After Peter's revelation of Gentiles coming to faith - which coincided with Paul arriving on the scene - non-Jewish people were beginning to believe in Jesus and to receive the Spirit resulting in eternal life. The wildfire began to spread throughout certain regions. But it collided head-on with Jewish believers in positions of high authority who jumped to the wrong conclusion that these believing Gentiles needed to adhere to circumcision and other aspects of the law of Moses in order to be truly saved.
It resulted in "no small dissention" and "much debate," and it was suggested that the Gentile converters gather for a meeting at the church headquarters in Jerusalem, where Paul and Peter (among others) would meet with the apostles, the council and elders to determine if Gentiles who never had the Mosaic law should be required to follow it as those Jewish believers in Jerusalem assumed they were still required to do.
In Acts 13 and 14, after what may have been close to a decade after the resurrection, Paul was in the early days of his ministry of the gospel to Gentiles and also Jewish people. He and Barnabas connected in the region of Antioch for about a year, finally opening the message of salvation available to Gentiles found through faith in a risen Jesus.
But first they addressed Jews who gathered at the nearby synagogue on the weekly Sabbath to hear a customary reading of the law of Moses. Some received their gospel message, but just as many did not ... and the city became divided. Jews who were advocates for the old law didn't appreciate being told that only Jesus could bring them forgiveness and freedom—while the law never could.
This ... combined with Gentiles coming to faith in Christ ... led Paul's Jewish contradictors to stone him while in one particular city, and dragged him out of the town to be left for dead. This would just be Round 1. The bell would ring, and Paul would get up and head boldly back into the ring, undeterred by those who threw rocks while they were clinging to the stone tablets.
Continuing with the 4th program in our series about Gentiles coming to faith in Christ, after God revealed to Peter that non-Jewish people could be saved and should no longer be considered unclean as they were under the Mosaic law ... the word about this had reached other apostles and Jewish believers. In Acts 11, Peter was "called on the carpet" and accused of doing the unthinkable by not only rubbing shoulders with some of those dirty Gentiles, but also eating grub with them that was prohibited by the law.
Peter would go on to explain his story of the vision he had about Gentiles coming to faith and receiving the Spirit, but it's another example of how even witnesses to the risen Jesus and early believing Jews were still of the mindset that they were to abide by the old law—unaware that outsiders could even be saved. Adding Gentiles to the equation would complicate their message of law and grace ... and even divide many of these believers for many years to come.
Under the Mosaic law of stone tablet commandments, Gentiles (non-Jewish people) were considered unclean outsiders who were to be avoided by (old) covenant people. They fell into the same category as camel casserole, bacon burgers, and lobster for lunch. Therefore, in the first number of years after the ascension of Jesus, believing Jews were sharing the good news with other Jews ... and not the outsiders. Some might ask the question why the apostles would have assumed the law was still in effect when Paul made it clear that it had been abolished and brought to an end. On the other hand, until Peter had his vision (Acts 10) telling him this was now different, why wouldn't they assume the law was still in place? Paul hadn't made the scene yet with his revelations about the gospel because he was too busy having Christians killed.
Let's try to put ourselves in their sandals as we look through these pages. We'll take a look at something Jesus told his disciples when He had sent them out during the time of His earthly ministry. Plus, let's not forget about the "dog woman" who approached Jesus back at that time when the law was still in place (before the cross).
Program #2 in our series shows Peter receiving a vision from God about unclean food prohibited by the Mosaic Law. God told him to eat it, but Peter replied saying he would never eat anything that was considered to be common or unclean. God responded by telling him not to call anything unclean that He declared to be clean. Of course, the next day Peter put two and two together when he realized that there was also something else considered unclean by the standard of the Mosaic law ... it was Gentiles.
By God's direction, Peter would end up going to meet with a group of Gentiles. He pointed out to his host, Cornelius, that it was considered unlawful for a Jewish man like himself to meet with the outsiders of other nations (Gentiles). But when God's Spirit fell upon those (formerly) considered unclean ... Peter's Jewish friends were amazed and astonished at what they saw (they had not witnessed this before). Although it was nearly a decade after the cross, Gentiles were finally receiving God's Spirit and being saved ... all thanks to a new revelation about the law being set aside and taken out of the way.
This is the first in a series of programs about the Gentiles (non-Jewish people) seemingly not having the gospel preached to them for nearly a decade after the cross and resurrection of Jesus. It may surprise some believers and even avid Bible readers that the focus in those early years by the apostles and other Jewish believers was to spread the message of Jesus to their Jewish brethren. This is very interesting since Jesus plainly stated they should go to all nations. Also, the many prophetic scriptures from the Old Testament looked forward to Gentiles coming to salvation.
After Jesus ascended and the Spirit came down upon people ... even Peter's speech in Acts chapter 2 quotes the prophet Joel, looking to a day when God's Spirit would be available to all and that everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved. So how did Gentiles seem to fail to show up on the radar for 7 to 10 years when it came to spreading the message of salvation through Jesus? People can speculate as much as they want, but one thing is certain ... it had to do with the Mosaic law that they thought was still in effect.
You may have wondered if God has specific plans for your life and how you can know you're going in the right direction. Some are afraid of making decisions - whether big or small - for fear they will make the wrong one. Some can become so concerned about this that they feel the need to stop and pray before doing anything.
God has given us the freedom to make choices and will be with us every step of the way. Certainly He may impress some things upon the hearts of people, leading and guiding when we're often not even aware of it. Religion has often emphasized the idea of being a follower of God. But let's remember that God's Spirit is always following us as a helper in time of need.
