Acts 11

April 2025

After Peter’s surprising encounter with the Spirit in Joppa—and the Spirit’s unmistakable leading to the home of Cornelius in Caesarea—a new chapter in the Jesus story began to unfold. When the Holy Spirit fell on Cornelius and his entire household, all Gentiles, it was as if a centuries-old wall had suddenly crumbled (Acts 10). The family of God was no longer confined to Israel. Salvation had crossed a boundary, embracing those who had long stood on the outside.

From there, the news traveled like wind over water. In the bustling city of Antioch in Syria, some believers from Cyprus and Cyrene began speaking openly to Gentiles about Jesus. These weren’t just whispered conversations—they were bold declarations. And something unexpected happened. “The Lord’s hand was with them, and a great number believed and turned to the Lord” (Acts 11:21).

What was forming in Antioch wasn’t just a gathering—it was a new kind of community. A church, born of the Spirit, shaped not by ethnic lines or religious pedigree, but by a shared awakening to Jesus the Jewish Messiah.

The Jerusalem church, both cautious and curious, sent Barnabas to see for himself. What he found in Antioch filled him with joy. The grace of God was unmistakable. Soon he brought Paul to help teach and guide this growing family. Together, they introduced these new believers to a radically different way of seeing God, the world, and themselves.

Most of these Gentiles had grown up in a world of transactional religion—gods who had to be appeased, rituals performed in exchange for protection or prosperity. The divine was distant, moody, and impersonal.

But Jesus was nothing like the gods they had known.

He was the Son of the living God, maker of heaven and earth. He was the long- promised King—crucified in weakness, raised in power, and now exalted as both Lord and Christ. He didn’t demand sacrifices to win favor; He was the sacrifice. In Him, forgiveness wasn’t bargained for—it was given. Righteousness wasn’t earned—it was received. Life wasn’t merely extended—it was resurrected.

This gospel didn’t just change their transactional beliefs—it changed them. It pulled them into a community marked by loving inclusion, joyful fellowship, and staggering generosity. So much so that when famine swept through Judea, these new Gentile believers took up a collection to help their Jewish brothers and sisters—people they’d never met but now called family (11:27-30).

In Antioch, something beautiful was being born. Not a religious institution. Not a political campaign. But a Spirit-made family, alive under the lordship of Jesus—bound together by grace, moved by compassion, and carrying hope into the world.