IBS Seminar 10

Acts 9:32-11:30 : The Conversion of the Gentiles

Objective: To show the primacy of evangelism in Christian ministry and how the Lord convinced Peter and the Jewish believers that the Gospel was also for the Gentile world.

1. The Great Miracle: Healing the Body 9:32-35
2. The Greater Miracle: Raising the Dead 9:36-43
3. The Greatest Miracle: Winning Lost Sinners 10:1-48

4. Making Room for the Gentiles Acts 11
5. Postscript: Patterns of Church Leadership

Once the Berlin Wall seemed impenetrable, and communism powerful and indestructible. For seventy years, Christians wondered if Christmas would ever again be openly celebrated in Russia. Then, dramatically, the wall fell. Communism collapsed. Nations that had been closed to the gospel for years began to welcome Christians, their help and their message with open arms. The historic breakthrough was like the one the early Christians experienced in this passage. A seemingly impenetrable spiritual wall was broken down. In both situations we see that from God's perspective there is always the potential for reaching every person in all the corners of the world with the wonderful news of Jesus Christ.

1. The Great Miracle: Healing the Body 9:32-35
The Apostle Peter had been engaged in an itinerant ministry (Acts 8:25) when he found himself visiting the saints in Lydda, a largely Gentile city about twenty-five miles from Jerusalem. It is possible that the area had first been evangelized by people converted at Pentecost, or perhaps by faithful believers who had been scattered far and wide during the great persecution. No doubt Philip the evangelist had also ministered there (Acts 8:40). We know very little about Aeneas. How old was he? Did he believe on Jesus Christ? Was he a Jew or a Gentile? All that Dr. Luke tells us is the man had been palsied for eight years, which meant he was crippled and helpless. He was a burden to himself and a burden to others, and there was no prospect that he would ever get well.

Peter's first miracle had been the healing of a crippled man (Acts 3), and now that miracle was repeated. As you read the Book of Acts, you will see parallels between the ministries of Peter and Paul. Both healed cripples. Both were arrested and put into jail and were miraculously delivered. Both were treated like gods (Acts 10:25-26; 14:8-18), and both gave a bold witness before the authorities. Both had to confront false prophets (Acts 8:9-24; 13:6-12). No one reading the Book of Acts could end up saying, "I am for Paul!" or "I am for Peter!" (1 Cor. 1:12) "But it is the same God which works all in all" (1 Cor. 12:6). The resurrected Christ, by the authority of His name, brought perfect soundness to Aeneas (see Acts 3:6, 16; 4:10). The healing was instantaneous, and the man was able to get up and make his bed. He became a walking miracle! Acts 9:35 does not suggest that the entire population of Lydda and Sharon were saved, but only all those who had contact with Aeneas.

Just seeing him walk around convinced them that Jesus was alive and they needed to trust in Him. (See John 12:10-11 for a similar instance.) You can be sure that Peter did much more in Lydda than heal Aeneas, as great and helpful as that miracle was. He evangelized, taught and encouraged the believers, and sought to establish the church in the faith. Jesus had commissioned Peter to care for the sheep (John 21:15-17), and Peter was faithful to fulfill that commission.

2. The Greater Miracle: Raising the Dead 9:36-43
Joppa, the modern Jaffa, is located on the seacoast, some ten miles beyond Lydda. The city is important in Bible history as the place from which the Prophet Jonah embarked when he tried to flee from God (Jonah 1:1-3). Jonah went to Joppa to avoid going to the Gentiles, but Peter in Joppa received his call to go to the Gentiles! Because Jonah disobeyed God, the Lord sent a storm that caused the Gentile sailors to fear. Because Peter obeyed the Lord, God sent the "wind of the Spirit" to the Gentiles and they experienced great joy and peace. What a contrast!

It seemed so tragic that a useful and beloved saint like Dorcas (Tabitha = gazelle) should die when she was so greatly needed by the church. This often happens in local churches and it is a hard blow to take. In my own pastoral ministry, I have experienced the loss of choice saints who were difficult to replace in the church; yet, all we can say is,

"The Lord gave, and the Lord takes away; blessed be the name of the Lord" (Job 1:21). The believers in Joppa heard that Peter was in the area, and they sent for him immediately. There is no record in Acts that any of the Apostles had raised the dead, so their sending for Peter was an evidence of their faith in the power of the risen Christ. When our Lord ministered on earth, He raised the dead; so why would He not be able to raise the dead from His exalted throne in glory?

