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Act 11:19-30  They Preached the Word to None but Unto the Jews Only

[Study Aired April 9, 2023]

Act 11:19  Now they which were scattered abroad upon the persecution that arose about Stephen travelled as far as Phenice, and Cyprus, and Antioch, preaching the word to none but unto the Jews only.
Act 11:20  And some of them were men of Cyprus and Cyrene, which, when they were come to Antioch, spake unto the Grecians, preaching the Lord Jesus.
Act 11:21  And the hand of the Lord was with them: and a great number believed, and turned unto the Lord.
Act 11:22  Then tidings of these things came unto the ears of the church which was in Jerusalem: and they sent forth Barnabas, that he should go as far as Antioch.
Act 11:23  Who, when he came, and had seen the grace of God, was glad, and exhorted them all, that with purpose of heart they would cleave unto the Lord.
Act 11:24  For he was a good man, and full of the Holy Ghost and of faith: and much people was added unto the Lord.
Act 11:25  Then departed Barnabas to Tarsus, for to seek Saul:
Act 11:26  And when he had found him, he brought him unto Antioch. And it came to pass, that a whole year they assembled themselves with the church, and taught much people. And the disciples were called Christians first in Antioch.
Act 11:27  And in these days came prophets from Jerusalem unto Antioch.
Act 11:28  And there stood up one of them named Agabus, and signified by the Spirit that there should be great dearth throughout all the world: which came to pass in the days of Claudius Caesar.
Act 11:29  Then the disciples, every man according to his ability, determined to send relief unto the brethren which dwelt in Judaea:
Act 11:30  Which also they did, and sent it to the elders by the hands of Barnabas and Saul.

We concluded our last study with the apostles and the people of the church in Jerusalem accepting the irrefutable Truth that God had granted repentance to the Gentiles:

Act 11:17  Forasmuch then as God gave them the like gift as he did unto us, who believed on the Lord Jesus Christ; what was I, that I could withstand God?
Act 11:18  When they heard these things, they held their peace, and glorified God, saying, Then hath God also to the Gentiles granted repentance unto life.

That was as great an earthquake in the lives of those Jewish Christians of the first century, as it was for us while attending the churches of this world, to be made to see that God intends to save all men. Our study today takes up with how the gospel was being preached by the Jewish Christians the “to none but unto the Jews only.” That was still the mindset of the entire Jewish Christian church at this point in this book of Acts. Peter, Paul and Barnabas, and those who traveled with them, were the only people who were even considering reaching out to the Gentiles as our first verse today makes clear:

Act 11:19  Now they which were scattered abroad upon the persecution that arose about Stephen travelled as far as Phenice, and Cyprus, and Antioch, preaching the word to none but unto the Jews only.

“They that were scattered abroad upon the persecution that arose about Stephen” does not include the apostles. This is speaking of others in the church who left Jerusalem because of the persecution that arose about Stephen. We know this to be the case because of what we were told in:

Act 8:1  And Saul was consenting unto his death. And at that time there was a great persecution against the church which was at Jerusalem; and they were all scattered abroad throughout the regions of Judaea and Samaria, except the apostles.

Act 11:20  And some of them were men of Cyprus and Cyrene, which, when they were come to Antioch, spake unto the Grecians, preaching the Lord Jesus [“to none but unto the Jews only”].

Some of these preachers of the gospel were Jewish men of Cyprus, an island north and west of Israel, and Cyrene, a city in northeastern Libya. Barnabas himself was a Grecian Jew who was from the island of Cyprus.  Antioch was three hundred miles (480 kilometers) directly north of Jerusalem in northern Syria. It was the third largest city in the Roman Empire, and dwarfed Jerusalem in terms of population. The only two cities that were larger than Antioch were Rome in Italy and Alexandria in Egypt. Like Jerusalem, Antioch had many synagogues, and that is where these Grecian Jewish Christians were preaching. It was to the Jews in the synagogues. It was to the ‘Grecian’ Jews only as verses 19-20 tell us.

