Acts Chapter 11 in Simple English

Read Acts Chapter 11

1The apostles and the brothers and sisters in Judaea heard that the Gentiles had also received the word of God.

2When Peter came up to Jerusalem, those who belonged to the circumcision argued with him.

3They said, "You went in to men who are not circumcised, and you ate with them."

4But Peter told them the whole matter from the beginning, and explained it to them in order. He said,

5"I was in the city of Joppa praying. In a trance I saw a vision. Something like a great sheet was coming down, let down from heaven by its four corners, and it came right to me."

6"I looked closely at it and thought about it, and I saw four-footed animals of the earth, and wild beasts, and creeping things, and birds of the air."

7"And I heard a voice saying to me, 'Get up, Peter. Kill and eat.'"

8"But I said, 'No, Lord. Nothing common or unclean has ever entered my mouth.'"

9"But the voice answered me again from heaven, 'What God has made clean, you must not call common.'"

10"This happened three times. Then everything was drawn up again into heaven."

11"And look, at once three men came to the house where I was. They had been sent to me from Caesarea."

12"The Spirit told me to go with them and not to doubt at all. These six brothers went with me too, and we entered the man's house."

13"He told us how he had seen an angel in his house. The angel stood and said to him, 'Send men to Joppa, and call for Simon, who is also called Peter."

14"'He will tell you words by which you and all your household will be saved.'"

15"As I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell on them, just as he did on us at the beginning."

16"Then I remembered the word of the Lord, how he said, 'John baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit.'"

17"So if God gave them the same gift he gave to us, who believed on the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I, that I could stand against God?"

18When they heard these things, they said no more. They gave glory to God, saying, "Then God has given the Gentiles also repentance that leads to life."

19Now those who were scattered because of the persecution that arose over Stephen travelled as far as Phenice, and Cyprus, and Antioch. They preached the word to no one but the Jews only.

20But some of them were men of Cyprus and Cyrene. When they came to Antioch, they spoke to the Greeks, preaching the Lord Jesus.

21And the hand of the Lord was with them. A great number believed and turned to the Lord.

22News of these things came to the ears of the church in Jerusalem. So they sent out Barnabas to go as far as Antioch.

23When he came and saw the grace of God, he was glad. He urged them all to hold firmly to the Lord with all their heart.

24For he was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and of faith. And many people were added to the Lord.

25Then Barnabas went away to Tarsus to look for Saul.

26When he had found him, he brought him to Antioch. For a whole year they met with the church and taught many people. And the disciples were first called Christians in Antioch.

27In those days prophets came from Jerusalem to Antioch.

28One of them named Agabus stood up. By the Spirit he made known that there would be a great famine over all the world. This happened in the days of Claudius Caesar.

29Then the disciples decided that each of them, as much as he was able, would send help to the brothers and sisters who lived in Judaea.

30This they did, and they sent it to the elders by the hands of Barnabas and Saul.

Explanation

Acts 11

In short

Peter explains to church leaders in Jerusalem why he ate with non-Jewish believers. Meanwhile, in Antioch, Greeks are coming to faith through the preaching of scattered believers, and the church sends help to suffering believers back in Judea. This chapter shows the gospel crossing the boundary between Jews and Gentiles.

Context

Peter has just visited the home of Cornelius, a non-Jewish soldier, and seen God's Spirit fall on Gentiles the same way it did on Jews at Pentecost. Now the apostles and believers in Jerusalem have heard about this and are troubled. They summon Peter to account for his actions. The second half of the chapter shifts to events in Antioch, a major city north of Jerusalem, where believers scattered by persecution have started preaching to Greek-speaking non-Jews with surprising success.

What the text says

Verses 1-3: The Jerusalem believers confront Peter for eating with uncircumcised men, meaning non-Jews. Verses 4-10: Peter recounts a vision he had in Joppa where he saw a sheet descending from heaven holding animals the Jewish law forbade him to eat. Three times a voice commanded him to kill and eat; three times he refused; then the sheet rose back to heaven. Verses 11-14: Immediately after, three men arrived from Cornelius asking Peter to come. The Spirit told him to go with them without hesitation. Verses 15-17: When Peter began speaking at Cornelius' house, the Holy Spirit fell on the Gentiles just as it had on the Jewish believers at the beginning. Peter then asks his critics: if God gave Gentiles the same gift, how could he resist God? Verse 18: The Jerusalem believers fall silent and praise God for granting Gentiles repentance. Verses 19-21: Believers scattered by persecution had been preaching only to Jews, but some from Cyprus and Cyrene preached to Greeks in Antioch, and many believed. Verses 22-26: Jerusalem sent Barnabas to check on Antioch. He brought Saul from Tarsus, and together they taught there for a year; the disciples were first called Christians in Antioch. Verses 27-30: A prophet named Agabus predicted a famine. The Antioch church sent relief to Judea through Barnabas and Saul.

Takeaways

Peter's vision and the Spirit's direction removed his doubt about welcoming Gentiles into the faith.
The church's resistance to Peter dissolved when they saw that God had given Gentiles the same Holy Spirit as Jewish believers.
Believers scattered by hardship unexpectedly brought the gospel to non-Jews in Antioch, where the name Christian first appeared.

Acts 11 - Simple English