Sermon Tone Analysis

Good Morning Calvary Chapel Lake City!

Please turn in your Bibles to Acts 11.

Acts 11:19-30 today.

Last time, we looked at Peter’s return to Jerusalem following a ministry tour of Lydda, Joppa, and Caesarea.

Caesarea was particularly important, as Peter shared the gospel with the Roman Centurion Cornelius, and the Holy Spirit fell… on the Gentiles!

Cornelius, his whole household… even friends and family were saved.

Peter was travelling with 6 Jewish Christians who were titled “those of the circumcision” in Acts 10:45 … these were Jewish Christians who held tight to Mosaic Law and Oral traditions.

Today, we might call them ‘legalistic’.

When they saw the Holy Spirit poured out on the Gentiles… they were astonished… probably because Jews had a low regard for Gentiles… and here God was saving Gentiles.

In Acts 11:2, Peter returns to Jerusalem, and another group “of the circumcision” contended with Peter for eating with Gentiles.

From a Jewish mindset, Gentiles has enslaved them, oppressed them, and were wicked and idolatrous nations.

And, Peter was eating with them!

Symbolically, becoming one with them!

Yet, despite multi-generational prejudices and hatred towards Gentiles… it was undeniable what God was doing.

Peter explained that he had supernatural experiences… a trance, vision and instructions from God.

And, Peter wrestled with God over the idea of eating clean and unclean things.

Peter shared the testimony of Cornelius seeing an angel.

And, the Holy Spirit falling on Cornelius’ household… which paralleled Jesus’ words in Acts 1:5.

And, Peter said, “...who was I that I could withstand God?”

Acts 11:18 states, “When they heard these things they became silent; and they glorified God, saying, “Then God has also granted to the Gentiles repentance to life.”

When God moves it’s powerful.

This testimony changed the hearts of these Jewish Christians stuck in legalism.

We’ll come back to Peter in Acts Chapter 12, but today as we finish Chapter 11… the writer of Acts (Luke)… provides a parenthetical…

Showing how God was moving outside of Jerusalem… in the lives of the Christians scattered to the ends of the earth… and in particular in the town of Antioch.

The title of today’s message is “The Christians in Antioch.”

Let’s pray!

Acts 11:19 “Now those who were scattered after the persecution that arose over Stephen traveled as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus, and Antioch, preaching the word to no one but the Jews only.”

In V19, Jews from Jerusalem were scattered… dispersed from Jerusalem into foreign lands.

The word “scattered” in Gk. is dee-as-pi´-ro diaspĕirō, meaning “to sow throughout.”

It’s the root word for dee-as-por-ah diaspŏra… anglicized we say dia-spora.

A term used especially for Israelites who have been relocated to foreign lands.

You see this idea mentioned in John 7:35 after Jesus announced He would go.

“Then the Jews said among themselves, “Where does He intend to go that we shall not find Him?

Does He intend to go to the Dispersion [diaspŏra] among the Greeks and teach the Greeks?”

Three of the major diasporas were:

740-722 B.C. when the Assyrians destroyed the Northern Kingdom of Israel, and took inhabitants back to Assyria.

607-586 B.C. Babylonians destroyed the Southern Kingdom of Judah and took Jews to Babylon.

70 A.D. the Romans destroyed Jerusalem and dispersed the Jews throughout Rome.

And, there were several smaller diasporas, and this scattering in Act 11:19 is one such time.

What’s amazing is the Jews NEVER assimilate… they don’t lose their national identity.

Which is unheard of.

Most cultures would assimilate, but not the Jews.

Further, even though they completely lost their land in 70 A.D., after WWII in 1946 A.D. … 1876 years after not having a country… a large part of British owned Palestine…was given back to the Jews… and over time Israel has gradually reclaimed much their homeland.

No nation has ever reclaimed their homeland after exile for almost 2000 years.

But, God prophetically said He would gather the Jews… and for that to happen… they would need their land.

There are several OT prophetic verses that mention this re-gathering.

One of the clearest… that we’ve looked at over the last several weeks… is Isa 11:12 “He will set up a banner for the nations, And will assemble the outcasts of Israel, And gather together the dispersed of Judah From the four corners of the earth.”

The near or partial fulfillment is happening now.