Sadly, many commentaries translate the word ‘Grecian’ to simply ‘Greeks’ and they even go as far as to state that these were Gentiles to whom Barnabas was preaching before he went to Tarsus to get Paul. Nothing could be further from the truth. Peter and the other apostles had indeed been recently shown that God had granted the Gentiles repentance unto salvation, but that does not mean that the apostles felt compelled to go to the Gentiles themselves. Jewish Christians, as we are told here in verse 19, were preaching to none but the Grecian Jews only.

Act 11:19  Now they which were scattered abroad upon the persecution that arose about Stephen travelled as far as Phenice, and Cyprus, and Antioch, preaching the word to none but unto the Jews only.

They did not believe that the Lord had sent them to preach to the Gentiles. That was made abundantly clear several years later when Paul tells us:

Gal 2:7  But contrariwise, when they saw that the gospel of the uncircumcision was committed unto me, as the gospel of the circumcision was unto Peter;
Gal 2:8  (For he that wrought effectually in Peter to the apostleship of the circumcision, the same was mighty in me toward the Gentiles: )
Gal 2:9  And when James, Cephas, and John, who seemed to be pillars, perceived the grace that was given unto me, they gave to me and Barnabas the right hands of fellowship; that we should go unto the heathen, and they unto the circumcision  [Including the circumcised Jewish Grecians].
Gal 2:10  Only they would that we should remember the poor; the same which I also was forward to do (Act 11:20).

Barnabas was the ideal person to be sent to Antioch, being a Grecian Jew himself who was from Cyprus and who was very familiar with the Greek culture of these Grecian Jews in Antioch.

Act 4:36  And Joses, who by the apostles was surnamed Barnabas, (which is, being interpreted, The son of consolation,) a Levite, and of the country of Cyprus,

The man who was compelled to carry Christ’s cross was a man named Simon of Cyrene, who was also a Grecian Jew. ‘Cyrene’ as we noted was a city in northeastern Libya:

Mat 27:30  And they spit upon him, and took the reed, and smote him on the head.
Mat 27:31  And after that they had mocked him, they took the robe off from him, and put his own raiment on him, and led him away to crucify him.
Mat 27:32  And as they came out, they found a man of Cyrene, Simon by name: him they compelled to bear his cross.

Mark informs us that this ‘Simon… of Cyrene’ was the father of two other disciples of our Lord:

Mar 15:20  And when they had mocked him, they took off the purple from him, and put his own clothes on him, and led him out to crucify him.
Mar 15:21  And they compel one Simon a Cyrenian, who passed by, coming out of the country, the father of Alexander and Rufus, to bear his cross.

These men of Cyprus and Cyrene, as well as those who had heard the Word on the day of Pentecost, could easily be some of these persecuted Jewish Christians ‘of Cyprus and Cyrene’ who preached the word to none but to the Jews only”.

I typed ‘How far is it from Jerusalem to Cyrene’ into my search engine, and this is what came up:

“Cyrene was an ancient Greek colony located on the northeastern coast of present-day Libya. It was a great distance from Jerusalem, nearly 900 miles, and those who made the journey most likely made it only a handful of times in their life.  Walking ~4 miles per hour for 8 hours a day, it would have taken 32 days to arrive in the holy city for Passover.” (End Quote)

Remember, the word ‘Grecians’ has nothing to do with being an ethnic Greek. Rather, it has everything to do with being ethnically Jewish, but culturally Hellenistic Greek. Such a Jew could well have been born and brought up in Greece, speaking and reading the Greek language. That is the meaning of the word ‘Grecian’ as it is used in the New Testament. It is never used to refer to anyone who is a Gentile who has converted to Christianity. Whoever these preachers of the Word were, they were being blessed in the work they had been given to accomplish:

Act 11:21  And the hand of the Lord was with them: and a great number [of Jews] believed, and turned unto the Lord.
Act 11:22  Then tidings of these things came unto the ears of the church which was in Jerusalem: and they sent forth Barnabas, that he should go as far as Antioch.

