Life Project Blog

Acts 11:1-18

Having grown up in a predominantly Jewish neighborhood, I learned firsthand of the old Jewish attitudes about associating with Gentiles. Most of my friends were Jewish; they didn’t see any problem with us Gentiles, and for the most part, their parents were fine with us as well, but the grandparents were a different story. From time-to-time, I would be invited into their homes for a meal, and when a grandparent was present, the experience could be a bit awkward. My friends used quite a few Yiddish expressions, as their parents did, and as time went by, I picked up quite a bit and by the time I was learning to drive a car, I spoke Yiddish as well as some of my friends did; I learned that this would get the attention of a grandparent who didn’t think a goy should be at the dinner table.

I would simply speak to them in (imperfect) Yiddish, and they would invariably decide that I was OK for a Gentile, and I became an “honorary Jew” in several families― something I took pride in.

When the believers back in Jerusalem heard about Peter’s visit to Cornelius, they wanted an explanation: How could he even consider sitting down with goyim (not so nice term for Gentilesi.e. ‘dogs’)?

Peter gave his answer in 11:4-11, telling them about the vision God had given, about how they were not to call anything unclean that God has made clean. Then, he recounts his visit to Cornelius:

“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?” (11:15-17)

What could they say to that?

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.” (11:18)

Luke doesn’t actually say so, and I could be wrong, but I think I detect a little bit of astonishment in their reaction, for it is clear enough that not even Peter had previously considered that Jesus had saved all Mankind on the cross, that He had intended the Good News to be for all people, if “all people” included Gentiles. Yet to his enduring credit, when the time came for God to make this clear, Peter didn’t hesitate to accept God’s plans.

And so, the Jewish believers of Jerusalem accepted the Gentiles… well, sort of. This issue would remain controversial throughout the first century, and even into future centuries, and would become manifest in a variety of rather unattractive ways on both sides of the divide.

Acts 10:23-48

“I now realize how true it is that God does not show favoritism but accepts from every nation the one who fears him and does what is right.”

Peter and some other believers left the morning after the vision of the once forbidden fruit, along with the messenger sent to him, for a visit to Cornelius. When they arrived, Cornelius made arrangements for a big meal; all of his relatives had been invited, and Cornelius asked Peter to share everything with them that God had given to Peter to share.

Peter acknowledged that it was improper for a Jew to associate with Gentiles, and how God had sent him a vision to show him that He had declared them to be considered unclean no more, after which Peter began to tell them all about Jesus (10:36-43).

While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit came on all who heard the message. (10:44)

The significance of this sentence would be almost impossible to over-emphasize, for now, just as the Holy Spirit had come upon the apostles at Pentecost, He had come upon Gentiles for the very first time, for truly the Kingdom of heaven had come to Cornelius’ house. The Jewish believers who had made the trip with Peter were “astonished” for they actually heard the Gentiles speaking in tongues, just as the apostles had done, and to the Jewish mindset, this was unthinkable. Peter spoke to his cohorts:

“Surely no one can stand in the way of their being baptized with water. They have received the Holy Spirit just as we have.” (10:47)

All of those Gentiles were baptized; oh yes dear reader, this was the dawn of a whole new age.

Yet when Peter returned to Jerusalem, he would have some explaining to do.

Acts 10:1-23

Cornelius was a Roman, a Gentile, and a man who believed in the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; but he was not a Jew. He was a good man, who did many charitable works for the needy, and who prayed to God regularly. One day, he had a vision in which an angel of God told him to send for Peter and to have him come to Cornelius for a visit; Cornelius did as he was told (10:1-8).

The next day Peter, who was still in Joppa, had a vision also, but his vision was a little like a divinely sent video and a screen opened on which a large variety of unclean animals were displayed along with the message “Take, kill, and eat”. Naturally Peter objected, for as a good Jewish man, he would never even think about eating something forbidden by the old Law. But Peter was clearly told not to “call anything impure that God has made clean”; this was repeated three times.

