Answers for A Study in the book of Acts: Chapter 11

“Answers For A Study in the Book of Acts” is a weekly post in addition to the regular “Case for the New Testament” posts on the weekend. The original questions are posted on the bottom of the Case for the New Testament” post the weekend before, and the answers appear here mid-week. This gives you time to do your own research and then check your answers here. Keep in mind these will be basic answers with a little depth, but you can go much deeper if you’d like.

Note: The answers will focus on what the text of the Bible says, and commentaries and speculative answers will be noted as such. There are many scholarly commentaries out there but it will be important, as students of the Bible, to keep the text of the Bible as our first source. Commentaries can be used, keeping in mind that they are human thoughts about God’s Word.

Bible Study

Always remember to pray before you study and ask the Holy Spirit to teach you and lead you into the truth found in God’s Word – pray for protection from the evil one who will try to discourage, distract and deceive us when we commit to growing closer to the LORD.

Read Acts Chapter 11: Then, to the best of your ability, answer the following questions.

NOTE: Questions are taken directly from the chapters, and answers should be found and cited from the Scripture text in order to be Biblically accurate (unless asked to summarize in your own words). Study Bibles, commentaries and your own thoughts can be used for “Discussion” or “Going Deeper” questions. Cite your sources to share with your group.

Peter reports in Jerusalem; the Church at Antioch

1. Read Chapter 11:1-18 with your table group

In the first part of this chapter Peter returns to Jerusalem:

a. What did the “circumcised” brethren accuse Peter of doing, and why?

“Now the apostles and the brethren who were throughout Judea heard that the Gentiles also had received the word of God. And when Peter came up to Jerusalem, those who were circumcised took issue with him, saying, “You went to uncircumcised men and ate with them.”” Acts 11:1-3

They accused Peter of eating with Gentiles (uncircumcised), which was forbidden in Jewish Law.
The reason it is forbidden in Jewish Law is not so much the actual people, but the food – food restrictions are very detailed in the Law of Moses/Torah, and the Jews of this day had made the Law so restrictive that it was defiling to even eat with Gentiles because of the type of food that may be served or the way it was cooked; or the food possibly touching something else that was considered unclean; and even the people were considered unclean because of their less restrictive practices that could affect the food.

b. How did Peter go about explaining what happened? How did they end up responding*?

“Peter began speaking and proceeded to explain to them in orderly sequence, saying, “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, and when I had fixed my gaze on it and was observing it I saw the four-footed animals of the earth and the wild beasts and the crawling creatures and the birds of the air. I also heard a voice saying to me, ‘Get up, Peter; kill and eat.’ But I said, ‘By no means, Lord, for nothing unholy or unclean has ever entered my mouth.’ But a voice from heaven answered a second time, ‘What God has cleansed, no longer consider unholy.’ This happened three times, and everything was drawn back up into the sky. And behold, at that moment three men appeared at the house in which we were staying, having been sent to me from Caesarea. The Spirit told me to go with them without misgivings. These six brethren also went with me and we entered the man’s house. And he reported to us how he had seen the angel standing in his house, and saying, ‘Send to Joppa and have Simon, who is also called Peter, brought here; and he will speak words to you by which you will be saved, you and all your household.’ And as I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell upon them just as He did upon us at the beginning. 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.’ 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?” 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.”” Acts 11:4-18

Peter explained everything in an orderly account
Peter had confirmation from God through his vision and was directly spoken to by God
Three times it happened for Peter – the number three has significance in Scripture, it can be seen as a sign for confirming a thing to be true in Scripture – (it also symbolizes the Trinity)
Note, we must be careful not to think there is a formula of numbers in Scripture for us to use today in some “magical” way – it is more reasonable to understand that numbers are meant as symbols in Scripture to teach us what happened (past)
He had further confirmation from Cornelius’ own vision
He took six witnesses with him