This is the same church that gave Paul the right hand of fellowship for Paul to go to the Gentiles but they intended to go to the circumcision.

Gal 2:9  And when James, Cephas, and John, who seemed to be pillars, perceived the grace that was given unto me, they gave to me and Barnabas the right hands of fellowship; that we should go unto the heathen, and they unto the circumcision.

Remember it will be several years after this that the church in Jerusalem will finally acknowledge that Gentile Christians need not be physically circumcised, but that certainly was not understood to extend to Jewish Christians:

Act 15:19  Wherefore my sentence is, that we trouble not them, which from among the Gentiles are turned to God:
Act 15:20  But that we write unto them, that they abstain from pollutions of idols, and from fornication, and from things strangled, and from blood.

The next verse reveals that these words do not apply to Jewish Christians at that time:

Act 15:21  For Moses of old time hath in every city them that preach him, being read in the synagogues every sabbath day.

For a period of time “the apostles and elders and the whole church” [at Jerusalem] sent chosen men of their company to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas with a letter which informed the Gentile Christians that the whole church “and the holy spirit” agreed that the Gentiles did not have to be circumcised or keep all the Jewish customs of the law of Moses. But the Jewish Christians were still expected for that time to continue on keeping the law of Moses and its customs, including the keeping of all of the days, months, times and years ordained in the law of Moses. The Jewish Christians also continued offering blood offerings of lambs and they continued to maintain the ritual of physical circumcision.

Act 15:22  Then pleased it the apostles and elders, with the whole church, to send chosen men of their own company to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas; namely, Judas surnamed Barsabas, and Silas, chief men among the brethren:
Act 15:23  And they wrote letters by them after this manner; The apostles and elders and brethren send greeting unto the brethren which are of the Gentiles in Antioch and Syria and Cilicia:
Act 15:24  Forasmuch as we have heard, that certain which went out from us have troubled you with words, subverting your souls, saying, Ye must be circumcised, and keep the law: to whom we gave no such commandment:

The apostles and elders knew that the Lord had given the Gentiles in the home of Cornelius the holy spirit without those Gentiles being circumcised and even before they were baptized. Peter, Paul, and Barnabas had argued that there was “no difference between” the Jews and the Gentiles:

Act 15:5  But there rose up certain of the sect of the Pharisees which believed, saying, That it was needful to circumcise them, and to command them to keep the law of Moses.
Act 15:6  And the apostles and elders came together for to consider of this matter.
Act 15:7  And when there had been much disputing, Peter rose up, and said unto them, Men and brethren, ye know how that a good while ago God made choice among us, that the Gentiles by my mouth should hear the word of the gospel, and believe.
Act 15:8  And God, which knoweth the hearts, bare them witness, giving them the Holy Ghost, even as he did unto us;
Act 15:9  And put no difference between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith.
Act 15:10  Now therefore why tempt ye God, to put a yoke upon the neck of the disciples, which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear?
Act 15:11  But we believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved, even as they.
Act 15:12  Then all the multitude kept silence, and gave audience to Barnabas and Paul, declaring what miracles and wonders God had wrought among the Gentiles by them.

Peter went as far as to point out that the rituals of the law of Moses were “a yoke upon the neck of the disciples which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear”, and he goes as far as to say that he and Paul and Barnabas believe that the Jews would be saved “even as [the Gentiles]… through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ.”

However, the consensus of the apostles was not so, and Peter, Paul and Barnabas were persuaded of and deferred to those who were apostles before them, and who, by a work of the holy spirit, were not yet of that persuasion:

Act 15:25  It seemed good unto us, being assembled with one accord, to send chosen men unto you with our beloved Barnabas and Paul,
Act 15:26  Men that have hazarded their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Act 15:27  We have sent therefore Judas and Silas, who shall also tell you the same things by mouth.
Act 15:28  For it seemed good to the Holy Ghost, and to us, to lay upon you no greater burden than these necessary things;
Act 15:29  That ye abstain from meats offered to idols, and from blood, and from things strangled, and from fornication: from which if ye keep yourselves, ye shall do well. Fare ye well.

