Peter Explains His Actions
11 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[a] water, but you will be baptized with[b] 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.
The context for this story has its roots in the covenant that God made with Abram. God said, “I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse him who curses you. All of the families of the earth will be blessed in you” (Genesis 12:3). The key words for our context are “all of the families of the earth.” Even in the very beginning, God’s promise was not just to Jews but to “all of the families of the earth.”
God’s mercy could include Gentiles, clues to that effect are scattered throughout the Old Testament (Genesis 22:18; Psalm 22:27; 46:10; 65:2, 5; 66:4; 72:11, 17, 19; 86:9; 102:15; Isaiah 2:2-4; 9:1; 11:9-10; 24:16; 40:5; 42:1, 6; 45:22-24; 49:1, 6, 22; 55:5; 56:3-8; 60:3; 65:1; 66:18-23; Jeremiah 3:17; 4:2; 16:19-21; Daniel 7:13-14; Joel 2:28-32; Zechariah 2:11; 8:22-23; Malachi 1:11).
Psalm 22:27
27 All the ends of the earth
will remember and turn to the Lord,
and all the families of the nations
will bow down before him,
Malachi 1:11
11 My name will be great among the nations, from where the sun rises to where it sets. In every place incense and pure offerings will be brought to me, because my name will be great among the nations,” says the Lord Almighty.
Daniel 7: 13-14
13 “In my vision at night I looked, and there before me was one like a son of man,[a] coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into his presence. 14 He was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all nations and peoples of every language worshiped him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed.
Peter (who at the time had no idea of the full meaning of his words) preached a sermon at Pentecost in which he quoted the prophet Joel, saying,
Acts 2:17
‘In the last days, God says,
I will pour out my Spirit on all people.
Your sons and daughters will prophesy,
your young men will see visions,
your old men will dream dreams.
Acts 2:21
And everyone who calls
on the name of the Lord will be saved.’[c]
Here we see in verse 17, God promised to pour out the spirit on all people. And also in Acts 21, everyone who calls the name of Jesus will be saved.
When Peter spoke those words, he was firmly committed to a Jewish church. It took a dramatic God-inspired vision to open Peter’s heart to accept Gentiles in the church (10:1-33).
The extent to which Peter was committed to a Jewish church is reflected in Acts 10, which tells us of Cornelius, a devout Gentile. Then it tells us of Peter’s housetop vision where God called him to kill and eat animals which were prohibited under Jewish law. Peter responded, “Not so, Lord; for I have never eaten anything that is common or unclean” (10:14). But God responded, “What God has cleansed, you must not call unclean” (10:15).
This vision was followed by God telling Peter to meet with three men, to include Cornelius. Peter said, “You yourselves know how it is an unlawful thing for a man who is a Jew to join himself or come to one of another nation, but God has shown me that I shouldn’t call any man unholy or unclean” (10:28). While Peter was speaking to these Gentiles, the Holy Spirit came upon the Gentiles and they received the gift of the Holy Spirit. So Peter ordered them to be baptized (10:44-48).
We are in the midst of a leadership transition from Peter to Paul—a leadership transition that mirrors the transition from a Jewish church to a Jewish-Gentile church. Peter was the most prominent apostle in the first part of the book of Acts, but Saul’s conversion in chapter 9 signaled the beginning of a new era. Chapter 10 tells the story of the vision that opened Peter’s mind to the inclusion of Gentiles in the church—and of Gentiles receiving the Holy Spirit and being baptized. Chapter 11 tells of Peter defending his association with Gentiles to the Jerusalem church. Chapter 12 will tell of Peter being imprisoned by Herod and released from prison by an angel. Beginning with chapter 13, Saul (Paul), the great missionary to the Gentiles, takes the lead among the apostles, and we will hear only once more from Peter (15:7-11).
Acts 11:1-3
11 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.”
To understand what’s going on, we need to remind ourselves of a bit of Old Testament history. God had called Abraham from his home in a pagan city, and promised him that he would be the father of a great nation. As a sign of the covenant he made, God instructed Abraham to circumcise himself and all the men in his household. Once they had grown into a nation, they were given a set of laws which set them apart from the other nations. In particular, they had strict laws governing what they could eat. Abraham’s descendants were the Jews; everyone else was the Gentiles.
After Peter met with Cornelius there and baptized him and other Gentiles (10:44-48). Now he goes to Jerusalem to join the gathered leadership of the church.
The church was founded in Jerusalem on the Day of Pentecost, and Jerusalem was the center of activity for the first Christian leaders.
The charge was “You went in to uncircumcised men, and ate with them” (v. 3). There are two offenses here:
- The first offense is going to uncircumcised men. As Peter acknowledged when he met with Cornelius, “You yourselves know how it is an unlawful thing for a man who is a Jew to join himself or come to one of another nation” (10:28a).
- The second offense is eating with uncircumcised men.
A Jew observe Jewish food laws while eating with a Gentile? By definition, Gentile food is unclean.
- It is interesting that they did not raise the issue of baptizing Gentiles. Their concerns have more to do with traditional Jewish values of maintaining their separateness and observing Jewish food laws than with the Christian rite of baptism.
Ok, So now what is it for us this morning, God speaking to us?
Sometimes we forget about the radical nature of God’s love and how revolutionary the Christian movement is.
God is Moving Radically:
In Acts 10, We see Cornelius saw a vision and then parallelly Peter sees a vision. It was not only one sided , it was both.
