Week 24: The Gospel to the Gentiles

The Big Picture

The conversion of Cornelius in Acts 10 cracked open the door to the Gentile world; this week, the church kicks it wide open. Acts 11 begins with Peter defending his controversial table fellowship with uncircumcised Gentiles before skeptical Jewish believers in Jerusalem. His defense succeeds, but the real engine of Gentile evangelism is already firing in Antioch, where unnamed believers from Cyprus and Cyrene – scattered by the persecution following Stephen’s martyrdom – begin preaching to Greeks for the first time. Antioch, the Roman Empire’s third-largest city, becomes the launching pad for the global mission that will eventually carry the gospel to the ends of the earth. Barnabas is dispatched to investigate, and he wisely recruits Saul from Tarsus to help lead this multiethnic congregation. It is at Antioch that the followers of Jesus are first called “Christians,” a name that signaled to the watching world that this movement had grown beyond the boundaries of Judaism.

The narrative then takes a dramatic turn. Herod Agrippa I executes the apostle James and imprisons Peter, only to be struck down by divine judgment. With political persecution momentarily lifted, the church surges forward. The Holy Spirit commissions Barnabas and Saul from the Antioch church, and they embark on what we call the first missionary journey – sailing to Cyprus, then crossing into the rugged interior of Asia Minor. Paul’s sermon at Pisidian Antioch is a masterpiece of salvation history, tracing God’s faithfulness from the patriarchs through David to Jesus, and boldly declaring that “through this man forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you, and by him everyone who believes is freed from everything from which you could not be freed by the law of Moses” (Acts 13:38-39). The pattern of synagogue preaching, Jewish rejection, and turning to receptive Gentiles is established here and will repeat throughout Paul’s career.

The week concludes with the opening chapter of Galatians, likely written from Antioch shortly after the first missionary journey, around 48-49 AD. Paul is furious. False teachers have infiltrated the Galatian churches he planted, insisting that Gentile converts must be circumcised and observe the Mosaic law. Paul’s response is volcanic: there is no other gospel. His apostolic authority comes not from human appointment but from direct revelation of Jesus Christ. The theological battle lines are drawn, and the stakes could not be higher – the very nature of salvation is at issue.

This Week’s Readings

Key Characters

• Peter – Defends his Gentile ministry before the Jerusalem church and is later miraculously delivered from prison
• Barnabas – “Son of Encouragement” who becomes the senior partner in the first missionary journey
• Saul/Paul – Transitions from junior partner to lead spokesman; his Pisidian Antioch sermon establishes his theological framework
• Herod Agrippa I – Grandson of Herod the Great who persecutes the church and dies under divine judgment
• James (son of Zebedee) – The first apostle martyred, killed by Herod’s sword
• John Mark – Accompanies Barnabas and Paul but later withdraws from the mission
• Sergius Paulus – Roman proconsul of Cyprus who believes the gospel
• Bar-Jesus/Elymas – Jewish sorcerer who opposes Paul on Cyprus

Key Locations

• Antioch (Syria) – Third-largest city in the Roman Empire; the first predominantly Gentile church and missionary sending base
• Jerusalem – Center of the Jewish-Christian mother church
• Cyprus – Island in the eastern Mediterranean; Barnabas’ homeland and first missionary destination
• Pisidian Antioch – Roman colony in the interior of Asia Minor; site of Paul’s programmatic sermon
• Iconium – City in the region of Lycaonia/Phrygia where Paul and Barnabas faced fierce opposition
• Lystra – Lycaonian city where Paul was stoned and left for dead
• Derbe – Easternmost point of the first missionary journey

Key Themes

• The Gentile mission authorized – God’s initiative in bringing Gentiles to faith without requiring Jewish conversion
• The church as a missionary body – The Antioch model of Spirit-led commissioning and sending
• Suffering and perseverance – From James’ martyrdom to Paul’s stoning, the gospel advances through opposition
• Justification by faith – Paul’s Pisidian Antioch sermon and Galatians 1 both declare freedom from the law
• Apostolic authority – Paul defends his calling as rooted in divine revelation, not human appointment
• The sovereignty of God – Herod’s death and Peter’s deliverance demonstrate God’s control over earthly power

Memory Verse

“I have made you a light for the Gentiles, that you may bring salvation to the ends of the earth.” – Acts 13:47