Acts 11:19–30: Remaining Faithful to the Lord
Introduction
Now that the Holy Spirit has descended upon Gentiles, a major question arises: what will Gentile churches look like? How will they function? How much of a difference will it make that they lack the foundation of Old Testament and Jewish ceremonial knowledge? In Acts 11:19–30, we read a fascinating story of how this grand new step forward in the history of God’s redemptive work launches out among the Gentiles. In all, we find that the Lord works in the same, ordinary ways among Gentiles as he does among the Jews. Namely, Christ converts and transforms his people through the ministry of his church.
Discussion Questions
1. Where did we see the language of how believers were “scattered” from persecution (Acts 8:1, 4)? How did that language of “scattering” compare both the people and the Word of God to seeds? Why did the initial believers in this area restrict their scattering of God’s Word among the Jews (v. 20)? What was the result when some believers began to share the gospel with Greeks (vv. 20–21)? How do we explain the success of the mission (v. 21)?
2. How does the church at Jerusalem act when they hear about what the Lord is doing in Antioch (v. 22)? What do we know of Barnabas from previous passages? How did Barnabas relate to the Gentile church when he arrived (v. 23)? What kind of ministry did he engage among them (v. 23)? What was the result of Barnabas’s work of disciple-making in this church (v. 24)? Why did Barnabas search out Saul, and what did the two do when they were reunited (vv. 25–26)?
3. What does the New Testament say about the ministry of prophets in the age of the apostles (v. 27)? What did this prophet declare (v. 28)? How does the discipleship of these Gentile converts to Christianity prepare them to leap into action by meeting the relief needs of those living in Judea (v. 29)? How much did each person in the church give to the relief efforts (v. 29)? What was the means of transferring the benevolent funds (v. 30)?
4. What does this passage tell us about how the “hand of the Lord” (v. 21) works in the ordinary ministries of evangelism, discipleship, and mercy ministry in the church? What makes this ordinary ministry so effective? Why do we struggle to prioritize these ordinary ministries in our own lives? Why does God choose to work so powerfully through such ordinary means? What does this passage teach us about the church today?