We usually think of the Apostles as leaders who told other people what to do, but often the people commanded them! (For Peter's "philosophy of ministry" read 1 Peter 5.) Peter was a leader who served the people and was ready to respond to their call. Peter had the power to heal, and he used the power to glorify God and help people, not to promote himself. It was a Jewish custom first to wash the dead body, and then to anoint it with spices for burial. When Peter arrived in the upper room where Dorcas lay, he found a group of weeping widows who had been helped by her ministry. Keep in mind that there was no "government aid" in those days for either widows or orphans, and needy people had to depend on their "network" for assistance. The church has an obligation to help people who are truly in need (1 Tim. 5:3-16; James 1:27). The account of Peter's raising of Dorcas should be compared with the account of our Lord's raising of Jairus' daughter (Mark 5:34-43). In both cases, the mourning people were put out of the room; and the words spoken are almost identical: "talitha cumi: little girl, arise; Tabitha cumi: Tabitha, arise." Jesus took the girl by the hand before He spoke to her, for He was not afraid of becoming ceremonially defiled; and Peter took Dorcas by the hand after she had come to life. In both instances, it was the power of God that raised the person from the dead, for the dead person certainly could not exercise faith. As with the healing of Aeneas, the raising of Dorcas attracted great attention and resulted in many people trusting Jesus Christ. During the "many days" that he tarried in Joppa, Peter took the opportunity to ground these new believers in the truth of the Word, for faith built on miracles alone is not substantial.

It was a good thing Peter stayed in Joppa, because God met with him there in a thrilling new way. God's servants need not always be "on the go." They should take time to be alone with God, to reflect and meditate and pray, especially after experiencing great blessings. Yes, there were plenty of sick people Peter might have visited and healed, but God had other plans. He deliberately detained His servant in Joppa to prepare him for his third use of "the keys." It is significant that Peter stayed in the home of a tanner, because tanners were considered "unclean" by the Jewish rabbis (see Lev. 11:35-40). God was moving Peter a step at a time from Jewish legalism into the freedom of His wonderful grace.

3. The Greatest Miracle: Winning Lost Sinners 10:1-48
Chapter 10 is pivotal in the Book of Acts, for it records the salvation of the Gentiles. We see Peter using "the keys of the kingdom" for the third and last time. He had opened the door of faith for the Jews (Acts 2) and also for the Samaritans (Acts 8), and now he would be used of God to bring the Gentiles into the church (see Gal. 3:27-28; Eph. 2:11-22).

This event took place about ten years after Pentecost. Why did the Apostles wait so long before going to the lost Gentiles? After all, in His Great Commission (Matt. 28:19-20), Jesus had told them to go into all the world; and it would seem logical for them to go to their Gentile neighbors as soon as possible. But God has His times as well as His plans, and the transition from the Jews to the Samaritans to the Gentiles was a gradual one. The stoning of Stephen and the subsequent persecution of the church marked the climax of the Apostles' witness to the Jews. Then the Gospel moved to the Samaritans. When God saved Saul of Tarsus, He got hold of His special envoy to the Gentiles. Now was the time to open the door of faith (Acts 14:27) to the Gentiles and bring them into the family of God. There were four acts to this wonderful drama.

3.1 Preparation (10:1-22)
Before He could save the Gentiles, God had to prepare Peter to bring the message and Cornelius to hear the message. Salvation is a divine work of grace, but God works through human channels. Angels can deliver God's messages to lost men, but they cannot preach the Gospel to them. That is our privilege—and responsibility.

Caesarea is sixty-five miles northwest of Jerusalem and thirty miles north of Joppa (Jaffa). At that time, Caesarea was the Roman capital of Judea and boasted of many beautiful public buildings. In that city lived Cornelius, the Roman centurion, whose heart had tired of pagan myths and empty religious rituals, and who had turned to Judaism in hopes he could find salvation. Cornelius was as close to Judaism as he could get without becoming a proselyte. There were many "God fearers" like him in the ancient world (Acts 13:16) and they proved to be a ready field for spiritual harvest.

It is interesting to see how religious a person can be and still not be saved. Certainly, Cornelius was sincere in his obedience to God's Law, his fasting, and his generosity to the Jewish people (compare this to Luke 7:1-10).

