Jerusalem and Antioch

Acts 11 

Good morning! Today we are going to explore the eleventh chapter of the book of Acts. Last week, we looked at chapter 10. We saw the story of Cornelius, a Gentile centurion whom Scripture describes as “God-fearing,” along with his family. From other writings, we know that there were other Gentiles who could be described in this way. The historian Josephus wrote only a few decades after the fall of the Temple in AD 70 that there were a good number of Gentiles attracted to Jewish ceremonies and incorporated with Jews in some measure.

 

Now these Gentile God-lovers or God-worshipers were not Jewish, and even though there was a way for Gentiles to be fully converted into Judaism, most of these people chose not to do so. There were multiple reasons for this, including the fact that Jews were stigmatized in Greek and Roman society. There was also the burden of having to perform all the Jewish laws, including the rules Pharisees had placed on top of the Law, and there were special tax requirements. There was also the need for adult circumcision, which few would want to do. There was no way to be a “closet Jew” in that culture, as the Jews kept their hair in identifying ways and had special clothing. There was also the issue of identification through circumcision in the public baths and gymnasiums, places the Jews generally avoided because the Greeks and Romans considered this to be abhorrent. For all these reasons, most of these God-loving Gentiles instead chose to remain Gentiles and simply worship the Jewish God in their own way. But some of these Gentiles went further, although still not to the point of becoming Jews themselves. They would help out the local Jewish congregations in whatever way they could and whatever way their help was accepted. Luke describes one such man, another Gentile centurion, in his gospel: 

 

When Jesus had finished saying all this to the people who were listening, He entered Capernaum. 

 

There a centurion’s servant, whom his master valued highly, was sick and about to die. The centurion heard of Jesus and sent some elders of the Jews to Him, asking Him to come and heal his servant. When they came to Jesus, they pleaded earnestly with Him, “This man deserves to have You do this, because he loves our nation and has built our synagogue.” So Jesus went with them. 

 

He was not far from the house when the centurion sent friends to say to Him: “Lord, don’t trouble Yourself, for I do not deserve to have You come under my roof. That is why I did not even consider myself worthy to come to You. But say the word, and my servant will be healed. For I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I tell this one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and that one, ‘Come,’ and he comes. I say to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.” 

 

When Jesus heard this, He was amazed at him, and turning to the crowd following Him, He said, “I tell you, I have not found such great faith even in Israel.” Then the men who had been sent returned to the house and found the servant well. – Luke 7:1-10 

 

Note that the centurion “loves the nation [that is, the Jewish nation of Israel] and had built their synagogue.” I don’t think this means he built it single-handedly, but that he had played an important role. 

 

Why did the centurion not consider himself worthy to have Jesus come under his roof? Well, in part it was because he had some inkling, some idea, of who this person was: certainly someone very strongly favored by God. But I think perhaps also part of the reason was because of the Jewish rules about separation between Jew and Gentile, along with the fact that this centurion felt guilty for not going all the way and becoming a convert to Judaism.  

 

In any case, Cornelius, the centurion of Acts 10, is also a God-fearer, and one day he has a vision in which he sees an angel of God, who tells him to send men to Joppa to bring back someone named Simon Peter, who is staying with someone named Simon the tanner. 

 

They left the next day, and that same day, Peter also had a vision. He saw a sheet being let down to earth from heaven containing all kinds of animals, and a voice told Peter to get up and eat. Peter in the vision objected, because the animals included those that were prohibited under Jewish law as described in Leviticus 11. But the voice told Peter not to declare unclean something which God had declared clean. 

 

What does this mean? Well, it is indeed true that Leviticus 11 prohibits eating certain animals as part of the Mosaic Law. But these laws were specifically given to the Jewish people. An older “law,” as it were, made no such prohibition. From Genesis 9: 

 

Then God blessed Noah and his sons, saying to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the earth. The fear and dread of you will fall on all the beasts of the earth, and on all the birds in the sky, on every creature that moves along the ground, and on all the fish in the sea; they are given into your hands. Everything that lives and moves about will be food for you. Just as I gave you the green plants, I now give you everything. – Genesis 9:1-3 

 

And so the law given to the Jews goes further than the “law” given to Noah and his sons. Now, returning to Peter’s vision, which occurs two more times: Peter is left to ponder what it means, when Cornelius’ men find Peter. At this point the Spirit spoke to Peter and told him to go with them. It is interesting that the men describe Cornelius to Peter in terms similar to what we saw in Luke: 

 

We have come from Cornelius the centurion. He is a righteous and God-fearing man, who is respected by all the Jewish people. – Acts 10:22a 

 

When Peter gets to Cornelius’ house, he finds there not only Cornelius and his immediate family, but also his relatives and friends, all of whom presumably are God-fearers. Peter interprets his vision to mean that he should break the traditional rule about not associating with or visiting a Gentile, because “who is he to declare unclean what God declares clean?” He asks why he was sent for, and Cornelius explains his vision instructing him to do so. 

