Acts 11:2

"Now the apostles and the brothers who were in Judea heard that the Gentiles had also received the word of God."

Key Reflection

The verse Acts 11:2 indicates that the apostles and other believers in Judea became aware that Gentiles, those outside the covenant community of Israel, were also accepting the message of the gospel. This was significant because at the time, many Jews held a strict view that salvation was reserved for their people alone. The reception of the word by Gentiles challenged these traditional beliefs and underscored the inclusive nature of God's plan, a theme that would become more prominent as the early Christian community grew beyond Jewish boundaries.

From the Scholars: Barnes' Notes

Verse 2. They that were of the circumcision. The Christians who had been converted from among the Jews. Contended with him. Disputed, or reproved him; charged him with being in fault. This is one of the circumstances which show conclusively that the apostles and early Christians did not regard Peter as having any particular supremacy over the church, or as being in any peculiar sense the vicar of Christ upon earth. If Peter had been regarded as having the authority which the Roman Catholics claim for him, they would have submitted at once to what he had thought proper to do. But the primitive Christians had no such idea of his authority.

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