Atos 11

ARC · Chapter 11/28

1E ouviram os apostolos, e os irmãos que estavam na Judea, que tambem os gentios receberam a palavra de Deus.

2E, subindo Pedro a Jerusalem, disputavam com elle os que eram da circumcisão,

3Dizendo: Entraste em casa de varões incircumcisos, e comeste com elles.

4Mas Pedro começou a contar-lhes tudo por ordem, dizendo:

5Estando eu orando na cidade de Joppe, vi, arrebatado dos sentidos, uma visão, um certo vaso, como um grande lençol que descia do céu e, baixado, vinha até junto de mim

6No qual, pondo eu os olhos, considerei, e vi animaes da terra, quadrupedes, e féras, e reptis, e aves do céu.

7E ouvi uma voz que me dizia : Levanta-te, Pedro; mata e come.

8Porém eu disse: De maneira nenhuma, Senhor; pois nunca em minha bocca entrou coisa alguma commum ou immunda.

9Mas a voz respondeu-me do céu segunda vez: Não chames tu commum ao que Deus purificou.

10E succedeu isto por tres vezes; e tudo tornou a recolher-se no céu.

11E eis que, na mesma hora, pararam junto da casa em que eu estava tres varões que me foram enviados de Cesarea.

12E disse-me o Espirito que fosse com elles, não duvidando; e tambem estes seis irmãos foram comigo, e entrámos em casa d'aquelle varão;

13E contou-nos como vira estar um anjo em sua casa, e lhe dissera: Envia varões a Joppe, e manda chamar a Simão, que tem por sobrenome Pedro,

14O qual te dirá palavras com que te salves, tu e toda a tua casa.

15E, quando comecei a fallar, caiu sobre elles o Espirito Sancto como tambem sobre nós ao principio.

16E lembrei-me do dito do Senhor, quando disse: João certamente baptizou com agua: mas vós sereis baptizados com o Espirito Sancto.

17Portanto, se Deus lhes deu o mesmo dom que a nós, que tambem já havemos crido no Senhor Jesus Christo, quem era então eu, para que podesse estorvar a Deus?

18E, ouvindo estas coisas, apaziguaram-se, e glorificaram a Deus, dizendo: De maneira que até aos gentios deu Deus o arrependimento para a vida.

19E os que foram dispersos pela perseguição que succedeu por causa d'Estevão caminharam até á Phenicia, Chypre e Antiochia, não annunciando a ninguem a palavra, senão só aos judeos.

20E havia entre elles alguns varões chyprios e cyrenenses, os quaes, entrando em Antiochia, fallaram aos gregos, annunciando o Senhor Jesus.

21E a mão do Senhor era com elles; e grande numero creu e se converteu ao Senhor.

22E chegou a fama d'isto aos ouvidos da egreja que estava em Jerusalem; e enviaram Barnabé á Antiochia.

23O qual, quando chegou, e viu a graça de Deus, se alegrou, e exhortou a todos a que permanecessem no Senhor com proposito do coração.

24Porque era homem de bem, e cheio do Espirito Sancto e de fé. E muita gente se uniu ao Senhor.

25E partiu Barnabé para Tarso, a buscar Saulo; e, achando-o, o conduziu para Antiochia.

26E succedeu que todo um anno se congregaram n'aquella egreja, e ensinaram muita gente; e em Antiochia foram os discipulos, pela primeira vez, chamados christãos.

27E n'aquelles dias desceram prophetas de Jerusalem para Antiochia.

28E, levantando-se um d'elles, por nome Agabo, dava a entender, pelo Espirito, que haveria uma grande fome em todo o mundo, a qual aconteceu no tempo de Claudio Cesar.

29E os discipulos determinaram mandar, cada um conforme o que podesse, soccorro para serviço dos irmãos que habitavam na Judea.

30O que elles com effeito fizeram, enviando-o aos anciãos por mão de Barnabé e de Saulo.

📖 Chapter study

Summary

Peter explains to the believers in Jerusalem why he entered the house of Gentiles, recounting the vision and the Spirit's descent on Cornelius. In Antioch, many Greeks believe, and there the disciples are called 'Christians' for the first time.

Explanation

Peter's defense shows how the early church processed major changes: through dialogue and evidence, not mere authority. When the leaders hear the explanation, they respond with praise, not resistance — a good model for handling disagreement within the community of faith. Antioch becomes an important landmark, the first major center of the gospel for Gentiles and the base for Paul's future missions. The name 'Christian,' likely coined by outsiders as a nickname, ended up being proudly adopted by Jesus' own followers.

Fun facts

  • Antioch of Syria was the third-largest city in the Roman Empire, after Rome and Alexandria, with a large cosmopolitan population — fertile ground for a message that united Jews and Gentiles.
  • The Greek term for 'Christians' (christianoi) has a Latin-style ending that normally designated the partisans of a political or military leader, suggesting the nickname may have originated with Romans observing the followers of 'Christ' as a distinct group.

