NOTES for Act 11:1-30
1 And the apostles and brethren that were in Judaea heard that the Gentiles had also received the word of God. |
2 And when Peter was come up to Jerusalem, they that were of the circumcision contended with him, |
3 Saying, Thou wentest in to men uncircumcised, and didst eat with them. |
4 But Peter rehearsed the matter from the beginning, and expounded it by order unto them, saying, |
5 I was in the city of Joppa praying: and in a trance I saw a vision, A certain vessel descend, as it had been a great sheet, let down from heaven by four corners; and it came even to me: |
6 Upon the which when I had fastened mine eyes, I considered, and saw fourfooted beasts of the earth, and wild beasts, and creeping things, and fowls of the air. |
7 And I heard a voice saying unto me, Arise, Peter; slay and eat. |
8 But I said, Not so, Lord: for nothing common or unclean hath at any time entered into my mouth. |
9 But the voice answered me again from heaven, What God hath cleansed, that call not thou common. |
10 And this was done three times: and all were drawn up again into heaven. |
11 And, behold, immediately there were three men already come unto the house where I was, sent from Caesarea unto me. |
12 And the spirit bade me go with them, nothing doubting. Moreover these six brethren accompanied me, and we entered into the man's house: |
13 And he shewed us how he had seen an angel in his house, which stood and said unto him, Send men to Joppa, and call for Simon, whose surname is Peter; |
14 Who shall tell thee words, whereby thou and all thy house shall be saved. |
15 And as I began to speak, the Holy Ghost fell on them, as on us at the beginning. |
16 Then remembered I the word of the Lord, how that he said, John indeed baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost. |
17 Forasmuch then as God gave them the like gift as he did unto us, who believed on the Lord Jesus Christ; what was I, that I could withstand God? |
18 When they heard these things, they held their peace, and glorified God, saying, Then hath God also to the Gentiles granted repentance unto life. |
19 Now they which were scattered abroad upon the persecution that arose about Stephen travelled as far as Phenice, and Cyprus, and Antioch, preaching the word to none but unto the Jews only. |
20 And some of them were men of Cyprus and Cyrene, which, when they were come to Antioch, spake unto the Grecians, preaching the Lord Jesus. |
21 And the hand of the Lord was with them: and a great number believed, and turned unto the Lord. |
22 Then tidings of these things came unto the ears of the church which was in Jerusalem: and they sent forth Barnabas, that he should go as far as Antioch. |
23 Who, when he came, and had seen the grace of God, was glad, and exhorted them all, that with purpose of heart they would cleave unto the Lord. |
24 For he was a good man, and full of the Holy Ghost and of faith: and much people was added unto the Lord. |
25 Then departed Barnabas to Tarsus, for to seek Saul: |
26 And when he had found him, he brought him unto Antioch. And it came to pass, that a whole year they assembled themselves with the church, and taught much people. And the disciples were called Christians first in Antioch. |
27 And in these days came prophets from Jerusalem unto Antioch. |
28 And there stood up one of them named Agabus, and signified by the spirit that there should be great dearth throughout all the world: which came to pass in the days of Claudius Caesar. |
29 Then the disciples, every man according to his ability, determined to send relief unto the brethren which dwelt in Judaea: |
30 Which also they did, and sent it to the elders by the hands of Barnabas and Saul. |
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Today's reading describes the Christians' reaction to the conversion of Cornelius and his family. For the Church, such a conversion was, without question, an extraordinary event. The first reaction to the news of it was, as we can see, hostile bewilderment (vv. 1-3).
There is nothing surprising here: even after entering the Kingdom, a person does not lose his individual characteristics, unless, of course, they contain sin. And until now the Christians had been only Jews who strictly observed the norms of ritual purity, as well as the other rules of the Jewish religion. Such devotion to their religion in itself, as we can see, did not keep them either from entering the Kingdom or from remaining in it; otherwise they could not have remained members of the Church. But now, when God had opened the way into the Church for proselytes who did not belong to the Jewish community, the question arose before them of how to respond to this fact.
It is interesting to note that Peter, while telling everything that had happened, does not even try to justify his actions with any religious arguments, evidently understanding no worse than his listeners that there are no such arguments. He simply tells them about the action of the Spirit of God, of which he had become both witness and participant (vv. 4-16). The only argument he gives lies outside the bounds of religion: Peter can appeal only to God and His will (v. 17). Then those who listened to him faced a choice: to accept Peter's testimony or to reject it as inconsistent with traditional religious norms.
The choice was serious enough, because religiosity, if one does not treat it lightly, permeates a person's whole life, shaping him in many ways and determining his system of values. It is very hard for a spiritually serious person to give up religion. This is why God does not prevent religious people from taking their religion with them into the Kingdom. But only insofar as it does not destroy the Kingdom itself or violate its laws. If religion forces a person to stand in the way of someone who seeks the Kingdom and whom God wants to bring into this Kingdom, then such religion must be parted with; otherwise the one clinging to his religion will part with the Kingdom. And the Christians, after listening to Peter, made their choice (v. 18): they chose the Kingdom.
Readings for 23 October 2025
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