The Book of Acts

The Church in Transition (11:1-30)

Part 1

Sermon Nineteen in the Series

Jim Bordwine, ThD

Introduction

As we have discovered in our examination of Acts, developments happened rapidly for the early Church. Consider the major events which have occurred thus far in our study: the Spirit's coming on the Day of Pentecost, which was the fulfillment of a promise made by the Savior and which marked the expansion of the saving knowledge of God to all the earth; the scattered persecution of believers, which revealed that the Church was destined to create controversy in the world as Her message challenged the notions and convictions held by sinners; the healing of the lame, which demonstrated the power of the resurrected Christ; the death of Stephen, which illustrated, among other things, how the resurrected Christ was guiding the events on earth to accomplish His purposes for the Church; a major and orchestrated attempt to persecute Christians following the death of Stephen which led to the scattering of believers throughout Palestine and which, in turn, led to the spread of the gospel in that same region; the conversion of Saul, which was a remarkable story of how Christ takes one who is the most feared and ferocious enemy of the Church and transforms him into one of the most influential figures in all of history; and the correction of Peter's theology, which, as I noted before, was a monumental event in terms of the early Church's comprehension of the nature of the gospel and Her mission to the people of the world.

Things are moving rapidly in Luke's account. Several years have passed between Pentecost and the last story we considered, which was the encounter between Peter and Cornelius. The crucifixion of the Savior occurred in AD 30; Pentecost occurred on May 26, AD 30; Stephen's death happened in AD 32-33; Saul was converted about AD 32; and Paul's first visit to Jerusalem, which was recorded in Acts 9, occurred in AD 35.

Today, we move on to chapter 11 where we read of several additional events demonstrating to us the Church in transition. As far as the calendar is concerned, these events take place in the early to late 40's. The famine, for example, which is mentioned toward the end of chapter 11, happened between AD 44 and 48 during the reign of Claudius. The financial relief delivered to the saints in Jerusalem by Paul and Barnabas, also mentioned at the close of chapter 11, happened about AD 45-46. So, we are coming to events that are approximately 10-15 years after the crucifixion and the Day of Pentecost.

I mention these dates so that we will understand that a lot of time is passing as we study Luke's stories. He weaves his reports together in such a fashion that the years that are going by are not necessarily obvious. The Church now has a full decade or more behind Her; she is growing rapidly and facing various obstacles and taking advantage of various opportunities. Chapter 11 provides information which helps us understand the transition taking place in the thinking and practice of the early Church. The Church is coming to a better comprehension of Her mission and a better comprehension of the unique nature of this institution.

In chapter 11, therefore, I will identify three transitional events. These events mark changes or adaptations in the Church's thinking and practice, as I just noted. First, we'll consider a declaration made by Peter when he returns to Jerusalem and faces questions about his association with the Gentiles; second, we'll look at the labors of Barnabas and see that this man was an important character in the beginning of Paul's ministry; third, we'll look at how the Church responded to a prophet named Agabus who foretold of a famine which would severely impact the condition of the saints living in Jerusalem.

01. The Declaration of Peter (vv. 1-18)

In these verses, Peter rehearses his recent experience with Cornelius. Before Peter offers this recap, we read these words:

1 Now the apostles and the brethren who were throughout Judea heard that the Gentiles also had received the word of God. 2 And when Peter came up to Jerusalem, those who were circumcised took issue with him, 3 saying, “You went to uncircumcised men and ate with them.” 4 But Peter began speaking and proceeded to explain to them in orderly sequence, saying… [this is where Peter begins telling the story of how he came to meet Cornelius]

The phrase “throughout Judea” probably means all of Palestine (cf. v. 1). Given the nature of the news, it is not at all surprising that it would have traveled rapidly among the Jews. I noted before that the idea of the Gentiles being included in the redemptive actions of God was a startling revelation to Peter. The same thing can be said in a general way about all the Jews of this day. No one anticipated such a development and there would be, therefore, more than a few who would disbelieve what they heard; and there would be more than a few who simply would oppose any such occurrence. Even the fact that Luke devotes so much space to the encounter between Peter and Cornelius, relative to his method when recording other events, is indicative of the significance of this step.

When Peter arrived in Jerusalem, we can be sure that he was questioned vigorously and repeatedly about the report which had been received. The brethren heard that “the Gentiles also had received the word of God.” The word “received” (dechomai) should be mentioned. It means more than that someone preached to the Gentiles. The word doesn't just mean that the Gentiles were exposed to the gospel. This term is used many times in the New Testament and usually refers to a situation in which a positive or active reply is made in response to something which arrives or is declared. Therefore, Luke means the Jews heard that the Gentiles had embraced the gospel-that is, the Gentiles heard the gospel and responded by “taking hold of it” (which is implied by the word).

