Written ~ 06-17-2024
Read Acts Chapter Eleven
Acts 11
Chapter eleven picks up right where we left off in chapter ten. Peter had spent several days at the home of Cornelius and with everything that had happened there, I’m sure he left rejoicing. Peter made his way back to Jerusalem and the news was spreading quickly that the Gentiles had also been touched by God.
Acts 11:1…
1 “Soon the news reached the apostles and other believers in Judea that the Gentiles had received the word of God.”
When Peter returned to Jerusalem, he was met with criticism from some of the Jewish believers, they were upset with the fact Peter had entered the home of a Gentile. Acts 11:2… “You entered the home of Gentiles and even ate with them!” they said.
Peter took time then to tell them everything that had happened, he told them about his vision about the “clean and unclean” animals and how the Lord said not to call something unclean if God had declared it clean. Peter went on to tell them how the Lord sent some men to find him to invite him the home of Cornelius. Peter continued by telling them about the angel who had appeared before Cornelius and how he was to summon Peter to his home.
Acts 11:15-18…
15 “As I began to speak,” Peter continued, “the Holy Spirit fell on them, just as He fell on us at the beginning. 16 Then I thought of the Lord’s words when He said, ‘John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’ 17 And since God gave these Gentiles the same gift He gave us when we believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I to stand in God’s way?”
18 When the others heard this, they stopped objecting and began praising God. They said, “We can see that God has also given the Gentiles the privilege of repenting of their sins and receiving eternal life.”
This news was truly a game changer. The Word of God was going out to people who had never heard the Scriptures, not like the Jewish people who may have had more opportunities to spend time at the synagogues and to study the Word. These were some very exciting times!
Back in chapters 8 and 9 we see the negative effects of persecution, the believers began scattering so they wouldn’t be arrested, imprisoned or killed. But now we are going to see the positive side of that persecution. Because the believers left their homes, left their comfort zones and ventured out into towns they hadn’t been to before, we will see the Gospel message being spread even further.
Acts 11:19-21…
19 “Meanwhile, the believers who had been scattered during the persecution after Stephen’s death traveled as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus, and Antioch of Syria. They preached the word of God, but only to Jews. 20 However, some of the believers who went to Antioch from Cyprus and Cyrene began preaching to the Gentiles about the Lord Jesus. 21 The power of the Lord was with them, and a large number of these Gentiles believed and turned to the Lord.”
The preaching to the Gentiles had already begun and what an awesome thing to see… “a large number of these Gentiles” were coming to the Lord!
In verse 9:22 we have Barnabus stepping into the spotlight. We were introduced to Barnabus back in Acts 4:36-37…
36 “…there was Joseph, the one the apostles nicknamed Barnabus (which means “Son of Encouragement”). He was from the tribe of Levi and came from the island of Cyprus. 37 He sold a field he owned and brought the money to the apostles.”
It seems that because of the explosion of brand-new believers that was occurring in Antioch, Barnabus was elected to go to Antioch and send word back to the church in Jerusalem with news of any possible chaos in the church since it was growing so rapidly.
Acts 11:22-24…
22 “When the church at Jerusalem heard what had happened, they sent Barnabas to Antioch. 23 When he arrived and saw this evidence of God’s blessing, he was filled with joy, and he encouraged the believers to stay true to the Lord. 24 Barnabas was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and strong in faith. And many people were brought to the Lord.”
Though the church in Jerusalen was fearful that the new believers in Antioch were possibly not grounded in the Word of God, in actuality it was quite the opposite! Barnabus found the church thriving and the evidence of the Holy Spirit filled his heart with joy. Barnabus lived up to his nickname “Son of Encouragement” because that’s exactly what he did while he was visiting the believers in Antioch. Looks like the presence of Barnabus helped to bring even more people to the Lord.
Acts 11:25-26…
25 Then Barnabas went on to Tarsus to look for Saul. 26 When he found him, he brought him back to Antioch. Both of them stayed there with the church for a full year, teaching large crowds of people. (It was at Antioch that the believers were first called Christians.)
This is the first mention of Saul (Paul) since his conversion back in chapter 9, Saul had gone back to his hometown of Tarsus after he had stayed with the apostles for a while in Jerusalem and Caesarea. There is no mention as to what Saul was doing in Tarsus, but I suppose he was teaching and preaching to the people there all about Jesus and how he was transformed. Barnabus went to Tarsus to find Saul, it’s important to recall that it was Barnabus who vouched for Saul to the apostles, he was the one who told the apostles all about Saul’s conversion story and it was by that testimony that Saul was able to stay with the apostles (Acts 9:27-28). In returning to Antioch, Barnabus and Saul stayed for a year, that’s a good chunk of time to preach and teach in the synagogue. It’s no wonder many more became believers through their teachings.
In the “Expositor’s Bible Commentary” I thought this next excerpt was quite interesting…
- Evidently it was the nonbelievers in Antioch that nicknamed this group of Jewish and Gentile believers “Christians.” (i.e., “Christ followers,” or “those of the household of Christ”).
Isn’t that something! Here I honestly thought for a very long time it was maybe the apostles or even Paul who coined the nickname “Christian”, but it wasn’t! It was the nonbelievers who were observing the new converts in Antioch.
Acts 11:27-30…
27 During this time some prophets traveled from Jerusalem to Antioch. 28 One of them named Agabus stood up in one of the meetings and predicted by the Spirit that a great famine was coming upon the entire Roman world. (This was fulfilled during the reign of Claudius.) 29 So the believers in Antioch decided to send relief to the brothers and sisters in Judea, everyone giving as much as they could. 30 This they did, entrusting their gifts to Barnabas and Saul to take to the elders of the church in Jerusalem.
Why is it important to know this little detail? Prophets from Jerusalem were coming into Antioch to share what the Lord had given them through a prediction from the Holy Spirit. During the time of great distress the believers helped one another. They made sure everyone had what they needed. The news of a famine coming to the entire Roman world caused the believers in Antioch to share what they had with the believers in Judea. They shared the responsibility of keeping the church strong so the message of Jesus could continue to spread.
For us it is also important to support the church, to help where we can so the Gospel can continue to reach the world. It is overwhelmingly vital that we see revival, that we see more Salvations. The Holy Spirit longs to be poured out across this land.
What is your part in continuing the spread of the Gospel message?
Is it that you bring joy and encouragement wherever you go?
Do you have the gift of teaching or preaching?
There are so many ways to deliver the Gospel message and just like the first century church we will see people coming to the Lord and the message of who Jesus Christ is will gain momentum.
My prayer is that I will continue to do my part to further the message of Jesus Christ. My prayer is that the Holy Spirit will use the words that I write to touch at least one person’s heart which causes them to catapult the message the Lord gives to them! My greatest desire… to bring hearts and minds to the knowledge of who Jesus is, through the Study of God’s Word.
Thank You Lord for speaking to my heart as I write down these thoughts.
~AMEN~