SCRIPTURE: ACTS 11
Bible Verses:
“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. I looked into it and saw four-footed animals of the earth, wild beasts, reptiles and birds. Then I heard a voice telling me, ‘Get up, Peter. Kill and eat.’ “I replied, ‘Surely not, Lord! Nothing impure or unclean has ever entered my mouth.’ “The voice spoke from heaven a second time, ‘Do not call anything impure that God has made clean.’ This happened three times, and then it was all pulled up to heaven again.” (Acts 11:5-9)
“So if God gave them the same gift as he gave us, who believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I to think that I could oppose God?” (Acts 11:27)
“ The Lord’s hand was with them, and a great number of people believed and turned to the Lord.” (Acts 11:21)
“ The Lord’s hand was with them, and a great number of people believed and turned to the Lord.” (Acts 11:29-30)
PETER EXPLAINS HIS ACTIONS (vs. 1-18)
The circumcised believers in Jerusalem criticized Peter for preaching for the uncircumcised Gentiles and ate with them. But Peter explained to them the vision of four footed animals of the earth, wild beasts, reptiles and birds of the air that God told him to kill and eat. He refused but God said: “Do not call anything impure that God has made” (v. 9). So Peter did not hesitate to go with the men sent from Caesarea. When Peter spoke to them, the Holy Spirit came and God granted the Gentiles repentance unto life.
THE CHURCH IN ANTIOCH (vs. 19-30)
During the persecution of Stephen, people scattered and traveled as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus and Antioch and preached the gospel to the Jews only. However, some men from Cyprus and Cyrene went to Antioch and spoke to Greek about the good news of the Lord Jesus. A great number of people believed and turned to the Lord.
Barnabas was sent by the church of Jerusalem to Antioch. He was glad to see the evidence of the grace of God and encouraged them to remain true to the Lord with their hearts. Barnabas went to Tarsus to look for Saul and bought him to Antioch. Both of them taught at church and the disciples were called Christians.
A prophet named Agabus through the Spirit predicted that a severe famine would spread over the entire Roman World. The disciple provided help to brothers living in Judea. They sent their gifts to the elders by Barnabas and Saul.
THOUGHTS:
- Peter proved that his going to Cornelius was God’s will with these revelations: (A)-his own personal experience (vs 5-11), (B)-the leading of the Spirit (v. 12), (C)-the Word of God *v. 16). Today, if we want to do God’s will, we need these 3 essentials: personal testimony; the leading of the Spirit in our hearts; and clear teaching of the Word of God.
- The believers in Jerusalem were shocked to see Peter eating with the Gentiles. But after hearing the story, they praised God. Let us not judge fellow believers before knowing the whole truth. We have to handle disagreement in a Christian way.
- Barnabas means “Son of encouragement”, He enlisted Saul and put him to work in Antioch church that led them to bring the message of salvation to the Gentiles. Let us follow the example of Barnabas to minister with kindness and encouragement to fellow believers and bring the good news of God’s grace to all nations.
- There was closed fellowship between the church in Antioch and church in Jerusalem. When there was a famine, the Gentile believers sent material aid according to their ability to the believers in Judea as an expression of Christian love.
- Barnabas and Paul stayed in Antioch for a full year teaching the new believers. It is important to spend time teaching and encouraging new believers for their faith to grow through Bible study.