Charles Ellicott Commentary Acts 14:27

"And when they were come, and had gathered the church together, they rehearsed all things that God had done with them, and that he had opened a door of faith unto the Gentiles." — Acts 14:27 (ASV)

And when they were come.—Two years or approximately (A.D. 45-48) had passed since their mission. During that interval, little had probably been heard of them, and we can picture to ourselves the eagerness with which the Christiani of Antioch would gather to listen to their report.

How he had opened the door of faith to the Gentiles.—This is noticeable as the first occurrence, concerning the chronological order of the books of the New Testament, of a very characteristic phrase. It would seem to have been a favourite metaphor of St. Paul’s (Compare to 1 Corinthians 16:1; 2 Corinthians 2:12; Colossians 4:3), and it probably appears here as a fragment from his speech. From this point of view it is interesting to note the recurrence of the phrase in Revelation 3:8, both St. Paul and St. John, representing as they did different sections of the Church (Galatians 2:9), agreeing in the thought that the door of the Father’s house was now opened wider than it had ever been before, and that no man might shut it.