🙏🏽 Dear Heavenly Father – reveal to us the truth in Your Word. In a world that speaks in an abundant flow of worthless words, we are inundated with lies. We are told to ‘Look here,’ ‘Look there,’ ‘This is the way.’ All these messages promise to fulfill our emptiness, yet they fail to deliver. As we read these chapters, help us understand the truth of who You are and the promises You have for us. Let us recognize the emptiness of the distracting voices around us. Strengthen and mold us to hear Your Truth so that we cheerfully follow You and You alone. We pray this in the name of our Savior, Jesus. Amen.
Peter Explains His Actions
11 The apostles and the believers throughout Judea heard that the Gentiles also had received the word of God. 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.”
Points to Ponder: It is easy to read the Gospels and criticize the Pharisees for their hardened hearts and spiritual blindness when Jesus associated Himself with the unworthy Jews… the sinners and tax collectors. But we see the early church react in a similar way… the converted Jews here are opposed to welcoming the Gentiles. We should take note of a natural tendency towards an ‘us vs. them’ mentality. God’s message is an invitation to all – if you are human, the invitation is for you. But it is your responsibility to accept – regardless of what others around you might say. [John 3:16]
4 Starting from the beginning, Peter told them the whole story: 5 “I was in the city of Joppa praying, and in a trance I saw a vision. I saw something like a large sheet being let down from heaven by its four corners, and it came down to where I was. 6 I looked into it and saw four-footed animals of the earth, wild beasts, reptiles and birds. 7 Then I heard a voice telling me, ‘Get up, Peter. Kill and eat.’
8 “I replied, ‘Surely not, Lord! Nothing impure or unclean has ever entered my mouth.’
9 “The voice spoke from heaven a second time, ‘Do not call anything impure that God has made clean.’ 10 This happened three times, and then it was all pulled up to heaven again.
Points to Ponder: Notice Peter’s response. He admits that he too, wanted to hold onto the strict Jewish laws. We are witnessing the difficulty for God’s people as they must be the leaders as time itself, transitions from ‘BC’ before Christ to ‘AD’ anno Domini – the year of our Lord. There is no other age in history until Christ returns and time ends.
11 “Right then three men who had been sent to me from Caesarea stopped at the house where I was staying. 12 The Spirit told me to have no hesitation about going with them. These six brothers also went with me, and we entered the man’s house. 13 He told us how he had seen an angel appear in his house and say, ‘Send to Joppa for Simon who is called Peter. 14 He will bring you a message through which you and all your household will be saved.’
15 “As I began to speak, the Holy Spirit came on them as he had come on us at the beginning. 16 Then I remembered what the Lord had said: ‘John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’ 17 So if God gave them the same gift he gave us who believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I to think that I could stand in God’s way?”
18 When they heard this, they had no further objections and praised God, saying, “So then, even to Gentiles God has granted repentance that leads to life.”
Points to Ponder: Peter was told to have no hesitation; he brought six men with him to Cornelius’ house! (I sense a little hesitation.) All is good though, he now has six additional witnesses to testify to this group of believers. The powerful work of the Spirit is evident here. Peter speaks truth – the Gospel message – and the Spirit fills Cornelius, his relatives, and his closest friends. As this is happening, the Spirit brings to Peter’s mind the very Words that he heard Jesus speak. Peter now understands his vision – God’s way is different from Peter’s way. And Peter humbles himself and gets out of the way! The believers in Jerusalem come to the same conclusion and praise God.
The Church in Antioch
19 Now those who had been scattered by the persecution that broke out when Stephen was killed traveled as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus and Antioch, spreading the word only among Jews. 20 Some of them, however, men from Cyprus and Cyrene, went to Antioch and began to speak to Greeks also, telling them the good news about the Lord Jesus. 21 The Lord’s hand was with them, and a great number of people believed and turned to the Lord.
Points to Ponder: We get a glimpse here of what is going on outside of Jerusalem. Some people gathered with only ‘their kind’ to spread the Word. Some ventured out to speak to outsiders, as well. The Lord’s hand was with them. THEM – which ‘them’? 😁 We aren’t told. What we are told is that The Lord’s hand is in the growth of the Church.
22 News of this reached the church in Jerusalem, and they sent Barnabas to Antioch. 23 When he arrived and saw what the grace of God had done, he was glad and encouraged them all to remain true to the Lord with all their hearts. 24 He was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and faith, and a great number of people were brought to the Lord.
