Chapter 11

It’s a hanging-by-a-thread kind of a moment. And it could go either way.

Peter has come back to Jerusalem after meeting with Cornelius (see chapter 10), and brings the momentous message – we are not alone.

How do you react when you realize that God is doing a new work, independent of the work He has started in you?

It is my belief that this was a dangerous moment for the new Church, and one in which they could have thrown away much of the momentum that God had given them. Fortunately for them (and for us!) God had other plans, and the Church navigated this rough water successfully.

Chapter 11 is mainly about Peter’s report to the Jerusalem Church about what he has seen. He has seen the Holy spirit descending on Gentiles as they become Believers. Now, gentile converts are hardly a new thing – Judaism has always been strongly missionary, and people from around the known world have been circumcised (ow) and baptized as Jews. Nothing weird about this.

What makes this moment shocking to the Jewish Believers is that the Spirit has come upon these gentiles in power BEFORE THEY HAD EVEN BECOME JEWS. And whilst it’s easy to get self-righteous with these parochial Jews, it should be recalled that this is completely alien to their experience! Every single person up to this point who has become a follower of Christ has first become a Jew. So don’t be too harsh on these seriously shocked believers – a good way to understand what they have seen here is to imagine how we would feel if the Holy Spirit began to do an amazing and undeniable work among Muslims or Hindus!

As soon as he arrives back, Peter is challenged with “What do you think you’re doing rubbing shoulders with that crowd?!”
He immediately tells his story, which was detailed in yesterday’s passage. He tells the disciples of the vision – of the sheet full of clean and unclean animals, then of the voice – then the moment when Cornelius’ messengers arrive and ask him to come with them! Then he tells them of the time he spent with the Roman leader, followed by the Spirit coming upon Gentiles!

This is that hanging-by-a-thread moment I was referring to before. Will the Brothers in Jerusalem accept or reject this new movement of God?

AS it happens, they are wise enough to cheer. They’re thrilled at what God is doing! Yes, the church forming with Cornelius is very different to any other church that has ever existed, but that doesn’t prevent it from being a work of the Lord – and the brothers are willing to support it.

It’s a good thing that they are, because the next thing they know a church has sprung up in the city of Antioch, among more gentiles (admittedly with the help of some Jewish Christians who have moved there because of the persecution in Jerusalem!). Note who is sent down to assist this church; that’s right, it’s our old friend Barnabus!

He goes to find Saul of Tarsus, and we see the beginning of a very important partnership, though right now it looks just like any other time that a young Believer has been mentored into service by an older believer.

Oh, and Antioch is the place where we were first called “Christians.” We can use this word from now on rather than using the awkward terms like “believer” or “Followers of the way”!

So what do we learn from this chapter?

I think it’s stark and plain. God WANTS to work through us, and He will do so if He can. But God also wants to work in others, and so we’re never going to be the only people He’s using. Sooner or later we are going to see situations where God’s power is being seen awesomely in some other group, and at that exact point not ourselves.

We have two possible responses. We can get all uppity and critical, looking for what is wrong with this new movement. Sadly, this is not an uncommon response to Christians (and I have to plead guilty to this one myself). Or we can accept and embrace the fact that the Lord might be doing something new – and ultimately we may not be involved, or we may form some connections with others.

The latter of the two is, of course, what we SHOULD do. It can often be hard not to be jealous of the things God is doing in others. Don’t worry, though – He hasn’t finished with you yet! If you’re available to Him (both as an individual and as a church) He will ALWAYS work in you.

In the mean time, wait for His timing. And while you wait, REJOICE at what God is doing in other people not too different from yourself!