The significance of the conversion of this gentile household is reflected in the space given by Luke in giving such details to the event. Its significance is also reflected in this being used by Peter as a “test case” in the debate in the Jerusalem council in chapter 15. Caesarea was primarily a gentile city and Cornelius would have learned to worship God in the local synagogue.
(1) Cornelius was obviously a proselyte of Judaism and he adopted the practices of the pious Jews as well. Which of those practices did he get commendation from the angel and why?
(2) Why did God use such a miraculous way to point him to salvation through Jesus Christ?
(3) What might be the thing that you admire most about Cornelius?
(4) How might you approach someone who is genuinely seeking God except that he or she is not worshipping the true God of the Bible?
(5) How did God prepare Peter to see this important vision?
(6) Note the contents of the vision and dialogue:
a. Was Peter right to refuse to kill and eat those unclean animals in the first place? Why? (See Ezek. 4:14)What does it mean? What makes something clean or unclean? (See Mk. 7:14-19)
b. Since these things were definitely defined as impure or unclean (see Leviticus 11), why then did the voice from heaven say, “Do not call anything impure that God has made clean.”? How has God made these things clean?
(7) What is the main message to you today and how can you apply it in your life?
(1) Why did the Spirit order Peter to go with the three men? Why would he be reluctant to do so without the Spirit’s command?
(2) Up to this point, as Luke has been reporting, the gospel was primarily shared in the Jewish territories and to primarily people of Jewish heritage. It was still very much a Jewish gospel in the minds of the believers and their focus was still the restoration of the kingdom to Israel (Acts 1:6). If you were Peter, what might you be thinking upon hearing the story told by the three men about Cornelius? Now that he had to go and share the gospel with a completely 100% gentile (with whom he had no prior experience), what might his struggle be?
(3) How did Cornelius take hold of this opportunity to hear the message from this messenger of God?
(4) Upon seeing the gathering at Cornelius’ house, how did Peter interpret his prior vision?
(5) The OT in fact has no “law” prohibiting Jews to associate with Gentiles, why then did Peter take it as “law”?
(6) Can you think of similar “taboos” among Christians which are in fact not supported by Scriptures?
(7) What is the main message to you today?
(1) If you were Peter, trying to introduce the gospel of Jesus Christ to people who had already believed in a god, or even the God of the Bible but not Jesus Christ, list five main or key points that you would definitely address.
(2) Obviously Peter’s sermon would have been much longer (and in typical Oriental fashion who knows how many hours it might have been), and Luke is giving a summary of the main points being preached. Can you point out the main points being summarized in the following verses?
a. Vv. 34-35:
b. Vv. 36-37:
c. Vv. 38-39:
d. Vv. 40-41:
e. Vv. 42-43:
(3) What can we learn from these key points as we try to share the gospel with others?
(4) Why would the Holy Spirit descend upon the hearers even before Peter could finish his sermon? And why were Peter and his companions (all “circumcised” Jews) astonished? Astonished at what?
(5) These people were baptized after they had received the Holy Spirit. Identify what it tells you about
a. the role of baptism
b. the key to being really saved.
(6) What impact did this experience have on the understanding of God’s plan of salvation as far as Peter and the first Jewish church were concerned?
(7) What is the main message to you today?
(1) If you were one of the apostles or believers in Judea who heard of this tremendous news of the conversion of the whole household of gentiles, what would your first reaction be? What was their reaction? Why did they challenge Peter (remember that they were not challenging people like Philip, but Peter, their chief and leader)? In what way may we be similar to them?
(2) Now Luke is retelling the story through the mouth of Peter. What were Peter’s emphases and interpretation of the event? (Can you sense that Peter was trying to tell them that he was just as surprised and reluctant?)
(3) The response of these believers was, “So then, God has granted even the Gentiles repentance unto life.” What is your reaction to this statement? What then was their understanding of God’s plan of salvation through Jesus Christ before this statement?
(4) Is there an important lesson to learn for Christians of all ages from this incident?