He was not permitted to offer sacrifices in the temple, so he presented his prayers to God as his sacrifices (Ps. 141:1-2). In every way, he was a model of religious respectability—and yet he was not a saved man.

The difference between Cornelius and many religious people today is this: he knew that his religious devotion was not sufficient to save him. Many religious people today are satisfied that their character and good works will get them to heaven, and they have no concept either of their own sin or of God's grace. In his prayers, Cornelius was asking God to show him the way of salvation (Acts 11:13-14).

In many respects, John Wesley was like Cornelius. He was a religious man, a church member, a minister, and the son of a minister. He belonged to a "religious club" at Oxford, the purpose of which was the perfecting of the Christian life. Wesley served as a foreign missionary, but even as he preached to others, he had no assurance of his own personal salvation. On May 24, 1738, Wesley reluctantly attended a small meeting in London where someone was reading aloud from Martin Luther's commentary on Romans. "About a quarter before nine," Wesley wrote in his journal, "while he was describing the change which God works in the heart through faith in Christ, I felt my heart strangely warmed, I felt I did trust in Christ, Christ alone for salvation; and an assurance was given me that He had taken away my sins, even mine, and saved me from the law of sin and death." The result was the great Wesleyan revival that not only swept many into the kingdom, but also helped transform British society through Christian social action.

God sent an angel to instruct Cornelius and, in true military fashion, Cornelius immediately obeyed. But why send for Peter, who was thirty miles away in Joppa, when Philip the evangelist was already in Caesarea? (Acts 8:40) Because it was Peter, not Philip, who had been given the "keys." God not only works at the right time, but He also works through the right servant; and both are essential. Peter also had to be prepared for this event since he had lived as an orthodox Jew all of his life (Acts 10:14). The Law of Moses was a wall between the Jews and the Gentiles, and this wall had been broken down at the cross (Eph. 2:14-18). The Gentiles were considered aliens and strangers as far as the Jewish covenants and promises were concerned (Eph. 2:11-13). But now, all of that would change, and God would declare that, as far as the Jew and the Gentile were concerned, "There is no difference" either in condemnation (Rom. 3:22-23) or in salvation (Rom. 10:12-13).

Why did God use a vision about food to teach Peter that the Gentiles were not unclean? For one thing, Peter was hungry, and a vision about food would certainly "speak to his condition." Second, the distinction between "clean and unclean foods" was a major problem between the Jews and the Gentiles in that day. In fact, Peter's Christian friends criticized him for eating with the Gentiles! (Acts 11:1-3).

God used this centuries-old regulation (Lev. 11) to teach Peter an important spiritual lesson. A third reason goes back to something Jesus had taught Peter and the other disciples when He was ministering on earth (Mark 7:1-23). At that time, Peter did not fully understand what Jesus was saying, but now it would all come together. God was not simply changing Peter's diet; He was changing His entire program! The Jew was not "clean" and the Gentile "unclean," but both Jew and Gentile were "unclean" before God! "For God hath concluded them all in unbelief, that He might have mercy on all" (Rom. 11:32). This meant that a Gentile did not have to become a Jew in order to become a Christian. Even though Peter's refusal was in the most polite terms, it was still wrong. "You can say 'No,' and you can say 'Lord'; but you cannot say 'No, Lord!'" If He is truly our Lord, then we can only say "Yes!" to Him and obey His commands. God's timing is always perfect, and the three men from Caesarea arrived at the door just as Peter was pondering the meaning of the vision. The Spirit commanded Peter to meet the men and go with them.

The phrase "nothing doubting" (Acts 10:20) means "making no distinctions." You find it again in Acts 11:12, and a similar word is used in Acts 11:2 ("contended with him" = "made a difference"). Peter was no longer to make any distinctions between the Jews and the Gentiles.

3.2 Explanation (10:23-33)
The fact that Peter allowed the Gentiles to lodge with him is another indication that the walls were coming down. Peter selected six Jewish believers to go along as witnesses (Acts 11:12), three times the official number needed. It would take at least two days to cover the thirty miles between Joppa and Caesarea. When Peter arrived, he discovered that Cornelius had gathered relatives and friends to hear the message of life. He was a witness even before he became a Christian. How easy it would have been for Peter to accept honor and use the situation to promote himself; but Peter was a servant, not a celebrity (1 Peter 5:1-6). When he announced that he did not consider the Gentiles unclean, this must have amazed and rejoiced the hearts of his listeners. For centuries the Jews, on the basis of Old Testament Law, had declared the Gentiles to be unclean, and some Jews even referred to the Gentiles as "dogs."

