Jerusalem to Antioch

Of course, if Peter isn’t prepared for this world-altering shift in understanding, the rest of this Jewish movement isn’t ready for it either. Peter’s interactions and behavior with a Gentile, the rumors of his inclusion of such an outsider without first making him a covenantal part of the story, has set off the Church at large.

Peter has to defend his actions and very clearly tell the story. It’s clear that the discussions are not easy, and on some level it’s comforting to know that even the early church had problems. They had problems with doctrines and traditions, they had problems communicating with each other, and they had problems finding a place of agreement. Fortunately, the early church does model for us how to navigate these difficulties and find a place of resolution (more on that later in Acts), but they are certainly as human as we are.

After people tell the story of both his vision and his experience, coupled with his ability to speak as the ringleader of Jesus’s disciples and the movement as a whole, the people there accept the testimony of Peter and have enough humility to be able to rejoice in this plan of God that they previously misunderstood.

Depending on how you read the second half of Acts 11, you may get a more realistic picture. We are told the Church begins to move and scatter from the region of Judea and Samaria and reach into the world of Asia and Asia Minor (modern-day Turkey). The disciples send some leaders north to Antioch in order to provide leadership to this spreading movement as it finds a home in a very Greco-Roman — and largely Gentile — world.

It does become clear that the Church finds a new “center for operations” in Antioch. What is unclear is whether or not there is a tension between the church in the Diaspora and the church in Judea, and how deep that tension runs. I find in most of the conversations we have for basic Bible study, we aren’t even aware of the tensions between New Testament worldviews, but the issue is profoundly significant. Most New Testament scholars are going to identify a deep rift in worldviews between the Jewish church in Jerusalem (the “Judeans”) and the expanding church of Asia and Asia Minor.

Some liberal scholars will even go are far as to say there is a major schism that is never repaired. According to these scholars, the “Jewish Church” of Judea, led by James, does not survive and falls out of existence; the church that remains is the Gentile church that will be largely Roman in nature, shedding it’s Judaism and the Law and moving into a new day and the Christian faith we know so well. But I believe this ignores the biblical Text, and modern scholarship is telling us quite clearly that the church of Asia and Asia Minor was much more Jewish than we anticipated.

However, an attempt to act like there is no tension between the church in Jerusalem and the church in Antioch would be just as ignorant. There are details living within the New Testament writings (which we will certainly look at) that clearly show how these pesky Gentiles make this Jewish-Jesus faith quite difficult, and not everybody agrees on how to deal with it. To understand this context is to understand not just a piece of the New Testament, but the New Testament conversation as a whole. But more on that later…

Peter’s experience with Cornelius is really rocking the boat, and the waters aren’t going to calm down anytime soon.

Unknown by Peter at this point is that God is preparing a special prophet for this new frontier. While people are aware of Saul’s life-changing experience, we will see later (from the book of Galatians) that Saul has been spending significant time working through his own version of “the Gospel.” God is training him and teaching him how to take this announcement of a new Kingdom into a world radically different from the Jewish world of Judea.

When the church moves to Antioch, they send Barnabas to help lead the efforts. Barnabas encourages the believers and helps lay some foundations, but then immediately sets off to find Saul, whom he brings to operational headquarters. The church sends out Barnabas and Saul on their first “mission” to check on the growing movement, spread the gospel, and start planting some healthy faith communities throughout the region.

They set sail for Asia and arrive at their first stop, only to have their plans changed…