Gospel For All Acts 11:19-30

3 Ways Gospel was spread to the Gentiles

Acts tells of three ways that the gospel was opened up to the Gentiles. Today we will look at the final way and unpack why it is important.

The three ways that the gospel was open to the Gentiles are: Phillip preaching to the Samaritans; Peter preaching to Cornelius; and Hellenistic Jews preaching in Antioch

In Acts 8:4-5

Acts 8:4–5 (NASB95)

Therefore, those who had been scattered went about preaching the word. Philip went down to the city of Samaria and began proclaiming Christ to them.

We see that after the persecution of Saul at Jerusalem we find Phillip preaching to the Samaritans. This is huge because the Jews and the Samaritans hated each other. God broke down the hatred between these two people groups through the gospel of Jesus Christ.

The second avenue for the gospel to the Gentiles was when Peter preached the gospel to Cornelius. This was an act of God found in Acts 11:13-15

Acts 11:13–15 (NASB95)

“And he reported to us how he had seen the angel standing in his house, and saying, ‘Send to Joppa and have Simon, who is also called Peter, brought here; and he will speak words to you by which you will be saved, you and all your household.’ “And as I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell upon them just as He did upon us at the beginning.

Peter needed to see that God loves all people and desires that all people need salvation through Jesus Christ.

The third way we find the gospel opening to the gospel is in Acts 11:20

Acts 11:20 NASB95

But there were some of them, men of Cyprus and Cyrene, who came to Antioch and began speaking to the Greeks also, preaching the Lord Jesus.

This is fascinating because Antioch was the Las Vegas or New Orleans of Rome. It was the “Sin City” of Rome. They had a temple dedicated to the goddess Daphne. All the priestesses were temple prostitutes that engaged in grossly immoral rituals.

God saw that these great sinners needed the gospel.

Four reasons why is it important that the gospel was open to the gentiles?

1. Inclusiveness and Universality

God loves all people. He does not discriminate against any people group. We saw this in last weeks sermon when Peter testified in Acts 10:34- 35

Acts 10:34–35 (NASB95)

Opening his mouth, Peter said: “I most certainly understand now that God is not one to show partiality, but in every nation the man who fears Him and does what is right is welcome to Him.

Could it be that the gospel is the very thing that breaks the hatred between the nation of Israel and Palestine. Imagine these two countries receive the gospel and find peace with God and peace with each other. You will find that what happened on October 7th would never have happened and what is going on currently in Gaza would not be going on. The gospel of Jesus Christs breaks down hostility and brings forth peace.

2. Fulfillment of Prophecy

Isaiah 49:6 (NASB95)

He says, “It is too small a thing that You should be My Servant To raise up the tribes of Jacob and to restore the preserved ones of Israel; I will also make You a light of the nations So that My salvation may reach to the end of the earth.”

Isaiah prophesied that God would bring forth a Savior that would save the whole world. When we are sharing the gospel we are fulfilling God’s plan to reach the entire world. We don’t have to go overseas to fulfill this, we can go across the street to fulfill this. No matter where God calls we are to share the gospel to fulfill God’s prophecy.

3. Unity in Christ

Galatians 3:28 NASB95

There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.

In Christ there are no barriers that separate us. We are all family in the body of Christ. There are only two families. The family of the lost and the family of the saved. Praise God the family of the saved is in the adoption business. The gospel is the mechanism that makes the transfer.

4. Salvation of Israel

Romans 11:11 NASB95

I say then, they did not stumble so as to fall, did they? May it never be! But by their transgression salvation has come to the Gentiles, to make them jealous.

God has opened the gospel to the Gentiles so that Israel will see the favor of God and the salvation He brings to sinners. Perhaps their jealousy will help them realize their need for a Savior and turn to Him.

God has opened the gospel to the Gentiles! As a result we have salvation made available to us today!

Barnabas Blessing

When the Jews at Jerusalem heard that the gospel was being shared with the Greeks it gave cause for concern to the Apostles in Jerusalem because they still thought the gospel was for the Jews only. So they sent Barnabas to check out what was going on.

It is critically important as to who they sent. The Bible describes Barnabas as Acts 11:24

Acts 11:24 NASB95

for he was a good man, and full of the Holy Spirit and of faith. And considerable numbers were brought to the Lord.

He was a good man full of the Holy Spirit. He was not like his legalistic colleagues. He was able to discern that the Lord was saving the Greeks as well as the Jews. If Jerusalem would have sent a different person that was legalistic, he could have shut down the spread of the gospel to the Greeks.

When Barnabas saw what God was doing he encouraged the spread of the gospel to the Greeks and participated in the movement of God.

In doing so the Lord blessed Antioch with so much growth that Barnabas had to get some help with the ministry in Antioch.

He knew just the right person! Paul! Paul had been sent to Tarsus after spreading the gospel so effectively in Jerusalem to protect his life. Barnabas knew that if he could find Paul in Tarsus that he could bring him back to Antioch and spread the gospel there as well.

Barnabas did find Paul and brought him back to Antioch. They spent an entire year spreading the gospel. God blessed their ministry. Acts 11:26

Acts 11:26 NASB95

and when he had found him, he brought him to Antioch. And for an entire year they met with the church and taught considerable numbers; and the disciples were first called Christians in Antioch.

Notice that the two taught considerable numbers! This is amazing considering the city they were in. Remember that Antioch was sin city. These people knew nothing of Christ and everything about sin. Through Barnabas and Paul the people not only came to know Jesus as their Savior but also stopped living a lifestyle of sin.

God has called to be a Barnabas and Paul. We need to recognize the vast lostness all around us and share the gospel and teach the word of God to sinners. When we are faithful to this we will have the same impact that Barnabas and Paul had. We will be a blessing to others.

There are some here this morning that will say, “I know I need to share the gospel more often, but I don’t have the time, I’m not comfortable doing it, or I don’t have opportunity.” Friend you were saved for this purpose! I encourage you to ask the Lord to help you overcome your reservations and give you opportunity.

Antioch Blessing

During the revival at Antioch, Jerusalem sent the prophet Agabus down to help the ministry at Antioch. Prophets were highly respected in the first century church because of their ability to foretell what was going to happen.

Agabus prophesied that there was going to be a great famine in Jerusalem. It happened in the reign of Claudius. The people of Antioch gave support to help the people of Jerusalem get through the famine.

The very people that the people of Jerusalem did not want to share the gospel with ended up being their biggest blessing.

We too must share the gospel with others because they may become our biggest blessing in our time of need.