evangelists lips are sealed in death, many of these visit America and carry on. Whether Peter knew it or not, the day he preached the Gospel to the Gentiles, he brought new power to the true Israel.
Every convert made from the world is an accession to the Church of Jesus Christ, and when we remember that she is to grow, not by generation, but by regeneration instead, how the responsibility of Gospelizing at home and abroad is made to rest upon those who know the Word! Then tidings of these things came unto the ears of the Church which was in Jerusalem: and they sent forth Barnabas, that he should go as far as Antioch (Act 11:22).
Let us also see that the chosen of Christ are to be received by His Church. A man must appreciate this truth before he is fitted for any ministry of the Word or even membership in Christs Church. So long as the Jew looks down upon the Gentile and feels that he has no place in Gods plan of salvation, that Jew is himself unfitted for a place in the Church, for the Church is to be made up of Gods chosen ones without respect of person. That is why we dare to decry the class spirit; that is why we plead the cause of the poor who would sometimes be kept out by the rich; of the ignorant who might be rejected by the learned; of the humble whose right might be questioned by the honored.
It would seem that God meant to set Peter right on this subject, for the Scriptures say, The voice answered me again from Heaven, What God hath cleansed, that call not thou common (Act 11:9). Charles Spurgeon once said to his students, If we are to prevail with men, we must love them without respect of station. I know gentlemen, whom I esteem in a way, who seem to think that the working classes are a shockingly bad lot, to be kept in check and governed with vigor. With such views, they will never convert working men. To win men, you must feel, I am one of them. If they are lost sinners, I am one of them. If they need a Saviour, I am one of them. To the very chief of sinners you should preach with this text before you, And such were some of you.
In the Church of Christ, the high and the low, the rich and the poor, the humble and the honored are to meet together, realizing that the Lord is the maker of them all. The Jew must realize that when the Gentile is born of the Spirit, he becomes his brother; and just because Christ has cleansed him, he is to receive him with gladness, remembering that in Christ Jesus neither circumcision availeth anything, nor uncircumcision, but a new creature. And as many as walk according to this rule, peace he on them (Gal 6:15-16).
The termsJew and Gentile pass from the Church. And the disciples were called CHRISTIANS first in Antioch (Act 11:26).
But after all, this text deals with another important element in the growth of the Church, namely,
EXPANSION BY INDIVIDUAL DEVELOPMENT
Peter had to be enlarged himself in intellect, in soul, in sympathies, to keep him from standing in Gods way, and from opposing Gods work. And, today, the Church can only make progress in proportion as her individual members are enlarged in mind and heart and sympathies. Yet this is a very natural development, an evolution to be expected.
To receive Christ ought to mean an intellectual quickening. It always does mean that. A young man converted found that the incoming of Christ brought with it a holy ambition. Although twenty-three years of age, he was without education, and, as he himself expressed it, had never cared whether his mind was developed or not. But when Christ came into his heart, a craving for knowledge came with Him, and he humbled himself and went into the public schools of the city and sat down with the little children to begin his studies, and in two short years, he worked his way through seven grades, and then through an academy, determined to make the most of his mind. If you asked him, Why this change? he would answer, Because I am a Christian.
I was much interested in reading Dr. Hillis volume, A Mans Value to Society, to find him quoting from Clarks Northampton Antiquities the statement that that little place had in its short history sent out 114 lawyers, 112 ministers, 95 physicians, 100 educators, seven college presidents, 30 professors, 24 editors, six historians, 14 authors, 38 officers of state, 28 officers of the United States, including members of the Senate and one President. And Hillis rather assigns this result to the fact that the fathers of Northampton were renowned men and their children were like them; but a little investigation will show that the thing that made them the most renowned was their religious fervor, their fidelity to Jesus Christ. We do believe that history has put past dispute the fact that for mental acumen and accomplishments, Christ, dwelling in the heart and life, more often accounts than all other circumstances combined. Peter was an ignorant fisherman up to the day when he received Him. From that hour he was an Apostle of a noble faith; an orator who dwelt an arrows flight above the best bred of heathen or Jewish schools; an educator whose influence is more felt today than that of any ten thousand scholastics who know not the Lord.
Christ indwelling means growth of soul. There is a spiritual side to ones nature; there is a soul as distinct from the body and from the intellect as the generation of the Spirit is distinct from that of the flesh. A man may cultivate that side of his nature, and, sad to say, a man may neglect it also. If Christ is permitted to dwell there, He will see to it that it flowers and fruits, and if Christ is denied His right there, we will witness that it withers and dies. O. P. Eaches tells how when Charles Darwin was young, his spiritual nature was full of promise, but he forsook the place of worship; he ceased from the study of the Bible; he even turned away from the reading of poetry and listened no longer to music, and in the course of time, Darwin himself tells the results by saying, Up to the age of thirty, poetry gave me great pleasure, pictures considerable, and music was my delight. Now even Shakespeare nauseates me, and I seem to have become a machine for grinding out laws from large collection of facts. Even on this he went astray, for evolution is now in collapse. However much we may admire the genius of Darwin, we must admit the seriousness of his having neglected his soul, until every fountain of his affectional nature was dried up and dead, and skepticism came as a shroud to wrap itself about the corpse.
Oftentimes we have gone to men to plead with them to undertake some service for the Church, and to Christ, and they have answered with gentleness and respect, For your sake I would like to do this. Oh! how that kindly speech stings one. He has missed the whole point of our plea. We were not arguing for our sakes; we were not even pleading the cause for Christs sake alone; it was his own sake that moved us to this endeavor. We wanted this sacrifice made; we wanted him to give this time, this thought, this money, to Christs cause, that he might grow, and himself become strong.
Many is the time I have carried my babies to some convenient corner of the room, and putting them there where they could stand, have stepped off a pace and said, Come, stretching my hands in invitation and assurance, and I have seen them stumble, and even fall, and rise with smiling face to attempt it again, thinking in their infant minds, It will please papa, and little dreaming that I was doing it for their good, that they might know how to stand, that they might learn to walk, that they might grow strong. And sometimes I wonder whether, when our teachers in later life undertake for our souls the same evolution, we understand them and always assign to them the right motive. Beloved, I tell you the truth and lie not, when I say that I never have asked any one of you to sing a song for Christs sake; devote an hour to Christs service; make money sacrifice for Christs cause, but I have desired it above all things else for your sake, that those who are committed into my hands, as unto the overseer of the flock, the shepherd of the people, might grow in spirit and fill up the measure of the stature of perfect men and women in Christ Jesus.
We have seen a man, crippled in both lower limbs, drag himself down the aisle of Gods house every Lords day, and the worshippers looked upon him as an object of abject pity. But I see more pathetic appearances in the same house and aisle. There is that fine looking man, six feet two, tipping scales at two hundred pounds, straight in body and handsome of face. But, alas for his soul! Ive seen that. It is bowed down; it is shriveled; it is diseased; it is dying. I tell you, better be crippled in body than crumpled in spirit!
And last of all, expansion by an extension of our sympathies. Peters intellect had been quickened; Peters soul had been making good growth since he received the Lord; but now Peters sympathies must be extended so that the circle shall receive every Gentile. No matter if the Jew had regarded the Gentile as a dog; no matter if this favored son had looked down upon him as an outcast, Christ will compel him to come to the point where the very condition of the Gentile in sin, in darkness, without the knowledge of the God, without the Gospel of His Son, will touch his truer sympathies, and start them flowing in a flood. And, do you know, a man never finds his better self until, by the indwelling Christ, he has a sympathetic heart?
Then departed Barnabas to Tarsus, for to seek Saul:
And when he had found him, he brought him unto Antioch. And it came to pass, that a whole year they assembled themselves with the Church, and taught much people. And the disciples were called Christians first in Antioch.
And in these days came prophets from Jerusalem unto Antioch.
And there stood up one of them named Agabus, and signified by the Spirit that there should be great dearth throughout all the world: which came to pass in the days of Claudius Caesar.
Then the disciples, every man according to his ability, determined to send relief unto the brethren which dwelt in Judaea:
Which also they did, and sent it to the elders by the hands of Barnabas and Saul (Act 11:25-30).
A few years ago, Shishkoff, writing from Russia, reported the famine in that land, and pictured the scenes of starvation upon which he had looked until his own cheeks were scalded with tears, and then he concluded his article with the following appeal: Christians of England: We are far off; you cannot see our misery or hear our famished children begging for bread. But will that deter you from doing what you can to help us? Have you not a penny that you can spare? Your 40,000,000 pennies would make nearly 170,000 sufficient to save 17,000 human lives. You know what Englands answer to this appeal was. It showed that there were men of sympathy there, and in the very endeavor they discovered their better selves.
One night in Chicago, at our Social Union, one was speaking to us, and he related George Eliots story of Silas Marner, the weaver, who had made it his custom to draw up the boards of his floor at night, and in a miserly way lay his money there, hoarding it, he knew not why, or for what! One night he came home to find it all robbed and gone. Sickened and blinded, he ran to the forest and back to the village searching for his gold, but in vain! When he went out he left open the door, and a little fair-haired waif wandered in, and fell asleep before the open fire. When Silas returned, for one moment his heart started in hope, for he saw the soft yellow curls and thought it was his gold, and staggering forward he thrust his hands into the bright shining stuff, only to discover that he had not a dollar, but rather a daughter, who became the stay and staff and comfort of his declining years. And he then said, Brethren and sisters of Chicago, you are putting your time, your hearts blood, your shining gold into the service of God. Will it ever come back to you? Not as gold, not as time, not as effort. It shall come back to you in the men and women of the future; in the beautiful sons and daughters of the Lord God. Oh, yes, and it will come back to us in the form of our own lives and souls. For the day that Silas Marner parted with his dollars and received this daughter, was the day when he began to live. Her questions quickened his intellect; her affection enlarged his hard heart, and her demands opened the concealed fountains of his sympathies; and in all the effort he put forth for her sake, he saved not only a little waif from the streets to become the sweet, beautiful woman she was, but he saved his own soul as well out of the grip of miserliness; out of the death of an intellectual dearth, and out of the grave of shriveled sympathies.
Fuente: The Bible of the Expositor and the Evangelist by Riley
CRITICAL REMARKS
Act. 11:1. The apostles.Peter and John (Act. 8:14), with James (Act. 12:2), and possibly the rest of the Twelve. The brethren.The body of disciples.
Act. 11:2. They that were of the circumcision.In the first instance all the Judan disciples who were Jews, afterwards a party in the Church who contended for circumcision as a term of Christian communion (Php. 3:3; Col. 4:11; Tit. 1:10).
Act. 11:3. Didst eat with them.See on Act. 10:28.
Act. 11:4. Rehearsed the matter from the beginning and expounded it by order.Better, having begun, expounded the matter unto them in order.
Act. 11:5-10.Peters account differs from Lukes in only minor details. (See Homiletical Analysis.)
Act. 11:11.Mentions that Corneliuss ambassadors were three in number (Act. 10:19), and Act. 11:12 that Peters companions were six (Act. 10:33).
Act. 11:13.Represents Cornelius as calling his mysterious visitor an angel, whereas Lukes account makes the centurion speak of him as a man (Act. 10:30). The word men, an insertion from Act. 10:5, should be omitted.
Act. 11:14.Adds an item of the angels message not before mentioned.
Act. 11:15.The clausule as I began to speak contradicts not that in Lukes account while Peter yet spake (Act. 10:44), but draws attention to the shortness of the interval which passed before the Holy Ghost descended. In the beginning = on the day of Pentecost, about ten years before: see on Act. 11:26.
Act. 11:17. Whether the antecedent to who believed is us (A. and R.V., Bengel, Meyer), or them and us (Alford, Hackett), or them only (Plumptre), cannot be decided; but in each case the sense is the same.
Act. 11:18. Glorified God.Correct if the reading is (Westcott and Hort, R.V.); if be preferred (A.V., Alford, Hackett), then the rendering should be kept glorifying God, a continuous act.
HOMILETICAL ANALYSIS.Act. 11:1-18
Peters Report to the Church at Jerusalem; or, the Admission of the Gentiles vindicated
I. The serious indictment preferred against Peter.
1. The occasion.
(1) The tidings that had reached the apostles and brethren in Juda that the Gentiles also had received the word of God (Act. 11:1). So remarkable a phenomenon was not likely to remain unknown to the Church leaders in Jerusalem. Nor is it readily conceivable that tidings so glorious should have given rise to dissatisfaction in any right-thinking bosom. Yet such actually appears to have been the case.
(2) The return of Peter to the metropolis, which was dictated not by any peremptory summons issued to him by his colleagues to defend before them the action he had takenan assertion destitute of even the slightest evidencebut by a natural desire to explain what had taken place and his relation thereto (Act. 11:2).
2. The movers. They that were of the circumcisioni.e., the Jewish Christians as distinguished from the Gentile (see Act. 10:45)the party in general and not an inner circle of them more zealous for the rite than their fellows (Lechler). Such a party afterwards arose (Col. 4:11; Tit. 1:10); here its first indications are observed. At this stage the whole Jerusalem Church, being composed of Jews, felt disposed to emphasise the importance and obligation of circumcision.
3. The gravamen. Not that the apostle had preached the gospel to the Gentileswhich, in face of Christs command, could hardly have been pronounced a fault (Mat. 27:19)or that he had baptised them, and so received them into the Christian Church, but that he had done so without subjecting them to circumcision. As yet the apostles and brethren do not so express their thoughts, but merely charge Peter with having violated (traditional) Mosaism by entering into friendly intercourse, and holding house and table fellowship with the Gentiles (Act. 11:3).
II. The triumphant vindication offered by Peter.
1. The frankness with which it was given. Not standing upon his dignity as chief among the apostles (primus inter pares), or resenting their interference with what was so unmistakably a work of God, but recognising their right to have their difficulties stated and, if possible, removed, doubtless also appreciating their perplexity concerning what conflicted so strangely with their traditional beliefs, Peter began and expounded the matter in order to them. A Christian of the right spiritwhether a public official or a private member in the Churchwill not fail to exhibit the like anxiety, by means of a frank explanation, to remove any offence or stumbling block which his personal behaviour may have placed in the way of his weaker brethren (Rom. 14:15).
2. The fulness with which it was given. The main particulars of the story were related.
(1) The vision he had himself beheld in Joppa (510), his own account differing from Lukes only in minor details, such as the omission of all mention of the time when the vision occurred and of the hunger which preceded it, saying nothing about seeing heaven opened, and adding that the sheet appeared to come even unto him, and that it contained wild beasts (Act. 11:6) as well as other animals.
(2) The arrival of Corneliuss messengers, though he did not at all mention the centurions name, or at that stage in his tale allude to the vision which had prompted the centurion to despatch his embassy (Act. 11:11).
(3) The inward whispering of the Spirit which had directed him to accompany the strange men from Csarea (Act. 11:12), which prompting he obeyed, taking with him six brethren who were then present, having apparently come up to Jerusalem along with him, and to whom he may be pictured as having pointedthese six brethren also accompanied me.
(4) The account Cornelius gave of the angels appearance in his house with instructions to send men to Joppa for him, Simon, whose surname was Peter, who, the angel said, should tell him words whereby he and all his house should be saved (Act. 11:13-14).
(5) The descent of the Holy Ghost upon Cornelius and his household almost immediately after he had commenced to speak (the interval between his beginning to preach and the Spirits coming down seemed so short), and in exactly the same fashion as it had done upon Jewish believers at Pentecosti.e., with the same manifestations in the form of tongues (Act. 11:15).
(6) The impression the phenomenon had made upon himself. It caused him to remember the word of the Lord (see Act. 1:5) about the difference between Johns baptism with water and the Lords baptism with the Holy Ghost (Act. 11:16).
(7) The process of reasoning he then followedwhich was that, if God had bestowed on them, the Gentiles, the same gift of the Holy Ghost as He had conferred on Jewish believers, it was manifest God had received them, the Gentiles, into His Church; and that being the case who was he, Peter, that he should withstand God and keep them out by withholding from them the rite of baptism, which was the sign of their being let in (Act. 11:17)?
3. The success with which it was given.
(1) The apostles and brethren held their peace. They could say nothing against it. It was as clearly the doing of God as the healing of the lame man at the Beautiful Gate of the Temple had been (Act. 4:14).
(2) They glorified God, saying, Then hath God also to the Gentiles granted repentance unto life. What a pity they did not ever after remain in this mind!
Learn.
1. That misunderstandings will arise among Christian brethren.
2. That all Christian believers are not equally enlightened, or equally free from prejudice, narrow-mindedness and bigotry.
3. That the best way to remove misunderstandings and overcome prejudices among Christians is to come together in friendly conference.
4. That the same story is seldom twice told in the same way and without variation in details.
5. That whom God admits into the Church none have a right to exclude.
Note A.The historical credibility of Corneliuss conversion has been objected to principally on the following grounds:
1. That it had no practical effect on the settlement of the Gentile question.
2. That Paul did not cite it as an argument in the Jerusalem council.
3. That in spite of the silence and glorification of God which followed Peters explanation (Act. 11:18) the Jerusalem Christians were not long in reasserting their old demand for the circumcision of non-Jewish believers (Act. 15:5).
4. That the council felt itself wholly undecided as to the position it ought to maintain on this question of the terms of communion for Gentile members.
5. That Peters subsequent behaviour at Antioch showed he had never really known of such a conversion as is here reported. (See Baurs Life and Work of Paul, 1:8192; Zeller, Die Apostelgeschichte, pp. 183190; Holtzmann, Hand Commentar zum Neuen Testament, Erster Band, p. 366). But
1. Corneliuss conversion was distinctly referred to by Peter, if not by Paul, in his speech at the apostolic council (Act. 15:7), so that it cannot be truthfully affirmed. Corneliuss conversion was wholly without effect in determining the Gentile question.
2. If Paul did not cite that conversion when addressing the council, he may have deemed it unnecessary to do so after Peters reference to the same event. Along with this it should be noted that as Pauls address has not been reported, one cannot be certain that he made no allusion to Peters action in receiving Cornelius.
3. If circumcision for the Gentiles was again mooted in Jerusalem, that was not surprising considering it was the Pharisees who mooted it (Act. 15:5).
4. The allegation that the council did not know how to act upon the question is incorrect, since they answered the question to Pauls satisfaction.
5. The wavering of Peter at Antioch (Gal. 2:12) only showed that he, like many another good man before and since, was inconsistentnot that he had not baptised Cornelius. Lesser difficultiessuch as the number of visions connected with the story, the uselessness of sending Cornelius to Peter to hear about the gospel, when he could have learnt all he wanted to know from Philip, and the obvious inaccuracy of the statement (Act. 10:28), since how otherwise could a Gentile be transformed into a Jewish proselytescarcely require an answer. The notion that the Cornelius history is a free composition intended to legitimate Pauls Gentile mission by showing that Peter had opened the door to the heathen before him contains this element of truth, that Peters action in baptising Cornelius without circumcision because the Holy Ghost had, on the same terms, granted the gift of tongues, proved that Pauls procedure in the Gentile Churches was not unauthorised and self-invented, but had the highest possible sanction, that of the Holy Ghost and of Peter. The remainder of the Tbingen theory is an exploded delusion.
Note B.The Theology of Peter, as set forth in the various addresses given by him in the Acts:
1. In the Upper Room (Act. 1:15-22);
2. On the Day of Pentecost (Act. 2:14-36);
3. In Solomons Porch (Act. 3:12-26);
4. Before the Sanhedrim (Act. 4:8-12);
5. In the Christian Meeting (Act. 5:3-4; Act. 5:8-9);
6. Before the Sanhedrim (Act. 5:29-32);
7. In Samaria (Act. 8:20-23);
8. At Lydda (Act. 9:34);
9. At Joppa (Act. 9:40);
10. At Csarea (Act. 10:24-43).
I. Peters doctrine of God.
1. The personality of God is everywhere assumed (Act. 1:24, Act. 2:29, Act. 3:13, etc.). His wisdom, holiness, justice, goodness, and truth.
2. The sovereignty of God, both in providence (Act. 2:23) and in grace (Act. 3:26), is fearlessly asserted.
3. The unity of the Godhead is everywhere clearly taught, as, for instance, when the term God is used absolutely (Act. 3:18, Act. 4:10, Act. 5:4, Act. 10:34, etc.).
4. The trinity of persons in the Godhead, if not distinctly expressed, is fairly implied in such passages as teach the divinity of Christ and of the Holy Ghost.
II. Peters doctrine of Christ.
1. His person.
(1) That Jesus of Nazareth was an actual historical personage, a true man, a genuine partaker of flesh and blood humanity, and not a mere semblance thereof, as the later Docet taught, Peter presupposes throughouttaking for granted all the details of His earthly history as these have been recorded in the gospel records, if not mentioning His Incarnation implying it when affirming His divinity (see below), alluding to His baptism (Act. 10:38), His philanthropic ministry (Act. 10:38), His sinless character calling Him Gods holy and righteous One (Act. 3:14), affirming His crucifixion (Act. 2:23, Act. 10:39), His resurrection (Act. 2:23; Act. 2:31; Act. 3:15; Act. 5:40-41), and His ascension (Act. 2:33; Act. 3:21; Act. 5:31), and predicting His future coming as the Judge of quick and dead (Act. 10:42).
(2) That Peter regarded Jesus of Nazareth as a pre-existent Divine being, who had been sent and who had come into the world, may be reasonably inferred from such statements as theseHe is Lord of all (Act. 10:36), David saith concerning Him, I beheld the Lord always before my face (Act. 2:25), and The Lord saith unto my Lord (Act. 2:34), since, even if they refer to the exalted Christ, it cannot be supposed that Christ could have been made a Divine being by the process of resurrection and exaltation if He had not been so before.
(3) That Peter considered this exalted Divine human personality as the Messiah of Israel (Act. 2:36) and the Saviour of the world (Act. 3:25), is expressly stated.
2. His work. That Peter regarded Christ as Jehovahs servant (Act. 3:13; Act. 3:26, Act. 4:27; Act. 4:30) who had been commissioned to perform upon the earth a work through which men might receive remission of sins (Act. 3:19; Act. 10:43), is hardly less apparent than that Peter connected that work with His death upon the cross (Act. 2:32; Act. 2:38; Act. 3:26; Act. 4:10-12; Act. 9:43).
III. Peters doctrine of the Spirit.
1. The personality (Act. 5:3), and
2. The divinity (Act. 5:4), are unambiguously asserted.
IV. Peters doctrine of Providence.Includes the following points:
1. The sovereignty of God in foreordaining whatsoever comes to pass (Act. 4:28).
2. The freedom of man in accomplishing his own will while all the time he executes the purpose of God (Act. 2:23; Act. 4:27).
3. The present and immediate knowledge of all that man thinks and does upon the earth (Act. 1:24; Act. 4:29).
4. The possibility of interposing, either naturally or supernaturally, in the course of mundane history (Act. 4:29).
V. Peters doctrine of sin.On this momentous subject the Apostle taught:
1. That sin in its essence was disobedience to God (Act. 4:19; Act. 5:29).
2. That thoughts of the heart as well as overt actions or words were included in the category of sin (Act. 5:3; Act. 8:27).
3. That sin until it was forgiven held mens souls in spiritual bondage (Act. 8:23).
4. That the sins of men might work out the purposes of God (Act. 2:23).
5. That sins of the most heinous character were pardonable through Christs blood (Act. 2:38; Act. 3:19; Act. 8:22; Act. 10:43).
VI. Peters doctrine of salvation.Contained these tenets:
1. That all men needed salvation, Jew and Gentile alike (Act. 2:39).
2. That this salvation was attainable only through Jesus Christ (Act. 3:12).
3. That the only condition of salvation was faith in Christs name (Act. 10:43).
VII. Peters doctrine of the last things.This included
1. A second advent of Jesus Christ to be preceded by times of refreshing, and ushering in the times of the restoration of all things (Act. 3:21).
2. A future resurrection for all men (Act. 4:2).
3. A solemn assize for quick and dead (Act. 10:42).
HINTS AND SUGGESTIONS
Act. 11:2. Ecclesiastical Controversy.
I. Frequently arises concerning points of small moment.About non essentials rather than about essentials, about external forms and ceremonies rather than about internal thoughts and dispositions, about the tithing of mint, anise, and cummin, rather than about the weightier matters of the law, judgment, and mercy, and faith (Mat. 23:23). Such was the case here. The contention which arose between the circumcision party and Peter was not about spiritual religion but only about bodily ritual, was not whether Cornelius had been converted, but whether he had been circumcised, was not whether Peter had received him into the Church without the exercise of faith, but whether Peter had dispensed with the corporeal mark of Mosaism. A small affair to make a noise about.
II. Is seldom settled without strife and angry feeling.To the credit of the brethren and of Peter in this instance it was. Peter, by his frank and unvarnished recital of what he had done, and how he had been led to do it, cleared away the misconceptions and disarmed the suspicions of his brethren; they, on the other hand, by their amiable tempers and ready disposition to have their difficulties removed, contributed to a speedy settlement of what might have developed into a prolonged and bitter agitation, A pattern which might be profitably studied by disputants of all sorts.
III. Would be easily disposed of were both parties always anxious to find out and follow the mind of God.It was thus the threatened rupture in Jerusalem was averted. Peter did not oppose his own authority to that of his brethren, or lecture them on their narrow-mindedness in seeking to impose their antiquated ceremonial on the Gentiles, or plume himself on his superior enlightenment in dispensing with the Mosaic rite, but simply assisted his brethren to see how God in His providence and by His grace had already decided the controversy. His brethren when they perceived this could no longer maintain their favourite views, but humbly and submissively accepted the verdict of heaven, feeling that when God interposed with a decision there was, and ought to be, an end of all controversy.
Act. 11:4. Expository Preaching. Should be like Peters discourse to his brethren.
I. Regular and systematic.Going over the contents of revelation in order, so as to present Divine truth in its inherent connection, logical succession, and due proportion.
II. Clear and emphatic.Showing that the speaker has an adequate grasp of his theme, is master of his own thoughts, and can express both with perspicuity and power.
III. Comprehensive and detailed.Neither fragmentary nor trivial. Not leaving great lacun, or condescending to over-minute particulars; but presenting a broad view of the truth in all its parts, and with such parts as are more important set forth in prominence.
IV. Experimental and emotional.Not discoursing on the contents of revelation as if these were mere objective truths which had no bearing on either speaker or hearer; but talking of them as if conscious of their vast importance for the inner life of both.
V. Personal and practical.Aimed at the conviction as well as enlightenment of them that hear, at converting their hearts as well as gaining over their judgments.
Act. 11:9. Divine Warnings; or, What God hath cleansed make not thou common.
I. To men in general.In particular to philosophers, scientists, statesmen, rulersnot to introduce distinctions of class, rank, wealth, power, etc., between man and man, seeing that God hath made all men of one blood, and therefore equal. The brotherhood of man stands to day in need of emphasis and exposition.
II. To the Church of Jesus Christ.In particular to its office-bearers and spiritual leadersnot to make the household of faith narrower than Christ has made it, not to erect around it fences which Christ has not commanded, not to excommunicate those whom Christ has admitted, not to impose burdens on the consciences of men which Christ has not directed.
III. To the individual believer.In particular to him who is conscious of being a child of Godnot to defile with sin and guilt the heart and conscience which Christ by His blood and word has cleansed, not to let down to low and common levels the life which should be lived in the high and pure atmosphere of fellowship with God and Christ.
Act. 11:14. Words of Salvation. Words setting forth
I. The nature and necessity of salvation.
1. Its nature. Deliverance from the curse, power, and pollution of sin.
2. Its necessity. All are under condemnation, on account of sin, enthralled by the power of sin, and tainted by the moral pollution of sin.
II. The source and the means of salvation.
1. The source. Jesus Christ, the Incarnate Son of God.
2. The means. Faith in His blood, which signifies reliance on His propitiatory sacrifice for the sins of the world.
III. The recipients and subjects of salvation.
1. Believersi.e., such as by faith have put their trust in Him.
2. Their housesi.e., on their complying with the same condition.
Act. 11:16. Remembering the Word of the Lord.
I. A much-neglected duty.Not by the world alone, but also by the Lords people, who not only know and profess to believe that word, but who have themselves been saved by it, and have been commanded to keep it in remembrance (Joh. 15:20; Col. 3:16).
II. An exceedingly delightful exercise.Not for the unbelieving and unspiritual, but for the religious and devout, to whom that word is more precious than thousands of silver and gold (Psa. 119:72), and who can truly say, Thy testimonies also are my delight (Psa. 119:24).
III. A highly profitable employment.Were Christs words more frequently remembered, they would
1. Save Christs people from falling into error and sin (Mat. 26:75; Mar. 14:72; Joh. 2:22).
2. Comfort them in seasons of despondency and trouble (Luk. 24:8).
3. Stimulate them to works of faith and labours of love (Act. 20:35).
4. Secure for them answers to prayer (Joh. 15:7).
5. Evidence the sincerity of their discipleship (Joh. 8:31).
Act. 11:17. Who was I? or, the Impossibility of withstanding God.Peter felt that he could not oppose the introduction of Cornelius on four grounds.
I. He was only a feeble creature, whereas God was the Almighty Creator, and therefore had a right to do according to the counsel of His own will (Dan. 4:35; Job. 9:12; Isa. 45:9; Rom. 9:20; Eph. 1:11).
II. He was only a commissioned servant, whereas God was the commissioning Sovereign, and was entitled to expect that His purpose should prevail over the wish of His ambassador.
III. He was only a recipient of grace, whereas God was the dispenser of grace, and possessed exclusively the right of saying on whom that grace should be bestowed.
IV. He was only a member of the Church, whereas God was the Churchs Head, and reserved to Himself alone the right of defining the terms on which admission to that Church might be secured.
Act. 11:18. Repentance unto Life.
I. Its nature.A turning of the soul from self and sin towards Christ and holinessimplying a genuine heart renunciation of the souls old life of selfishness, worldliness, irreligion, immorality, and idolatry, and an equally sincere embracing of the new life of faith, godliness, obedience, and love, which is enjoined by Jesus Christ in the gospel.
II. Its origin.Repentance unto life is a gracei.e., a heavenly gift, such a quality and disposition of soul as can be inwrought by no natural process, but must be created by the action of the Holy Spirit.
III. Its necessity.Required by all men equally, by Jews as well as Gentiles, and required in the same way as a free gift of grace. None exempt from its obligations.
IV. Its end.Salvation and eternal life. Hence called a saving grace. Wherever it truly exists the soul is passed from condemnation and become an heir of glory.
Fuente: The Preacher’s Complete Homiletical Commentary Edited by Joseph S. Exell
5.
AT JERUSALEM. Act. 11:1-18.
a.
News reaches Jerusalem; objection. Act. 11:1-3.
Act. 11:1
Now the apostles and the brethren that were in Judaea heard that the Gentiles also had received the word of God.
Act. 11:2
And when Peter was come up to Jerusalem, they that were of the circumcision contended with him,
Act. 11:3
saying, Thou wentest in to men uncircumcised, and didst eat with them.
Act. 11:1-3 The news of Peters work in Caesarea traveled faster than the apostle. The word of the preaching to the Gentiles had spread throughout the entire assembly by the time Peter arrived. Not only the apostles of Jerusalem heard, but also the brethren that were in Judea.
The report of Peters work was that the Gentiles also had received the Word of God. But when Peter arrived, the point at issue was not the reception of the Word of God but rather the propriety of eating with the uncircumcised.
352.
Name the two groups in Jerusalem that heard of Peters work in Casearea.
353.
What was the point of issue when Peter returned to Jerusalem?
b.
The answer of Peter. Act. 11:4-18.
Act. 11:4
But Peter began, and expounded the matter unto them in order, saying,
Act. 11:5
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:
Act. 11:6
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.
Act. 11:7
And I heard also a voice saying unto me, Rise, Peter; kill and eat.
Act. 11:8
But I said, Not so, Lord: for nothing common or unclean hath ever entered into my mouth.
Act. 11:9
But a voice answered the second time out of heaven, What God hath cleansed, make not thou common.
Act. 11:10
And this was done thrice: and all were drawn up again into heaven.
Act. 11:11
And behold, forthwith three men stood before the house in which we were, having been sent from Caesarea unto me.
Act. 11:12
And the Spirit bade me go with them, making no distinction. And these six brethren also accompanied me; and we entered into the mans house:
Act. 11:13
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;
Act. 11:14
who shall speak unto thee words, whereby thou shalt be saved, thou and all thy house.
Act. 11:15
And as I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell on them, even as on us at the beginning.
Act. 11:16
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.
Act. 11:17
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?
Act. 11:18
And when they heard these things, they held their peace, and glorified God, saying, Then to the Gentiles also hath God granted repentance unto life.
Act. 11:4-17 There was no delay in raising the issue, probably because of the previous close association of Peter and these brethren. They of the circumcision gave voice to the objection. The terminology would seem to indicate these were the ones among the Jewish brethren who were special sticklers for the rite of circumcision. We are persuaded it came from some among the brethren that were in Judea. The apostles all being Galileans and coming from the more humble walks of life would not be so ready to take up such an exclusive position. Especially would this be true in light of the fact that the apostles had been baptized with the Holy Spirit and thus would have a more complete knowledge of the will of the Lord.
354.
Who do you suppose voiced the objection?
What the brethren in Judea and Jerusalem wanted was an answer to their question and charge. Peter did not disappoint them. Peter was just as hesitant as were these other Jews to admit the Gentiles into the full favor of God. Peter thought that what convinced him and the other six Jewish brethren should convince his objectors. Hence, he rehearsed in order all that had happened to him beginning with his vision on the house-top of Simon the tanner and concluding with the baptism in the Holy Spirit of the household of Cornelius. The only word to be added to the account as it has already been given is the statement of Peter in verses fifteen to seventeen where we find the words of Jesus respecting Johns baptism and the Holy Spirit baptism which lends emphasis to the Holy Spirits work with the household of Cornelius. Peter says the Holy Spirit fell on them, even as on us at the beginning. That is, God himself placed His stamp of acceptance upon these persons; and that, totally apart from any effort of Peter. This happened unto them even as it had happened to the apostles in the beginning or creation of the church. Then the words of Jesus immediately came to the mind of the apostle; those words which he had thought had exclusive application to him and the eleven. But now for some strange reason (he was not long in seeing) the same gift, the baptism in the Holy Spirit, was given to these Gentiles as was given to the apostles.
Act. 11:18 Peter had been given two or three divinely directed reasons for bringing the gospel to the Gentiles; now he could see that the Lord intended that he hold no barriers at all but accept these persons into the full fellowship of the body of Christ. Peter felt that to do anything else would be resisting and refusing the will of God. The response of these Jewish brethren is wonderful. It is a beautiful pattern for all of us. When we have disagreed with a brother or sister over any matter of Gods will and that person presents the will of God from His word, let us follow their example. Note:
1.
When God speaks we are to keep quiet. They held their peace, They were not stubborn and willful but ready to concede.
2.
Then we are to thank God for new truth or light (and they glorified God) rather than grudgingly admitting our inability to object.
3.
Admit into full and unrestricted fellowship those you had once cut off. Then to the Gentiles also hath God granted repentance unto life.
355.
What method did Peter use in convincing the apostles and brethren of Judea?
356.
What is the meaning of the term beginning as it appears in Act. 11:15?
357.
Why can we say that the response of these Jewish brethren was wonderful? How does it offer an example for today?
Fuente: College Press Bible Study Textbook Series
XI.
(1) And the apostles and brethren that were in Juda . . .The context implies that the tidings travelled, while Peter remained at Csarea, first probably to Joppa and Lydda, and afterwards to Jerusalem.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
Chapter 11
PETER ON HIS DEFENCE ( Act 11:1-10 ) 11:1-10 The apostles and the brethren who were throughout Judaea heard that the Gentiles too had received the word of God. So when Peter came up to Jerusalem those of the circumcision criticized him because, they said, “You went in to men who had never been circumcised and you ate with them.” So Peter began at the beginning and told them the whole story. He said, “I was praying in the city of Joppa; in a trance I saw a vision. I saw a kind of vessel coming down like a great sheet let down by the four corners from heaven; and it came right down to me. I was gazing at it and trying to make out what it was and I saw on it the four-footed beasts of the earth and the wild beasts and the creeping animals and the animals that fly in the air. And I heard a voice saying to me, ‘Rise, Peter, kill and eat.’ I said, ‘By no means, Lord, because food which is common or unclean has never entered my mouth.’ Again the voice spoke from heaven, ‘What God has cleansed do not you reckon as common.’ This happened three times; and they were all drawn up into heaven again.”
The importance that Luke attached to this incident is shown by the amount of space he devoted to it. In ancient times a writer had by no means unlimited space. The book form had not come into use. Writers used rolls of a material called papyrus, which was the forerunner of paper and was made of the pith of the papyrus plant, a kind of bulrush. Now a roll is an unwieldy thing and the longest roll that was used was about thirty-five feet long which would be almost precisely the length required to hold the book of Acts. Into that space Luke had almost endless material to fit. He must have selected with the greatest care what he was going to set down; and yet he finds the story of Peter and Cornelius of such importance that he twice relates it in full.
Luke was right. We usually do not realize how near Christianity was to becoming only another kind of Judaism. All the first Christians were Jews and the whole tradition and outlook of Judaism would have moved them to keep this new wonder to themselves and to believe that God could not possibly have meant it for the Gentiles. Luke sees this incident as a notable mile-stone on the road along which the Church was groping its way to the conception of a world for Christ.
A CONVINCING STORY ( Act 11:11-18 ) 11:11-18 “And, look you, thereupon, three men, who had been sent to me from Caesarea, stood at the house where we were. The Spirit told me to go with them and to make no distinctions. These six brethren also came with me and we came to the man’s house. He told us how in the house he had seen the angel standing and saying, ‘Send to Joppa and send for Simon, who is also called Peter, who will speak words to you by which you and all your house will be saved.’ As I was beginning to speak, the Holy Spirit fell upon them, just as in the beginning he did upon you. And I remembered the Lord’s word and how he said, ‘John baptized you with water but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’ if God gave the same gift to them as to us who have believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I to be able to hinder God?” When they heard this they had no protests to make and they glorified God saying, “So God has given life-giving repentance to the Gentiles too.”
The fault for which Peter was initially on trial was that he had eaten with Gentiles ( Act 11:3). By so doing Peter had outraged the ancestral Law and traditions of his people. Peter’s defence was not an argument; it was a statement of the facts. Whatever his critics might say the Holy Spirit had come upon these Gentiles in the most notable way. In Act 11:12 there is a significant sidelight. Peter says that he took six brethren with him. Together with himself that made seven persons present. In Egyptian law, which the Jews would know well, seven witnesses were necessary completely to prove a case. In Roman law, which they would also know well, seven seals were necessary to authenticate a really important document. So Peter is in effect saying, “I am not arguing with you. I am telling you the facts and of these facts there are seven witnesses. The case is proved.”
The proof of Christianity always lies in facts. It is doubtful if anyone has ever been argued into Christianity by verbal proofs and logical demonstrations. The proof of Christianity is that it works. that it does change men, that it does make bad men good, that it does bring to men the Spirit of God. It is when a man’s deeds give the lie to his words that the gravest discredit is brought on Christianity; it is when a man’s words are guaranteed by his deeds that the world is presented with an argument for Christianity which will brook no denial.
GREAT THINGS IN ANTIOCH ( Act 11:19-21 ) 11:19-21 Those who had been dispersed by the persecution following upon the death of Stephen went through the country as far as Phoenicia and Cyprus and Antioch, but they spoke the word to no one except to Jews. But some of them, men from Cyprus and Cyrene, came to Antioch and spoke to the Greeks too and told them the good news of the Lord Jesus. The Lord’s hand was with them; and a great number believed and turned to the Lord.
In restrained sentences these few words tell of one of the greatest events in history. Now, for the first time, the gospel is deliberately preached to the Gentiles. Everything has been working up to this. There have been three steps on the ladder. First, Philip preached to the Samaritans; but the Samaritans after all were half Jewish and formed, as it were, a bridge, between the Jewish and the Gentile world. Second, Peter accepted Cornelius; but it was Cornelius who took the initiative. It was not the Christian Church who sought Cornelius; it was Cornelius who sought the Christian Church. Further, it is stressed that Cornelius was a God-fearer and, therefore, on the fringes of the Jewish faith. Third, in Antioch the Church did not go to people who were Jews or half Jews, nor wait to be approached by Gentiles seeking admission; of set purpose and without waiting for the invitation, it preached the gospel to the Gentiles. Christianity is finally launched on its world-wide mission.
Here we have a truly amazing thing. The Church has taken the most epoch-making of all steps; and we do not even know the names of the people who took that step. All we know is that they came from Cyprus and Cyrene. They go down to history as nameless pioneers of Christ. It has always been one of the tragedies of the Church that men have wished to be noticed and named when they did something worth while. What the Church has always needed, perhaps more than anything else, is people who never care who gains the credit for it so long as the work is done. These men may not have written their names in men’s books of history; but they have written them forever in God’s Book of Life.
Another striking feature is that this incident begins a section of Acts where Antioch occupies the centre of the stage. Antioch was the third greatest city in the world next to Rome and Alexandria. She stood near the mouth of the river Orontes, fifteen miles from the Mediterranean Sea. She was lovely and cosmopolitan; but she was a byword for luxurious immorality. She was famous for her chariot-racing and for a kind of deliberate pursuit of pleasure which went on literally night and day; but most of all she was famous for the worship of Daphne whose temple stood five miles out of the town amidst its laurel groves. The legend was that Daphne was a mortal maid with whom Apollo fell in love. He pursued her and for her safety Daphne was changed into a laurel bush. The priestesses of the Temple of Daphne were sacred prostitutes and nightly in the laurel groves the pursuit was re-enacted by the worshippers and the priestesses. “The morals of Daphne” was a phrase that all the world knew for loose living. It seems incredible but nonetheless it is true that it was in a city like this that Christianity took the great stride forward to becoming the religion of the world. We need only think of that to be reminded that no situation is hopeless.
THE WISDOM OF BARNABAS ( Act 11:22-26 ) 11:22-26 News of this and of what they were doing came to the ears of the church in Jerusalem. So they sent Barnabas out as far as Antioch. When he came and saw the grace of God he was glad and he exhorted them all to make it the set purpose of their hearts to cleave to the Lord, for he was a good man and full of the Holy Spirit and of faith. He went away to Tarsus to look for Saul and when he had found him he brought him to Antioch. For a whole year they were guests of the Church there and they instructed a very considerable number of people. And it was at Antioch that the disciples first received the name of Christians.
When the leaders of the church at Jerusalem got word of what was going on at Antioch they naturally sent down to investigate the situation.
It was by the grace of God they sent the man they did. They might have sent someone of a rigid mind who made a god of the Law and was shackled by its rules and regulations; but they sent the man with the biggest heart in the Church. Barnabas had already stood by Paul and sponsored him when all men suspected him ( Act 9:27). Barnabas had already given proof of his Christian love by his generosity to his needy brethren ( Act 4:36-37). When Barnabas saw the Gentiles being swept into the fellowship of the Church he was glad; but he recognized that someone must be put in charge of this work. That someone must be a man with a double background, a Jew brought up in the Jewish tradition but one who could meet the Gentiles on equal terms. He must be a man of courage, for Antioch was no easy place to be a Christian leader; and he must be skilled in argument in order to meet the double attack of Jews and Gentiles.
Barnabas knew the very man. For nine years or so we have heard nothing of Paul. The last glimpse we had of him he was escaping by way of Caesarea to Tarsus ( Act 9:30). No doubt for these nine years he had been witnessing for Christ in his native town; but now the task for which he had been destined was ready for him, Barnabas with profound wisdom put him in charge of it.
It was in Antioch that the followers of Jesus were first called Christians. The title began as a nickname. The people of Antioch were famous for their facility in finding nicknames. Later the bearded Emperor Julian came to visit them and they christened him “The Goat.” The termination -iani means belonging to the party of; for instance Caesariani means belonging to Caesar’s party. Christian means: “These Christ-folk”. It was a contemptuous nickname; but the Christians took it and made it known to all the world. By their lives they made it a name not of contempt but of respect and admiration and even wonder.
HELPING IN TROUBLE ( Act 11:27-30 ) 11:27-30 In these days prophets came down from Jerusalem to Antioch. One of them called Agabus stood up and, through the Holy Spirit, gave a sign that a great famine was to come upon the whole land. This happened in the reign of Claudius. But each of the disciples, in proportion to his resources, fixed upon an amount for a relief fund to send to the brethren who lived in Judaea. This they did and despatched it to the elders through the hands of Barnabas and Saul.
