Acts chapter 11
11:1-18 Although there was joy in heaven over the conversion of Cornelius, there was little joy in Jerusalem, for Peter
had fellowshipped with uncircumcised...Gentiles. Peter defends his action by reciting all of the phenomenal things
God has done in bringing this about. Peter did not go by choice.
11:15, 16 First, Peter says the Holy Spirit came on these Gentiles as on us. What happened to Cornelius is parallel
to what took place at Pentecost. This is a "Gentile Pentecost." Second, Peter relates this event to what had
happened to the Jews at the beginning. Peter thus describes Pentecost as the beginning of something. It is most
easily understood as the beginning or birth of the church. Third, Peter says, then remembered I how Christ promised
that He would baptize in the Holy Spirit. It would seem that Peter has seen few dramatic outpourings of the Holy Spirit
involving tongues, as he did at Pentecost and here with Cornelius. Both served as signs to Jews who were slow to
accept the work God was doing.
11:19 The events of this verse expand on what was stated in 8:4. Due to Saul’s persecution the believers went
everywhere preaching including Phoenicia, Cyprus, and Antioch. This early preaching predates Cornelius’s
conversion and so was to the Jews only. As with any history one must not suppose that all events are in a strictly
chronological order. The events, for example, of Paul’s ministry at Jerusalem and Tarsus in chapter 9 are several
years later than this.
11:20-22 Several years, possibly as man as 10, after the gospel was first preached in Antioch, men from Cyprus and
Cyrene come preaching to non-Jews. When the Jerusalem church heard of this, they sent another Cypriot,
Barnabas, to minister there.
11:26 The believers were called Christians first in Antioch. The name Christian was at first derogatory term, referring
to the people of the Christ. Obviously the Antiochenes, constantly hearing the name of Christ, name these people
such. The Jews would never label them as Christians, because that would be tantamount to saying that these were
the people of the Messiah. The term Christian occurs in only tow other biblical passages: 26:28; 1 Peter 4:16.
11:27, 28 Agabus is the first prophet of the church to be so called. He predicted a famine, which occurred during the
reign of Claudius (A.D. 41-54). Josephus, the first-century Jewish historian, describes such a famine occurring in
Judea about 46.
Acts chapter 12
12:1 About that time, during which the famine occurred, Herod Agrippa I, king of Palestine, and grandson of Herod
the Great, began persecuting the church. According to Josephus's reckoning this was shortly before the closing
events of chapter 11, because Agrippa died in A.D 44. See the note on 25:13.
12:2-4 James's death is the first and only apostolic martyrdom recorded in Scripture. Herod intended to make Peter
the second martyr and took extreme measures to secure his imprisonment, leaving four soldiers to guard him at all
times. Though Easter does communicate correctly the time of year, the Greek word must be translated "Passover."
12:10 The text implies that the guards themselves unwittingly opened the first two gates for Peter, and then through
the miraculous hand of God the last gate opened of its own accord (Greek automate) or "automatically."
12:12-16 Though the prayer of the church was fervent due to Peter's situation (verse 5), there was a deficiency in
faith (verses 15, 16). Evidently they did not believe God would answer in this miraculous way, or so soon.
Acts chapter 13
13:1 Three factors demonstrate the shift that takes place in chapter 13. (1) The spread of the gospel in the earlier
chapters was often the result of persecution. Now it becomes the result of a program-missions. (2) As this evangelism
spreads to the Gentiles the focus passes from Peter to Paul. (3) Likewise, the base of operations passes from
Jerusalem to Antioch of Syria. Antioch was the capital of the province of Syria and the third largest city within the
Empire, being surpassed only by Rome and Alexandria. It was a cosmopolitan and commercial center. The list of men
who are leaders in the church at Antioch represent a wide spectrum of Herod Antipas. Simon may be the man who
carried Christ's cross (Mark 15:21; Luke 23:26), called Simon of Cyrene (North Africa). Men from Cyrene had begun
the ministry among the Gentiles in Antioch (11:20).
