Some church members, identified as 'circumcised believers' (
Acts 11:2), objected to the reception of Gentiles into the church, using precisely the kind of 'discrimination' that Peter was warned against in
Acts 10:20 (cf.
Acts 11:12), on the issue of the 'traditional restrictions on table-fellowship between Jews and Gentiles' (as Peter himself referred in
Acts 10:28), that was significant in the early church as written by Paul in
Galatians 2:11–14.[5] Peter emphasizes 'the role of the Spirit, the importance of not 'making a distinction' (verse 12), and the parallel with Pentecost (verse 15)' in relation to Jesus' words (verse 16; cf.
Acts 1:5), and warns that 'withholding baptism from the Gentiles would be tantamount to hindering God' (verse 17) because each step in the development of the church is initiated by God.[5]
Verse 17
[Simon Peter said to the assembly:] “If therefore God gave them the same gift as He gave us when we believed on the Lord
JesusChrist, who was I that I could withstand God?”[6]
The words "them" and "us" emphasize the parallel of the two cases (cf. Acts 11:15), for just as faith existed before the gift of the Spirit in the case of Peter and the Apostles, so in the case of Cornelius and his companions there should exist a degree of faith, otherwise the gift was not manifested in them.[7]
Verse 18
When they heard these things they became silent; and they glorified God, saying, "Then God has also granted to the Gentiles repentance to life."[8]
This concludes the 'unified and tightly constructed episode of Cornelius' conversion.'[5]
The church in Antioch (11:19–26)
This section extends
Acts 8:1 ('those who were scattered', following Stephen's death) as the traveling disciples 'speaking the word' (verse 19; cf. Acts 8:4) to wide regions (Phoenicia, Cyprus) and then focuses to the development in
Antioch in Syria (c. 300 miles (480 km) north of
Jerusalem).[5] Here some of them started preaching to 'Greeks' (verse 20; Greek: Ἑλληνιστάς, Hellēnistas, "Hellenists"; some manuscripts, such as
Papyrus 74, have Ἑλληνάς, Hellēnas, "Grecians"), a development from earlier Cornelius episode.[5] The apostles reacted to the news (verse 22) similar to that in
Acts 8:14, but this time they first sent Barnabas (introduced in
Acts 4:36) who plays important roles as the liaison to the church in Jerusalem
and as the one who brings Saul (or Paul) from Tarsus (verses 25–26) to spend a year
quietly engaged in 'teaching'.[5]
Verse 26
And when he (Barnabas) had found him (Saul or Paul of Tarsus), he brought him to Antioch. So it was that for a whole year they assembled with the church and taught a great many people.
And the disciples were first called Christians in Antioch.[9]
The sending of help for the famine in Judea (during the reign of
Claudius, 41-54 CE) raises up some historical difficulties:[5]
The placement of the narrative before the death of Herod Agrippa I (44 CE; cf.
Acts 12:20–24), seems to be in conflict with the date 46—48 CE given by
Josephus (Ant. 20.101). However, Acts also records the return of the relief party to Antioch after Herod's death (
Acts 12:25).[11]
It appears to contradict Paul's claim that he visited Jerusalem only once before he attended the
council there (
Galatians 2:1-10;
Acts 15). If Paul's first visit was the one recorded in
Acts 9, then Paul would have made an extra visit to Jerusalem against his statement in
Galatians 1:17–24,[12] or it is possible the
epistle to the Galatians was written before the council in Jerusalem (which clarifies why Paul does not mention it) and this visit is the "private" one mentioned in the epistle [13]
^Wuest 1973, p. 19. The word is used three times in the New Testament, and each time as a term of reproach or derision. Here in Antioch, the name Christianos was coined to distinguish the worshippers of the Christ from the Kaisarianos, the worshippers of Caesar.
Alexander, Loveday (2007). "62. Acts". In Barton, John; Muddiman, John (eds.).
The Oxford Bible Commentary (first (paperback) ed.). Oxford University Press. pp. 1028–1061.
ISBN978-0199277186. Retrieved February 6, 2019.