A WALK THROUGH THE BOOK OF ACTS
PART XI-I
"It is time for me, Peter, to return to Jerusalem.... I have been away for quite a while... During that time I have been visiting places such as Lydda and Joppa.... While there I stayed with my good friend Simon the Tanner...One day I was praying asking the Lord whether I should go back to Jerusalem... But God made it clear at that time that I was not yet to return there... Instead, I was to go to a place called Caesarea...Once I got there I was to go to the home of a Gentile, a Roman Centurion.... His name is Cornelius.... I had never before entered the home of a Gentile... For we Jews considered Gentiles unclean...However, God showed me that He accepted them... And I should accept them as well... So I obeyed and went to Caesarea... While at the home of Cornelius I preached the gospel...They all believed... And they were all baptised with the Holy Spirit....I wonder if my friends in Jerusalem know that I have done the unthinkable... That I have entered the home of a Gentile."... Please read the typed out attachment when you will learn of Peter's return to Jerusalem...
ATTACHMENT A WALK THROUGH THE BOOK OF ACTS
PART XI - I
A new chapter in the life of the Church had begun because Gentile believers had been added to the Church. That was in fulfilment of Jesus' words to his Apostles before He was taken up into heaven as you can read in Acts 1:8
"But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be My witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth."
They had been preaching in Jerusalem, Judea and even Samaria but they had not yet gone out to preach to the "ends of the earth." That is what began to happen that day in the home of Cornelius.
The question is: Was the Church prepared for this new chapter? And the answer is: No, the Church was not quite ready for this new chapter as you can know from Acts 11:1-3
The Apostles and the brothers throughout Judea heard that the Gentiles also had received the word of God. So when Peter went up to Jerusalem, the circumcised believers criticised him and said, "You went into the house of uncircumcised men and ate with them."
The Jewish believers had heard news about Peter. Rumours were going around that Peter had entered the home of a Gentile and had eaten with him. They could not believe that Peter would do such a thing, especially because he was one of the Apostles. who were to be examples to the other Jewish believers. And they all knew that as a God-fearing Jew you remain separate from Gentiles in order to be pleasing to God. But then Peter had supposedly gone into the home of a Gentile.It could be that this was just a story that had been fabricated to make Peter look bad in their eyes. Deep in their hearts that is what they were hoping for. Be that as it may, they needed to know the truth. So when Peter came back to Jerusalem, the Jewish believers decided they should organise a meeting to ask him about what had happened.
Read Part Two HERE
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