Acts 11

Acts 11:1

Now the apostles and the brethren who were throughout Judea heard that the Gentiles also had received the word of God.

The word of God is the good news of Jesus. See entry for Word of God.

Acts 11:5

“I was in the city of Joppa praying; and in a trance I saw a vision, an object coming down like a great sheet lowered by four corners from the sky; and it came right down to me,

(a) A trance. The original noun (ekstasis) means to be outside oneself and is related to the word “ecstasy”.

(b) Vision. Visions are supernatural revelations that are so compelling they appear as real images, even though they are received in our spirits; see entry for Acts 9:10.

Acts 11:14

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

You will be saved. The apostles preached for a verdict. Like Jesus who encouraged people to repent and believe the good news (Mark 1:15), the apostles encouraged their listeners to repent, believe the good news, and be saved (Acts 4:12, 17:30, 1 Cor. 10:33, 1 Th. 2:16, 1 Tim. 2:4, 1 John 3:23).

Acts 11:16

“And I remembered the word of the Lord, how He used to say, ‘John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’

(a) John; see entry for Mark 1:4.

(b) Baptized… baptized. The original word implies total immersion. See entry for Baptism.

(c) Water… Holy Spirit; John’s baptism of water prophetically foreshadowed the baptism of the Holy Spirit. See entry for Mark 1:8.

Acts 11:17

“Therefore if God gave to them the same gift as He gave to us also after believing in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I that I could stand in God’s way?”

(a) Lord. When Jesus walked the earth he was known as Jesus of Nazareth (e.g., Matt. 26:71). But after he ascended to heaven he was given a new name above every name, and that name is Lord (Php. 2:9–11). The original word for Lord (kyrios) means the One who is supreme above all. “You call me Teacher and Lord; and you are right, for so I am” (John 13:13).

(b) Jesus Christ. To refer to Jesus as Christ is to recognize that he is the prophesied Messiah or Rescuer (John 1:41). The word Christ means anointed one.

Acts 11:18

When they heard this, they quieted down and glorified God, saying, “Well then, God has granted to the Gentiles also the repentance that leads to life.”

(a) God has granted to the Gentiles also. Initially Peter understood that God had granted repentance only to Israel (Acts 5:31), but now he understood that God’s grace is for all.

(b) Granted… repentance. Repentance, like faith, is a gift from God (Eph. 2:8). It is goodness of God revealed in Jesus the exalted Savior that leads us to change our unbelieving minds and repent (Rom. 2:4).

(c) To life. Two kinds of life are described in the Bible; the psuche– or soul life we inherited from Adam and the zoe– or spirit life that comes from God (John 5:26). It’s the second kind of life that is described here. See entry for New Life.

Acts 11:19

So then those who were scattered because of the persecution that occurred in connection with Stephen made their way to Phoenicia and Cyprus and Antioch, speaking the word to no one except to Jews alone.

Antioch was the capital city of the Roman province of Syria.

Syrians were among the first to respond to Jesus’ ministry (Matt. 4:24). After the persecution of Stephen, believers fled Jerusalem and established a flourishing church in Antioch (Acts 11:19). It was in that city that believers were first called Christians (Acts 11:26).

Acts 11:20

But there were some of them, men of Cyprus and Cyrene, who came to Antioch and began speaking to the Greeks also, preaching the Lord Jesus.

Preaching. Announcing the good news. The original word for preaching (euaggelizo) is closely related to the word for gospel (euaggelion). This is one of three words that are commonly translated as “preaching” in the New Testament. See entry for Acts 5:42.

Acts 11:21

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

Turned to the Lord. In the new covenant, repentance is often described as a return or turning to God (see entry for Acts 26:20).

Acts 11:22

The news about them reached the ears of the church at Jerusalem, and they sent Barnabas off to Antioch.

(a) Barnabas; see entry for Acts 9:27.

(b) Antioch; see entry for Acts 11:19.

Acts 11:23

Then when he arrived and witnessed the grace of God, he rejoiced and began to encourage them all with resolute heart to remain true to the Lord;

(a) Witnessed the grace of God. What did Barnabas see? He saw Jews and Gentiles doing church together and eating together (see Gal. 2:12). Such a thing had never before been seen and the sight of it would have struck Barnabas like a thunderbolt. Instead of discrimination, he saw acceptance. Instead of hostility, brotherly love. He realized that he was seeing the flavor of heaven.

(b) The grace of God refers to the goodwill, lovingkindness, and favor of God that is freely given to us so that we may partake in his divine life. See entry for Grace of God.

Acts 11:25

And he left for Tarsus to look for Saul;

(a) Tarsus was the capital city of the province of Cilicia and Paul’s home town (Acts 22:3).

(b) Saul; see entry for Acts 7:58.

Acts 11:26

and when he had found him, he brought him to Antioch. And for an entire year they met with the church and taught considerable numbers; and the disciples were first called Christians in Antioch.

(a) Disciple. The first Christians called themselves disciples or followers, which was a holdover from the time when people followed Jesus. The original noun mathētēs means “learner.” The word disciple appears more than 200 times in the gospels, but nowhere in the New Testament epistles. The epistle-writers referred to believers as saints (see entry for Rom. 1:7) and sons of God (see entry for Rom. 8:14). A Christian is so much more than a student or follower. A Christian is a child of God and a co-heir with Christ (Rom. 8:15–17). A Christian bears the indwelling Spirit of God (see entry for Rom. 8:9).

(b) Christians. The original noun christianos is made up of two words meaning “the Anointed One” (christos) and “belonging to” (-ianos). The word Christian appears only three times in the Bible (Acts 11:26, 26:28, 1 Pet. 4:16). It does not mean a follower of a religion called Christianity. A Christian is someone who belongs to Christ (Gal. 5:24). “You belong to Christ” (1 Cor. 3:23). We are more than followers; we are his people, his family, his household. In his Antiquities, Josephus records that Christ rose on the third day and the tribe of Christians were “so named from him.”

Acts 11:28

One of them named Agabus stood up and began to indicate by the Spirit that there would certainly be a great famine all over the world. And this took place in the reign of Claudius.

(a) Agabus was a prophet who came to the church in Antioch from Jerusalem (see previous verse). Years later, Agabus visited Paul in Caesarea to warn him that he would be bound by the Jews and delivered to the Gentiles if he went to Jerusalem (Acts 21:10–11).

(b) A great famine did indeed occur in AD46–47 and many suffered (Antiquities, 20.2). The suffering that was felt in Jerusalem was one of the reasons why Paul collected funds from other churches (e.g., 1 Cor. 16:1–4, Rom. 15:26–27).

(c) Took place. Luke wrote the book of Acts after the great famine.

Acts 11:29

And in the proportion that any of the disciples had means, each of them determined to send a contribution for the relief of the brethren living in Judea.

(a) Proportion. Wealthy Christians contributed more than poor Christians.

(b) Disciples; see entry for Acts 6:1.

Acts 11:30

And this they did, sending it in charge of Barnabas and Saul to the elders.

(a) Sending. Barnabas and Saul carried funds raised for famine relief from Antioch to Jerusalem. This was the second of at least five visits Saul or Paul made to Jerusalem after his conversion; see entry for Acts 9:26.

(b) Barnabas; see entry for Acts 9:27.

(c) Saul; see entry for Acts 7:58.

(d) Elders; see entry for Matt. 16:21.

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