Here the prophets come upon the scene. In the early Church they were very important. They are mentioned again in Act 13:1; Act 15:32; Act 21:9-10. In the early Church, broadly speaking, there were three sets of leaders. (i) There were the Apostles. Their authority was not confined to one place; their writ ran through the whole Church; and they were looked upon as being in a very real sense the successors of Jesus. (ii) There were the Elders. They were the local officials and their authority was confined to the place where they were set apart. (iii) There were the Prophets.
Their function is to be seen in their name. Prophet means both a fore-teller and a forth-teller (see prophets, G4396) . They foretold the future; but even more they foretold the will of God. They had no settled sphere; they were not attached to any one church. They were held in the highest honour. The Teaching of the Twelve Apostles which dates to about A.D. 100, contains the first service order book of the Church. The order for the sacrament of the Lord’s Supper is laid down, but then it is said that the prophets are to be allowed to conduct the service as they will. Men knew that they had special gifts. But they had special dangers too. The career of prophet was one which a man might undertake not from the highest but from the lowest of motives. The false prophet existed, the man who simply battened on the charity of the Church. The same Teaching of the Twelve Apostles warns against the prophet who in a vision asks for money or for a meal; it instructs that prophets should always be given hospitality for one night but says that if they desire to stay longer without working they are false prophets.
This incident is very significant for it shows that thus early men had realized the unity of the Church. When there was famine in Palestine the first instinct of the Church at Antioch was to help. It was unthinkable that one part of the Church should be in trouble and that another should do nothing about it, They were far away from the congregational outlook; they had that width of vision which saw the Church as a whole.
-Barclay’s Daily Study Bible (NT)
Fuente: Barclay Daily Study Bible
3. Peter’s Defence for Baptizing the Uncircumcised, Act 11:1-18 .
The question now comes, How will the Mother Church at Jerusalem receive the announcement of Peter’s new position on the great question stated in our note on Act 10:1? That city has some interest in the matter, for the reception of the Gentiles is to be completed by her own destruction by blood, fire, and plough. (See note on Mat 24:2.)
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
1. The apostles While the Church was dispersed the apostles stood firm. (See notes on Act 8:1-14; Act 9:32.) They are probably all, certainly James and John, still resident at Jerusalem, and all interested in the present matter.
Gentiles received The favourable side of the news comes first, namely, that Gentiles were becoming Christian, not so prominently that they were baptized without being circumcised. The general feeling doubtless was that expressed in the last half of Act 11:18.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
PART SECOND.
THE CHURCH IN TRANSITION FROM JEWS TO GENTILES, Act 8:5 to Act 12:25.
Through this Second Part of his history Luke traces in perfectly regular progress the successive steps by which Christianity emerges from her Jewish trammels into a free and universal Church. The Samaritans are first evangelized, and the eunuch is the first apostle to Africa. The Gentile apostle is next converted and put in preparation for his work. Peter, emerging from Jerusalem, is taught by the case of Cornelius the lesson of the direct convertibility of Gentiles to Christianity. The refugee Christians, driven from Jerusalem by the Stephanic dispersion, gather a Gentile Church in ANTIOCH, the capital and sallying point of Gentile Christianity. A second check is given to the Jerusalem Church by the Herodian persecution. Thenceforth old Jerusalem, abandoned by the twelve, wanes to her final destruction, and we are prepared to behold in chapter thirteen the Third Part of Luke’s history, opening with Gentile missions issuing forth from Gentile Antioch.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
‘Now the apostles and the brethren who were in Judaea heard that the Gentiles also had received the word of God.’
The news had reached the ears of the Apostles and their fellow-brethren in Judaea and Jerusalem of what Peter was purported to have done. Through him Gentiles had ‘received the word of God’, that is had been accepted as those who had responded to Christ and His word.
That they had received the word of God was good if it was in the right way, by them standing on the edge of the crowds and listening to the preaching, and going away and thinking about it and acting on it personally. But the question was. Had Peter really taken it so far as to be willing to enter their unclean houses in order to reach them? (He had after all stayed with a tanner which might be seen as implying that he was a little careless about such things).
No mention is made anywhere in the enquiry about the fact that the Gentiles had been baptised. But baptising people did not actually contravene any specific Mosaic laws, and they may even not yet have realised that it had happened. What concerned them was the maintenance of the purity of Judaistic Christianity in Jewish terms, in terms accepted by all, a purity they saw as having been tarnished.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
The Expansion of The Church As A Result of Persecution (8:1-12:25).
How thrilled the Apostles must have been at this stage at the progress of the church. Through the first few years of the infant church they had suffered a few minor discomforts, but they had come through those triumphantly, and the church had continued to grow and grow. Jerusalem was ‘filled with their teaching’ and the work of caring for all the true people of God was now being successfully administered.
And then came the shock waves. It was like a spiritual earthquake. It seemed that Satan was not asleep or held fully in check after all. Suddenly there was devastation among the people of God. Many were being dragged off to prison, others recognised that they had no alternative but to flee for their lives and the lives of their families, and the carefully erected administration had collapsed. The Apostles now bravely remained in Jerusalem so as to care for the few who were left, and to visit in prison those who were being held in captivity. And as they looked around at the people that they now had to cater for, and the numbers crowded in the prisons, it must have appeared as though all their dreams were in tatters. It must have seemed as though they had to begin all over again.
But in truth the situation was the very opposite, for it was now that the expansion of the church began apace. As a result of the martyrdom of Stephen the Christians, who were now established and taught in the faith, were driven out of Jerusalem in all directions in accordance with Isa 2:3. When Jesus had originally sent out His disciples He had told them that if they were not received in one town, they had to go on to the next. For there was so much work to be done that it would never be finished before the Son of Man returned (Mat 10:23). And now, in this situation, that was precisely what God was making them do. Within a few short months the Good News, which up to this point had been almost limited to a Jerusalem which must surely have been becoming Gospel saturated, would spread to all the neighbouring countries round about, and would establish a platform for reaching out to the rest of the world. And all as a result of this heart numbing catastrophe combined with the power of the Holy Spirit and the sovereign activity of God. It was the signal that Jerusalem had had its opportunity. Now it was time for the ends of the earth to know.
The sections that follow deal with the initial spread of the word, which divides neatly up into the following pattern:
a Scattered Christians preach in all directions, including Judaea and Galilee (Act 8:4).
b Philip goes to the Samaritans, followed up by Peter and John – a distinctive outreach (Act 8:5-25).
b Philip and the Ethiopian Eunuch (Act 8:26-39).
b Philip is found at Azotus (formerly Ashdod), where passing along the coastline he preaches the Good News to all the cities, until he comes to Caesarea (Act 8:40). These cities would include Jamnia, Joppa, and Apollonia. And when he comes to Caesarea he settles down (Act 21:8). It was of mixed Jewish and Gentile population and the seat of Roman government, and presented great opportunities for evangelism.
c Saul is converted in Damascus and proclaims the Good News there (Act 9:1-26).
c Saul returns to Jerusalem and proclaims the Good News in the Hellenist synagogues at Jerusalem (Act 9:27-30).
b Peter’s ministry is successful in Lydda where he heals the lame (Act 9:32-35).
b Peter’s ministry is successful in Joppa where he raises the dead (Act 9:36-43).
b Peter goes to the Gentiles and converts Cornelius and his household, and those in Jerusalem rejoice because God is reaching out to the Gentiles – a distinctive outreach (Act 10:1 to Act 11:18).
a Scattered Christians preach successfully in Phoenicia and Cyprus to Jews only, but then in Syrian Antioch, first to Jews and then to Gentiles. The work in Antioch is confirmed by Barnabas who calls in Saul (Act 11:19-26).
Note the carefully worked out pattern, which could be even more particularised. It consists of a general description followed by three ministries of Philip, commencing with the ministry to the Samaritans (a new distinctive outreach), then central is Paul’s conversion and new ministry, then come three ministries of Peter, possibly following up on Philip’s ministry in Act 8:40, finalising in Peter’s ministry to Gentiles (a new distinctive outreach), and then another general description.
This is all then followed by a description of events in and around Jerusalem, while the word of God grew and multiplied (Act 11:27 to Act 12:25).
The complexity of the construction of Acts, and the warning lest we too glibly divide it up into our patterns comes out in that the above analysis overlaps into what might be seen as two sections ending in their summaries (see introduction to chapter 1). Luke has a number of strands going at the same time. We do him an injustice not to recognise the fact.
A further interesting part of the pattern is found in the descriptions of the conversion of three vital figures, the Ethiopian eunuch, Saul of Tarsus, and Cornelius the Centurion. Note the huge contrast, the powerful minister of state, the devoted Pharisee and student of Gamaliel, and the officer in the army of occupation, and yet all in their own way men who were earnestly seeking righteousness and truth. In each case Christian men are directed to go to them. In each case those to be converted are chosen men. In each case a vision or equivalent is involved. In each case they are led to Christ by God’s chosen instrument. In each case they are baptised. And yet the differences are many too. They are not just reproductions. But they do bring out that God is at work not only on multitudes, but on individuals, as he expands the Kingly Rule of God.
The Consequences of the Death of Stephen.
The result of the death of Stephen was that Christians had to flee from Jerusalem, and this certainly included Philip, one of the Hellenists appointed along with Stephen. Indeed the six who remained of the original seven were probably targeted as known associates of Stephen. It must be seen as quite probable that the Hellenistic Christian Jews were the most prominent target of the persecution, a persecution probably largely pursued by their antagonists in the Hellenistic synagogues (compare Act 9:29), as well as especially by Saul, who was himself one of the Hellenists, although a very Hebrew one. They wanted to demonstrate to their Hebrew brethren that they too were true Jews (the Hellenists who had come to live in Jerusalem, and who had not already been converted, would tend to be those most fanatically gripped by Jewishness).
But behind the flight of the people of God was God Himself. Without that flight the impetus to spread the Good News widely would have been absent. They had felt it necessary to concentrate mainly on Jerusalem, but it was now His purpose that the word might spread far beyond the walls of Jerusalem. He was fulfilling the prophecy of Isa 2:3, ‘Out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem’.
This was taking place some years after the crucifixion during which time the church had become well established in Jerusalem. This is evident from the fact that the events of the previous chapters of Acts require such a length of time for their fulfilment. How far the Apostles were involved in the persecution we do not know, although we do know that they remained in Jerusalem (Act 8:1). Perhaps they were seen as still under the protection of the Sanhedrin’s edict that they be left alone. And perhaps their known loyalty to the Temple, (for they met there regularly), marked them off as giving full respect to the Temple and as not following the heresy of Stephen. It might have been argued that, while they were known Messianists, they had never been heard to speak against the Temple and the Law. They may have been seen as dutiful in following their religious responsibilities so that the Pharisees had nothing against them, for there were many priests and Christian Pharisees among their number who would maintain their Jewishness. Thus they may have been left alone. With their reputations it is certainly difficult to see how the Apostles could have remained hidden. They were still no doubt performing signs and wonders, and people would still be seeking them out. But there was still a strong sense of Jewishness among the early Judaistic church and that probably helped them. (Consider how the Apostles are later called to task by Hebrew Christians when they are thought to have erred from a Judaistic emphasis – Act 11:2).
But having said all that danger had to lurk for them. While the persecution may have majored on the Hellenistic Christians, the Hebrew Christians would be drawn in by association. They certainly had no certainty that they would be spared. And the impression given is that Saul was determined to hunt down any Christians that he could find. Thus it took a great deal of courage to remain in Jerusalem. But now full of the Holy Spirit that was not something that any of the twelve Apostles lacked.
However, while devastating at the time the persecution accomplished what the passage of time had failed to accomplish, not only the spreading of the Good News, but also the gentle separating of the Jewish church from its extreme Jewishness. Christian Jews were being faced up with a choice of adherence, whether to the Jewish authorities, or to the wider church. And the persecution would help them to make up their minds. The grip of Judaism was being slowly relaxed.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
The Continuing Ministry of Peter (9:32-11:18).
In preparing for the Gentile ministry of Paul, a preparation which has included what we have just considered concerning his conversion and ministry to Jews, Luke goes back to considering Peter’s ministry. Along with the other Apostles he is continuing the oversight of the church and here, at least to some extent, following in the steps of Philip along the Judaean coast. In Act 3:1 onwards he had brought the Good News to the ‘lame’ and now he does a similar thing again to the paralytic (Act 9:32-35). Luke does not want us to think that Peter has faded out of the picture, nor that the work of God does not go on apace. This is then followed by a raising from the dead of a believer (Act 9:36-43). Does this raising of the dead to some extent parallel the life-giving coming of the ‘breath’ of the Holy Spirit in Acts 2 coming on all believers? Jesus had paralleled the resurrection with the raising of the dead in the story of Lazarus. And Luke then finalises this series of Peter’s activity with the description of the opening of the Good News to Gentiles, which will result in the spread of the word to ‘the uttermost parts of the earth’ (Act 10:1 to Act 11:18 – paralleling Act 1:8?). Note also the build up of ideas. A paralysed man healed, the dead brought to life, the Good News goes to the Gentiles. The advancement in idea is clear.
This sequence also to some extent parallels that in Luke’s Gospel where the healing of the paralytic (Luk 5:18-26), is followed by the raising of the widow of Nain’s son (Luk 7:11-17) and of Jairus’ daughter (Luk 8:41-46), between which is the healing of the centurion’s son and Jesus’ express admiration for the centurion’s faith (Luk 7:1-10), although here in Acts the story of the centurion’s faith necessarily follows the raising of the dead in order to stress its importance and lead in to what follows.
While at the same time we might see this as Peter’s taking an interest in and following up Philip’s ministry to the cities along the coastline (Act 8:40), we should note that that is not Luke’s specific intent for he stresses that Peter is going ‘throughout all parts’.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
The Activity of Peter Results in Gentiles Being Welcomed And Welcoming The Lord, But The Rejection Of The Messiah Is Confirmed By Jerusalem Who Commence a Process of Elimination of His Chief Representatives (9:32-12:24).
The first part of this section is all positive as God’s work moves forwards with signs and wonders and the raising of the dead through Peter, God revealing that it is His desire that the Good News goes to the Gentiles through Peter, that desire being vindicated when carried out by Peter, and the forming of a new church in Syrian Antioch minister to by Barnabas and Saul.
But the second part of the section is negative and deals with the final rejection of the Messiah by the king and people of Jerusalem. This comes about as the result of the rise of a new ‘king of Israel’ who is totally sympathetic to the people and enjoys their confidence. This results in an open attack on the Apostles, the martyrdom of James the Apostle, the imprisonment and enchaining of Peter with the same end in view, his release by an Angel of the Lord and forsaking of Jerusalem, and the judgment on the king of Israel for blasphemy.
It can be analysed as follows:
a Peter comes to Lydda and Joppa, in the area of Caesarea, and heals the paralysed man but Tabitha sickens and dies. God raises her from the dead (Act 9:32-43).
b The angel of the Lord comes to Cornelius resulting in the salvation of his house (Act 10:1-48).
c Peter is challenged concerning his activity and is vindicated (Act 11:1-18).
d The Good news is welcome by the Gentiles in Antioch which is to become the new centre for evangelisation (Act 11:19-30).
d The Good news is rejected by the king and people in Jerusalem which will cease to be the centre of evanglisation (Act 12:1-2)
c Peter is seized and put in prison and left in chains (Act 12:3-6).
b The angel of the Lord comes to Peter resulting in the death of his guards, the rejection of Jerusalem and the humiliation of Herod (Act 12:7-19).
a Herod comes to Caesarea and he sickens and dies. The angel of the Lord causes him to be eaten by worms (Act 12:20-23).
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Peter Reports to the Church at Jerusalem In Act 11:1-18 we have the account of Peter returning to Jerusalem and reporting his experience to the Church. Peter visiting the Gentiles would be today like going to speak to the mafia or working with drug addicts and prostitutes. Religious people would disagree with those types of involvements with sinners. In fact, we read in Act 11:1-18 how the Church spoke against this act and Peter had to explain how he was led to this Gentile by a divine vision. Thus, n this testimony, Peter attaches the story of his vision with his visit with Cornelius.
Act 11:14 Comments – Men are saved by faith in Jesus Christ. They must hear the words of the Gospel in order to become saved. Note:
Rom 10:14, “How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher?”
Rom 10:17, “So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.”
Act 11:15 And as I began to speak, the Holy Ghost fell on them, as on us at the beginning.
Act 11:16 Act 11:16
Joh 14:26, “But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.”
Act 11:17 Forasmuch then as God gave them the like gift as he did unto us, who believed on the Lord Jesus Christ; what was I, that I could withstand God?
Act 11:17
Act 11:19-30 The Witness of the Birth of Church in Antioch In Act 11:19-30 we have the testimony of the birth of the church in Antioch.
Act 11:19 “Now they which were scattered abroad upon the persecution that arose about Stephen” – Comments – Note an earlier reference to this dispersion of the Church in Act 8:1.
Act 8:1, “And Saul was consenting unto his death. And at that time there was a great persecution against the church which was at Jerusalem; and they were all scattered abroad throughout the regions of Judaea and Samaria, except the apostles.”
Act 11:26 “And the disciples were called Christians first in Antioch.” – Comments – The Greek word “Christian” ( ) (G5546) was derived from the Messianic title “Christ” ( ) (G5547) that was given to Jesus Christ by the early Church after His resurrection. Strong says the Greek word “Christ” ( ) means “anointed,” for Jesus Christ was the Anointed One, and His followers, whose preaching was accompanied with signs and wonders, were “anointed ones.” Therefore, the early Christians were literally called, “the little anointed ones” in Antioch.
The Greek word “Christ” ( ) comes from the Hebrew word “msh yach” ( ) (H4899), which Strong says mean “anointed.” We get the English word “Messiah” from a transliteration of this Hebrew word. We can see the translation of Messiah as the Anointed One in Act 4:27.
Act 4:27, “For of a truth against thy holy child Jesus, whom thou hast anointed , both Herod, and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles, and the people of Israel, were gathered together,”
Act 10:38, “How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power: who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with him.”
Act 11:28 “And there stood up one of them named Agabus” Comments – We are told by Hippolytus that Agabus was one of the seventy disciples mentioned in Luk 10:1. [167]
[167] Hippolytus, On the Twelve Apostles: Where Each of Them Preached and Where He Met His End, On the Seventy Apostles, trans. S. D. F. Salmond, in The Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 5, eds. Alexander Roberts and James Donaldson (Buffalo, New York: The Christian Literature Company, 1886), 254-256.
Luk 10:1, “After these things the Lord appointed other seventy also, and sent them two and two before his face into every city and place, whither he himself would come.”
Act 11:28 “and signified by the Spirit that there should be great dearth throughout all the world: which came to pass in the days of Claudius Caesar” Comments – Claudius Caesar was Emperor of Rome from A.D. 41 to 54. Around the fourth year of his reign, Josephus records a drought taking place, which would date the fulfillment of Agabus’ prophecy about A.D. 44.
“Then came Tiberius Alexander as successor to Fadus; he was the son of Alexander the alabarch of Alexandria, which Alexander was a principal person among all his contemporaries, both for his family and wealth: he was also more eminent for his piety than this his son Alexander, for he did not continue in the religion of his country. Under these procurators that great famine happened in Judea , in which queen Helena bought corn in Egypt at a great expense, and distributed it to those that were in want, as I have related already. And besides this, the sons of Judas of Galilee were now slain; I mean of that Judas who caused the people to revolt, when Cyrenius came to take an account of the estates of the Jews, as we have showed in a foregoing book. The names of those sons were James and Simon, whom Alexander commanded to be crucified. But now Herod, king of Chalcis, removed Joseph, the son of Camydus, from the high priesthood, and made Ananias, the son of Nebedeu, his successor. And now it was that Cumanus came as successor to Tiberius Alexander; as also that Herod, brother of Agrippa the great king, departed this life, in the eighth year of the reign of Claudius Caesar . He left behind him three sons; Aristobulus, whom he had by his first wife, with Bernicianus, and Hyrcanus, both whom he had by Bernice his brother’s daughter. But Claudius Caesar bestowed his dominions on Agrippa, junior.” ( Antiquities 20.5.2)
Act 11:30 Comments – According to Frank Goodwin and other scholars, Saul was converted around 36 A.D., and spent his first three years as a Christian in Damascus and Arabia. His first visit to Jerusalem is recorded took place in A.D. 39, three years after his conversion (Act 9:26-29; Act 22:15-21, Gal 1:17-20). After leaving Jerusalem he moved to Tarsus, and evangelized the regions of Syria and Cilicia for four or five years (Act 9:29-30, Gal 1:21-24). About A.D. 43-44 Barnabas went to Tarsus seeking Paul (Act 11:19-25), found him and brought him back to the church in Antioch, where they ministers together for the next year (Act 11:26). Act 11:30 records Saul’s second visit to Jerusalem, which takes place in A.D. 44 during the Passover festival. [168] Barnabas and Saul will return to Antioch after this festival, taking with them John Mark (Act 12:25).
[168] Frank J. Goodwin, A Harmony and Commentary on the Life of St. Paul according to the Acts of the Apostles and the Pauline Epistles (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Book House, 1951), 27.
Fuente: Everett’s Study Notes on the Holy Scriptures
The Church’s Structure (Divine Service): Key Witnesses that Began the Spread of Gospel into Judea and Samaria While Act 2:1 to Act 5:42 gives us the testimony of the founding and growth of the Church in Jerusalem, the stoning of Stephen gave rise to the spreading of the Church to Judea and Samaria. Act 6:1 to Act 12:25 serves as the testimony of the spread of the Gospel to the regions beyond Jerusalem as a result of persecution, which was in fulfillment of Jesus’ command to the apostles at His ascension, “But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.” (Act 1:8) In Act 6:1-7 the New Testament Church begins to structure itself with the office of the deacon. One of these deacons named Stephen becomes the first martyr of the Church (Act 6:8 to Act 7:1 a). As the result of a great persecution fueled by the zeal of Saul of Tarsus, the Gospel begins to spread into Judea and Samaria. Philip the evangelist takes the Gospel into Samaria and to an Ethiopian eunuch (Act 8:5-40), Saul of Tarsus is converted (Act 9:1-31), Peter takes the Gospel beyond Jerusalem to the house of a Gentile named Cornelius (Act 9:32 to Act 10:48), while Luke provides additional testimonies of Church growth to Antioch and further persecutions (Act 11:1 to Act 12:25). These testimonies emphasize the spread of the Gospel into Judea and Samaria.
Outline Here is a proposed outline:
1. Introduction: Appointment of First Deacons Act 6:1-6
2. The Witness of Stephen Act 6:7 to Act 8:4
3. The Witness of Philip the Evangelist Act 8:5-40
4. The Witness of Paul’s Conversion Act 9:1-31
5. The Witness of Peter Act 9:32 to Act 10:48
6. The Witness of Church Growth Act 11:1 to Act 12:25
Fuente: Everett’s Study Notes on the Holy Scriptures
The Witness of Church Growth In Act 11:1 to Act 12:25 Luke records particular events that were significant to the growth of the early Church.
Outline Here is a proposed outline:
1. Witness to Church at Jerusalem of the Gospel to Judea Act 11:1-18
2. Witness of birth of Church in Antioch Act 11:19-30
3. Witness of Persecution of Church Act 12:1-25
Fuente: Everett’s Study Notes on the Holy Scriptures
Peter’s Defense against the Judaizing Brethren.
The attack:
v. 1. And the apostles and brethren that were in Judea heard that the Gentiles had also received the Word of God.
v. 2. And when Peter was come up to Jerusalem, they that were of the circumcision contended with him,
v. 3. saying, Thou wentest into men uncircumcised, and didst eat with them. From the entire account of Luke in the Acts it is evident that the inspiration of the apostles pertained to their office of teaching only, and that they had no unusual powers of penetration and enlightenment otherwise. Thus the apostles, together with the other members of the congregation in Jerusalem, knew nothing of Saul’s change of heart and therefore mistrusted him, chap. 9:26. And here the apostles as well as the brethren in Judea labored under the handicap of a foolish and uncharitable prejudice. The report came to them that the Gentiles, by the ministry of Peter, had received the Word of the Lord. It was a matter, not of joyful astonishment, but of serious apprehension to them. When Peter, therefore, came up to Jerusalem, returning from the lowlands of Caesarea and the Plain of Sharon, those of the circumcision, not the Jews as distinguished from the Gentiles, but the strict Judaizing Christians of Jerusalem, probably such as had been priests or had belonged to the Pharisees, contended or disputed with him, they reproached him with the fact that he had entered, on terms of equal footing and intimacy, into the home of uncircumcised men, of heathen people, and had even eaten with them, the implication being that he might easily have partaken of food which was unclean to Jews and thus have defiled himself. That the Gospel should be preached to the Gentiles also, that such as did not belong to the race of the Jews should be accepted in the kingdom of the Messiah, was against all usage and feeling of the Jewish Christians. The fact that the prophets, not once, but often, had prophesied of the entry of the Gentiles into the kingdom of Christ, Isa 60:3; Isa 49:6, seems to have escaped their minds; they had not understood these passages properly, they had to learn gradually. Note: There are many verses, passages, and sections in Scriptures which even believing Christians cannot grasp and understand at once. Even after Christ has been accepted, the enlightenment proceeds very slowly. If the Christians, however, will but continue to search, God will, step by step, lead them more deeply into the knowledge of the truth. And thus even such passages as are offensive at first reading will gradually receive their proper setting in relation to the Bible as a whole. Only we must make all parts of the revelation of God serve that one great fact, the justification of all sinners through faith in Christ Jesus, then the arrangement and the relative importance of the various parts of Scripture will follow as a matter of course.
Fuente: The Popular Commentary on the Bible by Kretzmann
EXPOSITION
Act 11:1
Now for and, A.V.; the brethren for brethren, A.V.; also had for had also, A.V, We can imagine how rapidly the news of the great revolution would travel to the metropolis of Jewish Christianity, and what a stir it would maim in that community. It does not appear what view James and the other apostles took.
Act 11:2
They that were of the circumcision. At first sight this phrase, which was natural enough in Act 10:45, seems an unnatural one in the then condition of the Church, when all the members of it were “of the circumcision,” and there were no Gentile converts at all. But the explanation of it is to be found in the circumstance of St. Luke himself being a Gentile; perhaps also, as Alford suggests, in his use of language suited to the time when he wrote. It is an indication, too, of the purpose of St. Luke in writing his history, viz. to chronicle the progress of Gentile Christianity. Peter, having completed his rounds (Act 9:32), returned to Jerusalem, which was still the abode of the apostles. He was, no doubt, anxious to commune with his brother apostles upon the momentous matter of the Gentile converts; but he was at once attacked by the bigotry of the zealous Jews.
Act 11:3
Thou wentest in, etc. The circumstance of his eating with Cornelius and his friends is not expressly recorded in Act 10:1-48., but almost necessarily follows from what is there stated. It had been seized upon as the chief sting in their report by those who brought the news to Jerusalem. Observe the total absence of anything like papal domination on the part of Peter.
Act 11:4
Began and expounded the matter unto them in order for rehearsed the matter from the beginning, and expounded it by order unto them, A.V.
Act 11:5
Descending for descend, A.V.; were for had been, A.V.; unto for to, A.V.
Act 11:6
The four-footed for four-footed, A.V.; heaven for air, A.V.
Act 11:7
Also a voice for a voice, A.V. and T.R.; rise for arise, A.V.; kilt for day, A.V.
Act 11:8
Ever for at any time, A.V.
Act 11:9
A voice answered the second time out of for the voice answered me again from, A.V. and T.R.; make for call, A.V.
Act 11:10
Thrice for three times, A.V.
Act 11:11
Forthwith for immediately, A.V.; three men stood before the house in which we were for there were three men already come unto the house where I was, A.V. and T.R.; having been sent for sent, A.V.
Act 11:12
Making no distinction for nothing doubting, A.V. and T.R.; and also for moreover, A.V. Making no distinction. The reading adopted here in the R.T. is instead of in the T.R. The verb in the active voice means to “make a distinction” or “difference” between one and another, as in Act 15:9. But in the middle voice means “to doubt” or “hesitate,” as in Act 10:20. It seems highly improbable that the two passages, which ought to be identical, should thus differ, while employing the very same verb. Some manuscripts, which Afford follows, omit the clause altogether. These six brethren; showing that Peter had brought the brethren from Joppa (now specified as six) with him to Jerusalem to substantiate his account; a plain indication that he anticipated some opposition.
Act 11:13
Told for showed, A.V.; the angel for an angel, A.V.; standing in his house and saying for in his house which stood and said unto him, A.V.; send for send men, A.V. and T.R. fetch for call for, A.V.
Act 11:14
Speak unto for tell, A.V.; thou shalt be saved, thou, etc., for thou and all thy house shall be saved, A.V.
Act 11:15
Even as for as, A.V.
Act 11:16
And I remembered for then remembered I, A.V. This is a new incident not mentioned in Act 10:1-48. The reference is to Act 1:5. This saying of the Lord being thus referred to by Peter looks as if Peter might have furnished many of the particulars in the first twelve chapters to Luke.
Act 11:17
If for forasmuch as, A.V.; unto them for them, A.V.; did also for did, A.V.; when we for who, A.V.; who for what, A.V. The saying, Who was I, that I could withstand ()? corresponds to Act 10:47, “Can any man forbid () water?”
Act 11:18
And when for when, A.V.; then to the Gentiles also hath God granted for then hath God also to the Gentiles granted, A.V. The fitness of the method adopted by the Divine wisdom for effecting this first reception of Gentiles into the Church upon an equal footing with the Jews is apparent from its success in quieting the jealous prejudices of the Jews, and preserving the peace of the Church. It was still, however, long before the exclusive spirit of Judaism was quenched (see Act 15:1-41. and Gal 1:6, Gal 1:7; Gal 2:4, Gal 2:11, Gal 2:12, Gal 2:13; Gal 5:2-12; Php 3:2, etc.).
Act 11:19
They therefore that for now they which, A.V.; tribulation for persecution, A.V.; Phoenicia for Phenice, A.V.; speaking for preaching, A.V.; save only to Jews for but unto the Jews only, A.V. Scattered abroad; as in Act 8:1, to which point of time the narrative now reverts. Tribulation (). The word in Act 8:1 for “persecution” is . Phoenicia. “The strip of coast, one hundred and twenty miles long, and about twelve broad, from the river Eleutherus” to a little south of Carmel, as far as Dora, including, therefore, Sidon and Tyre, but excluding Ceasarea. The name was preserved in the great Tyrian colony of Carthage, as appears in the ethnic forms, Paenus, Punicus, and Paeuicus, applied to the Carthaginians. We are all familiar with the “Punic Wars,” Punica fides, the ‘Paenulus’ of Plautus, etc. Cyprus lies off the coast of Phoenicia, in sight of it, and was very early colonized by the Phoenicians. Philo and Josephus both speak of the Jewish population in Cyprus. Antioch, the capital of the Greek kingdom of Syria, on the river Orontes, built by the first king, Seleueus Nicater, in honor of his father Antiochus, who was one of Alexander the Great’s generals. It lay about one hundred and eighty miles north of the northern frontier of Phoenicia. There was a large population of Jews, whom Seleucus attracted to his new city by giving them equal political privileges with the Greeks. It was reckoned by Josephus to be the third city in importance of the whole Roman empire, Rome and Alexandria being the two first.
Act 11:20
But there were some of them who for and some of them were.., which, A.V.; the Greeks also for the Grecians, A.V. and T.R. This last is a most important variation of reading, Greeks for , Grecians, i.e. Grecian Jews, or Hellenists. It is supported, however, by strong authority of manuscripts, versions, and Fathers, and is accepted by Grotius, Witsius, Griesbach, Lachman, Tischendorf, Meyer, Conybeare and Howson, Alford, Westcott, Bishop Lightfoot, and the ‘Speaker’s Commentary’ (apparently) and most modern critics. It is also strongly argued that the internal evidence proves to be the right reading, because the statement that the men of Cyprus and Cyrene preached the gospel to them is contrasted with the action of the others, who preached to the Jews only. Obviously, therefore, these Hellenes were not Jews. Moreover, there was nothing novel in the conversion and admission into the Church of Hellenistic Jews (see Act 2:5, etc.; Act 9:22, Act 9:29). And these very preachers were in all probability Hellenists themselves. Bishop Wordsworth, however, on the contrary, defends, though with doubt, the reading ; and argues that even if is the right reading, it must mean the same as . He also hints that it might mean “proselytes” (see Act 14:1, where the Hellenes attend the synagogue, and Act 17:4). But there is no evidence that these were proselytes any more than Cornelius was. The Hellenes, or Greeks, here were probably uncircumcised Greeks who feared God, like Cornelius, and attended the synagogue worship (see Meyer on Act 14:1). It is very likely that in Antioch, where the Jews occupied such a prominent position, some of the Greek inhabitants should be attracted by their doctrines and worship, repelled, perhaps, by the prevalent superstitions and profligate levity of the great city.
Act 11:21
That believed turned for believed and turned, A.V. and T.R. The hand of the Lord; i.e. his power working with them and through them. Compare the frequent phrase in the Old Testament, “with a mighty hand and a stretched out arm” (see too Act 4:30; Luk 1:66).
Act 11:22
And the report concerning them for then tidings of these things, A.V.; to for unto, A.V.; as far as for that he should go as far as, A.V. and T.R. The news of this accession of Gentiles to the Church was quickly carried to Jerusalem, with the same motive, probably, that brought thither the account of the baptism of Cornelius and his household, as we read in Act 11:1-3 of this chapter. The conduct of the Church in sending so excellent and temperate a person. as Barnabas (as we read in the next verse), the friend of Saul (Act 9:27) and a favorer of preaching the gospel to Gentiles (Act 13:1, Act 13:2) to inspect the work at Antioch, is an indication that they had already heard the account of the conversion of Cornelius from the mouth of Peter, and were already led to the conclusion, “Then to the Gentiles also hath God granted repentance unto life!” There is no clue whatever to the length of time that elapsed between the flight from persecution and the arrival at Antioch, except that Saul had had time to sojourn three years in Arabia, to come to Jerusalem, and from thence to go and settle at Tarsus, where Barnabas found him; thus leaving abundant time for Peter’s operations in Judaea and Caesarea.
Act 11:23
Was come for came, A.V.; he exhorted for exhorted., A.V. Had seen the grace of God; i.e. had seen the number and the truth of the conversions of Gentiles effected by God’s grace. He exhorted them all ( ); thus showing himself a true , son of exhortation (see Act 4:36, note). Cleave unto the Lord; , to abide, continue, persevere in (comp. Act 13:43; 1Ti 5:5). In 2Ti 3:14 it is simply . The frequent exhortations to perseverance and steadfastness should warn us of the great danger of falling away from the faith, under the pressure of temptation.
Act 11:24
A good man. The predominant idea in is simply “goodness,” moral excellence. So in Mat 19:16, “Good Master.” To which our Lord answers, “There is none good but One.” In Luk 23:50 Joseph of Arimathaea is , “a good man and a righteous.” In Mat 5:45 , “the evil and the good,” are contrasted. In classical Greek the common phrase, , describes an honorable and good man. It is pleasing to read this testimony from Luke, Paul’s companion and friend, Full of the Holy Ghost and of faith. So Stephen is described (Act 6:5) as “full of faith and of the Holy Spirit.” The Holy Spirit is spoken of in both places as a Spirit of power and demonstration in preaching the Word. No reason is apparent why the R.T., having altered Ghost to Spirit in Act 6:5, retains Ghost here. Much people, etc.; the direct consequence of the energy of the Holy Ghost in Barnabas’s ministry.
Act 11:25
And he went forth for then departed Barnabas, A.V. and T.R.; to seek for, for for to seek, A.V. Observe the remarkable providence which had made use of the violence of the Hellenist Jews at Jerusalem to drive Saul to Tarsus, where he would be close at hand to take up the work so unexpectedly prepared for him at Antioch. “It was in the spring of the year A.D. 43, or just ten years after the Crucifixion, that Barnabas proceeded to Tarsus, found Saul, and brought him to Antioch” (Lewin, 1:96). From Seleucia to the port of Tarsus would be about a twelve hours’ sail; or, by land, a journey of about eighty miles would bring him to Tarsus from Antioch.
Act 11:26
Even for a whole year for a whole year, A.V. and T.R.; they were gathered together for they assembled themselves, A.V.; and that the disciples for and the disciples, A.V. The phrase occurs again in 1Co 11:18 (T.R.), where it has, as here, very nearly the sense of “in the church,” as a place of meeting. It should be “in,” not “with.” The “Church” is the assembly of disciples gathered together in their house of meeting. Were called; , bore the name of. It is a peculiar use of the word occurring in the New Testament only in Rom 7:3 besides, but found also in Polybius, Strabo, Josephus, and some other writers. Its common meaning is, in the passive voice, “to be warned of God,” as in Act 10:22, where see note. Christians. It was a memorable event in the history of the Church when the name of Christians, which has distinguished them for nearly eighteen centuries and a half, was given to the disciples of Christ. Hitherto they had been called among themselves disciples, and brethren, and saints, and, by the Jews, men “of the Way” (Act 9:2), or “Nazarenes” (Act 24:5), but now they received the name of Christians, as followers of Christ, from the outside world, and accepted it themselves (Act 26:28; 1Pe 4:16). From the Latin form of the word Christians, i.e. followers of Christ, the designation most have been invented by the Gentiles, either by the Roman court or camp at Antioch, or by the Greek population, influenced as they were by Roman forms of speech current amongst them (compare the Greece-Oriental Nestorians, Arians, etc.). We may be sure that Christians, i.e. followers of Messiah, is not a name likely to have been given by Jews. There is no evidence either of its having been given in derision. The well-known account of Tacitus is “Vulgus Christianos appella-bat. Auctor nominis ejus Christus, Tiberio imperitante, per Pontium Pilatum supplicio affectus erat” (‘Annal.,’ 15.44). Suidas says that those who had been previously called Nazarenes and Galileans, in the reign of Claudius Caesar, when Euodius had been made Bishop of Antioch by Peter, had their name changed into that of Christians. He seems to refer to the statement of Malalas (quoted by Conybeare and Howson, 1.131), that they who had been before called Nazarenes and Galileans received the name of Christians in the time of Euodius, who succeeded St. Peter as Bishop of Antioch, and who himself gave them this name.” Malalas is thought to have lived somewhere between the sixth and ninth centuries, at Byzantium. A beautiful passage in the Clementine Liturgy is also quoted at p. 130: “We give thee thanks that we are called by the Name of thy Christ, and are thus reckoned as thine own,” where the allusion is to Jas 2:7. The name Christian is frequent in the epistles of Ignatius, the Bishop of Antioch; Polycarp’s dying words were, “I am a Christian” (Bishop Wordsworth).
Act 11:27
Now for and, A.V.; there came down for came, A.V. (see Act 18:22). Prophets; a recognized order in the Church at that time (Act 2:17, Act 2:18`Act 13:1; Act 20:23; Act 21:9, Act 21:10; 1Co 12:28, 1Co 12:29; Eph 4:11). The news of the accession of the Gentiles to the Church of Antioch would naturally lead to such prophets being either sent by the Church of Jerusalem or coming of their own accord.
Act 11:28
A great famine for great dearth, A.V.; over for throughout, A.V.; Claudius for Claudius Caesar, A.V. and T.R. The world; , the inhabited earth, the common expression for the whole Roman empire. But the expression must be taken bore as hyperbolical, just as Josephus says that Ahab sent messengers to search for Elijah, , where, of course, only the neighboring countries to Judaea can be meant, strictly speaking (‘Ant. Jud.,’8. 13.4). But there is no evidence to show that , is ever a technical term for Judaea. See the use of the word by Luke (Luk 2:1; Luk 4:5; Luk 21:26; Act 17:6, Act 17:31; Act 19:27; Act 24:5). In point of fact, the predicted famine, which began in the fourth year of Claudius Caesar (A.D. 44) and lasted till A.D. 48, fell upon Judea exclusively, as far as appears from Josephus (‘Ant. Jud.,’ lit. 15.3; 20. 2.5, 5.2), and was very severe there. Ishmael was high priest at the time; and Helena, Queen of Adiahene, fetched large supplies of corn from Egypt and of figs from Cyprus to Jerusalem, to supply the wants of the people. Eusebius (‘Eccl. Hist.,’ 2.8) speaks of this famine as having prevailed “over the world,” and as being recorded by authors hostile to Christianity, but mentions no names and gives no particulars (‘Eccl. Hist.,’ 2.8), but in the twelfth chapter of the same book he limits it to , Judaea. There were several other historical famines in the reign of Claudius, but they can hardly be included in the prophecy of Agabus. The prophet Agabus is mentioned again in Act 21:10, and again as coming from Judaea. Renan ascribes the poverty-stricken condition of the Jerusalem Christians to their communistic institutions.
Act 11:29
And for then, A.V.; that for which, A.V. This is the first example of the practice, so much encouraged by St. Paul, of the Gentile Churches contributing to the wants of the poor Christians of the mother Church of Jerusalem (Rom 15:25-27; 1Co 16:1; 2Co 9:1-15.; Gal 2:10, etc.).
Act 11:30
Sending for and sent, A.V.; hand for hands, A.V. Sending (). Those by whom they sent were (2Co 8:23), messengers, or apostles, To the elders. This is the first mention of presbyters, or elders, in the Church at Jerusalem, which was now fully organized. James the Less was the resident apostle (?) and bishop; with him were the presbyters (Act 21:18); and under them again the seven deacons (Act 6:5, Act 6:6). The presbyters of the Church of Jerusalem are mentioned again in Act 15:2, Act 15:4, Act 15:6, Act 15:22, Act 15:23; Act 16:4; Act 21:18; Jas 5:13, where, however, the elders of other Churches in Judaea may possibly be included. A difficulty arises with regard to Saul’s mission to Jerusalem with Barnabas, as to how to reconcile it with Gal 2:1, which speaks of St. Paul’s second visit to Jerusalem as taking place fourteen years after his first, whereas this visit could not be above four or five years after. But there are three hypotheses about the visit to Jerusalem referred to in Gal 2:1-21.
1. The first identifies it with the visit hero recorded.
2. The second identifies it with that related in Act 15:2, etc., which is supported by most of the best authorities ancient and modern (see note on Act 15:1-41.).
3. The third, which is advocated by Lewin (‘Life of St. Paul,’ vol. 1.302, etc.), identifies it with the visit recorded in Act 18:22. As regards the first, with which we are now concerned, though at first sight you would have ex-peered St. Paul’s next visit to Jerusalem after his conversion to be the one alluded to in Galatians it., yet the following circumstances make this impossible.
(1) The date of the visit named in Galatians it, which is distinctly stated to be fourteen years after that recorded in Act 9:26 ( …).
(2) When St. Paul went to Jerusalem on the occasion adverted to in Galatians it.,” he laid before them the gospel which he preached among the Gentiles.” But at the time of this visit he had not yet begun his labors among the Gentiles ( ), to which he was only called after his return (Act 13:2).
(3) On the occasion spoken of in Galatians it, Paul and Barnabas were received by the chief apostles, and must have passed a considerable time at Jerusalem, with many consultations and meetings, public and private. But on this occasion, as far as appears, their visit was a very hasty one, and they saw no one but the presbyters, and returned as soon as they had handed over the collection to them (Act 12:25). The conclusion, therefore, seems quite certain that this is not the visit referred to in Galatians it. And the hasty nature of this visit explains at once why St. Paul made no count of it in his statement to the Galatians. It had no bearing upon the course of his argument. It was not a visit to Jerusalem in the sense in which he was speaking, and he saw none of the apostles. The state of the Church at the time, James the son of Zebedee killed, Peter in prison or lately escaped “to another place” (Act 12:17), the other apostles very likely dispersed, made it impossible. He therefore took no count of it in his statement to the Galatians. This seems quite a sufficient explanation. There is no occasion to resort to the violent expedient of Renan, and say that Saul did not go with Barnabas at this time.
HOMILETICS
Act 11:1-28
The mystery.