 

I find a great deal of humor in this situation. It reminds me of some old movies where someone is trying to get two people back together by implying that each person sent for the other. Then they meet, fall back in love, and live happily ever after. Actually, that sounds more like a Hallmark movie. 

 

Anyways, Peter explained the gospel to them, they received the message gladly, and the Holy Spirit came upon them. They were baptized, and then Peter stayed with them a few days to instruct them and build them up further. This takes us to Acts 11: 

 

The apostles and the believers throughout Judea heard that the Gentiles also had received the word of God. So when Peter went up to Jerusalem, the circumcised believers criticized him and said, “You went into the house of uncircumcised men and ate with them.” – Acts 11:1-3 

 

Usually we reserve the application of a message for the end, but I want to give you the application I have been thinking about right now. Has something like this ever happened to you? Do you do something good, something people should be overjoyed about, only to receive criticism for your actions? At work, this has happened to me many times. What is my natural inclination? To be angry. What is my natural temptation in terms of how to respond? To attack my criticizers. Peter here has done nothing wrong; indeed, he has followed the direct leading of the Holy Spirit. Why are the believers here criticizing him? Why are they focusing on a Pharisaic law? Don’t they understand how monumental this is? Don’t they remember Jesus’ own words about bringing the gospel to Judea, Samaria, and then even the ends of the earth? It’s time for a fiery response, isn’t it? Let’s look at what Peter actually does.  

 

Starting from the beginning, Peter told them the whole story: “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.  

 

“Right then three men who had been sent to me from Caesarea stopped at the house where I was staying. 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. He told us how he had seen an angel appear in his house and say, ‘Send to Joppa for Simon who is called Peter. He will bring you a message through which you and all your household will be saved.’ 

 

As I began to speak, the Holy Spirit came on them as He had come on us at the beginning. Then I remembered what the Lord had said: ‘John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’ 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?” – Acts 11:4-17 

 

So let’s analyze Peter’s response. Did he breathe fire on them? No. Did he tell them how stupid they were to focus on this? No. Does he accept where they are at and not express disappointment in them? Yes. Does he realize that they haven’t gone through the same experience as he has, so they of course have no idea what is going on? Yes. Does he patiently tell them what has happened, with details? Yes. Does he provide evidence that his account is true? Yes—by pointing out the six men who were with him. And note his final words. He asks a rhetorical question: what choice did I have? He doesn’t say, “Who are you to think that…” but instead says, “Who was I to think that…”  

 

He refuses to feel offended, and he assumes the best. I think of I Corinthians 13:5, which includes the words “Love is not easily angered,” and I Corinthians 13:7, which includes “Love always hopes.” 

 

So how did they respond? Did they respond like the Pharisees surely would have, saying that none of this matters, Jews are not to associate with Gentiles, blah blah blah? Let’s see: 

 

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.” – Acts 11:18 

 

Now I cannot promise that you will have such wonderful outcomes in situations in your own life, especially with unbelievers, but even with believers too, as we are all sinners, all at different stages of growth in Christ. But the imperfect actions of others we deal with does not gives us license to sin. In any case, I think Peter’s response to the accusation is beautiful, and I think the Jews’ response to Peter’s response is equally beautiful. 

 

It is hard for us to appreciate how radical a change this was. The story of God Himself speaking to Cornelius in a vision occurs three times: at the beginning of Acts 10 when it happens, in the middle of Acts 10 when Cornelius explains why he has sent for Peter, and here in Acts 11 as part of Peter’s explanation to the other Jews. Acts could have simply said, “Cornelius told them what happened.” And “Peter told them what happened.” But that was not the Holy Spirit’s plan. Any time something appears in triplicate, it is extremely important. God is the One behind the scenes (like in a Hallmark movie) bringing these two groups, Jews and Gentiles, together. He is the divine matchmaker. This was always His plan. The Israelites, the Jews, were His planned vehicle for bringing salvation to the ends of the earth. They were never the end point. They were only the beginning.  

 

I think of these verses from Ephesians 2: 

 

Therefore, remember that formerly you who are Gentiles by birth and called “uncircumcised” by those who call themselves “the circumcision” (which is done in the body by human hands)— remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ.  

