Acts 11:1-26

Teaching Notes

Acts 11 opens with a moment of tension in the early church. News travels quickly back to Jerusalem that Gentiles have received the word of God, and instead of celebrating, some Jewish believers confront Peter. They cannot fathom why he entered the house of uncircumcised men and even ate with them—actions that, in their cultural and religious framework, seemed unthinkable.

Peter doesn’t argue; instead, he carefully recounts his vision of the sheet descending from heaven, God’s command to not call unclean what He has made clean, and the Spirit’s direction to go without hesitation. He explains how Cornelius’ household had been prepared by an angel’s message and how, as Peter began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell on them in the same unmistakable way He had on the disciples at Pentecost. Peter concludes, “If God gave them the same gift He gave us, who was I to stand in God’s way?” Confronted with such clear evidence, the critics fall silent, and then their silence gives way to praise: “So then, God has granted even the Gentiles repentance unto life.”

The story then shifts to Antioch, a cosmopolitan hub where scattered believers—fleeing the persecution that followed Stephen’s death—began to preach not only to Jews but also to Greeks. The hand of the Lord was with them, and a great number believed and turned to the Lord. This new movement caught the attention of the Jerusalem church, which sent Barnabas to investigate.

True to his nature as “a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and faith,” Barnabas doesn’t respond with suspicion but with joy. He recognizes the grace of God at work and exhorts them to remain faithful to the Lord with steadfast hearts. Seeing the magnitude of the harvest, Barnabas goes to Tarsus to seek Saul, knowing his gifts would be crucial for strengthening this young, diverse congregation.

For a full year, Barnabas and Saul teach together in Antioch, nurturing and discipling the growing number of believers. It is here, significantly, that the disciples are first called “Christians,” marking a new identity rooted not in ethnic distinction but in belonging to Christ Himself.

This passage reminds us that the gospel not only crosses cultural barriers but also creates a new people, bound together by the Spirit and known by the name of Jesus.