The conversion of Cornelius's household was easily the climax of Peter's ministry in the Plain of Sharon. He returned to Jerusalem and immediately confronts a firestorm. Here is the birth of something we call today "the Judaizers." A certain slice of the Jewish converts remained consciously and militantly racist, as it were, regarding the adoption of Judaism as foundation for following Christ. It wasn't so much about being a Son of Abraham, since there was nothing anyone could do to change that, but being a Son of the Law (bar-mitzvah). This assumption plagued the Early Church up through the time John wrote Revelation.
Having already heard the news Peter entered a Gentile home, ate there and even stayed there, those infected with the Judaizer tendency were ready to pounce as soon as Peter returned. The accusation carries a threat to the assumption held by most Jews of being God's own special people. In essence, Peter was denying this, by acting as if the separation between Jew and Gentile didn't matter. It was tantamount in the eyes of some to blasphemy.
Peter recounts his experiences leading up to the decision to stay with Cornelius. He was in Joppa, saw the tarp filled with unclean animals, and was told to kill and eat. His protest about kosher was met with the stern warning not to call "unclean" what God had cleansed. It happened thrice, and right before he was called down to meet the messengers from Cornelius. Further, it was the Spirit Himself who directed Peter to go. Apparently the half-dozen companions who came along were standing there as Peter's witnesses. They were there when Cornelius told of the angelic vision and the precise instructions regarding Peter and his whereabouts. As soon as Peter got past the introduction of his message, the Spirit fell on Cornelius's household with exactly the same manifestation as the disciples first experienced on Pentecost in the Upper Room. It is here Peter remarks this was a direct fulfillment of Jesus' prophecy comparing the baptism of John with that of the Holy Spirit. How could Peter argue with God? While this silenced the Judaizers on this occasion, it did not end the controversy, as we shall see later.
Luke backtracks enough to pick up the thread of those driven from Jerusalem by Saul's persecution. Some of the places they took the gospel included modern Lebanon, the island of Cyprus, and the coastal region of Syria. The ancient city of Antioch was third largest in the Roman Empire, and the regional headquarters. At first these scattered Hellenized Jewish Christians preached only to fellow Jews. Eventually, those who had been raised in Cyprus and Cyrene (nearby Libyan coast) began evangelizing the local Gentiles. Luke refers to them as Grecian in the sense the region had embraced Alexander's mission to Hellenize the world three centuries before. Antioch sported temples to Apollo and Artemis, and the city was known as a great stop for sex tourism because of the temple prostitutes there. It proved fertile ground for Gentile conversions.
Having by now swallowed Peter's explanation in the case of Cornelius, the church leaders in Jerusalem decided to send someone to ensure things went in the right direction. They chose Barnabas, the wealthy Cypriot, since there were so many in Antioch from Cyprus. Seeing this was clearly a work of God, Barnabas did what he was famous for, encouraging the church members there to become eternally loyal to their Savior. His presence also encouraged a new wave of conversions. This was getting to be a big task, in need of more expert help. Barnabas headed north to find Saul in Tarsus, and brought him back for a year's mission work there. Luke notes the term "Christian" first arose here, marking them as partisans or followers of Christ.
Of course, many in Jerusalem adopted this first Gentile church in Antioch. Among them were prophets, such as Agabus. This man explained how God had warned there would be a famine in the Empire soon. Luke associates that for us with the famine of 46 AD during the reign of Emperor Claudius. We note, for the most part, a famine in those days was the result of a drought. As it turned out, the church at Antioch was all for supporting their brethren in Jerusalem. Since the latter were particularly vulnerable to famine, due to their general lack of financial prosperity as a church driven underground, the generally wealthy crowd in Antioch raised funds to send back to the mother church. This aid was carried by Barnabas and Saul.
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By Ed Hurst
11 July 2008
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