Stunned Silence
Acts 11:1-18
Tony’s Overview Video
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Key Text: Acts 11:17
“If then God gave them the same gift that he gave us when we believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I that I could hinder God?”
I thought it was the right thing to do. I was pastor of a rural church many years ago when a member who coached football asked if he could bring his team, for one Sunday, to worship together with our congregation.
I was overjoyed! Here was an opportunity for my church to demonstrate the love of Christ and the openness of the gospel – maybe even a chance to crack the door of our segregated congregation to racial inclusiveness on a regular basis.
Thinking it wise, I discussed the matter with the deacons and obtained their support. When the appointed Sunday came, two school buses rolled into our parking lot. The football team had arrived – along with some additional parents, chaperons, and friends. One side of our sanctuary was filled with guests, a majority of whose faces were brown. On the other side, many of the faces were red.
Afterward, several members of the congregation expressed outrage. Two deacons publicly recanted their favorable votes. Despite my personal visits and best efforts at conflict management, some members boycotted my preaching from that day forward.
My youthful idealism took a beating that day. I had grown up in a racist community, but God had shown me the ugliness of my ingrained prejudice and taught me the importance of openness to all people. I wanted my church to learn what I had learned. Surely, I thought, God wants all persons to learn how to worship together and appreciate each other more. I did what I thought was right – but I soon had a lot of explaining to do.
Challenged by a vision
I found some comfort in knowing that I was in good company. Acts 11 contains the account of how the Apostle Peter himself – the one to whom Jesus entrusted the keys to the kingdom – was once required to explain himself for having associated with Gentiles.
While visiting early believers west of Jerusalem (9:32), Peter had come to the coastal town of Joppa, where God spoke to him in a vision and led him to a Roman centurion named Cornelius. Cornelius worshiped God but was a Gentile, so Peter knew it could be awkward. Judaism had strict rules about associating with non-Jews.
Perhaps that is why the crafty apostle rounded up six fellow Jewish Christians to accompany him as witnesses on the journey to Caesarea. [DD] Upon arrival, Peter saw that Cornelius had gathered his family and close associates for the occasion. The centurion asked him to share whatever the Lord had laid on his heart, but Peter had hardly begun speaking when the Holy Spirit descended upon his Gentile hearers just as surely as upon Jewish believers at Pentecost (Acts 2).
The evidence of divine acceptance was clear, and Peter concluded: “Can anyone withhold the water for baptizing these people who have received the Holy Spirit just as we have?” (10:47).
A baptism was held. A meal was served. We can imagine a time of great gaiety and celebration, even as Peter continued to teach new believers the rudiments of the gospel – and as the word of his newfound associations traveled back to Jerusalem.
Called on the carpet (vv. 1-3)
Not everyone was celebrating. Back in Jerusalem, a strong cohort of Jewish believers were convinced that Christians must also observe Jewish traditions. The group, often called “the party of the circumcision,” would become a major thorn in the sides of Peter, Paul, and the entire Gentile mission enterprise. The party had sufficient influence to call Peter in and demand that he explain his actions. [DD]
Verse 3 implies that the circumcision party was not particularly concerned that Peter had preached to the Gentiles, or even that he had endorsed their baptism. Their complaint was this: “Why did you go to uncircumcised men and eat with them?”
Instructed by a sheet (vv. 4-10)
Peter defended himself by simply telling his story, reprising the same account that is told in Acts 10. While praying on the roof of Simon the Tanner’s home in Joppa, Peter had fallen into a trance and experienced an intense vision. He had been hungry, and in his vision something like a great sheet descended from heaven, containing “four-footed animals, beasts of prey, reptiles, and birds of the air.” (v. 6 – “beasts of prey” does not appear in 10:12).
None of the animals were kosher. When the Lord, knowing Peter’s hunger, said “Get up, Peter, kill and eat” (v. 7), the apostle was confused. Thinking perhaps that God was testing him, Peter replied “By no means, Lord; for nothing profane or unclean has ever entered my mouth” (11:8). Like Ezekiel of old, Peter insisted that he had never broken the dietary laws, and he did not intend to begin now (cf. Ezek. 4:14).
