Acts
11:1 ¶ And the apostles and brethren
that were in Judaea heard that the Gentiles had also received the word of God.
2 And when Peter was come up to
Jerusalem, they that were of the circumcision contended with him, 3 Saying, Thou wentest in to men uncircumcised,
and didst eat with them. 4 But Peter
rehearsed the matter from the beginning, and expounded it by
order unto them, saying, 5 I was in the
city of Joppa praying: and in a trance I saw a vision, A certain vessel
descend, as it had been a great sheet, let down from heaven by four corners;
and it came even to me: 6 Upon the which
when I had fastened mine eyes, I considered, and saw fourfooted beasts of the
earth, and wild beasts, and creeping things, and fowls of the air. 7 And I heard a voice saying unto me, Arise,
Peter; slay and eat. 8 But I said, Not
so, Lord: for nothing common or unclean hath at any time entered into my mouth.
9 But the voice answered me again from
heaven, What God hath cleansed, that call not thou common. 10 And this was done three times: and all were
drawn up again into heaven. 11 And,
behold, immediately there were three men already come unto the house where I
was, sent from Caesarea unto me. 12 And
the Spirit bade me go with them, nothing doubting. Moreover these six brethren
accompanied me, and we entered into the man’s house: 13 And he shewed us how he had seen an angel in
his house, which stood and said unto him, Send men to Joppa, and call for
Simon, whose surname is Peter; 14 Who
shall tell thee words, whereby thou and all thy house shall be saved. 15 And as I began to speak, the Holy Ghost fell
on them, as on us at the beginning. 16
Then remembered I the word of the Lord, how that he said, John indeed
baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost. 17 Forasmuch then as God gave them the like gift
as he did unto us, who believed on the Lord Jesus Christ; what was I,
that I could withstand God? 18 When they
heard these things, they held their peace, and glorified God, saying, Then hath
God also to the Gentiles granted repentance unto life.
The news would have
been a shock. The hated and despised Gentiles, regarded as spiritual inferiors,
especially Roman occupiers, could receive the word of God? Peter thought over
what had happened a few times (rehearsed the matter) to be able to tell
them at Jerusalem, the Jewish leaders, of this new faith. He recalled something
they would have remembered, how John the Baptist foretold about this baptism,
not with water but being filled with the Holy Ghost recorded in Matthew 3:11;
Mark 1:8; & Luke 3:16. He reinforces the validity of what He did with the
Gentiles by pointing out that God did this so how could he have resisted or
stood against what God had done. This reminds me of what Gamaliel said;
Acts
5:38 And now I say unto you, Refrain
from these men, and let them alone: for if this counsel or this work be of men,
it will come to nought: 39 But if it be
of God, ye cannot overthrow it; lest haply ye be found even to fight against
God.
When God’s hand is
involved it is useless to try to stand against His work. They were smart enough
and filled with the Spirit of God so they accepted this work of Peter. So, the
Gentiles could be saved, too, like the Jews. Interesting. Shocking, but
interesting. Here the Christian church, once thought to be a mere sect of
Judaism, takes a momentous turn in history.
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