OVERVIEW:
The transition from Israel to the Gentiles (chapter 8); the salvation of the missionary to the Gentiles (chapter 9); the transition to the Gentiles confirmed by apostolic authority (chapter 10).
HIGHLIGHTS & INSIGHTS:
Thus far we have seen that Acts 1-7 is exclusively Jewish because God is still offering the Messiah and the kingdom of heaven to the nation of Israel. The all-important question of Acts 1:6, “Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel?” has been answered with a resounding, “No!” This “no” was effectively communicated through the stoning of Stephen and the fact that Jesus went from STANDING in Acts 7:56, to being SEATED in Colossians 3:1. The nation of Israel has clearly rejected the offer of both their Messiah and His kingdom: the literal, physical, earthly kingdom of heaven. God’s plan for Israel has been postponed and the “parenthesis” of the Church Age is beginning.
It is also worth noting that the stoning of Stephen led to a “great persecution” against the believers, causing many of them to flee Jerusalem. As they did, Acts 8:1 says, they began preaching the gospel “abroad throughout the regions of Judaea and Samaria.” God was even able to use persecution to accomplish His own mission of sending witnesses to “all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth”! (Acts 1:8) Acts chapter 8 marks the beginning of the transition from God accomplishing His plan through the nation of Israel to the accomplishment of His plan through a body of people called the church, which is composed of both Jews and Gentiles. (Ephesians 2:11-22)
Notice how orderly God makes the transition from Israel to the Church!
- Believers witness in “all Judaea”. (8:1c)
- Philip, the deacon mentioned in Acts 6:5 and called “the evangelist” in Acts 21:8, preaches the kingdom of God (the spiritual kingdom that resides inside of a believer) to “the Samaritans”, who are half-Jew and half-Gentile. (8:5)
- The witness extends to “the uttermost”, as Philip preaches to a full-blooded Gentile on his way home from a pilgrimage to Jerusalem. (8:27-28)
It is also important to note that God withheld the gift of the Holy Ghost from the Samaritans until Peter and John arrived in Samaria. (8:14-17) This was done for two reasons:
- To prove to the Apostles in Jerusalem that the Samaritans had truly received the word of God; and
- To prove to the Samaritans that the apostles in Jerusalem were God’s ordained authorities.
In these early chapters in the book of Acts (Acts 1-7) as the King and His kingdom were still being offered to the nation of Israel, the Apostle Peter has been the dominant voice, because he is the apostle to the Jews. (Galatians 2:7-8) However, a new character, Paul, enters the scene in chapter 9.
We are first introduced to Paul in Acts 7:58 where he is called by his birth name, Saul. (Acts 13:9) Paul, by his own admission, was the chief persecutor of the church. He says in Acts 9:1, “[I breathed] out threatenings and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord”, and continues in Acts 22:19, saying, “[I] imprisoned and beat in every synagogue them that believed.” In 1st Timothy 1:13 he confesses that, “[I] was before a blasphemer, and a persecutor, and injurious”. Do you know how we would refer to a guy by this description in today’s world? A terrorist! The crazy thing is, Paul was one of the most religious men on the face of the earth! In Philippians 3:4–6 Paul talked about his religiousness, saying, “If any other man thinketh that he hath whereof he might trust in the flesh, I more: Circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, an Hebrew of the Hebrews; as touching the law, a Pharisee; Concerning zeal, persecuting the church; touching the righteousness which is in the law, blameless.”
Oddly enough, religion has always been, and continues to be, the most destructive force, on this planet, to the work of God. It was the religious Jewish council who crucified our Lord. It was the religious Jewish council who stoned Stephen. And it was a religious leader (Paul) who was the most destructive force against the early church.
But consider the rest of Paul’s testimony: Paul says in 1st Timothy 1:13–16, “[I] was before a blasphemer, and a persecutor, and injurious: but I obtained mercy, because I did it ignorantly in unbelief. And the grace of our Lord was exceeding abundant with faith and love which is in Christ Jesus. This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief. Howbeit for this cause I obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might shew forth all longsuffering, for a pattern to them which should hereafter believe on him to life everlasting.” Wow! What a radical transformation! Listen, if God could save a terrorist like Paul, He can save and transform anyone! Paul actually goes from being the chief misery of the church to the chief missionary of the church! Hallelujah!
Note that Paul was specifically saved to be a missionary to the Gentiles. In Acts 9:15, God says, “[Paul] is a chosen vessel unto me, to bear my name before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel.” From this chapter forward in the book of Acts, Peter’s role as the apostle to the Jews (Galatians 2:7-8) diminishes, while Paul’s role as the apostle to the Gentiles increases. In fact, Peter’s name is only mentioned one more time after Acts 13, while Paul’s is mentioned 129 times! Obviously, there has been a major transition.
Acts chapter 10 continues the transition from Israel to the church with Peter, the apostle to the Jews, reluctantly preaching to a family of Gentiles. Notice that the heavens open again (10:11), but rather than seeing Jesus standing at the right hand of the Father (Acts 7:56), Peter sees a vessel of unclean animals descending and hears a voice instructing him to kill and eat them. According to Old Testament law (Leviticus 20:25; Deuteronomy 14:1-29), Jews were to avoid eating certain kinds of animals, specifically, animals that God Himself called “unclean”. So, Peter, being a devout Jewish believer in Christ, refuses the offer to eat the unclean animals. But pay close attention to God’s response to Peter. God says to Peter, “What God hath cleansed, that call not thou common.” (10:15) God is trying to let Peter know that He is transitioning from Israel to the church by using unclean animals as a metaphor for the Gentiles. In effect, God is saying, “Peter, I’m doing something new now, so I no longer want you to consider the Gentiles as ‘unclean’, or unworthy of salvation.”
But Peter has a very difficult time accepting the fact that God will save Gentiles. At this point in the transition, we might consider him an “unbelieving Jew!” Soon, however, Peter finds himself preaching to a family of Gentiles who suddenly begin speaking in tongues. Keep in mind here some of the things we learned in the early chapters in Acts, namely, that Jews require a sign (1st Corinthians 1:22), and tongues are a sign for unbelieving Jews (1st Corinthians 14:22). So, do you see what’s actually happening here in Acts 10? These Gentiles spoke with tongues as a sign to Peter, who in this context, is a Jew who doesn’t believe that God will save Gentiles!
Once the other eleven apostles in Jerusalem catch wind of this “casting of pearls before swine”, Peter is called to answer for this blatantly disobedient act of preaching to the Gentiles. (Acts 11:1-3) As Peter begins to defend himself, the most convincing evidence he offers to the Jewish apostles is the sign of tongues. (Acts 11:15-18) By the end of the meeting, the Jewish church in Jerusalem declares: “Then hath God also to the Gentiles granted repentance unto life.” (Acts 11:18) The transition from Israel to the church is almost complete.
Let’s briefly summarize the transitions that we’ve discovered:
Acts 1–6 – God is offering the King and the kingdom of heaven to the nation of Israel.
Acts 7 – Israel rejects the King and the kingdom of heaven for the third time.
Acts 8 – God makes an orderly transition from Jews to Samaritans, and from Samaritans to Gentiles.
Acts 9 – The transition from Peter, the apostle to the Jews, to Paul, the apostle to the Gentiles.
Acts 10 – God’s transition to the Gentiles is confirmed by the apostolic authority of Peter.