The remarkable thing in this section is Peter's question, "I ask, therefore, why did you send for me?" (Acts 10:29) Didn't Peter know that he had been summoned there to preach the Gospel? Had he forgotten the Acts 1:8 commission to go to "the ends of the earth"? Today, we can look back at developing events in the church and understand what God was doing, but it might not have been that easy had we been living in the midst of those events. In fact, the Jerusalem church questioned Peter about his actions (Acts 11:1-18), and later called a conference to deal with the place of the Gentiles in the church (Acts 15).

Cornelius rehearsed his experience with the angel and then told Peter why he had been summoned: to tell him, his family, and his friends how they could be saved (Acts 11:14). They were not interested Gentiles asking for a lecture on Jewish religion. They were lost sinners begging to be told how to be saved. The seeking Saviour (Luke 19:10) will always find the seeking sinner (Jer. 29:13). Wherever there is a searching heart, God responds.

3.3 Proclamation (10:34-43)
There can be no faith apart from the Word (Rom. 10:17), and Peter preached that Word. God is no respecter of persons as far as nationality and race are concerned. When it comes to sin and salvation, "there is no difference" (Rom. 2:11; 3:22-23; 10:1-13). All men have the same Creator (Acts 17:26), and all men need the same Saviour (Acts 4:12). Acts 10:35 does not teach that we are saved by works, otherwise Peter would be contradicting himself (Acts 10:43). To "fear God and work righteousness" is a description of the Christian life. To fear God is to reverence and trust Him (Micah 6:8). The evidence of this faith is a righteous walk.

Peter then summarized the story of the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Cornelius and his friends knew about Christ's life and death, for "this thing was not done in a corner" (Acts 26:26). The public at large knew about Christ's life, ministry, and death, but only the Apostles and other believers were witnesses of His resurrection. As in his previous sermons, Peter laid the blame for the Crucifixion on the Jewish leaders (Acts 3:15; 4:10; 5:30), as did Stephen (Acts 7:52). Paul would pick up this same emphasis (1 Thes. 2:14-16).

Having finished this recitation of the historical basis for the Gospel message, Christ's death and resurrection, Peter then announced the good news: "Whosoever believes in Him will receive forgiveness of sin" (Acts 10:43; see 2:21). His hearers laid hold of that word "whosoever," applied it to themselves, believed on Jesus Christ and were saved.

3.4 Vindication (10:44-48)
Peter was just getting started in his message when his congregation believed and the Holy Spirit interrupted the meeting (Acts 11:15). God the Father interrupted Peter on the Mount of Transfiguration (Matt. 17:4-5), and God the Son interrupted him in the matter of the temple tax (Matt. 17:24-27). Now, God the Spirit interrupted him—and Peter never was able to finish his sermon! Would that preachers today had interruptions of this kind! The Holy Spirit was giving witness to the six Jews who were present that these Gentiles were truly born again. After all, these men had not seen the vision with Peter and come to understand that the Gentiles were now on an equal footing with the Jews. This does not suggest that every new believer gives evidence of salvation by speaking in tongues, though every true believer will certainly use his or her tongue to glorify God (Rom. 10:9-10). This was an event parallel to Pentecost: the same Spirit who had come on the Jewish believers had now come on the Gentiles (Acts 11:15-17; 15:7-9). No wonder the men were astonished!

With this event, the period of transition in the early history of the church comes to an end. Believers among the Jews, Samaritans, and Gentiles have all received the Spirit of God and are united in the body of Christ (1 Cor. 12:13; Gal. 3:27). These Gentiles were not saved by being baptized; they were baptized because they gave evidence of being saved. To use Acts 2:38 to teach salvation by baptism, or Acts 8:14-16 to teach salvation by the laying on of hands, is to ignore the unique nature of these historical events and the transitional character of God's program.

Sinners have always been saved by faith; that is one principle God has never changed. But God does change His methods of operation, and this is clearly seen in Acts 1-10. The experience of Cornelius and his household makes it very clear that baptism is not essential for salvation. From now on, the order will be: hear the Word, believe on Christ, and receive the Spirit, and then be baptized and unite with other believers in the church to serve and worship God.

