Now
the apostles and the brothers who were in Judea heard that the Gentiles had also received the word of God. When Peter had come up to Jerusalem, those who were of the circumcision contended with him, saying, “You went in to uncircumcised men, and ate with them!” But Peter began, and explained to them in order, saying, “I was in the city of Joppa praying, and in a trance I saw a vision: a certain container descending, like it was a great sheet let down from heaven by four corners. It came as far as me. When I had looked intently at it, I considered, and saw the four-footed animals of the earth, wild animals, creeping things, and birds of the sky. I also heard a voice saying to me, ‘Rise, Peter, kill and eat!’ But I said, ‘Not so, Lord, for nothing unholy or unclean has ever entered into my mouth.’ But a voice answered me the second time out of heaven, ‘What God has cleansed, don’t you call unclean.’
Acts 11:1-9
Acts 10 [47.] “Can anyone forbid these people from being baptized with water? They have received the Holy Spirit just like us.” He commanded them to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Then they asked him to stay some days.
Acts 11 [1.] Now the apostles and the brothers who were in Judea heard that the Gentiles had also received the word of God. When Peter had come up to Jerusalem, those who were of the circumcision contended with him, saying, “You went in to uncircumcised men, and ate with them!”
Acts 11 [4.] But Peter began, and explained to them in order, saying, “I was in the city of Joppa praying, and in a trance I saw a vision: a certain container descending, like it was a great sheet let down from heaven by four corners. It came as far as me. When I had looked intently at it, I considered, and saw the four-footed animals of the earth, wild animals, creeping things, and birds of the sky. I also heard a voice saying to me, ‘Rise, Peter, kill and eat!’ But I said, ‘Not so, Lord, for nothing unholy or unclean has ever entered into my mouth.’ But a voice answered me the second time out of heaven, ‘What God has cleansed, don’t you call unclean.’
Acts 11 [10.] This was done three times, and all were drawn up again into heaven. Behold, immediately three men stood before the house where I was, having been sent from Caesarea to me. The Spirit told me to go with them, without discriminating. These six brothers also accompanied me, and we entered into the man’s house. He told us how he had seen the angel standing in his house, and saying to him, ‘Send to Joppa, and get Simon, who is called Peter, who will speak to you words by which you will be saved, you and all your house.’ As I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell on them, even as on us at the beginning. I remembered the word of the Lord, how he said, ‘John indeed baptized in water, but you will be baptized in the Holy Spirit.’ If then God gave to them the same gift as us, when we believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I, that I could withstand God?”
Meaning:
News of what happened in Caesarea travelled quickly. Before Peter returned, the believers in Judea had heard “that the Gentiles had also received the word of God.” Some rejoiced, but others were troubled. In these verses Peter is called to account in Jerusalem, and he answers by telling exactly what God had done.
- “The Gentiles had also received the word of God”
Luke uses almost the same words he used when the gospel reached Samaria: “Samaria had received the word of God” (Acts 8:14). Step by step the message was moving outward, as Jesus had said, from Jerusalem to Judea and Samaria and on to the ends of the earth (Acts 1:8). The word “also” shows how new this was. Gentiles had received the same word, on the same terms, as the Jewish believers.
- “Those who were of the circumcision contended with him”
“Those who were of the circumcision” were Jewish believers who held firmly to circumcision and the Law of Moses. Luke used the same phrase for the believers from Joppa who “were amazed” in Caesarea (Acts 10:45). Paul later speaks of Peter “fearing those who were of the circumcision” at Antioch (Galatians 2:12), and at the Jerusalem council some believing Pharisees insisted, “It is necessary to circumcise them” (Acts 15:5). Their concern was sincere: they wanted to stay faithful to the covenant God had given Israel.
- “You went in to uncircumcised men, and ate with them!”
Strikingly, the complaint is not that Peter preached to Gentiles but that he ate with them. Sharing a table meant acceptance and fellowship, and in Jewish practice of the time it raised questions of clean and unclean food. The same charge had been made against Jesus: “This man welcomes sinners, and eats with them” (Luke 15:2). Peter had stayed “some days” in Cornelius’s home (Acts 10:48), and that was what disturbed his critics.
- “But Peter began, and explained to them in order”
Peter was the leading apostle, yet he did not refuse to answer or appeal to his authority. He explained “in order,” the same phrase Luke uses of his own careful account in his Gospel (Luke 1:3). Instead of arguing about rules, he told what happened.
He describes the vision just as Luke told it in chapter 10 (Acts 10:7-14; Acts 10:15-20), adding small personal details: the sheet “came as far as me,” and “when I had looked intently at it, I considered.” He also admits his own resistance: “Not so, Lord, for nothing unholy or unclean has ever entered into my mouth.” He does not pretend that he was eager from the start. He shows that he too had to be taught by God, and that the voice from heaven overruled his objections: “What God has cleansed, don’t you call unclean.”
The Significance of Acts 11:1-9
- Answering criticism with testimony
Peter met criticism with patience and facts, not anger. “A gentle answer turns away wrath” (Proverbs 15:1). Peter himself later urged believers to “always be ready to give an answer to everyone who asks you a reason concerning the hope that is in you, with humility and fear” (1 Peter 3:15).
- Leaders are accountable
Even an apostle explained his actions to the church. Christian leaders today are wise to welcome questions and to show how their decisions rest on what God has said and done.
Cross-References:
Luke 15:2: “This man welcomes sinners, and eats with them.” The same complaint made against Jesus.
Galatians 2:12: “For before some people came from James, he ate with the Gentiles.” Table fellowship tested again.
1 Peter 3:15: “always be ready to give an answer to everyone who asks you a reason concerning the hope that is in you, with humility and fear.” Answering with humility.
Conclusion: When Peter returned to Jerusalem, Jewish believers criticised him for eating with uncircumcised Gentiles. Rather than claiming authority, he explained in order what had happened, beginning with the vision and his own reluctance, and the voice from heaven that said, “What God has cleansed, don’t you call unclean.” His humble testimony shows how to answer criticism and how God’s acts settle questions that human rules cannot.
PIB Scriptures are derived from the World English Bible