Invitation:
Peter’s Invitation changed the life of Cornelius:
We know that Peter went to the house of Cornelius which changed everything. We can meet / invite others. Those conversations if we prayerfully move can be life transforming. Who are we inviting or who are we meeting?
Changed Mindset:
Peter been following it for years the tradition of jews whether it was relating with others or eating with them. When he saw a vision everything changed. He not only saw the vision but he also allowed the vision to be applied in his life. He was so convinced that he brings forth his defence with a changed perspective. Maybe this morning we can ask God a changed perspective. The barriers of changed perspective is not open to change. Not open to receive.
Our Personal Stories:
Peter responds to his critics by telling a story, an honest account of his unexpected and enlightened experience. It is the story, not argumentation, which changes their hearts. Luke tells us, When they heard this, they were silenced. And they praised God, saying, ‘Then God has given even to the Gentiles the repentance that leads to life.’
Stories, not arguments, transform lives. Had Peter come to argue theological points or debate doctrinal differences, he might not have been able to make a change in their perspective. Generally, arguments tend to crystalize differences. Debates tend to keep two sides apart. In debates and arguments, there are winners and losers. However, stories have the power to change hearts and lives… not only the old, old story but also the story of how God has acted in each of our lives; speaking to us in that still small voice, encouraging us to overcome our stereotypes, our anxieties, our preconceived notions of them and us, and to see God’s call to us in more universal terms. We sometimes forget the power of stories! We rarely tell our children the stories of how we have experienced God. We seldom tell our young people stories of how God changed our minds, redirected our paths, and opened new horizons for us. We do not tell the stories because we do not want to appear manipulative or better-than-thou or self-righteous, or to speak of holy places and times for which words are not always adequate. We do not want to appear weird or fanatical. So we keep our stories to ourselves, telling them only in the most careful contexts and in the most measured ways. This can be a loss for all of us.
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.”
A 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.
Few men went to a place called Antioch, and there they began to speak about the Lord Jesus.
These men were persecuted but they never stopped and we see that they influenced so many lives.
This Morning , I felt this to share . God wants us to share the good news , share about Jesus. Irrespective of our failures, our setbacks, busyness , persecutions. God’s story need to be shared.
In verse 21 it says, Lord’s hand was with them and 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.
Barnabas:
Any guesses about Barnabas
Acts 4:36-37
36 Joseph, a Levite from Cyprus, whom the apostles called Barnabas (which means “son of encouragement”), 37 sold a field he owned and brought the money and put it at the apostles’ feet.
In the book of Acts, we find a Levite from Cyprus named Joses (Acts 4:36), whom the apostles called Barnabas. That nickname, translated “Son of Encouragement” (Acts 4:36-37) or “Son of Exhortation” was probably given to him because of his inclination to serve others (Acts 4:36-37, 9:27) and his willingness to do whatever church leaders needed (Acts 11:25-30). He is referred to as a “good man, full of the Holy Spirit and faith.” Through his ministry, “a great number of people were brought to the Lord” (Acts 11:24). Paul uses Barnabas as an example of one with a proper perspective on money and property. When he sold his land, he brought the proceeds to the apostles and laid it at their feet (Acts 4:36-37).
To be a Encourager:
Like Barnabas, as Christians we are called to be encouragers, particularly of those who are weak in the faith or struggling. Acts 11:23 depicts Barnabas as a man who was delighted to see others exhibiting the grace of God in their lives, exhorting and encouraging them to remain faithful. In the same way, we should look for opportunities to praise those who bring glory and honor to God through lives that reflect their faith.
To be Good:
The bible says , he was a good man. His act of kindness for others gave him a tag. He was a giver, he gave generously. The Bible says, that he sold his property and laid it the apostles feet. Barnabas is an example of a generous spirit when it comes to giving sacrificially to the work of the Lord.
To exercise Faith:
Barnabas walked in faith, he was part of Jewish church in Jerusalem. When he was sent to Antioch he came. He also did not hesitate to partner with Saul who was a murderer and persecutor.
To be filled with the Holy Spirit:
We may be a good encourager, we may be called good, we may walk in faith but if we are not filled with the holy spirit then all our efforts are of being self. The Spirt of God in us working through us.
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.
What a Joy when we read it , The served at that place for a year and God gave them people.
And these name Christian being used first in Antioch.
Wow, It amazes us when we read this chapter, It’s very dramatic. Peter willing to be accountable to the apostles, and then he shares his experiences , the team accepts it. Radical people like Barnabas spearheading , people like Saul pitching in and not only that they have been told about the future event (Famine).
Don’t we desire that experiences or greater experiences than this in our church , in our family. Because the same spirit is with us even now, the same radical God at work even now. The Church in Antioch trained Saul , Barnabas and many others to spearhead different churches across the globe.
God desires for RHC , we are the people, we are the Church. God is working Radically in our church. Invitation , Changed mind set, personal stories, God’s story, being an encourager, to be a giver, to exercise faith , filled with God’s spirit.
Virjil Selvan is Pastoring the Renewed Hope Community. The Renewed Hope Community is situated in the heart of the city between Old and New Panvel. We can confidently share that Renewed Hope Community is a Church in Kamothe, Church in Khandeshwar, Church in Khanda Colony, Church in Karanjade, Church in Panvel, Church in New Panvel, Church in Karanjade because we are centrally located and these places surround our church Venue.
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