Peter stayed in Caesarea and helped to ground these new believers in the truth of the Word. Perhaps Philip assisted him. This entire experience is an illustration of the commission of Matthew 28:19-20. Peter went where God sent him and made disciples ("teach") of the Gentiles. Then he baptized them and taught them the Word. That same commission applies to the church today. Are we fulfilling it as we should?

4. Making Room for the Gentiles Acts 11
Acts 11 describes how the church in Jerusalem related to the Gentiles in Caesarea and Antioch who had trusted Jesus Christ as their Saviour and Lord. Having fellowship with the Gentiles was a new experience for these Jewish Christians, who all their lives had looked on the Gentiles as pagans and outsiders. Tradition said that a Gentile had to "become a Jew" in order to be accepted; but now Jews and Gentiles were united in the church through faith in Jesus Christ (Gal. 3:26-28). Acts 11 describes three responses of the Jewish believers to the Gentile Christians. As you study these responses, you will better understand how Christians today ought to relate to one another.


4.1 They Accepted the Gentiles Acts 11:1-18
Peter no sooner returned to Jerusalem when he was met by members of the strong legalistic party in the church of Judea ("they that were of the circumcision") who rebuked him for having fellowship with Gentiles and eating with them. Keep in mind that these Jewish believers did not yet understand the relationship between Law and grace, Jews and Gentiles, and Israel and the church. Most Christians today understand these truths; but, after all, we have Romans, Galatians, Ephesians, and Hebrews! There were many converted priests in the church who would be zealous for the Law (Acts 6:7), and even the ordinary Jewish believer would have a difficult time making the transition (Acts 21:20). It was not only a matter of religion, but also of culture; and cultural habits are very hard to break.

The phrase "contended with him" comes from the same word translated "doubting nothing" in Acts 10:20 and 11:12. It means "to make a difference." These legalists were making a difference between the Gentiles and the Jews after Peter had demonstrated that "there is no difference!" God had declared the Gentiles "clean," that is, accepted before God on the same basis as the Jews—through faith in Jesus Christ.
Peter had nothing to fear. After all, he had only followed orders from the Lord; and the Spirit had clearly confirmed the salvation of the Gentiles. Peter reviewed the entire experience from beginning to end; and, when he was finished, the Jewish legalists dropped their charges and glorified God for the salvation of the Gentiles (Acts 11:18). However, this did not end the matter completely, for this same legalistic party later debated with Paul about the salvation of the Gentiles (Acts 14:26-15:2). Even after the Jerusalem Conference, legalistic teachers continued to attack Paul and invade the churches he founded. They wanted to woo the believers into a life of obedience to the Law (Gal. 1:6ff; Phil. 3:1-3, 17-21). It is possible that many of these legalists were genuine believers, but they did not understand their freedom in Jesus Christ (Gal. 5:1ff).
In his personal defense in Acts 11, Peter presented three pieces of evidence: the vision from God (Acts 11:5-11), the witness of the Spirit (Acts 11:12-15, 17), and the witness of the Word (Acts 11:16). Of course, none of these men had seen the vision, but they trusted Peter's report, for they knew that he had been as orthodox as they in his personal life (Acts 10:14). He was not likely to go to the Gentiles on his own and then invent a story to back it up.

The witness of the Spirit was crucial, for this was God's own testimony that He had indeed saved the Gentiles. It is interesting that Peter had to go all the way back to Pentecost to find an example of what happened in the home of Cornelius! This suggests that a dramatic "baptism of the Spirit" (Acts 11:16), accompanied by speaking in tongues, was not an everyday occurrence in the early church. Peter could not use the experience of the Samaritans as his example, because the Samaritans received the gift of the Spirit through the laying on of the Apostles' hands (Acts 8:14-17). Cornelius and his household received the Spirit the moment they trusted Christ. This is the pattern for today. "What was I, that I could withstand God?" asked Peter; and to this question, the legalists had no answer. From beginning to end, the conversion of the Gentiles was God's gracious work. He gave them the gift of repentance and the gift of salvation when they believed. In later years, God would use the letters of Paul to explain the "one body," how believing Jews and believing Gentiles are united in Christ (Eph. 2:11-3:12). But at that time, this "mystery" was still hidden; so we must not be too hard on those saints who were uneasy about the place of the Gentiles in the church.

Christians are to receive one another and not dispute over cultural differences or minor matters of personal conviction (Rom. 14-15). Some of the Jewish Christians in the early church wanted the Gentiles to become Jews, and some of the Gentile believers wanted the Jews to stop being Jews and become Gentiles! This attitude can create serious division in the church even today, so it is important that we follow the example of Acts 11:18 and the admonition of Romans 14:1, and receive those whom God has also received.

