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Acts 11:1-18  THE CRITICISM WHICH PETER FACED AT JERUSALEM   

Introduction:

	In our previous text the Apostle Peter went to the home of a Gentile named 
Cornelius and  preached the gospel to him, to his Gentile family and to his 
Gentile friends.  The bright  part is that Cornelius, his family and his friends 
all believed the gospel and got saved.  They even got baptized.  
	The dark side of the story is that when the Apostle Peter got back to 
Jerusalem he met with severe criticism from his Christian brethren there for 
going into the home of a Gentile and for preaching the gospel to Gentiles.  That 
criticism is what our text today is all about.  

I.  The spreading of the news about Peter preaching to Gentiles

	V. 1, “And the apostles and brethren that were in Judaea heard that the 
Gentiles had also received the word of God.”   The fact that one of the twelve 
apostles had gone into the home of a Gentile man and had preached the gospel to 
Gentiles and that Gentiles had been saved and baptized was big news.  This was 
what we would call “headline news” and it spread quickly.  You will notice in 
this verse that the news traveled not only back to Jerusalem, but to the Jewish 
Christians who had been scattered by persecution throughout all Judea.  
	In my mind I can just picture the reporters rushing to the newspaper 
office and telling the news to the editor.  I can just picture the editor 
printing a special edition and sending out copies by special messengers to 
Jerusalem and to all the cities of Judea.  I can just imagine all of the 
television and radio stations interrupting their programs with a special news 
cast telling the Christian Jews throughout the land about the radical behavior 
of the Apostle Peter and bemeaning him for preaching the gospel to Gentiles.  
	As you know, I was joking about the newspapers, televisions and radios.  
Back then the news was not spread that way because they did not have such 
things.  But the one thing they did have was the human tongue.  And this was hot 
news in the Christian world of that day.  It spread almost as quickly as it 
would have by means of the press and broadcast.  
	But the Christian Jews were not excited because Gentiles had been saved.  
Instead they hot under the collar that the Apostle Peter would have the audacity 
to go into the home of a Gentile.  Can you imagine him telling Gentiles that 
they could be saved by trusting in Jesus Christ?  Who would have ever thought 
that he would do such a dastardly thing?  So by the time that the Apostle Peter 
got back to Jerusalem, the Christian brethren, including the other apostles, 
were laying for him.  They were ready to give him a going over and get him 
straightened out.  

II.  Peter’s harsh reception by the Jerusalem brethren

	V. 2, “And when Peter was come up to Jerusalem, they that were of the 
circumcision contended with him.”  The term “they of the circumcision” simply 
means “the Jews.”  But in this case it refers to the Christian Jews.  Male 
Jewish babies were circumcised when they were eight days old and this term had 
come to mean Jewish people, whether they were male or female.  I think we can 
understand, however, that it was not the Christian Jewish women who were 
contending with the Apostle Peter.  It was the Jewish men.  Primarily, it was 
the other apostles plus other leading brethren in the Jerusalem church.  They 
did not just inquire of Peter about what was going on.  They contended with him.  
They let him know right off the bat that they were highly displeased with what 
he had done.  They must have also let him know that they hoped that this would 
be the last time that he would ever do such a thing as that.  
	To be specific the accusation which they charged him with is given in 
verse three.  V. 3, “Saying, Thou wentest in to men uncircumcised, and midst eat 
with them.”  Again I say that they were not asking Peter if he had done such a 
thing.  They were just letting him know that they were aware of what he had done 
and that they were very unhappy about it.  