13:2-4 The commissioning of Barnabas and Saul for this missionary endeavor was the work of the Holy Spirit. The
Holy Spirit most likely spoke through one of the prophets since there were prophets within this group and that was the
usual means of communicating the Spirit's message (1 Corinthians 14). This sending forth was the work of the Spirit
rather than the church. From the text it appears that both sent them. But the Greek words are different. Indeed, they
were sent forth (ekpemphthentes) by the Holy Spirit, whereas they were "released" (apelusan) by the church. This
word denotes a releasing from any tie, whether contract or relationship, such as the contract of marriage through
divorce. The church released them from their ministry at Antioch, but the Holy Spirit sent them.
13:7 Sergius Paulus, the Roman ruler over the island of Cyprus, becomes one of Paul's first prominent converts.
Though translated deputy, Luke's word calls him a proconsul (Greek anthypatos). Proconsuls normally were former
Roman senators who had been commissioned by the Senate to govern the affairs of the peaceful provinces
throughout the Roman Empire. Over more turbulent provinces the emperor himself would send legates (like Cyrenius
[Quirinius] in Syria, Luke 2:2) or procurators in lesser provinces (like Felix and Festus over Judea, chapters 24-26).
See the note on 23:24.
13:9-13 Whether or not Saul changed his name to Paul due to his prominent convert Sergius Paulus, Luke at least
uses this opportunity to change his name to Paul. Also, this is the point at which Paul takes the reins of leadership.
The former designation had always been Barnabas and Saul; now it becomes Paul and his company. This as much
as anything may have prompted Barnabas’s relative, John Mark (Col. 4:10), to abort the mission and return home to
Jerusalem (Acts 12:12).
13:16-41. In Paul’s first recorded message, he emphasizes that Jesus is the Christ. Similarities can be seen between
this sermon and Stephen’s (ch. 7), which may have been the first Christian sermon Paul ever heard. Both Stephen
and Paul narrate Israel’s history and prophecies, and warn their Jewish audiences not to reject God’s message as
their fathers have done. But here are also distinct differences within the two messages. Whereas Stephen focuses on
Joseph and Moses as prototypes of Christ’s rejection, Paul focuses on David as the “prophet” of Christ’s birth and
resurrection.
13:20 The four hundred and fifty years in the Greek text precedes the references to the judges. This phrase,
therefore, chronologically covers the period mentioned from verse 17 through verse 19; that is, the Jews sojourned in
Egypt for four hundred years, wandered in the wilderness for 40 years, and spent about a decease conquering
Canaan. So verse 20 could be translated, “After these things (namely, the events spanning the 450 years in verses
17-19) God have them judges until Samuel the prophet.”
13:46 Paul’s missionary principle was always to go to his own people, the Jews, first (Roman 1:16), but he always
went to the Gentiles, too, and indeed was known as the Apostle to the Gentiles (Gal. 2:7, 8; Eph. 3:6-8).
13:51 This verse helps to demonstrate the important principle that just because the apostles did something in the
Book of Acts does not make it normative, to be performed by Christians today. More importantly we must listen to the
teachings of the apostles in the Epistles, When the teachings differ from the experiences of Acts, we must follow the
teachings. When they agree we must perform them. We cannot safely apply Acts apart from a knowledge of the
Epistles. Paul obtained this symbolic gesture of shaking dust off his feet from the Twelve (Matt. 10:14). So, should
preachers do it today? Was Paul required to do it? Paul thought not, for on the next occasion he shakes out his
clothing (18:6).
Acts chapter 14
14:4. Others beyond the Twelve are called apostles, as in Barnabas here and in verse 14. Though these apostles
should not be regarded as of the same stature as the Twelve, they had witnessed the resurrected Christ and
received some special call (cf. 1:21, 22; 1 Cor 9:1). Other such apostles include James the Lord’s brother (Gal 1:19)
and some unnamed in 1 Corinthians 15:7.
14:11, 12 Passing strangers were commonly regarded as gods among the Greeks (and later the Romans) due to the
mingling of the gods with mortals in their myths. Jupiter and Mercurius were the Roman names for Zeus and Hermes.