4.2 They Encouraged the Gentiles Acts 11:19-26
When the saints were scattered abroad during Saul's persecution of the church (Acts 8:1), some of them ended up in Antioch, the capital of Syria, 300 miles north of Jerusalem. There were at least sixteen Antiochs in the ancient world, but this one was the greatest. With a population of half a million, Antioch ranked as the third largest city in the Roman Empire, following Rome and Alexandria. Its magnificent buildings helped give it the name "Antioch the Golden, Queen of the East." The main street was more than four miles long, paved with marble, and lined on both sides by marble colonnades. It was the only city in the ancient world at that time that had its streets lighted at night. A busy port and a center for luxury and culture, Antioch attracted all kinds of people, including wealthy retired Roman officials who spent their days chatting in the baths or gambling at the races. With its large cosmopolitan population and its great commercial and political power, Antioch presented to the church an exciting opportunity for evangelism. Antioch was also a wicked city, perhaps second only to Corinth. Though all the Greek, Roman, and Syrian deities were honored, the local shrine was dedicated to Daphne, whose worship included immoral practices. "Antioch was to the Roman world what New York City is to ours," writes James A. Kelso in An Archaeologist Follows the Apostle Paul. "Here where all the gods of antiquity were worshiped, Christ must be exalted." Not only was an effective church built in Antioch, but it became the church that sent Paul out to win the Gentile world for Christ. When the persecuted believers arrived in Antioch, they did not at all feel intimidated by the magnificence of the buildings or the pride of the citizens. The Word of God was on their lips and the hand of God was on their witness, and "a great number" of sinners repented and believed. It was a thrilling work of God's wonderful grace.
The church leaders in Jerusalem had a responsibility to "shepherd" the scattered flock, which now included Gentile congregations as far away as Syria. Apparently the Apostles were ministering away from Jerusalem at the time, so the elders commissioned Barnabas to go to Antioch to find out what was going on among the Gentiles. This proved to be a wise choice, for Barnabas lived up to his nickname, "son of encouragement" (Acts 4:36).

Acts 11:24 gives us a "spiritual profile" of Barnabas, and he appears to be the kind of Christian all of us would do well to emulate. He was a righteous man who obeyed the Word in daily life so that his character was above reproach. He was filled with the Spirit, which explains the effectiveness of his ministry. That he was a man of faith is evident from the way he encouraged the church and then encouraged Saul. New Christians and new churches need people like Barnabas to encourage them in their growth and ministry.

How did Barnabas encourage these new Gentile believers? For one thing, he rejoiced at what he saw. Worshiping with Gentiles was a new experience for him, but he approached it positively and did not look for things to criticize. It was a work of God, and Barnabas gave thanks for God's grace.

He emphasized dedication of the heart as he taught the people the Word of God. The phrase "cleave [cling] to the Lord" does not suggest that they were to "keep themselves saved." The same grace that saves us can also keep us (1 Cor. 15:10; Heb. 13:9). The phrase reminds us of Joshua's admonition to Israel in Joshua 22:5. To "cleave to the Lord" includes loving the Lord, walking in His ways, obeying His Word, and serving Him wholeheartedly. It means that we belong to Him alone and that we cultivate our devotion to Him. "No man can serve two masters" (Matt. 6:24).
There were two wonderful results from Barnabas' work in Antioch. First, the church's witness made a great impact on the city so that "many people were added to the Lord" (Acts 11:24). When the saints are grounded in the Word, they will have a strong witness to the lost, and there will be a balance in the church between edification and evangelism, worship and witness, teaching and testifying.

Second, the growth of the church meant that Barnabas needed help; so he went to Tarsus and enlisted Saul. But why go so far away just to find an assistant? Why not send to Jerusalem and ask the deacon Nicolas who was from Antioch? (Acts 6:5) Because Barnabas knew that God had commissioned Saul to minister to the Gentiles (Acts 9:15; 22:21; 26:17). You recall that Barnabas befriended Saul in Jerusalem (Acts 9:26-27), and no doubt the two of them often talked about Saul's special call from God.
Saul had been converted about ten years when Barnabas brought him to Antioch. The New Testament does not tell us what Saul did back home in Tarsus after he left Jerusalem (Acts 9:28-30), but it is likely he was busy evangelizing both Jews and Gentiles. It may have been during this period that he founded the churches in Cilicia (Acts 15:23, 41; Gal. 1:21), and that he experienced some of the sufferings listed in 2 Corinthians 11:23-28. As he witnessed in the synagogues, you can be sure he would not have an easy time of it!

