What does Acts 11:14 mean?

The earliest Christians were Jews and proselytes to Judaism. When they accepted the story of Jesus they did so as Jews. Jesus is the Jewish Messiah who has come to fulfill the Mosaic law and bring the promises God made to Abraham and David to fruition (Hebrews 8:6–8; Matthew 5:17). It may be surprising to think of it this way, but of all the sects of ancient Judaism, the truths Jesus taught most closely aligned with the beliefs of the Pharisees. The Pharisees believed in the resurrection of the dead and other spiritual ideas, while the Sadducees did not. Before Christ was resurrected, the close-but-not-the-same nature of His teaching might have been one reason they so bitterly opposed Jesus. After Christ rose, members of the Pharisees were better able to accept it than other groups.

But just as Peter had a hard time giving up the laws on what was allowable to eat, Pharisee Jesus-followers found it agonizing to let go of their extreme devotion to the law and to the extra-scriptural regulations. For instance, throughout the New Testament, they insist that Gentiles who wish to follow Jesus must also become Jews by being circumcised. So, when they hear Peter has eaten with uncircumcised Gentiles, they question him strongly (Acts 11:2–3).

Peter's explanation shows God does not expect Gentiles to become practicing Jews. An angel told Cornelius, a Roman centurion, to call for Peter who would tell him and his household how to be saved. Peter had barely started talking about how Jesus had risen from the dead and commissioned the disciples to share his story when the Holy Spirit came on Cornelius and the friends and family he had gathered to hear Peter (Acts 10:34–44). The Gentiles had not converted to Judaism, the men were not circumcised, Peter had not laid his hands on them, and they had not been baptized. But the Holy Spirit is entirely uninterested in the loopholes the legalistic Jews have set up.