25 Then Barnabas went to Tarsus to look for Saul, 26 and when he found him, he brought him to Antioch. So for a whole year Barnabas and Saul met with the church and taught great numbers of people. The disciples were called Christians first at Antioch.
27 During this time some prophets came down from Jerusalem to Antioch. 28 One of them, named Agabus, stood up and through the Spirit predicted that a severe famine would spread over the entire Roman world. (This happened during the reign of Claudius.) 29 The disciples, as each one was able, decided to provide help for the brothers and sisters living in Judea. 30 This they did, sending their gift to the elders by Barnabas and Saul.
Points to Ponder: We see Barnabas, the Son of Encouragement, who had declared his alliance earlier in Acts 4:36,37 back in action again. First he sent to Antioch to marvel at what the Lord had done with this group of believers – formerly both Jews and Gentiles, now united under a new name ‘Christians.’ He encourages them, then leaves only to return with Saul. They spend a year teaching this group of new believers. Upon hearing a prophecy regarding a famine to come, which Luke tells us actually happened, the believers were moved to start preparing to do what they could to help. They gathered what they could and sent their gift with people they trusted, Barnabas and Saul.
Peter’s Miraculous Escape From Prison
12 It was about this time that King Herod arrested some who belonged to the church, intending to persecute them. 2 He had James, the brother of John, put to death with the sword. 3 When he saw that this met with approval among the Jews, he proceeded to seize Peter also. This happened during the Festival of Unleavened Bread. 4 After arresting him, he put him in prison, handing him over to be guarded by four squads of four soldiers each. Herod intended to bring him out for public trial after the Passover.
Points to Ponder: Worldly leaders will always intend to persecute Christians. It’s a power thing. They currently have power and Christians stand to boldly proclaim that the Lord Jesus is the ultimate authority in their lives. James the brother of John was put to death and the Jews approved, prompting Herod to up his game and decide that Peter would be next. (Yet we know that John remained faithful to Jesus in spite of the grief and the mourning that he would go through with the death of his brother.)
We know that James and John became disciples together. [Matthew 4:21-22] We know they stuck together as the Sons of Thunder. [Mark 3:17} We know they had a difficult time accepting people that did not accept Jesus. [Luke 9:54] If ever an event in John’s life tested his faith in Jesus, the death of his brother would be a major one. Yet, John would persevere to write his Gospel, his Epistles, and the Revelation of the vision given to him while exiled on the island of Patmos. (Anyone who could believe the recording of these events as fiction has not engaged their minds to consider the context.)
5 So Peter was kept in prison, but the church was earnestly praying to God for him.
6 The night before Herod was to bring him to trial, Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains, and sentries stood guard at the entrance. 7 Suddenly an angel of the Lord appeared and a light shone in the cell. He struck Peter on the side and woke him up. “Quick, get up!” he said, and the chains fell off Peter’s wrists.
8 Then the angel said to him, “Put on your clothes and sandals.” And Peter did so. “Wrap your cloak around you and follow me,” the angel told him. 9 Peter followed him out of the prison, but he had no idea that what the angel was doing was really happening; he thought he was seeing a vision. 10 They passed the first and second guards and came to the iron gate leading to the city. It opened for them by itself, and they went through it. When they had walked the length of one street, suddenly the angel left him.
11 Then Peter came to himself and said, “Now I know without a doubt that the Lord has sent his angel and rescued me from Herod’s clutches and from everything the Jewish people were hoping would happen.”
Points to Ponder: Peter always seems surprised when God moves in his life, but he remains obedient – regardless of his ability to understand or even accept the reality of it. There is a certain, unexplainable, joy when obedience is followed up with revelation.
12 When this had dawned on him, he went to the house of Mary the mother of John, also called Mark, where many people had gathered and were praying. 13 Peter knocked at the outer entrance, and a servant named Rhoda came to answer the door. 14 When she recognized Peter’s voice, she was so overjoyed she ran back without opening it and exclaimed, “Peter is at the door!”
15 “You’re out of your mind,” they told her. When she kept insisting that it was so, they said, “It must be his angel.”
16 But Peter kept on knocking, and when they opened the door and saw him, they were astonished. 17 Peter motioned with his hand for them to be quiet and described how the Lord had brought him out of prison. “Tell James and the other brothers and sisters about this,” he said, and then he left for another place.
