“PREPARING A CHURCH FOR MISSIONS” Part 1

Acts 11.1-18

Please locate Acts 11.1. When you find that passage, I invite you to stand for the reading of God’s Word, you reading silently while I read aloud:

1 And the apostles and brethren that were in Judaea heard that the Gentiles had also received the word of God.

2 And when Peter was come up to Jerusalem, they that were of the circumcision contended with him,

3 Saying, Thou wentest in to men uncircumcised, and didst eat with them.

4 But Peter rehearsed the matter from the beginning, and expounded it by order unto them, saying,

5 I was in the city of Joppa praying: and in a trance I saw a vision, A certain vessel descend, as it had been a great sheet, let down from heaven by four corners; and it came even to me:

6 Upon the which when I had fastened mine eyes, I considered, and saw fourfooted beasts of the earth, and wild beasts, and creeping things, and fowls of the air.

7 And I heard a voice saying unto me, Arise, Peter; slay and eat.

8 But I said, Not so, Lord: for nothing common or unclean hath at any time entered into my mouth.

9 But the voice answered me again from heaven, What God hath cleansed, that call not thou common.

10 And this was done three times: and all were drawn up again into heaven.

11 And, behold, immediately there were three men already come unto the house where I was, sent from Caesarea unto me.

12 And the Spirit bade me go with them, nothing doubting. Moreover these six brethren accompanied me, and we entered into the man’s house:

13 And he shewed us how he had seen an angel in his house, which stood and said unto him, Send men to Joppa, and call for Simon, whose surname is Peter;

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

15 And as I began to speak, the Holy Ghost fell on them, as on us at the beginning.

16 Then remembered I the word of the Lord, how that he said, John indeed baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost.

17 Forasmuch then as God gave them the like gift as he did unto us, who believed on the Lord Jesus Christ; what was I, that I could withstand God?

18 When they heard these things, they held their peace, and glorified God, saying, Then hath God also to the Gentiles granted repentance unto life.

Acts chapter ten is the account of a Gentile, a Roman centurion, who had come to Christ and the baptism of his household with the Holy Spirit of God. It is worth the read. The passage just read shows how God used the events recorded in chapter ten to open the hearts of seven Jewish Christians who witnessed the event, proving that God opened the door to the household of faith, even for Gentiles.

As important as individuals are in God’s economy, so groups of individuals are also profoundly important. God taught seven Jewish believers a tremendous and life-changing lesson concerning the broad scope of the Gospel and its power to save any sinner. But if God’s plan for the Christian era is to be realized, this life-changing lesson about God’s inclusion of the Gentiles into the family of God has to reach more than just seven Jewish Christians. It has to reach the entire Christian community. But before that can continue to happen, it is a vision that has to be repeatedly caught by successive congregations. That is what Acts 11 is all about.

Every Christian must know and understand why the ethnic prejudices that were so prevalent in that day and in our day must be addressed. This challenge must be dealt with in every region, congregation, and era of Christian history. Every believer in Christ must realize in his or her heart that God is an impartial God. God’s impartiality ought to be reflected in every Church of Jesus Christ.

We know that before His ascension, the Lord Jesus Christ established a mission for His disciples in the Church. We call it the Great Commission. The Gospel is to be preached to every creature. However, to this point, knowing that they were supposed to, commanded to, and directed to preach the Gospel to every creature, the Church congregation in Jerusalem had not obeyed that directive, except in a few isolated instances.

The Church of Jesus Christ in Jerusalem was, perhaps unknowingly, in a state of passive rebellion. On the one hand, they were learning so much about the Christian life, the joy of sins forgiven, and the development of their approach to ministry that they were caught up in the glories associated with their relationship with God through Christ. On the other hand, their cultural bias against the surrounding Gentile communities made those other people groups less than desirable targets for Jewish Christian evangelism.

I am not persuaded theirs was necessarily a conscious rebellion that was fired by a flame fed and fanned by a hatred of Gentiles. I imagine it was in the background of their thoughts, with them imagining their less-than-welcoming friendliness toward people like me, not seeming to them to be entirely unreasonable from a human perspective. After all, they had experienced centuries of suffering at the hands of the ungodly nations ravaging them and carrying their people off into captivity.

If it wasn’t the Egyptians, it was the Canaanites. After the Canaanites, it was the Assyrians and the Babylonians. Then, it was Alexander’s army, with the Romans merely the latest oppressors. Never mind that God brought all those conquerors against them in response to their sins against the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

Though Jewish people eventually came to despise Gentile idolatry, repudiated Gentile values, and culture and resented Gentile domination, what is that to the Jewish Christian whose Savior died for those same Gentiles and wanted His Church and disciples to reach those Gentiles with the Gospel? Additionally, what does the past oppression of your people have anything to do with your present life as a believer? Are not old things passed away, and all things become new, Second Corinthians 5.17?