The beginning and the close of this chapter refer to events of precisely similar character, which took place almost simultaneously, at all events without any concert or communication, in Palestine and in Syria; the reception of the Word of God by Gentiles, and their admission into the Church of God. It is difficult for us, after the lapse of eighteen centuries and a half, during which this has been the rule of the kingdom of heaven, to realize the startling strangeness of such an event when first brought to the knowledge of the then Church of Christ. That a wall of partition, which seemed to be built upon immovable foundations, and which had defied every effort to break it down through a period of between one and two thousand years, should suddenly fall flat down at the blast of the gospel trumpet, like the walls of Jericho of old; that a hidden purpose of God, which had been veiled and concealed for so many ages, should suddenly flash out and stand clearly revealed to the eyes of mankind at two remote spots of the earth; must have struck with astonishment the minds of the Jews of that age. St. Paul himself, after many years of successful work as the Apostle of the Gentiles, cannot speak without emotion and wonder of the great revolution in the religion of mankind. The admission of the Gentiles to be partakers of God’s promise in Christ by the gospel, and to be fellow-citizens with the saints, and of the household of God, was the great mystery which in other ages had not been made known to the sons of men, but was at length revealed to the apostles and prophets by the Spirit. His heart swelled, and his utterance rose as he recited that “Unto me, who am less than the least of all saints, is this grace given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ; and to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ: to the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known by the Church the manifold wisdom of God, according to the eternal purpose which he purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Eph 3:1-11). And certainly we ought not to allow familiarity with this dispensation of the Divine wisdom to breed in us any contempt or overlooking of its infinite importance. The destinies of the human race, in its varieties of intellect, and civilization, and creed, and morals, and social and political institutions, ought ever to be a matter of the deepest concern to us. We have the certain knowledge that the door of repentance and faith is thrown open to all mankind. We know that God is no respecter of persons, and we know that Jesus Christ died for the sins of the whole world. If the Word of God could win its way in a cohort of Italian soldiers quartered in an Oriental city; if much people, in the dissolute city of Antioch, overrun as it was with every kind of superstition and extravagance of vice and luxury and pleasure, listened to the teaching of Barnabas and Saul, and were added to the Lord; surely we ought not to be fainthearted in communicating to the whole world, whether heathen, or Mohammedan, or Buddhist, the Word of truth which we have received of God. Oh for a simultaneous breathing of the Divine Spirit, which may quicken dead souls in every nation under heaven, and make Churches of Christ to spring up in vigor and beauty in all the dark places of the earth, to the praise of the glory of God’s grace in Jesus Christ!
HOMILIES BY W. CLARKSON
Act 11:1-18
Rectification and enlargement.
It was not to be expected that so great an innovation as that of free communion with a Gentile would pass unchallenged in Jerusalem. Nor did it escape the criticism and condemnation of the “apostles and brethren” there (Act 11:1, Act 11:2). From the interesting and animated scene described in the text, we conclude
I. THAT GOOD MEN ARE OCCASIONALLY FOUND DOING THAT WHICH SEEMS HIGHLY CENSURABLE TO THE GODLY. We can hardly realize the intensity of the indignation which breathed and glowed in the accusing words, “Thou wentest in to men uncircumcised, and didst eat with them“ (Act 11:3). Peter had done an act which was wholly irregular and positively unlawful. What did he mean by it? We know that he had simply followed the instructions which he had received from Christ, and that he could not possibly have acted otherwise without downright disobedience How many times, in what various spheres, under what different conditions, have good men found themselves placed by their very faithfulness in a position of “contention” (Act 11:2) with their brethren, either respecting
(1) a point of doctrine (e.g. “the Reformation”), or
(2) a matter of Church government (e.g. the way in which the Church should be officered, or the relation in which it should stand to the civil power), or
(3) a method of evangelization, or
(4) the position which should be taken toward other Christian communities! In these and similar matters the best and wisest of men have occasionally found themselves compelled to confront the strong censures of those with whom they were in communion. It is a most painful position to have to excite the indignation of good men, but it may be our plain and bounden duty so to do.
II. THAT OFTEN A SIMPLE NARRATION OF THE FACTS IS THE BEST POSSIBLE DEFENCE. “Peter rehearsed the matter from the beginning, and expounded it by order” (Act 11:4). He told the whole story in its simplicity (Act 11:5-16). That was enough: it disarmed his accusers; they had nothing to reply; they accepted his defense; “They held their peace” (Act 11:18). If some of them went no further than ceasing to complain, others acknowledged that a new step was taken, and that the Church was warranted in “going forward.” It is often, if not always, the wisest of all plans to let the simple facts speak for us. If our complaining brethren knew as much as we know, they would not condemn. We have but to let in the light, and we shall be acquitted and perhaps commended.
III. THAT GOD WILL VINDICATE HIS OWN. Peter’s one great argument was that he had done everything under Divine direction (see Act 11:5, Act 11:9, Act 11:12, Act 11:15, Act 11:16). He summed it all up in the strong, overwhelming consideration, “What was I that I could withstand God?” (Act 11:17). By his marked and manifest interposition, God had sustained his servant, and had given him the means of justifying his conduct when it came before the tribunal of his fellows. If wisdom is not always justified of her children at once, it will be in time. Unto the upright there will arise light in the darkness (Psa 112:4). God may desire his servant to place himself in an attitude of opposition to his friends, and to bear the pain of their blows; but he will at lengthlater, if not soonervindicate that servant, and give him the greater honor for the shame he bore at his bidding.
IV. THAT WE SHOULD KEEP OURSELVES FREE FOR THE EXCULPATION OF MEN AND FOR OUR OWN SPIRITUAL ENLARGEMENT. The apostles and brethren had to own that Peter was right, and, at the same time, to receive into their mind a larger and nobler view of Christian truth. Happily they were free to do so; otherwise there would have been a bitter separation and an injurious rupture.
1. However wrong good men may seem to us to be, let us remember that it is possible that it is we and not they who are mistaken. We may be very confident we are right, but it is the most positive who are the most fallible of men.
2. Let us be ready to enlarge our view as God gives us light. “He has yet more light and truth to break forth from his Word.” Wisdom does not dwell with us. Out of the heavenly treasury there are riches of truth still to be dispensed. A docile Church will ever be learning and acquiring. There are some men who, by their guilty stubbornness, will block the way of the chariot of God; there are others who will take up the stones and prepare the path that it may go swiftly on its benignant course. Let ours be the spirit of the apostles and brethren at Jerusalem, who, when they had listened and learned, said, “Then hath God also to the Gentiles granted repentance unto life.”C.
Act 11:19-26
The many ways and the one work of God.
It is interesting to see how God works in many ways toward one end, and how, from the first day of the Christian era, he has been acting on the world and on the Church, making all things to move toward one glorious issue.
I. THE MANY WAYS OF GOD‘S WORKING. We may be reminded:
1. How he defeats his enemies. “They which were scattered abroad upon the persecution traveled preaching the Word,“ etc. (Act 11:19). If the enemies of the truth had been its best friends, they could not possibly have taken a course more favorable to its circulation and establishment than the one they took. God overrules the designs of his foes, and turns their attacks upon his kingdom into actual support. Again and again has the enmity, the cruelty, the violence, the cunning of sin been compelled to subserve the interests of righteousness. Mischief smites down the standing corn of truth, but, so doing, it sows living seed from which a large harvest will rise.
2. How he teaches his ‘fiends. Those who were scattered abroad went “preaching the Word to none but unto the Jews only” (Act 11:19). They did not understand that the gospel was intended for mankind: this was an enlargement of view which the Christian Church had then to gain. Its Divine Master had to teach it this most necessary lesson. How should he do this? He might have done so
(1) by the direct inspiration of his Holy Spirit; or
(2) by manifesting himself to some one of the apostles and conveying through him his mind on the matter. But he chose to do this
(3) by the teaching of his providence. “Some of them”we do not know who, some whose names are lost and will never be discoveredsome men from Cyprus and Cyrene, “when they were come to Antioch, spake, unto the Greeks [not ‘Grecians’], preaching, the Lord Jesus.” And this unpremeditated, irregular work proved to be marvelously successful (see Act 11:21). When the Church at Jerusalem heard of these unauthorized proceedings, they dispatched Barnabas to inquire into the matter (see Act 11:22). The nobility of his character and excellency of his spirit triumphed over the narrowness of his views, and, instead of disowning and discouraging the work, he acknowledged its Divine origin and furthered it to the height of his power. And thus the seal of apostolic sanction was set to the broader aim and the larger hope. Thus God leads us into his kingdom of truth. He places us in such circumstances that we take right steps without realizing all the consequences therein involved, and then our convictions rise to the height of our actions.
3. How God uses his servants. “Then departed Barnabas to seek Saul” (Act 11:25). Barnabas served God and his race in one way, Saul in another. Barnabas was not the man to do what Paul afterwards did. He had not the evangelizing, organizing, literary faculty in anything like the same degree in which his illustrious colleague possessed it. But he served the Church and the world in his own way. It was a valuable contribution to the cause of Christ and of the kingdom of God to introduce the distrusted convert to the confidence of the Church (Act 9:27), and to give him such an opening for the exercise and training of his varied powers as that he now enjoyed at Antioch; it was an eminent and precious service thus to place on a firm footing and to bring into the foreground the man who was to be the means of doing such work as Paul accomplished for mankind. What immeasurable service have the fathers and mothers and teachers of our great reformers, evangelists, preachers, etc., rendered their race! Other men have other spheres to fill; that of Paul was the sphere of abounding activity. We may be sure that he had a great deal to do during those twelve months at Antioch, in “teaching many people” (Act 11:26). Some in quieter, others in more active scenes; some in virtue of intellectual, others by means of moral and spiritual gifts; some by their influence on a few influential men, others by their action on the multitude; some by impressing their convictions on men by direct personal appeal, others by organizing and arranging; all in the way chosen of God and pleasing to him, play their part and do their work in their hour of opportunity.
II. THE ONE WORK OF GOD. At Antioch it became convenient to distinguish the converts to the new faith by some name which marked them off from the Jews; they were called “Christians.” It is a mark which speaks of the rising tide of truth. It reminds us that God was working out a grand design, far, far beyond the elevation of a favored nation, viz. the redemption of the whole race of man by faith in Jesus Christ; he was and is engaged in “reconciling the world unto himself in Christ.”C.
Act 11:27-30
God’s bounty and our well-being.
The reference, in these verses, to “a great dearth throughout all the world” (Act 11:28), and to the sending of relief by the disciples, according to their several ability, to the brethren in Judaea (Act 11:29), may suggest to us thoughts concerning the provision which God has made for us in his Divine goodness and also in his Divine wisdom. We look at
I. HIS PROVISION FOR OUR TEMPORAL WELL–BEING. The great multitudes of mankind, the hundreds of thousands of millions are fed, year after year, age after age; and many hundreds of millions more might be sustained if all the use were made that might be of the opportunities open to us. God, in his bounty, provides what we want in
(1) fruitful and extensive soil,
(2) multiplying set,
(3) agricultural knowledge (Isa 28:26),
(4) materials for implements of husbandry,
(5) all nourishing and ripening agencies.
II. HIS CONSIDERATION OF OUR PIETY. God gives us our bread, our maintenance, in such a way that we are almost compelled to acknowledge his hand in the harvest. Evidently we did not produce the soil nor make the seed; evidently we cannot cause it to fertilize and grow; evidently it is his sun that shines and his rain that falls on our fields. The ordinary processes as by which the seed is multiplied are such as direct our eyes to heaven. And often, in his wisdom, he holds his hand, he withdraws the sunshine or keeps back his clouds, he sends dearth as “in the days of Claudius Caesar” (Act 11:28), and then men are constrained to remember that there is work being done in the soil and in the sky which they cannot control, and in regard to which they must look up to God the Giver of all, whose is the earth with its fullness, and ask of him, and plead with him, and, it may be, humble themselves before him.
III. HIS REGARD FOR OUR INTELLECTUAL AND MORAL WELL–BEING.
1. Intellectual. God teaches us (Isa 28:1-29.), but he leaves much to be discovered by our own mental labor. Agriculture provides a very wide and a very noble field for observation, experiment, contrivance; it tasks and trains the mind.
2. Moral. We cannot secure our harvests without
(1) industry,
(2) combination,
(3) patience (Jas 5:7). The abundance, and indeed superabundance, of the earth’s yield is such that
(4) there is enough for the supply of those engaged in other pursuits; hence there is room for all kinds of labor beside that of agriculturefor the pursuit of art, and for the teaching of religious truth and training in the religious life. Those who have received the bread of eternal life from the lips of others can furnish, as Antioch now supplied Jerusalem, the bread of this temporal life to those to whom they are under spiritual obligation. The abundance which prevails in some districtsand famine is never universalgives the opportunity of
(5) showing practical kindness. On this occasion there was sufficient in Syria for its own need and for the distress in Judea, and the Christians of Antioch contributed to supply the wants of those at Jerusalem.
We should:
(1) receive God’s temporal mercies with the gratitude which belongs to piety;
(2) distribute of our abundance to those who have a claim on us, either on account of the spiritual favors they have conferred or in virtue of their special necessity.C.
HOMILIES BY E. JOHNSON
Act 11:1-18
The spirit of sect and the spirit of the gospel.
I. SECTARIAN SUSPICIONS. In Judaea are the head-quarters of this sectarian spirit. There it centers and rankles. The very tidings which fill the generous spirit with joy fill the sectarian with jealousy. They hear that the Gentiles have received the Word of God. Happy news! Alas that any should regard them otherwise! But to the ideas of the sectarian any change is appalling which threatens to break down the fence and wall of the sect, and compel him to widen the extent of his fellowship. So the sectarians quarrel with Peter. Their charge is that he has visited the uncircumcised heathen and eaten with them.
II. THE TRUTH ELICITED BY OPPOSITION. God overrules all things for good, makes the wrath of man to praise him, brings the truth into clearer manifestation by the very means of resistance to it. Let us not be too severe on the sectarian, if he be honest in his opposition. Far more pernicious the hypocritical friend than the sincere and downright foe. Were every innovation tamely submitted to without inquiry, progress would not be so sound. It is by overcoming objectors that truth triumphs, not by silencing them. And again, facts are the best arguments. Once more Peter relates the vision at Joppa. To overcome others’ objections, the best way is to show how our own objections have been overcome. The great point of opposition is the repugnance, inborn and strengthened by education, of the Jew to certain objects viewed by him as common or unclean. The great difficulty of overcoming the feeling lies in the fact that it is interwoven with all the best associations of the mind. The man, having learned the idea of holiness by means of a sharp physical distinction, fears that he shall lose the idea itself if that distinction be obliterated. No mere arguments in words will avail. But Peter can exhibit the argument of facts. Their fitting into one another with an invincible Divine logic can neither be denied nor refuted. The coincidence of the revelation to the centurion and to Peter has been already dwelt upon in previous sections. The end is the falling of the Holy Spirit upon the disciples at the very moment when the Jew and the Gentiles are brought together and Peter opens his mouth to speak.
III. THE TRUTH OF THE PRESENT LIGHTS UP THE PROPHETIC DECLARATIONS OF THE PAST. Words deep in meaning slumber in the mind until the revealing event takes place. Then they are suddenly quickened into life and start up in all their power. Peter remembers the word of the Lord on the baptism of the Holy Spirit. It is in contrast to that of John at the opening of the evangelical era. It surpassed that of John as the positive surpasses the negative; the entrance into blessing, the denial of and departure from evil. The conclusion, then, of the whole is that the facts are irresistible. In these lie the clear intimations of providential will. Neither apostle nor angel can contend against fads, whether they refer to the outer world and are construed by scientific law, or to the inner world and are known by the devout soul as revelations and inspirations. The Gentile is placed on an equality with the Jew in reference to the blessings of the gospel; one does not stand in the vestibule, the other in the interior of the new temple, but both are gathered to the heart of God, who reconciles us to himself by Jesus Christ. A common faith in him entitles us all to the appellation” sons of God,” and therefore brethren amongst one another: “Ye are all one in Christ Jesus.” Thus, when the hour strikes, does God silence controversy, causes his voice alone to be heard, and presently draws forth a burst of praise from human hearts. Yes; at bottom the heart loves truth, and craves the revelation of love. “God then hath given the nations repentance unto life!” The signs of the times point to a similar revolution of the large and generous spirit of the gospel. May we be ready to meet it, and not be found amongst those who contend against the light and fight against God, but amongst those who herald with joy and thankfulness the approach of the new dawn; for the Sun of Righteousness shall arise to those that fear his Name with healing in his wings.J.
Act 11:19-26
Founding of the Church at Antioch.
I. THE SECONDARY CAUSES OF THE FOUNDATION. Christians had been dispersed by the persecution. And thus there went a stream of believers through Phoenicia, Cyprus, and the district of Antioch, charged with the Divine message, living seminaries of the word of love. Persecution, in breaking up communities, diffuses their spiritual contents, as when the box of precious unguent is broken a sweet perfume is diffused abroad. As a rule, these emissaries addressed themselves only to the Jews. But some there were who had seized the larger truth of the gospel and the time, and proclaimed the gospel to the Greeks also. On the day of Pentecost men from Cyrene are named as present, witnesses of the power of the Holy Spirit. Better fitted are they to carry back the gospel to their countrymen than those born Jews. God knows where to find the proper laborers for any harvest which he has ripening.
II. THE SUCCESS OF THE MISSION. The hand of the Lord, the Divine power, was with them, and in large numbers converts and believers were forthcoming. Is not the hand of the Lord ever stretched forth when his blessing is sought, his commands obeyed? All through these profoundly interesting details, do we not clearly see that God requires human co-operation? We bind the hands of Godto use a bold figurewhen we do not faithfully deliver his truth, the truth which the time is bidding us to utter. It was the generals and world-wide application of the gospel which was followed by the Divine sanction and blessing. As it was then, so may we expect it to be now and ever.
III. THE VISIT OF BARNABAS.
1. The Church at Jerusalem, bearing of the progress of the truth at Antioch, dispatch Barnabas thither. They are quite otherwise disposed than upon a former occasion (Act 11:1, sqq.). Peter had then to meet a storm of objections to his holding intercourse with the heathen. But now the same Church sends without hesitation Barnabas to further the good work. Thus gradually does God unfold his ways, and opposition gives way before his manifested counsels, as the frost-bound snows before the sun of the spring-time.
2. And when Barnabas saw the grace of God, he was glad. The spiritual eye discerns spiritual things. As God is no respecter of persons, neither is he who lives in the fellowship of God’s mind. It is no question of the human instrument, but of the Divine results; not of the channels of the grace, but of that pure grace itself.
3. Barnabas proves himself true to his name and character, and proves his fitness for the mission. Good and holy himself, his exhortations tend to goodness and, holiness. Let them cleave to God with the full purpose of the heart. Ever a salutary counselto walk by the same rule, to mind the same thing, to stand in the old ways and inquire for the well-trodden paths. Religion is an attitude of the soul, a habit of the will. The constant Divine Object requires constancy in us; let us be true to him as the magnet to the pole. It is good to become a Christian, better to be a Christian, best of all to endure as a Christian and inherit the promise of the crown, of life. Here, too, we see the qualities of the true teacherto be good and upright in life-conversation, to be full of the holy confidence which faith inspires, and of that contagious inspiration which God’s indwelling imparts.
IV. THE RESULT OF BLESSING. A “considerable multitude added to the Lord.” And this, it seems, in consequence of the visit of Barnabas. How mighty the power of one energetic will, one faithful heart, of a man who can say with all his heart, “I believe,” and whose life backs up his word! So successful is the work, so full the net of the gospel fisher, that Barnabas has to seek the aid of Saul. Another proof of the pure and humble temper of Barnabas. Evidently he did not desire to make himself the great man at Antioch. The greatness of the work and of his Master engrossed his thoughts. Nor does Saul thrust himself forward, but comes when sought. It is a picture of friendship and comradeship in the service of Christ. Plato rhapsodized of the joint striving of two souls after knowledge and truth; but nobler and sweeter is the joint striving of two souls to serve the Savior of men and promote his kingdom of peace and love in souls. Memorable year in the annals of Christianity! Here were the disciples first called Christiansfollowers of the Christ, of the Anointed One; themselves anointed by the same Spirit and to the same life-work. Let us go back to the origin of our name, that we may understand its meaning. The notes of the true Christian are and ever were, the anointing of the Holy Ghost and with power, and the life seen to be busy, like that of the Master, in “doing good.”J.
HOMILIES BY R.A. REDFORD
Act 11:1-18
The Church of God set on the new foundation of liberty.
I. The only stable foundation of SPIRITUAL FELLOWSHIP. Mutual confidence. Common dependence on the Spirit of God. Free speech. Entire understanding of the rule of life. Peter himself cannot be allowed to violate accepted principles without being called to account. He frankly explains and justifies his conduct. The old leaven of Judaism was at work; but the antidote was thereobedience to the Spirit.
II. The true conditions of SPIRITUAL ADVANCEMENT. The individual not despotically silenced, but called to his true place as one of the community, a member of the body, supplying his portion of new light. The standard of reference, not Peter’s private Opinion, or the Church’s decision after discussion, but the manifestation of the Spirit in facts and undoubted testimony. There were seven trustworthy witnesses. “Who was I, that I could withstand God?” Difference between such a revelation and these private, isolated assertions of inspiration such as Swedenborg’s and others.
III. THE BREAKING DOWN OF THE “MIDDLE WALL OF PARTITION” between Jew and Gentile; glory to God. The old circumcision superseded by the new baptism. Repentance granted to all. The free gift of the Spirit.R.
Act 11:19-26
A new center of evangelistic work. Antioch.
Another hold upon the Gentile world. More important than Caesarea. Next to Alexandria. Intellectual culture; commercial. A sphere prepared for Saul.
I. THE MINISTRY EMPLOYED. Lay agency. Persecution compelling the Church to enlarge its borders. The circumstances opening the door to the Gentiles. Probably little success among Jews. The multitudes of Greeks at Antioch. The Greek mind prepared for inquiry. The state of the heathen world well represented there.
II. THE DIVINE TESTIMONY GIVEN. The hand of the Lord with them. The Spirit outpoured. Possibly not so much in miraculous signs, but in conversions.
III. THE MESSAGE PREACHED. “The Lord Jesus.” Not speculations to catch philosophers, but facts to lay hold of hearts, Not preached in a tone of ecclesiastical authority, but by laymen full of the Holy Ghost.
IV. THE TWO CENTRES UNITEDJERUSALEM AND ANTIOCH. Apostolic ministry and lay agency. Barnabas, an intermediate representative man. The kind of man required; not lax in his views of truth, but “a good man,” full of kindly spirit, an inspired man, a firm believer. Thus the expansion of the Church was no rending of the body of Christ, but simple growth, spiritual life seeking its development.
V. THE SCHOOL OF THE CHURCH OPENED. Antioch a great catechetical center. Barnabas aimed at instruction and edification, that they should cleave unto the Lord. He called in Saul, as more eminently adapted than himself for work in such a sphere. The humility of both men exemplified. Both fitted to be masters, because both simpleminded. Teaching must accompany evangelization, or the work will fall to pieces. A whole year they taught much people; hence their steadfastness at Antioch.
VI. THE WORLD‘S TESTIMONY TO THE NEW LIFE. “Called Christians.“ Antioch saw a distinct society arising; gave it a name, separated it in thought both from Judaism and heathenism. Recognized that the substance of it was Christ; that the members of it were like Christ and lived for Christ. The providential appointment of the name signalized the new start of the Church on its mission, with Saul at the head of it, to evangelize the world. An interesting line of progress from Jerusalem to Antioch. Divine guidance.R.
Act 11:26
The Christian name.
“And the disciples were called Christians first in Antioch.” Three great cities identified with Christian history in a special mannerJerusalem, Antioch, and Rome. The birth of the religion; its triumph in full manhood over the world; and between these two points its baptism as the religion of the East and West alike. Describe position and influence of the city. The name not given by Jews, as recognizing that Jesus was Messiah. Not by disciples, as other names in use”believers . brethren,” “saints,” “friends.” Nor by Divine direction. It was either a name of reproach or a convenient designation of a rapidly enlarging society. Consider
I. THE NAME GIVEN.
1. Personal, testifying to the pre-eminence of Christ in the first preaching. The facts came before the doctrines, as they always should.
2. A name of distinction. Separation from the world. Baptism in his Name. Worship of Christ. Spirit of Christ. “See how these Christians love one another.” Contrast with heathen world.
3. Prophetic. Christ expected to return. Judge of all the earth. Despondency the main feature of heathenism. Christians preached hope. The Resurrection and Ascension. Not as others, children of the night, but children of the light.
II. THE NAME HONOURED. “Called Christians.”
1. The life should be evident before it is named. Baptismal regeneration is condemned by such a fact.
2. If the world looks upon the life, it will name it; let us see to it that it names it after Christ. It should be the sign of conversation, and the testimony to a spiritual work.
3. The privilege is to wear the name. Are we ashamed of it? Secret disciples an anomaly. Connect the profession with teaching at Antioch, and the name will be itself a publication of the truth.
4. It is not what we are called that will decide our final state, but what we are. Let all who name his Name depart from iniquity. “Christendom” is an empty mockery. Seek the baptism of the Holy Ghost.R.
Act 11:27-30
Practical sympathy between Jew and Gentile.
I. The test of REAL UNION must be an appeal to self-sacrifice. Antioch was wealthy; Judaea was poor. The prophets came from Jerusalem; the return was relief sent to poor brethren, both as a sign of obedience to the Spirit and as a pledge of future oneness. There could be no more decided evidence that the Gentile converts were really incorporated into the apostolic Church.
II. The prophetic element quite consistent with the maintenance of A SETTLED ORDER in the spiritual life. The extraordinary manifestations of the Spirit must be distinguished from the ordinary work of the Church. The collected relief was sent to “the elders.” The hands of Barnabas and Saul carried it. Thus the new Gentile community at Antioch did not break away from the original center at Jerusalem. It was not Saul’s aim to disacknowledge those who had preceded him; but, while carefully maintaining the connection, preserving independence.
III. WILLINGHOOD the principle of the Church’s charity. “Every man according to his ability.” “God loveth a cheerful giver.” No sign of ecclesiastical rate-laying. Until the Church became corrupt, it had no need of any other law than spiritual law.R.
HOMILIES BY P.C. BARKER
Act 11:18
A model Church meeting.
The worst hindrances to the spread of Christianity and to its hold upon the world have always been found to be, not so much the native opposition of the human heart, nor the direct conflict with Satan and with sin, but those indirect conflicts which are entailed by:
1. The inconsistencies of Christians in their individual life.
2. The “contentions“ of Christians in their mutual or collective life. We have before us a threatening instance of this latter kind, and an agreeable example of the way in which it was averted. Notice
I. A THREATENING INSTANCE OF CONTENTION AMONG A BODY OF CHRISTIANS. We read that “when Peter was come up to Jerusalem, they that were of the circumcision contended with him.” Though the more unfavorable turn of the word as now used by us need not be pressed, yet it certainly implies, as it stands, dissatisfaction with what he had done, and not the gentlest or suavest manner exhibited in calling him to account for it.
1. Contentions within Christian communities are in their simplest principle and beginning justifiable. It need not be said of them, as of offences, “Woe to him by whom they come!” though it may, nay, almost must, be said of them, that they “will come.” It is for this reason, because the Church on earth is, as amongst its own members, its own guardian. It acknowledges the headship of Christ. It acknowledges the rule of the Spirit. It does not acknowledge any earthly lord, any vicar of Christ, any earthly sovereign authority. Hence it is answerable for its own doctrine and for its own discipline within its own pale. And investigation, debate, yea, all the formality of judicial trial (so that neither motives, methods, nor weapons are carnal), are within its province.
2. Contentions within Christian communities very generally arise on some plausible ground, to say the least. It was certainly so now. It is highly important to discriminate as far as possible between what is really legitimate and what is merely plausible. Of the first are
(1) zeal of scriptural doctrine and revealed fact;
(2) zeal of a holy and consistent life.
But of the second are
(1) mere love of precedent;
(2) ascription of motives;
(3) generally scant charity.
3. Contentions within Christian communities fix stern responsibility on those who stir them, only second to that of those who cause them, when this is really done.
4. Contentions within Christian communities demand as much, as solemnly as any position whatsoever in life, singleness of eye and a pure conscience. Feeling, personal feeling, party feeling priestly feeling, and even the perfection of ignorant prejudice, have, in probably the saddest preponderance of history, profanely trampled on the ground and made it mournfully all their own. Nor is there any more hollow hypocrisy, more miserable mockery, more insulting blasphemy, than when these counterfeit zeal for the Lord of hosts and a pure and sensitive conscience.
II. A GRATEFUL EXAMPLE OF THE METHOD BY WHICH IT WAS AVERTED. It takes two persons to make a bargain, and two to make a quarrel; and, if a reconciliation is to be genuine and have in it the elements of lasting, both parties must do their share. It was so now.
1. Peter did what lay in him to remove cause of offence and to explain difficulty.
(1) He seems to have been taxed in a somewhat point-blank style. Yet he does not rein himself up, though he does rein temper in. He does not stand on his dignity, and refuse any account of himself and doings till he is addressed in a somewhat milder and more deferential style.
(2) He does not assert simply that what he had done he had done under an overpowering conviction “of duty”a phrase among the worst abused of moral phrases.
(3) He does not assert positively, even though he had good right to know it, that what he had done was right and all right, and no two opinions about it with any man of understanding and principle.
(4) Discarding all irritating and aggravating beginnings, he even waives any expression of claim to the confidence of “the brethren,” and instead, at once conciliating tells his tale. He tells it all from the beginning to the end succinctly. He narrates the revelations made to him (Act 11:5-10). He states the facts, which could be easily disproved if incorrect (Act 11:11). He instances his “six brethren” companions, who were witnesses of all he had done, and were now in the position of witnesses for him (Act 11:12). He tempts out their memory by just quoting his own (Act 11:16). And in closing even he does not pronounce a dogmatic verdict for self, but rather asks a verdict, and whether his hearers think the case admits of any verdict different from what he had in his conduct practically given. It is well worthy of notice how different the result might have been if Peter had at all, in a hectoring tone, begun with this question. But he did not begin with it; and when, with Christian gentleness, he now closes with it, all are ready in their answer to acquit him of blame. They see with his eye and are one with him.
2. On the other hand, those who had at first possibly rather peremptorily challenged Peter’s conduct may be observed with some commendation now. Presumably these were some of his fellow “apostles and brethren” (Act 11:1, Act 11:2). And of their disposition it is to be noted favorably that:
(1) If they had begun by putting themselves a little in the wrong so far as their tone was concerned, they do not therefore persist in it. The injurer is often the last to give in and forgive. So frequent is the occurrence and so fraught with mischief, that this may be called one of the “devices of Satan,” that even Christian men will cleave to the thing they have said, let alone quite the subject of it, because they have once said it in a wrong manner. Eye and mind and heart get sealed up in deference to one humiliating fact, that they have uttered so much sound in wrong tone. Well, this was not the case now with those who called Peter to account.
(2) They give Peter a patient, and no doubt what soon became a riveted, hearing.
(3) They accept unquestioningly every statement that he makes, so far as it purported to be a statement of fact. There is no quibbling nor attempt at cross-questioning. This was Peter’s due under any circumstances. But even fellow-Christians are chary sometimes in the matter of justice to one another.
(4) At the right yielding-point they do yield heartily. To “hold their peace” was a very victory of goodness. Better than this, while they “hold their peace” from blaming Peter, they open their mouth to “glorify God,” Their mode of yielding bespeaks truth and honesty in them at the first, if even these manifested themselves forth in a manner a trifle unceremonious. Doubt, perplexity, a little vexation, clouded brow, all went in a moment. Pent-up anxiety and distrust are relieved. They are glad to hear and be persuaded by the things now “rehearsed to them” of Peter. They are not envious and still exclusive, but welcome the admission of the large Gentile brotherhood to the family of God and to “repentance unto life.” And the end of that meeting was peace and joyyes, peace and joy in the Holy Ghost. We may give our better feelings leave to flow and our higher imagination to play while we think of the reconciliation, hearty and unfeigned, that those happy moments witnessed between Peter and the brethren. Nor shall we doubt that, for his fidelity and unflinching consistency in a moment’s trying “ill report,” he is henceforth held in higher honor and surer trust by those same brethren.B.
Act 11:23, Act 11:24
The surprises of the grace of God.
Some six or seven years had passed since the martyrdom of Stephen, and “the persecution that arose about Stephen.” The winds of persecution had now borne far and wide the seeds of Christian truth and faith. In the “ground” of Jewish hearts alone, however, for the greater part of this time had the seed “fallen,” so far as men’s intentions and purposes had scattered it. In individual cases, however, it had inevitably fallen elsewhere; and besides, as carried by some “Grecians” of the number of the “scattered,“ so it was freely given, by these at least, to Grecians again, who were not of the pure “Hebrews,” and not of “the circumcised.” Many “Grecians” thus “believed, and turned to the Lord” (verse 21). The sacred history returns in some degree upon its steps to speak of these things, and to record, after the signal given of the fullness of the Gentiles being brought in, how it had meantime been faring with these more nondescript Grecians. There is a certain degree of the enigmatic in these two verses. To remove this will at the same time unfold the truth which the Spirit may have intended to teach in this place. We seem to see
I. AN ELEMENT OF ECCLESIASTICAL AUTHORITY. “Tidings” that presumably were of the best kind, and could mean nothing but good, are apparently not received as such, and are visited with some sort of scrutiny. The facts are exactly so. But it is to be noted that the authority that moved was one that moved itself, and is not an instance of an individual usurping ecclesiastical authority. The authority is not either arbitrary or that of an external hand. It is the Church itself. And it is the Church who delegates one evidently held in high honor, though not an apostle, to go to a long distance to inquire into the “tidings” that have reached itself at Jerusalem.
II. AN INOPPORTUNE EXERCISE OF ECCLESIASTICAL AUTHORITY. If the tidings were on the face of them good, credible in the nature of things, or rather in the nature of what the Church now well knew to be the operation of the Divine Spirit, why need the Church assume the attitude of caution anti do the action of apparent suspicion?
1. It is most grateful to note the first dawning exercise of infant powers and discretion on the part of the Church. This it learnt partly “from above,” partly also from bitter and humbled experience of its own. It had already had the faithless within it, and the attempts of the worst worldliness (as in the instance of Simon Magus) to enter within its sacred fold.
2. The real gist of anxiety and of the inquiry proposed turned, no doubt, upon this great new gospel that was now coming upon those who had themselves received the gospel in very deed, and which only shook their faith (if it did shake their faith) lest it be too great, too good, to be true. The “mighty works” of God are being wrought upon and among all, Gentiles and Grecians, as they had been on the day of Pentecost at Jerusalem. Well may the Church stop and turn aside to see this great sight, and to find out for certain that it is not a vision and that they do not dream.
3. The Church, as results proved, did not act for the sake of mere caution or for the mere sake of enlightenment, least of all from love of cold and suspicious criticism, but, if things were real and true, also to give the right hand of fellowship to those who, like its own present members, were “called.”
III. ONE SPECIAL CRITERION LOOKED FOR BY BARNABAS, AND GUIDING HIM. No details lie on the page for us, no sealed instructions are mentioned, no open instructions, no parting suggestions even; and nothing is said of all the thoughts and feelings that chased one another or amid which the very soul of Barnabas mused as he traveled afar. No; but we are not left without the necessary clue. He reached his destination, and apparently does not hold or offer to hold any court, and call witnesses, and loftily and inquisitorially investigate the state of things. With a large and open eye he surveys the scene. He looks and sees the proofs of “the grace of God” given to them at Antioch, even “the uncircumcised.” He listens, and hears the sounds that attest “the grace of God” given to them. He mingles with them, and he sees the works that none could do unless “the grace of God” were given to them. And he is satisfied. The tree is known by its fruits, and there can be no mistake what the fruits are now. Would that the same simplicity of method of judging one another were the one method known and followed now and ever! For this beautiful expression, “the grace of God,” does not stand for mere feeling and experience or profession of the same, but rather for those “works” and “fruits of the Spirit” which only could come of the imparted grace of God.
IV. THE VERY GLADNESS OF HEART ITSELF OF A HOLY MAN. It is emphatically said, “He was glad.”
1. It was a relief to an anxious, inquiring mind, on a subject of thrilling interest. How it had weighed on the mind of Barnabas all his journeythe question itself, and his responsibility as delegated to examine into it!
2. It was a relief to Barnabas to think he could speak with such thorough confidence, and in no halting tone at all, to those who had sent him, when he should render his account to them.
3. It was all joy to his heart to think how day dammed at last on the whole world. What startling, ravishing prospects must have sometimes been revealed by the Spirit to the apostles and the early disciples and brethren in those days!
V. THE MINDFULNESS OF A HOLY MAN, EVEN WHEN EXCITED BY JOY.
1. Barnabas was mindful of his own duty, to speak the word of exhortation even in the midst of a scene full of present brightness, hope, confidence.
2. He was mindful of the ever-existing temptation to go back to the world, to love the world, to yield in enthusiasm’s hour, but to relapse in the long days of heat and toil and trial. And therefore the burden of his exhortation was that they should “cleave to the Lord,” and that “with purpose of heart they should cleave to the Lord.”
VI. A SOMEWHAT INOPPORTUNE MIXTURE OF COMMENDATION OF BARNABAS AND HIS INDIVIDUAL CHARACTER WITH MUCH MORE SERIOUS MATTER. Let it seem so; let it be so. Yet this is the condescension of God. This is the sympathy of Jesus. This is the Spirit’s comforting aid and honor shown to those who are true. However, as the sacred and abiding page of Scripture inscribes these things to the honor and glory of Barnabas, in the midst of matter which all redounded only to the honor and glory of God, we may observe that the character here given to Barnabas:
1. Justified his selection for a new and delicate and important embassy.
2. Explains the very deep, full, genial joy of his heart, its openness to conviction, and its freedom from the least and last taint of Jewish envy and Jewish exclusiveness.
3. Proves withal that it was God’s Spirit who was in all,” working within” him, when he came, when be saw, when he judged rightly, when he was profoundly impressed, when he was glad to the bottom of his heart, and also when he did not forget duty and solemn trying times to come amid the sympathies and congratulatings of bright hours. For he was “full of the Holy Ghost.”B.
Act 11:25, Act 11:26
An early co-pastorate.
The chronology of the period reaching from the martyrdom of Stephen to the mission of Barnabas to Antioch is obscure, and has at present indeed refused to yield up to us datesas, for instance, leading dates affecting Saulof the utmost interest. It is, however, exceedingly probable that six full years had now passed since the conversion of Saul. During the whole of this time he has beenwe may say it without a doubt, though perhaps it were not easy to find actual chapter and verse for the statement”preaching Christ.” He has been removed from one station to another for safety’s sake twice. He has latterly been for some time at Tarsus, his native place, and it is of his employment during his stay at Tarsus that we know least. While, as already said, there is scarcely room to doubt that there emphatically he would be preaching Christ, it would seem a little remarkable if he did so through a period of one or two years with impunity. Hither, however, Barnabas now comes, to seek a colleague and efficient help in his work at Antioch. Very brief are the touches of the pen which convey to us the situation here. But they portray, nevertheless, something so natural and almost homely, that it is not difficult, and is pleasant and instructive, to fill in the detail of the picture.
I. BARNABAS FINDS AN UNEXPECTED AND A GRAND FIELD OF LABOR AT ANTIOCH.
1. He came on one errand; he stays on another, and that a great enterprise. He came to inquire about the justifiableness of certain goings on. He is forced to become part and parcel of them, and to embark in them heart and hand and voice.
2. He observes “that a great door and effectual is opened before him” (1Co 16:9). Antioch, for its situation, its buildings, and its very various and important peoplefor its Jewish population, for its Greek fashion, and its Roman military, and its business and commercial connectionscannot be surpassed as a place of importance for preaching Christ from the first moment that it is apparent that not Jews only, but Gentiles also, Greek and Roman, are to be embraced within the blessings of the covenant.
3. When already “much people was added unto the Lord,” and “a great number had believed and turned unto the Lord,” his heart is “touched with compassion ‘(as his Master’s once and often was) when he saw “the sheep without a shepherd,” and “the fields white to harvest,” and the harvest one of superlative promise, “but the laborers few.” And no doubt he “prayed the Lord of the harvest,” and got his answer.
II. BARNABAS CONSULTS AS TO ONE THING ALONE.
1. He wishes, if it be possible, to compass the work.
2. He knows no grain of envy or jealousy or selfish ambition.
3. He will lose a few weeks of time if he may return armed better by far for the work, for he bethinks himself (or otherwise in answer to his prayer has been reminded divinely) of one of remarkable conversion and of surpassing energy. He will be a likely helpmeet. Barnabas has already walked arm-in-arm with him in Jerusalem, and has been surety for him with the Church in Jerusalem. With this strong man, who has now been tried, been ripening in comparative retirement, and has borne the trial, would he wish to be associated in besieging, with a view to take, this tempting citadel Of Antioch. He is keeping up his character as given us in the preceding verses. He is “full of the Holy Ghost and of faith.” His eye is single, his best reason and mental judgment are given to the question before him. His motives are pure and his conscience sensitive.
4. He is going to have his man. He will not miss of Saul. He journeys after him to seek him. He believes not in messages nor proxies. He finds him and brings him to Antioch.
III. BARNABAS AND SAUL BELIEVE IN CO–OPERATION.
1. They believe in brotherly love. It was a somewhat new thing to believe in, in some aspects of it. Not a few natural kinds of love unite us together. But brotherly love came in largely with the followers of Jesus, viz. that kind of love which brought two men to work together for religious ends.
2. They believe in the practical advantages of two working together.
(1) One sustains the purpose of the other.
(2) The weak side of one character is compensated by the forte of the other.
(3) Many an enterprise must pine for want of sufficient support at the hand of one alone, which may be easily compassed by two, and leave them still spare energy.
3. They disbelieve in unworthy rivalry, in comparisons, in personal ambition. Yet now, eighteen centuries later, these very things are occasionally heard as among the standard objections to two disciples of Jesus Christ being linked together in equal service for him.
IV. BARNABAS AND SAUL GIVE THEMSELVES FOR A WHOLE YEAR TO BUILDING UP AND EDIFYING THE CHURCH AT ANTIOCH.
1. The importance of Church life begins to be recognized, both for itself and for its witness, in the midst of a great people outside.
2. Even nature itself “is vindicating the need and the advantage of teachers and pastors and examples.” “They assembled themselves with the Church, and taught much people.” It was not all evangelization, nor all missionary journeys, even in earliest days of Christianity. And this is more remarkable in the light of an example, when we remember that the good work at Antioch had sprung up of what in brief might be called “self-sown seed.” Those of the dispersion whose hearts burned within them had been, under the Spirit, the beginning of the work. And it was on account of the proportions to which their work had grown, and the fame of it that traveled to Jerusalem, that Barnabas had been sent to visit Antioch. The flock only need to be hungry to look for a shepherd, and the hungry flock do not fail to look up to the shepherd that feeds it.
3. The love of Barnabas and Saul must have been met by much love on the part of those “in and out among whom” they went, teaching them many things. This is the Church love. This is the secret of Church harmony. This the humble beginning alike of the holiness and the happiness of the Church above.
V. THE MINISTRY CONJOINT OF BARNABAS AND SAUL IS BLESSED. It is blessed in two directions.
1. It cannot be said to be a conclusion too remote or far-fetched when we assert that there is evidence of the witness that ministry was to the outside world. That “the disciples were first called Christians at Antioch” and at this time means nothing less than these two things.
(1) They take a status in the world; and this has been verified by history. World-wide their name is known.
(2) That status is given them, even if in partial ridicule, by the world. The Church of disciples, of saints, of brethren, of followers of Jesus, of Nazarenes, made its mark upon them of busy, prosperous, intelligent Antioch. They are not a ragged regiment, nor a rope of sand, nor a quarrelsome litigious clique. They have been doing work and have been living consistently.
2. That ministry has prepared those among whom it was exercised both to feel promptly compassion for their brethren who were to be visited by famine and poverty in Judaea, showing it also promptly by a practical charity and generosity, and also to convey that expression of love in a becoming and grateful manner. Great was the goodness of Barnabas, and great and good was the united ministry and work of him and his chosen, sought colleague, Saul.B.
HOMILIES BY R. TUCK
Act 11:4-17
The efficient answer to objectors.
