Peter Explains His Actions
1 The apostles and the believers throughout Judea heard that the Gentiles also had received the word of God. 2 So when Peter went up to Jerusalem, the circumcised believers criticized him 3 and said, “You went into the house of uncircumcised men and ate with them.”
4 Starting from the beginning, Peter told them the whole story: 5 “I was in the city of Joppa praying, and in a trance I saw a vision. I saw something like a large sheet being let down from heaven by its four corners, and it came down to where I was. 6 I looked into it and saw four-footed animals of the earth, wild beasts, reptiles and birds. 7 Then I heard a voice telling me, ‘Get up, Peter. Kill and eat.’
8 “I replied, ‘Surely not, Lord! Nothing impure or unclean has ever entered my mouth.’
9 “The voice spoke from heaven a second time, ‘Do not call anything impure that God has made clean.’ 10 This happened three times, and then it was all pulled up to heaven again.
11 “Right then three men who had been sent to me from Caesarea stopped at the house where I was staying. 12 The Spirit told me to have no hesitation about going with them. These six brothers also went with me, and we entered the man’s house. 13 He told us how he had seen an angel appear in his house and say, ‘Send to Joppa for Simon who is called Peter. 14 He will bring you a message through which you and all your household will be saved.’
15 “As I began to speak, the Holy Spirit came on them as he had come on us at the beginning. 16 Then I remembered what the Lord had said: ‘John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’ 17 So if God gave them the same gift he gave us who believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I to think that I could stand in God’s way?”
18 When they heard this, they had no further objections and praised God, saying, “So then, even to Gentiles God has granted repentance that leads to life.”
The Church in Antioch
19 Now those who had been scattered by the persecution that broke out when Stephen was killed traveled as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus and Antioch, spreading the word only among Jews. 20 Some of them, however, men from Cyprus and Cyrene, went to Antioch and began to speak to Greeks also, telling them the good news about the Lord Jesus. 21 The Lord’s hand was with them, and a great number of people believed and turned to the Lord.
22 News of this reached the church in Jerusalem, and they sent Barnabas to Antioch. 23 When he arrived and saw what the grace of God had done, he was glad and encouraged them all to remain true to the Lord with all their hearts. 24 He was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and faith, and a great number of people were brought to the Lord.
25 Then Barnabas went to Tarsus to look for Saul, 26 and when he found him, he brought him to Antioch. So for a whole year Barnabas and Saul met with the church and taught great numbers of people. The disciples were called Christians first at Antioch.
27 During this time some prophets came down from Jerusalem to Antioch. 28 One of them, named Agabus, stood up and through the Spirit predicted that a severe famine would spread over the entire Roman world. (This happened during the reign of Claudius.) 29 The disciples, as each one was able, decided to provide help for the brothers and sisters living in Judea. 30 This they did, sending their gift to the elders by Barnabas and Saul.
Commentary/Significant points of discussion:
- [See v.3] ' "You went into the house of uncircumcised men and ate with them" '- upon returning to Jerusalem, Peter is criticized by the many Christian Jews who are offended that a "fellow Jew" would associate with Gentiles
- Jews looked down on Gentiles and believed that they were superior to them because they were God's chosen people and had all the privileges that no one else had; it's plain to see that their hearts have not yet been changed like Peter's and they still consider Gentiles to be 'uncircumcised men' who have no right to be God's people
- [See v.4] 'Peter told them the whole story'- Peter repeats his account of how God had led him to bring the gospel to the Gentiles and how also the Gentile to whose home he had been sent had also been prepared by God to receive the message from Peter that would bring them salvation through Jesus Christ
- Telling the story of your experience as a witness is often more powerful than stating the facts or knowledge about God or Jesus which can seem vague and confusing to the layperson who may not know anything about Christianity
- [See v.15] ' "As I began to speak, the Holy Spirit came on them" '- God had approved of Peter's ministry in preaching to the Gentiles; the Jews had criticized Peter for doing this without their approval but who were they to 'stand in God's way' [v.17] ?
- It's important to sense and recognize where God is working and in what direction He is heading just as Peter had so that we may stay on the path God has for us and not become lost in our own ways
- [See v.18] 'they had no further objections and praised God'- a change in the hearts of the Jewish believers is evident as they allow God's work to overcome their prejudices and traditions; how glorious!
- [See v.19] 'Phoenicia, Cyprus and Antioch, spreading the word only among Jews'- initially, the gospel had only been preached to Jews by the Christians scattered over the Roman Empire, but now, for the first time, it was being brought to the Gentiles in the Roman city of 'Antioch'
- [See v.21] 'The Lord's hand was with them...great number...believed and turned to the Lord'- because God's hand was with this ministry in Antioch, God blessed and multiplied their efforts; clearly, you cannot turn people to the Lord without the hand of the Lord, i.e. you can turn people to church, to counselors, to friends, etc., but only the Lord can turn a person to Him
- Q: What does 'The Lord's hand was with them' mean to you ?
- A: The human hand does most of our work, so in that respect, God was doing a lot.
- A: God's anointing was with them, evidenced by His signs and wonders.
- A: God's hand reached down and directly intervened to save them.
- [See v.23] 'saw what the grace of God had done'- Barnabas becomes a witness to God's amazing grace in Antioch; grace is something we don't deserve but receive, what was it about Antioch that made them so undeserving of that grace ?
- Antioch was the third largest Roman city only behind Rome and Alexander and was highly sophisticated for its times and culturally rich, but it was also morally depraved
- 'encouraged them all to remain true to the Lord'- as a leader of the early church, Barnabas took great care of all the believers growing in the Lord so that they were strengthened and equipped to serve, causing 'a great number of people' [v.24] to turn to the Lord and continuing the growth of the church
- It is important not only to show hospitality to outsiders coming into the house of God but also to continue to encourage them and help them to grow spiritually
- The race only begins when people start their walk with God and as leaders we are called to pick them up when they fall down or to give them a hand if they are struggling because if no one does, then they may be just left alone, with no one to help them and then they see all those people far ahead of them and say, "I give up"; the church is called a "body" and in a body all the different parts need to work together and be on the same page in order for the body to properly function
- [See v.26] 'Barnabas and Saul...taught great numbers of people'- after 12 years in quiet ministry and preparation in Tarsus where Saul had fled to escape persecution, Barnabas finds him and upon reuniting they work together to continue to grow the church in Antioch
- 'disciples were called Christians first at Antioch'- here the historical origin of the name "Christian" as a follower of Jesus is revealed; soldiers in the Roman army would add -ian after their general's name to identify themselves, and in the same way, people who followed Christ came to be called "Christians"
- [See v.28] 'predicted that a severe famine would spread'- a prophet by the name of Agabus predicts through the Holy Spirit that there will soon be bad harvests and food shortages throughout the Roman Empire
- [See v.29] 'as each one was able, decided to provide help'- in preparation for this difficult time the people of the church gave what they could to those that would need the surplus to survive when the famine would come; God blesses anything we can give as long as it's done out of true generosity to help those that need it
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