God’s response brought a new revelation to Peter: “What God has made clean, you must not call profane” (v. 9). The entire sequence was repeated three times, just to make sure that Peter had gotten the point. The times were changing. The gospel message was not only good news – it also contained new news, and Peter was one of the first to understand.
Summoned by a Centurion (vv. 11-14)
While Peter was still mulling over the significance of the vision (compare 10:19), the messengers from Cornelius arrived, and Peter recognized that the vision was God’s way of showing him that the gospel was for all people.
To Cornelius, Peter had said “I truly understand that God shows no partiality, but in every nation anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him” (10:34b-35). To his hostile inquisitors, Peter explained it this way: “The Spirit told me to go with them and not to make a distinction between them and us” (11:12a).
In Peter’s mind, not making a distinction extended beyond preaching. He took the vision and the Spirit’s word as divine permission to eat with and associate with the Gentiles just as he would with fellow Jews. Had not the vision specifically referred to food?
Pointing to the six “brothers” he had brought along as witnesses, Peter recounted his first meeting with Cornelius, who had seen a vision of his own. [DD] An angel had charged him to send for Peter, whom he had never met, and told him exactly where the apostle might be found. He had then promised that when Peter arrived, “he will give you a message whereby you and your entire household will be saved” (v. 14).
Amazed by the Spirit (vv. 15-17)
Peter then described how the Holy Spirit had fallen on Cornelius’ party “just as it had upon us at the beginning” (v. 15). This implies that the Jewish believers to whom he was speaking had also been present at Pentecost and had received the Spirit – but that was no guarantee they would always remain open to the Spirit’s teachings.
Since the Spirit’s presence fell on his audience just as Peter began to speak, the miracle was clearly not the result of his preaching, but of God’s choice and God’s Spirit.
Remembering John the Baptist’s promise that Christ would baptize with the Spirit even as he baptized with water, Peter concluded that God had been at work among the Gentiles in Caesarea (v. 16). The “Spirit baptism” of the Gentile believers was all the confirmation Peter needed to see that Christ was doing a new thing, and that he needed a change of attitude if he was to keep pace.
Thus Peter argued: “If then God gave them the same gift that he gave us when we believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I that I could hinder God?” (v. 17). Peter recognized that it was both possible and foolish to get in God’s way. He had a personal history of challenging Jesus’ decisions and being put in his place (Mat. 16:21-23). Peter had learned to stand back and listen when the Spirit spoke.
Silenced by the story (v. 18)
As Peter spoke of his experience, the leaders of the Jerusalem church listened quietly. There was little they could say: “When they heard this, they were silenced. And they praised God, saying, ‘Then God has given even to the Gentiles the repentance that leads to life’” (v. 18). [DD]
We note that the group acknowledged only that God had granted repentance to the Gentiles – not equal rights, or even eating rights, with Jewish Christians. Many battles were yet to be fought over this issue, most of them with Paul as the defendant (compare Acts 15). Peter learned that God makes no distinction between Jews and Gentiles, but others would still have to learn by personal experience. Even Peter would later have his doubts, and Paul publicly chastised him for backing away from sharing meals with Gentiles (Gal. 2:11-14).
Overcoming prejudice is not easy, but it is at the heart of the gospel – and the whole gospel is for all people.
Do our churches still practice “distinctions” in whether people are welcome to worship and free to lead without regard to race, gender, or social status? [DD] What can we as individuals do to break down barriers between people who are equally loved and in-Spirited by God?
Adult Teaching Resources
Download the PDF of teaching resources for this lesson.
This PDF contains the Teaching Guide, Digging Deeper, and Hardest Question pages.
Read Scripture online: Acts 11:1-18
Youth Teaching Resources
Parent Prep
Your students will challenge you to see things in a new light. This doesn’t always have to be in the negative connotation. It can mean that your students see the same thing you have experienced for years with a new perspective. How you react to this new perspective is important? Be supportive of your students looking at things in a new light. Help them discover filters to see what they see.
Additional Links/Resources
Read Scripture online: Acts 11:1-18
Download the PDF for youth teaching resources using the button below. This PDF contains the Teaching Guide for this lesson:
Video
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“School Tour Scene” from Wonder
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