CHAPTERS 10-11

CHAPTERS 10-11

SUMMARY

For Abraham’s blessing to touch all the families of the earth, the Gentiles (non-Jews) must hear and believe the gospel. The Holy Spirit, working on two fronts, interrupts the prayers of two men: The Apostle Peter, and Cornelius, a Roman God-fearer. God opens Cornelius’s heart to the Gospel and Peter’s heart to the Gentile world. 

Gentiles receive the Holy Spirit just as the Jews did and are baptized as evidence of conversion. God is teaching the Gentiles that God is the world's Messiah.

The church in Jerusalem sends Barnabas to Antioch, where a mixed church (of Jews and Gentiles), has been established and in need of solid teaching. Barnabas locates Saul, and together they teach the believers in Antioch. King Herod targets the Jerusalem church, killing James and imprisoning Peter. But the church is bigger than the few who lead it. Its spread is worldwide work that cannot be stopped.  

QUESTIONS FOR REFLECTIONS:

How does God both prepare both Cornelius and Peter for their encounter, and why must Cornelius hear the message? What does this teach about the gospel?

When Peter defends his actions to the Jews, how does he explain God? Why is it significant that gentiles can be saved?

Who takes the message to Antioch, and why are they successful? 

What about Barnabas’s life and leadership can we apply to our own lives?