 

For He Himself is our peace, who has made the two groups one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, by setting aside in His flesh the Law with its commands and regulations. His purpose was to create in Himself one new humanity out of the two, thus making peace, and in one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which He put to death their hostility. He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near. For through Him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit. – Ephesians 2:11-18 

 

And I also think of these verses from Romans 10: 

 

As Scripture says, “Anyone who believes in Him will never be put to shame.” For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile—the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on Him, for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” – Romans 10:11-13 

 

Praise God for His wonderful plan of salvation! 

 

I want to mention one more thing—this is about Peter. Consider what Jesus said to him when He gave him the name Peter: 

 

When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?” 

 

They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” 

 

“But what about you?” He asked. “Who do you say I am?”  

 

Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” 

 

Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by My Father in heaven. And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” – Mathew 16:13-19 

 

What are the keys of the kingdom of heaven? Keys unlock doors. These doors, symbolically, are the doors to the kingdom of heaven. Jesus is giving Peter the authority to open the doors, so to speak, and invite the world to enter through Jesus. And remember the verse about Judea, Samaria, and the ends of the earth? Peter unlocks the doors in each case. He unlocked the doors for Judea in Acts 2 when he preached in Jerusalem after the rushing wind, the tongues of fire, and the speaking in other languages. After Peter’s message, 3000 people came to faith. He, along with Philip and John, unlocked the doors for Samaria in Acts 8. And Peter unlocked the door for the first Gentile believers in Acts 10.  As for the binding and loosening, I believe the principle is that binding is declaring someone unrepentant as not fit for heaven, and loosening is declaring someone repentant and trusting in Christ as fit for heaven. And we see both actions in Peter. The binding, in particular, we see in Peter’s confrontations with Ananias and Sapphira in Acts 5, and also with Simon the Sorcerer in Acts 8. I would say that the loosening refers to Peter’s role in both the Samaritans and the Gentiles coming to faith in Christ but more generally refers to Peter’s role in evangelism overall in the early church: giving people the gospel and giving them the opportunity to repent and believe. 

 

Now let’s continue on in Acts: 

 

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. 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. The Lord’s hand was with them, and a great number of people believed and turned to the Lord. – Acts 11:19-21 

 

We don’t get the same level of detail here that we did with Cornelius, but this too is a huge advancement of the kingdom of God. The Scripture gives no indication that these were people who were already God-fearing. Based on the verses to come, I believe that these are just general Gentiles, initially unfamiliar and unsupportive of Judaism or Israel. Yet they listened to the message, took it to heart, repented, and believed. And it is not just a few Gentiles, but a “great number.”  

 

Note that reaching out to those unfamiliar with Judaism and worshiping other gods (or who maybe were atheists) required a very different approach than reaching out to those who already are familiar with the Old Testament and who believe in the true God. We will see multiple examples of what this approach may look like later in Acts with Paul. 

 

News of this reached the church in Jerusalem, and they sent Barnabas to Antioch. 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. He was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and faith, and a great number of people were brought to the Lord. – Acts 11:22-24 

 

And so we see, once again, word of these things reaches Jerusalem. Barnabas is sent, and does he tell them not to associate with Gentiles? No, he does the opposite. He rejoices with them and builds up the new believers. Again, I think we struggle to realize how radical this really was for that time. 

 

Jesus hinted that this would happen. There are several parables that fit, but let me point out a parable in Mark: 

 

“A man planted a vineyard. He put a wall around it, dug a pit for the winepress and built a watchtower. Then he rented the vineyard to some farmers and moved to another place. At harvest time he sent a servant to the tenants to collect from them some of the fruit of the vineyard. But they seized him, beat him and sent him away empty-handed. Then he sent another servant to them; they struck this man on the head and treated him shamefully. He sent still another, and that one they killed. He sent many others; some of them they beat, others they killed. 

 

“He had one left to send, a son, whom he loved. He sent him last of all, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’  

 

“But the tenants said to one another, ‘This is the heir. Come, let’s kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.’ So they took him and killed him, and threw him out of the vineyard. 

 

“What then will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and kill those tenants and give the vineyard to others. Haven’t you read this passage of Scripture: “‘The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; the Lord has done this, and it is marvelous in our eyes’?” – Mark 12:1-11 

 

Notice that the bringing of the gospel to non-God-fearing Greeks only began when the persecution by the Jews broke out after Stephen was killed. It is important to not try to match the details of the parable to the sequential events in Acts, as that is not what a parable does. It simply comes “alongside” (which is what “parable” means) to present a truth through a story. And the truth here is that eventually, after the Jews continue to reject the gospel of Jesus Christ, the gospel will be presented to gentiles, to non-Jews. And the stone the builders rejected is Christ; and Christ is the cornerstone of the church. If Jews won’t recognize or accept this, then it will be presented to Gentiles, who will. 

