Acts 11:21

And the hand of the Lord was with them: and a great number believed, and turned unto the Lord. AND THE HAND OF THE LORD, [ yad (H3028) Yahweh (H3068)] - His converting power, put forth by His Spirit, WAS WITH THEM: AND A GREAT NUMBER BELIEVED, AND TURNED UNTO THE LORD - or [according to the reading of Lachmann and Tischendorf - polus (G4183) te (G5037) arithmos (G706) ho (G3588) pisteusas (G4100)], 'a g...

21._The hand of the Lord was. _Luke proveth by the success that the gospel was offered unto the Gentiles also by the brethren of Cyprus and Cyrene not rashly nor unadvisedly, because their labor was fruitful and profitable. But such increase should never have followed, unless God had commanded and favored. Therefore, it followeth that it pleased God that the Gentiles should be called. The hand, as it is well known, doth signify power and strength. Therefore, this is Luke’s meaning, that God did testify by his present aid that the Gentiles were called together with the Jews, through his direction, to be made partakers of the grace of Christ. And this blessing of God served not a little to confirm the minds of all men. This place did also teach us, that what pains soever the ministers of God take in teaching, it shall be all vain and void, unless God bless their labors from heaven. For we...

19-24 The first preachers of the gospel at Antioch, were dispersed from Jerusalem by persecution; thus what was meant to hurt the church, was made to work for its good. The wrath of man is made to praise God. What should the ministers of Christ preach, but Christ? Christ, and him crucified? Christ, and him glorified? And their preaching was accompanied with the Divine power. The hand of the Lord was with them, to bring that home to the hearts and consciences of men, which they could but speak to the outward ear. They believed; they were convinced of the truth of the gospel. They turned from a careless, carnal way of living, to live a holy, heavenly, spiritual life. They turned from worshipping God in show and ceremony, to worship him in the Spirit and in truth. They turned to the Lord Jesus, and he became all in all with them. This was the work of conversion wrought upon them, and it mu...

Verse Acts 11:21. _THE HAND OF THE LORD WAS WITH THEM_] By the _hand, arm_, and, _finger_ of God, in the Scripture, different displays or exertions of his power are intended. Here it means that the energy of God accompanied them, and applied their preaching to the souls of all attentive hearers. Without this accompanying influence, even an _apostle_ could do no good; and can _inferior_ men hope to be able to convince and convert sinners without this? Ministers of the word of God, so called, who dispute the necessity and deny the being of this influence, show thereby that they are intruders into God's heritage; that they are not sent by _him_, and shall not profit the people at all. _A GREAT NUMBER BELIEVED_] That Jesus was the Christ; and that he had died for their offenses, and risen again for their justification. Because the apostles

AND THE HAND OF THE LORD - See the notes on Luke 1:66. Compare Psalms 80:17. The meaning is, that God showed them favor, and evinced his power in the conversion of their hearers....

EXPOSITION ACTS 11:1 _Now_ for _and_, A.V.; _the_ _brethren _for brethren, A.V.; _also had_ for _had also_, A.V, We can imagine how rapidly the news of the great revolution would travel to the metropolis of Jewish Christianity, and what a stir it would maim in that community. It does not appear what view James and the other apostles took. ACTS 11:2 THEY THAT WERE OF THE CIRCUMCISION. At first sight this phrase, which was natural enough in Acts 10:45, seems an unnatural one in the then condition of the Church, when all the members of it were "of the circumcision," and there were no Gentile converts

AND THE HAND OF THE LORD WAS WITH THEM,.... Not only his hand of providence, which brought them thither, and protected them; and his hand of love, grace and mercy, which was upon them, and supplied them with gifts and grace, and everything necessary for them; and his hand of wisdom, which guided and directed them; but his hand of power, the same with the arm of the Lord, which when revealed, and made bare, the report of the Gospel is believed: but if that is not put forth, or efficacious grace is not exerted, no work is done, none are brought to believe, or are converted; ministers labour in vain, and spend their strength for nought: but this was not the case here, it was otherwise with these preachers; though they had travelled many miles, and were come into strange places, they were not left of God, nor without success, the power of God attended their ministry; so that the Gospel preac...

CHAPTER 11 _ 1. Peter's Defense in Jerusalem (Acts 11:1)._ 2. The Beginning of the Church in Antioch (Acts 11:19). 3. Barnabas sent to Antioch (Acts 11:22). 4. The Prophecy of Agabus (Acts 11:27). Peter silenced the objections of his brethren in Jerusalem by a rehearsal of his experience. Acts 11:19 connects with Acts 8:4. Antioch comes now into prominence as the great Gentile center of Christianity. A great number believed and turned unto the Lord. Then B

ANOTHER ACCOUNT OF THE EARLY GENTILE MISSION. ANTIOCH. This connects with Acts 8:2. It was the Hellenists at Jerusalem, whose mouthpiece Stephen was, who were driven away at his death. There, they were scattered over Judæ a and Samaria; here, they go further, to Cyprus and Antioch, but preach to Jews only. Some of them, however, men of Cyprus, as Barnabas was, and of Cyrene in N. Africa (_cf._ Lucius of Cyrene, Acts 13:1) took the further step, when they came to Antioch, of addressing the Greeks, not the Hellenists as in AV (Græ cians, _cf._ RVm Grecian Jews), which would mean the Greek-speaking Jews, but the Greeks who were not Jews (p. 768). To them they preached the Lord Jesus. The title Lord is used here with accuracy. It is not much used in Ac. where the history is on Jewish ground; other titles were there th

PETER ON HIS DEFENCE (Acts 11:1-10)...