After these rumors had been received, Peter came to Jerusalem and Luke writes that “those who were circumcised took issue with him…” (v. 2) The term translated “took issue” (diakrino) is a specific and technical term. It means “to separate, make a distinction, discriminate, prefer, give judgment.” With those definitions, you can see that this word has to do with examining a matter for the purpose of arriving at a conclusion. The conclusion, in such a case, has to do with the nature of the issue being considered-is it true, believable, possible? This word is used numerous times in the New Testament in precisely the manner I just described.

Therefore, the Jews in Jerusalem were not merely saying: “Hey, Peter, we hear the Gentiles are coming into the Church. Is this true?” They were applying the most energetic attention to the question of the Gentiles and their relationship to the Church. These Jewish believers wanted to know what happened, how it happened and what was to be made of this situation. Peter's name was, of course, linked directly to the story of the Gentiles, so he was the man of the hour when he arrived in Jerusalem. “You went to uncircumcised men and ate with them.” (v. 3) You can see by this statement that what I said before about the prejudice of the Jews against everyone non-Jewish is true. The very idea that Peter would visit Gentiles and eat with them was so serious a charge that this is all the Jews in Jerusalem had to say to communicate their intense feelings about this matter. Peter knew exactly what they meant and exactly what they had to be told.

This was the first great internal problem to face the young Church. What happened with the Gentiles was unexpected, as I noted, and had the potential to cause a major rupture in the Body. Luke takes care, therefore, to say that Peter began to explain “in orderly sequence.” (v. 4) The word used here (kathexes) means “one after another, successively.” Peter started at the beginning and, step by step, told the Jewish believers how he came to visit the Gentiles in Caesarea. And so, in vv. 5-16, Peter tells his questioners precisely what transpired:

5 “I was in the city of Joppa praying; and in a trance I saw a vision, a certain object coming down like a great sheet lowered by four corners from the sky; and it came right down to me, 6 and when I had fixed my gaze upon it and was observing it I saw the four-footed animals of the earth and the wild beasts and the crawling creatures and the birds of the air. 7 And I also heard a voice saying to me, 'Arise, Peter; kill and eat.' 8 But I said, 'By no means, Lord, for nothing unholy or unclean has ever entered my mouth.' 9 But a voice from heaven answered a second time, 'What God has cleansed, no longer consider unholy.' 10 And this happened three times, and everything was drawn back up into the sky. 11 And behold, at that moment three men appeared before the house in which we were staying, having been sent to me from Caesarea. 12 And the Spirit told me to go with them without misgivings. And these six brethren also went with me, and we entered the man's house. 13 And he reported to us how he had seen the angel standing in his house, and saying, 'Send to Joppa, and have Simon, who is also called Peter, brought here; 14 and he shall speak words to you by which you will be saved, you and all your household. ' 15 And as I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell upon them, just as He did upon us at the beginning. 16 And I remembered the word of the Lord, how He used to say, 'John baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit.'”

Peter's story is familiar to us. It can be summarized in four segments. First, Peter had a vision which puzzles him and which seems to contradict what he's been taught and what he has practiced as a faithful Jew. Nevertheless, in this vision, Peter is definitely commanded to do that which he considered unlawful; and the explanation given for this command was, indeed, authoritative. God was giving new instructions, Peter concluded. Second, men arrived from Caesarea and Peter was told by the Spirit to accompany these men without raising a question. This, too, was an odd development, but again, Peter's instructions come with authority. In this case, the Holy Spirit commanded him to go with the men. Third, Peter entered the home of Cornelius and heard that man explain what he had experienced. Cornelius reported that he, too, had a vision in which he was commanded to summon Peter from Joppa. Cornelius was also told that Peter would “speak words to [him] by which [he would] be saved [along with his household].” (v. 14) This last statement, by the way, sheds new light on what we studied in the previous section. God is acting covenantally in His inclusion of the Gentiles. He is following the same pattern seen in the Old Testament with regard to the way the Jews related to God and His favor. Fourth, Peter witnessed the arrival of the Holy Spirit in the home of Cornelius. This last element is of tremendous import and I want to emphasize the implications.

