Exodus 1-2



As We Begin... Acts (Chapter 11:1-18)

• The Universal Gospel – The events in Acts 10 lead to the questions in Acts 11. It is important to review this context and the first century Jewish and Christian mindset in order to comprehend the magnitude of the questions asked in this time.

• The “Separate” (and holy) Jews - The Jews had always been taught that being “separate” was a way to please God and live as His holy people. This was strongly mandated when Israel took over the promise land. It would be mind-boggling to think differently. God would have to shake things up in a big way to teach the lesson that He was the Lord of the nations, even though He had already stated this in the Old Testament.

• God’s Plan to Reveal Himself as Lord of the Nations (Read Acts 10) - When Cornelius saw an angel, he was amazed. When Peter was in a trance and saw a sheet come down from heaven, he too was amazed. God was so determined to make an impact on Peter that He allowed the vision to appear three times (v. 16)! The result on Peter was immediate. He was “wondering about the meaning of the vision” (v. 17). The encounter of these two men would happen in two days (v. 23-24). Peter would summarize the result of these heavenly encounters. God is now accepting the gentiles (v. 34 – 35). Peter would declare this to the crowd that was gathered at Cornelius home. The crowd was amazed at the message also (v. 45-46). Just to make everything very clear, God gave several notices of what He was doing. How many “notices” can you describe? What is a good summary of these verses?

• Cornelius the Gentile is requesting a visit from Peter the Jew about Jesus the Christ. Take note of some of the following factors that led to a great divide between Jews and Gentiles.

–  Jewish believers sought to uphold the OT laws about avoiding contact with Gentiles.

– God condemned the “nations” in the OT but also had a plan to bless them (Gen. 12).

– Israel saw the doctrine of election as a declaration of favoritism.

– The Jews hated the Gentiles, called them “dogs,” and avoided them.

– Jews would not enter the home of a Gentile or eat with them.

• Peter the Jew/Christian 21 Peter went down and said to the men, “I’m the one you’re looking for. Why have you come?” 22 The men replied, “We have come from Cornelius the centurion. He is a righteous and God-fearing man, who is respected by all the Jewish people. A holy angel told him to ask you to come to his house so that he could hear what you have to say.” 23 Then Peter invited the men into the house to be his guests. – By the welcome into his home, Peter accepted a new law.

• You are well aware that it is against our law for a Jew to associate with a Gentile or visit him. (v. 28) – Peter explains the great cultural barrier between Jew and Gentile that we’ve studied today and makes it known that he has come to a new place of understanding.

• I now realize how true it is that God does not show favoritism but accepts men from every nation who fear Him (v. 34-35)

As We Study... The Acts of the Apostles - (Acts 11)

• Change - The apostles and the believers throughout Judea heard that the Gentiles also had received the word of God. – Change is challenging. Some changes are good, and some changes are bad, and this change shocks the believers. Whereas it should be received with joy, the initial reaction is fear or hostility.

o Responding to Change – Thinking back through our own lives, we can probably see times where God’s plan was made clearer to us. God had already shared this plan in the Scripture, but it wasn’t as clear in the past as it was now, especially through Peter’s experience.

▪ It’s great the God does NOT change. (Psalm 55:19; Malachi 3:6; Hebrews 13:8)

▪ God isn’t fickle with His thoughts like humans (Numbers 23:19; I Samuel 15:29).

▪ God does seek that we be changed into His likeness (Matthew 18:3; Romans 12:2).

▪ We should “test” change based on God’s will (Romans 12:2; I Thess. 5:20-22).

• Criticism - 2 So when Peter went up to Jerusalem, the circumcised believers criticized him 3 and said, “You went into the house of uncircumcised men and ate with them.” - Peter had the benefit of God’s intervening. Sharing this same new reality with others would become one of the next greatest tasks for the Apostles in Acts. Peter seemed to be “going too far.” In light of the tense relationship with Jews in Jerusalem already, people could easily say that in his acceptance of the Gentiles he was foolishly creating hardships for the believers in Jerusalem. One thing helps with this. It wasn’t PETER’s idea! It was the Lord’s doing.

o Criticism (Facing criticism for following the Lord) – Peter was being obedient and faithful, and this led to criticism for him. Some of the criticism may have been harsh and mean-spirited, but it seems like that’s not the majority given the acceptance of Peter’s conclusions in v. 18.

▪ Doing what is right won’t release you from criticism – Jesus noted persecution as one of the common experiences of a prophet in the Beatitudes (Matt. 5:12) (Heb. 11:37).

▪ Facing persecution and criticism uniquely relates us with Christ – Jesus said that His followers would be persecuted just like Jesus was persecuted (John 15:20).

▪ Paul tells Timothy that “anyone” who wants to live a godly life will be persecuted (II Tim. 3:12). This is very different than the common train of thought that goes, “If I’m a nice person and a faithful person, people will treat me well.” Sometimes believers will be persecuted because they are faithful. Think of martyrs around the world today.

▪ Romans 12:14-21 – Paul’s advice on responding to criticism.

▪ I Peter 3:8-18 – Peter’s advice on responding to criticism.

•  Clarity - Starting from the beginning, Peter told them the whole story (v. 4) – Peter relays the events of Acts 10 with the crowd in Jerusalem to notify them that he had no other options. God was working to demonstrate His will for the Gentiles to come to faith.

•  Surely not, Lord! Nothing impure or unclean has ever entered my mouth. (v. 8) – Peter demonstrates, yet again, that the whole idea was just as new to him as it now was to the crowd to whom he was speaking.

o God’s voice confirms this (v. 9).

o The voice spoke three times (v. 10).

o Three men from Caesarea confirms this (v. 11).

o The Spirit prompted Peter to go with them (v. 12).

o The Holy Spirit came upon the men from Caesarea also (v. 15).

• Clarity - REALLY Clear Leading from God – It’s at moments like this one that we stop and think something like this, “I wish God would give ME that kind of clarity!” I wish God would offer me a vision or two, a voice from heaven, the clear prompting of the Holy Spirit and in repeated fashion. That would be nice!

• Who was I to think I could stand in God’s way? (v. 17) – The multiple actions that confirmed God’s plan of redemption convinced Peter. Peter’s story also convinced those in the crowd in Jerusalem who were listening to his report. They said, “So then, even to Gentiles God has granted repentance that leads to life.” (v. 18) This should be our goal as well. We want to stay “in the way” of God’s working and not think, live or teach in any way that is obstructive. This follows the advice that Gamaliel gave earlier in Acts (Acts 5:39).

As We Go... The Acts of the Apostles - (Acts 11)

The never changing Lord helps His people in an ever-changing world – Change is a given. As is the case here in Acts 11, some changes are good, but that’s certainly not always the case. Discerning how to live in the midst of change was the challenge of the believers in Jerusalem. They accepted the amazing truth revealed to Peter even though it meant danger to them!

• “Revelation” (the teaching not the book) is the Key – God has always been revealing Himself to us in His Word. Just as Peter received multiple insights from God, we can too. As we return to the Scriptures time and time again, the Bible has remained the same, but our circumstances are different. Given these changes in life, the same old Scripture offers us “new” insights we probably missed before. We just weren’t ready for that lesson yet. God does give “clarity,” but we must remain in tune with the Spirit and the Word just like Peter and the believers in Jerusalem.

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Acts – Chapter 11:1-18

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