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11:1-18 Jews traditionally kept themselves separate and did not eat or associate socially with Gentiles (10:28; 22:21-22; see John 4:9, 27; 18:28; Gal 2:12-14). Therefore, when the Jewish believers in Jerusalem learned that Gentiles had received the word of God, they criticized Peter’s unconventional actions and wanted an explanation, which Peter provided.
11:18 Peter’s logical, straightforward explanation convinced those who had objected—they recognized God’s hand at work in the conversion of the Gentiles and their receiving eternal life. However, issues relating to the inclusion of Gentiles would soon provoke a major crisis (15:1-35; Paul’s letter to the Galatians).
11:19-26 The persecution that followed Stephen’s death forced believers into other areas (8:1-3), and they traveled as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus, and Antioch. • Antioch of Syria was a thriving cosmopolitan city, the third-largest in the Roman Empire after Rome and Alexandria. Antioch was of central importance in the spread of the Christian message to the Gent...
11:19-26 The persecution that followed Stephen’s death forced believers into other areas (8:1-3), and they traveled as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus, and Antioch. • Antioch of Syria was a thriving cosmopolitan city, the third-largest in the Roman Empire after Rome and Alexandria. Antioch was of central importance in the spread of the Christian message to the Gentile world.
11:20 This outreach effort on the part of Jewish believers . . . from Cyprus and Cyrene was the first systematic attempt to preach to Gentiles about the Lord Jesus.
luke 3:1
john 4:9
john 4:27
john 18:28
acts 1:5
acts 8:1-3
acts 10:28
acts 11:4-12