 

Then Barnabas went to Tarsus to look for Saul, 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. – Acts 11:25-26 

 

There is a great irony here. Saul/Paul, now a saved believer in Christ, is helping Barnabas to build up the church in Antioch, a church of Gentile believers that only came to exist because of Paul’s persecution of the Jewish believers after the death of Stephen. Paul had to realize this. It must have been humbling to see how what Paul meant for evil God had turned into good. 

 

It’s not surprising to me that a new name for these early believers came up at Antioch. It makes sense because the believers at Antioch were primarily neither Jews nor God-fearers. It wouldn’t have made sense to call them any of the names that had been used previously, like Jewish followers of Christ, or followers of the Way, because these all had Jewish connotations. And it didn’t make sense to come up with a phrase that had the word “Gentile” in it, because, in Christ, there is neither Jew nor Gentile. And so “Christ followers” made sense, or the more compact “Christians” (“Christianos/Christiani” in Greek). 

 

As you can see, Antioch was becoming an important center for the church. It would be good to say a little bit about the city. Antioch at the time of Acts was a huge city, with about half a million inhabitants. It was about 300 miles north of Jerusalem. It was considered the number three city in the Roman world, behind Rome and Alexandria. Unlike these other two cities, it had a reputation for being filled with crude, violent, uncultured but commercially savvy people. It was on a trade route and had become very wealthy. 

 

(There is not much in the way of archaeology to discuss about Antioch from this time period. In limited excavations, major structures known to have existed have not been found. Because it was such a large city, it is easy to dig and not find what you are looking for. The modern government has focused on development over preservation of history.) 

 

This brings us to our final portion of the passage for today:   

 

During this time some prophets came down from Jerusalem to Antioch. 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.) The disciples, as each one was able, decided to provide help for the brothers and sisters living in Judea. This they did, sending their gift to the elders by Barnabas and Saul. – Acts 11:27-30 

 

The Greek wording here is interesting – in particular, the idea of a famine “spreading.” What we find from the early historians is that indeed, there were a series of famines that affected the Roman world during the reign of Claudius region by region. Tacitus, Dio Cassius, Orosious, Suetonius, and Josephus all write of crop failures and famines. Josephus in particular mentions a severe famine that affected Judea in around AD 45-47. Suetonius explains that these continual famines meant that there was an ongoing shortage of grain in the Roman world. Based on all these accounts, it is safe to say that Agabus’ prophecy came true. Agabus will reappear later in Acts, giving another prophecy specifically to Paul. 

 

Do prophecies such as Agabus’ occur today? I’m not willing to say that it is impossible, but a lot of what passes for prophecy is so vague that it is impossible to deny that it hasn’t been fulfilled, at least in part. Agabus’ prophecy was pretty specific – and it was not given for the personal benefit of either Agabus or his listeners. It was on behalf of the Jerusalem church. And at this time, prophets were held accountable, at least in the spirit, if not the letter, of Old Testament law. In the Old Testament, if a prophet gave a false prophecy, not only would he be declared a false prophet, but he would be killed. The fact that Agabus was taken seriously implies that he had a history of making prophecies that later came true. And the fact that Agabus was still listened to much later in Acts implies that his prophecy in this chapter also came true. 

 

Now, the church in Jerusalem was very poor, in part due to the rejection of Christianity by the Jews and the ongoing persecution there. In contrast, Antioch was a very rich city, and so it made sense for the church there to take up an offering to help the Jerusalem church. Also, the Jerusalem church was where it all began, so to speak, and without the believers in Jerusalem, there would have never become a church in Antioch. Thus, there was extra motivation to give sacrificially to help meet the present and future needs of the church in Jerusalem. And this is what they did, sending Paul and Barnabas to deliver the gift. 

 

After this gift, it would be hard for anyone truly in the faith at Jerusalem to question whether the church in Antioch was a legitimate part of the kingdom of God. Clearly they were, giving to strangers in Jerusalem as if they were close family. And what a role reversal! In some ways, the very center of Christianity (which includes the very center of “true” Judaism) is moving from Jerusalem to Antioch!  

 

And here I see a second application of our passage. Do you remember the first application? It is to seek to preserve unity and the bonds of Christian love even when you are wrongly accused by someone. And here is the second application: We are not just Clemson Community Church. We are part of God’s worldwide church. I encourage you to be generous in your giving not only to CCC but also to the needs of the global church as the Spirit leads you to give, not under compulsion, but willingly (to roughly paraphrase 2 Corinthians 9:7-8). Note also that when you give to CCC, a portion of your gift goes internationally as well. And if you have questions about where to give, I encourage you to talk with one of our pastors.  May we all apply this passage and show grace to those who malign us as well as give generously to the Lord’s work around the world.