III.  Peter’s explanation of his conduct 
 
	V. 4, “But Peter rehearsed [the matter] from the beginning, and expounded 
[it] by order unto them, saying--”  Just what is a Christian to do when he is 
faced with unjust criticism by his fellow church members?  Should he get up and 
move his membership to some other church?  Or should he just quit going to 
church altogether?  Or should he seek to talk it out and see if the matter 
cannot be resolved?  That is what Simon Peter decided to do.  He would seek to 
talk it out and seek to resolve the matter.  That is what any Christian should 
try to do.  Only after every effort to resolve the matter has failed should one 
resort to moving his membership to another church and even then it should be 
another church of like faith and order.  Under no circumstances should a 
Christian just quit serving the Lord just because he has a difference with some 
other Christian.  
	Simon Peter did seek to defend himself and he knew that his best defense 
was the truth.  So he set out to simply lay the facts out before his brethren so 
that they would know the whole story.  He started from the beginning.  
	V. 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.”  Peter let the brethren know that at the 
first he had no intention of going to the home of a Gentile and telling them 
anything.  He was in the home of a Jewish Christian man in the city of Joppa 
engaged in prayer when he went into a trance.  His trance was somewhat like a 
dream, except that he was not asleep.  He was seeing a vision from God.
	In the vision he saw a great sheet descend to him from heaven.  Within the 
sheet was all manner of unclean animals. V. 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.  These were the kind of 
animals which under the Law of Moses the Jews were told not to eat.  
	However, in the vision, Peter was told to kill one of those unclean 
animals and to eat.  V. 7, “And I heard a voice saying unto me, Arise, Peter; 
slay and eat.”  He was not being told to eat it raw.  I think it was to be 
understood that he was to cook it before eating it.  But even cooking such an 
animal would not make it very appetizing.  How does roast skunk sound to you?  
Or how about some stewed buzzard?  Or fried lizard? 
	Neither did it sound appetizing to Simon Peter, but that was not Peter’s 
main objection.  He had never in his whole life eaten any animal which was by 
the Mosaic law considered unclean.  Petr had not even chicken nor turkey nor 
pheasant.  So Peter was not intending to start now eating such animals --- not 
even in a vision.  V. 8, “But I said, Not so, Lord: for nothing common or 
unclean hath at any time entered into my mouth.”
	But that answer did not satisfy God --- not even in a vision.  V. 9, “But 
the voice answered me again from heaven, What God hath cleansed, [that] call not 
thou common.”  
	The vision was then repeated.  Peter saw this same vision three times.  V. 
10, “And this was done three times: and all were drawn up again into heaven.”  
Three times God sent the sheet down to the Apostle Peter and told him to kill 
and eat.  Three times Peter refused to eat.  Three times Peter was told that 
what God called clean, he was not to call unclean.  God repeated this vision in 
rapid order because He wanted the Apostle Peter to get the message.  
	V. 11, “And, behold, immediately there were three men already come unto 
the house where I was, sent from Caesarea unto me.”  There had to be a 
connection.  Three times the vision had been sent to Simon Peter and then three 
men were sent to him.  There had to be a connection.  
	Peter said that God Himself explained the connection.  V. 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.”  The connection was that 
God did not want Simon Peter to refuse to go with these three men just because 
he considered Gentiles unclean.  
	Yet not only had there bveen the vision which Peter had at Joppa 
instructing him to go with the three men, but there had been an angel of God 
which had instructed Cornelius to send those three men for him.  V. 13-14, “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; Who shall 
tell thee words, whereby thou and all thy house shall be saved.”   
	Peter further related to the brethren at Jerusalem that when he presented 
the gospel message to the Gentiles, that the Holy Spirit of God had fallen on 
them giving evidence that these Gentiles had been saved.  V. 15, “And as I began 
to speak, the Holy Ghost fell on them, as on us at the beginning.”   This does 
not mean that the Holy Spirit fell upon them at the very opening statement which 
Peter made to the GEntile.  What it means is that Simon Peter was not nearly 
finished with what he intended to say.  He had just barely gotten started with 
what he intended to say when the Holy Spirit interrupted his speech by falling 
upon the Gentiles and giving them the miraculous gift of tongues.  There was 
really no need for Peter to finish his speech.  These people got saved just as 
soon as Peter told them that their sins would be forgiven if they would place 
their faith in Jesus.  They did trust Jesus.  They did get saved and the Holy 
Spirit gave evidence to Simon Peter and to the Christian Jews that the Gentiles 
were saved by giving them the miraculous gift of tongues.  
	What had happened at Caesarea reminded Simon Peter of what Jesus had 
predicted would happen to the church at Jerusalem on Pentecost.  V. 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.”  What had happened at 
Caesarea with the Gentiles was not the same thing as that which happened with 
the Jewish Christians on Pentecost, but there was such a great similarity 
involving the gift of tongues that it reminded Peter of that incident and of the 
Lord’s prediction of Pentecost.  V. 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?”  