A whole new age had dawned.

This was not merely a lesson on dietary laws and the culinary arts, for Peter was about to be approached by something else that was impure and unclean: Gentiles, specifically, the messengers sent to him by Cornelius. The vision ended with Peter being told to go downstairs to greet them. Apparently, Peter had taken this message to heart, for he invited them into the house to dine, something no good Jew was permitted to do.

What was really going on?

Just as the Gospel was not just for the city of Jerusalem, it was also not just for Jews, because Jesus did not die for Jews only; He died for all humanity’s redemption. Everything about Israel and Judaism had been but a picture of the reality which came through Jesus Christ, because through Him, God had not redeemed just one Nation, but all Nations, peoples, tribes, and tongues. Of course, it would take a little time for everyone to get used to this radical idea… I’m not quite certain that everyone has quite accepted it even now, but of course, that is a topic for another time.

Acts 9:32-43

In the beginning, the Gospel of Jesus Christ was preached in Jerusalem, and as it was preached, thousands came to believe and followed the Way. Yet, this was not to be a local thing, and God forced the message out of the city and into the surrounding region by means of persecution, and many more came to hear and believe the message of salvation in Christ. When the right time came, Jesus personally met the instigator of this persecution, Saul of Tarsus, on the road to Damascus, where Saul intended to continue his persecution. As a result of this meeting, Saul believed, and turned to Christ, ending the persecution. This section gives us two very vivid examples of what was going on in the region where the Gospel was preached, examples that remind us of what happened when Jesus Himself took His message of the Kingdom of heaven to the people.

The first of these examples falls within Acts 9:32-38 and involves a man named Aeneas who had been paralyzed and bedridden for eight years. Peter found him and healed him by the authority of Jesus Christ, with the result that many more came to believe his message.

The second involved a woman named Tabitha who lived in a nearby community (9:39-43). She was widely known as a good and godly woman who served the needs of others in a way that endeared her to her community; sadly, she had fallen sick and died. Having heard that Peter was in the vicinity, messengers were dispatched to ask him to come at once, which he did.  Upon his arrival, Peter found Tabitha laid out in a room full of mourners who told him about all the generous and kind things she had done in their midst.

Peter asked that the room be cleared and began to pray over Tabitha; she awoke, and Peter led her, very much alive, out to greet the others. Needless to say, the news of this was electric throughout the town…

During the ministry of Jesus, He took the message of the Kingdom to the common people, and wherever He went, the Kingdom was preached, the sick made well, the lame were healed, sight was restored to the blind, and impure spirits were driven out. Jesus was the very embodiment of the Kingdom, and He prepared His disciples to take His place when their time came, and in our story, their time had indeed come; now, they were the embodiments of the Kingdom, and where they went, the results were the same as when Jesus had gone before them.

Yet as amazing as this was, God was only just in the beginning phases of executing His eternal plans, and as we will soon see, a whole new chapter was about to begin…

Acts 9:20-31

After Saul regained his strength, he began to move about Damascus; he started preaching the Gospel in the synagogues there, to the amazement of everyone. His preaching became more and more powerful, and he taught that Jesus was the Son of God fearlessly, yet people were confused because it was common knowledge that he was the number-one persecutor of Christ’s followers.

His message was effective, Luke tells us that Saul proved “that Jesus is the Messiah”; the Jews in Damascus began to plot his murder.

Saul also seemed to have his problems with the believers, who feared him, yet he had gained enough confidence in the believing community for some of them to secrete him out of the city to escape the Jewish plots against him, and he traveled back to Jerusalem. Upon his arrival in that city, Saul attempted to join with the believers who remained, but they were having none of it, since they knew exactly who he was and what he had done to their brethren there; who can blame them?

