Acts 11
BSASBPeter defends before the Jerusalem believers his visit to the Gentile household of Cornelius, retelling the vision and the Spirit’s coming, and the church accepts that God has given Gentiles repentance unto life. Meanwhile the gospel spreads to Greeks in Antioch, Barnabas and Saul teach the new church there, and the believers send help to Judea in a famine.
Acts 11:1
News travels fast: Gentiles in Caesarea had received the word of God. The wording is striking. The apostles hear that non-Jews have welcomed God’s message, the same message Jews had received. A new chapter in the church’s story has opened, and not everyone is ready for it.
BSA: received (“accepted, welcomed”): The Gentiles did not merely hear the message but gladly welcomed it as their own.
Acts 11:2-3
The complaint is not that Gentiles were saved but that Peter went into their home and shared a table with them. For devout Jews, eating with non-Jews raised serious questions of purity and covenant identity. These were sincere believers, troubled by something that was truly new.
BSA: took issue (“contended, argued, had a dispute”): This was a real argument, not a polite question, and Peter had to answer it.
See also: Acts 10:28.
Acts 11:4
Peter does not pull rank or argue theory. He simply tells the story in order, from the beginning. The facts of what God did become his defense. It is a humble and wise way to settle a dispute.
BSA: sequence (“in order, one after another”): Peter lays out events step by step so the Lord’s hand can be seen at every stage.
Acts 11:5-6
Peter retells the vision at Joppa. A great sheet comes down from heaven, filled with every kind of animal, including creatures Jewish law called unclean. The sheet comes right down to him, so the message is placed personally before him.
BSA: trance (“a state of amazement”): Peter was lifted out of his ordinary awareness, struck with wonder as God spoke.
Greek: ἔκστασις (ekstasis, G1611) — “a standing outside oneself, amazement.” The word pictures a mind taken out of its usual state so that it can receive something from God. It is the root of our word ecstasy.
See also: Leviticus 11:1-47.
Acts 11:7-8
The voice tells Peter to kill and eat, but he refuses, saying he has never eaten anything impure or unclean. Notice his words: ‘No, Lord.’ The two do not fit together, since a servant cannot truly say no to his Lord. Peter’s habit of a lifetime stands in the way.
Acts 11:9-10
The voice answers that what God has made clean, Peter must not call impure. God himself, not human opinion, decides what is clean. The vision comes three times, so that Peter cannot miss it or explain it away. Then the sheet is taken back into heaven.
BSA: made clean (“purified, cleansed, set apart”): God is the one who cleanses, and what he has cleansed no one may call defiled.
See also: Mark 7:18-19.
Acts 11:11-12
At that very moment three men arrive from Caesarea. The Spirit tells Peter to go with them without hesitation, meaning without doubting or making distinctions. Peter also brings six Jewish believers as witnesses, who can now confirm his account to the Jerusalem church.
BSA: hesitation (“doubt or judgment”): Peter was to set aside his inner debate about who is acceptable and simply obey.
Greek: διακρίναντα (diakrinanta, G1252) — “making a distinction, doubting.” The word means to separate or divide. Peter was told to go without drawing dividing lines between Jew and Gentile, or without wavering within himself.
Acts 11:13-14
Cornelius had seen an angel who told him to send for Peter. Peter would bring words by which he and his whole household would be saved. Salvation comes through a message, the gospel, and it reaches a whole household who hear and believe it.
BSA: saved (“rescued, delivered from sin, brought to spiritual safety”): The message offers rescue from sin, not just religious instruction.
See also: Acts 10:3-6; Romans 10:17.
Acts 11:15
As Peter was beginning to speak, the Holy Spirit fell on the Gentile listeners. He did not wait for the end of the sermon. Peter says it was just as at the beginning, meaning Pentecost. God himself gave the same gift to these new believers.
BSA: fell (“to press upon or come down”): The Spirit came down on them in a clear and powerful way that all could see.
See also: Acts 2:1-4.
Acts 11:16
The scene reminded Peter of what Jesus had said: John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit. Water is the outward sign, and the Spirit is the inward gift. Peter sees that Jesus’ promise was now reaching beyond Israel.
BSA: baptized (“immersed, filled”): The Spirit’s baptism means being fully immersed in God’s presence, not a light touch.
See also: Acts 1:5; Luke 3:16.
