Acts 11:17 If, then, God gave them the same gift that he also gave to us when we believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, how could I possibly hinder God?
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“Peter Preaches about the Gentiles”
Peter returns to Jerusalem, where he faces criticism from Jewish believers for associating with Gentiles and eating with them, as described in Acts 10. Peter recounts his vision of the sheet with animals, the command to not call impure what God has made clean, and the subsequent outpouring of the Holy Spirit on Cornelius’s household. His explanation convinces the critics, who then praise God for granting repentance to the Gentiles. The narrative shifts to the spread of the gospel beyond Judea, as persecuted believers from Jerusalem preach to Jews and Greeks in Phoenicia, Cyprus, and Antioch. In Antioch, many Gentiles believe, and the church grows significantly. Barnabas is sent from Jerusalem to encourage this new community, and he recruits Saul (Paul) from Tarsus to help teach the believers. The disciples are first called “Christians” in Antioch. The chapter ends with a prophet, Agabus, foretelling a famine, prompting the Antioch church to send relief to Jerusalem through Barnabas and Saul.
The central point of Acts 11 is the divine affirmation and human acceptance of the gospel’s expansion to the Gentiles, demonstrating that God’s grace transcends ethnic boundaries. Peter’s defense and the thriving Gentile church in Antioch show the early church grappling with and embracing this shift, while the unity of believers—seen in their mutual support during hardship—underscores the growing identity and mission of the Christian community.