Verse-by-verse explanation

  1. Atos 11:1News of the Gentiles’ conversion in Caesarea reaches the apostles and brethren in Judea quickly, even before Peter returns to explain personally what had happened.
  2. Atos 11:2As soon as Peter goes up to Jerusalem, he already faces criticism from Jewish Christians who held to circumcision, showing that the Gentile question was going to generate tension within the church itself.
  3. Atos 11:3The criticism Peter receives in Jerusalem is not about baptizing Gentiles, but about having eaten at the table with them, breaking a Jewish social custom of separation. Eating together was seen as a sign of equality and closeness.
  4. Atos 11:4Peter does not defend himself with abstract arguments, but tells the whole story in the order it happened, letting the facts speak for themselves.
  5. Atos 11:5Peter repeats to Jerusalem the same vision of the sheet already described in chapter 10, using the account itself as proof that the initiative had come from God, not from him.
  6. Atos 11:6In retelling the vision, Peter again details the animals he saw: four-footed creatures, wild beasts, reptiles, and birds, including species forbidden by Jewish law.
  7. Atos 11:7Peter recalls the command received in the vision, to kill and eat, the same instruction that directly contradicted the dietary rules he had followed his whole life.
  8. Atos 11:8Peter repeats his initial refusal, making clear to his listeners in Jerusalem that he resisted the command before accepting it, and did not act on his own in some careless way.
  9. Atos 11:9The reply from the voice out of heaven, saying not to call unclean what God had already cleansed, is repeated by Peter as the central point that changed his understanding.
  10. Atos 11:10Peter confirms that the scene repeated three times before the sheet went back up into heaven, the same pattern of repetition already told in the previous chapter.
  11. Atos 11:11Peter ties the vision directly to what happened next: the three men sent by Cornelius arrive right at the moment he was still trying to understand what he had seen.
  12. Atos 11:12The Holy Spirit tells Peter to go without hesitating, and he even brings six brethren from Joppa as witnesses, an important detail to prove he was not alone in the account.
  13. Atos 11:13Peter tells what Cornelius had already reported before: the vision of an angel telling him to send for Simon, called Peter, in Joppa.
  14. Atos 11:14The angel’s promise included that Peter would bring a message of salvation not only to Cornelius, but to his whole household, including family and dependents.
  15. Atos 11:15Peter points out that the Holy Spirit fell on the assembled Gentiles as soon as he began to speak, the same way He had fallen on the apostles at Pentecost.
  16. Atos 11:16This parallel makes Peter remember a promise of Jesus about the difference between John’s baptism in water and the baptism in the Holy Spirit that was to come.
  17. Atos 11:17Peter closes his defense with a rhetorical question: if God gave the Gentiles the same gift He gave the first Jewish disciples, who was he to try to stand in the way of that.
  18. Atos 11:18The argument convinces the critics in Jerusalem, who stop objecting and begin glorifying God, acknowledging that He had also granted repentance and life to the Gentiles.
  19. Atos 11:19The Christians scattered by the persecution after Stephen’s death reach Antioch, one of the largest cities in the Roman Empire at the time, in Syria. There, almost by accident, what would later become the main missionary center of the early church is born.
  20. Atos 11:20Unnamed Christians from Cyprus and from Cyrene in North Africa are the first to deliberately preach to Greek Gentiles in Antioch, even before any official decision from the leadership in Jerusalem.
  21. Atos 11:21The success of the preaching in Antioch is described as a direct result of “the hand of the Lord,” an expression for divine action, not of any special human strategy.
  22. Atos 11:22News of the growth in Antioch reaches the church in Jerusalem, which decides to send Barnabas to check on and support what was happening there.
  23. Atos 11:23Arriving and seeing the positive result, Barnabas rejoices and encourages the new believers to remain faithful to the Lord with a resolute heart.
  24. Atos 11:24Luke describes Barnabas as a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and of faith — qualities that help explain why so many people are converted during his stay there.
  25. Atos 11:25Barnabas goes personally to Tarsus to look for Saul, recalling that he had been sent there some years earlier, in chapter 9, to escape a death threat.
  26. Atos 11:26The name “Christians” is born in Antioch, probably as a nickname given by outsiders, meaning something like followers of Christ. The disciples themselves more commonly called each other brothers or disciples.
  27. Atos 11:27Traveling prophets from Jerusalem arrive in Antioch, showing there was constant communication and movement between the two Christian communities.
  28. Atos 11:28Agabus was a traveling prophet. The famine he predicted is confirmed by Roman historical records of food shortages in various parts of the empire during the reign of Emperor Claudius, between the years 41 and 54 A.D.
  29. Atos 11:29On learning of the famine Agabus predicted, the disciples in Antioch organize a voluntary collection, each one contributing according to what they could give.
  30. Atos 11:30The relief collected is sent to the church leaders in Judea through Barnabas and Saul, who serve as trusted messengers between the two communities.

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