Atos 11

BLIVRE · Chapter 11/28

1E os apóstolos, e os irmãos que estavam na Judeia, ouviram que também os gentios receberam a palavra de Deus.

2E quando Pedro subiu a Jerusalém, discutiam contra ele os que eram da circuncisão;

3Dizendo: Tu entraste [na casa] de homens incircuncisos, e comeste com eles.

4Mas Pedro começou a lhes explicar [tudo] em ordem, dizendo:

5Eu estava orando na cidade de Jope, e vi em êxtase uma visão: um certo objeto que descia como um grande lençol, pelas quatro pontas abaixado desde o céu, e vinha até mim.

6No qual, olhando eu com atenção, considerei e vi quatro quadrúpedes da terra, e animais selvagens, e répteis, e aves do céu.

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

8Mas eu disse: De maneira nenhuma, Senhor; porque nunca comi coisa alguma ordinária, nem coisa imunda entrou em minha boca.

9E a voz me respondeu do céu pela segunda vez: O que Deus purificou, não o faças tu [como] ordinário.

10E isto aconteceu por três vezes; e voltou-se tudo a recolher acima ao céu.

11E eis que logo três homens, enviados a mim de Cesareia, pararam junto à casa onde eu estava.

12E o Espírito me disse que eu fosse com eles, sem duvidar; e também estes seis irmãos foram comigo, e entramos na casa daquele homem.

13E ele nos contou como tinha visto um anjo estar em sua casa, e tinha lhe dito: Envia [alguns] homens a Jope, e manda chamar a Simão, que tem por sobrenome Pedro;

14O qual te falará palavras, em que tu sejas salvo, e [também] toda a tua casa.

15E quando comecei a falar, caiu o Espírito Santo sobre eles, assim como também no princípio [tinha caído] sobre nós.

16E eu me lembrei da palavra do Senhor, como ele tinha dito: Verdadeiramente João batizou com água, mas vós sereis batizados com o Espírito Santo.

17Portanto, se Deus deu a eles igual dom, assim como também a nós, que temos crido no Senhor Jesus Cristo; quem era eu, pois, para que pudesse proibir a Deus?

18E ao ouvirem estas coisas, se acalmaram, e glorificavam a Deus, dizendo: Portanto também aos gentios Deus deu arrependimento para a vida.

19E os que foram dispersos por causa da perseguição que aconteceu por causa de Estêvão, passaram até a Fenícia, e Chipre, e Antioquia; não falando a ninguém a palavra, a não ser somente aos judeus.

20E havia deles alguns homens cipriotas e cirenenses, os quais ao entrarem em Antioquia, falaram aos gregos, anunciando o Evangelho do Senhor Jesus.

21E a mão do Senhor era com eles, e um grande número creu, e se converteu ao Senhor.

22E esta notícia sobre eles chegou aos ouvidos da igreja que estava em Jerusalém; e enviaram a Barnabé, para ir até Antioquia.

23O qual, ao chegar [lá] ,e tendo visto a graça de Deus, alegrou-se; e exortou a todos, para que com o propósito do coração permanecessem no Senhor.

24Porque ele era um bom homem, e cheio do Espírito Santo, e de fé; e uma grande multidão foi acrescentada ao Senhor.

25E Barnabé foi para Tarso, para buscar a Saulo; e achando-o, trouxe-o a Antioquia.

26E sucedeu que, [durante] um ano completo eles se congregaram naquela igreja, e ensinavam a uma grande multidão; e em Antioquia os discípulos foram chamados pela primeira vez de cristãos.

27E naqueles dias desceram de Jerusalém [alguns] profetas a Antioquia.

28E levantando-se um deles, por nome Ágabo, declarou pelo Espírito, que estava para haver uma grande fome em todo o mundo; que veio a acontecer no tempo de Cláudio César.

29E os discípulos determinaram de cada um, conforme o que pudesse, mandar algum [socorro] para serviço dos irmãos que habitavam na Judeia.

30O que também fizeram, enviando [-o] aos anciãos pela 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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