*The response (which was the proper one) from the brethren was to glorify God and rejoice over God’s acceptance of Gentiles.

c. Going Deeper: Where in the Old Testament can we find promises about the Gentile “Nations” and in what context? (There are quite a few places – extra credit if you can find them all)

(Answers here will vary in number of references as there are many)

Most importantly, the answers will flow from the promise made to Abraham in the Abrahamic Covenant that provides for “a blessing to all the nations”:

“Now the Lord said to Abram, “Go forth from your country, and from your relatives and from your father’s house, to the land which I will show you; and I will make you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great; and so you shall be a blessing; and I will bless those who bless you, and the one who curses you I will curse. And in you all the families of the earth will be blessed.” ” Genesis 12:103

As you read through the Old Testament you will find many places where God reinforces this blessing to “all” – we see it passed on to Abraham’s son Isaac, then Jacob, then to the 12 tribes of Israel corporately. We later see this promise expanded in the Mosaic Covenant, then specified in the Davidic Covenant. The prophets also speak to this part of the promise, and ultimately it is fulfilled in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus – now available to all!

2. Read Chapter 11:19-30 with your table group

The second part of this chapter picks up with the “scattering of the Church”:

a. What caused the “scattering” and where did they go? What seemed to be the result of this scattering*?

“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. 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. And the hand of the Lord was with them, and a large number who believed turned to the Lord. The news about them reached the ears of the church at Jerusalem, and they sent Barnabas off to Antioch. 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; for he was a good man, and full of the Holy Spirit and of faith. And considerable numbers were brought to the Lord.” Acts 11:19-24

The disciples scattered because of the persecution that had begun with the stoning of Stephen
This is actually a push from the Holy Spirit because Jesus had told them to go out and preach the Gospel to everyone, not just stay in Jerusalem (see Matthew 28:19-20; Acts 1:8)
This “scattering/going out” began with Phoenicia, Cyprus and Antioch – first to the Jews, but then also to the Gentiles

*The main result here was considerable numbers begin brought to the Lord, both Jew and Gentile – this would confirm that God was working through the scattering and persecution

b. Who did the Apostles in Jerusalem send to Antioch, what did he do and what was his report back? Where did he go after this, and who did he bring back to Antioch?

^“The news about them reached the ears of the church at Jerusalem, and they sent Barnabas off to Antioch. 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; for he was a good man, and full of the Holy Spirit and of faith. And considerable numbers were brought to the Lord. And he left for Tarsus to look for Saul; 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.” Acts 11:22-26

The Apostles sent Barnabus, who seemed to be trusted by all and was known for his encouragement (the meaning of his name), his faith and being full of the Holy Spirit
Barnabus went to Antioch to see if the news about those being saved was true – and it was
Barnabus then went to Tarsus to get Paul and bring him back to Antioch and they met with the Church and taught considerable numbers of people
Note:—there are two places in Scripture called Antioch…

From simplybible.com:

1) The first Antioch mentioned in the book of Acts is the large city in Syria (Acts 11:19-30)

Syrian Antioch was the world’s third greatest city, bettered only by Rome and Alexandria.
Antioch stood 25km up river from its seaport Selucia, where the Crontes River entered the Great Sea.
Infamous for immorality in the form of lustful sports and pleasures.
A center for the worship of Daphne, a godess whose priestesses were prostitutes.
When persecution in Jerusalem gave impetus to evangelism, some of the scattered Christians reached Antioch (Acts 11:19).
A strong church of Christ was established there, and this is where the disciples were first called Christians (Acts 11:19,26).
From Antioch, a great new missionary effort reached out to the Gentile world (Acts 11:19-21, Acts 13:1-4, Acts 14:24-28).
Paul spent a lot of time in Antioch prior to his 1st missionary journey (Acts 11:25-26, Acts 15:35).
Several other church leaders also spent time there (Acts 11:27, Acts 13:1).
Antioch was the center of a controversy involving Gentile Christians and Jewish law (Acts 11:19-22, Acts 15:22-35, Galatians 2:11-21).
From Antioch, relief was sent to famine-hit brethren in Judea (Acts 11:27-30).