A man always takes an individual line, in opinion or in conduct, in peril of being misunderstood and called to account by his fellows. And yet the intellectual and moral advance of the race is made only by the pressure forward of individuals who, on some ground, refuse to keep in the old lines, and persist in making their own way even in districts marked by common sentiment as “dangerous.” It is often the precise mission of youth to check the strongly conservative tendency around them, and utter fresh truth, or at least truth in fresh forms. This is illustrated in the case of St. Peter. He had come to grasp a truth which was a heresy from his own older standpoint, and a heresy to those with whom he had been working; but he knew it was truth, so, at the peril of being misunderstood, he acted upon the truth. He now knew that Christ’s gospel was for Gentile as well as Jew, so he fearlessly went into the Gentile’s house, and there preached the Word of life, and baptized the believing household. And he was misunderstood and called to account. The passage before us is his effective defense: to it there could be no reply. He rehearses the whole matter, and says, “God led me, and I followed. God taught me, and I believed. God sealed my work with the witness of his Spirit, and I know I have his acceptance.” This is the answer which the sincere man who acts out of the common line may make to all who oppose or object. “I do but follow the Divine leadings and teachings; God sets my witness, and the testimony I make must be at least a portion of the truth of God.”
I. GOD STILL OPENS HIS TRUTH TO INDIVIDUAL SOULS. We do not, indeed, expect new revelations. There is a sense in which the book-revelation in the Scriptures is complete: no man may add thereto or take therefrom; and no man’s testimony can be of any value save as it can be tested by the revealed Word. And yet, though this may be fully admitted, we may recognize the fact that, through spiritual insight or through intellectual skill, men do bring to light missed and hidden things, or they do set received truths in forms that are new, and by their newness arrest thought and even arouse opposition. In this way every truth of the Divine revelation is brought prominently before men’s thoughts every few years. God sends among us great thought-leaders; stirs, by their preachings or writings, the stagnancy of religious thought, and makes fresh and living to us truths which had become mere dead formalities. St. Peter had but a fresh hold of an ancient truth, one long revealed by psalmist and prophet: still, he had such a new grip as made him a power; even the agent that fulfilled Christ’s will, and “opened the kingdom of heaven to all believers.“
II. THE INDIVIDUAL WITH A FRESH TRUTH MUST EXPECT OPPOSITION. It will surely come from:
1. His fellow-workers, who will feel a secret jealousy of his being made the medium of Divine communications, and who will keenly feel how the new truth interferes with their teachings.
2. Those of conservative tendency, who think the absolute and final truth is in their charge.
3. The earnest but timid people who fear that everything fresh must put God’s truth in peril.
4. The friends of theological or ecclesiastical systems, who consider their systems complete and needing no changes, nor having any open places in which new truth may fit. St. Peter found that an imperfect report of his doings at Caesarea had gone before him to Jerusalem, and when he himself reached the holy city, he was assailed from the very narrowest platform, and accused of the very small sin from our point of view, but very large sin from the Jewish point of view, of “eating with the uncircumcised.” He very wisely refused a discussion on this mere feature of the matter, and explained fully what had happened. Those who contend often take a mere point of detail, and are best met and answered by putting the question in dispute on the broadest, deepest grounds.
III. PROOF OF DIVINE LEADINGS OUGHT TO SILENCE ALL OPPOSITION. This is the great lesson of St. Peter’s conduct and narrative. All through he pleads that he only recognized and followed the Divine will as revealed both to him and to others. God spoke to him in trance, and vision, and providence, and inward impulse. God spoke to Cornelius by angel-form and angel-voice. God sealed the work of St. Peter with the gift of his Spirit, and, as a faithful and true man, he could only go where God led him, and speak as God bade him. To his audience it was the best of all answers, the one that would disarm all opposition. A sincere Jew must be loyal to God’s will, however it might be revealed, and however strange to his feeling it might seem. And this is essentially the answer which every thought-leader and every advanced teacher now must be prepared to make and to prove. If he only speaks, as a man, some religious fancies and feelings of his own, we are rightly skeptical; but if it is plain to us that a man has been “taught of God,” and if we can see signs of acceptance and Divine benediction on his work, then we too must hear his testimony with open and unprejudiced minds, seeking grace to enable us to express our old faith in the new form, or to add the new thought to our received doctrines. God may, indeed, not speak to us now by dream, or trance, or vision, or voice; but we need not therefore think that direct communication with our soul is impossible. Still we may say, “Speak, Lord; for thy servant heareth;” and still we have with us that Holy Ghost, whose work it is” to lead us into all truth, and to show us things to come.” And it should be our abiding conviction and inspiration that “the Lord hath yet more light and truth to break forth from his Word.”R.T.
Act 11:16
Well-stored memories.
A topic suggested by the expression of St. Peter, “Then remembered I the word of the Lord.” Some explanation may be given of “memory” as a distinct mental faculty, but the one on which the acquisition and increase of knowledge greatly depend. A faculty capable of culture, bat taking different features in different individuals. Some have verbal memories, others memory for principles. Some have trained memories in particular subjects, but little power to retain general knowledge. Formal aids to memory are suggested, but its true culture lies in its use. As a mental faculty, it comes under Christian sanctifying, as well as into Christian use. In ordinary education attention is paid to the training of this power, and in the Divine culture attention to it is equally needed. It may even be said of our Lord’s preparation of his apostles for their work, that he stored their memories with his words and his works, so that there might be the material on which the Holy Spirit could hereafter work,” bringing all things up into remembrance” on fitting occasions. Consider
I. STORING MEMORIES. Illustrate what anxious work this is to the parent, the school teacher, and the professor. Due effort is made to ensure
(1) adequate stores;
(2) well-arranged stores;
(3) clearly apprehended stores;
(4) moral stores.
Two things are found necessary to the holding of things in memory
(1) they must be clearly apprehended;
(2) they must be sufficiently repeated.
It is found that we hold things in measures of safety dependent on the amount of attention which we have given to them. Apply these principles to the storing of our memories with religious facts and principles; dwelling on the importance of requiring the young to learn the Scriptures, of demanding from our Christian teachers clearness of statement and efficient repetition; showing that, as in St. Peter’s case, a man only has the right truth or principle at command, on occasions of need, if these have previously been lodged in the memory. The skill with which our Lord, in his time of temptation, fetched the right weapons from the Scripture armory with which to defeat and silence his foe, reveals to us the fact that his memory had been well stored with Scripture during his childhood and youth. The duty of seeing that our own mind is well furnished, and that the minds of those directly under our influence are well furnished, with Scripture facts and truths and principles, should be earnestly pressed. We can do no better service to the young than to fill up their thoughts and hearts with “thoughts of Christ and things Divine.”
II. KEEPING MEMORY–STORES. There is one great law which applies to the efficient retention of any kind of knowledge we may have. It is that we keep adding more stores of the same kind. We virtually lose out of memory facts relating to botany or astronomy unless we keep on adding to them new botanical or astronomical facts. And the same law applies to religious thingsthey will fade down and seem to die out of memory unless we constantly add to them. We retain by increasing. Show how this should be a powerful motive urging us to keep up our daily soul-culture, our reading of the Word, our meditations in the Divine truth, our attendance on the means of grace. We cannot keep what we have unless we set ourselves in the way to get more.
III. USING MEMORY–STORES. Just this St. Peter does in connection with our text. Something occurred which suggested a sentence his Lord had once employed. He hardly knew that he had put it among his memory-stores, but he had been attentive to every word that fell from his Master’s lips, and they came up before him at the moment when he could use them wisely. We often think that there must be much more in our memories than can ever be of service to us, and we even think that it is useless to teach the young so much of Scripture and of Catechism and of hymns. But no man can foretell what situations unfolding life may make for him, or what moral demands it will present. Take any life, and it will be found full of surprises, and it is a very great thing to ensure that we are reasonably prepared for all possible situations. St. Peter could not have imagined himself in the house of Cornelius and set upon using that particular sentence. So we shall find, as life progresses, that
(1) occasions come for the use of our memory-stores;
(2) circumstances help to recall them; and
(3) God’s Spirit brings them up before us, and aids us in finding their proper application and use.
The well-furnished godly memory is no accident. It is a part of the Christian culture, and therefore, for ourselves and for those on whom we are called to exert our influence, we come under solemn and weighty responsibilities. An interesting illustration of the use of a godly memory in time of pressure and need is found in Ezr 8:21-23, where Ezra’s remembrance of God’s promises to and gracious ways with his people in the olden time, gave him strength for an arduous and perilous undertaking.R.T.
Act 11:18
“Repentance unto life.”
This expression is not the one which we should expect the Christian brethren to use in the circumstances. The sentence would seem clearer to us if it read, “Then hath God also to the Gentiles granted admission into the kingdom of Christ,” or “to share in the salvation of Christ.” The prominence of the word “repentance,” and its place as the initial step to “life,” are remarkable and suggestive. Repentance is not made of so much importance in our presentations of the gospel as it was by the apostles, but for their use of it we may find some adequate reasons.
1. The teaching of John the Baptist, and his requirement of repentance as preparatory to the reception of Messiah, retained its influence upon them.
2. When their Master had sent them out on their trial mission, he had given them this distinct message, “Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”
3. When their Lord had been shamefully crucified, by the schemes of the leaders and representatives of the nation, and they had been confirmed in their belief in his Messiahship by his resurrection and ascension, they felt that the judicial murder of the Messiah was the greatest of national crimes, and so they realized how essential was repentance as preceding a profession of faith in him. They had spoken to Jews who, as a nation, through its representatives, had said, “His blood be on us and on our children,” and therefore St. Peter, when answering their question, “What shall we do?” on the day of Pentecost, said, “Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the Name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins” (Act 2:38). And in his sermon following on the healing of the lame man, he said, “Repent ye therefore, and be converted” (Act 3:19). And when called to plead before the great council, he further declared concerning Christ, “Him hath God exalted with his right hand to be a Prince and a Savior, for to give repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins” (Act 5:31). Having this prominent to their minds as the very gist and essence of the gospel message, the Jerusalem disciples spoke in accordance with it when they accepted St. Peter’s explanations, and said, “Then hath God also to the Gentiles granted repentance unto life.“ The force of the combination of these terms, “repentance” and “life,” will be felt if we consider
I. REPENTANCE AS THE FIRST GOSPEL DEMAND. The distinct meaning of the term should be noticed, and the precise meaning of the two Greek equivalents for our one word “repentance” may be pointed out. It is in the higher sense that the term is used by the apostles, and it includes
(1) conviction of sin;
(2) sorrow for sin;
(3) desire to be delivered from sin;
(4) serious purpose to put away and resist sin.
If the gospel were merely some educational or even some moral scheme for elevating the race, it need make no demand for “repentance.” It is a scheme for the deliverance of men from the penalty and the power of sin, and this it can never effect save as it can work along the line of man’s own will. And the only sign and expression of a man’s sense of sin and desire to be freed from it is this “repentance” which the gospel demands. It is the only attitude which the gospel can meet, the only state of mind and feeling with which it can deal. A man is closed in and buttressed against Divine salvation, redemption by grace, until he “truly and unfeignedly repents,” and so feels the need and value of Divine forgiveness, healing, and life. This point may be fully illustrated and enforced, and it may be shown that still the preaching of the gospel fails that does not make first demand for repentance. St. Paul’s great address to the learned Athenians has this for its point and application: “The times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men everywhere to repent“ (Act 17:30).
II. REPENTANCE IS THE FIRST SIGN OF LIFE. The way in which our Lord made his disciples familiar with the term “life” should be pointed out. Right relations with God are spoken of as “life,” “eternal life.” Those relations into which we may come through the Lord Jesus Christ are emphatically recognized as “life; ” the only true, eternal, spiritual life. It is this “life” into which the disciples recognize that the Gentiles are admitted. When this is fully apprehended, the place of repentance in relation to the life will be readily recognized. To feel sin and the need of a Savior is the first sign of the life; it is its first breath; with it the life necessarily begins. Men absorbed in self find a new life when self is crushed in the dust. Men” dead in trespasses and sins” are raised up, to look and breathe and speak, when sorrow for sin comes to them. This is well illustrated in T. Moore’s familiar poem of ‘Paradise and the Peril’ ‘Lalla Rookh.’ The most precious thing on earth, that which may even open heaven’s gate to the banished pert, is the tear that falls from the eye of the penitent sinner.
III. REPENTANCE GIVES PLACE TO LIFE. It is here called “repentance unto life.“ Repentance is a step up to something else. Repentance is a temporary condition of mind and feeling, through which a man passes to something better, something permanent. Show how it passes
(1) into the joyous sense of forgiveness;
(2) into the blessed life of trust in the Dying Savior; and
(3) into the infinite happiness of setting our love upon Christ, and finding ourselves sanctified by the responses and gracious workings of his love to us. In conclusion, urge that repentance is still the one and only threshold of life. “Humbled” we must be “under God’s gracious hand,” before we can be “exalted in his due time.” We dare not hold back today our Lord’s demand of “repentance unto life:”R.T.
Act 11:24
Good Barnabas.
We have had this man introduced to us before, but his character is most fully described in this passage. It may reasonably be asked why St. Luke, in writing the Book of the Acts, should take this opportunity of recording the received opinion about Barnabas. The most simple answer is that he had subsequently to record the dispute between St. Paul and St. Barnabas over Mark, and he was therefore anxious to ensure that his readers did not get a wrong impression, from that incident, of the temper and spirit of Mark’s relative. Deeply as we may regret that sad misunderstanding between the two earnest missionaries, we must not let it throw its dark shadows over Barnabas, for “he was a good man, and full of the Holy Ghost and of faith.” The immediate occasion of sending Barnabas to Antioch has been differently explained. It is remarked, in verse 19, that the scattered disciples went “as far as to Antioch,” but they “preached the Word to none but unto the Jews only.” Then it is noticed that some preachers came from Cyprus and Cyrene to Antioch, and they preached unto the Grecians. Now this term may mean either Hellenistic Jews or Gentiles. The best manuscripts have the word Greeks, and this should be distinctly referred to the heathen, or Gentile, population. If it were so that these disciples preached the gospel to the heathen, and news of this came to the Church at Jerusalem soon after St. Peter’s account of what had taken place at Caesarea, there was good ground for sending Barnabas to inquire into matters at Antioch, to explain the new view of the scope of the gospel as revealed to St. Peter, and to ensure harmonious working between those who labored for the Jew and those who labored for the Gentile. If this was the mission of Barnabas, it is important for us to be told concerning his personal character; for upon it the success of his mission would very largely depend. Only a man of great goodness and generous feeling would be likely to meet aright the difficulties that would be presented. There are many circumstances in life in which “character “can do more and better than “talent,” and talent wins its noblest triumphs when it is united with and sanctified by godly character. Three things are specially noticed in relation to Barnabas.
I. HE WAS GOOD IS CHARACTER. “A good man.” Our attention is directed by this term to his natural excellences of disposition. There was amiability, kindness of purpose and manner, generosity of spirit, considerateness for others, and readiness even to sacrifice his own things for the good of others. He was just the kind of man to win the confidence and esteem of all those among whom he worked; and it would seem that his very failing, in the matter of his dispute with St. Paul, arose from the warmth of his affection for his young relative Mark, and his too great readiness to make excuses for him. “His very failing leaned to virtue’s side.” His “goodness” may be seen and illustrated from each of the incidents in which he is introduced to us.
1. He seems to have set the example of devoting his property to the needs of the early Church (Act 4:36).
2. He it was who overcame the apostolic suspicion of the newly converted Saul, in the generosity of his trustful disposition. When they were all afraid of Saul, “Barnabas took him, and brought him to the apostles,” etc. (Act 9:26-28).
3. His trustfulness is further shown in his making Saul, the new convert, his companion in his missionary labors. It may be urged that, while Christianity masters and corrects naturally bad dispositions, it wins its noblest and most beautiful triumphs when it inspires and sanctifies the naturally amiable and generous and trustful disposition. It is a thing to be ever devoutly thankful to God for, if he has given us characters that may win the love and esteem and confidence of our fellow men.
II. HE WAS FULL OF FAITH. This is something more than natural trustfulness, though closely allied to it. Two things may be included.
1. He had a strong grip of the gospel truth, and was not troubled with weakening and depressing doubts. He held, fast and firmly, the Messiahship and the resurrection of Jesus Christ, and all that these involved. And only men of faith can be men of real power as God’s witnesses and preachers. Men do not want to hear from ministers about their questionings and doubtings. The great cry is, “What do you know of God and truth and duty? What do you believe?”
2. He had a clear vision of the broader aspects of the Christian system. He was a follower of Stephen. He was prepared for the admission of the Gentiles to Christian privileges. And so he was just the man to go down to Antioch and deal with the difficulties that might arise from breaking down the old Jewish bondages. And there is constant demand for such men of faith, who can hopefully accept the passing changes of thought and feeling within the Church, even when they cannot personally sympathize with them. We need men of faith in the sense of broad outlooking and high hope for the future.
III. HE WAS FULL OF THE HOLY GHOST. That Holy Ghost came as the seal of all sincere believers, but it is here suggested that the measures and degrees of his gracious inward workings directly depend on the moods and attitudes and character of the man. And here lies the practical application of our subject. Barnabas, because he was a good man and full of faith, was also full of the Holy Ghost. And we shall find that anxious and careful culture of Christian character will also open our hearts, lives, and workings to the full energies of God the Holy Ghost.R.T.
Act 11:26
Antiochene Christians.
“And the disciples were called Christians first in Antioch.” Before this time they seem to have had no recognized name. Others may have called them “Nazarenes,” or perhaps “Galilmans.” They spoke of their teaching as “the Way,” but do not seem to have found any other name for themselves than that of “disciples.” It was left to circumstances to provide a name which all might accept, and, though the origin of the name “Christian“ is very strange, its appropriateness has been universally recognized. The very essence of the gospel is the presentation of Christ to men, and the pressure of his claims to men’s love and trust; and therefore those who receive Christ as their Savior, and obey him as their Lord, are properly denominated “Christians.” It is usual to call disciples after the name of their master or teacher, as may be seen in the terms “Mohammedan,” “Buddhist,” “Wesleyan,” etc. Sometimes classes of men are named after the central principle which they have adopted. This we cannot do, because our central principle is “Christ”not even some truth about Christ, but Christ himself. So we can have no name but that which the people of Antioch found when they discovered how prominently Christ was set forth in the early preaching.
I. THE THOUGHT OF THOSE WHO FIRST NAMED THE DISCIPLES “CHRISTIANS.” It has often been pointed out that the name was started as a nickname. The idea of making so much of One who was known to have been crucified as a malefactor and impostor may well have excited the ridicule of humorous people, and we know how constantly the disciples were taunted with worshipping the Crucified. A caricature of the early times has been discovered, representing a person, with the head of an ass, stretched upon a cross, and a figure kneeling before it. Underneath is this inscription: “Alexamenos worshipping his God.” In this spirit the name was first given, much as the term “Methodists” was applied to the followers of Wesley.
II. THE THOUGHT OF THOSE WHO ACCEPTED THE NAME, Perhaps in their modesty they did not think themselves worthy to bear their Master’s name; but when others gave it to them they felt that they could accept it. And no name could be to them so honored. Their hesitation, however, might have arisen from another cause. To accept a distinctive title was to break away from Judaism, and take a position as a separate and independent sect. We can well understand how the disciples would hesitate to accept so defined a position. They thought of themselves as still Jews, seeking, some would say, the reformation of Judaism; and others would say, the spiritual fulfillment of Judaism; but anything savoring of sectarianism or separation would be distressing to them. Yet many times in Church history men have been compelled to take decided positions against their own wills, but their distinctness and separateness have proved to be for the world’s permanent good.
III. THE THOUGHT OF THOSE WHO NOW NEAR THE NAME. For so many persons its deeper significance has faded out. It is so universally applied, and made so all-inclusive, as to have become a meaningless term. And yet how full of force and inspiration it should be to us
(1) for the sake of the history which the term embodiesthe long story of Christian witness and struggle; and
(2) for the depths of meaning which we may now find in it, for to us it may mean not merely “followers or disciples of Christ,” but Christ-like men and women, who are daily being “changed into his image from glory to glory; and who want to be “like him in all things”!R.T.
Fuente: The Complete Pulpit Commentary
Act 11:1-18 . The fellowship into which Peter entered with the Gentiles (chap. 10) offends the Jewish Christians at Jerusalem, but their objection is allayed by the apostle through a simple representation of the facts as a whole, and is converted into the praise of God.
is not = . (Kuinoel, de Wette), but throughout Judaea , v. 15, and see Ngelsb. on the Iliad , p. 12, Exo 3 .
Act 11:2 . ] they strove against him. Jud 1:9 ; Dem. 163. 15; Polyb. 2:22. 11; Athen. 12 :p. 544 C.
.] the circumcised Christians, as in Act 10:45 , opposed to the Gentiles ( . ) whose conversion is reported.
is most simply taken as recitative , neither quare , Vulg. (comp. on Mar 9:11 ), nor because (Grotius supplying: hoc querimur ).
. . .] Thus it was not the baptism of these men that they called in question, but the fellowship entered into by Peter with them, especially the fellowship at table (comp. Gal 2:12 ). This was the stone of stumbling: for they had not come to Peter to be baptized, as a Gentile might present himself to become a proselyte; but Peter had gone in to them . Without ground (see, in opposition, Oertel, p. 211), Gfrrer and Zeller employ this passage against the historical character of the whole narrative of the baptism of Cornelius.
. .] An expression of indignation. Eph 2:11 .
Act 11:4 . . .] he began and expounded , so that . is a graphic trait, corresponding to the conception of the importance of the speech in contradistinction to the complaint; [265] comp. Act 2:4 .
Act 11:6 . . ] on which I, having fixed my glance, observed (Act 7:31 ) and saw , etc. This . . . is the result of the .
. ] and the beasts ; specially to make mention of these from among the quadrupeds. In Act 10:12 the wild beasts were not specially mentioned; but there stood before .
Act 11:11 . ] (see the critical remarks) is to be explained from the fact, that Peter already thinks of the , Act 11:12 , as included.
Act 11:12 . ] the men of Joppa, who had gone with Peter to Cornelius (Act 10:23 ), had thus accompanied him also to Jerusalem. They were now present in this important matter as his witnesses.
Act 11:13 . ] the angel already known from chap. 10, a mode of expression, no doubt, put into the mouth of Peter by Luke from his own standpoint.
Act 11:14 . ] by means of which .
Act 11:15 . ] This proves that Peter, after Act 10:43 , had intended to speak still considerably longer.
and , Act 11:17 (it is otherwise with , Act 11:16 ), are to be taken as in Act 10:47 .
] namely, at Pentecost. The period of the apostolic church was then at its beginning .
Act 11:16 . Comp. Act 1:5 .
] A frequent circumstantiality. Luk 22:61 ; Thuc. i. 1. 1, and Krger in loc .; also Bornemann, ad Cyrop. i. 2, 5. Peter had recollected this saying of Christ, because he had seen realized in the Gentiles filled with the Spirit what Jesus, Act 1:5 , had promised to the apostles for their own persons. Herein, as respects the divine bestowal of the Spirit, he had recognised a placing of the Gentiles concerned on the same level with the apostles. And from this baptisma flaminis he could not but infer it as willed by God, that the baptisma fluminis also was not to be refused.
Act 11:17 . ] refers not to , as is assumed by Beza, Heinrichs, and Kuinoel against the order of the words, but to : “as also to us as having become believers,” etc., that is, as He has given it also to us, because we had become believers , so that thus the same gift of God indicated as its basis the same faith in them as in us.
. . .] Two interrogative sentences are here blended into one (Winer, p. 583 [E. T. 784]): Who was I on the other hand? was I able to hinder God , namely, by refusal of baptism? Concerning , in the apodosis , following after a hypothetical protasis, see Ngelsb. on the Iliad , p. 66, Exo 3 ; Baeumlein, Partik. p. 92 f.
Act 11:18 . ] they were silent , Luk 14:4 , often in classical writers. Comp. Locella, ad Xen. Eph. p. 280. The following ( imperfect ) thereupon denotes the continuous praising. Previously contention against Peter (Act 11:2-3 ), now silence , followed by praise of God .
] thus , as results from this event. By , however, is meant the Christian change of disposition; comp. Act 5:31 .
] unto (eternal Messianic) life ; this is the aim of . Comp. , Act 11:14 .
[265] The importance of the matter is the reason why Luke makes Peter again recite in detail the vision narrated. This in opposition to Schleiermacher, who finds in the double narrative a support for his view concerning the composition of the book. Observe how simply Peter makes his experience speak for itself, and then, ver. 16 ff., just as simply, calmly, and with persuasive brevity, subjoins the justification following from this experience.
Fuente: Heinrich August Wilhelm Meyer’s New Testament Commentary
C.The Objections Of Prejudiced Judo-Christians To The Fellowship With Gentiles, Which Had Been Commenced, Are Successfully Answered By Peter, Who Appeals To The Obvious Interposition Of The Lord In The Whole Transaction; Hence, Those Who Had Objected, Are Not Only Satisfied, But Also Offer Thanks To God For The Conversion Of The Gentiles.
Act 11:1-18
1And [But] the apostles and [the] brethren that were in [throughout] Judea heard that the Gentiles had also [also had] received the word of God. 2And when [But when]1 Peter was come [went] up to Jerusalem, they that were of the circumcision contended [disputed] with him, 3Saying, Thou wentest in to men uncircumcised [men having the foreskin], and didst eat with them. 4But Peter rehearsed the matter from the beginning [But Peter began], and expounded it by [set forth in] order unto them, saying, 5I was in the city of Joppa praying: and in a trance I saw a vision, A certain vessel descend, as it had been [as] a great sheet [large linen cloth], let down from heaven by four corners [at four ends]; and it came even to me: 6Upon the which when I had fastened mine eyes [And when I gazed into it], I considered [observed], and saw [the] fourfooted beasts of the earth, and [the] wild beasts, and [the] creeping things, and fowls [the birds] of the air [of heaven]. 7And [But] I heard2 a voice saying unto me, Arise, Peter; slay and eat. 8But I said, Not so, [By no means, O] Lord; for nothing common or unclean hath at any time [for that which is common or unclean hath never yet]3 entered into my mouth. 9 But the [a] voice answered me [om. me]4 again [a second time] from heaven, What God hath cleansed, that call thou not common. 10And this was done three times: and all were drawn up again into heaven. 11And, behold, immediately there were three men already come unto [three men stood before] the house where I was, sent from Cesarea unto me. 12And [But] the Spirit bade me go with them, nothing doubting [om. nothing doubting]5 . Moreover these six brethren accompanied me [But there went with me these six brethren], and we entered into the mans house: 13And he shewed [announced to] us how he had seen an [the, ] angel [standing] in his house, which stood and [who] said unto him, Send men [om. men]6 to Joppa, and call for Simon, whose surname is Peter; 14Who shall tell [will say unto] thee words, whereby [through which] thou and all thy house shall [will] be saved. 15And as I began [But when I had begun] to speak, the Holy Ghost fell on them, as on us at the beginning. 16Then remembered I the word of the7 Lord, how that he said, John indeed [om. indeed] baptized with water; but ye shall [will] be baptized with the Holy Ghost. 17Forasmuch then as [If, then, ] God gave them the like gift as he did unto us, who [when we] believed on the Lord Jesus Christ, what was I, that I could [how, then, was I able to]8 withstand God? 18When they heard these things, they held their peace [were quieted], and glorified9 God, saying, Then hath God also to the Gentiles granted repentance [change of mind] unto life.
EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL
Act 11:1-2. And the apostles heard.The conversion and baptism of Cornelius created a sensation in the church of Christ. Even before Peter returned to Jerusalem (Act 11:2), the apostles and the Christians in Judea, ( , throughout Judea, residing in different parts of the province), obtained information that the Gentiles also had accepted the word of God. The manner in which the fact itself is stated, shows, in the first place, that it had made a favorable impression on the apostles and the great majority of Christians in Judea, and had gratified them; for it unquestionably promoted the honor of God when Gentiles also, and, therefore, not Israelites exclusively, received the Gospel. In the second place, the expression implies that the event was regarded as involving an important principle, and as being decisive in its nature; for these believers considered the act of individual Gentiles as bearing a representative character, since it showed that Paganism, viewed as a whole, was capable of receiving the word of God.
Act 11:3. Thou wentest didst eat with them.All the believers, however, did not receive such impressions, or else doubts may have gradually arisen in the minds of many, which altered their original favorable view of the case. This circumstance manifested itself when Peter returned to Jerusalem; those who were , Act 11:2, censured him.Who are these persons? The expression resembles the one which occurs in Act 10:45 : , except that the latter is less likely to attract attention, since Peter and his Judo-Christian attendants from Joppa are there surrounded by heathens, i.e., by uncircumcised men. But here in Jerusalem, on the contrary, there was certainly at that time, not one man among all the Christians, who was not an Israelite, and, consequently, circumcised. If, therefore, in the midst of the Judo-Christian congregation, are specially brought forward, this term cannot be intended to state the objective, religious and national fact that they were circumcised Jews, but can refer only to subjective [personal] views and sentiments. Those only of the Judo-Christians are, accordingly, described by it, who assigned a peculiar value to circumcision, and, without doubt, to the observance of the Mosaic law in general. With this explanation the statement in the present verse agrees. These persons , that is, they disputed, contended with Peter (, secernor, pugna decerno, dimico); they declared it to be a ground of reproach to him, that he had entered the house of uncircumcised men, and eaten at the same table with them. Here and are, accordingly, antithetical terms. These strict men of the circumcision did not reproach Peter for having preached the Gospel to heathens and baptized them; such a course, indeed, they could not easily pronounce to be wrong, especially in view of the command of Jesus to preach the Gospel to all nations. But they could not reconcile it with their lofty conceptions of a strictly legal course of action, and of the dignity of an Israelite, that Peter should have commenced such a familiar intercourse, and such a close fellowship with pagans, entered a pagan house, and sat as a guest at the table of an uncircumcised man. If these opponents of Peter reflected further, they must have at last arrived at the conclusion that those pagans who hear the word of Christ and believe it, should necessarily be first circumcised and fully incorporated with the people of Israel, before a Christian, that is, a Judo-Christian, could hold intercourse with them without restraint, and maintain a fraternal fellowship with them. And this was undoubtedly the Judaizing principle, in the proper sense of the term.
Act 11:4-11. But Peter from the beginning [But Peter began.].The word is not intended merely to describe the general fact that Peter began to speak, but also implies that his narrative took a wide range, and embraced the earliest circumstances connected with the event. The term denotes that the apostle furnished a detailed and regular statement of all the facts, in the order in which they successively occurred. It is precisely the intimate manner in which the several incidents in the narrative are here interwoven with each other, that produces conviction, and silences every doubt. The true purport and meaning of the revelation which God granted to Peter in the vision (Act 11:5-10), are unfolded by the arrival of the messengers from Cesarea (Act 11:11), which coincided in time with the vision, as well as by the simultaneous command of the Spirit (Act 11:12) that he should accompany them. And when the apostle enters the house of Cornelius, he learns that the latter had also received a divine command, and had been directed to send to Joppa, in order to hear the saving word from Peters own mouth. As soon, moreover, as the Gospel is proclaimed to Cornelius and his friends, (Act 11:15), the outpouring of the Holy Ghost occurs, and thus the several circumstances are all intimately connected with one anothereach particular illustrates, explains, and confirms the rest, and the whole not only produces an harmonious impression on the mind, but also testifies incontrovertibly; It is the will of God! And, as the event exercised such great influence on the enlargement and regular development of the church of Christ, Luke here repeats, in the words of the apostle, the principal features of the narrative which he had himself given in the previous chapter.
Act 11:12-14. And the Spirit bade me go, etc.The word which is appended to , Act 11:12, shows that the Christians of Joppa, who had accompanied Peter to Cesarea, subsequently went with him to Jerusalem; this could have the more easily occurred, if, as it is probable, Peter at once proceeded to that city, without returning to Joppa. It is, besides, quite possible that Peter anticipated that some individuals in Jerusalem would remonstrate against the course of action which he had pursued, and hence desired the presence of these brethren as witnesses of the divine guidance in the whole transaction.
Act 11:15. And as I began.The language: , implies that Peter had not yet concluded, but intended to continue his discourse, when he was interrupted by the unexpected occurrence to which he here refers. [. is not pleonastic, as some have supposed, but is equivalent to: I had scarcely spoken a few words, when, etc. Winer: Gr. N. T. 65. 7. d.Tr.]. When he mentions here the communication of the Spirit, he purposely lays a stress specially on its identity with the original communication of the Spirit to the Christians: , namely, in the beginning of the outpouring of the Holy Ghost [on the day of Pentecost. (Meyer).Tr.].When he afterwards says, Act 11:17 : , etc., the participle . refers to , which stands nearest to it, and neither to the more remote (Kuinoel), nor to both pronouns at the same time. For, as Bengel has ingeniously observed, this clause is intended to set forth that faith in Jesus was the condition on which alone the Christians had, at the beginning, received the gift of the Holy Ghost. The sense is: Not because we were Israelites, nor because we had obtained, circumcision, but because we believed in Jesus as the Lord and Messiah, God has granted to us the gift of the Spirit, and indeed as a , as a free gift of grace, to which we had no rightful claim, and which God did not owe to us.
Act 11:16. Then remembered I he said.When Peter refers to the words of Jesus, which are recorded both in Luk 3:16 [Luk 24:49], and in Act 1:5, the sense is not merely, that Peter had lived to witness the extension to pagans also of the gift which had been promised more immediately to the apostles (Meyer); the apostle rather speaks emphatically of the relation existing between baptism with water and baptism with the Spirit in the following sense: When the Lord promised us His baptism, it was the baptism with the Spirit; now if He has granted to pagans the same baptism with the Holy Ghost, which we ourselves had previously received, baptism with water could not, in that case, be denied to them, for such a denial would have, very erroneously, represented the latter as being more important and more holy than the baptism with the Spirit.
Act 11:17-18. a. As God gave them, etc. [the like gift us, who believed; see above, on Act 11:15.Tr.].The question in the apodosis (Act 11:17): , contains an inference corresponding to the foregoing [ etc. is the protasis.Tr.]. The particle [see note 8 above, appended to the text.Tr.] in the conditional clause, gives prominence to a certain antithesis, which is a double one in the present case, in which two interrogative clauses are combined. [Winer: Gr. N. T. 66. 5. (3).Tr.]. Peter asks: Who, on the other hand, was I? and, Was I, then, able to hinder God? The former question contrasts God with man, the latter, Gods almighty will and action with mans feeble powers. In each respect it was impossible to hinder God, that is, when he decreed to save these pagans, and to incorporate them with the kingdom of Christ, as well as those who were Jews by birth. [. . . i.e., to hinder God, by hindering the baptism (Act 10:47), which his will contemplated, when he communicated the Spirit. (de Wette).Tr.]
b. It hence appears that Peter did not restrict himself to the special objection which was made to his course in accepting the hospitality of pagans, and sitting at the table with them; he also took, as the basis of his vindication of himself, the gracious purpose of God respecting the Gentiles, in so far as that purpose was unmistakably revealed in the acts of God. If he could exhibit the subject distinctly and convincingly, from this point of view, his defence of himself for entering into social relations with pagans, would be perfectly successful. And such was really the case, according to Act 11:18. For, those who had entertained scruples, were not only satisfied (), after hearing this address, and tacitly withdrew all that they had said in reproach of Peter, but also enthusiastically proclaimed the praises of God ( etc.), who had granted so great a gift as a change of mind to heathens also, with a view to life or to salvation. The change of tense in and [see note 9 above, appended to the text.Tr.], informs us that Peters opponents were at once satisfied, but that the thanks and praises which they gave to God, were enduring.
DOCTRINAL AND ETHICAL
1. The circumstance is not concealed from us, that a difference of opinion existed among the members of the primitive church respecting the procedure of Peter in the case of Cornelius, insomuch that even reproaches were addressed to the apostle on account of his conduct. A feeling of dissatisfaction manifested itself, like that which is mentioned in Act 6:1; in the latter case, it was entertained by one part of the church against the other, but it is here an apostle with whom a part of the church is dissatisfied. Sacred History does not purpose to exhibit the believers in an ideal light, which would require that such facts should be veiled, but presents the whole case in accordance with the truth. Even the apostolic church was not distinguished by such unity of sentiment, that no difference of opinion could arise and cloud it. And even if this dissatisfaction with Peters course, and these complaints originally proceeded from a zeal of God [Rom 10:2], it is, at the same time, perfectly clear that this zeal was not according to knowledge, and that moral defects also exercised an influence. Nevertheless, all is reported with the utmost candor, not merely for the sake of historical truth, but also in order that we might derive a warning from it, and understand that he that thinketh he standeth, should take heed lest he fall! (1Co 10:12).
2. The deportment of the apostle Peter, when he heard these reproaches, was truly evangelical, and in accordance with the mind of Jesus, and was not hierarchical in its character. Far from retiring behind the protection of his apostolical authority and power, or leaning for support on any alleged primacyfar from claiming to be infallible in deciding a question of principle, or declining to furnish explanations and to justify himself, he allowed his opponents to express themselves unreservedly and fully. His defence, which was made with the utmost calmness and gentleness, was so constructed that the facts themselves spoke aloud, insomuch that even his opponents voluntarily confessed that they were vanquished. It was only in this way that the discussion could really result in majorem Dei gloriam ( , Act 11:18); and it produced this result far more successfully than if the principle had been tenaciously held, that the apostle was a priori necessarily right, or, that, in view of the contracted judgment of the laity, he was by no means bound to explain his conduct.
HOMILETICAL AND PRACTICAL
Act 11:1. The apostles and brethren heard.The sweet savour of Christ [2Co 2:15] is sometimes widely diffused by a single family. (Quesn.).It will ever be an honor to this upright man (Peter), that he dared to be the first who, in company with others, guided poor heathens to Christ by means of the Gospel. If, then, it should even be the case that nothing at all is said about any one of us, except that we had not labored in vain to save sinners through the Gospelthat here a sinner had been awakened, or there a thirsting soul sought the grace of Godthat here a soul had found peace, or there another obeyed the Gospeland, that we had faithfully guided all,this would be an abiding praise before God. (Ap. Past.).Cesarea and Antioch, the joy of Jerusalem. This is the theme of the present chapter. The Lord subdued the carnal thoughts of the believers who were of the circumcision, so that they were quieted; they now not only praised God for all that had occurred in Cesarea, but also stretched forth fraternal hands to Antioch, so that all might be accomplished in that city, which the tokens in Cesarea had indicated. Before Luke exhibits to us the progress of the Gospel from Antioch even to the end of the earth, he directs our attention to the unity of the Spirit, which marked the relations between Antioch and Jerusalem; but Cesarea was the bond of peace which the Lord had, in a wonderful manner, established between these two cities. (Besser).
Act 11:2-3. But when Peter was come up they contended with him, etc.How often wisdom still has to justify herself on account both of her children, and of her manner of gathering them, in answer to many a censure and many an objection which men pronounce! Who can perform any work so skilfully, as to be liable to no objection? But it is often well that such opposition counterbalances the joy with which success might inspire us, as we thus the more surely remain in that humble and calm frame of mind, which Peter here exhibits. (Rieger).The church in Jerusalem did not recognize Peter as a pope, since she here calls him to account. (Starke).The discussion of religious subjects, it is true, can seldom take place, without being, to a certain extent, a source of offence; still, it is often attended with the advantage that the truth is thus more fully brought to light, (id.).We learn from this contention, 1. That even among Gods saints no one has been free from blemishes and folly; and although we cannot compare the large rents in the walls of our modern Zion with the inconsiderable crevices that may be discovered in the primitive church, nevertheless, the church has at all times been, and always will continue to be, a lazar-house, in which the sick and the infirm are restored by Jesus, the faithful Physician. Let no one, then, despond, who is required to fulfil the duties of his office among the dead and the living, the healthy and the sick. 2. But, on the other hand, we ought not to ascribe the faults of the saints to a malicious spirit. There are some, who, when they speak of the devout, strain at gnats, while, at other times, they can even swallow camels. There are others who look at the failings of the apostles through a magnifying glass, and charge them with having misunderstood the mind of their Master, with having caused his plan to fail, etc., because they cannot establish their own system of faith, except on the ruins of the apostolic doctrine. There are even individuals who attempt to palliate their own transgressions, by appealing to the faults and sins of believers in the primitive church. It is necessary to explain to all such persons the distinction between faults and weaknesses, on the one hand, and unfaithfulness and unholiness of feeling, on the otherto show them that the faults of believers are not presented as models, but recorded as warningsand to exhort them to repent, and do the first works [Rev 2:5]. Pastors, especially, are bound to guard against indulging a contentious spirit, and to remember the word of Paul: If any man seem to be contentious, [let him know that (Germ. version)] we have no such custom. [1Co 11:16]. 3. When we have truly known and experienced the universal love of God, we can form a more correct judgment respecting many occurrences which are connected with the kingdom of God, although they may take place beyond the pale of our own creed, and we will be preserved from yielding to an undue zeal against other religions. It will give us pleasure when, here or there, another soul is won, even if we might object in part to the manner in which that soul was approached. 4. They were of the circumcision, or believers among the Jews, who took offence at the baptism of the Gentiles [see Exeg. note on Act 11:3.Tr.]. Their attachment to the traditions of the fathers, and their erroneous views of certain passages of the Scriptures, led them to regard the observance of the Mosaic law as necessary. A remnant of the Jewish leaven still fermented in them, and, through them, in the primitive church. We here find a striking illustration of the force of old and deep-rooted prejudices, even in the case of converted men. The tendency to rely on works, as if they were meritorious, is not entirely extirpated, even when its gross forms cease to appear after conversion. (Ap. Past.).The infirmities of believers: they are to be regarded, I. Not as facts which bear witness against the faith, but as evidences of human imperfection, over which faith has not yet fully prevailed; II. Not as palliations of our own sins, but as facts which warn him who stands, to take heed lest he fall.The divisions in the primitive Churchexhibited to Christendom, for the purpose of, I. Humbling men, by exposing the power of the enemy, who never fails to sow tares among the wheat; II. Comforting men, by demonstrating that nothing new or strange occurs in the experience of the church, when rents and divisions take place in our day; III. Instructing men, by showing how such divisions may be healed, through the power of evangelical truth and love.
Act 11:4-17. [See above, Hom. etc. on Act 10:9-23.]. Observe here a beautiful illustration of humility, as furnished by a religious teacher. Peter gives an account of his conduct with modesty, in full accordance with his own exhortation (1Pe 3:15-16), in a very different manner from the bishops of Rome, who will not consent to be judged by any one. Psa 12:4. (Starke).Here he was truly Peter; like a rock that cannot be moved, he retained all his firmness when the brethren assailed him, and neither permitted himself to doubt the truth of his convictions, nor lost his calmness and gentleness. How would we have sustained ourselves in such a trialwe, who are often so sensitive and impatient when sincere friends kindly admonish us, or, after we have ascertained the will of God, begin to waver, when we hear the opinions of men? (From Ap. Past.).The testimony of the six brethren of Joppa, who had accompanied Peter, was now of great advantage to him. Hence, it is well, if we desire to obviate all doubts, to act with openness, and to secure the testimony of men of acknowledged veracity. (Rieger).The defence of the apostle is, in its whole character, calm, natural and convincing. He relates all the circumstances of the case with precision, and specially dwells on those which justified his conduct, e. g., his own prejudice at the beginning, the heavenly vision, etc. This mode of demonstrating his innocence, by a plain statement of the facts themselves, corresponds precisely to the spirit of Christianity, which demands that truth and uprightness should constitute the basis of all our actions. (From Ap. Past.).The apostle Peters vindication, in the presence of the Christians, of his conduct in baptizing heathens: I. That he vindicates himself; II. The manner in which he does it. (Schleiermacher).
Act 11:18. When they heard these things, they held their peace.The strong should bear with the infirmities of the weak, but the latter should also be willing to receive the admonitions of the former. (Starke).To err is human, but to adhere resolutely to an error of which we are convinced is devilish. How much injury has been inflicted on the church of God by that obstinacy which continues to defend erroneous views, because they have been once adopted! (Ap. Past.)The objections of human short-sightedness against the wonderful ways of divine wisdom: they must end, I. In self-abasement and silence, II. In joyful praise of God.
ON THE WHOLE SECTION.Peters defence of his conduct before the brethren, a model of a fraternal vindication: I. By its evangelical gentleness and humility; II. By its apostolical firmness and candor.
The best witnesses of a servant of God, when he is assailed and misjudged: I. The commission of God, of which he is conscious; II. The eyes of men, in whose presence he labored; III. The peace of mind with which he can justify himself; IV. The fruits of his labors, to which he may point.
Then hath God also to the Gentiles granted repentance unto life: let us here observe, I. The greatness of divine mercy; II. The blessings which follow mans repentance.
The reception of the first heathen family into the Christian brotherhood: I. A glorious triumph of divine wisdom and mercy; II. A noble proof of Christian humility and charity; III. A. powerful impulse to that love which seeks the salvation of men.