What Barnabas did for Saul needs to be practiced in our churches today. Mature believers need to enlist others and encourage them in their service for the Lord. It was one of D.L. Moody's policies that each new Christian be given a task soon after conversion. At first, it might be only passing out hymnals or ushering people to their seats, but each convert had to be busy. As previously mentioned, he said, "It is better to put ten men to work than to do the work of ten men." Many of Mr. Moody's "assistants" became effective Christian workers in their own right and this multiplied the witness.
It was at Antioch that the name Christian was first applied to the disciples of Jesus Christ. The Latin suffix ian means "belonging to the party of." In derision, some of the pagan citizens of Antioch joined this Latin suffix to the Hebrew name "Christ" and came up with Christian. The name is found only three times in the entire New Testament: Acts 11:26; 26:28; 1 Peter 4:16.

Unfortunately, the word Christian has lost a great deal of significance over the centuries and no longer means "one who has turned from sin, trusted Jesus Christ, and received salvation by grace" (Acts 11:21-23). Many people who have never been born again consider themselves "Christians" simply because they say they are not "pagans." After all, they may belong to a church, attend services somewhat regularly, and even occasionally give to the work of the church! But it takes more than that for a sinner to become a child of God. It takes repentance from sin and faith in Jesus Christ, who died for our sins on the cross and rose again to give us eternal life.

The believers in the early church suffered because they were Christians (1 Peter 4:16). Dr. David Otis Fuller has asked, "If you were arrested for being a Christian, would there be enough evidence to convict you?" A good question! And the answer is a matter of life or death!


4.3 They Received Help from the Gentiles Acts11:27-30
The foundation for the church was laid by the Apostles and prophets (Eph. 2:20), and then both eventually moved off the scene. After all, you don't keep laying the foundation! The New Testament prophets received their messages from the Lord by the Holy Spirit, and delivered them to the people, sometimes in a tongue. The message would then have to be interpreted, after which the people would evaluate the message to make sure it came from God (note 1 Cor. 12:10; 14:27-33; 1 Thes. 5:19-21).
The New Testament prophets received their messages from the Lord immediately, but ministers and teachers today get their messages mediately through the Scriptures. We today have the completed Word of God from which the Holy Spirit teaches and guides us. First Corinthians 12:10 ties together the gifts of prophecy, discernment, and tongues and the interpretation of tongues. Of course, the Spirit is sovereign and can give to a believer any gift He desires (1 Cor. 12:11), but the passing of Apostles and prophets from the scene, and the completing of God's revelation in the Word, suggest that a change has taken place.

There are people today who claim to receive special "words of revelation" or "words of wisdom" from the Lord, but such revelations are suspect and even dangerous. "To the law and to the testimony; if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them" (Isa. 8:20). "Hearken not unto the words of the prophets that prophesy unto you," warned Jeremiah. "They make you vain [fill you with false hopes]; they speak a vision of their own heart, and not out of the mouth of the Lord" (Jer. 23:16).
The Spirit told Agabus (see Acts 21:10-11) that a great famine was soon to come, and it did come during the reign of Claudius Caesar (a.d. 41-54) when crops were poor for many years. Ancient writers mention at least four famines: two in Rome, one in Greece, and one in Judea. The famine in Judea was especially severe, and the Jewish historian Josephus records that many people died for lack of money to buy what little food was available.

Agabus delivered his message to the Antioch believers; and they determined to help their fellow Christians in Judea. The purpose of true prophecy is not to satisfy our curiosity about the future but to stir up our hearts to do the will of God. The believers could not stop the famine from coming, but they could send relief to those in need. An important spiritual principle is illustrated in this passage: if people have been a spiritual blessing to us, we should minister to them out of our material possessions. "Let him who is taught in the word share in all good things with him who teaches" (Gal. 6:6, nkjv). The Jewish believers in Jerusalem had brought the Gospel to Antioch. Then they had sent Barnabas to encourage the new believers. It was only right that the Gentiles in Antioch reciprocate and send material help to their Jewish brothers and sisters in Judea. Some years later, Paul would gather a similar offering from the Gentile churches and take it to the saints in Jerusalem (Acts 24:17; and see Rom. 15:23-28).

