23 Who, when he came and saw the grace of God, was glad; and he made clear to them the need of keeping near the Lord with all the strength of their hearts:
Now when the meeting was ended, a number of the Jews and of the God-fearing Gentiles who had become Jews, went after Paul and Barnabas: who put before them how important it was to keep on in the grace of God.
But you took as your example my teaching, behaviour, purpose, and faith; my long waiting, my love, my quiet undergoing of trouble;
But I put no value on my life, if only at the end of it I may see the work complete which was given to me by the Lord Jesus, to be a witness of the good news of the grace of God.
And from there they went by ship to Antioch, where they had been handed over to the grace of God for the work which they had not done.
If then I had such a purpose, did I seem to be changing suddenly? or am I guided in my purposes by the flesh, saying, Yes, today, and, No, tomorrow?
I have no greater joy than to have news that my children are walking in the true way.
For this reason, my loved ones, having knowledge of these things before they take place, take care that you are not turned away by the error of the uncontrolled, so falling from your true faith. But be increased in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. May he have glory now and for ever. So be it.
And through this he has given us the hope of great rewards highly to be valued; so that by them we might have our part in God's being, and be made free from the destruction which is in the world through the desires of the flesh. So, for this very cause, take every care; joining virtue to faith, and knowledge to virtue, And self-control to knowledge, and a quiet mind to self-control, and fear of God to a quiet mind, And love of the brothers to fear of God, and to love of the brothers, love itself. For if you have these things in good measure, they will make you fertile and full of fruit in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. For the man who has not these things is blind, seeing only what is near, having no memory of how he was made clean from his old sins.
But give thought to the days after you had seen the light, when you went through a great war of troubles; In part, in being attacked by angry words and cruel acts, before the eyes of everyone, and in part, in being united with those who were attacked in this way. For you had pity on those who were in prison, and had joy in the loss of your property, in the knowledge that you still had a better property and one which you would keep for ever. So do not give up your hope which will be greatly rewarded. For, having done what was right in God's eyes, you have need of waiting before his word has effect for you. In a very little time he who is coming will come; he will not be slow. But the upright man will be living by his faith; and if he goes back, my soul will have no pleasure in him. But we are not of those who go back to destruction; but of those who have faith even to the salvation of the soul.
So then, my brothers, being able to go into the holy place without fear, because of the blood of Jesus, By the new and living way which he made open for us through the veil, that is to say, his flesh; And having a great priest over the house of God, Let us go in with true hearts, in certain faith, having our hearts made free from the sense of sin and our bodies washed with clean water: Let us keep the witness of our hope strong and unshaking, for he is true who has given his word: And let us be moving one another at all times to love and good works; Not giving up our meetings, as is the way of some, but keeping one another strong in faith; and all the more because you see the day coming near. For if we do evil on purpose after we have had the knowledge of what is true, there is no more offering for sins,
Desiring to see you, keeping in my memory your weeping, so that I may be full of joy; Having in mind your true faith, which first was in your mother's mother Lois, and in your mother Eunice, and, I am certain, is now in you.
We sent Timothy, our brother and God's servant in the good news of Christ, to give you strength and comfort in your faith; So that no man might be moved by these troubles; because you see that these things are part of God's purpose for us. And when we were with you, we said to you that trouble was before us; and so it came about, as you see. For this reason, when I was no longer able to keep quiet, I sent to get news of your faith, fearing that you might be tested by the Evil One and that our work might come to nothing.
Having ever in mind your work of faith and acts of love and the strength of your hope in our Lord Jesus Christ, before our God and Father; Being conscious, my brothers, dear to God, that you have been marked out by God's purpose;
Let the fear of the Lord your God be before you, give him worship and be true to him at all times, taking your oaths in his name.
And now, I give you into the care of God and the word of his grace, which is able to make you strong and to give you your heritage among all the saints.
But Paul took Silas and went away with the blessing of the brothers.
Then Jesus said to the Jews who had faith in him, If you keep my word, then you are truly my disciples; And you will have knowledge of what is true, and that will make you free.
And Jesus, seeing their faith, said to him, Son, you have forgiveness for your sins.
And Daniel had come to the decision that he would not make himself unclean with the king's food or wine; so he made a request to the captain of the unsexed servants that he might not make himself unclean.
Yes, she is waiting secretly like a beast for its food, and deceit by her is increased among men.
You have put my heart to the test, searching me in the night; you have put me to the test and seen no evil purpose in me; I will keep my mouth from sin.
But be true to the Lord your God as you have been till this day.
Only take great care to do the orders and the law which Moses, the Lord's servant, gave you; to have love for the Lord your God and to go in all his ways; and to keep his laws and to be true to him and to be his servants with all your heart and with all your soul.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Matthew Henry Commentary » Commentary on Acts 11
Commentary on Acts 11 Matthew Henry Commentary
Chapter 11
In this chapter we have,
Act 11:1-18
The preaching of the gospel to Cornelius was a thing which we poor sinners of the Gentiles have reason to reflect upon with a great deal of joy and thankfulness; for it was the bringing of light to us who sat in darkness. Now it being so great a surprize to the believing as well as the unbelieving Jews, it is worth while to enquire how it was received, and what comments were made upon it. And here we find,
Act 11:19-26
We have here an account of the planting and watering of a church at Antioch, the chief city of Syria, reckoned afterwards the third most considerable city of the empire, only Rome and Alexandria being preferred before it, next to whose patriarch that of Antioch took place. It stood where Hamath or Riblah did, which we read of in the Old Testament. It is suggested that Luke, the penman of this history, as well as Theophilus, to whom he dedicates it, was of Antioch, which may be the reason why he takes more particular notice of the success of the gospel at Antioch, as also because there it was that Paul began to be famous, towards the story of whom he is hastening. Now concerning the church at Antioch observe,
Act 11:27-30
When our Lord Jesus ascended on high he gave gifts unto men, not only apostles and evangelists, but prophets, who were enabled by the Spirit to foresee and foretel things to come, which not only served for a confirmation of the truth of Christianity (for all that these prophets foretold came to pass, which proved that they were sent of God, Deu. 18:22; Jer. 28:9), but was also of great use to the church, and served very much for its guidance. Now here we have,