Footnotes:
[1]Act 11:2. is better sustained by manuscripts [A. B. E. Cod. Sin., followed by Lach. Tisch. and Alt.], and ancient versions [Vulg. etc.] than [of text. rec. with G. H.Tr.]
[2]Act 11:7. [ omitted before in text. rec. with G. H., is found in A. B. E. Cod. Sin., Vulg. etc. and adopted by Lach., Tisch., and Alf.; D. reads .Tr.]
[3]Act 11:8. before [of text. rec.] is very feebly supported [by G. H.]; it was doubtless introduced into some MSS. from Act 10:14. [Omitted in A. B. D. E, Cod. Sin. Vulg. etc. and by later editors.Tr.]
[4]Act 11:9. [of text. rec.] before is wanting in good authorities [A. B. Cod. Sin. vulg. etc., but is found in E. G. H.; in D.]; it was probably interpolated in order to correspond to Act 11:7 [or to Act 10:15, (Alf.); omitted by Lach. Tisch. and Alf.Tr.]
[5]Act 11:12. The words [of text. rec. with E. G. H. Vulg. etc.], are cancelled by Tischendorf as spurious, because they are wanting even in that MS. which has, in this section, inserted the largest number of glosses in the text, viz. Cantabrig. (D); other manuscripts read or [the latter is the reading of A. B., and is adopted by Lach., and favored by de Wette], or [minuscules]. Cod. Sin. and one uncial MS. of the second rank, i. e. Cod. Basileensis (E) read [but a later hand altered the reading of Cod. Sin. to.Tr.]. The great diversity in the readings makes it probable that both words were a later addition derived from Act 10:20. [The words are omitted in D. Syr. etc. and by Alf.Tr.]
[6]Act 11:13. [of text. rec. with E. G. H.] after , is wanting in important manuscripts [A. B. D. Cod. Sin.], and in most of the ancient versions [Syr. Vulg.]; it was interpolated here from Act 10:5. [Omitted by recent editors.For after . of text. rec. with E. G. H., and retained by Alf., is substituted from A. B. D. (also Cod. Sin.) by Lach. Tisch. and Bornem. with whom Meyer concurs.Tr.]
[7]Act 11:16. [Some editors (Griesb.; Knapp, Lach.) who are now sustained by Cod. Sin., insert before , from A. D. E.Tisch. and Alf., with text. rec., in accordance with G. H., fathers, etc. omit the word; comp. 1Pe 1:25, and see Winer: Gram. N. T. 19 1, under .Tr.]
[8]Act 11:17. [of text. rec.] after is indeed wanting in A. B. D [and Cod. Sin.], and some minuscules, as well as in several versions [Syr. Vulg. and some fathers]; hence Lachmann has cancelled it. But it is attested by E. G. H., as well as some versions, and would scarcely have been inserted, if it had been originally omitted, as it seemed to be superfluous, [ was simply dropped, because it was not understood; here it occurs, as it often does in the apodosis after (in the classics), in order to give prominence to the antithesis ( ). Herm. Viger. p. 783, annot. 401. Lipsi. 1834. (de Wette).Retained by Alf. and Meyer.Tr.]
[9]Act 11:18. [text. rec. with A. E., and retained by Tischend. and Alf.] is far better supported than , which Lachmann has preferred [and which is found in B. and Cod. Sin.], but which was adopted only for the sake of uniformity [to correspond to the aor. ; de Wette, who refers to Luk 8:23 prefers the imperfect tense, as that of continued action; see above, EXEG. on Act 8:15-17 ult., of text. rec. and E. G. H. is preferred by Alf. to of A. B. D. and Cod. Sin.; the latter form is adopted by Lachm. and Tisch.Tr.]
Fuente: A Commentary on the Holy Scriptures, Critical, Doctrinal, and Homiletical by Lange
CONTENTS
The tidings of Cornelius’s Conversion are communicated to the Church Jerusalem. Peter is at first reproved for going to Cornelius; but: afterwards the Apostles glorify God for the Mercy. Some Account of Barnabas.
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
And the apostles and brethren that were in Judea heard that the Gentiles had also received the word of God. (2) And when Peter was come up to Jerusalem, they that were of the circumcision contended with him, (3) Saying, Thou wentest in to men uncircumcised, and didst eat with them. (4) But Peter rehearsed the matter from the beginning, and expounded it by order unto them, saying, (5) I was in the city of Joppa praying: and in a trance I saw a vision, A certain vessel descend, as it had been a great sheet, let down from heaven by four corners; and it came even to me: (6) Upon the which when I had fastened mine eyes, I considered, and saw fourfooted beasts of the earth, and wild beasts, and creeping things, and fowls of the air. (7) And I heard a voice saying unto me, Arise, Peter; slay and eat. (8) But I said, Not so, Lord: for nothing common or unclean hath at any time entered into my mouth. (9) But the voice answered me again from heaven, What God hath cleansed, that call not thou common. (10) And this was done three times: and all were drawn up again into heaven. (11) And, behold, immediately there were three men already come unto the house where I was, sent from Caesarea unto me. (12) And the Spirit bade me go with them, nothing doubting. Moreover these six brethren accompanied me, and we entered into the man’s house: (13) And he showed us how he had seen an angel in his house, which stood and said unto him, Send men to Joppa, and call for Simon, whose surname is Peter; (14) Who shall tell thee words, whereby thou and all thy house shall be saved. (15) And as I began to speak, the Holy Ghost fell on them, as on us at the beginning. (16) Then remembered I the word of the Lord, how that he said, John indeed baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost. (17) Forasmuch then as God gave them the like gift as he did unto us, who believed on the Lord Jesus Christ; what was I, that I could withstand God? (18) When they heard these things, they held their peace, and glorified God, saying, Then hath God also to the Gentiles granted repentance unto life.
It will not be necessary to detain the Reader long over these verses, seeing they are but a recapitulation of what passed on the occasion of Cornelius’s conversion, and are contained in the preceding Chapter, What I would chiefly request might be noticed, is, the conduct of the Church, in reproving Peter; and the very gracious behavior of the Apostle, in his modest defense of himself, in answer. Both are very instructive. The Apostles and Brethren which were in Judea, seem to have manifested a different conduct, upon a former occasion, when tidings was brought to them, that Samaria had received the word of God: for they sent upon that account, Peter and John to them, by way of comfort and confirmation. See Act 8:14-15 . But here the reverse seems to have actuated them. It serves to teach us, how improper all hasty judgments are. The best of men, and the best of Churches, and in the best of times, are but men of like passions with ourselves. It is blessed to know it. And it is blessed to be humbled under a sense of it. Nothing more sweetly and powerfully preacheth Christ, than when taught our nothingness without him.
What a beautiful example Peter holds forth, both to ministers and people, in the quietness and meekness of mind, he manifested to the reproaches, with which he was first received by the Church, on his return. Caesarea from Jerusalem was little short of seventy-five miles. And it was a sad reception, which they gave him in their reproof when he went up from the house of Cornelius to Jerusalem, to inform the Church of what had happened. Peter knew who had sent him. And he was conscious of the Lord’s blessing upon his labors. These things, no doubt, fortified his mind, and enabled him to bear all their reproaches. The Lord’s faithful people may, and ought to learn from hence, that God’s services, when they are employed in them by Him, and blessed in them by Him, will be sure to call forth the displeasure of men; yea, even the Lord’s own people, (as was the case here,) shall sometimes be prompted by the enemy, to afflict their brethren, ignorant of what they do. Sometimes our false misconception of things, sometimes our judging by report too hastily; and sometimes, and perhaps not unfrequently, from the remains of indwelling corruption, jealousies creep in our hearts, and we feel somewhat which ought not to be, rising there. The Church complained of it, when she said; my mother’s children were angry with me, Son 1:6 . Reader! if you and I know with Paul, the plague of our own hearts; and that even in ourselves corruptions arise, which war against the soul and are bringing us into captivity, into the law of sin which is in our members; how can we wonder that others, who neither know our motives of conduct, nor the leadings of them, should sometimes reproach us?
And while such views of the common infirmity of nature, will, under grace, tend to soften the minds of the Lord’s people, and suppress anger at any of their little unkind misconstruction of conduct when we are conscious we have not merited their displeasure; such will in an eminent degree under the Lord, preserve faithful ministers of Jesus, as Peter, in the instance before us, in patience to possess their souls, when the world, or still more the mistaken men in the Church, come forth to reprove them. To shew displeasure because we know ourselves to be right, is not the plan to correct them that are wrong. It is rather turning that which is lame out of the way. How much better, like the Apostle, in brotherly affection to submit as he did, the point to their cool decision: and how soon were their tempers changed, and the Lord glorified! This is what the Apostle Paul called, in meekness instructing those that oppose themselves. For, said he, the servant of the Lord must not strive, but be gentle unto all men: and an example of the believers in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity, 1Ti 4:12 .
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
St. Barnabas’ Exhortation
Act 11:22-23
A very great work had been going on in Antioch. There had been many signal conversions. It was after this ‘Mission’ and these conversions that Barnabas, an older minister, came to Antioch.
I. What St. Barnabas Saw. He saw the real, secret spring, the very essence of it all. ‘He saw the grace of God,’ the free workings of God’s own love, the decrees of God’s sovereignty, the acting of God’s omnipotence. ‘And he was glad.’ ‘Glad’ not only and so much that men were made happy, or that men were saved, but that God was glorified, that His ‘grace’ was manifested. ‘When he had seen the grace of God, he was glad.’ What did he do? He was very jealous that this ‘grace of God’ should continue, continue and be magnified.
II. His Exhortation. ‘That with purpose of heart they would cleave unto the Lord.’ The advice fits Christians of today.
(a) Purpose of heart. This may have many objects in view.
i. Purpose of heart. This may have many objects in Whom you serve.
ii. That some besetting sin may be conquered.
iii. That there shall be greater earnestness in devotion.
iv. That there shall be more love in daily life.
v. That there shall be more regularity and more frequency of attendance at Holy Communion.
(b) ‘ Cleave unto the Lord.’ To ‘cleave to the Lord’ means to be feeling that He is your very life, that you are making Him your very necessity, and to be always trying to make Him closer, and closer, and closer, till you are actually one with Christ. It is God’s word for marriage: ‘A man shall cleave unto his wife’. It is David’s cry, when he could not raise his thoughts or disentangle himself from his worldliness: ‘My soul cleaveth to the dust’. It is like the limpet to the rock. It knows that once separated from that rock it dies!
St. Barnabas the Apostle
Act 11:22-24
After the martyrdom of St. Stephen there followed ‘a great persecution against the Church,’ so that its members were scattered abroad into many regions. But those who had been scattered ‘preached the Lord Jesus’ in Phenice, and Cyprus, and Antioch, ‘and the hand of the Lord was with them; and a great number believed,’ especially at Antioch. These tidings coming to the ears of the Mother Church at Jerusalem, so gladdened the hearts of its members that they sent Barnabas on a special mission to Antioch; and no better man could they despatch to ascertain the truth or otherwise of what they had heard. The writer of the Acts describes his characteristics.
(1) ‘He was a good man.’ ‘Good,’ not in the common acceptation of the term, but in the Divine. If a man lives morally; if he pays that which he owes; if he bestows his goods to feed the poor; if he conforms to the rules of society and the forms of religion, whatever his motives for so doing, by universal consent he is denominated ‘a good man’. Now the goodness of Barnabas involved all this. He was of the tribe of Levi; a son of consolation as his name signifies, and as he was surnamed by his fellow-Apostles; and so kind and charitable that he sold all his lands at Cyprus, and laid the money at the Apostles’ feet at Jerusalem, that they might distribute to the necessities of the poor. But the goodness of Barnabas was Divine the creation of the Holy Spirit; for He makes all really good men (Joh 1:12-13 ).
(2) He was ‘full of the Holy Ghost’. Not that he was with the Twelve, when, on the day of Pentecost, ‘they were all filled with the Holy Ghost’; but it has been surmised that he was one of the converts made on that glorious day. Be this as it may, the same Divine privilege was granted to him. And it had the same sanctifying effect in him, though not accompanied by the gift of tongues.
(3) He was also ‘full of faith’. He was ‘strong in faith, giving glory to God’. And because he believed in God he had faith in his mission. He knew and felt that Christianity was God’s living remedy for the world’s deadly ills, and therefore must ultimately prove efficacious in healing them. With this firm conviction, the offspring of his faith, he laboured most abundantly to spread it.
Of his visit to Antioch the Acts tells us two things:
(1) The triumphs of Divine grace made him glad. He saw that the work was genuine, and that precious souls had been converted that the cross of his despised Lord had prevailed. He was a perfect contrast to Jonah, who, because Divine mercy spared ‘more than six score thousand persons ‘in Nineveh, foolishly and angrily charged God for His ‘great kindness’. He was rather like David, who, when he had seen the doing of the Lord, exclaimed, ‘Thou hast made me glad through Thy work; I will triumph in the work of Thy hands’. This is a primary evidence of true saintliness.
(2) He exhorted the newly made converts to steadfastness. He knew that the same hostility and persecution would be shown to those of Antioch which had been shown to their brethren at Jerusalem; but he also knew that, like the Captain of their salvation, they must be ‘made perfect through suffering’. So he exhorted them to Christlike steadfastness. The staple of his animating address was ‘that with purpose of heart they would cleave unto the Lord’. The need of this was paramount. Barnabas was himself an impressive example of the principle he taught. Ever did he ‘cleave unto the Lord’. From the moment of his call to the ministry (Act 13:2-3 ) to the moment of his death he was found doing so. Nay, at his death he seemed more than ever the steadfast Apostle of Jesus. According to tradition, he ended his life where he began it at Cyprus. One day he went into the synagogue of Salamis, and began, as was his wont, to preach Christ to the assembly. Certain Jews, who had come over from Syria to the island to stir up the people against him, laid their hands on him, and confined him in the synagogue until night, when they dragged him forth, stoned him to death, and then tried to burn his body to ashes. But his body is said to have resisted the power of the flames, though it did not that of the stones, and St. Mark buried it. Such a man takes rank as a leader among ‘the glorious company of the Apostles’ and ‘the noble army of martyrs’.
References. XI. 23. H. Arnold Thomas, Christian World Pulpit, vol. lv. p. 20. C. Perren, Sermon Outlines, p. 201. W. G. Rutherford, The Key of Knowledge, p. 88.
The Character of St. Barnabas (For St. Barnabas’ Day)
Act 11:24
Such, in these few brief words, is the character of St. Barnabas ‘For he was a good man, and full of the Holy Ghost’. There is no chance connection between the two parts of this sentence, ‘He was a good man, and full of the Holy Ghost,’ and there are two things which it might be well for every one of us to take to heart: First of all, that all goodness is the gift of the Holy Ghost ‘Who sanctifieth me, and all the elect people of God’. And the converse of that truth, so to speak, we might also bear in mind not only that all goodness must come from the Holy Ghost, but also, that where there is goodness there is always the work of the Holy Ghost. This was the great sin, the great offence, of the Pharisees, as you will remember, in the time of our Lord, that they saw His goodness but would not allow it; that they ascribed His goodness not to the Holy Spirit, but to the work of devils. That was the last and the lowest mark of their failure.
Those thoughts seem naturally to suggest themselves as one reads the account of St. Barnabas: ‘He was a good man and full of the Holy Ghost’. Yet men may be good and weak, and St. Barnabas would certainly seem to have an element of weakness in his character, which came out in two ways: I. First of all, in the matter of eating with the Gentiles. You will remember how at Antioch he and St. Peter, with others, forgot their own prejudices and customs and had boldly sat down to eat with the Gentile Christians; but when there came certain Jewish Christians, we are told that first of all Peter (who in many respects was notoriously weak) silently and gradually withdrew himself, and ate no more with them; and even Barnabas, says Paul with some indignation, ‘was carried away with their dissimulation’.
II. And, secondly, his weakness came out in another and still more famous episode in his life that which was connected with St. Mark. On one lonely journey, St. Paul and St. Barnabas determined to take with them Mark, the young cousin of Barnabas, who may have had a soft training, being the only son of a rich widow, living, perhaps, in a villa of Gethsemane outside Jerusalem. This young man, who had been brought up in considerable luxury, when the crisis of his life came, when he found himself face to face with the robbers and other unpleasant accompaniments of travel in Asia Minor in those days, losing heart, returned to Jerusalem. Then, later on, having, perhaps, gone through some silent struggle of his own, he offered himself again for the service, and Barnabas wished to take him, but Paul refused, and the quarrel waxed hot between them. Here Barnabas was weak. The young man had forfeited their confidence, but Barnabas said, like many others, peace at any price.
So we even have here the beginning of a system known as nepotism, or the favouring of relations the preference of kinsmen for this place or for that. So there came that great Apostolic quarrel. And they parted, those two Apostles, and after this parting from St. Paul, St Barnabas disappears altogether from the pages of sacred history, or remains the good-natured man. The merely good-natured man does very little, and, on the whole, gets very little thanks for what he does. It is the men who have principles to which they must stick, and for which, if necessary, they are prepared to die, who make a mark on their contemporaries and on history.
III. Yet, after all, when we have made these deductions for St. Barnabas’ weakness and good-nature, these are the important words words which remain: ‘He was a good man’. And his goodness was shown in more ways than one. There are three instances I would give you:
(1) First, it was shown in the recognition of the work of the Holy Ghost among the Gentiles.
(2) And, secondly, his goodness is seen in this that he was a peacemaker. ‘Blessed are the peacemakers.’ Twice Barnabas saved Paul for the Christian Church. It was this gentle, good man, ‘full of the Holy Ghost,’ a peace-lover, who, in the first instance, when all were suspicious of this terrible persecutor, took him by the hand and brought him into the Apostolic band. Let that be written down for Barnabas, that he served the Church by saving a greater man to serve it.
(3) And, thirdly, there is the love of the brethren shown by a capacity for selfsacrifice. No cheap religion for this Barnabas. The love of the brethren had to be shown by selfsacrifice. And by selfsacrifice the history of the Church began, as with selfsacrifice it must go on until the end. Here is always a sign of the love of the brethren, and of sincerity. Are men ready for any measure of selfsacrifice?
And so we may take this Apostle for example to ourselves.
References. XI. 24. A. 6. Mortimer, The Church’s Lessons for the Christian Year, pt. iii. p. 92. H. M. Butler, Harrow School Sermons (2nd Series), p. 135. XI. 25. Expositor (4th Series), vol. vi. p. 197; ibid. (5th Series), vol. x. p. 429; ibid. (6th Series), vol. viii. p. 232.
Act 11:26
Christian has become one of the vaguest epithets in the language.
Leslie Stephen, English Thought in Eighteenth Century, vol. ii. p. 395.
I dare not call myself a Christian. I have hardly met the man in all my life who deserved that name.
Max Mller.
References. XI. 26. C. Perren, Revival Sermons in Outline, p. 328. F. D. Maurice, The Acts of the Apostles, p. 172. Marcus Dods, Christ and Man, p. 117. Expositor (6th Series), vol. viii. p. 127. XI. 27-30. Ibid. (5th Series), vol. ii. p. 114. XI. 28. Ibid. (6th Series), vol. ix. p. 127; ibid. vol. x. p. 281. XI. 29. Ibid. vol. ix. p. 225; ibid. vol. x. p. 198. XI. 29, 30. Ibid. vol. iv. p. 298. XI. 30. Ibid. vol. iii. pp. 84, 225. XII. Ibid. (6th Series), vol. ii. p. 92. XII. 1. Ibid. (5th Series), vol. iv. p. 307; ibid. (6th Series), vol. vi. p. 293. XII. 1, 2. J. Keble, Sermons for the Saints’ Days, p. 314.
Fuente: Expositor’s Dictionary of Text by Robertson
Chapter 29
Prayer
Almighty God, our life is thine. When we die in the Lord surely we return unto thee, and give thee that which is thine own. We bless thee for life, notwithstanding its daily burden and its continual sorrow. Thou hast wrought into the mystery of life a subtle joy which fills the heart with an emotion which we would might abide there for ever. In the midst of life we are in death, but death itself is swallowed up in victory. In Christ Jesus we can say to Death, “where is thy sting? grave, where is thy victory?” Jesus Christ hath abolished death, and in him, our Priest and Saviour, we are more than conquerors. In death we have found life. That which we sow is not quickened except it die. Help us to seize this great truth with all the energy of love, and with all the emotion of triumphant faith, that death may have no more dominion over us. Thou art our God and Father; a sanctuary of defence, and a pavilion of daily protection. Thou art unto us as a high rock, whose cooling shadow refreshes us at high noon. We come to thee always through Jesus Christ the righteous. He is our propitiation, our living answer to an accusing law, and our infinite defence against a righteous vengeance.
We commend to thee all to whom this is a day of mournful suffering. We recall the images of our friends and make them live before the eye of a loving memory. We hear their cheering voices; we feel the contact of their friendly hands, and we would now in spirit unite with them in the higher song of the higher sanctuary.
The subject is the same and unchangeable. When we see thee as thou art we’ll give thee nobler praise. Comfort those who remain. Recall to their memory all thine exceeding great and precious promises. Show them that the angel is at the grave awaiting their coming, and that his presence there is a pledge of a resurrection to be accomplished by the power of Christ. Recall all that is dearest, sweetest, tenderest in the memory of our friends who have joined the upper band, and may we vehemently desire to be united to the blood-bought host and sin no more. As for those of us who remain, may we be doubly industrious. As the ranks become thinner, may those who are left fight with redoubled strength and watch with keener vigilance. Cause some who are young and strong to come forward and take the places of those who have been called higher, that thus the army of Christ may suffer no loss, and its leadership may be continually reinforced. We are here but for a moment; presently there will be a cry, “Behold the Bridegroom cometh! go ye out to meet him.” May we be amongst those whose lamps will be a flame, and who shall be ready in heart and hand to meet the only One whose presence is heaven. We will see thee presently face to face, and then will speak further with thee. To-day we must be content with these few brief broken words, with references that are a pain to themselves because of their incompleteness. Yea, with sentences pained with much agony because they cannot tell the secret which gives life to our inmost hope.
We bless thee for friends returned from places far away. They come with cheerful countenances, with loving eyes, and with new tones of trust and love in their voices. So gather us altogether from across the seas, and rivers, and wildernesses, and make of us at last in Christ Jesus, Thy Son, one house from which no foot shall ever wander. Amen.
Act 11:1-18
1. And the apostles and brethren that were in Judaea heard that the Gentiles had also received the word of God. [The context implies that the tidings travelled, while Peter remained at Csarea, first probably to Joppa and Lydda, and afterwards to Jerusalem.]
2. And when Peter was come up to Jerusalem, they that were of the circumcision contended [the tense implies continuous or repeated discussion] with him,
3. Saying, Thou wentest in to men uncircumcised [men with a foreskin], and didst eat with them.
4. But Peter rehearsed [began and set forth] the matter from the beginning, and expounded it by order unto them, saying,
5. I was in the city of Joppa praying: and in a trance I saw a vision, A certain vessel descend, as it had been a great sheet, let down from heaven by four corners; and it came even to me:
6. Upon the which when I had fastened mine eyes, I considered, and saw fourfooted beasts of the earth, and wild beasts, and creeping things, and fowls of the air.
7. And I heard a voice saying unto me, Arise, Peter; slay and eat.
8. But I said, Not so, Lord: for nothing common or unclean hath at any time entered into my mouth.
9. But the voice answered me again from heaven, What God hath cleansed, that call not thou common.
10. And this was done three times: and all were drawn up again into heaven.
11. And, behold, immediately there were three men already come unto the house where I was, sent from Csarea unto me.
12. And the spirit bade me go with them, nothing doubting. [The Greek verb has a special force as being the same as that for “contended” in Act 11:2 .] Moreover these six brethren accompanied me, and we entered into the man’s house:
13. And he shewed us how he had seen an angel in his house, which stood and said unto him. Send men to Joppa, and call for Simon, whose surname is Peter;
14. Who shall tell thee words, whereby thou and all thy house shall be saved.
15. And as I began to speak, the Holy Ghost fell on them, as on us at the beginning.
16. Then remembered I the word of the Lord [ch. Act 1:5 ], how that he said, John indeed baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost.
17. Forasmuch then as God gave them the like gift as he did unto us, who believed on the Lord Jesus Christ [the Greek construction gives a somewhat different meaning: If then God gave to the man equal gift as to us, upon their believing ]; what was I, that I could withstand God? [the Greek gives a complex question, Who was I, able to withstand God?]
18. When they heard these things, they held their peace, and glorified God [the difference of tenses in the two Greek verbs implies that they first held their peace, and then began a continuous utterance of praise], saying, Then hath God also to the Gentiles granted repentance unto life.
Enlargement of Ideas
“AND the apostles and brethren that were in Judaea heard that the Gentiles had also received the Word of God.” This little common word “ALSO” is most pathetic. We find pathos sometimes in little words and in strange connections. In this instance it means more and more further and further. The light is brightening, and the lands that are afar off are enjoying its glory. The word “ALSO” is, I say, but a common little word in many connections, but in this particular connection it is the creation of a new world, an annexation of new kingdoms and provinces to the central empire of Emmanuel. The same word occurs in the eighteenth verse, wherein the Jews said, glorifying God, “Then hath God ALSO to the Gentiles granted repentance unto life.” The keyword of Christianity is Enlargement enclosure, continual extension of love and mercy, host upon host, army upon army, till, the whole universe is one Church, and its voice one song. Do not believe in any view of Christianity that excludes anybody. Christianity came not to exclude men, but to include them. Let that be a continual test when you are examining religious faiths, and religious propositions and plans. The theology that would shut out from Christ’s heart any human creature is a bad theology is a lie! Election is not exclusive, but inclusive. The ninth chapter of the Epistle to the Romans does not shut out any man who would come to Christ: it tells the Jews, in startling language, that God is greater than they are, and that in his great love he is going to gather into one all the lands and peoples of the earth. Take instances of the Divine election such as we can understand, and you will see how true is this doctrine in its higher relation. God elects one day in the week; does he thereby reprobate the remaining days? Do the six poor cold exiled days gather around the elected seventh, and say, “The way of the Lord is not equal; you have been chosen and we have been shut out; God has blessed and crowned you, and left us without benediction and coronation?” Nothing of the kind. Why does God elect the one day? To get at the whole six that are outside it. He does not say, “Remember Monday to keep it holy;” he says “Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy;” for no man can keep Sunday holy without keeping the whole six days holy also. You cannot keep one day holy and make the other profane. Given a Sabbath of the real kind, an open door into heaven, a highway on which we meet the angels, a garden path through the very paradise of God, and the whole week partakes of its nature reflects its love, vibrates with its music, and is glad with its joy.
Take the case of the human family. God made one man, but he made that man that in him he might make all men. God elected one family, that through one family he might bless all the families of the earth. And this idea of his love has been perverted; this wine of heaven has been turned into sourness; the very election that should have doubled the Gospel beauty, as the river throws back the sky, has been turned into an occasion of controversy and separation, and of mutual misunderstanding, and devils have laughed at the divisions of Christendom.
Here we have the marvellous power of prejudice. “When Peter was come up to Jerusalem, they that were of the circumcision contended with him.” They had been trained in a certain view, and they were faithful to that view; so far of course they were not to be blamed, for they believed that they alone had the truth, and so believing they contended valiantly for it. The power of prejudice is probably the greatest power under which human life withers. The man against whom you have a prejudice can do no good. If required to vindicate your unfriendly attitude by fair and equitable argument, you would not have one word to say, but that you do not like the man; you are turned against him; he repels you in some way or other, reasonable or unreasonable, and that prejudice will be more difficult to conquer and eradicate than any number of reasons which you could advance in fair language. Here was a sect that could lay its arms upon its breast, drink in its own Christian satisfaction, and let all the world go down to the devil without one moment’s remorse. Any religion that is fully comprehended, that will enable a man to do that is diabolical. There are some people in Christian countries today who, imagining themselves to be the chosen favourites of heaven, can allow all outsiders to go down to darkness without ever troubling them on their descending way. But for the spirit of Christ, I could call down fire from heaven upon such sectarians! Yet it is possible yea, it is real yea, more, it is the curse of Christian society. To see what we have seen of narrow-minded, bloodless men, pale, shrivelled, hunger-bitten, thinking that they had so attracted the Divine notice as to become the favourites of a discriminating Heaven, and that others had gone to live eternally with the devil because of a Divine decree! Personally I know of nothing in Sodom, or in Gomorrah, so terrible as such a damnable self-complacency. “God so loved the WORLD that he gave his only begotten Son, that WHOSOEVER believeth in him might not perish, but have everlasting life.” He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours ONLY, but for the sins of the whole world.” If I have today to elect my Gospel, I elect that, WHOSOEVER, EVERY CREATURE under heaven, a WORLD redeemed, and not a little company selected. Christianity destroys all complacencies. Christianity tells the most self-complacent man amongst us that the very poorest human creature that crawls on the streets is his brother. Nowhere does the Christian Gospel speak one contemptuous word of any human creature. Never did Christ say to any one, “You are too bad.” No; as the sins piled themselves one upon another, blackening the blue heavens with their shadow, he said, “Thy sins, which are many, are all forgiven thee.” How is it, then, that the human heart shuts out this human religion a religion that takes up the weak, that represents the dumb, that looks for what the blind have lost, and turns away with haughty independence from every man that would offer it the cruelty of his patronage? Surely this is a mystery to the angels!
We think “they that were of the circumcision” is a sentence which refers to people that lived many centuries ago. It is not; it is a sentence which includes men and women who are breathing in this house at this moment, and who are to be found under every ecclesiastical roof in the world. Every one of us has his own “circumcision.” Each says, “We must draw the line somewhere.” So say I. I would lay my line on GOD’S LOVE! God did not make me a line-layer. He made me a minister of his grace, and wherein any word of mine is less than God’s love, reject my unholy Gospel, for Gospel it is none only a word that would wither and blight the heart of man. Some men’s “circumcision” is the regularly-turned out creed, numbered, partly written in capitals, partly in italics, itemed, and arranged, weighed out, defined, indexed, settled. If you believe this creed you are good, if you doubt it you are infidels, if you reject it you are atheists. Others have a notion that there is what they term “a regular ministry.” You would be surprised at the fine lines that have been drawn amongst ministers. One man is “only a missionary,” nothing more! Another man is “only a home missionary,” nothing more! Another man is only “a sort of a home missionary,” and others are ” regular ministers,” properly made, clothed, decorated, and otherwise classified, so as to have no ambiguity about their exact standing. Others have been “educated” for the ministry. Sometimes they can look contemptuously upon men who have not been “educated” for the ministry. Educated to tell mankind that Christ came to the world to save sinners, and that he tasted death for every man. I would that we could escape this “circumcision,” narrowness of mere creed, and mere ministry, and merely ecclesiasticism, and know that all men who bow at the altar of the Cross are the ministers of Christ. The Lord’s fire consume all priestism! They that are of the “circumcision” know exactly where the right Church is. In their estimation you who now hear me are not a Church at all! You are labouring under an amiable delusion if you imagine that you are a Church; and we on our side have prejudices quite as narrow, and in some cases even more irrational. “Then hath God also” to every sect and name and party and class granted of the glory of his light and the quietness of his peace. Seize that idea and drop your angry controversies and miserable wrangles over interpretations which there is no human authority sufficiently infallible to determine. I do not know whether to rejoice more over the fifteenth verse or over the eighteenth. The fifteenth verse reads, “And as I began to speak the Holy Ghost fell on them;” that is enlargement. The eighteenth verse reads, they “glorified God, saying, Then hath God also to the Gentiles granted repentance unto life.” The work of extension took place in two directions. The mind of the Church was expanded. Not only did the Gentiles receive the rising light, but the Church itself, on hearing that the morning glory had lifted itself above the lands that sat in darkness, became sensible of a great outstretching of mind; so the Gentiles sang their new hymn, and the Church uplifted its anthem, and hymn and anthem blended into one music-offering to heaven, and the Jew and the Gentile knew that “the middle wall of partition” had for ever fallen down!
Fuente: The People’s Bible by Joseph Parker
1 And the apostles and brethren that were in Judaea heard that the Gentiles had also received the word of God.
Ver. 1. Had also received the word ] Not only informed, but reformed: yea, so transformed the Churches were into the same image of the word from glory to glory, that they became at length conformed to Christ in holiness and righteoushess.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
1 18 .] PETER JUSTIFIES BEFORE THE CHURCH IN JERUSALEM, HIS HAVING CONSORTED WITH MEN UNCIRCUMCISED.
Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament
1. . . ] in Juda , or perhaps more strictly, throughout Juda . (See reff.)
. . . ] They seem to have heard the fact, without any circumstantial detail (but see on below, Act 11:13 ); and, from the charge in Act 11:3 , from some reporter who gave the objectionable part of it, as is not uncommon in such cases, all prominence.
Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament
Act 11:1 . For Western readings see critical notices. .: not simply in but throughout Juda, “all about Juda,” Hort, Ecclesia , p. 57, cf. Act 8:1 .
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
Acts Chapter 11
Never had there been so important a step taken by man on the earth; never one demanding faith so urgently and evidently as now. Hence, though the assembly was then in its pristine order and beauty with the twelve acting together, notwithstanding the dispersion after Stephen’s death which had scattered the saints generally, the Lord acted by a single servant of His whose own Jewish prejudices were notoriously of the strongest. The assembly is responsible to act together in all ordinary questions of godliness and discipline; it is bound to guard practically the foundations of truth and righteousness according to the written word. But a new departure needed and found a suited instrument, chosen and filled of God to initiate His will, and to take the step in advance, assuredly gathering it to be the will of the Lord.
Peter’s faith was severely tried. For the first time since Pentecost he had to encounter doubts on the part of those who stood first in the church, and the fierce opposition of such as knew least of God and His ways. It was now not mere fleshly feeling of the Hellenists against the Hebrews, but the very serious question whether the foremost of the twelve had not compromised the testimony of Christ by the formal reception of Gentiles at Caesarea.
‘But the apostles and the brethren which were in Judea heard that the Gentiles also received the word of God. And when Peter went up unto Jerusalem, they of the circumcision contended with him, saying, Thou wentest in unto men uncircumcized, and didst eat with them. But Peter began and set forth to them in order, saying, I was in the city of Joppa, praying, and in a trance I saw a vision, a certain vessel descending like a great sheet, let down by four corners out of heaven, and it came as far as me. On which having fixed mine eyes, I considered and saw the quadrupeds of the earth and the wild beasts and the reptiles and the birds of the heaven. And I heard also a voice saying to me, Arise, Peter, slay and eat. But I said, In no wise, Lord, because common or unclean never entered into my mouth. But a voice answered a second time out of heaven, What God cleansed make not thou common. And this was done thrice, and all were drawn up again into heaven. And, behold, immediately three men stood at the house in which I was, sent from Caesarea unto me; and the Spirit bade me go with them, doubting nothing. And there went with me also these six brethren, and we entered into the house of the man; and he reported to us how he saw the angel in his house, standing and saying Send to Joppa, and fetch Simon that is surnamed Peter, who shall speak words unto thee, whereby thou shalt be saved, thou and all thy house. And on my beginning to speak, the Holy Spirit fell upon them as upon us also at the beginning. And I remembered the word of the Lord how He said, John baptized with water, but ye shall be baptized with [the] Holy Spirit. If then God gave to them the same gift as also to us when we1 believed upon the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I that I could forbid God? And when they heard these things, they were still, and glorified God, saying, Then indeed also to the Gentiles did God give repentance unto life’ (vers. 1-18).
1 Alford takes as belonging to both ‘them’ and ‘us’, and expressive of the communion of the faith in the two parties, but though both of course did alike believe, this is to misconceive the reasoning which turns on the plain evidence of the Spirit given ‘on our believing’.
It was undeniable on the face of things that Peter had openly traversed the distinction so long set up by God between Jew and Gentile. This he had to Justify by God’s authority; and so he does by the simple recital of the vision already before us in the preceding chapter, which he repeats for the conviction of the brethren in Jerusalem. The moment was come for the seeds which the Lord Jesus Himself had sown to germinate and bear fruit visibly. Had He, Who in Mat 10:5 , forbade the twelve to go to any way of the Gentiles not also when risen told them expressly to go and make disciples of all the Gentiles? The vision of Peter was merely the reduction to practice of this great commission, or at least a kindred one. For in Luk 24:47 the Lord about to ascend had declared that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name unto all the Gentiles, beginning from Jerusalem. And so it was. With Jerusalem they had begun. But now the tide was turning. From Jerusalem the saints had been scattered abroad. Samaria had already received the word of God, not by the church agreeing to it, nor even by the action of the apostles. And now God had left nothing ambiguous as to His will about the Gentiles. The gospel henceforth must go out indiscriminately. The holiness of Israel had come to naught in the cross of Christ. By virtue of the blood of the cross God could and would wash even the Gentiles clean Ritual had come to its end. Henceforth there must be reality by faith And as the cross of Christ pronounced all alike ruined, so now salvation was going forth to any that believed, Jew or Gentile alike. Such was the purport of the vision; and grace reasoned with Peter when he in the ecstasy ventured to controvert the Lord Himself. Who then so proper as he to convince the obstinate men of the circumcision? If they were contending with him, could he not tell them truly that he had himself dared to contend even with the Lord, Who had repeatedly and emphatically reproved his prejudices and had forbidden him to deem common what God had cleansed?
Peter told them also how the three men from the Gentile Cornelius appeared in person at that very moment before the house in Joppa, and how the Spirit bade him go with them without a question. Such a threefold cord could not be broken, each part was independent of the other, and all of them from God. For Cornelius in Caesarea had a vision no less than Peter in Joppa. But Peter had in addition, while he thought on the vision the Spirit directing him to go with the messengers of Cornelius before he knew that the three men were making inquiry at the gate.
Nay, there was more than this. God had manifestly used His word as only He could: ‘As I began to speak, the Holy Ghost fell upon them, as also upon us at the beginning.’ It was the gospel of their salvation. To them also the Spirit was supplied, Who wrought powers among them beyond possibility of cavil or question. The promise of the Father was therefore fulfilled in the Gentiles, as much as in the Jews who believed, according to the word of the Lord in Act 1:4 , Act 1:5 .
Again, let us remark how clearly this discourse of Peter distinguishes new birth from salvation.1 Cornelius was assuredly born of God before Peter visited him at Caesarea. Nevertheless Peter was to speak unto him words whereby he should be saved. It is a gross mistake to suppose that the salvation which he now found is not far beyond new birth. Present salvation is the first foundation privilege of the gospel. To be born again was always true from Abel downwards. But those who are merely born again do not enter Christian ground until they have received at least the first and most needful blessing, to which the accomplishment of Christ’s work entitles all who believe.
1 Another remark must be made here, though it is grievous that it should be needed. When Cornelius was assured that he was to be saved by hearing the words spoken by Peter, how groundless and evil to infer that ‘all his house’ were to be saved irrespective of faith! Such heterodoxy is the result of the hot furnace and continual hammering on the anvil, of party. The terms of salvation are alike for Jew or Gentile, of grace but by faith. Here it is the more momentous because it is no question of baptism (as in Act 16 ) but of salvation: only the sounder view of Act 11 goes far to disprove theories built on Act 16 . But one error leads to another; and those who divorce the outward sign from the individual place assigned it in scripture, however blessed the number of individuals in a family, are in danger of advancing to a degree of error which would appal even the old and moderate holders of the prevalent tradition in the world-church whence this judaizing notion originated. Nobody is entitled to assume that one in all Cornelius’ house was contemplated for salvation, till he too heard the gospel of salvation, unless salvation be by an ordinance.
The remarkable care with which God introduced the new standing-point [of salvation] to the Gentiles makes this confusion inexcusable. Now, while faith never was without suited mercy from God, it is one of the most marked signs of unbelief to ignore the peculiar privilege which God is now giving, and to go back to that mode or means which may have been at a former time. Here, as has been already and often pointed out, the Evangelicals are as dark as the Sacramentarians. For, if the latter party attach exorbitant efficacy to the mere sign of the blessing, the former are as ignorant of what is signified. Both agree in making the initiatory institution of the gospel to be the sign of life or the new birth; whereas it is really of the remission or washing away of sins (Act 2:38 ; Act 22:16 ), and of death with Christ (Rom 6:2 , Rom 6:3 ; Col 2:12 ), i.e., of salvation (1Pe 3:21 ). Cornelius learnt from the apostle that for a Gentile it was no question any longer of God’s uncovenanted mercy. He himself, already born of God and acquainted with the Messiah come for the deliverance of His ancient people by faith, had now to learn of salvation’s door open to the Gentile believer as truly as to the Jewish. It is not promise, as hitherto even to an Israelite, it is the work accomplished, and soul-salvation henceforth given to all believers without distinction. As the seal of it, the Holy Ghost was manifestly imparted as on the day of Pentecost.
This was conclusive for the objections of the circumcision then. Who was Peter, as he triumphantly closed his argument, who they, to resist God? None but He could give that gift, which He had granted alike to Jews and Gentiles by faith of the gospel.
But the principle is of immense importance permanently, and as much now as ever. The true ground of reception is not the acceptance of certain articles of faith, expressed or understood; still less is it a certain measure of intelligence about the one body and one Spirit, which it is improbable that a single soul in Jerusalem then possessed definitely. It is a far weightier fact, the possession of ‘the like gift’. If not so baptized of the Holy Spirit one is not really a member of Christ’s body. To be born again never did suffice. One must have, through faith of Christ as the gospel proclaims Him and His work, the Spirit given to one as a believer. Without known remission of sins one may be quickened, but there cannot be what scripture calls ‘salvation’, any more than the Spirit of adoption whereby we cry Abba, Father. There may be conversion, a divinely-given hatred of evil and love of good, God’s word prized, and prayer; there may be conscience toward God, yet a real but imperfect looking to Christ. But till one knows by faith of the gospel, that all is clear between the soul and God through the sacrifice of Christ, the Holy Spirit does not seal the person, when there is submission to the righteousness of God, He does: then the believer is actually made a member of the one body of Christ. Of course such a one is, or ought to be, baptized with water, but in scripture this is never connected with that corporate and everlasting relationship. It is individual and bound up with the simple confession of Christ; so much so, that whatever God may do in sovereign grace, no intelligent saint would think of presenting a soul for fellowship of the church, unless he had previously taken the ground of a baptized person. But baptism of the Holy Ghost is wholly distinct from water baptism; and this is not even a sign of that, but of salvation by Christ or burial unto His death.
Even the stoutest defenders of Jewish exclusiveness were overwhelmed by the accumulated and crowning proof that God gave to the Gentiles also repentance unto life. It was now an incontestable and blessed fact. They were more than silenced, they ‘were still’. Grace had triumphed, as it ought to do, over law, in Jerusalem, and among none but Jews that believed. It was not yet a day of ruin, when the least right are apt to tee the most self-confident and jubilant. It was grace made them glorify God in reversing their previous judgment.
But God works variously to accomplish His purpose, and so we see at this point of the inspired history. The action of Peter was of the utmost moment, and its acceptance in Jerusalem by those whom God had set in the highest place in the assembly. A fresh apostle had been expressly chosen outside the twelve, called by the glorified Christ in heaven where all for man is and must be of sovereign grace, given to be apostle of Gentiles in formal and acknowledged contradistinction from those of the circumcision. Nor was this all. The free action of the Holy Spirit receives a full and rich expression in the labours of brethren, who, when driven by persecution from Jerusalem, began to preach, but were bold enough to preach, without trance or vision or personal direction, outside the ancient people of God and even proselytes.
‘They therefore that were scattered abroad through the tribulation that took place on the occasion of Stephen passed through as far as Phoenicia and Cyprus and Antioch, speaking the word to none but Jews only. But there were some of them, men of Cyprus and Cyrene, who on coming’ unto Antioch spoke unto the Greeks1 also,1 preaching the Lord Jesus. And [the] Lord’s hand was with them and a great number believed and turned2 unto the Lord. And the report concerning them came unto the ears of the assembly that was in Jerusalem; and they dispatched Barnabas3 as far as Antioch: who, on arriving and seeing the grace of God, rejoiced and exhorted all with purpose of heart to abide by the Lord. For he was a good man and full of [the] Holy Spirit and faith; and a large crowd was added to the Lord. And Heb 3 went forth unto Tarsus to seek for Saul, and on finding brought him’ unto Antioch. And it came to pass that even4 for a whole year they were gathered together in the assembly and taught a large crowd, and that the disciples were first called Christians in Antioch’ (vers. 19-26).
1 The simple participle is right, not the compounded as in Text. Rec. which drops ‘also’ and reads after BDcorr. EHLP and most, the Sinaitic giving the strange blunder of ‘evangelists’ as its primary reading.