IV.  An astonishing change of attitude by the Jewish Christian brethren

	In verse 18 we see something which seems just as astonishing to me as the 
news about Peter preaching to the Gentiles had been to the Jerusalem Christians.  
V. 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.”  When 
the Jerusalem brethren heard what really happened, they held their peace.  That 
is, they immediately stopped being critical toward the Apostle Peter.  Then they 
actually glorified God because God has granted the Gentiles the privilege of 
being saved by repenting of sin and trusting in Jesus Christ.  That is, they 
glorified God for saving Gentiles without requiring the Gentiles to first come 
under the Mosiac law.    	
	I might offer this word of clarification.  These Jewish Christians already 
believed that if a Gentile would come under the Mosiac law and become a 
proselyte Jew he could be saved.  But now they conceded that a Gentile did not 
have to come under the law in order to be saved.  All a Gentile has to do is to 
repent of his sin and trust Jesus Christ as his Savior and he will be saved.  
That is all any man has to do.  No one has to come under the law of Moses in 
order to be saved.  No one has to keep the Mosiac law or any part of it in order 
to be saved.  
	I might ought to offer another word of clarification.  Just because the 
Jerusalem brethren were clear at this moment that the keeping of the law is not 
necessary for salvation, this does not mean that they would always remain clear 
on this matter.  The idea that in order for a Gentile to be saved he had to come 
under the Mosiac law never completely disappeared.  It would crop again from 
time to time and cause trouble among the Christians.  There are still a lot of 
people around today who maintain that if one wants to be saved that he must keep 
the Law of Moses.  They adamantly declare that if a man is going to make it to 
heaven that he must keep the Ten Commands which was written in the Mosaic law.  
What is most disturbing to me is that those who insist the loudest that one must 
keep the law to be saved, do not themselves keep the law.  They themselves 
commit sin and break the law.  The Bible declares that sin is the transgression 
of the law.  All have sin and all have failed to keep the law.  If one had to 
keep the law to get saved, nobody would ever get saved.  
	Let me remind you of what the Apostle Peter told Cornelius and his family 
and his guests.  He told them that all of the Old Testament prophets give 
witness that whosoever will trust in Jesus will receive forgiveness of sin.  Let 
me add to that statement that all of the New Testament writers likewise give 
witness to that same truth.  