Therefore, I call attention again to vv. 15, 16: 15 “And as I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell upon them, just as He did upon us at the beginning. 16 And I remembered the word of the Lord, how He used to say, 'John baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit.'” Notice that statement: “the Holy Spirit fell upon them, just as He did upon us at the beginning.” The coming of the Spirit was the definitive act which signaled the beginning of the resurrected Savior's ministry from heaven; it was the first step in the revolutionary manner in which God would relate to the human race from that day forward. Now Peter is saying that this definitive experience had been repeated with the Gentiles. Peter also reminds the Jewish believers that the baptism of the Holy Spirit was what Jesus taught them to expect as He began His post-resurrection ministry.

If Peter is correct-if the Holy Spirit did fall upon the Gentiles just as He did on the Jews at Pentecost-then this is the end to any argument. This is an event which cannot be debated. The Gentiles have been designated as recipients of God's grace in the same manner as the Jews. If the Gentiles are not accepted as fellow-heirs of salvation, then the Jews themselves cannot be heirs of salvation. That's how much significance must be attached to the Holy Spirit's arrival in the home of Cornelius. This isn't a case of the Church deciding who would be included and who would be excluded; this is a case of Christ identifying who would be part of His Body.

Peter concludes: 17 “If God therefore gave to them the same gift as He gave to us also after believing in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I that I could stand in God's way?” Peter understands what I just stated, namely, that the coming of the Holy Spirit upon the Gentiles had an authoritative meaning. Like it or not, the Gentiles were among those for whom the Savior suffered and died. So, Peter surmised, “Who was I that I could stand in God's way”? In other words, he says to the Jewish believers, “I'm not the one who decided to include the Gentiles in the Church; it is God who has made this truth known.” Peter was merely being obedient to the instructions given him by the Spirit. He had no choice but to go to the home of Cornelius and explain the gospel. This was God's doing, not his.

“And when they heard this, they quieted down, and glorified God, saying, 'Well then, God has granted to the Gentiles also the repentance that leads to life.'” (v. 18) No other conclusion could be stated. The evidence was beyond suspicion. Peter had not willfully abandoned his heritage; he had not decided one day to throw out all the things he'd been taught about association between Jews and Gentiles. Peter was instructed and led to the Gentiles in spite of what he believed and in spite of what he preferred. This was, as I said, God's doing and no opposition could now be raised to the inclusion of the Gentiles in the Church.

You'll notice that the Jews on this occasion speak of “repentance.” This indicates they understood that the central issue is sin. Sin is what separates fallen man from God; sin is what prevents fallen man from living in harmony with his Creator. Sin is what entered God's world at the time of Adam's disobedience and sin is what brought Jesus Christ into the same world to give Himself to pay the penalty of sin and live in such a manner that those who are united with Him by faith are credited with His righteousness. This statement from those who had been questioning Peter reveals, therefore, that both Jews and Gentiles were sinners, both Jews and Gentiles were in need of reconciliation to God, both Jews and Gentiles had to have Another pay for their transgressions and accomplish what they could not accomplish.

Even those who were most vocal about Peter's contact with the Gentiles realized that this development was tremendously important. They realized that this meant the beginning of an aspect of their redemption which they had never imagined. Luke says they “glorified God” as they heard Peter's explanation and came to realize what God was doing. Indeed, this was an occasion to glorify God. They were learning that the mission of the Messiah was much broader than they had dreamed; they were learning that the redemption promised by God was, in fact, of the whole human race, not just of the Jews. This was a humbling and exciting revelation. It marked a transition in the thinking of the early Church and soon, this change in thinking will manifest itself in a missionary zeal centering on Paul.

Application

For our application, I'll list four observations based on this section of Acts 11. First, we should realize that one of the easily over-looked themes in the book of Acts, especially in the first half of the book, is the mercy of God. When we study Acts, we notice that several issues stand out-we have the coming of the Holy Spirit, the incredible miracles which take place, the persecution of believers, the death of believers, the stunning conversion of Paul and so forth. What can be over-looked in all of this material is the simple mercy of God. This mercy is demonstrated in His inclusion of the Gentiles in the company of the redeemed.

When God indicated that the Gentiles were going to be included in the Church, this was an absolutely shocking development from everyone's perspective. The Jews, as I've emphasized, did not expect that God would reveal Himself to those outside Israel to the degree and in the manner He had revealed Himself to them. As we think about this, it would be beneficial for us to ask why God would do such a thing. Did the Gentiles deserve to be included among God's people? Did the Gentiles in some way merit the gift of the Spirit and the gospel? We know the answer to these questions. We know that no one, regardless of circumstances ever deserves or merits God's blessing. So, how do we explain the fact that the Gentiles are allowed to come into the Church? We explain it by looking to God's mercy.