2) The second Antioch is around the corner so to speak, passing northeast through Cilicia and Pisidia past the towns of Iconium, Lystra, and Derbe.

Pisidian Antioch stood on a plateau 3,600 feet above sea level.
Mentioned in connection with Paul’s 1st missionary journey.
Paul and Barnabas had to climb a hard mountainous road to get there and preach in the synagogue (Acts 13:14-16).

c. What specific information does this passage give about the Church in Antioch? (Hint: verse 26)

Antioch (Syria) was the first place we find believers being referred to as Christians, and Antioch became one of the central locations for the early Church.

d. Going Deeper: What did Agabus say in a prophecy, and are there sources to confirm this happened?

“Now at this time some prophets came down from Jerusalem to Antioch. 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. 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. And this they did, sending it in charge of Barnabas and Saul to the elders.” Acts 11:27-30

Agabus prophesied that there would be a great famine in the land
This happened during the reign of the Roman Emperor Claudius.
Many times in Paul’s missionary journeys, we see in his writing that he encouraged sending help for the Church in places like Jerusalem, where the famine had hit the people hard
The fact that this famine happened can be confirmed in outside sources, for example – June 29, 2013 an article in the Huffington Post said the following:

“Archaeologists may have discovered evidence of a dire famine that gripped Jerusalem during a Roman siege nearly 2,000 years ago.

Cooking pots and a ceramic lamp were found in an ancient cistern near the Western Wall, the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) announced. Excavators believe these artifacts were left in the underground chamber by Jewish residents who were trying to eat what little food they had in secret during the war.

“This is the first time we are able to connect archaeological finds with the famine that occurred during the siege of Jerusalem at the time of the Great Revolt,” Eli Shukron, excavation director for the IAA, said in a statement. The Great Revolt was the first of several Jewish uprisings against Roman rule that began in A.D. 66. The revolt was ultimately unsuccessful. The Romans eventually took back Jerusalem from the Jewish rebels and destroyed much of the city, including the Second Temple.

“The complete cooking pots and ceramic oil lamp indicate that the people went down into the cistern where they secretly ate the food that was contained in the pots, without anyone seeing them, and this is consistent with the account provided by Josephus,” Shukron added.

The historian Flavius Josephus provided the seminal account of the Roman siege of Jerusalem — and the desperate hunger that accompanied it — in his book “The Jewish War” (Simon & Brown, 2013). He wrote about how residents in the city concealed their food and ate in secret, fearing it would be stolen by the rebels.

“For as nowhere was there corn to be seen, men broke into the houses and ransacked them,” Josephus wrote. “If they found some they maltreated the occupants for saying there was none; if they did not, they suspected them of having hidden it more carefully and tortured them.”

Josephus added that many residents exchanged their possessions for small amounts of food that they took to secret parts of their home, “where some through extreme hunger ate their grain as it was, others made bread, necessity and fear being their only guides. Nowhere was a table laid.””

e. Discuss: Write down and share two or three things that you think are important to remember about chapter eleven. (answers will vary…)

In this chapter we see the beginning of the “Great Commission” with the scattering of the disciples, because of persecution, leading to the spread of the Gospel not only to other Jews, but to Gentiles, resulting in acceptance of this practice by the Apostles in Jerusalem.
We also see the Bible again confirmed by secular sources and archeology in the example above concerning the “great famine” of this time period.

Please continue to join us in making our “A Case for the New Testament” along with a study in the book of Acts, and share it with others!

Note: Class presentation, videos, reflections and Bible study question are posted on the weekend – Bible study answers (like these) posted mid-week.

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Teri Dugan

TeriDugan@truthfaithandreason.com

1 Peter 3:15