That was the mindset of the apostles and elders in Jerusalem who several years earlier had sent Barnabas to Antioch to minister to the Jewish Christians who were growing in numbers at that time.

Act 11:23  Who, when he came, and had seen the grace of God, was glad, and exhorted them all, that with purpose of heart they would cleave unto the Lord [and listen to Moses who was read every sabbath day in the synagogues of Antioch].
Act 11:24  For he was a good man, and full of the Holy Ghost and of faith: and much [Jewish] people was added unto the Lord.

At this time, we have no record of there being any Gentiles, including Cornelius and his house, who were not Jewish proselytes to Judaism. These preachers, Barnabas included, were all Jewish preachers “preaching the word to none but unto the Jews only.” Many people think that the church at Antioch was a Gentile church which sent Saul of Tarsus and Barnabas to minister to the Gentiles. In time that did happen, but nothing could be further from the truth at this point. The church at Antioch was full of mostly Jewish Christians

Act 11:25  Then departed Barnabas to Tarsus, for to seek Saul:
Act 11:26  And when he had found him, he brought him unto Antioch. And it came to pass, that a whole year they assembled themselves with the church, and taught much people. And the disciples were called Christians first in Antioch.

This is the first time the name ‘Christians’ appears in scripture, and this is how this name is defined:

Original: Χριστιανός
– Transliteration: Christianos
– Phonetic: khris-tee-an-os’
– Definition:
1. Christian, a follower of christ
– Origin: from G5547
– TDNT entry: 17:13,1
– Part(s) of speech: Noun Masculine
– Strong’s: From G5547; a Christian that is follower of christ: – Christian.
Total KJV Occurrences: 3

Christian, 2

Act_26:28; 1Pe_4:16

Christians, 1
Act_11:26

The name means “a follower of Christ” but it is few indeed who realize that a true Christian is a follower of the words of Christ and not of the life He led while under the law and while dealing with a nation that was under the law of Moses.

To make this point, we need to remember that Christ told His disciples to do many things while He was in a body of flesh and blood, which He certainly does not want any of us to do in this present time.

For example, Christ told the lepers whom he cleansed to go show themselves to the priests and offer the offering Moses commanded:

Luk 5:14  And he charged him to tell no man: but go, and shew thyself to the priest, and offer for thy cleansing, according as Moses commanded, for a testimony unto them.

Moses commanded that two birds were to be offered on the first day of a leper’s cleansing, and two he-lambs and one ewe lamb on the eighth day. Christ fulfilled every sacrifice the law of Moses demanded when He sacrificed Himself for our sins. That was not at all yet clear to His Jewish disciples who were still keeping the laws and customs of Moses.

While Christ was here in the flesh, He taught tithing:

Mat 23:23  Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone.

This verse is used until this very day to justify the taking of tithes from sincere but carnal babes in Christ. Christ in no longer interested in one tenth of our increase. He now expects one hundred percent of our lives to be lived in His service.

1Co 10:31  Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.

When the church at Jerusalem sent Barnabas to Syrian Antioch, the church at Jerusalem was still keeping the law of Moses and the customs of the Jews, and they continued to do so even after Paul was apprehended by the Jews in Jerusalem:

Act 21:17  And when we were come to Jerusalem, the brethren received us gladly.
Act 21:18  And the day following Paul went in with us unto James; and all the elders were present.
Act 21:19  And when he had saluted them, he declared particularly what things God had wrought among the Gentiles by his ministry.
Act 21:20  And when they heard it, they glorified the Lord, and said unto him, Thou seest, brother, how many thousands of Jews there are which believe; and they are all zealous of the law:

Antioch at this point was very much under the influence of all the Christian Jews of Jerusalem who were one and “all zealous of the law [of Moses]”.

