Acts 11:21 - Printer Friendly

ESV: And the hand of the Lord was with them, and a great number who believed turned to the Lord.

NIV: The Lord’s hand was with them, and a great number of people believed and turned to the Lord.

NASB: And the hand of the Lord was with them, and a large number who believed turned to the Lord.

CSB: The Lord’s hand was with them, and a large number who believed turned to the Lord.

NLT: The power of the Lord was with them, and a large number of these Gentiles believed and turned to the Lord.

KJV: And the hand of the Lord was with them: and a great number believed, and turned unto the Lord.

NKJV: And the hand of the Lord was with them, and a great number believed and turned to the Lord.

Devout Jews, living on Cyprus and in Cyrene, and familiar with the Greek culture and language, had learned about Jesus in Jerusalem (Acts 2). When Saul persecuted the church in Jerusalem, they fled and shared Jesus' story as they travelled (Acts 8:1–4). Some of these Jesus-followers were from the island of Cyprus and the city of Cyrene in Libya. They traveled north, to Syrian Antioch, and didn't just share Jesus in the synagogues like others; they shared Jesus with Gentiles. God blessed their efforts, and many of the Gentiles came to a saving faith in Jesus.

In Acts 10, Peter learned that Jesus had come for the Gentiles as well as the Jews. Earlier in Acts 11, Peter explained this truth to the church in Jerusalem; some of the more legalistic Jewish Jesus-followers still had a difficult time accepting it. The Jews who regularly interacted with Gentiles had much less resistance to the idea. They see no reason why their friends wouldn't be interested in Jesus and even less doubt that Jesus is interested in their friends. They're right.

The wording here can be awkward when parsed into English. This does not imply some people can believe but not turn to the Lord. Alternative phrasings are, "a large number of these, believing, turned to the Lord," or, as the NIV says, "a great number of people believed and turned to the Lord."

Acts 11:19–26 continues the inauguration of the international church. While Peter is in Caesarea Maritima leading a houseful of Gentiles to faith in Jesus (Acts 10) and then in Jerusalem explaining that Jesus has come to the Gentiles (Acts 11:1–18), the church has already spread far north to Syrian Antioch. The Jesus-followers who fled Saul's persecution in Jerusalem took Jesus' story with them (Acts 8:1–4). Some, from Cyprus and Cyrene, taught Gentiles. If they, Jews who lived within the Greco/Roman culture, could worship Jesus, why couldn't their Gentile friends? This is exactly what Jesus intended in Acts 1:8.

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.