Expositor's Bible Commentary Commentary Acts 11:1

"Now the apostles and the brethren that were in Judaea heard that the Gentiles also had received the word of God." — Acts 11:1 (ASV)

News of Peter’s direct approach to Gentiles at Caesarea and his acceptance of them apart from the strictures of Judaism reached Jerusalem and the believers there before Peter himself did. This news caused great alarm both within the church and among the Jewish populace generally. The Hellenistic believers had stirred up much antagonism by their liberal attitudes toward the tenets of Jewish popular piety (cf. 6:8–7:56). The immediate consequences were the martyrdom of Stephen and the expulsion of the believers from areas under Sanhedrin control (cf. 7:57–8:3). Now if it were really true that Peter, the leading member of the apostolic band, had gone further in disregarding the traditional laws of Judaism in favor of a direct association with Gentiles, what goodwill still remained toward believers in Jerusalem would be quickly dissipated. The practical implications for the existence and the mission of the Christian church in Jerusalem were grave, and such practical considerations undoubtedly led to principial questions. Peter’s return to Jerusalem, therefore, was like lighting a match in highly combustible air. “The circumcised believers” (i.e, “Jewish Christians”) immediately confronted Peter and charged, “You went into the house of uncircumcised men and ate with them.” This charge, while traditionally worded, was tantamount to saying that Peter had set aside Christianity’s Jewish features and thereby seriously endangered its relation with the nation.