Israel got their land back in 1946, and since that time… many Jews have ‘made Aliyah’ (a term with great depth that we talked about in depth last week)… where they relocated back to Israel.

But the far or ultimate fulfillment of Isa 11:12 will happen after the seven year tribulation when Jesus returns and ushers in his literal kingdom on earth for 1000 years… the Millennial Kingdom… when Jews will truly gather from the four corners of the earth back to the land.

So, this scattering in Acts 11:19… it’s very familiar to the Jews.

And, what caused this scattering?

Persecution.

Which is something the nation of Israel has also experienced from it’s very foundation.

Consider Jacob and Esau.

Jacob, later renamed Israel, exploited his brother Esau’s hunger… and the first persecution of Israel was the result.

In Gen 25:29-34, Esau made a promise to sell his birthright to Jacob for a bowl of red stew.

Esau had rights to a double portion which also included Messiah coming from his line, but he despised these things.

D.L Moody said, “No food except the forbidden fruit was as dearly bought as this broth.”

God doesn’t condone Jacob’s deceitful nature…

But, Jacob valued the significance of the birthright… to have a place in the Godly line… he looked to the far reward.

Where Esau valued his belly… he looked to the immediate fulfillment of his flesh.

There’s a lesson in that for us today.

Don’t live just to feed your flesh today… live for eternity.

In light of scattering and persecution, Esau became hateful towards Jacob.

In Gen 27, Isaac gives the double blessing to Jacob… and acknowledges to Esau, “Your brother came with deceit and has taken away your blessing.”

Esau was devastated and hated Jacob… he even vowed to kill him upon his father’s death.

Jacob would flee to his Uncle Laban in Haran… which may have been the earliest micro scattering…

Israel scattered to a foreign land because persecution knocked at his door.

And, since that time, Israel has known persecution… and scattering.

So, here in Acts… as these Jewish believers experienced scattering and persecution… this was a repeat story.

Jews are a hardy people… and even today as nations come against them… they look to the many victories God has blessed them with… like Esther over wicked Haman… The Feast of Purim.

The persecution mentioned here in Acts 11:19, ties back to Acts 7, where Stephen confronted the Sanhedrin.

Under the weight of conviction… the Sanhedrin cast Stephen out of Jerusalem and stoned him to death.

And we were introduced to Saul, who in Acts 8:1 was attributed to the great persecution that befell the church.

But, we must remember that in Acts 1:8, Jesus said, “...you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”

But, the church was stagnant in Jerusalem.

They weren’t going out.

So, was this persecution brought on to shake things up?

Because the church was too comfortable in Jerusalem, and neglected God’s command?

Which raises the question… if the disciples had been obedient to Jesus’ instruction in Acts 1:8, would they have faced the persecution in Acts 8:1?

And, how does that apply to our lives today?

Better to be obedient to the Holy Spirit, than to have Him shake things up.

Because of this persecution, the church was scattered… fulfilling Acts 1:8… they went throughout Judea and Samaria… and beyond.

I have a map of Phoenicia, Cyprus, and Antioch mentioned in V19… areas where the early Christians fled to and carried the Gospel to following persecution.

Phoenicia is a region on the Mediterranean Coast north of Israel… and only mentioned three times in Acts.

But, the Bible mentions the city of Sidon 35x and it’s people, the Sidonians, 15x.

Sidon was a city on the Phoenician Coast… often paired with Tyre.

“Tyre and Sidon.”

The people were a bad influence on Israel.

In 1 Ki 11, King Solomon is mentioned loving many foreign women including Sidonian women.

1 Ki 11:5 reads, “For Solomon went after Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians...”

Ashtoreth or Astarte was a Canaanite goddess and companion to Baal… she was the goddess of war, eros love, and fertility.

So, you can imagine how depraved the worship practices were in Sidon.

Jesus traveled here to cast a demon out of the Syro-Phoenician's daughter.

This is the woman to said to Jesus, in Matt 15 “Yes, Lord, yet even the little dogs under the table eat from the children’s crumbs.”

Jesus replied, “O woman, great is your faith...”

Had word spread in this area of how Jesus touched the lives of this woman and her daughter?

Was this done to prime Phoenicia for the early church to preach the Gospel?

Cyprus is a Mediterranean Island where Barnabas was from.