It is important to note that a change had taken place in the Jerusalem church. At one time, nobody in the church had any need (Acts 4:34), nor was it necessary to ask others for help. Those early years were "days of heaven on earth" as God richly blessed His people and used them as witnesses to the unbelieving nation. This famine, presumably had brought great hardship and it was now the turn of these young churches to give support to their mother church. The fact that the church elected Barnabas and Saul to take the relief offering to Jerusalem is evidence that they had confidence in them. The men had been working together in the teaching of the Word, and now they joined hands in the practical ministry of relieving the wants of the Jerusalem believers. No doubt they also ministered the Word along the way as they made the long journey from Antioch to Jerusalem. In a short time, the Spirit would call these two friends to join forces and take the Gospel to the Gentiles in other lands (Acts 13:1ff), and they would travel many miles together.

Another significant result from this ministry was the addition of John Mark to their "team" (Acts 12:25). It is likely that Mark was converted through the ministry of Peter (1 Peter 5:13). His mother's house was a gathering place for the Jerusalem believers (Acts 12:12), and she and Barnabas were related (Col. 4:10). Even though John Mark failed in his first "term" as a missionary (Acts 13:13), and helped cause a rift between Barnabas and Paul (Acts 15:38-40), he later became an effective assistant to Paul (2 Tim. 4:11) and was used of God to write the Gospel of Mark.

Postscript: Patterns of Church Leadership

The word elders in Acts 11:30 has not been used before in Acts, except to refer to the Jewish leaders (Acts 4:5, 23; 6:12). In the church, the elders were mature believers who had the spiritual oversight of the ministry (1 Peter 5:1; 2 John 1). When you compare Acts 20:17 and 28, and Titus 1:5 and 7, you learn that "elder" and "bishop" [overseer] are equivalent titles.
The elders/bishops were the "pastors" of the flocks, assisted by the deacons; and the qualifications for both are found in 1 Timothy 3.
Wherever Paul established churches, he saw to it that qualified elders were ordained to give leadership to the assemblies (Acts 14:23; Titus 1:5).
In the Jerusalem church, the Apostles and elders gave spiritual oversight (Acts 15:2, 4, 6, 22). The delegation from the Antioch church did not ignore the spiritual leaders in Jerusalem, but delivered the gift to them for distribution to the needy members. This is an important principle and should be heeded in this day when so many organizations want to get support from local churches.
Was it a humbling experience for the Jewish believers to receive help from the Gentiles? Perhaps, but it was also a beautiful demonstration of love and a wonderful testimony of unity. Sir Winston Churchill said, "We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give." It was an enriching experience for the churches in Jerusalem and in Antioch, for there is blessing both in giving and receiving when God's grace is in control. It is unfortunate when individual Christians and local churches forget those who have been a spiritual blessing to them. The church at Antioch is a splendid example of how we as believers ought to show gratitude in a practical way to those who have helped us in our Christian life.
Phillips Brooks was asked what he would do to revive a dead church, and he replied, "I would take up a missionary offering!" Sincerely thinking of others is still the best formula for a happy and useful Christian life, both for individuals and for churches.

Let us pray.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

IBS Seminar 10: Seminar Questions

Open

1. When have you felt separated from people because of cultural or racial differences?

Dig

2. How is God's power demonstrated in 9:32–43?

3. This is the first time Peter has been involved in raising someone from the dead. How might this help prepare him for what happens in chapter 10?

4. How did God prepare Cornelius for Peter (10:1–8)?

5. In what ways did God have to prepare Peter for Cornelius (10:9–33)?

6. What lessons do we learn from Cornelius' life?

7. Throughout the chapter, we see Peter in process concerning God's desire for him to take the gospel to the Gentiles. Trace the process of Peter's understanding.

8. What seemed to be the final and most convincing proof to Peter of God's working in the Gentiles (11:15–17)? Why?

9. In Chapter 11, what can we learn from the way Peter responded to his critics?

10. How do you see in this passage the true meaning of "Christian" being more fully discovered and lived out in a multicultural church?

Apply

11. What have you been criticized for recently?

12. How did you handle it?

13. What can you learn from this experience?

14. Is there any way in which you can identify with Peter's reluctance to take the Gospel to people who were different?

15. In what ways do you need to grow in relating to people of other cultures and races?