(5) What is the main message today, and how should you act on it?
(1) Luke is now picking up the story he began at the beginning of chapter 8, and he skillfully and purposely links the following events with the previous report by Peter. Can you see what the linkage is?
(2) Note that Luke is using this section on the gospel being received beyond Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria to help us see the progression of the Great Commission back in 1:8, and to show us that the gospel has reached beyond the first three regions. It has now begun its reach into “the ends of the earth”.
Why did the “church at Jerusalem” need to send Barnabas to Antioch (note the wording for v.23 in some NIV versions, “When he arrived and saw the evidence of the grace of God”)? Do you think they understood the Great Commission well?
(3) Luke now highlights two significant figures who would take up the baton to reach the Gentile world. They were Barnabas and Saul. Spend a moment in reflecting on who the two were and see why they, of all people, were chosen for this important task. How special were they?
(4) How special was the Antioch church? Why were the disciples called Christians (meaning the people of Christ) by non-believers first at Antioch and not at Jerusalem? To outsiders from the church at Jerusalem, how different did the church at Antioch look?
(5) What did the people mean when they called the disciples at Antioch Christians? What do people mean when they call you a Christian today?
(6) How did the Gentile churches respond to the famine in Jerusalem? Who were in charge of the collection? (Note that part of the background of 2 Co. was the eager response of the church in this matter, but this response cooled off for a year. See 2 Co. 8:10-11.)
(7) What is the main message to you today and how may you apply to your life?
After a time of peace (9:31), the Jerusalem church was facing new persecution, not from the Jews directly but from the political ruler. We have no idea why Herod began arresting believers, but we do know that his action was further fanned by his desire to please the Jews. In his effort to please the Jews, he delayed the trial (and likely execution) of Peter by respecting the Jewish Passover.
(1) If you were part of the first believers of Jerusalem, how would you greet this new wave of persecution, especially the news of Peter’s arrest? How did the church actually greet Peter’s imprisonment?
(2) As far as we know, Peter would be killed at the hands of the Roman Emperor Nero some years later. Why did God choose to rescue him at this time and in such a miraculous fashion? Tell what this would mean to:
a. Peter
b. the Jerusalem believers
c. Herod (who was really a governor, but given the title of King by the Emperor).
(3) The famous Bible scholar, William Barclay, claimed that “In this story we do not necessarily see a miracle”, (Barclay, Acts, 95). How will you refute his claim?
(4) From this incident, what do you know of John Mark, this young man who would later join the mission trip of Paul and Barnabas, only to leave them prematurely? (See Acts 12:25 and 13:13.)
(5) What were the people doing when Peter knocked on the door? Why did they not believe it was Peter? What does it say about our attitude of prayers?
(6) What might be Luke's message as he ties the story of Herod’s death with his persecution of the church?
(7) Can you think of any parallels today with modern men usurping God’s glory?
(8) What is the main message to you today?
Now Luke turns his focus back to the churches in regions apart from the Jewish territories.
(1) Antioch was known to be a multi-ethnic city with distinct districts of occupation according to ethnicity. Yet Luke highlights the names of the leaders of the church which clearly denote different ethnicities (Latin, African, and Jewish).
What does it tell you about this church in Antioch? As to the nature of church, how powerfully did it speak when placed alongside the segregated secular society of Antioch?
(2) Saul had previously been set apart by his calling in chapter 9. Why is it significant that he and Barnabas are being sent out by the church of Antioch? Should their individual calling not be enough for them to begin their missionary work? What message is here for us concerning the sending of missionaries?
(3) The way the Holy Spirit chose to speak is also important. What kind of a church might be most fit to be used by God to do His mission work?
(4) Why did the Holy Spirit choose to send two together to the mission field?
(5) From the above, what can we learn from the church of Antioch on how we should do missions today?
(6) Repetition is an important literary tool for emphasis. Can you highlight words or terms that are being repeated in this segment by Luke? What are the emphases?
(7) What is the main message to you today?