2 AB and three cursives give ‘that believed turned’.
3 High authorities omit ‘to go through’, and ‘Barnabas’ in ver. 25, also the word ‘him’. (one or both) in ver. 26.
4 ‘Even’ is omitted in Text. Rec.
It will be observed that the account of this early and free evangelizing, first to Jews, but after a little while to Greeks, is reserved for the introduction of Saul’s first connection with Antioch, the earthly starting-point of the great apostle’s labours. This is quite in Luke’s manner. His order (and none more orderly) is not one of simple sequence, such as we may see in the Gospel of Mark, still less does it linger on giving evidences of the change of dispensation, as in that of Matthew. He was led to deal with moral associations, which, if less patent, present a deeper arrangement, and fuller of instruction in God’s ways, than a mere chronological series.
Whatever the value (and it was immense) of the episode we have lately had before us in Act 9:32-11:18 (Act 9:31 being a sort of transitional link that closes what goes before and introduces it), God took care that the gospel should reach the Gentiles first in a way altogether informal, even while the highest ecclesiastical authorities were there to commence and sanction its inauguration with the seal of the whole apostolic college in Jerusalem. It pleased the Lord that all should be ordered otherwise; and the work among the Gentiles began with not even distinct purpose nor definite intelligence on the part of its promoters, with nothing apparent save the loving zeal that knew the desperate need of the Gentiles as well as the immeasurable efficacy of the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. It was therefore according to the deepest wisdom as well as divine goodness that the real beginning of the gospel outside Israel should be simply of love flowing out from God only, as far as understanding went, in the circumstances that ensued on Stephen’s martyrdom. Then, as we know, the saints generally were scattered through the persecution that set in. In the course. of their passage here and there, Phoenicia and Cyprus and Antioch profited by their testimony. At first, however, the word was spoken to none but Jews only. Some of them, however, and these foreign Jews, Cyprians and Cyrenians, ventured farther, and in the last of the places named, at Antioch addressed the Greeks also with the glad tidings of the Lord Jesus.
Was not this very bold? Certainly it was of God Who made use of the providential circumstances for His glory. It was love, it was spiritual instinct, in the heart of those who evangelized, whose very names are unknown. God has taken particular care not to name them perhaps lest we should attribute to them a deeper perception of His mini than was really due. The momentous fact was there, and simple-hearted labourers were those to whom God gave this mighty and profound impulse by His Spirit. Let us admire these ways of God, which are higher than those even of His people, as the heavens are higher than the earth.
Man, even the wisest of His servants, would have expected otherwise. But the same God was now at work, Who, if He brought Moses by providence into the house of Pharaoh’s daughter, brought him out of it by faith, Who even then did not use him, learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, to the deliverance of His people, till he had unlearned man as well as himself, and realized alone what God is, in the wilderness for forty long years: then and then only was he fitted of God to be a ruler and a deliverer. So now did it to God seem meet to begin Gentile Christianity through men of comparatively small account in either the world or the church, before there was the smallest intercourse between Peter and Cornelius. The highest order that ever was established in the assembly on earth could not therefore boast. The Lord is above that or any other grade; to Him none can dictate. Nor has He abdicated His rights over the earth into the hands of a vicegerent any more than of the twelve. This having been vindicated by His sovereign employment of the Cyprians and Cyrenians who first planted the gospel among the nations, He does take care to send Peter to Caesarea and to have Peter’s action on according to His direct command formally sanctioned by the twelve in Jerusalem. His own call of Saul to be apostle of the Gentiles was independent of both the free action at Antioch and the formal recognition of Caesarea at Jerusalem; as it was evidently also prior in time, and in many respects superior in claim and power, one may add to both, though this was not yet fully disclosed.
Of such weight it was in God’s eyes to found, confirm, and authenticate this work among the Gentiles, so supremely interesting and indispensable to us, who without it were mere sinners, ‘without Christ, aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world.’ But if to us of such moment, what was it to the glory of His own grace? What to the praise of His Son, the Lord Jesus?
And if these brethren of Cyprus and Cyrene kept speaking to the Greeks also, announcing the glad tidings of the Lord Jesus, the Lord’s hand was with them, and a great number believed and turned to the Lord. If ever men dared to draw indefinitely on grace without waiting for outward sign or open commission, if any servants of the Lord ever exposed themselves to a seemingly just taunt of going beyond all bounds, more especially as ‘the twelve’ were not only alive but together not so far off, surely it was these pioneers of grace to the Greeks.
Antioch in Syria was no doubt a suitable place in God’s mind. The city was founded in 300 B.C. by Seleucus Nicator; and there, as the Jews possessed equal privileges with the Greeks politically, great numbers lived under the government of an ethnarch of their own. God never forgets kindness shown to His poor people even in their fallen estate, and knows how to repay with an interest unmistakably divine. Here first the Greeks heard, believed, and turned to the Lord.
It is well known that large and good MS. authority supports the reading of the common text, Hellenists, Grecians, or Greek-speaking Jews. But the sense afforded by corr. A Dpm, and, if not all the ancient versions, by the Armenian, is made decisive by the requirements of the truth stated. For in Jerusalem itself before the scattering not only were ‘Grecians’ objects of testimony as well as other Jews, but notoriously the murmuring was of that portion against the Hebrews, or native Jews who spoke Aramaic. Nay more, all ‘the seven’ chosen to allay the unworthy outbreak, and to relieve the apostles from a work that hindered for an incomparably better, bore Hellenistic names, and one of them was expressly from Antioch. Again, it is recorded in Act 9:29 how Saul of Tarsus spoke and disputed against these Hellenists in Jerusalem. Thus there would be nothing new or peculiar in similar speech at Antioch; whereas it is declared here that at first none but Jews were addressed, and afterwards ‘the Greeks also’, and this effectively under the good hand of the Lord. Now ‘Hebrew’ stands over against ‘Hellenist’, but not ‘Jew’, which includes both. So that ‘Jew’ can only be confronted by ‘Greek’, not by ‘Hellenists’, which falls under that category. The point therefore is so far from immaterial, that ‘Greeks’1 can alone bear rigid or intelligent investigation, and at once conveys a new and important fact. Further, we must on no account suppose their conversion to the Lord by the gospel to have taken place after the disciples had heard of the call of Cornelius. It has been already stated that it occurred before Peter’s visit to Caesarea. Evidently all that our chapter implies is, that the report about their conversion only then came to the ears of the assembly that was in Jerusalem. The fact of the conversion itself had of course taken place considerably before; and we have seen how beautifully its priority contributes its quota to the full scheme of God’s grace, which called apostolic authority into action no less appropriately.
1 No wonder that with his usual tact Abp. Ussher (Works, xi. 24) accepted the reading, even though the Vatican supports that which prevails among the more modern copies, and the Fathers seem to vacillate with their too frequent lack of discernment. The effort of Wetstein, et al., fails to make out that means Gentiles, instead of Greek-speaking or foreign Jews, its real import. Equally vain (as founded on the common mix-reading), is the reasoning of Saumaise, Wolf, et al., that they were Gentiles but proselytes of Judaism. It may be well to note that while in the New Testament the Authorized Version distinguishes ‘Grecian’ (= Hellenist) from ‘Greek’, in the Old Testament (Joe 3:6 ) the former is used for the latter where the LXX. properly have . K?hnol is quite mistaken in referring (ver. 20) not to the scattered preachers but to the Jews just named.
Barnabas then, who was of Cyprus, though a Levite, comes to Antioch on his mission of inquiry. Nor can we conceive one more admirably chosen, if a genial heart devoted to Christ were wanted to judge fairly of the work in Antioch and to reassure those in Jerusalem adequately. For he, when he came and saw the grace of God, ‘rejoiced and exhorted all with purpose of heart to abide by the Lord’ (ver. 23). And striking is the comment of the inspired historian, who in no way grudges his true meed any more than Paul would because Barnabas subsequently was betrayed into unbecoming heat for his kinsman’s sake: ‘For he was a good man, and full of the Holy Spirit and faith.’ Grace sealed his visit also, ‘and a large crowd was added to the Lord.’ Can we doubt that the work had still its mixed character, with Barnabas a fellow-workman in what drew out his joy?
Again, there is another trait very characteristic of this ‘good man’, and not only so but of the real working of the Holy Spirit, both in sending him to Antioch and now in his going off to Cilicia. ‘And he went forth unto Tarsus to seek for Saul; and on finding [him] brought him unto Antioch’ (vers. 25-26). Is it thus that we feel and act in presence of a large field of service where we are honoured by the Master’s use? Do we in the midst of it remind ourselves of another who might be yet more efficient? Or does jealousy still hinder – still play its dark and deadly part to the dishonour of Christ and the loss of souls within and without? It was not so with Barnabas, who had already done a brother’s office when all were alas! afraid of Saul (Act 9:26 , Act 9:27 ). Now having learnt his value as a bold preacher when going in and out of Jerusalem, he bethinks him of the help Saul might render at Antioch, and, acting on it, he is enabled to execute his desire. ‘And it came to pass that even for a whole year they were gathered together in1 the assembly, and taught a large crowd, and that the disciples were first called2 Christians in Antioch’ (ver. 26). It was Christ’s flock, not that of either; and His love animated them both, as others also no doubt, to care for it. In those days not one said that the assembly was his own, but served in it the more lovingly and holily because they always remembered that it is God’s, and not man’s.
1 ‘In’ seems not more literal than exact and full. ‘With’ does not convey the intimacy of their relation, themselves a part of the assembly: it might rather imply a place less close. It will be noticed that here first do we read of ‘the assembly’, or church, in a Gentile city, whence in due time the Spirit sends Barnabas and Saul separated for their work of grace among the nations. Yet God so ordered that Antioch could not, more than Rome, boast of an apostolically founded assembly for, in the simple way we have seen, it began by men who in love preached to all alike the good news of Christ.
2 It is rather bold of Mr. Myers (Norrisian Prize Essay, 1832, p. 16, note) to say as an ascertained fact that ‘the apostles gave the heathen converts this name’. The form of the Greek verb is active, no doubt; but what of its real force? The N.T. usage in the sense here required is limited to the occurrence of the future in Rom 7:3 , which is beyond controversy opposed directly to the assumption. There it means ‘shall be called’ or ‘get the name of’ and so it is here. How much more sober is Abp. Ussher on the fact: ‘Quod nomen, Latina non Graeca a Christo deflexum, a Romanis Antiochiae tum agentibus impositum illis fuisse videatur’. Where a divine communication is intended, the form is different. The classic use for managing, and hence speaking of, business, does not occur in the New Testament, though one can see how from this people would get a name, and at length a name irrespective of their business.
It is not without interest that the Spirit of God here adds that Antioch, notoriously famous of old for witty or scurrilous nicknames, first gave the designation of ‘Christians’ to the disciples, who within were styled ‘faithful’, ‘brethren’, ‘saints’, and otherwise ‘Christians’ was a name which Gentiles gave in reproach, as Jews called them ‘Nazarenes’, and Julian the apostate at a later day, ‘Galileans’. Jews would never think of ‘Christ’ as the ground of a contemptuous term: what they scorned was that Jesus is the Christ.
‘Now in these days prophets came down from Jerusalem unto Antioch; and there stood up one from among them named Agabus, and signified by the Spirit that a great famine was about to be over all the habitable [earth]; which came to pass under Claudius.2 And according as any one of the disciples had means, they determined each of them to send help [lit., for service] to the brethren that dwelt in Judea: which also they did dispatching [it] unto the elders by the hand of Barnabas and Saul’ (vers. 27-30).
2 ‘Caesar’ is added in Text. Rec.
It is a joy to see that the free activity of the Spirit which began the work and founded the assembly in Antioch was no more restive at the special gifts that ministered in their midst than it distrusted what the Lord had wrought by simple believers evangelizing as they could. It was not Barnabas and Saul only who laboured there, but prophets came down from Jerusalem, and one of them, Agabus, predicts a great dearth (as we know there was more than once) in the time of Claudius. Is it not of deep interest, the faith and love which responded to this though it was no charity sermon, without waiting for a call from saints already impoverished by their generous love after the great Pentecost which first saw the assembly here below? They believed in the coming scarcity, and thought of the saints in Jerusalem as truly ‘one body’; and perhaps we may apply 1Co 12:26 here, if one suffer, so do all, and as they sympathize, they succour also. So even the Jews in Ezra’s day were roused by the prophets to build, before the renewed intervention of their foes drew out the great king’s decree that cancelled the usurper’s prohibition. It is blessed to act on heavenly motives in earthly duties; and that what we do should be in the faith that ever honours God’s word. So the links of love are maintained on both sides between Jerusalem and Antioch; and this, in things spiritual yet more than in the carnal, which it was their duty to repay, as Paul afterwards did not fail to remind others.
The task was entrusted to Barnabas and Saul through ‘the elders’, of whom we hear for the first time in the associations of the assembly. How they were installed in Judea we know not from the New Testament, but we have definite instruction in the sphere of the Gentile assemblies, as we may see in Act 14:23 . The term as the office seems indeed to have been derived from Israel, as anyone can observe how it runs through the O.T. even from the earliest times. It was in force fully in the synagogue, as we may see in the N.T. Vitringa (de Synag. Vet.) discusses this at length. ‘Bishop’ is now everywhere acknowledged as synonymous, but is apparently derived rather from a Gentile source, though frequently found in the LXX., and pointing to oversight or inspection; as ‘elder’ did to a man of years, and hence apart from age to a senator. In or out of Palestine each synagogue had its ‘elderhood’; and the same order reappears in the assembly. It is absurd to confound this fact with ‘the minister’ of a church so-called in modern times. Their place was to preside, though some might teach. An exclusive title to preach or teach is unknown to the N.T., nay more, it contradicts the fundamental constitution of the assembly in which God sets all variety of gifts for exercise within and without.
Fuente: William Kelly Major Works (New Testament)
Acts
PETER’S APOLOGIA
Act 11:1 – Act 11:18
Peter’s action in regard to Cornelius precipitated a controversy which was bound to come if the Church was to be anything more than a Jewish sect. It brought to light the first tendency to form a party in the Church. ‘They. . . of the circumcision’ were probably ‘certain of the sect of the Pharisees which believed,’ and were especially zealous for all the separating prescriptions of the ceremonial law. They were scarcely a party as yet, but the little rift was destined to grow, and they became Paul’s bitterest opponents through all his life, dogging him with calumnies and counterworking his toil. It is a black day for a Church when differences of opinion lead to the formation of cliques. Zeal for truth is sadly apt to enlist spite, malice, and blindness to a manifest work of God, as its allies.
Poor Peter, no doubt, expected that the brethren would rejoice with him in the extension of the Gospel to ‘the Gentiles,’ but his reception in Jerusalem was very unlike his hopes. The critics did not venture to cavil at his preaching to Gentiles. Probably none of them had any objection to such being welcomed into the Church, for they can scarcely have wished to make the door into it narrower than that into the synagogue, but they insisted that there was no way in but through the synagogue. By all means, said they, let Gentiles come, but they must first become Jews, by submitting to circumcision and living as Jews do. Thus they did not attack Peter for preaching to the Roman centurion and his men, but for eating with them. That eating not only was a breach of the law, but it implied the reception of Cornelius and his company into the household of God, and so destroyed the whole fabric of Jewish exclusiveness. We condemn such narrowness, but do many of us not practise it in other forms? Wherever Christians demand adoption of external usages, over and above exercise of penitent faith, as a condition of brotherly recognition, they are walking in the steps of them ‘of the circumcision.’
Peter’s answer to the critics is the true answer to all similar hedging up of the Church, for he contents himself with showing that he was only following God’s action in every step of the way which he took, and that God, by the gift of the divine Spirit, had shown that He had taken these uncircumcised men into His fellowship, before Peter dared to ‘eat with them.’ He points to four facts which show God’s hand in the matter, and thinks that he has done enough to vindicate himself thereby. The first is his vision on the housetop. He tells that he was praying when it came, and what God shows to a praying spirit is not likely to mislead. He tells that he was ‘in a trance,’-a condition in which prophets had of old received their commands. That again was a guarantee for the divine origin of the vision in the eyes of every Jew, though nowadays it is taken by anti-supernaturalists as a demonstration of its morbidness and unreliableness. He tells of his reluctance to obey the command to ‘kill and eat.’ A flash of the old brusque spirit impelled his flat refusal, ‘Not so, Lord!’ and his daring to argue with his Lord still, as he had done with Him on earth. He tells of the interpreting and revolutionary word, evoked by his audacious objection, and then he tells how ‘this was done thrice,’ so that there could be no mistake in his remembrance of it, and then that the whole was drawn up into heaven,-a sign that the purpose of the vision was accomplished when that word was spoken. What, then, was the meaning of it?
Clearly it swept away at once the legal distinction of clean and unclean meats, and of it, too, may be spoken what Mark, Peter’s mouthpiece, writes of earthly words of Christ’s: ‘This He said, making all meats clean.’ But with the sweeping away of that distinction much else goes, for it necessarily involves the abrogation of the whole separating ordinances of the law, and of the distinction between clean and unclean persons. Its wider application was not seen at the moment, but it flashed on him, no doubt, when face to face with Cornelius. God had cleansed him, in that his prayers had ‘gone up for a memorial before God,’ and so Peter saw that ‘in every nation,’ and not among Jews only, there might be men cleansed by God. What was true of Cornelius must be true of many others. So the whole distinction between Jew and Gentile was cut up by the roots. Little did Peter know the width of the principle revealed to him then, as all of us know but little of the full application of many truths which we believe. But he obeyed so much of the command as he understood, and more of it gradually dawned on his mind, as will always be the case if we obey what we know.
The second fact was the coincident arrival of the messengers and the distinct command to accompany them. Peter could distinguish quite assuredly his own thoughts from divine instructions, as his account of the dialogue in the trance shows. How he distinguished is not told; that he distinguished is. The coincidence in time clearly pointed to one divine hand working at both ends of the line,- Caesarea and Joppa. It interpreted the vision which had ‘much perplexed’ Peter as to what it ‘might mean.’ But he was not left to interpret it by his own pondering. The Spirit spoke authoritatively, and the whole force of his justification of himself depends on the fact that he knew that the impulse which made him set out to Caesarea was not his own. If the reading of the Revised Version is adopted in Act 11:12 , ‘making no distinction,’ the command plainly referred to the vision, and showed Peter that he was to make no distinction of ‘clean and unclean’ in his intercourse with these Gentiles.
The third fact is the vision to Cornelius, of which he was told on arriving. The two visions fitted into each other, confirmed each other, interpreted each other. We may estimate the greatness of the step in the development of the Church which the admission of Cornelius into it made, and the obstacles on both sides, by the fact that both visions were needed to bring these two men together. Peter would never have dreamed of going with the messengers if he had not had his narrowness beaten out of him on the housetop, and Cornelius would never have dreamed of sending to Joppa if he had not seen the angel. The cleft between Jew and Gentile was so wide that God’s hand had to be applied on both sides to press the separated parts together. He had plainly done it, and that was Peter’s defence.
The fourth fact is the gift of the Spirit to these Gentiles. That is the crown of Peter’s vindication, and his question, ‘Who was I, that I could withstand God?’ might be profitably pondered and applied by those whose ecclesiastical theories oblige them to deny the ‘orders’ and the ‘validity of the sacraments’ and the very name of a Church, to bodies of Christians who do not conform to their polity. If God, by the gift of His Spirit manifest in its fruits, owns them, they have the true ‘notes of the Church,’ and ‘they of the circumcision’ who recoil from recognising them do themselves more harm thereby than they inflict on these. ‘As many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are the sons of God,’ even though some brother may be ‘angry’ that the Father welcomes them.
Fuente: Expositions Of Holy Scripture by Alexander MacLaren
NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Act 11:1-18
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.” 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.’ 10This 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?” 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.”
Act 11:1 This verse implies that the church in Jerusalem’s leadership was surprised at this turn of events. They were shocked and not fully supportive! They had not understood the Great Commission (cf. Mat 28:18-20; Luk 24:47; Act 1:8) to include pagans. This same phrase occurs in Act 8:14 at Samaritan’s receiving the gospel.
“brethren” This is an early title for believers which emphasizes our corporate family identify (cf. Act 1:15; Act 6:3; Act 9:30; Act 10:23; Act 11:1; Act 11:12; Act 11:29; Act 12:17; Act 14:2; Act 15:1; Act 15:3; Act 15:22-23; Act 15:32-33; Act 15:40; Act 16:2; Act 16:40; Act 17:6; Act 17:10; Act 17:14; Act 18:18; Act 18:27; Act 21:7; Act 21:17; Act 22:5; Act 28:14-15). To be a Christian is to be a part of a family (cf. 1Co 12:13; Gal 3:28; Col 3:11).
“throughout Judea” This shows the geographical limitations of the church up to the time. Even after many years the church had not moved beyond its cultural boundaries. Jesus’ command in Act 1:8 had not been obeyed! It is “almost” parallel to Genesis 10-11.
“Gentiles also had received the word of God” This is aorist middle (deponent) indicative. It shows the necessity of a personal reception of the gospel message (cf. Joh 1:12; Joh 3:16; Rom 10:9-13 Eph 2:8-9).
The phrase “the word of God” is parallel to “the gospel.” The OT universal promises/prophecies are being fulfilled. See the Special Topic at Act 1:8.
Act 11:2 “When Peter came up to Jerusalem” Apparently the problem with the Gentile mission which continues in Acts 15 was a recurring problem for the Jerusalem leadership of the early church. Many of the converts to Christianity were still very nationalistic (cf. Act 15:5; Act 21:18-26).
NASB”those who were circumcised”
NKJV”those of the circumcision”
NRSV, NJB”the circumcised believers”
TEV”those who were in favor of circumcising Gentiles”
Williams”the champions of circumcision”
This phrase is used in several different senses:
1. in Act 10:45 to describe Peter’s six Jewish companions
2. here, it refers to a group of believers in the church at Jerusalem (cf. Act 11:18 or Act 15:5)
3. in Galatians it refers to believers from the Jerusalem church (cf. Act 2:12) as well as Jewish unbelievers (cf. Act 1:7; Act 2:4; Act 5:10; Act 5:12)
There is no question about the sincerity of these believers, nor the logic of their position. However, the radical nature of the gospel had opened the door to all people totally unconnected to the Mosaic Law (i.e., Rom 3:21-31) This is a message (grace, not performance, brings salvation) many modern believers need to hear and heed!
NASB”took issue”
NKJV”contended”
NRSV, TEV”criticized”
NJB”protested”
This is an imperfect middle indicative. This grammatical form can denote repeated action in past time or the beginning of an action. Notice these believing traditionalists took issue with Peter, not with the gospel. They did not see that this was a gospel issue.
Act 11:3 “You went to uncircumcised men and ate with them” Obviously Peter is not the unchallenged leader. Grammatically this verse can be a statement or a question (NRSV).
This issue of table fellowship was very important to Jewish people. This may be the very issue behind the food laws of Leviticus 11. Jews were not to share any social event with Canaanites. Eating in the Ancient Near East was a kind of covenant of fellowship.
Jesus had been accused of a similar breach of tradition in Mat 9:11; Mat 11:19; Luk 5:30; Luk 15:2.
Peter struggled with this issue in his ministry (cf. Gal 2:12). This was such a sensitive issue for these first believers. It is so hard to rethink traditions, culture, and personal preferences, but the gospel demands that we do (cf. 1Co 12:13; Gal 3:23-29; Col 3:11). The Jew vs. Gentile model of the OT has been totally replaced with the believer vs. unbeliever model!
Act 11:4-18 Peter recounts his experience at Simon’s and Cornelius’ houses (Acts 10) for the Jewish leaders at Jerusalem. This repetition (cf. the Jerusalem Council in Acts 15) is Luke’s way of showing how important this issue (world evangelization) was for the life of the church. This was a theological watershed moment!
Act 11:4
NASB”in orderly sequence”
NKJV”in order from the beginning”
NRSV”step by step”
TEV”a complete account”
NJB”the details point by point”
The word kathexs is used in the NT only by Luke (cf. Luk 1:3; Luk 8:1; Act 3:24; Act 11:4; Act 18:23). It has the connotation of explaining something in a logical, temporal, or sequential order. This fits Luke’s research method (cf. Luk 1:1-4), personality, and professional training (physician).
Act 11:6 “fixed my gaze on it” See note at Act 1:10.
Act 11:12
NASB”without misgivings”
NKJV”doubting nothing”
NRSV”not to make a distinction”
TEV”without hesitation”
NJB”have no hesitation”
There are several Greek manuscript variants connected to the tense of this participle (present middle from Act 10:20 or aorist middle in MSS P74, i2, B). It is even omitted in the Greek manuscripts P45, D, and some Old Latin and one Syrian version. Scribes tended to make parallels agree. As with most of the textual variants in the NT, these do not affect the meaning of the phrase. The UBS4 put the aorist middle participle in the text but gives it a “C” rating (difficulty in deciding).
Act 11:14 “will be saved” Cornelius’ piety and generosity did not make him a Christian! He and his family and friends are saved by faith in Christ!
Act 11:15 This verse is theologically crucial in seeing the purpose of the repeated Pentecostal experience in Acts. God used the inaugurating experience in Jerusalem to show His acceptance of other racial, geographical, and cultural groups (cf. Act 11:17). The experience was not only for Cornelius, but for
1. Peter
2. the accompanying Jewish believers
3. the church in Jerusalem
Act 11:16 “I remembered the word of the Lord” This is an allusion to Jesus’ words in Act 1:5. This shows the pattern of the early Apostles’ approach to theology:
1. quote Jesus
2. use Jesus’ example
3. quote the OT (cf. Mat 3:11; Act 1:5)
Peter is establishing that the Lord Himself foresaw this development (i.e., sign).
Act 11:17 “if” This is a first class conditional sentence which is assumed to be true from the author’s perspective or for his literary purposes.
“God gave to them the same gift” This, like Act 11:15, refers to the Pentecost experience (cf. Act 2:1-4; Act 8:15; Act 10:46; Act 15:8). Salvation, like the Spirit, is also a gift from God (cf. Rom. 3:24; 5:15-17: 6:23; Eph 2:8).
“after believing in the Lord” It must be received (cf. Act 11:1; Joh 1:12; Eph 2:8-9). Notice how Act 11:17 asserts both the sovereignty of God and the mandated human response. There are several prepositions in the NT used to describe faith in Jesus:
1. epi = on (here)
2. eis = into
3. en = in
4. hoti = statement about Jesus
5. Dative case without preposition
This variety seems to imply that there was no specific grammatical form connected to “believe” (pisteu). Usually the personal, volitional aspect is emphasized (except for hoti, which means the content of the gospel or doctrines). Jesus is a person to be welcomed! See Special Topics at Act 2:40; Act 3:16.
Act 11:18 “they quieted down and glorified God” Peter’s testimony not only stopped the negative atmosphere, but it engendered praise! Most of these early leaders and believers were teachable and flexible. They were willing to adjust their theology and follow God’s lead.
“God has granted to the Gentiles also the repentance that leads to life” There are several passages in the NT that imply that the sovereign God is the source of repentance as well as grace (cf. Act 5:31; Act 8:22; 2Ti 2:25).
The theological issue related to this phrase is, “how is the sovereignty of God related to salvation versus the demanded response of humans?” Are faith and repentance (cf. Mar 1:15; Act 3:16; Act 3:19; Act 20:21) human responses or gifts from God? There are texts which strongly imply that they are a gift from God (cf. Act 5:31; Act 11:18; Rom 2:4; and 2Ti 2:25). Since I believe that all Scripture is inspired (cf. 2Ti 3:16) then one must compare all texts related to any theological issue and not succumb to a proof-text or denominational method. It is obvious that the one true God is in control of all things! Acts emphasizes this over and over. However, He has chosen to relate to His highest creation by means of covenant. God always takes the initiative and sets the agenda, but mankind must respond and continue to respond. It is never an either/or question. It is always a both/and relationship. See Special Topic: Covenant at Act 2:47. For “repentance” see Special Topic at Act 2:38.
Michael Magill, NT TransLine (p. 435, #24) has a good summary statement of what the early believing Jews in Jerusalem thought would happen.
“The Jewish believers knew the message was for the world. But that salvation was to come to the Gentiles apart from Judaism, with all the implications that this has, was a new thought for them. They were assuming salvation would be proclaimed to the world as part of and through a true, spiritual Judaism; that Judaism would reign and all people would become Jews as part of finding life in Christ; that Israel’s culture would gloriously become world culture.”
Fuente: You Can Understand the Bible: Study Guide Commentary Series by Bob Utley
And = Now.
apostles. App-189.
in = throughout. Greek. kata. App-104.
Gentiles. Greek. ethnos, as in Act 10:45.
had. Omit.
word. Greek. logos. App-121.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
1-18.] PETER JUSTIFIES BEFORE THE CHURCH IN JERUSALEM, HIS HAVING CONSORTED WITH MEN UNCIRCUMCISED.
Fuente: The Greek Testament
Chapter 11
And the apostles and brethren that were in Judea heard that the Gentiles had also received the word of God. And when Peter was come back to Jerusalem, they that were of the circumcision had a fight with him, and they said, You went to men that were uncircumcised, and you ate with them. But Peter just rehearsed the matter from the beginning, and expounded it to them according to how it happened in order, and he said, I was in the city of Joppa praying: and in a trance I saw a vision, A certain vessel descend, as it had been a great sheet ( Act 11:1-5 ),
And he repeats this vision.
Now it is interesting that Luke really is limited by space. At this time, of course, they did not publish books, but they wrote everything on a scroll, and there was a limit to what you could write on a scroll. And the longest scrolls were about thirty-five feet long. And they would write these epistles on these scrolls. And, of course, they would roll it and write as they were going, rolling and unrolling the scroll. And they became very bulky if they got over thirty-five feet long.
Now the book of Acts, because of its length, would have to be recorded in the scroll of maximum limit, about thirty-five feet long. The original copy that Luke wrote of the book of Acts was probably in a thirty-five foot scroll so that you would want to conserve the space so you could tell as much of the story as you could. But for a definite reason, the Holy Spirit has this account of Peter being called to the Gentiles recorded twice in the limited space of the book of Acts. No doubt that God might bare witness to all of the Jews and to all men everywhere that the Gospel of Jesus Christ is the free gift of God to every man regardless of his color or his ethnic background. So the Gospel is open to all and so the Lord sees fit to record this vision of Peter twice in the limited area of the thirty-five feet of the scroll of the book of Acts. So he tells again the vision of the sheet with the four corners.
Upon the which when I had fastened mine eyes, I considered, and saw fourfooted beasts of the earth, and wild beasts, and creeping things, and fowls of the air. And I heard a voice saying unto me, Arise, Peter; slay and eat. But I said, Not so, Lord: for nothing common or unclean hath at any time entered into my mouth. But the voice answered me again from heaven, What God hath cleansed, that call not thou common. And this was done three times: and all were drawn up again into heaven. And, behold, immediately there were three men already come unto the house where I was, sent from Caesarea unto me. And the Spirit bade me go with them ( Act 11:6-12 ),
So Peter is not taking the responsibility for what happened and he’s not taking the blame. “The Spirit bade me to go. I was being directed by the Spirit of God.”
doubting nothing. Moreover I took these six brothers with me, and we entered into the man’s house ( Act 11:12 ):
So Peter took the witnesses probably because he didn’t know what was going to happen and he wanted witnesses when he got back on the carpet in Jerusalem to verify that the story that he told was true, that it wasn’t really me, it was God who did it. I wasn’t responsible. So that he wouldn’t get kicked out of the early church.
And he showed us how he had seen an angel in his house, which stood and said unto him, Send men to Joppa, and call for Simon, whose surname is Peter; who will tell thee words, whereby you and all of your house shall be saved ( Act 11:13-14 ).
So the Spirit bade me to go and bring them the Gospel, the word of salvation. God has ordained to save the Gentiles.
And as I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell on them, as on us at the beginning ( Act 11:15 ).
I didn’t touch them; I didn’t do anything!
Then remembered I the word of the Lord, how that he said, John indeed baptized with water; but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit. Forasmuch then as God gave them [I didn’t do it. Don’t blame me. As God gave to them] the like gift as he did unto us, who believed on the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I, that I could withstand God? ( Act 11:16-17 )
Good question isn’t it? “Who am I that I can withstand the work of God?” Better that I not try to withstand the work of God. Unfortunately, there have been a lot of people who have been in that position who are trying to withstand the work of God. God begins to work and they try to withstand that work. They criticize or they find fault or, “Well, it didn’t happen according to our traditional standards.”
I was given a letter recently, which was sent by a pastor of a Church of Christ to one of the ladies here at Calvary who had moved to California and has started attending church here. And he wrote to her rebuking her for attending the church here because we could not be legitimate, we are, all of us, going to hell because we don’t have the right name above our door. If we are not called the Church of Christ, then we are worshipping under false banners and cannot be truly worshipping Jesus Christ.
Now we are all wrong because we don’t have the right name. Poor fellow. His heaven is going to be a very lonely place. It’s like the fellow being ushered around heaven by Peter and he saw all these different groups of people worshipping the Lord and having a great time. There was a Baptist over here and a Presbyterian over here, and the Methodists over here, and the Pentecostals over here. They were just having a glorious time together and as they went down the road a bit, there was this high wall. The fellow heard the noise of people singing behind it and he said, “Who are they? How come they’re not out with the group?” And he said, “Shush! They’re the Church of Christ and they think they’re the only ones here!”
Now let me say that this pastor is not representative of all of the Church of Christ pastors. He is an individual; he has his own individual convictions which I don’t agree with. They are, I believe, very narrow. And I really…well, I’m sure that the Lord will give me grace to accept the brother when we get to heaven, but I have a hard time with people that are that narrow in their view. I have excellent fellowship with many Church of Christ pastors and I respect the work that they are doing for the Lord. And this man is not at all representative of the Church of Christ ministry. He only represents a small segment of that marvelous fellowship of churches, and I’m thankful that he is not representative of all of them.
But there are Church of Christ ministers here in the area that I love and highly respect and I thank God for the ministry that they have and for the influence that their churches have in their community. So I don’t want you to go out and say, “Oh man, he really put down the Churches of Christ.” Not at all, I don’t intend to do that. It was just a joke and it just represents a small man with small concepts of God’s grace and God’s work.
Unfortunately, there are people who are that small and that narrow, but we pray that God will broaden their horizons, because it must be terrible to live with all of that pent up venom just eating you up inside. Because how can you explain the work of God? Well, what they do is say, “Well, it’s really Satan working.” And it’s a tragic thing that people are that narrow. But, for instance, Thomas Overton in Huntington Beach, what a beautiful brother and how I love this man of God, and I have had, in the past, great fellowship. So if any of you run down to Tom Overton with a tape of this sermon, Tom knows that I love him!
So Peter is explaining, “Who was I that I could withstand God?”
When they heard these things, they held their peace, and glorified God, saying, Then God also to the Gentiles has granted repentance unto life ( Act 11:18 ).
And they accepted the work among the Gentiles. Now they weren’t really ready to enter into full fellowship with the Gentiles. As we move along into the book of Acts, we will find that Peter went down to Antioch and he was eating with the Gentiles until certain brethren from Jerusalem came down. And then Peter separated himself because of the feelings that they had still of eating with Gentiles, and it caused a division in the church of Antioch for which Paul rebukes him. And Paul refers to that in the book of Galatians.
So the walls are tumbling, though they’re not completely down. Not by a long shot. And we’ll come in the fifteenth chapter to some issues that arose over this very thing.
Now they which were scattered abroad upon the persecution that arose about Stephen, they traveled as far as Phenice, and Cyprus, and Antioch ( Act 11:19 ),
Now Antioch was the third largest Roman city. After Rome and Alexandria was Antioch. A very large metropolis where the Orentes river comes into the Mediterranean sea. The basic or the chief god of Antioch was Daphene and there was a huge temple to Daphene in a laurel grove five miles from Antioch. And according to the story, Apollo fell in love with Daphene and was pursuing her. But in order to save her from being raped by Apollos, she turned into a laurel tree. And so they built this temple to Daphene there in the laurel tree grove, and the priestesses in the worship of Daphene were prostitutes. And there in the laurel groves they would reenact in their worship the seduction by Apollo of Daphene.
So their worship was very licentious. And the city of Antioch became a synonym for people who lived a very loose, licentious life. Gambling was rampant, as was all kinds of vices, moral and all. They were prevalent and rampant, so they said that a person in Antioch is a person that is living a very lustful life of vice.
But it is interesting that it was in this pagan city that the Gospel of Christ gained such a strong foothold. And the church in Antioch became the center for the mission to the Gentiles. And it was from this church of Antioch that the Gospel really spread through the Gentile world, and the missionaries would come and report to the church in Antioch. And it became one of the centers of the early church, especially the Gentile element of the early church. Now they had gone to Phenice, Cyprus, and Antioch,
preaching the word but only to the Jews. [They weren’t preaching to the Gentiles.] And some of them were men of Cyprus and Cyrene, which, when they were come Antioch, they spake to the Grecians [the Hellenists], as they preached the Lordship of Jesus. And the hand of the Lord was with them: and a great number believed, and turned unto the Lord. Then the tidings of these things came to the ears of the church which was in Jerusalem: and they sent forth Barnabas, that he should go as far as Antioch. Who, when he came, and had seen the grace of God, he was glad, and exhorted them all, that with purpose of heart they would [stick or] cleave unto the Lord ( Act 11:19-23 ).
Now Barnabas was really the ideal man to send, because his ministry was that of reconciling within the body of Christ. He was the one who, when the church in Jerusalem would have nothing to do with Paul after his conversion, brought Paul to the brothers and said, “Look, he is a brother. Receive him now as a brother.” And he was the one that brought Paul into fellowship there into the church in Jerusalem. The son of consolation is what the name Barnabas means, and a man who reconciles opposing parties or differing parties. And so he was an ideal one to send to Antioch when this revival has broken out now among the Gentiles. He is a man who has great grace and understanding and was able to accept the work that God was doing there in Antioch.
Now he exhorted them that they should purpose in their hearts to just continue in the Lord or to cleave to the Lord, or abide in the Lord. So he exhorted them that they should purpose in their hearts, that is, make a total commitment. Not just decide in your mind. Too many decisions are made in the mind. The heart is the seat of a man’s will. When you purpose in your heart, you are setting the course for your life. You’re making the full commitment. He’s calling on them make a full commitment of yourself to Jesus Christ because Barnabas knew that they were going to be facing persecution; they were going to be facing real problems in the Gentile world which was antagonistic to Jesus. A Gentile world that, especially there in Antioch, was given over to every vice and sexual impurity, and if you don’t make a total commitment to Jesus Christ, you’re going to fall by the wayside. You’ll be sucked back in to that whole world system.
So he exhorted them, “Purpose in your heart you’re going to stick with the Lord.” Make that complete commitment. Purpose in your heart this is the way that it’s going to be. Even as Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah purposed in their hearts not to defile themselves when carried away to Babylon.
For he [Barnabas] was a good man, and full of the Holy Spirit and of faith: and [many] much people were added unto the Lord. Then he departed to Tarsus, to look for Saul ( Act 11:24-25 ):
Now he recognized that here is a work of the Holy Spirit being wrought in this Roman culture or a city that is steeped in actually the Grecian culture, but it is a major city of the ancient world. And he realized that the ministry here would take a special kind of a person, one who had been liberalized by the Holy Spirit, one who understood the Grecian culture, and yet, one who was strong in the Word.
Now Paul the apostle, at this time he was still called Saul, when he left Jerusalem, went back home to his home city of Tarsus, and this is some eight years later. I am certain that those eight years were spent by Paul making tents in Tarsus, but also sharing his faith there in the city of Tarsus. As God was preparing him still for the work that God wanted him to do.
We oftentimes make a great mistake in seeking to jump immediately into the ministry the moment we receive Jesus Christ as our Lord. It is important that our lives be prepared by the Spirit and that preparation is not an overnight preparation. During the war we had what were known in the Air Force as the ninety-day wonders. Through basic primary school and all and your first lieutenant bar is in ninety days as we were training men for the Air Force. But God has no ninety-day wonders.
It’s important that we be rooted and grounded in the Word of God and in the work of God. And it is interesting to me that this is some eleven years after Paul’s conversion. He spent the first three down in Arabia there learning. Now eight more years of silence in Tarsus before Barnabas, seeing the work in Antioch, realizing that Paul would be the ideal person for this ministry, went to Tarsus to look for Saul.
And when he had found him, he brought him to Antioch. And it came to pass, that a whole year they assembled themselves with the church, and taught much people. And the disciples were called Christians first in Antioch ( Act 11:26 ).
The word Christian is actually Christ folks. Now during a period a few years ago, there was a title placed upon a bunch of the hippies that were accepting Jesus as The Jesus People. That’s much like this title. It was given in sort of a derisive way to church. They would say, “Oh, they’re Christ folks, they’re Jesus people.” And it is much as the accolation, Jesus people was put upon those young people who were committing their lives to Jesus Christ during that period of time. They’re Christ folks. It wasn’t really a title of admiration, but more or less of sort of a derision as they called them Christians or Christ folks first there at Antioch. Now, notice, that in verse Act 11:19 they were preaching the Word to none but unto Jews only. And in verse Act 11:20 they came to Antioch and they were preaching unto the Grecians the lordship of Jesus. They were preaching.
Now when Barnabas came, it said that he exhorted them, and when Paul came, it said he came for the space of a year and taught them. And there is an important difference between preaching, exhorting, and teaching. I believe that in the church today there is far too much preaching. I think that we need more exhorting and I believe that we need, most of all, teaching. You see, the most part was spent in teaching, for the space of a year they stayed and taught the people.
Preaching is to the unconverted. It is proclaiming to them God’s good news that He has provided for man’s salvation through the death of His Son who was raised again by the power of the Spirit on the third day. And by believing in Him you can have the remission of sins and you will receive the gift of eternal life. That’s what preaching is all about: proclaiming God’s good news to man.
Now when a person believes the message, then they need exhortation. Now Barnabas was exhorting them, “Now stick to the Lord. Purpose in your heart you’re going to stick with Him.” But Paul came and he spent a year teaching them. Teaching them how to stick, teaching them how to pray. Teaching them how to walk. And teaching is a vital function in the church. And the church today in many places is very weak, very anemic, very ineffective, because the people have not been taught in the Word of God.
So we have dedicated our ministry here at Calvary to the teaching of the Word of God, and then we have Romaine as the exhorter. I’m telling you what you should do, and he’s there kicking you in the seat of the pants getting you to do it. Exhorting us in to what we should be doing for the Lord. And it’s a vital, important ministry and it balances here. We have Randy on Saturday nights preaching to all of the young people that gather. So there’s a place for preaching, there’s a place for exhorting, and there is the important place of teaching within the church. And if the church is going to ever become strong and effective, it’s got to be Paul.
And in these days came prophets from Jerusalem unto Antioch ( Act 11:27 ).
Now these prophets were sort of roving men in the early church. They were sort of nomads; they would roam from church to church. Now as the result, there were men who took upon themselves the title of prophet and they would roam and they would come into the church and they would say, “I’m a prophet of God.” So it was one of the problems in the early church to tell whether or not a man was really a prophet of God or not.
So there were the writings of the apostles that were called the Didache, which was sort of a little rule book in the early church that first began to be circulated about 100 A.D. And this Didache had rules for discerning who was a true prophet and who was a false prophet.
Now the man came in and declared himself to be a prophet of God, you were to listen to him for one day. If he stayed the second day without going to work then he was a false prophet. He was just sponging off the church. If a man came in and declared himself to be a prophet and he said, “Thus saith the Lord, fix a large dinner, fried chicken, rice pilaf, mashed potatoes!” If he would eat of that dinner himself, he was a false prophet. So these were some of the rules by which they were to discern some of the false prophets in the early church written in the Didache, an interesting little guidebook for the early church before they were all established with elders and pastors and so forth.
Now, there was one prophet by the name of Agabus, and we’re going to be coming across Agabus again later on, years later, and we’ll find him in Caesarea when Paul is returning towards Jerusalem. But this one prophet Agabus,
he signified by the Spirit that there was going to be a great drought throughout all the world: which came to pass in the days of Claudius Caesar ( Act 11:28 ).
So he was a true prophet. This drought that he predicted did come to pass.