For the early Jewish Christians to obey their Lord Jesus Christ, they must set aside the prejudices they had learned in their lost condition. They must deal with their spiritual baggage. They must put Christ first. They must reach out to those who are different from them. They must be receptive to allowing in those who are different from them. Has anything changed in our day? Not at all. This is an ongoing challenge. This matter must be addressed by every generation in every congregation. And that is why we teach our children, “Red, yellow, black, or white, all are precious in His sight.”

Let us reflect on how God used Simon Peter and his six traveling companion witnesses, along with the events that transpired with the Roman centurion named Cornelius, to begin preparing the Jerusalem congregation to see the entire world as their mission field, for starting to obey their Lord Jesus and preach the Gospel to every creature, as He directed them, which is to say us, to do.

In the passage we read at the outset, let us take note of three scenes leading to the Church in Jerusalem embracing a vision for lost souls, even the lost who are ethnically and racially different from them. This commenced when Peter and six men returned from Caesarea to Jerusalem.

We will look at three scenes that unfolded after their return, which I have labeled the reaction to Peter, the response of Peter, and the reaction of the Church congregation:

SCENE #1, THE REACTION TO PETER

We see here that the word-of-mouth grapevine operated at a breakneck pace, verse one:

“And the apostles and brethren that were in Judaea heard that the Gentiles had also received the word of God.”

In the last sentence of chapter 10, Cornelius and his friends in Caesarea asked Peter and his traveling companions to stay with them certain days. No doubt, Peter and his six companions did just that. After all, those Gentile Christians needed to be taught much about the Christian life and the ministry of the Holy Spirit. But while Peter and friends tarried in Caesarea, someone brought news to Jerusalem. And they got it there quickly.

Next, we notice that the word-of-mouth grapevine is selective, verses 2 and 3:

2 And when Peter was come up to Jerusalem, they that were of the circumcision contended with him,

3 Saying, Thou wentest in to men uncircumcised, and didst eat with them.

I have no real problem with grapevines other than that they, like most mainstream journalists, are highly selective about what facts are transmitted and their accuracy. When Peter finally arrived in Jerusalem, he was confronted by a select group concerned about a tiny detail. Apparently, of all of the things that happened in Caesarea, someone who had been in Caesarea thought the Church brethren in Jerusalem ought to know that Peter actually ate meals with uncircumcised Gentiles. No report was made of Gentile believers in Christ. No report seems to have been made about the Spirit’s baptism of those Gentile believers. No report of Peter’s reasons for doing any of the things he was alleged to have done. There is no concern for Peter’s reputation or how much hurt Peter’s wife and family would suffer due to such selective reportage.

There appeared to be no concern for anything else besides the sensational value of telling people that Peter had actually eaten meals with Gentiles! And, of course, this kind of gossip stirred up all of the folks who had a real problem in the area of circumcision. It seems to be the nature of folks to get stirred about things that are most important to them. So, the folks who got stirred up about this circumcision thing were folks who still tended to cling to the notion that circumcision was required for salvation and that the only way to heaven was through the synagogue. But those folks of the circumcision in verse 2 did the right thing, though a bit roughly. They could have mumbled and griped about Peter’s actions or done any number of things that could have undermined his ministry. Instead of all that, they approached him about the matter and confronted him about his perceived wrongdoing.

Yes, they are to be commended for accusing Peter of wrongdoing to his face. Why? By talking to his face, instead of behind his back, they showed their genuine interest in getting at the truth and allowed him to explain his actions to them. Though a bit judgmental and confrontational, their reaction to Peter is not to be condemned but rather to be commended. It showed an effort to be obedient to Christ, Who said,

“Moreover, if thy brother trespass against thee, go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone....”[1]

Thank God for courageous Church members who will do this. It is better to do right poorly, roughly, a bit crudely, until you become experienced enough to do right well.

SCENE #2, THE RESPONSE OF PETER

This is recorded in verses 4-17. As we proceed through the record of Peter’s response, notice that he merely told folks what happened. He did not get agitated or angry. He just told them what transpired and why. We should strive to imitate Peter’s method of response. It shows spiritual strength.

In verses 4-15, Peter rehearsed the events related to Cornelius and went into a bit more detail than is recorded in chapter 10: