The Crumbling Wall of Partition
Introduction: In Ephesians 2:12-14 the Apostle Paul speaks to Gentile believers and urges them to “remember that you were at one time separate from Christ, excluded from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who formerly were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For He Himself is our peace, who made both groups into one, and broke down the barrier of the dividing wall.”
When Paul urges the Christians in Ephesus to remember the breakdown of the dividing wall between Jew and Gentile, I believe he is referring back to the events of Acts 10 and 11, which it was our privilege to examine last Sunday. Last week we witnessed the amazing story of how the Holy Spirit of God prepared a Gentile named Cornelius and a Jew named Peter to have an encounter that changed the course of Christianity for all time.
Prior to that divinely arranged meeting the early believers, almost all of them Jewish, had consistently maintained the Jewish tradition of keeping themselves separate from Gentiles, considering the latter to be unclean. But now that option was no longer open, for God made it clear that no human being was to be considered “unclean,” that is, untouchable with the Gospel. We saw also that this has implications for the Church in every generation in that it condemns all racial prejudice and partiality.
We praised the early church for accepting this new theology of human relationships so readily, and they indeed deserve credit. However, the accepting of a theology intellectually, and the living out of that theology in everyday life are two entirely different things. Let me give you a for-instance.
In 1966 we joined a Bible church in Arlington, Texas, a church which was to be our home church for six years and one that ministered to us in very significant ways. Shortly before we arrived, this church had a major debate over integration and decided that they would no longer bar African Americans from attending their services. Even though several families left the church over the decision, those that remained believed they had made the right decision and were proud of their open-mindedness. Some of you have a hard time grasping how a church could even discuss such an issue, much less be proud of something so obviously correct as rejecting segregation, but that’s because you don’t understand where some of the southern states were in the early 60’s.
At any rate, the decision was fine with everyone, so long as no blacks came to church. But one Sunday in 1971 a black man came, along with his white, pregnant wife. He had called the pastor in advance for permission and was told the church was open to anyone. When the Williamses sat down in church that day one family promptly got up and moved to a different pew. Many glares were shot in their direction, but they continued to come.
I’ll never forget an incident that occurred shortly after their child was born. I went to the nursery to pick up our son, who was just months old at the time. A lady in the church was cooing at a baby being held by one of the nursery workers. She commented, “That’s the cutest baby I’ve ever seen. Whose is it?” The nursery worker told her that it was the Williams baby. Immediately the smile left her face, she shot an ugly look at the baby, and turning on her heel she stomped out of the nursery. When I saw that attitude toward an innocent little child, a decision based solely on the color of the father’s skin, I realized how much God must hate racial prejudice.
You see, it was one thing for this church to change its theology of human relationships; it was quite another for it to put that theology into shoe leather. Today we are going to see in chapter 11 how the Jewish believers in Jerusalem actually applied the truth that all believers are one in Christ and how it contributed to the crumbling of the dividing wall. Our first point is basically review from last Sunday.
The Jewish Christians accept the Gentiles. (1-18)
When Peter returned to Jerusalem from his experience at Cornelius’ house in Caesarea, the Jewish Christians took him to task. They accused him of violating God’s law in that he enjoyed fellowship with Gentiles and ate with them. But Peter calmly explained exactly what had happened—the vision from God, the commandment from the Holy Spirit to go to Cornelius’ house, and the result in terms of the Holy Spirit coming upon the Gentiles. He then backed it up by quoting the Word of the Lord Jesus who had predicted that this would happen. He also put the onus on his challengers by asking, “If God therefore gave to them the same gift as He gave to us also after believing in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I that I could stand in God’s way?”
Peter’s reasoning was powerful, and when the Jerusalem church heard it, they quieted down and glorified God, saying, “Well then, God has granted to the Gentiles also the repentance that leads to life.” I don’t want to minimize at all their acceptance of this completely new theology of human relationships, but so far all they have accepted is a new idea. God is soon going to put them to the test to see if they are willing to act consistently with this new idea.
The Jewish Christians encourage and help the Gentiles. (19-26)
Let’s read Acts 11:19-26:
So then those who were scattered because of the persecution that occurred in connection with Stephen made their way to Phoenicia, Cyprus, and Antioch, speaking the word to no one except to Jews alone. 20 But there were some of them, men of Cyprus and Cyrene, who came to Antioch and began speaking to the Greeks as well, preaching the good news of the Lord Jesus. 21 And the hand of the Lord was with them, and a large number who believed turned to the Lord. 22 The news about them reached the ears of the church in Jerusalem, and they sent Barnabas off to Antioch. 23 Then when he arrived and witnessed the grace of God, he rejoiced and began to encourage them all with resolute heart to remain true to the Lord; 24 for he was a good man, and full of the Holy Spirit and faith. And considerable numbers were added to the Lord. 25 And he left for Tarsus to look for Saul; 26 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 of people; and the disciples were first called Christians in Antioch.
Following the acceptance of the Gentiles as fellow-believers, news reached the Jerusalem church about a remarkable development taking place in Antioch. Let’s back up a bit and set the stage for verse 22. When Stephen became the first martyr of the Christian faith, as recorded in Acts 6 and 7, that triggered a general persecution of believers in Jerusalem. According to 8:2, “they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles.” The Apostles could stay because they were sufficiently well-known that they didn’t think the authorities would go after them, a supposition which was wrong, as we’ll find in chapter 12.
Now we learn in 11:19 that some of those scattered made their way beyond Judea and Samaria, even to Phoenicia and Cyprus and Antioch. In keeping with the action of the Apostles themselves, these Jewish Christians evangelized only Jewish people in these areas. Their modus operandi was to go into a new area, visit the synagogue, and begin to tell the Jewish people that they knew who the Messiah was.
However, not all of those scattered limited their outreach to Jews. Verse 20 tells us that there were some, themselves foreign Jews from Cyprus and Cyrene, who began preaching the Gospel to Gentiles also in Antioch. We don’t know when this effort began, for it is now some 10 years after the stoning of Stephen, but we can assume that the outreach to Gentiles in Antioch had begun some time before Peter’s vision. In other words, here are lay people in Antioch who have rejected spiritual apartheid in the church long before the Apostles themselves.
But that shouldn’t surprise us, for God has never limited Himself to working only or even initially through professional clergy. Some of the greatest movements in Church history have been initiated and carried out by ordinary Christians. While it required divine intervention to persuade Peter to preach to Gentiles, here the same thing seems to have happened almost casually without any issues of principle being raised.
At any rate, verse 21 indicates that “the hand of the Lord was with them, and a large number who believed turned to the Lord. And the news about them reached the ears of the church at Jerusalem.” Now for the test. The Church has just expressed their willingness to accept the salvation, the Spirit-filling, and the baptism of Cornelius and his friends at Joppa. That was hard, but they did it. After all, it was a small group, probably an isolated incident. But now what are they going to do with the reports of hundreds of Gentiles turning to the Lord in Antioch?
The answer is given in verse 22: “they sent Barnabas off to Antioch.” Now that’s significant. They’re not sending a third-class deputy to do a career diplomat’s job. They’re sending the cream of the crop to Antioch. They’re also sending someone who can relate well to the church there, for Barnabas himself was a native of Cyprus, which is where some of the evangelists at Antioch came from, according to verse 20.
We aren’t told what Barnabas’ assigned duties were, whether or not he was asked to investigate the situation and report back or what, but we are told what he actually did. It says in verse 23 that he “witnessed the grace of God, he rejoiced, and he began to encourage them all with resolute heart to remain true to the Lord.” There is no suggestion that he went with a chip on his shoulder demanding to see their credentials or trying to control the situation since he was from the Mother Church in Jerusalem. Rather he saw, he rejoiced, and he began to encourage.
This is not the first time, you know, that we have seen Barnabas encouraging someone. His name means “son of encouragement,” and every time we meet him in the New Testament he is living up to his name. But he is more than just an encourager. In verse 24 Luke says, “He was a good man, and full of the Holy Spirit and of faith.” When one is full of the Holy Spirit, the fruit of the Spirit are evident in his life: love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, self-control. Not surprisingly, with that kind of person encouraging the ministry, considerable numbers were brought to the Lord, in addition to those already mentioned in verse 21.
However, Barnabas’ work of encouragement was not the most important ministry he did for the Gentiles in Antioch. His most significant act is mentioned in verse 25: “He left for Tarsus to look for Saul.” The considerable numbers that were brought to the Lord caused Barnabas to realize that he could not handle the work single-handedly. He must find a colleague. Barnabas knew the right person for the job, if only he could locate him. The person was Saul.
The last time we encountered Saul was in 9:30, when the believers in Jerusalem had smuggled him out of town and sent him to Tarsus for his own safety and everyone else’s. Though we are only two chapters later now, nearly ten years have lapsed between these chapters. What in the world had Saul been doing during this time in Tarsus? Well, we mentioned some weeks ago that this was a very important time for Saul, a time when his brilliant intellect and caustic personality were being molded by God to make him into a brilliant theologian but one with a humble and gentle spirit, a fit vessel suitable for the Master’s use.
I can imagine that many times during these years Saul thought back to the Damascus Road incident and wondered whether he had been converted so miraculously to waste the rest of his life in Tarsus. But nothing was being wasted; in fact, Paul tells us in Gal. 1:21 that he made itinerant missionary trips into Syria and Cilicia during this time, preaching the Gospel. It is also probably during this time that Paul received many of the visions and revelations from the Lord that he mentioned later in his epistles. It is also likely that many of his intense sufferings (2 Cor. 11:23-27) were experienced during these years. But his great life’s work awaited the coming of Barnabas with word that he was needed in Antioch, for Antioch was destined to become the base of operations for Paul’s missionary journeys.
Lloyd Ogilvie lets his imagination run concerning the meeting of these two men after all those years.
“Barnabas was breathless with news of what the Lord had been doing with the Church. His excitement was apparent as he recounted his recent experiences in Antioch and the current evidence of the Lord’s blessings among the Gentiles. I imagine he said to Paul, ‘My friend, we can’t meet the challenge without you. No one in the Church knows the Gentile world as you do. There’s no one with your learning and education in both Hebrew and Greek thought! Paul, we need you; the Lord needs you; he sent me to find you!’ Now feel with Paul what he felt when he heard that. The waiting was over; it was time. And he was ready! He was a Christ-filled, Christ-captivated, Christ-motivated man. The preparation had been worth it!”
Saul and Barnabas made quite a team. Each complemented the other: Barnabas with his sensitive, empathetic graciousness; Paul with his incisive, razor-sharp intellect and highly polished, articulate presentation of Christ. Together they met with the church in Antioch for a full year, and they taught large numbers what it means to be a Christian in an evil world.
And make no mistake about it—Antioch was an evil place. The third-largest city in the Roman Empire, it was a noted sports center, a place of culture, and a hotbed of commerce and luxury living. Also, about 5 miles outside the city, in the temple of Daphne, sex was enthroned and worshiped through priestesses who were, in fact, religious prostitutes. Saul could have been in no more strategic place in the world, except Rome or Corinth, and he would someday preach there, too.
A footnote tells us that the disciples were first called Christians in Antioch. They talked so much about Christ and followed His teachings so strictly that their enemies saw them as little Christs and called them “those who belonged to Christ” or “Christians.” In our current lingo the term would be similar to “Jesus freaks.” While the name was meant sarcastically, I believe they accepted it gladly. Many of us bear that name today, but it is a name we give ourselves rather than one that is given to us by society. It consequently means much less. In fact, if the word were unknown today, I wonder if the world would coin it, and whether it would be applied to us here today.
The Jewish Christians in Jerusalem did another practical thing for the Gentiles in Antioch, demonstrating once again that their acceptance of them was not just theological. They sent prophets to Antioch, according to verse 27. Prophets were very important in the early church—as important as preachers in the church today. In the days before the New Testament was finished, prophets spoke the Word of God to people by revelation. Much of their ministry was proclamation, but on occasion it also involved prediction. Verse 28 indicates that one of these prophets named Agabus stood up and predicted by the Spirit of God that there would be a great famine all over the world. And a footnote at the end of the verse indicates that that famine actually took place just a short time later during the reign of the Emperor Claudius.
The prophets were highly respected leaders in the Church. Jerusalem would never have sent prophets to Antioch unless they were committed to helping them spiritually. It was a manifestation of their continuing interest in the Christian community at Antioch.
We have seen so far that the Jewish believers have not only accepted the Gentiles in principle; they have also accepted them in fact, demonstrating their willingness to encourage them and help them by sending some of their prophets to minister to them. But sometimes helping the less fortunate can be done in a condescending way. One can actually show his superiority by doling out help when others are in dire straits. The point at which true equality is reached is when one is willing to accept help from those who were once considered inferiors. And God presents just such an opportunity for the Jewish Christians.
The Jewish Christians accept aid from the Gentiles. (29-30)
The famine that Agabus predicted hit within a short time, with special severity in Judea, where Jerusalem is located. But the Gentile Christians in Antioch responded to that need in proportion to their means, gathering an offering for the relief of the Jewish Christians in Judea. Here’s how the situation is described in verses 29-30: “And to the extent that any of the disciples had means, each of them determined to send a contribution for the relief of the brothers and sisters living in Judea. 30 And they did this, sending it with Barnabas and Saul to the elders.”
What wonderful instruction this church must have had under the leadership of Saul and Barnabas! How clearly they must have understood the essential nature of the church—that it is a body in which one member shares life with another! They sent this offering to the Elders by the hand of Barnabas and Saul. And the fact that the Jewish believers were willing to accept aid from the Gentiles was a huge step toward breaking down the dividing wall.
It would be great if the story ended there and we never again heard about racial trouble in the Church. Unfortunately, that is not the case. I want you to turn over to the book of Galatians for an unfortunate sequel to Acts 11, but one which nevertheless presents an excellent learning opportunity.
Some Jewish Christians suffer a relapse in their attitude toward the Gentiles. (Gal. 2:1-10)Let’s read the first paragraph of Galatians 2:
Then after an interval of fourteen years I went up again to Jerusalem with Barnabas, taking Titus along also. 2 It was because of a revelation that I went up; and I submitted to them the gospel which I preach among the Gentiles, but I did so in private to those who were of reputation, for fear that somehow I might be running, or had run, in vain. 3 But not even Titus, who was with me, though he was a Greek, was compelled to be circumcise 4 Yet it was a concern because of the false brothers secretly brought in, who had sneaked in to spy on our freedom which we have in Christ Jesus, in order to enslave us. 5 But we did not yield in subjection to them, even for an hour, so that the truth of the gospel would remain with you. 6 But from those who were of considerable repute (what they were makes no difference to me; God shows no favoritism)—well, those who were of repute contributed nothing to me. 7 But on the contrary, seeing that I had been entrusted with the gospel to the uncircumcised, just as Peter had been to the circumcised 8 (for He who was at wo`11`1rk for Peter in his apostleship to the circumcised was at work for me also to the Gentiles), 9 and recognizing the grace that had been given to me, James and Cephas and John, who were reputed to be pillars, gave to me and Barnabas the right hand of fellowship, so that we might go to the Gentiles, and they to the circumcised. 10 They only asked us to remember the poor—the very thing I also was eager to do.
There is some difference of opinion about the chronology in Gal. 1 & 2, but I am of the view that the trip to Jerusalem addressed here is the same trip mentioned in Acts 11:30. The fourteen years may be numbered from Saul’s conversion rather than from his previous trip mentioned in chapter one. At any rate, what did Saul and Barnabas find when they arrived in Jerusalem with the contribution?
Well, they found some legalists in the church who demanded they circumcise a Gentile believer named Titus, whom they had brought with them. However, Saul and Barnabas adamantly refused, believing that to require circumcision of the Gentile believers was to deny that God accepted him as a Gentile. It would be tantamount to teaching that salvation was obtained by becoming a Jew rather than by exercising faith in Christ.
The end result was that the leaders of the Jerusalem church recognized that there was a legitimate ministry to the Gentiles and that Saul and Barnabas had been called principally to that ministry, just as Peter had been called principally to a ministry to Jews. In fact, the pillars of the Church—James, Peter and John—gave Saul and Barnabas the right hand of fellowship and commissioned them to go to the Gentiles. The only thing they asked was that they should continue to remember the poor. Since the bringing of a contribution for the poor was the motivation for the trip in the first place, Saul and Barnabas could readily acknowledge their eagerness to meet that request.
While we’re here in Gal. 2, I think we should note that even Peter backslid on this issue during a subsequent trip he made to Antioch. Look at verse 11 of Galatians 2; in fact, let’s read 11-16:
But when Cephas came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he stood condemned. 12 For prior to the coming of some men from James, he used to eat with the Gentiles; but when they came, he began to withdraw and separate himself, fearing those from the circumcision. 13 The rest of the Jews joined him in hypocrisy, with the result that even Barnabas was carried away by their hypocrisy. 14 But when I saw that they were not straightforward about the truth of the gospel, I said to Cephas in the presence of all, “If you, being a Jew, live like the Gentiles and not like the Jews, how is it that you compel the Gentiles to live like Jews?
15 “We are Jews by nature and not sinners from the Gentiles; 16 nevertheless, knowing that a person is not justified by works of the Law but through faith in Christ Jesus, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, so that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the Law; since by works of the Law no flesh will be justified.
Peter had learned the lesson of the vision of the sheet, but even Peter was not above hypocrisy when the heat was on. He was living in complete accord with the revelation God had given him about human relationships in the church, eating with Gentiles and treating them as equals until a delegation from Jerusalem arrived. Then Peter got fearful and withdrew from his Gentile brothers and sisters. So powerful was his influence that other Jewish believers in Antioch followed his lead, and even Barnabas was led astray into hypocrisy.
But the Apostle Paul refused to follow suit. In fact, he confronted Peter publicly, since the sin was public, and rebuked him. In essence he said, “You live one way when Gentiles are present and another way when Jews are present. Your example amounts to forcing Gentiles to adopt Jewish scruples in order to be accepted by God. That’s wrong.” The critical point in all this is made in verses 15 and 16. Anytime conditions are attached to becoming a Christian, whether they be racial or social traditions or anything else, the message is communicated that justification is by law rather than by faith. And if one thing is absolutely clear from the NT, it is that no one will ever be justified by law. God accepts us on the basis of what Jesus did for us on the Cross and the fact that we have put our trust in Him personally. There is no racial requirement, no law requirement, no works requirement, and no religious rite requirement. Just faith.
Conclusion: If the message of Acts 11 seems rather remote to you this morning, think for a moment about the fact that nearly every one of us here today is a Gentile. Had the dividing wall between Jew and Gentile not been broken down, we would today be outsiders, strangers to the covenants of promise. Let me read again the verses we started with: “Therefore remember that formerly you Gentiles were separate from Christ, excluded from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who formerly were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For He Himself is our peace, who made both groups into one, and broke down the barrier of the dividing wall.”
Since we have experienced the joy of acceptance, let’s make absolutely sure that we don’t exclude anyone else. To those who may not be Christians today, I simply say this: If you are a human being and have a soul, and that includes almost everyone I know, God is eager to save you and we are eager to accept you as part of the Church, the Body of Christ. Your only requirement, and at the same time, your only hope, is to acknowledge that Jesus Christ’s death on the Cross is the only way of salvation. Trust Him today, won’t you?
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