A Study of Acts: Peter Explains His Actions
Acts 11: 1-18 - God has brought His Glory to Earth and to all people who repent!
“Now the apostles and the brethren who were throughout Judea heard that the Gentiles also had received the word of God. And when Peter came up to Jerusalem, those who were circumcised took issue with him, saying, “You went to uncircumcised men and ate with them.” But Peter began speaking and proceeded to explain to them in orderly sequence, saying, “I was in the city of Joppa praying; and in a trance I saw a vision, an object coming down like a great sheet lowered by four corners from the sky; and it came right down to me, and when I had fixed my gaze on 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. I also heard a voice saying to me, ‘Get up, Peter; kill and eat.’ But I said, ‘By no means, Lord, for nothing unholy or unclean has ever entered my mouth.’ But a voice from heaven answered a second time, ‘What God has cleansed, no longer consider unholy.’ This happened three times, and everything was drawn back up into the sky. And behold, at that moment three men appeared at the house in which we were staying, having been sent to me from Caesarea. The Spirit told me to go with them without misgivings. These six brethren also went with me and we entered the man’s house. 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; and he will speak words to you by which you will be saved, you and all your household.’ And as I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell upon them just as He did upon us at the beginning. And I remembered the word of the Lord, how He used to say, ‘John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’ Therefore if God 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?” 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.””
Acts 11:1-18 NASB1995
At the end of Acts 10, Peter is invited to stay with Cornelius and his family and friends. He must have stayed there for a while, because the story of his preaching to and baptism of Gentiles has reached the ears of the believers in Jerusalem and even beyond, to other believers in all of Judea. Perhaps one of the Jewish followers that came with Peter to Caesarea hurried back to tell this story to the other apostles.
Peter returns to Jerusalem and is accused of being with uncircumcised men and eating with them. I guess the preaching and baptizing is not an issue, but Peter certainly should not have shared food with these Gentiles. I like this commentary from Enduring Word about how profound the events in Acts 10 are:
Now the apostles and brethren who were in Judea heard that the Gentiles had also received the word of God: The greatness of the work among the Gentiles in Caesarea could not be kept hidden. There was no desire to hide it, even though many Jewish Christians (those of the circumcision) would be confused and offended.
“You went in to uncircumcised men and ate with them!” The charges against Peter were simple: “You, who are supposed to be a faithful Jew, associated with Gentiles and even ate with them.” This offended these Christian Jews, so they contended with Peter.
And ate with them: Sharing a meal together was a special sign of fellowship in that time and culture. This was considered to be a significant compromise by these Jewish Christians.
This reaction of the Christian Jews shows how significant the change was that God initiated in Acts 10. The change said, to the Gentiles, “You don’t have to become Jews first, and put yourself under the Law of Moses first. Repent and believe, and you can come to Jesus.” But it also said to the Jewish followers of Jesus, “Receive your Gentile brothers and sisters as full members of the family of God. They aren’t inferior to you in any way.”
The objection of those of the circumcision was on the second point, not the first. They complained, You went into uncircumcised men and ate with them! At first, they were more concerned with what Peter did than with what God was doing with the Gentiles.
Those of the circumcision contended with him: When we see the reaction of the Jewish Christians in Jerusalem, we can see how wise it was of Peter to take six witnesses with him to Caesarea and his meeting with Cornelius (Acts 10:23 and 11:12).
Up to this point in church history, there were probably many Gentile converts to Christianity but they were also asked to accept the precepts of Judaism (circumcision, dietary laws, other regulations), according to many commentators I read. But now that conversion is unnecessary. This has to be frightening to those who believed the Messiah was strictly for the Jewish people and no one else.
Peter elegantly explains the sequence of events, starting with his supernatural vision. The three-fold occurrence of the sheet coming down with the variety of kosher and non-kosher animals would have struck the apostles as extremely significant: God demonstrated this three times, so pay attention! Peter then talks about the men coming from Caesarea right after the vision and his journey with six brethren (now we know the number) accompanying the Gentile men to the house of Cornelius. A key confession is made: Peter crossed the threshold into the home! Here is more good commentary from Enduring Word:
Peter explained it to them in order from the beginning: This account is an obvious condensation from Acts 10:9-43. God emphasized the importance of these events by repeating the story.
“Peter did not flaunt his apostolic authority. Instead he began with a humble recitation of what happened. The Greek makes this particularly clear. It indicates that Peter began at the beginning and explained everything precisely – a very strong word – as it happened.” (James Montgomery Boice)
What God has cleansed you must not call common: At first, Peter thought God spoke this about food. But Peter came to understand the vision of the sheet and kosher and unkosher animals had to do with people, not food (Acts 10:28: God has shown me that I should not call any man common or unclean).
There is a sense in which the sheet represents the church, having both “kosher” (Jews) and “unkosher” (Gentiles) on it, with no distinction or dividing line between the two (Ephesians 2:11-18).
We entered the man’s house: This may have surprised Peter’s questioners, because it seemed like an admission of guilt – Peter admitted entering the home of a Gentile, something prohibited by Jewish custom and tradition (though not by the Law of Moses.). Yet Peter was careful to add that before he ever entered the man’s house, an angel had been standing in his house. If it was permitted for an angel of God to go into Cornelius’ house, it must be permitted for Peter also.
The Holy Spirit fell upon them, as upon us at the beginning: This conclusion was important. It showed that God’s stamp of approval was on this work towards the Gentiles. Peter’s point to these Christian Jews (those of the circumcision, Acts 11:2) was clear: they could not withhold their acceptance when God had given His.
Peter remembers the words of Jesus and says this to those listening: “And I remembered the word of the Lord, how He used to say, ‘John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’ Therefore if God 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?”
The group quiets down after hearing Peter’s words and glorifies God. Most of them have probably known Peter for quite a few years and look at him as being one of the leaders of this new faith. They acknowledge that God has granted the Gentiles the repentance that leads to life if they believe in Jesus. Two thousand years later, you can see where this command from God has led, if you look at the photo above (a public domain photo) of Bibles in many languages. The hearts of the “circumcised men” have been softened, at least temporarily by Peter’s testimony. But this controversy isn’t over, as we shall see later in Acts. One more commentary, this one from Precept Austin on true repentance, by J.C. Ryle:
Repentance is a thorough change of man's natural heart, upon the subject of sin. We are all born in sin. We naturally love sin. We take to sin, as soon as we can act and think—just as the bird takes to flying, and the fish takes to swimming. There never was a child that required schooling or education in order to learn deceitfulness, selfishness, passion, self-will, gluttony, pride, and foolishness. These things are not picked up from bad companions, or gradually learned by a long course of tedious instruction. They spring up of themselves, even when boys and girls are brought up alone. The seeds of them are evidently the natural product of the heart. The aptitude of all children to these evil things is an unanswerable proof of the corruption and fall of man. Now when this heart of ours is changed by the Holy Spirit, when this natural love of sin is cast out, then takes place that change which the Word of God calls "repentance." The man in whom the change is wrought is said to "repent."
Starting at this point in Acts, the preaching turns mostly to the Gentiles. This will be seen in my next devotional, which examines Acts 11:19-30, the Church at Antioch.
Heaven on Wheels Daily Prayer:
Dear Lord - The circumstances in Acts 10 and 11 point to Your infinite love and grace and Your desire to have all come to You in repentance to be saved and granted eternal life. How can we ever thank you enough? Amen.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Commentary from Enduring Word by David Guzik is used with written permission.
Precept Austin was accessed on 10/16/2024 to review commentary for Acts 11:1-18.