The Roman poet Ovid records a local myth involving the coming of these two gods disguises as mortals. They were
turned away by all except an old couple. According to the myth a flood came and in judgment destroyed all but the
old couple. These superstitious people seem to fear a similar fate.
14:17 Even though all men have not received the special revelation of God’s written Word, all have received God’s
general revelation which is witnessed through the creation and man’s own nature, making man without excuse if he
rejects this (Rom. 1:18-20: 2:14, 15). Romans 1 states that the context of general revelation is that God is holy and
all-powerful. Acts 14:17 further sates that he is good.
14:19 Luke does not clearly indicate whether the stoning killed Paul. Maybe Paul himself did not really know. Though
this incident is commonly correlated with Paul's testimony of being caught up in the third heaven (2 Corinthians 12:1-
5), the time of the events does not fit. The stoning of Acts 14 occurred about A.D 48. Paul says that his experience of
2 Corinthians 12 occurred 14 years before he wrote the book, that is, about A.D 41. Nevertheless, one can glean
from 2 Corinthians 12 that Paul on this occasion did not realize whether he was dead or alive. If he were dead, he did
not miss his body; if he were alive, his body did not hinder him.
14:23 At the end of this missionary tour Paul returned to the young churches and ordained...elders to carry on the
work. The word ordain (Greek chierotonesantes) originally meant "to elect" by the raising of the hand, but later
developed the meaning "to appoint." Either meaning is possible here, but several factors make the former preferable.
(1) This exact word is used only one other time in Scripture (2 Corinthians 8:19), and there it has the sense of
congregational section. (2) The selection of the Seven in chapter 6 was the act of the congregation, not an
appointment by leaders. (3) If Luke had desired to express the idea of appointment, several other words could have
served more precisely.
14:26 Paul considered his work now finished in that he had strengthened the believers, organized the church with
leadership, Antioch, or even Paul himself. They are under the authority of Christ alone, and Paul will treat them
accordingly.
Acts chapter 15
15:1 During the early decades of the church, some professing Jews who had lived under Judaism disrupted the
church by saying that no one could be saved apart from the Law and especially circumcision. These Judaizers came
fro Jerusalem proclaiming their message. The message of salvation involving works is as old as the need of salvation
itself. Jesus and the apostles clearly teach that salvation is by God's grace through faith alone (2:21; 16:31; John 3:
3, 36; 5:24; Romans 3:24; 4:4, 5, 21-24; 5:1; 10:9, 10, 13; Ephesians 2:8, 9; Titus 3:5; 1 Peter 1:18, 19;1 John 5:11-
13; Revelation 1:5; 5:9). The Book of Galatians extensively deals with this problem.
15:7 The primary speakers at this conference, often called the Jerusalem council, were Peter, Paul, Barnabas, and
James. Peter begins by relating how God had clearly saved Cornelius and the other Gentiles with him apart from any
works of the Law (verses 7-9). In fact, Peter acknowledges that not only do the Gentiles not need to become like
Jews to be saved, but conversely we, the Jews, need to be saved as they, the Gentiles (verse 11). The works of the
Law for salvation will not even aid a Jew.
15:15-17 James's use of Amos's prophecy (Amos 9:11, 12) concerning Gentiles in God's kingdom does not equate
the church with the messianic kingdom, making them one. James does not say that the church is fulfilling the
prophecy but that what is happening in the church does agree with what will happen later in the kingdom. James
further clarifies this point by changing Amos's words "in that day" to after this, by which he may suggest that after the
church age God will restore the kingdom, wherein the redeemed Gentiles will fully share God's blessing.
15:20 Though redeemed Gentiles are not under the Mosaic Law, four restrictions are placed upon them. These are
not the usual four prohibitions preached during the twentieth century, but they were amazingly comprehensive and
were important to the first-century church. They involve religious, moral, and physical purity. They also concern the
primary element separating Jews from Gentiles-dietary regulations. These principles did much to remove offensive
practices without establishing legalism. Paul more appropriately enunciates two timeless principles for governing
Christian conduct apart from the Law: (1) Live by love. (2) Live by the Holy Spirit (Galatians 5:13-16).