Acts 11:14 - Printer Friendly

ESV: he will declare to you a message by which you will be saved, you and all your household.’

NIV: He will bring you a message through which you and all your household will be saved.’

NASB: and he will speak words to you by which you will be saved, you and all your household.’

CSB: He will speak a message to you by which you and all your household will be saved.’

NLT: He will tell you how you and everyone in your household can be saved!’

KJV: Who shall tell thee words, whereby thou and all thy house shall be saved.

NKJV: who will tell you words by which you and all your household will be saved.’

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.

Acts 11:1–18 describes Peter defending his actions in Acts 10. The Holy Spirit led him to share Jesus' story with a house filled with Gentiles. As he had barely started, the Holy Spirit fell on the Gentiles and Peter had them baptized into the church. Now, he has returned to the church in Jerusalem and has some explaining to do. Despite Peter being the most prominent of Jesus' twelve disciples, the legalistic Jews have already gained significant influence in the church. It's a good reminder we must always follow God and be ready to defend our response to His leading.

Acts 11 accelerates the journey of the message of Jesus into the Gentile world. Peter returns to Jerusalem and explains to the church leaders how the Holy Spirit has fallen on a group of Gentiles in Caesarea Maritima (Acts 11:1–18). Then the church hears how Gentiles are coming to faith far north in Syrian Antioch; they send Barnabas to investigate and Barnabas brings in Saul (Acts 11:19–26). Finally, prophets travel from Jerusalem to Antioch to request aid for the Jerusalem church (Acts 11:27–30). The scene is almost set for Paul's extensive evangelism career to begin.

Until the martyrdom of Stephen (Acts 7:54–60), the story of Jesus' followers remained mostly in Jerusalem. Saul started persecuting the church and the members fled, taking Jesus' story with them. This included Philip who shared Jesus' story with Samaritans and an Ethiopian official (Acts 8). Saul's persecution even led to his own conversion (Acts 9). And Peter brought the gospel to a group of Gentiles (Acts 10). After one more story about Peter and rising persecution by the Roman government, the book of Acts will turn to Saul, who will use the Greek variation of his name, Paul, and his missionary journeys to southeast Europe.

The summary of the book of Acts is provided in Jesus' words in Acts 1:8: ''But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.'' In Acts 2:1–13, the Christ-followers receive the Holy Spirit. Acts 2:14—7:60 describes the rapid growth of the church in Jerusalem. Chapters 8—12 find Jewish persecution inadvertently spreading the gospel throughout Judea and Samaria. And in chapters 13—28, Paul and his companions spread the good news throughout the Roman Empire.