God, in His mercy, by His grace, decreed that the Gentiles should hear and believe the gospel and be reconciled. This was a truth which the Jews, who had been so favored by God over the centuries, needed to grasp. This was a time in the history of Israel when this understanding of how God operates was almost unknown. The Savior's encounters with the religious leaders of Israel during His ministry proved the validity of this statement. God's grace had been replaced with the notion that God blesses in response to meticulous adherence to a set of rules and regulations. Nothing could have blown apart this philosophy more quickly than the inclusion of the Gentiles in the Church. The Gentiles had never given any thought to pleasing the true God. The Gentiles, generally speaking, didn't attempt to worship the true God. The Gentiles has not been given God's laws, had not heard God prophets and new very little of what God had done. But now they are coming into the Church in the same manner as the privileged Jews. And this was because of God's mercy and His mercy alone.

Second, this story reminds us again of something I mentioned in a previous application, namely, that sometimes the sincerely held convictions of men must give way to the will of God. When Peter arrived in Jerusalem, the Jewish believer immediately questioned him about the reports concerning the Gentiles. Had he really entered the house of a Gentile? Had he really eaten with a bunch of Gentiles? It's interesting to note that the first question asked was not “Is it true that the Gentiles have received the Spirit?” If the Jews in Jerusalem heard that Peter visited Cornelius, then I think we can assume they also heard that something unusual happened while Peter was in that house. In fact, 11:1 indicates that there was more to the rumors than that Peter had visited some Gentiles. So, it is worth noting how the Jewish disdain for the Gentiles shaped their initial conversation with Peter.

In time, of course, as Peter presented evidence that could not be refuted, the Jews in Jerusalem stopped their accusations and realized that God was doing something which was unexpected. He was doing something which they did not approve of, but this was God who was including the Gentiles, so they had to accept it and adjust their thinking immediately. We're talking not just of a lifetime of convictions which had to be cast away; we're talking about an ingrained doctrine which had been present in the Jewish mind for centuries. It would take a shocking demonstration from God, such as that which Peter witnessed, to convince the Jews that the Gentiles were, indeed, to be received as fellow-heirs of salvation. In this story, we see the beginning of the correction which is going to take place in the thinking of the Jews. It would not be easy and this would not be the last time the early Church would be troubled by this controversy, but this story does illustrate, as I said, that there are times when such turmoil must be endured for the sake of truth.

Third, this section of chapter 11 points us to another theme in Acts which can easily be over-looked as we get interested in the stories and the characters. In this case, I have in mind what we learn from Acts about sin. What is at the heart of all the activity recorded in Acts? Why did Christ come and die? Why did Pentecost happen? Why did the resurrected Savior send out apostles? The answer, interestingly enough, is given by the Jews in Jerusalem when they react to Peter's explanation about his contact with the Gentiles: “Well then, God has granted to the Gentiles also the repentance that leads to life.” (v. 18) Repentance the key word in their statement. The reception of the gospel meant repentance and this repentance had to do with the fact that the Gentiles were alienated from God due to their sin.

From one perspective, Acts is a record of how God determined to bring relief to a human race corrupted by sin. Acts immediately demonstrates the unmatched power of the risen Christ as He sends the Spirit, heals the lame, delivers His people from the hands of their enemies, converts His enemies and, in a short time, causes knowledge of the gospel to be spread across the region. This is all connected to man's sin problem and God's merciful answer to that problem. Fallen man would not be left to perish in misery and separation from his Creator. That Creator had decreed man's restoration. What we see in Acts is what has been going on for 2000 years. We, today, are part of the continuing story which began on Pentecost. God is saving us from our sin.

Fourth, we have an example of how we should respond when we learn that God is doing something far more marvelous then we ever imagined. Luke wrote that the Jews who were so quick to question Peter simply glorified God when they heard his testimony. Peter put the matter so bluntly: “who was I that I could stand in God's way?” Exactly. The Jews had to learn that God was doing something they never expected, something they opposed. Peter learned this truth and now the Jewish believers in Jerusalem have learned it. What could they do but glorify God? Redemption was suddenly so much larger than they ever believed; God's goodness was suddenly so much richer than they ever imagined.

Conclusion

This last matter is one for us to consider as we share the sacrament this morning. What can we do but glorify God when we consider what He has done for us? We would not be here, we would not be saved were it not for God's grace. So we are bound to glorify Him by holding His name in reverence and by offering our thanksgiving and praise.