Acts 11:17
Peter’s argument is simple. God gave these Gentiles the same gift he gave Jewish believers when they trusted the Lord Jesus. Then who was Peter to stand in God’s way? When God has plainly acted, opposing him is not wise.
BSA: hinder (“prevent, obstruct”): To refuse these believers would have meant blocking what God himself was doing.
Acts 11:18
The objections stop, and the church praises God. They admit that God has given even Gentiles repentance leading to life. Repentance is a gift, a turning of the heart that God grants. Their hearts were moved from suspicion to worship.
BSA: repentance (“a change of heart, turning from sin”): God opened the door for Gentiles to turn from sin and live.
See also: Romans 2:4; Acts 5:31.
Acts 11:19
Now the story picks up from the persecution after Stephen’s death. Scattered believers carried the message far from Jerusalem, to Phoenicia, Cyprus and Antioch. God used trouble to spread the gospel. At first they spoke only to Jews, as they had always done.
BSA: scattered (“by the oppression, because of the tribulation”): Persecution drove believers out of Jerusalem, and God turned that suffering into spreading the message.
See also: Acts 8:1-4.
Acts 11:20
Some believers from Cyprus and Cyrene began speaking also to Greeks in Antioch. They proclaimed the good news about the Lord Jesus. Here ordinary, unnamed believers cross a boundary. Antioch was a great city, so this was a major step for the gospel.
BSA: good news (“gospel, message of salvation”): What they shared was not a set of rules but joyful news of a Savior.
Greek: εὐαγγελιζόμενοι (euangelizomenoi, G2097) — “announcing good news.” This is the verb form of the word gospel. It describes the joyful act of bringing news that changes everything for the hearer.
Acts 11:21
The hand of the Lord was with them, a phrase meaning his power at work. A great number believed and turned to the Lord. Turning means a change of direction, away from old ways and toward him. The growth was his doing, not theirs.
BSA: hand (“power, instrument”): God’s power was visibly working through these ordinary messengers.
See also: Acts 4:30.
Acts 11:22-23
The Jerusalem church sent Barnabas to see what was happening. He saw the grace of God and rejoiced. A good leader recognizes God’s work and is glad. He urged them all to remain in the Lord with a whole heart, steady and not halfway.
BSA: encouraged (“pled with, comforted”): Barnabas came alongside them, urging and comforting at once. abide (“remain, persist”): New faith needs to stay firmly in the Lord, not drift away.
Greek: παρεκάλει (parekalei, G3870) — “was urging, encouraging, coming alongside.” It is the same root as the name Barnabas gets in Acts 4:36, ‘son of encouragement.’ Here he lives up to it.
See also: Acts 4:36.
Acts 11:24
Luke gives a short portrait of Barnabas: a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and faith. The result was that many more were brought to the Lord. Real goodness, filled with the Spirit, draws people to Christ.
BSA: good (“morally upright, righteous”): His character was sound and honest, and people could trust him.
Acts 11:25-26
The work was too big for one man, so Barnabas went to Tarsus to find Saul and bring him to Antioch. For a full year they taught large crowds. Here believers were first called Christians, a name meaning people belonging to Christ, now widely loved.
BSA: Christians (“followers of Christ, believers”): The name marked them out as people who belonged to Christ.
Greek: Χριστιανούς (Christianous, G5546) — “Christ’s people, followers of Christ.” The ending marks belonging, like ‘Caesar’s people.’ It identified them as people devoted to Christ.
See also: Acts 9:27; 1 Peter 4:16.
Acts 11:27-28
Prophets came from Jerusalem to Antioch. One of them, Agabus, stood and said through the Spirit that a great famine would come over the whole world. The phrase ‘whole world’ means the Roman world. Luke notes it happened in the time of Claudius.
BSA: predicted (“signified, indicated”): Agabus spoke through the Spirit, giving a sign of what was coming.
See also: Acts 21:10-11.
Acts 11:29-30
The Antioch believers, mostly Gentile, responded with love. Each gave as he was able to help the Judean brothers. They sent the gift to the elders by Barnabas and Saul. Gentile and Jewish believers are now bound together by practical care.
BSA: relief (“help, ministration”): Their gift was real service, meeting actual need.
See also: Romans 15:26-27; 2 Corinthians 9:7.