Then the disciples, every man according to his ability, determined to send relief unto the brethren which dwelt in Judea ( Act 11:29 ):
Now the church in Jerusalem had gone through heavy persecution and had been scattered. They also experimented with communal living and found it disastrous financially. So when Agabus came and predicted this great drought that was going to come, these men decided to take up an offering to send it back to the saints there in Judea to help them out. And so Christian love, stretching across national barriers, stretching across state lines, and stretching across the confines of our church. We’re reaching out to the body of Christ elsewhere to help others, sharing that abundance which God has bestowed upon us.
Here at Calvary Chapel we have that glorious privilege of reaching out because God has given us an abundance. God has given us a surplus. We have the glorious privilege of reaching out and sharing this surplus with churches in other areas, with Christians in the body of Christ throughout the United States and throughout the world. So here’s where the practice really began, in the church of Antioch. Became a center, even as God has more or less made this a center from which many have gone out to establish churches. Well over two hundred churches now having come out of this church, being established around the United States. So God has made us sort of a center from which the Word of God has spread. And it’s a blessed thing to be in this position of being able to reach out and help the brethren elsewhere.
Now that’s not what was happening here. Actually, in a sense, the church began in Jerusalem and they’re sending the help back to Jerusalem. But we don’t need the help of the churches and we are able to help them, and we thank God for that. It is more blessed to give than to receive, so we are on the blessed side. So they took up the offering for the brethren in Judea.
Which also they did, and sent it to the elders by the hands of Barnabas and Saul ( Act 11:30 ).
So Saul is coming back now to Jerusalem, this time with Barnabas, bringing an offering from those brothers in Antioch. And the walls now of difference have been broken down. This beautiful generosity expressed now by the Gentile believers towards the Jewish believers in Jerusalem.
So next week we move on into chapters 12 and 13. Shall we pray.
Father, we thank You for Thy Word, a light unto our feet, a lamp unto our path. What a blessing, Lord, to gather together to study to show ourselves approved, approved unto God, workman who need not to be ashamed. Lord, help us to rightly divide Your Word of truth. Lord, may each of us purpose in our hearts that we’re just going to continue in the Lord. We’re going to walk with You Lord no matter what. Lord, bless Your people. Place Your hand upon each of our lives. Anoint us for Thy service. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen. “
Fuente: Through the Bible Commentary
Act 11:1-18
PETER JUSTIFIES HIS PREACHING TO GENTILES
Act 11:1-18
1 Now the apostles and the brethren-The distance from Caesarea, the home of Cornelius, to Jerusalem was about seventy miles. We do not know how long after the conversion of Cornelius and his household until the news reached Jerusalem; Cornelius had invited Peter and the other brethren to tarry certain days with him, and the implication is that they did so. The news of the conversion of Cornelius, and especially the news of Peters going into the house of a Gentile, was startling to Jewish Christians; they had, as yet, not learned that the gospel was for the Gentiles as well as the Jews; neither had they heard of the vision that Peter had and the command to go to the Gentiles. It seems that the news came to Jerusalem and the other Judean churches before Peter had left Caesarea.
2-3 And when Peter was come up to Jerusalem,-Peter was accompanied by the six Jewish brethren who had gone with him from Joppa to Caesarea, and now came with him to Jerusalem. We may now see the purpose Peter had in taking these six Jewish brethren with him to Caesarea; they were to be witnesses with him, and it seems that Peter had gone to Jerusalem to defend himself and to impart to the church there the news of the reception of the Gentiles. They that were of the circumcision, or the Jewish Christians, contended with Peter, and brought the accusation against him that he went in to men uncircumcised, and didst eat with them. Contended is from the Greek diekrinonto, and here means to separate oneself apart, to take sides against, to make a cleavage. So Peter is at once put on the defense; it is clear here that Peter was not regarded as any kind of pope or overlord. The Jewish Christians must have contended that the distinction between Jew and Gentile should be maintained in the
church; hence, they should not mix socially with Gentiles, the un-circumcised, nor eat with them. Uncircumcised means men having not been circumcised; it is used here as a contemptuous expression; they did not object to Peters preaching to the Gentiles, but they did object to his going into the house and eating with them.
4-6 But Peter began, and expounded the matter-When Peter came before the other apostles and brethren, he explained in a very deliberate and detailed way that he had been convinced that God wanted the gospel preached to the Gentiles. He gave the facts that convinced him, thinking that the arguments that convinced him would convince others that the Gentiles should have the blessings of the gospel. A great work had been done in the name of Christ and Peter is called on to defend himself for his part in it. Peters mildness and patience in explaining the entire matter to them was put in contrast with the heat and excitement that his accusers manifested. Peters rehearsal was so simple and truthful that it carried conviction. He told exactly where he was, what he was doing, and all things connected with his trance.
7-10 And I heard also a voice saying unto me,-There was a clear issue between Peter with respect to his conduct and the other apostles and brethren; the charge was: Thou wentest in to men uncircumcised, and didst eat with them. (Verse 3.) This issue involved the one of bringing Gentiles into the church without their becoming Jews. Luke, the writer, through the Holy Spirit, deemed it wise to give the two records of this set of events-the one in chapter 10 and the other here. This shows that great importance and significance was attached to the event. God himself, the God of the Jews, had directed Peter to do what he had done. (Verses 5-10.) God had convinced Peter with a vivid illustration while Peter was in a trance. (Verse 6.) God had directed Cornelius to send for Peter; to confirm the fact, an angel was sent to Cornelius bidding him send for Peter. These Gentiles had become Christians without becoming Jews; the Holy Spirit had come upon them as he had upon the Jews on Pentecost. While Jesus was on earth teaching the Jews had asked him for a sign from heaven, and now Peter gives these disciples a sign from heaven. (Mat 16:1; Luk 11:16.)
11-14 And behold, forthwith three men stood-Peter rehearsed the matter in the detailed order that the events occurred, so that his report of them might impress the minds of his hearers, as the events themselves did to his own mind. Peters vision had scarcely ended when these three men from Caesarea called for him. Forthwith three men stood before the house in which we were. Further evidence was that the Holy Spirit commanded Peter to go with them, making no distinction. That is, Peter should go to the Gentiles with the gospel as freely as he would to the Jews; these six brethren accompanied Peter and were now present to bear witness that the Gentiles had received the Holy Spirit and to testify just what Peter had done. So Peter confessed to the charge that was brought against him, and the other six were guilty of the same charge. Peter has made it clear that he did not go to the Gentiles and eat with them of his own initiative; he went under the direct orders of God and the Holy Spirit; these six Jewish brethren could bear witness to this fact.
15 And as I began to speak,-Cornelius had been told by the angel that Peter, when brought from Joppa, would speak unto thee words, whereby thou shalt be saved, thou and all thy house. (Verse 14.) Now Peter began to speak these words unto this good, yet unsaved, man; he had not been speaking very long (Act 10:34-44) when the Holy Spirit came upon the company assembled at Cornelius house as he had on us at the beginning. The beginning mentioned here was Pentecost. Peter recalls very vividly the events at Pentecost; this was the beginning of the church; it was the beginning of the preaching of the gospel in its fullness; it was the beginning of the work of the apostles under the Great Commission; it was the beginning of the Christian dispensation. The Holy Spirit came upon these Gentiles as it did upon the Jews at the beginning. According to the best chronologists, Pentecost occurred A.D. 30 to 33, and the conversion of Cornelius took place about A.D. 40; hence, it has been eight or ten years since Pentecost; the church was eight or ten years old at the conversion of Cornelius. The coming of the Holy Spirit upon the household of Cornelius was a baptism of the Holy Spirit. There had been nothing like this since Pentecost; hence, Peter says that the Holy Spirit came on the house of Cornelius as it did on the Jews at the beginning. Therefore, there had been no baptism of the Holy Spirit since Pentecost; if there had been Peter could have referred to the numerous other incidents and not have had to go back to Pentecost. This also shows that the baptism of the Holy Spirit was not to convert people, for Peter would only have had to refer to any case of conversion to prove his point.
16 And I remembered the word of the Lord,-When the Holy Spirit came on the Gentiles, Peter remembered how Jesus had said: John indeed baptized with water; but ye, shall be baptized in the Holy Spirit. (Act 1:5.) The baptism of the Holy Spirit was a mark of the divine acceptance of Gentiles as disciples. If God had conferred on the Gentiles the baptism of the Holy Spirit, how can man refuse to them all the blessings of the gospel ? How can Christian Jews call men common and unclean upon whom God has bestowed the baptism of the Holy Spirit ?
17 If then God gave unto them the like gift-Here Peter reached the climax of his argument; he and other Jewish Christians could not refuse those whom God had accepted; he could not withstand God. The argument is clear and forceful. To reject the Gentiles and refuse to let them enjoy all the blessings of the gospel would be to withstand God. If God gave to them the same gift which he gave to the Jews on believing on the Lord Jesus Christ, Peter could not reject the Gentiles. The argument forces the other apostles and brethren to withdraw their charge against Peter, or commend him for what he had done, and rejoice with him in the conversion of the Gentiles.
18 And when they heard these things,-The accusation against Peter was withdrawn; the wrangling ceased; the critics even glorified God. They rejoiced that God had granted repentance unto life to the Gentiles as well as to the Jews. Peter now sees in this incident the same principle for which Paul contended at a later date. (Act 15:8.) The Jews were now satisfied that God had called Gentiles as well as Jews; it is clear here that the Jews could not live as Jews and be Christians, and that the Gentiles could not live as Gentiles and be Christians; that there can be neither Jew nor Greek, there can be neither bond nor free, there can be no male and female; for ye all are one man in Christ Jesus. (Gal 3:28.)
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
It is very interesting to note how slowly the prejudices of the Hebrew Christians gave way, and yet how amenable they were to the evidences as they appeared. The apostles and the brethren at Jerusalem felt that Peter had taken a wrong step, yet when he stated all the facts of the case and realized that the work was indeed that of the Spirit, they laid aside their prejudices and followed the light.
The apparent calamity of the scattering abroad of the Christians really issued in the great missionary movement which practically occupies the whole of the remaining part of the book. In Antioch a remarkable work followed the preaching of certain men with the result that the Church at Jerusalem sent Barnabas thither.
What he saw gladdened his heart, and, realizing the importance of the movement, he went to Tarsus to seek Saul. Then followed a year’s work in Antioch under the direction of these men.
Agabus appears here, and once again in the narrative (21:10). On both occasions he is seen exercising the prophetic gift in its predictive element. A famine which he announced is matter of history. What is valuable in chronicling it in the sacred record is that it was a crisis which brought out the true Christian spirit of these Gentile Christians. There can be little doubt that they were conscious of the suspicion of the Jewish brethren; yet every man of them, according to his ability, contributed toward the relief which was sent by Barnabas and Saul to the sufferers in Jerusalem.
Fuente: An Exposition on the Whole Bible
following a Plain Course
Act 11:1-18
It is very interesting here to find Peter on the defensive. We have always thought of him as masterful and strong, the born leader of men, whose authority was absolutely indisputable. But here we see him taken seriously to task by the mother Church, and compelled to show the grounds of his unprecedented action. Here also appears the first clear indication of the rift which was, in due course, to develop in the Church, between the converted Jews, who insisted that Gentiles must become Jews before becoming Christians, and those of more liberal views, who began to understand that in Christ Jesus, neither circumcision nor uncircumcision availed anything, but a new creature, Gal 6:15, and faith working by love, Gal 5:6. This division was the cause of Pauls embittered and life-long persecution.
But the first decision of those in the church in Jerusalem was a perfectly just one, Act 11:18. The facts compelled a favorable verdict upon Peters action. They tacitly confessed that the seal of Gods approval had been unmistakably affixed to his action, and that he had no alternative. When a man lives in union with the Spirit of God, crooked things become straight and rough places plain, Isa 40:4.
Fuente: F.B. Meyer’s Through the Bible Commentary
No one, I think, can read the account of Acts 11 thoughtfully without realizing how prejudices control and dominate the hearts of men. Most of us are more prejudiced in religious matters than we realize. Sometimes what we call conscience is, after all, only prejudice. We profess we cannot have any sympathy with this or that person (because he does not see as we do) on account of our consciences. Whereas, if we were honest, we would have to admit that our lack of sympathy is due in large part to our prejudices. Remember the old saying-Orthodoxy is my doxy; Heterodoxy is someone elses doxy.
Notice too how things have changed during the Christian era. In the early days the prejudice was on the side of the Jews, who looked with contempt on the Gentiles. There was good reason for this. God had said, This people have I formed for myself; they shall show forth my praise (Isa 43:21). On another occasion he said, speaking of the Jews, You only have I known of all the families of the earth: therefore I will punish you for all your iniquities (Amo 3:2). Thus in a special sense God recognized Israel as His peculiar people, and He Himself put a hedge about them to keep them from mingling freely with the pagan who worshiped idols and indulged in all the unclean things that accompany idol worship. God called the Jews to separation from the sins of the Gentiles. So we need not be surprised that when the time came to carry the message of the grace of God to the Gentile world, even the Hebrew Christians looked with disfavor on reaching out into the pagan world with the proclamation of the gospel.
Now singularly enough, the shoe is on the other foot. Today it is the Gentile, and often the professing Christian among the Gentiles, who looks with disfavor on the Jew and, in many instances, has no sympathy with Christian missionary outreach to Israel. I have often heard it said, The Jew had his chance; he refused Christ and therefore we have no further responsibility toward him. That is not the attitude of the Lord Jesus Christ. He commanded His disciples to go first of all to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. Paul said his ministry was to the Jew first, then also to the Gentile.
Some five or six years rolled by after Pentecost before the early Hebrew Christians began the work of evangelizing the Gentiles. And how often it is today that we find little spiritual effort on the part of the Gentiles to evangelize Jews! We are so easily controlled and dominated by our prejudices that we forget there is no difference: For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.
Destroying Prejudice in the Early Church (Act 11:1-18)
After Peters mission to the Gentile home of Cornelius he was put on trial, as it were, when he returned to the church at Jerusalem. He was called upon to defend himself for going to the Gentiles with the gospel The disciples in Jerusalem did not yet have a vision broad enough to reach out to their Gentile neighbors from whom many of the Jews had suffered so much. We can realize why they hesitated, but in so doing they ignored their Lords express command.
The apostles outside of Jerusalem received the news as a wonderful thing. The apostles and brethren that were in Judaea heard that the Gentiles had also received the word of God. It seemed almost unbelievable, God, then, was reaching out beyond the confines of Israel to poor, lost, ruined sinners of the nations. This word came back to Jerusalem and the brethren there were perplexed about it. When Peter was come up to Jerusalem, they that were of the circumcision [that is, converted Hebrews] contended with him, Saying, Thou wentest in to men uncircumcised, and didst eat with them. We remember that when our Lord was here on earth, the same charge was brought against Him when He ate with publicans and sinners, and He had to defend Himself for letting His grace go out to the needy. Peter also had to defend himself for going to the Gentiles with the message of the gospel
Peter then related the whole story and left the verdict to them to decide whether he had been divinely guided. He explained that while he was praying he had seen a vision. In other words, this was not a mere notion of Peters. It was not that he had himself decided to leap over national barriers and go to the Gentiles. Rather while he was waiting on God, seeking the mind of God, there came to his soul a revelation of Gods grace in relation to a needy world.
He related his vision of a sheet filled with all types of animals. His Jewish audience recognized that according to Levitical law many of the animals were clean but others definitely unclean. The Jew was punctilious about eating only the things ceremonially clean, but the Gentile indulged himself as he would, eating many things considered unclean by the Jews.
And I heard a voice saying unto me, Arise, Peter; slay and eat. I think I can understand something of Peters feeling of revulsion- a strict Jew, looking at that heterogeneous collection of beasts, saying, I cannot select my food from them. But a voice answered him from Heaven, What God hath cleansed, that call not thou common. What did this mean? One thing it meant was that the day had passed when one had to distinguish between clean and unclean beasts. Our Lord Jesus Christ had declared that not that which enters into the mouth defiles the man. So it is left to us now to select those foods that are most suitable for our well-being.
However, there is a deeper meaning in the sentence, What God hath cleansed, that call not thou common. He was referring to the whole world of sinners. In days gone by, the Gentiles were considered unclean. You will remember how the Jews were forbidden to mingle with the Gentiles in marriage. In the days of Ezra, when people failed in this matter and intermarried with the Gentile people, Ezra called them to separate from their wives and put away their children, for they were unclean. It was heartbreaking, but it was the will of God (Ezra 9).
What does it mean then, What God hath cleansed, that call not thou common? It means that, through the atoning blood of the Lord Jesus Christ, even the Gentiles have a way of access to God. Although outside the nation of Israel, they are entitled now to participate in the riches of Gods grace. Even though they are strangers to the covenant of promise, they can know the salvation He has provided through the Lord Jesus. The apostle Paul said that he was the minister of Jesus Christ to the Gentiles, ministering the gospel of God, that the offering up of the Gentiles might be acceptable, being sanctified by the Holy Ghost (Rom 15:16). And we can go to all men everywhere now and say to them, No matter what your record, whether you are Jew or Gentile, whether you have been punctilious about keeping the law or whether you have been utterly lawless, Christ died for all men, and the grace of God, proclaiming peace for all men, goes out to sinners everywhere. Gods Word says, Whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.
This was the message the Lord was teaching Peter. There are no longer any ceremonial distinctions to be observed; God is waiting in grace to save whosoever will. Peter said the animals were presented to him three times. The same proclamation was made three times in order that he might be assured it was in very truth the mind of God. It often takes quite a little while to get something new into our understanding. And, behold, immediately there were three men already come unto the house where I was, sent from Caesarea unto me. And the Spirit bade me go with them, nothing doubting. And so Peter started off to the household of Cornelius where he had that wonderful experience of which we read in Acts 10.
Moreover these six brethren accompanied me, and we entered into the mans house. That was wisdom on the part of Peter. He was going to do an unprecedented thing and he wanted plenty of witnesses who could testify when he got back to Jerusalem that he did everything according to the mind and will of God.
There are a few points I want to emphasize regarding Cornelius. First, God could have given Cornelius the gospel through the angel that came to him. But it did not please Him to propagate the glad tidings in that way. He prefers to reach sinners through redeemed men and women, and this is a very wonderful and serious thing for us to consider. I am sure, of the myriads upon myriads of angels surrounding the throne of God, any one of them would count it a privilege to come down and stand at any crossroad in all the land and proclaim the gospel of the Lamb of God. But God has passed angels by, and has entrusted the message of His grace to sinners saved by that grace. How have we responded to that-we, to whom this wonderful privilege has been given? Will we rise to our privilege? Are we making known the gospel as we should to a lost world?
In the next place, I want you to realize this: Cornelius was a man whose prayers and almsgiving had been accepted by God, therefore he must have been on the ground of an Old Testament believer. He was already quickened, but was not what the New Testament calls saved. When we speak of being saved we mean far more than being safe. All down through the centuries those who turned to God in repentance were quickened by the Spirit of God, and in that sense were children of God and went home to Heaven at death. But they did not know positively that they were justified before God. They could not know for certain that their souls were saved. All these precious truths awaited revelation in the new dispensation.
Cornelius was a God-fearing, earnest man with no knowledge of peace with God. He was longing to be assured that he was accepted of Him. He sent to Peter to know how he and his household might be saved; in other words, how they might come into the full glad knowledge of forgiveness of sins. What a vast number of people in Christendom today are very much like Cornelius. They are undoubtedly God-fearing, and in their hearts believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and therefore have knowledge Cornelius did not have; but they have no assurance of salvation. I am sorry to say it, but this is largely due to the preaching they hear in many places.
In Acts 10 we find the content of Peters message. It was Jesus Christ, living His wonderful life here on earth, going about doing good, crucified for our sins, raised from the dead, and ascended on high to Gods right hand. That was the message Cornelius needed to hear.
It is strange to hear people who profess to believe the Bible say they do not think anyone can know he is saved until the day of judgment. The Word of God says, For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God (1Co 1:18). There are people who are saved and know they are saved. And there are others who really love the Lord but somehow or other have never dared to step out on His testimony, and so still are in doubt as to their salvation.
Cornelius and his household heard the Word and believed and they were saved, and immediately the Holy Ghost fell on them, as on us at the beginning-that is, on the day of Pentecost. Then Peter said in effect, I realized, when I saw this, what God had done-that He had broken down the middle wall of partition. When I understood that God had accepted them and given them the gift of the Holy Ghost, what could I do about it? Then remembered I the word of the Lord, how that he said, John indeed baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost (Act 11:16).
When the brethren in Jerusalem heard all this, they had nothing to say against it, but held their peace, and glorified God, saying. Then hath God also to the Gentiles granted repentance unto life. Thank God that fact remains blessedly true. No poor sinner in all the world need feel he has gone so far there is no salvation for him, God grants forgiveness to all who will believe His Word, to those who will change their attitude toward the God against whom they have sinned.
Who and What Is a Christian? (Act 11:19-30)
Act 11:19-20 carries us back several years to the time immediately following the martyrdom of Stephen. We remember that it was after Stephens death that Saul, on his way to Damascus, was miraculously and marvelously converted to preach the faith he had once persecuted. He had already been preaching perhaps three years and had visited Jerusalem, but because the Jews tried to kill him, had gone back to his native city Tarsus.
In these intervening years we find that the brethren who had fled from Palestine on account of the persecution there preached the gospel message to the Jews only. The Lords commission had been very definite, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature, but their Jewish prejudices hindered them from realizing that the same message was also for Gentiles. However in His time God overruled and they began to reach out to the nations. We read, Some of them were men of Cyprus and Cyrene; that is, although Jews, they had been born in these countries and had been accustomed to mingle with the Gentiles. So when they returned to their homelands they went to the Greeks and preached the Word.
Antioch was a great Greek city in Syria and there the gospel was first freely proclaimed to the Gentiles, with the result that many were saved. And the hand of the Lord was with them. There was a great difference between these Greeks to whom the Gospel was preached in Antioch, and Cornelius to whom Peter carried the Word. Cornelius and his household feared the Lord. They knew God but did not understand the gospel of the new dispensation. It was otherwise with these Greeks. They were out and out idolaters, living in all the sins of paganism. What a day it must have been when the gospel of the grace of God was preached to those men! God worked in power and they were broken down and turned in faith to the Lord Jesus Christ.
A great number believed, and turned unto the Lord. I wish we could always keep to the simplicity of things as we find them here. What led them to the Lord? The proclamation of the grace of God. Nothing else. They did not have to depend on all the other things to which preachers resort today in order to attract the people. They simply went to the heathen and preached Christ and Him crucified. God set His seal on that message and brought many to a saving knowledge of His blessed Son.
When the news of this reached Jerusalem, it created quite a stir among the brethren. They had already sat in judgment on Peter for going to the Gentiles. They did not take a stand of direct opposition, but sent Barnabas, a trusted man, to make sure it was really a work of God and not simply some human effort. Barnabas was the man who, we are told in an earlier chapter, had large properties in Cyprus, his native island. He had sold those properties and brought the money and laid it at the apostles feet to be used in helping the needy brethren (Act 4:36-37). He was characterized not only by sincere faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, but by his love for others. So he was sent to investigate and report to them as to the character of the work in Antioch.
When he came and had seen the grace of God, [he] was glad. How can anybody see the grace of God? Grace is Gods undeserved favor granted to poor lost sinners who put their trust in the Lord Jesus. Strictly speaking, we cannot see grace any more than we can see love, or its antithesis, hate. Then what did Barnabas see? We see the effects of hate in the unkind things it does, and we see the grace of God manifested in the changed lives of those who have received and believed the gospel message. This is how the gospel is propagated. The gospel proves itself by what it does. We hear a great deal about the need of a new gospel for a new age, but the old gospel still works, and works in power. When men and women believe it and receive it in their hearts, they become new creatures in Christ Jesus. Licentious, wicked, unclean people become chaste, holy, and clean; unrighteous people become faithful, honest, and true. This is how the grace of God is seen.
If we profess to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, let us be careful to reveal the reality of our faith by godly lives. The world is looking on to see what the gospel we talk about has done for us. Christian men and women should so live and walk before the world, should so act in their behavior one to the other, that unsaved people will have to confess they see the grace of God in them.
Barnabas went to Antioch and saw the grace of God, and he ministered to them and exhorted them all, that with purpose of heart they would cleave unto the Lord. How young converts need that encouragement! It is not merely a matter of receiving Christ as Savior. When one does that, thank God, he is saved; but from that moment on we need to cleave to the Lord with purpose of heart. Our Lord has warned us that no man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God (Luk 9:62). May God enable us to plow a straight furrow-to go forward in the path of devotion to the Lord! How do we cleave to Him? With purpose of heart.
Let me give a few suggestions to young believers. In the first place, give the Word of God its proper place in your heart. Do not let a day go by in which you do not spend some time in your Bible. You cannot grow in grace without that. You are newborn babes and you need to be fed, and the Word is not only for our food but for our enlightenment. We cannot find our way through this world without the instructions we get from the Word of God. Not only should you be careful to meditate on the Word of God each day, but see that you spend some time daily waiting upon God in prayer. Prayer is the Christians vital breath. A believer who is not given to prayer will never really count for God in this world. We are told to be faithful in prayer, to pray without ceasing.
Next, if we are going to cleave to the Lord, we should cultivate Christian fellowship-seek the association of those of like precious faith. None of us is strong in ourselves, and we need one another. We are to exhort each other, to be helpers of one another in the faith.
Then let us be unsparing in self-judgment. We need to keep account with God. When conscious of failure and sin, when we have yielded in any sense to temptation, let us not go on getting deeper and deeper into things that are wrong, drifting farther and farther from God. Turn at once to the Lord, face the matter in His presence. Remember, if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. This is what is meant by cleaving to the Lord with purpose of heart-recognizing His authority over our lives and His ownership of all we have and are.
So Barnabas exhorted these young Christians to be faithful to the Lord, in order that their lives might really count for God.
Moreover, we are told this of Barnabas: He was a good man. I would like so to live that this might always be said of me. It means far more than for people to say, He is cultured, or, He is talented. One may be talented, cultured, educated and yet not be good. The steps of a good man, we are told, are ordered by the Lord, and so we are to seek to be good men. He was a good man, and full of the Holy Ghost and of faith, a man who walked with and counted on God. This was the man to help these new converts. As a result of his ministry, much people was added unto the Lord.
But Barnabas was also a self-effacing man; he realized his own limitations and was glad to recognize a man with greater ability than he had himself. As he ministered, he thought, There is another man who can help in a better way. I am going to bring that man here. Then departed Barnabas to Tarsus, for to seek Saul. He had been interested in Saul. Saul had come to Jerusalem and wanted to join himself to the brethren there, but they were afraid of him and feared that he intended to turn them over to the authorities. But Barnabas spoke up and told how Saul had seen the Lord in the way, and that He had spoken to him, and that he had preached boldly at Damascus in the name of Jesus. So the believers at Jerusalem lost their fear of him and received him into their fellowship.
Barnabas appreciated what had taken place in the life of Saul of Tarsus, and recognized his remarkable ability. He knew he was a chosen vessel to give the gospel to the Gentiles. Barnabas might have said, I can go on ministering here with nobody interfering with me. But no, he said, I would do better to fade out a little and get a more capable man to take my place-and off he went to Tarsus. I would like to have been present during his interview with Saul. So far as we know, Saul was in retirement, as though he had failed to qualify as a preacher of the Word, after he left Jerusalem. We do not read of any work he was doing. But I think one day he was sitting in his home feeling a bit gloomy, thinking to himself, The Lord cannot use me. People are not willing to receive my message-when suddenly there was a knock at the door!
Welcome, my old friend Barnabas, I am glad to see you.
Saul, I have come to take you to Antioch, to help the church there.
Why, what do you need me for?
There is a great opportunity there, and I feel sure you are the man for the job.
Then I can hear Paul saying, deprecatingly, Oh no; I am not worthy-I persecuted this way even unto death.
But Barnabas assured him, You are the very man for the place. Come with me!
And he brought him unto Antioch. I like that. It suggests to me that Saul was not ready to go until Barnabas persuaded him, in a kindly way. And so Saul went and it came to pass, that a whole year they assembled themselves with the church, and taught much people. Saul and Barnabas, laboring together in Antioch for a whole year! It was there the believers first received the name which this new covenant company has borne throughout the centuries.
And the disciples were called Christians first in Antioch. In some commentaries you will read that the Antiochians were given to conferring nicknames, and someone among them is supposed to have derogatorily made up the word Christian from the name Christ. But I question that very much. Thomas Newberry, one of the great Greek scholars of the last century, wrote that the Greek word translated called really means, oracularly called, or divinely called. The disciples were first divinely called Christians at Antioch. This was Gods name for them. Now that the work of evangelizing the world had really begun, God said, as it were, I am going to give you the name by which I want My people known-and He gave them the name Christians. We do not find the word used often in the Bible, but it soon became known all over the world. Later on, when Paul was defending himself before Agrippa, the king suddenly interrupted him and said, Almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian. That was the name by which the new company had become known. In the First Epistle of Peter we read, If any man suffer as a Christian, let him not be ashamed; but let him glorify God on this behalf.
Who and what is a Christian? We often use the term in a very loose way today. We speak of Christians as we do of Mohammedans or Jews, as denoting a group of people who profess certain religious views. We think of almost anyone born in a country like America as a Christian. I remember handing a gospel booklet to a man on a train and he turned to me and asked, What did you give me that book for? I replied, I thought you might be interested. May I ask, are you a Christian? Well, he replied indignantly, take a good look at me-do I look like a Jew or a Chinaman? You look and talk like an American. Then, he responded, that is your answer.
No, there are millions of Americans who are not Christians, and thousands of church members who are not Christians. What is a Christian? The disciples were divinely called Christians-those who received the Word of God in their hearts. They received the gospel and therefore were born again through the power of the risen Christ in Heaven. They were Christians because they belonged to Christ.
A Christian is Christs representative here in this world. Many years ago, when studying Cantonese, one of the branches of the Chinese language, I found the word used for a Christian was Yasu-yan. Yasu was their word for Jesus, and yan was man. Whenever my teacher would introduce me, he would say I was a Jesus man. That is what a Christian really is. It is his high privilege to represent Christ in this world. He belongs to Christ, is united to Christ, and now should seek to live out the life of Christ before men. That is what Paul meant when he said, I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me (Gal 2:20). God give us the grace to be consistent Christians! There is no greater testimony to the power of the gospel than that.
In the final verses of Acts 11 we have a beautiful little illustration of Christian love in action.
And in these days came prophets from Jerusalem unto Antioch. And there stood up one of them named Agabus, and signified by the Spirit that there should be great dearth throughout all the world: which came to pass in the days of Claudius Caesar. Then the disciples, every man according to his ability, determined to send relief unto the brethren which dwelt in Judaea: Which also they did, and sent it to the elders by the hands of Barnabas and Saul (27-30).
These Gentile brethren, converted to Christ in Antioch, heard of the need and distress of their Christian brothers in Judea and they wanted to help them. They did not have to be urged, or pleaded with. They knew their brethren in Judea were in need and they gladly helped.
What started men thinking beyond the boundary lines of their own nations? It was the love of Christ shed abroad in their hearts by the Holy Spirit. Here is perhaps the first instance in history of people putting together their money in order to send relief to men of another nation. Christianity is the truest philanthropy! Christianity teaches men formerly driven by selfishness to find real joy in ministering to those in less comfortable and less agreeable circumstances than their own. How could it be otherwise? We owe everything for eternity to the One who came from the heights of glory to lay down His life for our sins, and surely we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.
Fuente: Commentaries on the New Testament and Prophets
Act 11:13-14
I. God’s word treats all men as needing to be saved.
II. God’s word gives us to understand that all men can be saved.
III. God’s word prescribes the conditions of every man’s being saved.
IV. God’s word settles the conclusion that even good men, unconverted, cannot be saved.
C. S. Robinson, Preacher’s Monthly, vol. iii., p. 352.
Reference: Act 11:13, Act 11:14.-Preacher’s Monthly, vol. iii., p. 252.
Act 11:18
I. It was God’s will that, by Jew and Gentile, by heretic and orthodox, by men of the East and men of the West, the truth should be tried and sifted,-the power of the word brought out, and the might of His Spirit demonstrated. Had Judaism prevailed, the sacred spark of Divine life must have been overlaid and ultimately extinguished. But, for the recognition of the Unity of God, for the conservation of the moral conscience, for the maintenance of the record of God’s everlasting covenant, it was necessary that the Jewish element should abide and be incorporated. Long was the struggle before it would consent to pass into its place of testifying to Christ, and to take its yoke off the shoulders of the brethren. Nor let us think that it is yet at an end. In the whole ascetical and ceremonial system of Rome we have the successor of the Jewish spirit and practice.
II. Still, then, the conflict is being maintained, and let us never forget it. We stand on the immovable basis of Gentile Christianity. We know no difference of race or colour, of sex or condition in life; to us there is neither Jew nor Gentile, Greek nor barbarian, bond nor free. The struggle lasts, but the future is not without largeness of promise and brightness of hope. Day by day men stand up among us witnessing to these truths; lives are spent and souls are called to glory; of Christ’s fulness we are receiving and grace for grace. And as, close upon the end of the first century, a Christian father could make it his boast that there was not a known land where God the Father was not called on through His Son Jesus Christ, so we, past the noontide of the nineteenth great secular day, may boast, by the same grace of God, that there is not a land on the now revealed earth where the free doctrines of salvation by individual faith and individual sanctification are not proclaimed on the testimony of the Word of God.
H. Alford, Quebec Chapel Sermons, vol. iii., p. 235.
References: Act 11:18.-Spurgeon, Sermons, vol. i., No. 44; Homiletic Quarterly, vol. i., p. 545.
Act 11:19-26
The Church at Antioch.
I. This church was established by lay agency.
II. It was a church established among the Gentiles. The text marks a new epoch in the history of the kingdom of God Jesus Christ had plainly intimated that the Gentiles also were to be admitted into the Christian fold. The Jewish Church was like the chrysalis containing life in an undeveloped state; the Christian Church is the chrysalis emerging in the winged butterfly,-it looks disdainfully upon boundaries and soars high over barriers.
III. This Gentile church was flourishing in grace. Every true minister will, like Barnabas, strive to promote the growth of grace and knowledge in the Church; and if he cannot accomplish the twofold work himself, he will, like Barnabas, seek another to help him. To our knowledge let us add grace; both are necessary in order to perfection in religion.
J. C. Jones, Studies in the Acts, p. 266.
Reference: Act 11:20.-Expositor, 1st series, vol. ix., No. 385.
Act 11:20-21
I. Notice the spontaneous impulse which these men obeyed. They find themselves rejoicing in a great Saviour-Friend. They see all around them men who need Him, and that is enough. They obey the promptings of the voice within, and lay the foundations of the first Gentile church. (1) Such a spontaneous impulse is ever the natural result of our own personal possession of Christ. A heart warmed by the love of Christ needs to express its love, and will give it forth, as certainly as light must radiate from its centre, or heat from a fire. (2) True kindliness of heart creates the same impulse. We cannot truly possess the treasure for ourselves without pity for those who have it not. (3) Loyalty to Christ creates the same impulse. If we are true to our Lord, we shall feel that we cannot but speak up and out for Him, and that all the more where His name is unloved and unhonoured.
II. This incident suggests the universal obligation on all Christians to make known Christ. These men were not officials. In these early days the Church had a very loose organisation. But the fugitives in our narrative seem to have had among them none even of the humble officers of primitive times. Every Christian is solemnly bound to fulfil the Divine intention, and to take heed to the imperative command, “Freely ye have received, freely give.”
III. Observe the simple message which they proclaimed. Their message was but the proclamation of their own personal experience. They had found Jesus for themselves to be lover and Lord, friend and Saviour of their souls, and the joy they had received they sought to share with these Greeks, worshippers of gods and lords many.
IV. Notice the mighty Helper who prospered their work. “The hand of the Lord was with them.” How little any of us know what shall become of our poor work, under His fostering care. How little these men knew that they were laying the foundations of the great change which was to transform the Christian community from a Jewish sect into a world-embracing church. Let us sow the seed, and He will give it a body as it pleaseth Him.
A. Maclaren, The Secret of Power, p. 294.
References: Act 11:20, Act 11:21.-Three Hundred Outlines on the New Testament, p. 113; Preacher’s Monthly, vol. v., p. 262. Act 11:21.-Spurgeon, Sermons, vol. xxii., No. 1282. Act 11:22, Act 11:23.-J. Keble, Sermons for Saints’ Days, p. 234.
Act 11:23
I. Notice, first, what Barnabas saw. The “grace of God” here was very probably the specific meaning of the miraculous working of the gift of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit of Christ at work in men’s hearts, making them pure and gentle, simple and unworldly, refining their characters, elevating their aims, toning their being into accord with the music of His life, is the true proof that men are Christians, and that communities of such are churches of His.
II. What he felt: “He was glad.” It was a triumph of Christian principle to recognise the grace of God under new forms and in so strange a place; it was a greater triumph to hail it with rejoicing. As our eyes travel over the wide field of Christendom, and our memories go back over the long ages of the story of the Church, let gladness, and not wonder or reluctance, be the temper with which we see the graces of Christian character lifting their meek blossoms in any corners strange to us, and breathing their fragrance over the pastures of the wilderness.
III. What he said: “He exhorted them all that with purpose of heart they would cleave unto the Lord.” The first thing that strikes one about this all-sufficient directory for the Christian life is the emphasis with which it sets forth the Lord as the sole object to be grasped and held. The sum of all objective religion is Christ; the sum of all subjective religion is cleaving to Him.
A. Maclaren, Christian World Pulpit, vol. xii., p. 257.
References: Act 11:23.-Three Hundred Outlines on the New Testament, p. 114; Good Words, vol. iii., p. 380; Homilist, 3rd series, vol. iv., p. 291.
Act 11:24
Consistency of Human and Divine Affections.
I. There is no hint given that Barnabas acted otherwise than well and wisely in the course he pursued with reference to John Mark. He is declared to have been “a good man, full of the Holy Ghost and of faith,” and St. Paul is related to have recognised after many years the excellence and profitableness of the young disciple whose inconstancy had offended him at first so deeply.
It may be asked what lesson or inference we may draw from this narrative. And I answer at once, that we gather from it the compatibility of heavenly with earthly duties, and the consistency of human with Divine affections. There is here set before us the example of a good man, and we behold him insist on reconciling the high responsibilities of his apostolic order with the claims which arise out of the ties of kindred-his natural affection for his sister’s son. It was grievous, doubtless, that anything which that young man had done should have led to sharp contention; but we know from the sequel of the sacred story that it was Paul who had judged with undue severity, not Barnabas who had acted with undue indulgence. Here, then, the consistency of human with Divine affections is set before us.
II. Such teaching ought to bring something of comfort to beings like ourselves. God has placed us in this world, and made us what we are. It is He who has surrounded us with such a curious and complicated network of relationships, duties, ties. And it is incredible that these ought to be considered in the light of instruments of our ruin, traps and snares in our way. Rather as methods of our probation and helps to our perfection should every one of them be welcomed, weighed, and dealt with. For it is certain that there is room both for the claims of friendship and the ties of blood, on the one hand; for God’s service and a due regard for His honour and glory on the other.
J. W. Burgon, Ninety-one Short Sermons, No. 58.
References: Act 11:24.-Homiletic Magazine, vol. vi., p. 338; J. A. Picton, Christian World Pulpit, vol. xviii., p. 273; Preacher’s Monthly. vol. v., p. 305. Act 11:26.-Ibid., vol. x., p. 321; Homiletic Quarterly, vol. ii., p. 236; R. W. Church, Christian World Pulpit, vol. xxviii., p. 163; see also Discipline of the Christian Character. Act 11:29.-J. Edmunds, Sixty Sermons, p. 480. Act 12:1-3.-T. Gasquoine, Christian World Pulpit, vol. vii., p. 364; J. Keble, Sermons for Saints’ Days, p. 314. Act 12:1-25.-Homiletic Quarterly, vol. i., p. 136. Act 12:12.-G. Brooks, Five Hundred Outlines, p. 218; J. Keble, Sermons for Saints’ Days, p. 214.
Fuente: The Sermon Bible
CHAPTER 11
1. Peters Defense in Jerusalem (Act 11:1-18).
2. The Beginning of the Church in Antioch (Act 11:19-21).
3. Barnabas sent to Antioch (Act 11:22-26).
4. The Prophecy of Agabus (Act 11:27-30).
Peter silenced the objections of his brethren in Jerusalem by a rehearsal of his experience. Act 11:19 connects with Act 8:4. Antioch comes now into prominence as the great Gentile center of Christianity. A great number believed and turned unto the Lord. Then Barnabas was sent to Antioch to inspect the great work. They wanted to know in Jerusalem if the reports were true, and if true the assembly had to be recognized as such. This shows that the Oneness of the church, though not yet fully made known by revelation, was nevertheless realized through the Holy Spirit. And that a blessed relationship existed between the assembly in Jerusalem and the one in Antioch, is seen by Peters visit in that city, when in the liberty wherewith Christ has made us free, he ate with these believing Gentiles and enjoyed fellowship with them (Gal 2:11-12).
The movement also attracted the attention of the outsiders. They called them Christians. The Jews, it is certain, did not give this name, but the Gentiles invented it. Antioch was famous for its readiness to jeer and call names; it was known by its witty epigrams. So they coined a new word, Christianoi–Christians. It is used exclusively by outsiders, as seen in the case of Agrippa, also see 1Pe 4:16. Jews and Gentiles alike were called by this name, Christians, so that it bears testimony to the oneness of Jew and Gentile in Christ.
Fuente: Gaebelein’s Annotated Bible (Commentary)
33. PETER’S DEFENSE BEFORE HIS BRETHREN
Act 11:1-18
God’s servants always meet with opposition in the world. They expect it (Joh 15:20-21). The prophets of the Old Testament, and the apostles of the New, and faithful gospel preachers throughout the ages have constantly been the objects of mockery, derision, slander, and persecution. The message of the cross has always been offensive to men and still is. The doctrine of God’s free and sovereign grace in Christ has never been approved of by the masses. The church of God has a message from God to deliver to men and women who are his enemies. We expect opposition from God’s enemies. But in Act 11:1-18 Peter is standing in the midst of his brethren at a church meeting, defending his ministry before people who should have rejoiced in it! He could handle opposition from the Pharisees, the Sadducees, and the Libertines easily enough. He expected it. But it must have been an astonishing, painful thing for him to meet with opposition in the church of Christ and defend himself before his own brethren.
Being led of God to do so, Peter went to Caesarea and preached the gospel to a congregation of uncircumcised Gentiles. Because they believed the message of grace and redemption through Christ, the sinners’ Substitute, these Gentiles were baptized by Peter in the name of the Lord. When the Jewish believers heard about what Peter had done, instead of rejoicing in God’s grace, they were hopping mad! In this passage Peter explains what God had done. The Holy Spirit has recorded this sad incident in the history of God’s church to teach us several important lessons.
GOD’S PEOPLE IN THIS WORLD HAVE MANY FAULTS (Act 11:1-3). Here is a marvelous revelation of human nature. The church at Jerusalem was in an uproar, not because of some grave doctrinal error or sinful deed, but because Peter had eaten with Gentiles! The uproar was so great that later it caused Peter himself to err (Gal 2:11-16). They ignored the facts that God’s name was worshipped and honored at Caesarea, that this thing was done by God’s direction, that the saving grace of God had reached many, and that God’s mercy was going out to the whole world. Nothing was said about any of these things! They were ready to condemn Peter because he had been in the home of an uncircumcised Gentile and ate with him.
This church that was once “with one accord” and filled with the power of the Holy Spirit, once so mightily used of God, was now ready to sit in judgment over God, his servant, and his work! It was filled with strife over nothing! By the time we get to the end of the chapter, God had reduced them to utter poverty, living on the charity of the Gentile believers they here derided (Act 11:27-30). This incident in the church at Jerusalem is recorded to warn us. We must carefully and constantly guard against the evil tendencies of our proud flesh toward harshness, slander, and division (Eph 4:1-7; Eph 4:30-32; Eph 5:1-2). Be very careful in your judgment (assessment) of your brother’s actions (Mat 7:1-5). Make allowances for and be lenient with one another. Grace teaches people to be gracious!
HUMAN NATURE WILL ALWAYS TRY TO MIX WORKS AND GRACE (Act 11:4-17). This was the real problem. These Jewish believers thought that uncircumcised Gentiles could not be accepted of God. The only way Peter could exonerate himself was to tell them exactly what had happened, exactly what God taught him in his vision at Joppa, and exactly how Cornelius and his band responded to the gospel, and say, “Brethren, God did this!”