Yet Barnabas stood up for Saul, telling the church what had happened on the Damascus road, how Saul had been converted by Jesus Himself, and how he had preached so boldly the name of Jesus in Damascus, and how he had come to be in Jerusalem. Apparently, the believers in Jerusalem more or less accepted Saul after that, but I can’t help wondering if some of them might still have harbored their suspicions. In any case, Saul moved about town preaching about Jesus, debating with his colleagues, and getting into a bit of a tiff with the Hellenistic Jews, who hatched a murderous plot against him; again murder for righteousness sake!

When the disciples heard of the plot, they once again secreted Saul out of town, and sent him off to Tarsus, no doubt relieved to have him gone. It is at this point in his narrative that Luke says something wonderful:

Then the church throughout Judea, Galilee and Samaria enjoyed a time of peace and was strengthened. Living in the fear of the Lord and encouraged by the Holy Spirit, it increased in numbers. (9:31)

Saul, now a Christian, was gone from the region; the persecution had ended, at least for now, and peace reigned once again. The people no longer lived in fear of persecution, they no longer lived in fear of Saul; they lived in the “fear of the Lord” instead. Thus, rather than fleeing for their lives, they lived in humble submission to God and the church was strengthened and the numbers of the redeemed increased. As I read these verses, I can’t help reflecting upon the fact that when Stephen addressed the Sanhedrin back in chapter seven, they went berserk, but it was Saul who took up the persecution, and now that Saul is no longer leading it, it dies out and peace returns to the region. Stephen seems to have been the catalyst, and Saul the instrument for God to spread the Gospel out of Jerusalem and into the surrounding region, just as Jesus had said that they would preach the Gospel first in Jerusalem and then in “all Judea and Samaria”. In the next passage, Luke tells us about the kinds of things that went on during this period, about some of the amazing things Peter was up to, and about some of the amazing people he encounters…

Acts 9:1-19

Luke has been telling us about the road trip adventures of Phillip, and now it would seem that Saul is about to hit the road as well. He has continued his persecution of the disciples in Jerusalem, and now he wants to make this outrage part of a road show, so he went to the chief priest for permission and gets it. As he was travelling towards Damascus with his goal more or less in sight, he has an encounter on the road that would change his life entirely, for he runs into none other than the risen Christ (9:1-1-3). Jesus, in a very bright light has a question for old Saul:

He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?”

“Who are you, Lord?” Saul asked.

“I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,” he replied. (9:4-5)

There is great significance in these verses, for Saul was out persecuting Christians, but Jesus, the risen Savior who sits at God’s right hand, sees things quite differently for in His eyes, Saul is persecuting the very One by whose Word the entire universe is held together. Notice, that Jesus says so here in both verse four and verse five. It was a fact in Saul’s day and it is a fact today, that anyone who persecutes the followers of Christ is persecuting Jesus Himself, and though I can take no real pleasure in saying so, they will suffer for it.

You all know the story from here; Saul’s companions must lead him by the hand the rest of the way into town, for Saul has lost his sight, although in the spiritual sense, he has been blind all along.

In Damascus they are to wait at a certain house for further instructions. Those instructions are actually given to a man named Ananias, who receives his instructions with some trepidation:

The Lord told him, “Go to the house of Judas on Straight Street and ask for a man from Tarsus named Saul, for he is praying. In a vision he has seen a man named Ananias come and place his hands on him to restore his sight.”

“Lord,” Ananias answered, “I have heard many reports about this man and all the harm he has done to your holy people in Jerusalem. And he has come here with authority from the chief priests to arrest all who call on your name.”

But the Lord said to Ananias, “Go! This man is my chosen instrument to proclaim my name to the Gentiles and their kings and to the people of Israel. I will show him how much he must suffer for my name.” (9:11-16)

I think Ananias’ concern was very reasonable, don’t you? Yet Jesus has a plan for this Saul of Tarsus, and Ananias had a vital role in bringing His plan to fruition. He obeys the Lord immediately, reminding us of the previous account of how Phillip did exactly what he was told to do. Saul’s sight is restored, Ananias baptizes him, and he rests up for what might come next.