V. Some specific groups of people who need the gospel message today

	Let me raise a couple of questions for you to think about.  The first 
question is this:  What are some of the different groups of people who stand in 
need of the gospel message today?  In answer to that question the most obvious 
group of people who need the gospel message today is the Jewish people 
themselves.  There is no group of people in the world today who stands in need 
of the gospel more than the Jewish people.  What makes this so strange is that 
the Jews are the people who led out in the beginning of  Christianity.  The 
Christ Himself was a Jew and He came unto the Jewish people.  The first 
Christian church was made up of a Jewish membership.  All twelve of the apostles 
were Jews.  Even the Apostle Paul, who was an apostle to the Gentile people was, 
himself, a Jew.    
	The gospel message was to be preached to all the world, but in doing so, 
the early Christians were instructed that it should be to the Jew first and then 
also to the Gentiles.  All of the first churches which sprang up throughout 
Judea, Galilee and Samaria were at first made up of Jewish congregations.  But 
today, so far as I know, there are no Christian churches in the world whic are 
made up of only Jewish people.  There are a few individual Jews who have been 
converted to Christianity, but very few.    
	Recentlly there has been a lot of unjust criticism in the news of 
Souuthern Baptists  because Southern Baptist leaders have asked Southern Baptist 
churches to make a special effort to preach the gospel to the Jews.  But the 
fact is that this is something that all true Christians should have been doing 
all along.  The Jews need the gospel.  They need to hear its message.  They need 
to be saved.  The law of Moses cannot save them.  Only the gospel message of the 
Lord and Savior Jesus Christ can bring salvation to the Jews.  We need to 
somehow find a way to present the gospel to the Jews.  We need to pray for God 
to open unto us the door of opportunity to preach the gospel to the Jews.  Let 
us pray that prayer right now.  
	The Spanish speaking people who have moved into our nation, our state and 
our local community need the gospel message.  We need to somehow find a way to 
present the gospel to the Spanish speaking people right here in Rusk County.  We 
need to pray God that He will open to us a door of opportunity to preach the 
gospel to them right here in our county.  Let us pray that prayer right now.  
	The Asian people in our nation need the gospel.  They are not here in our 
immediate area in numbers as large as other minority groups, but they are here.  
We need to somehow find a way to preach the gospel to the Asians who are among 
us.  We need pray God that He will open to us a door of opportunity to preach 
the gospel to the Asians about us.  Let us pray that prayer right now.  
	The deaf people in our area also need someone to preach the gospel them.  
There are a lot more deaf people in East Texas that most people realize.  When I 
was at Longview we were blessed to have a group of deaf people meeting with us 
each Sunday for Sunday school and preaching services.  But when we lost our 
interpreter we lost our deaf congregation.   We need to somehow find a way to 
reach the deaf in our area with the gospel.  We need to pray that God would open 
to us a door of opportunity to preach the gospel to the deaf.  Let us pray that 
pray that prayer right now.  
	Even the black people of our nation need the gospel of Jesus Christ.  We 
need black Missionary Baptist preachers who will go among the black people and 
preach the gospel and organize black Missionary Baptist churches.  We are 
fortunate to have one such black Missionary Baptist preacher in the City of 
Tyler who has organized a Missionary Baptist Church made up of black people.  We 
need more such black preachers to preach to black people.  But in order to get 
more black Missionary Baptist preachers we need more white people who will carry 
the gospel to black people.  Let us pray that God will open to us a door of 
opportunlity to carry the gospel to the blacks.  Let us pray that prayer right 
now.  
	I would like to mention one other  group of people who need the gospel.  I 
am talking about our own close kinfolk.  I am talking about children, 
grandchildren, aunts, uncles, nieces and nephews, husbands and wives of good 
Christian Missionary Baptist people who stand in need of the gospel.  We ought 
to be carrying the gospel message to them.  We need to find some way to carry 
the gospel to them.  We ought to pray that God would open a door of opportunity 
to us to carry the gospel to them.  Let us pray that prayer right now.  
	There might even be some individual right here in our congregation who has 
never been saved and who stands in need of the gospel message.  To you let me 
repeat the message that I have already mentioned to you in this very service.  
Let me remind you that Jesus Christ is the only Savior that God has ever sent to 
this world.  Jesus Christ died on the cross of Calvary in order to provide 
salvation for you.  All of the Old Testament prophets have born witness in their 
writings that anyone who will place his or her faith in Jesus Christ to be his 
Savior will be saved.  Jesus will cleanse him of all his sins.  He will not go 
into hell fire when he dies.  Instead he will go to heaven.  All of the New 
Testament writers have born witness to that same blessed truth.  
	If there is anybody here this morning who is unsaved who will call upon 
Jesus Christ and trust Him for salvation, that person will be saved.  

Conclusion:  

	If you wish to be saved, you have that opportunity right now in this 
service.  Will you place your soul’s destiny in the hands of Jesus Christ 
trusting Him to take care our your soul?  Will you come and publicky express 
your faith in Jesus Christ as your Savior? 
	If you have already been saved, but you have never presented yourself to a 
New Testament church seeking baptism, will you do so right now in this service?
	If you have already been both saved and baptized, and you desire to place 
your membership here in this church to worship and serve Christ, would you come 
and let your desire be made known?