The sad fact is, Judaizers, legalists have always plagued the church of God in this world. It is the natural tendency of proud human flesh to say, “Grace is not enough. God requires something from man.” While declaring that salvation is by grace, they add law keeping, sabbath observance, adherence to religious traditions and customs to the grace of God. In doing so, they destroy the doctrine of grace. Anything done by man, when added to Christ, or added to the grace of God, for justification, sanctification, or any other aspect of salvation, makes the blood of Christ and the grace of God to be of non-effect (Gal 5:1-4).
Grace and works will not mix (Rom 11:6 : Eph 2:8-10). Grace producers good works. But grace is not caused by, dependent upon, or even influenced by our works! All preachers of works salvation are enemies of God, of Christ, of the gospel, and of men’s souls. They are to be held in utter contempt by the church of God (Gal 1:6-8; Gal 5:12; Php 3:2). God ‘s gospel simply declares with regard to the whole work of salvation, “God did it!” God thought it! God bought it! God wrought it!
GOD’S PEOPLE, THOUGH THEY HAVE MANY FAULTS, SUBMIT TO AND RECEIVE SPIRITUAL INSTRUCTION. “When they heard these things, they held their peace and glorified God” (Act 11:18). Having been corrected, these brethren acknowledged their error and turned from it. True believers do err in many ways (1Jn 1:8; 1Jn 1:10). But believers do not hold the Word of God in contempt. Like David, when God confronts them with their sin, they bow to the Word of God (2Sa 11:26 to 2Sa 12:24).
GOD’S SAVING GRACE ALWAYS PRODUCES GENUINE REPENTANCE (Act 11:18). Repentance, like faith, is a gift of God. It is not something men work up. It is not something that can be produced by human power and reason. Repentance is something God grants to sinners through Jesus Christ by the preaching of the gospel (Act 5:31). Legal fear is not repentance; both Cain and Simon Magus had that. Moral reformation is not repentance; the Pharisees had that. Trembling at the Word of God is not repentance; Felix had that. Remorse for sin is not repentance; Judas had that. A desire for heaven is not repentance; Esau had that. What is repentance? It involves at least these four things:
1. CONVICTION (Joh 16:8-14). No one will ever repent until he is convinced by the Spirit of God of his sin, Christ’s righteousness, and God’s judgment of sin by Christ’s accomplished redemption.
2. CONVERSION (1Th 1:9). Repentance is a turning of the heart to God, as he is revealed in Christ, in reconciliation and love.
3. COMMITMENT (Mar 8:34-38). There is no repentance toward God where there is no commitment to Christ as Lord.
4. CONTINUATION (Mat 5:22). Every true penitent keeps on repenting, coming to Christ, following Christ, and consecrating himself to Christ. Like faith, true repentance never quits. It seeks Christ until it has Christ in the fulness, perfection, and joy of heavenly glory.
Fuente: Discovering Christ In Selected Books of the Bible
the apostles: Act 8:14, Act 8:15, Gal 1:17-22
the Gentiles: Act 10:34-38, Act 14:27, Act 15:3, Gen 49:10, Psa 22:27, Psa 96:1-10, Isa 11:10, Isa 32:15, Isa 35:1, Isa 35:2, Isa 42:1, Isa 42:6, Isa 49:6, Isa 52:10, Isa 60:3, Isa 62:2, Jer 16:19, Hos 2:23, Amo 9:11, Amo 9:12, Mic 5:7, Zep 2:11, Zep 3:9, Zec 2:11, Zec 8:20-23, Mal 1:11, Mat 8:11, Mar 16:5, Luk 2:32, Rom 15:7-12
Reciprocal: Son 8:8 – what Mat 10:5 – Go Act 11:18 – hath Act 11:22 – tidings Act 17:11 – they received 1Co 15:1 – which also 1Ti 1:15 – worthy
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
THIS CHAPTER OPENS with the stir which was created in Jerusalem by these happenings in Caesarea. Those who had strong Jewish prejudices contended with Peter over his actions. This led Peter to rehearse the matter from the beginning and set it forth in order, so that all might see that the thing was distinctly of God. It is remarkable that the Spirit of God has thought it well to put on record Peters own account, as well as that given us by Luke as an historian, in the previous chapter. This emphasizes the importance of what happened so obscurely in the house of the Roman officer. It was in truth an epoch-making event.
In Peters account we naturally have his side of the story rather than that of Cornelius. Yet he does furnish us with one detail as to the angels message to Cornelius, which is not mentioned in the previous chapter. Peter was to tell him words, whereby he and all his house should be saved. The law demands works from men: the Gospel brings words to men, and those words lead them to salvation, if believed. Note also that they were not saved until they had heard the Gospel, and believed it; although without a doubt there had been a work of God in the hearts of these people, which led them to seek after God.
In verses Act 11:15-16 we see that Peter recognized in the gift of the Spirit to Cornelius a baptism of the Spirit, supplementary to that which had been realized in Jerusalem at the beginning. It was God doing for believing Gentiles what He had previously done for believing Jews. God put both on the same footing, and who was Peter or anyone else to withstand God?
This plain and straightforward account given by Peter silenced all opposition: indeed grace so wrought in the hearts of those who had objected, that they not only recognized that God had granted to the Gentiles repentance unto life, but they glorified God for doing it. They attributed repentance to the gift of God, just as faith is attributed to His gift in Eph 2:8.
With verse Act 11:19, we leave Peter and pick up the thread from Act 8:1. In between, we have had Philips evangelistic labours, the conversion of Saul, who is to be the Apostle to the Gentiles, and Peters activities, culminating in his opening in a formal way the door of faith to the Gentiles. We now discover that while the mass of believers scattered by persecution carried the Gospel with them, but preached it only to the Jews, there were some from Cyprus and Cyrene who, arrived at Antioch, began to preach to Greeks, declaring Jesus as Lord, for indeed He is Lord of ALL. These men, then, began to evangelize Gentiles, which was exactly the special business which the Holy Ghost now had on hand. As a consequence surprising results followed. Gods hand worked with them, though they were men of no particular note, and a great multitude believed and turned to the Lord.
Thus the first Gentile church was formed, and the work speedily reached such dimensions as to attract attention from the church in Jerusalem, and lead them to depute Barnabas to visit them. Barnabas came and instantly recognized a true work of the grace of God. Instead of being jealous that others than himself or the leaders in Jerusalem had been used of God for this, he was glad and he furthered the work by his exhortations. But then he was a good man and full of the Holy Ghost and of faith, and so he cared not for his own reputation but for the glory of Christ. His exhortation was that as they had begun with faith in the Lord so they should continue to cleave to the Lord with purpose of heart. The working of Gods grace was the great thing with Barnabas, no matter through whom it was effected. How good it would have been had the spirit of Barnabas prevailed all through the churchs history.
Another thing characterized this good man, Barnabas. He evidently recognised his own limitations. He felt that another than himself was the one to be specially used to instruct these Gentile converts, and so he went off to fetch Saul. Barnabas appears to have been the exhorter and Saul the teacher, and for a whole year they gave themselves to this work. And at Antioch, significantly enough, the name Christian first sprang up. It is to be noted how the Lordship of Christ is stressed in this account of the work at Antioch; and where Christ is heartily and consistently owned as Lord, there believers so behave themselves as to provoke the onlookers to name them Christians. By the time Act 26:1-32 is reached we find that Agrippa knows the name. In 1Pe 4:16 we find the Spirit of God accepting the name as a satisfactory one.
At the end of this chapter we are permitted to see how freely servants of God, such as prophets, moved about between the various churches. Gifts, granted in the church, are to be used in a universal and not merely a local way. So it came to pass that through Agabus, a prophet from Jerusalem, the church at Antioch was apprized of a coming famine, and took steps in advance to meet the anticipated need of the saints in Judaea. Thus early did the Gentile believers have opportunity to express love towards their Jewish brethren.
Fuente: F. B. Hole’s Old and New Testaments Commentary
Prejudice Turned to Praise
Act 11:1-18
INTRODUCTORY WORDS
After Peter’s visit to the home of Cornelius and his return to Judea he learned that the Apostles and brethren there had heard how the Gentiles had received the Word of God. As Peter came up to Jerusalem, they contended with him, criticising him because he went in unto the men of the uncircumcision, and ate with them. This made it necessary for Peter to rehearse the matter from the beginning. The message of today centers in this story.
I. RELIGIOUS PREJUDICES PREVAIL (Act 11:1-3)
When Peter was telling Cornelius in chapter 10, how God had appeared to him and sent him down, he said, “Ye know how it is an unlawful thing for a man that is a Jew to keep company, or come unto one of another nation.” It was this same condition that prevailed in the minds of the Apostles and Gentiles in Jerusalem. The saints there did not object to the Gentiles becoming Christians, but they insisted that they should become Christians by first becoming Jews. Circumcision, as they saw it, must, of necessity, precede the salvation of an alien Gentile.
We now see how God was moving in a mysterious way in the sheet let down from Heaven and in the conversion of Cornelius. We see God meeting the prejudices which centered in the Apostles and brethren in Judea, as they contended with Peter-a contention which, in after years, was centered against Paul.
II. FOLLOWING INFALLIBLE LIGHT (Act 10:4-18)
When Peter had come to Jerusalem, and the brethren contended against him, he manifested utmost patience with them. He knew that their present convictions had, previously, been his. Therefore, Peter proceeded quietly, and without ostentation, to present unto them the facts that had led him to go in unto the uncircumcised, and eat with them. He rehearsed the matter with them from the beginning, and expounded it by order. Let us learn to deal with men who differ from us, in a like spirit of consideration. Let us follow Peter’s rehearsal of the whole matter.
1. Peter describes his trance and vision. He told how a certain vessel descended, as it had been a great sheet, let down from Heaven by four corners; and how, upon it, he fastened his eyes.
He told how he had seen in the vessel four-footed beasts of the earth, and wild beasts, and creeping things, and fowls of the air.
He told how he had three times seen the net drawn up into Heaven, and let down again, and how three times God had warned him saying, “What God hath cleansed, that call not thou common.”
He told how, immediately, three men had come to the house, and had told him that they were sent from Caesarea unto him.
2. Peter described the command of the spirit. The Spirit had spoken unto Peter, and bade him to go, nothing doubting. This was Peter’s second reason, which he rehearsed to the saints in Judaea. He had gone because he had seen a vision, but in addition to that vision, and voice from God, he had gone because he had heard the Spirit commanding him to go.
The man who once stood before the rulers of the Jews and had said, “We ought to obey God rather than men,” could scarcely have done less than go. The man who had borne witness that God had given the Holy Ghost to them that obey Him, could scarcely have refused to obey, when the Holy Ghost spoke to him. Peter explained that six brethren had gone with him, but he did not go merely because they were willing to go along. He went because the Spirit had told him to go.
3. Peter described how, as he began to speak, the Holy Ghost fell on the house of Cornelius, as he had fallen upon them at the beginning. This was the third reason that he set forth, in order, that he might convince the Apostles and brethren that God had turned to the Gentiles. To us, it is a climactic reason. The falling of the Holy Ghost upon the house of Cornelius does not teach that similar Pentecostal outpourings must occur at every revival meeting. This particular manifestation of the Holy Ghost definitely set forth that the Gentiles were included in the blessings of the Spirit.
Peter told the brethren when he saw the Holy Ghost fall upon them that he remembered the Word of the Lord, how He had said, “John indeed baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost.”
Peter told the brethren, “Forasmuch then as God gave them the like gift as He did unto us, who believed on the Lord Jesus Christ; what was I, that I could withstand God?”
We wish to urge the Christians of today to follow the Lord fully, no matter what they may fear from the leaders. We rejoice in Peter’s fidelity to God, and in his prompt obedience to the voice of God.
III. CONCLUSIONS AND CONVICTIONS
The Apostles and brethren in Judaea listened intently to Peter’s rehearsal of his visit to Cornelius. Let us follow their conclusions, and the convictions which settled upon them.
1. They held their peace. They no longer contended against Peter. They no longer continued their dissension. They quietly yielded the conviction of years and accepted the will of God. It takes a real Christian to lay down a prejudice that has swayed his life during the years of an ecclesiastical loyalty. A fool will cling to his contentions even when convinced that he is wrong; a wise man will change his mind.
2. They glorified God. They did more than yield their former position-they praised the Lord for the new revelation which had been vouchsafed to them.
It is one thing to say, “Amen”; it is another thing to say, “Hallelujah.” It is one thing to say, “The will of the Lord be done”; it is another thing to say, “Praise God, for it’s doing.” A Christian may bear the yoke because necessity is put upon him, but not all Christians bear the yoke with re-joking. A Christian may yield his feet and his hands to the stocks, but not all Christians under such circumstances would be willing to join Paul and Silas in singing and praising God.
3. They acknowledged God’s new order. Here are the words they spoke, as they glorified God,-“Then hath God also to the Gentiles granted repentance unto life.” No longer was the bread to be given to the Jews only, but the “dogs” of the Gentiles, without the epithet, “dogs,” could eat with them.
IV. THE PROPAGATION OF THE GOSPEL THROUGH PERSECUTIONS (Act 11:19-20)
Act 11:19 tells us that “they which were scattered abroad upon the persecution that arose about Stephen, travelled as far as Phenice, and Cyprus, and Antioch, preaching the Word to none but unto the Jews only.”
This verse carries us back to the 8th chapter of Acts, where the Spirit gives the immediate aftermath of Stephen’s martyrdom. In Act 8:1, it says, “They were all scattered abroad throughout the regions of Judaea and Samaria, except the Apostles.” The verse now before us gives us the further workings of that same persecution.
God was using the wrath of men to praise Him. Satan had headed the persecution, thinking to destroy the Church; God had used the persecution to greatly enlarge the Church.
The saints fled from Jerusalem and Judaea, but they did not leave their Christ behind them. With their new faith, and with a heart filled with love and joy, they hastened on their way proclaiming Jesus Christ, God’s Son, as the Saviour of men.
V. THE PROPAGATION OF THE GOSPEL TO JEW AND GENTILE
The Jerusalem saints who were scattered abroad, and went everywhere preaching, carried with them the same conception that had, at first, dominated the Apostles and brethren in Judaea. They opened their heart toward the Jews, but they withheld their message from the Gentiles. Once more, however, the hand of God was plainly seen. Certain men of Cyprus and Cyrene, when they came to Antioch, spake unto the Grecians, preaching the Lord Jesus. The results were most marked. We read, “And the hand of the Lord was with them: and a great number believed, and turned unto the Lord.”
There seems to have been no difference in the message which the saints had preached to the Jews only, and the message which the brethren from Cyprus and Cyrene preached to the Gentiles. Both preached the Lord Jesus.
That the purpose of God was to preach to the Gentiles as well as to the Jews, is made sure, insomuch that the hand of the Lord was upon those who had come down to Antioch, blessing” their testimony.
VI. THE CO-OPERATIVE SPIRIT OF THE CHURCH IN JERUSALEM TOWARD THE CHURCHES BEING FORMED AS FAR AS ANTIOCH (Act 11:22)
The saints in Jerusalem, having heard Peter’s rehearsal of the conversion of Cornelius, held their peace and glorified God. Now the Church in Jerusalem, receiving tidings of what had happened along the way, and particularly at Antioch, sent forth Barnabas that he should go as far as Antioch.
This commissioner from the Church in Jerusalem was sent, not as a dictator; and his commission by no means suggested that the Jerusalem Church was setting itself up as a leadership; with authority over other churches. The sending of Barnabas did mean that the brethren in Jerusalem were tremendously interested in the spread of the Gospel, and particularly in the fact that the Gentiles were being saved; it did mean that the brethren in Jerusalem wanted to add encouragement, and to show a co-operative spirit in the work of God, even to the ends of the earth.
We believe that, until this day, it is the will of God that churches should be co-operative, but never co-ersive. Churches may have fellowship in prayer, and in preaching, and in missionary activities; they may band together for the spreading of the gospel message to the ends of the earth, but they should never become dictatorial in their attitude one toward the other.
VII. THE VISIT OF BARNABAS (Act 11:22-23)
In Act 11:23, we read, that when Barnabas had come, and had seen the grace of God, he “was glad, and exhorted them all, that with purpose of heart they would cleave unto the Lord.”
What a delightful spirit was this. Barnabas was glad! There was no semblance of jealousy in his heart, because he had not been the leader in so great and gracious a ministry. He was glad because of what God had done through others.
The driving soul who is interested in the little corner in which he, himself, is stationed, but is unconcerned in the larger work in the great world-field, where the multitudes labor, is indeed to be pitied. He makes us think of the one who is reputed to have prayed,
“God bless me, and thy wife,
My son, John, and his wife,
Us four, and no more.”
Each local church, in each city, should be deeply interested in the spiritual success of the other churches of his city, and should, as far as is possible, lend a hand. If an evangelist comes to town upon whom the hand of the Lord rests, the churches should all rally to him and rejoice with him in the salvation of the lost.
We are not surprised when we read of Barnabas, that he was “a good man, and full of the Holy Ghost and of faith.”
The result of the visit of Barnabas was constructive and helpful. “And much people was added unto the Lord.”
VIII. BARNABAS SEEKS FOR SAUL (Act 11:25)
As Barnabas viewed the work of God at Antioch, his mind turned toward Saul, who, at the time, was abiding in the near-by town of Tarsus. Beyond doubt Barnabas had known of Saul’s remarkable conversion, and of his having been designated of God as “a chosen vessel unto Me, to carry My Name before the Gentiles, and kings”; therefore, with the Gentiles of Antioch turning to the Lord, Barnabas thought of Saul, who afterward was known as Paul.
Thus, Barnabas found Paul, and brought him to Antioch, and “it came to pass, that a whole year they assembled themselves with the Church, and taught much people.”
IX. DISCIPLES CALLED CHRISTIANS FIRST AT ANTIOCH (Act 11:26)
It was not until the Gentiles began to turn to the Lord, that the believers were called “Christians.” The name fastened itself upon the saints, as the natural result of the dominant note of their testimony; and as the central pivot of their faith.
The Christians taught Christ, lived Christ, and glorified Christ, until they were themselves called, “Christians.” We remember how, in our work in South America, especially in Bahia, Brazil, the Christians were accustomed to go to and from our church services carrying their Bibles in their hands. Because of this they were called “Biblias,” that is “Bibles,” by the populace. We have gone down the street more than once, and have heard the voices of the passers-by, saying of us, “Onde vie uma Biblia,” “There goes a Bible.”
We are sure that the Christians were not ashamed to be nicknamed “Christians.” It “was, no doubt, a joy to them, to be thus associated with their Lord.
“Ashamed of Jesus, can it be?
A mortal man, ashamed of Thee?
Ashamed of Him, whose angel’s praise
Shall ring through Heaven through endless days.”
Fuente: Neighbour’s Wells of Living Water
1
Act 11:1. Much of this chapter is a rehearsal of the preceding one, and I shall try to avoid unnecessary repetition of the comments. The brethren around Jerusalem heard the news of the conversion of the Gentiles before Peter returned.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Act 11:1. The apostles and brethren that were in Judaea. Probably some of them were at Jerusalem, and some of them itinerating, like St. Peter, through the Holy Land, for the purpose of spreading the Gospel (see Act 1:8, Act 10:37). It is observable that the elders or presbyters, who are first mentioned in the last verse of this chapter, do not yet appear. Compare Act 15:2.
Heard. Such an occurrence, especially as it had taken place in the conspicuous town of Csarea, and had been connected with the conduct of one so prominent as St. Peter, could not possibly have been concealed. The news must have rapidly spread through all the Christian communities of the land.
That the Gentiles also had received the Word of God. These apostles and brethren had Christian hearts, and they must have rejoiced in the thought that the Gospel had found acceptance in other hearts (see Act 11:18). That which they could not understand was that these Gentiles should have been reached by this blessing without first becoming Jews.
Fuente: A Popular Commentary on the New Testament
Observe here, 1. How the Jews, apprehending that Christ and his grace had been only promised and confined to themselves, the call and conversion of the Gentiles became a dreadful stumbling-block unto them, even to the believing as well as the unbelieving Jews.
Hereupon observe, 2. How they contended with Peter for eating and conversing with the Gentiles, and especially for admitting them into the gospel-communion without circumcision: Whereas, although God forbad marriages with the Gentiles, he never forbad commerce and conversation with them: No conversation with the Gentiles, in order to the gaining of the Gentiles unto God, ws ever forbidden by God; but only such as might withdraw the Jews from God, and corrupt them by idolatry.
Fuente: Expository Notes with Practical Observations on the New Testament
Peter Explains His Actions
News of the events in Cornelius’ house reached Jerusalem and the apostles, even, apparently, before Peter made his way back to the city. Prior to the baptism of Cornelius and his household, everyone who had been baptized had been subject to the law of Moses and circumcision, whether of fleshly Israel or proselytes. Luke told Theophilus of a dispute which arose from some of that number and Peter. They did not understand why he had gone into the house of a Gentile and actually eaten there.
Peter’s answer teaches us a great deal about resolving controversy within the church. He defended his actions by saying they were authorized and approved by God. Specifically, he had seen a vision which indicated to him that he should no longer regard any other man as common and heard the Spirit tell him to go with the three men who had been sent from Caesarea. The apostle went, accompanied by six other brethren. Next, Peter related the story of the vision Cornelius had directing him to send for Peter so that he could hear words that would save him and his household. It is clear that salvation was to be theirs only after they had heard and obeyed the words spoken.
Then, Peter reported that “the Holy Spirit fell upon them, as upon us at the beginning.” No doubt this is a reference to the day of Pentecost when the apostles were baptized with the Holy Spirit and spoke in other languages. So, Peter did not feel he could oppose God by refusing to baptize, or in any other way place stiffer requirements on, these Gentiles. Peter’s arguments convinced all assembled that the Gentiles had also been given the right to eternal life if they would submit to the Savior in penitent baptism ( Act 11:1-18 ).
Fuente: Gary Hampton Commentary on Selected Books
Act 11:1-3. The apostles and brethren heard To their great surprise; that the Gentiles had also received the word of God That not only the Jews who were dispersed in the Gentile countries, and the Gentiles who were proselyted to the Jewish religion, but that the uncircumcised Gentiles also themselves, with whom it had hitherto been thought unlawful to have any fellowship, had heard and received the gospel, and had even been baptized and received into church communion, without being required to submit to circumcision and the observances of the Mosaic law; intelligence this which alarmed them exceedingly, as they had not yet been made acquainted with the particular circumstances attending the affair. And when Peter was come to Jerusalem From Cesarea; they that were of the circumcision Those Jewish converts who still retained a veneration for the ceremony of circumcision, and thought it to be of perpetual obligation; contended with him About what he had done. There seems to be no reason here to except any of the believing Jews (unless, perhaps, the apostles) from this contention; for they were all zealous of the law, and of their customs, and could not endure to hear that any Jew should act contrary to them, Act 21:20-21; and Peter himself had been of that mind till he had received the vision, (see chap, Act 10:28,) and even after the vision withdrew himself from the believing Gentiles for fear of the Jews, Gal 2:12; and they of the dispersion preached to the Jews only, Act 11:19. We may observe here, also, that these Jewish believers had no idea of the supremacy, and much less of the infallibility, of Peter; for otherwise they would not have dared thus to rise up against him, or to can his actions in question. See Whitby.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
XI: 1-3. The novel scene which had transpired in Csarea was soon reported abroad over the country. (1) Now the apostles and brethren throughout Judea heard that the Gentiles had received the word of God. (2) And when Peter went up to Jerusalem, they of the circumcision disputed with him, (3) saying, You went into the house of men uncircumcised, and did eat with them. The prejudice from which Peter had been delivered was still preying upon the hearts of his Jewish brethren, including the other apostles. The same change is now to be wrought in them which had already been effected in him. But there is no repetition, in their case, of the vision and voices which had occurred in his. On the contrary, there is nothing brought to bear upon them but what is contained in the words of Peter.
Fuente: McGarvey and Pendleton Commentaries (New Testament)
Acts Chapter 11
Chapter 11:19 begins the narration of the new order of things by which the ministry of Paul is distinguished. Among those who were scattered abroad on the occasion of Stephens death, and who went as far even as Antioch preaching the Lord Jesus, there were some who, being men of Cyprus and Cyrene, were more habitually connected with Greeks. They addressed the Greeks therefore in this ancient capital of the Seleucidae, and many received their word and turned to the Lord. The assembly at Jerusalem, already prepared through the conversion of Cornelius, by which God had shewn them the entering in of the Gentiles, accept this event also and send Barnabas-himself a man of Cyprus-to Antioch. A good man and filled with the Holy Ghost, his heart is full of joy on seeing this work of the grace of God; and much people is added unto the Lord.
As yet all is linked with the work at Jerusalem, although extending now to the Gentiles. Barnabas, apparently no longer sufficient for the work and at all events led of God, departs in search of Saul, who had gone to Tarsus, when they sought to kill him at Jerusalem. And these two meet with the assembly at Antioch, teaching much people. Still everything takes place in connection with Jerusalem, whence some prophets come down and announce a famine. The links between the flock and Jerusalem as a centre are shewn and strengthened, by the sending of relief to that religious metropolis of Judaism, and of Christianity looked at as having its commencement in the Jewish remnant who believed in Jesus as the Christ.
Barnabas and Saul are themselves charged with this service, and go up to Jerusalem to accomplish it. This circumstance carries us back to Jerusalem, where the Spirit has still something to shew us of the ways of God.
Fuente: John Darby’s Synopsis of the New Testament
PETERS REPORT AT JERUSALEM
1-13. Immediately after Peters glorious revival at Caesarea he goes straight to Jerusalem, accompanied by the six Joppa brethren who had witnessed the new departure and the mighty work of God at the house of Cornelius. The news is already flown on the wings of the wind to Jerusalem, stirring apostles, prophets, elders and brethren with the momentum of an earthquake. This departure from the time-honored institutions of their fathers, so sudden, radical, decisive and significant, must receive summary attention at headquarters and be settled at once and forever. So bold Peter faces the grave council in the mother church at Jerusalem, rehearses to them his vision at Joppa, and testifies to the outpouring of the Holy Ghost on the Gentiles at Caesarea, proving it all by those six faithful witnesses who had accompanied him throughout and now stand by his side in presence of all the apostles. Of course no trouble whatever arises from this radical, downright and outright revolution, though undreamed of hitherto; and why? Simply because all of the apostles and primitive saints fully recognized the leadership of the Holy Ghost. They are acquainted with Him. He dwelt in them, and they knew His voice and His works. For this reason there never was a schism in the Apostolic church, so long as they were true to Pentecostal experience and the Holy Ghost. When former generations went up to heaven and others succeeded who knew not God, then they founded human ecclesiasticisms and established church government to suit themselves, ignoring the sole right of the Holy Ghost to rule the church, and relegating Him back to the Apostolic age, and congratulating themselves that the days of miracles were past and they can make laws and manage the church to suit themselves. Right here is where human and Satanic usurpation of the divine right to rule the church came in, with the roll of ages developing into all the complicated machinery of priestcraft, prelacy and popery.
Fuente: William Godbey’s Commentary on the New Testament
Act 11:2. They of the circumcision contended with him. Those who were zealous of the law, apprehending that Christ and his grace had only been promised and confined to themselves, the call and conversion of the gentiles became a dreadful stumblingblock even to the believing, as well as to the unbelieving jews. They contended with Peter for eating and conversing with the gentiles, especially for admitting them into communion without circumcision. Some tell us that the arch-heretic Cerinthus was the chief author of this contention.
Act 11:4. Peter rehearsed the matter. Far from pretending to a superiority over the rest of the apostles, he did not disdain to render an account of his actions, but with great sincerity and humility rehearsed and related the whole matter to their entire satisfaction.
He acquainted the brethren with the vision which commanded him to make no distinction of clean and unclean, because there was no natural turpitude in any kind of meat, save only as it was prohibited of God: and that the law which made a difference of meats had now been abrogated, making all meats clean and free to be eaten.
He gave the interpretation of this vision, and acquainted them with the end for which it was designed, not so much to reveal the lawfulness of eating all sorts of meats, as to acquaint him with his liberty and duty to preach the gospel to the gentiles, whom he was no longer to look upon as unclean, though they were not circumcised, but as heirs and fellow citizens with the saints, and of the household of God.
The conclusion which St. Peter drew from the premises was that God had made the gentiles equal in grace with the believing jews; and that seeing the Holy Ghost came down upon them in the same manner, and with the same power as he did upon the apostles, he could not reasonably deny them baptism, and by baptism admission into the gospel church. Having the grace signified by baptism they ought to have baptism, the seal of that grace; they that have the inward, are not to be denied the outward baptism. They that were baptized with the Holy Ghost (as Cornelius and his family were) might and ought to be baptized with water. Had they been denied church communion for want of the ceremony of circumcision, it had certainly been resistance to the law of charity, and disobedience against God.
Act 11:18. When they heard these things, they held their peace: , they acquiesced, or approved. In men so educated as the jews, and so bigoted to the law, this silence discovers a high degree of the christian temper. As soon as they saw the counsel and the hand of God, they bowed to the decisions of heaven, and in a point too which touched the vitality of the ceremonial law. Let the disturbers of religious communions think of this; let those who would destroy souls, and rend the church sooner than not have their wicked will in all things, be ashamed in presence of their first christian brethren, who yielded under the strongest prejudices, to what the Lord had done.
Act 11:19. They which were scattered abroad about Stephen, travelled as far as Phenice, a province of Syria, whose capital was Tyre; and Cyprus, whose chief towns were Paphos, and Salamis, the port where Mark some years after is said to have been stoned to death by the jews. This was the country of Barnabas. And Antioch, once the capital of all Syria, and which king Antiochus had called after his own name. 2Sa 8:9. 1Ch 8:5.
Act 11:20. Some of them were men of Cyprus, a large island, and Cyrene, a small country east of Tripoli in Africa. By consequence, the Greek language was vernacular to those ministers. They preached to the Grecians, the Hellenists, really Greeks by birth and language, and not proselytes, as the Grecians in Act 6:1. But they stopped not in cities adjacent to Judea. The Italian writers add, that they formed a church in Rome, and in Puteoli, now Pouzzol. Cardinal Baronius adds, as quoted in Act 8:4, that they settled in cities of France and Spain. Our christian antiquaries, as bishops Lloyd and Usher, have not the smallest doubt, but that Britain and Ireland received the gospel, not only in the apostolic age, but from the earliest times of the dispersion of the saints.
Act 11:21. The hand of the Lord was with them. A Hebraism, frequent in the prophets, to designate his power and presence, as in the words which follow. And a great number believed, and turned to the Lord. How desirable in every minister, to see at certain times such revivals as these, of constant occurrence in the first planting of christianity. With the first preachers every battle was a victory, and wherever they could gain a hearing, a church was built to the Lord.
Act 11:22. Then tidings of these things came to the church in Jerusalem. They instantly discovered their paternal care for the young converts by sending Barnabas to strengthen and confirm them in the Lord; for the instruments of this great work in the above cities were neither apostles nor apostolic men, but helpers or evangelists only.
Act 11:24. Barnabas, son of consolation, was a good man, and full of the Holy Ghost. He lived and walked in the light and comforts of the Lord. He was a learned levite of the island of Cyprus, and educated with Paul at the college of Gamaliel in Jerusalem. Our Dr. Cave says, after Eusebius, that he was one of the seventy disciples of Christ, and nominated as one of the twelve. Acts 1. When Paul came to Jerusalem, three years after his conversion, Barnabas introduced him to the apostles, and to the church. His mission to Antioch is supposed to have been about nine years after the ascension. At Lystra, he and Paul were taken for gods, after the man, lame from his birth, had been healed: Act 14:8. Barnabas accompanied Paul in all Asia minor; particularly in Pamphylia, Phrygia, and Galatia. In Whistons Primitive Christianity, we have an account how St. Clement was converted by hearing him at Rome; the church of Milan also claims him as its founder. The Catholic Martyrology says, he was martyred at Cyprus about the fifty fourth year of our Lord.
Act 11:25. Then departed Barnabas to Tarsus, a short distance by water, but a hundred miles by land, to seek Saul. The work required both their labours, and the year they spent in that city and province was among the most useful part of their lives. It is probable that Saul, pursued by persecutions, had retreated thither as a Roman, till the storm had subsided.
Act 11:26. The disciples were called christians first in Antioch.
implies, that they were so called by divine appointment. What follows is the substance of what the fathers have said on this head. The name was just, honourable, and approved by the world. Prior to that time they had been called disciples, as here; believers, Act 5:14; men of the church, Act 12:1; men of the way, Act 9:2; and the saints, as in Act 11:13. By their enemies they were called Nazarenes and Galileans. But now, by the conversion of Cornelius, his kinsmen and family, the believing jews and gentiles were made one church, and the name of jew and heathen should no more continue the distance that was betwixt them, but this new name was given to them both, and as some conceive according to the prophecy mentioned in Isa 65:15. This name is embraced by all believers, as more expressive of their relation to their divine Lord, a name in which they gloried, and owned before the face of their bitterest enemies. Euseb. Hist. Ecclesiastes 50. 5. c. 1. Joan. Antiochen in chronol. informs us, that this honourable name was fixed upon the disciples of Christ at Antioch, about the beginning of Claudiuss reign, ten years after Christs ascension; and adds, that Eudius, lately ordained bishop of that place, was the person that imposed this name upon the whole church.
Act 11:27-30. In those days came prophets from Jerusalem. Agabus was the first of these, that church being favoured with every gift. He announced the famine that was coming on all the provinces by drought; for the Lord was gracious in forewarning his people of the impending calamity. Many short harvests happened in the east for want of rain, to teach men their dependence on providence for bread. But this famine was so severe as to be named by four historians. Eusebius says that it oppressed nearly the whole empire. It happened while Claudius was consul, ob assiduas sterilitates, through continued sterility, says Suetonius, vita Claud. Josephus names it in a particular manner, because it continued to afflict the world for two or three years. He adds, that Helena, queen of Adiabene, sent agents to Egypt to buy corn, and to Cyprus to buy dried figs, for distribution among the poor. Antiq. lib. 20. cap. 2. But the christians, ever foremost in works of charity, were spontaneously ready to send relief to the poor saints in Judea.
It ought not to escape remark here, that it was in this second visit to Jerusalem, that Paul was favoured with a glorious rapture of visions, being caught up as it were into paradise, into the third heavens. This vision which equalized to the first of ancient prophets, was designed to confirm and strengthen his faith, and support him in all the future labours and sufferings of his ministry. See on 2Co 12:1-10.
REFLECTIONS.
Oh jews, doctors of the law, more learned than your fathers, and therefore more ingenious in malice, and more inveterate in persecutions against the church than ever they were against the prophets. What is this that you have done? John is beheaded with your silent approbation. The Son, the heir is slain, that you may peacefully enjoy the inheritance. Stephen is stoned; and all your dogs of war you have slipped against the flock. Two thousand of them lie bleeding in Jerusalem, and on the hills around the city, and in the fields of Judea, as stated on chap. 8. But pause, and think. Is not your prudence devoid of wisdom? Had Zimri peace when he slew his master? Had Jezebel peace in her palace, when she had stained the adjacent ground with the blood of Naboth? Pause; for the seven woes pronounced by the Saviour are coming upon you. Matthew 23.
On the other hand, see what your policy for judaism has done for the gentiles. You have driven out an army of missionaries to illuminate the world! God, who rides on the storm, laughs you to scorn. The age is come, to call those his people who were not his people. Your shekinah is gone over to the gentiles, among whom his name shall be great to the ends of the earth. See how his heralds run from province to province with torches in their hands, like the little army of Gideon, to illuminate the dark night of the gentiles. They publish the new philosophy from heaven, to make void the wisdom of the schools.
But oh how far does the Spirit of holiness shed down on the church surpass the glory of the synagogue. You had but a few prophets, ever opposed and persecuted; now an army of teachers are sent forth to convert the world. Special endowments were rare in the ancient church: now the Spirit is poured out on the thirsty lands. While the world sustains hunger, the prophets apprise the church of the droughty year, that bread may be in the habitations of the just, and joy in the houses of the saints.
But more terrific still. As your own prophet Isaiah has said, chap. Isa 65:15, so you are about to leave your name for a curse, while the Lord has called his people by another name. The disciples, and it would seem by divine appointment, were called Christians first in Antioch. The whole world are sponsors to the vows; they have repudiated your wicked name of Nazarenes, a name of malice and contempt. If you, oh jews, have boasted of the name of Abraham; if the princes of Davids house have gloried in the name of their sire; how much more shall we glory in the name of Him who has loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood. He bears our names before his Father, and allows us to bear his name on our forehead, that we may never be ashamed of the cross. Oh that it may be written indelibly, and in all its forms of love, on every heart
Through all eternity to prove, Thy nature and thy name is love.
Fuente: Sutcliffe’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Act 11:1-18. Peter Defends his Action at Jerusalem.As Philips action at Samaria (Act 8:14), so here Peters doings at Csarea are reported at Jerusalem. The Samaritans were, in many respects, Jews, but Cornelius and his friends were not. Would the Mother Church agree to the offering of the Gospel to Gentiles? A variant in Act 11:2 puts quite a different colour on the course of events. D, with ancient Syriac and Latin versions, reads: Now Peter wished for a considerable time to go to Jerusalem, and he called the brethren to him and confirmed them, speaking at length and teaching them from district to district, and he met them and announced to them the grace of God (cf. Act 11:23) and the brethren of the circumcision disputed with him, etc. According to this text Peter had given up living at Jerusalem, but conceived a desire to go there; he did what he could for the new churches before he left them, and when he met certain people on his way told them how matters stood in the province. The place of the following discussion is changed to one not named, where the meeting took place; and it is made plain that those who disputed with Peter were not people outside but Christians of the Jewish sort. EV really points to the same conclusion. It was intolerable to the Jews in the Church that the chief of the apostles should treat the Jewish position of separateness so lightly, that he should enter the houses of Gentiles and share their food (Act 10:28). Peter tells the story of his vision.
Act 11:15. as on us at the beginning (i.e. Act 11:21 ff.): in Cornelius there is a new beginning of the Gospel.
Act 11:16. the word of the Lord: contrasting the baptism of John with the Christian rite, is quoted (Act 1:5*).
Act 11:18. For repentance as a Divine gift cf. Act 5:31.
Fuente: Peake’s Commentary on the Bible
News of Peter’s carrying the gospel to Gentiles had preceded him to Jerusalem. When he arrived there, therefore, he was faced by those who were specially zealous of the law, and who spoke accusingly of his entering the home of uncircumcised Gentiles and eating with them. This would not surprise him, for his attitude was just the same a short time before. Peter then rehearsed the entire experience to them, and the Spirit of God has seen fit to record this repetition of the matter from beginning to end. This certainly emphasizes the great importance of this means the Lord used of breaking down the barrier between Jewish and Gentile believers.
In Peter’s report he mentions that it was six brethren who accompanied him, and these were present as he gave his report (v.12). Another thing not mentioned in Chapter 10 is that the angel who spoke to Cornelius told him that Peter would speak words to him whereby he and all his house would be saved (v.14). Cornelius, at the time, was certainly born again, for his prayers and alms had come up for a memorial before God (Chapter 10:4); but salvation is known only by the knowledge of Christ having died and risen again (Rom 10:9). This shows that new birth and salvation are distinct truths.
Peter then quickly reaches the climax of the evidence of God’s working, telling them that as he began to speak the Spirit of God fell on those who heard the word, just as He had on the Jewish disciples at Pentecost. He quotes the Lord’s words then as regards the baptism of the Spirit, and there can be no mistaking the manifest power and grace of God as controlling this entire matter. This being the case, how could he dare to withstand God by refusing to accept the Gentiles whom God had accepted?
With such evidence before them the Jewish disciples had no choice but to acquiesce in this display of the great grace of God: they made no more objections, but instead glorified God, acknowledging that He Himself had wrought in this, granting to Gentiles repentance unto life. This was a matter of tremendous consequence in the history of the Church.
Though Peter (apostle to the circumcision) had been chosen by God to first open the door to Gentiles in a public way, the Spirit of God worked remarkably in the dispersing of believers from Judea by persecution, who preached as they traveled. At first these preached only to Jews, traveling northward to Phenice, Cyprus and Antioch. Some of them, however, were from Cyprus and Cyrene, therefore Hellenists, Jews who resided outside their own their land. These did not have the same reserve as did Jews from Judea, and they spoke to Gentiles in Antioch, preaching the Lord Jesus. This word for preaching evidently does not imply any public proclamation, but simply conversing of Him to others.
The results were astonishing: the hand of the Lord was With them, and a great number were turned to the Lord. This was certainly the sovereign power of the Spirit of God at work. No doubt these workers realized intuitively that the gospel was of such a character as to include Gentiles, though they had not yet been given such instruction; and the Spirit of God fully justified their faith in this matter. At Antioch then a work began larger than that at Caesarea, an assembly formed largely of Gentiles, though with Jewish believers included Here therefore is illustrated for the first time the unity of both Jewish and Gentile believers in the church of God.
News of this great work came to the ears of the assembly at Jerusalem, and they sent Barnabas, a man of gracious character, whom they evidently considered to be one who could particularly help them. It was a good choice, for in seeing the grace of God to Gentiles he was glad (not with the cool reservations some Jews would have), exhorting them that with purpose of heart they should cleave to the Lord, not that they should keep the law. His character was that of goodness, not of stern legality, and he was full of the Holy Spirit. This expression indicates what was normally characteristic of him, a precious commendation indeed. His presence and ministry resulted in many more conversions to the Lord.
Evidently, however, he felt himself inadequate in the face of so great a work, and went to Tarsus to find Saul. This leading of the Spirit of God is full of interest; for God had decreed that Saul was to be an apostle to the Gentiles, and Barnabas apparently realized that Paul’s attitude toward Gentiles would be a valuable asset, as well as his capable teaching. For a whole year they gathered with the assembly there, teaching many people. At Antioch we are told the disciples were first called Christians.
The unity between Jerusalem and Antioch was encouraged by the coming of prophets from Jerusalem. One of them, Agabus, prophesied by the Spirit of a great famine coming on the habitable earth, which in due time came to pass. Of course, this would be some time later, but the fact is mentioned here of the disciples’ willing desire to send help to their Jewish brethren in Judea, and later Barnabas and Saul delivered this. This is mentioned here to show us the genuine work of grace in Gentiles that moved their hearts toward Jewish believers.
Fuente: Grant’s Commentary on the Bible
Verse 1
The Gentiles; the Roman centurion and his friends.
Fuente: Abbott’s Illustrated New Testament
11:1 And {1} the apostles and brethren that were in Judaea heard that the Gentiles had also received the word of God.
(1) Peter, being reprehended without reason by the unskilful and ignorant, does not object and say that he should not be judged by any, but openly gives an account of his actions.
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
The response of the Jerusalem church 11:1-18
Peter’s actions in Caesarea drew criticism from conservative Jews. Luke wrote this pericope to enable his readers to understand and appreciate more fully God’s acceptance of Gentiles into the church as Gentiles. An additional purpose was to present this acceptance as essential to the fulfillment of the Great Commission. The leaders of the Jerusalem church recognized what God was doing in bringing Gentiles into the church, as they had done formerly with the Samaritan believers in Jesus (Act 8:14-25). Luke documented this recognition in this pericope because it plays an important role in proving the distinction between Israel and the church and explaining the worldwide mission of the church.
Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)
Criticism of Peter’s conduct 11:1-3
News of what had happened in Cornelius’ house spread quickly throughout Judea. "The brethren" (Act 11:1) and "those who were circumcised" (Act 11:2) refer to Jewish Christians, not unsaved Jews. Peter’s response to their criticism of him makes this clear (e.g., Act 11:15). They objected to his having had contact with uncircumcised Gentiles, particularly eating with them (Act 11:3). Apparently Peter ate with his host while he was with him for several days (Act 10:48), though Luke did not record this. The same taboo that had bothered Peter was bothering his Jewish brethren (cf. Act 10:28). They undoubtedly would have felt concern over the non-Christian Jews’ reaction to themselves. Peter’s actions in Caesarea could only bring more persecution on the Jewish Christians from the unsaved Jews (cf. Act 7:54 to Act 8:3).
"It is possible to hear a subtile echo of Jesus’ critics in Act 11:3. Jesus was also accused of eating with or lodging with the wrong kind of people. . . . Now Peter must face the kind of criticism that Jesus faced, arising this time from the circle of Jesus’ disciples." [Note: Tannehill, 2:137.]
"It is plain that Peter was not regarded as any kind of pope or overlord." [Note: Robertson, 3:152.]