18 In the morning, there was no small commotion among the soldiers as to what had become of Peter. 19 After Herod had a thorough search made for him and did not find him, he cross-examined the guards and ordered that they be executed.
Points to Ponder: Sit with this for a moment – meditation time. The Church is praying for Peter and when their prayers are answered, they don’t believe it! They even utter some nonsense about Peter’s angel – where did that come from? And why do we still think today that the dead will somehow become angels? There is no scripture for that, so just stop.
We also see Herod’s plan to please the people and exalt himself disappear. He blames the guards and kills them!
It is hard for many humans to believe and trust in the power of God. Luke does an amazing job of telling the story of the early Church with all the weaknesses of humanity on full display. Our pride often convinces us that what ‘we know’ is all there is and therefore must be right.
Some people think that they don’t belong in church because they are not good enough or don’t know enough. Acts tells us that neither did these early believers. If you believe in Jesus… if there is something in you that wants to believe in Jesus… you belong in a church. You don’t have to be ‘good enough’. You most certainly won’t find perfect people there! But still, you belong with the people committed to praying for others and following Jesus.
Herod’s Death
Then Herod went from Judea to Caesarea and stayed there. 20 He had been quarreling with the people of Tyre and Sidon; they now joined together and sought an audience with him. After securing the support of Blastus, a trusted personal servant of the king, they asked for peace, because they depended on the king’s country for their food supply.
21 On the appointed day Herod, wearing his royal robes, sat on his throne and delivered a public address to the people. 22 They shouted, “This is the voice of a god, not of a man.” 23 Immediately, because Herod did not give praise to God, an angel of the Lord struck him down, and he was eaten by worms and died.
24 But the word of God continued to spread and flourish.
Points to Ponder: Wow – so much in a small section. The people in this area depended on Herod, not God so they compromise. They find a way into Herod’s favor by another man close to him. Then when in Herod’s presence, they know how to secure his favor… they flatter and exalt him. But his pride in himself is his downfall.
Herod had been present during many signs and wonders of Jesus and the early Church, yet he still sought personal exaltation. His denial of the supremacy of God leads to a gruesome, immediate death. Why don’t we see more of this? Just because God can, doesn’t mean He will. Remember King Nebuchadnezzar. [Daniel 4:30, 31, John 3:17, 18]
Human rulers and leaders rise and fall, but the Word of God lives on. While we live – we each will be on both sides of this illustration. Do people depend on us? Do they flatter and exalt us to get what they want? Do we remember to glorify God when we are in a position to meet their needs? And, what if we are the ones in need? Do we remember where our help comes from? Do we trust in God as the provider? Or are we ready to look around us and flatter or glorify others to get what we want?
Barnabas and Saul Sent Off
25 When Barnabas and Saul had finished their mission, they returned from Jerusalem, taking with them John, also called Mark.
Points to Ponder: We see Luke introducing Mark in this chapter… John Mark from v12… the author of one of the Gospels. So far what we know of him is that there were believers meeting in his mother’s house where they were praying for Peter… and Peter showed up.
This single line referencing Mark by itself is enough for new readers to set some expectations. After all, he wrote a Gospel… he was present when Peter appeared… he’s with Barnabas and Saul… life must be smooth sailing for him starting now. We shall see.
Summary: We live in the Age of the Church and the leaders did not have it easy. But we see here, the battles become spiritual and they are still won by the Lord. Until the Lord reigns here on earth in an unmistakable visible and physical manner, mankind will always be tempted towards disbelief. They will try to figure out things for themselves or follow someone else who says they have the answer.
🙏🏼 Heavenly Father – I thank You for giving us these brief retellings of the time of the early Church – not too much detail that our minds begin to wander on that which is meaningless. You give us just enough context to apply our own experiences and imaginations to understand what You are revealing. Then like Jacob, we must wrestle with You. Your Word is true and Your grace is sufficient for all our needs. Keep us humble Lord – we do not want to be eaten by worms!!! We want to live. We want the abundant life that Your Word provides. Let us always bow down before Your Word for it is Your Word that spoke everything into creation. You have done it before; You can do it again. We ask that You speak in us what you have promised in Ezekiel 36:26 – new hearts to receive Your Spirit. Amen.