Act 11:27  And in these days came prophets from Jerusalem unto Antioch.
Act 11:28  And there stood up one of them named Agabus, and signified by the Spirit that there should be great dearth throughout all the world: which came to pass in the days of Claudius Caesar.
Act 11:29  Then the disciples, every man according to his ability, determined to send relief unto the brethren which dwelt in Judaea:
Act 11:30  Which also they did, and sent it to the elders by the hands of Barnabas and Saul.

This last verse has taught me something I want to share with you all. I have always thought that when Paul said:

Gal 2:1  Then fourteen years after I went up again to Jerusalem with Barnabas, and took Titus with me also.
Gal 2:2  And I went up by revelation, and communicated unto them that gospel which I preach among the Gentiles, but privately to them which were of reputation, lest by any means I should run, or had run, in vain.
Gal 2:3  But neither Titus, who was with me, being a Greek, was compelled to be circumcised:

…That the words “I went up again to Jerusalem” referred to Paul’s visit when He and Barnabas went up to the Jerusalem conference in Acts 15.

The reference point for this statement is in the previous verses:

Gal 1:18  Then after three years [at Damascus] I went up to Jerusalem to see Peter, and abode with him fifteen days.
Gal 1:19  But other of the apostles saw I none, save James the Lord’s brother.
Gal 1:20  Now the things which I write unto you, behold, before God, I lie not.
Gal 1:21  Afterwards I came into the regions of Syria and Cilicia [Tarsus];

Going back to Galatians 2 we are told who Paul met while in Jerusalem on this occasion, and it was more than just Peter and James, but it is not “the church, and of the apostles and elders” as it was in Acts 15:

Gal 2:9  And when James, Cephas, and John, who seemed to be pillars, perceived the grace that was given unto me, they gave to me and Barnabas the right hands of fellowship; that we should go unto the heathen, and they unto the circumcision.
Gal 2:10  Only they would that we should remember the poor; the same which I also was forward to do.

Act 15:4  And when they were come to Jerusalem, they were received of the church, and of the apostles and elders, and they declared all things that God had done with them.

In verse two Paul tells us that what prompted this trip to Jerusalem was a revelation:

Gal 2:2  And I went up by revelation, and communicated unto them that gospel which I preach among the Gentiles, but privately to them which were of reputation, lest by any means I should run, or had run, in vain.

“But privately to them which were of reputation, lest by any means I should run or had run in vain” is not intimating that Paul doubted the truth of his own ministry. All he is referring to is the fact that he realized that the freedoms of the Gentiles from the laws and customs of Moses were not yet understood nor accepted as applying to the Jewish Christians, yet Saul wanted the apostles to know what the Lord had commissioned him to preach among the Gentiles.

In Galatians 2:9 Paul says “when James, Cephas, and John, who seemed to be pillars, perceived the grace that was given unto me, they gave to me and Barnabas the right hands of fellowship; that we should go unto the heathen, and they unto the circumcision.”

The tone of that statement is nothing like the tone of Luke’s account of Paul and Barnabas when they went up to Jerusalem concerning the question of whether the Gentiles had to be circumcised. Being “received of the church, and of the apostles and elders” is quite different than “James, Cephas, and John.” Going up to Jerusalem over the question of whether the Gentiles must be circumcised, is not the same as “I went up by revelation”. On the other hand, if a prophet from Jerusalem prophesied of a famine and the famine came to pass, and the church at Antioch decided to minister to the needs of the saints in Jerusalem, that could very well be described as going up to Jerusalem “by revelation”. That is buttressed by the fact that Paul tells us that James, Cephas, and John urged him to continue to “remember the poor” saints at Jerusalem, which Paul tells us he was already of a mind to do:

Gal 2:9  And when James, Cephas, and John, who seemed to be pillars, perceived the grace that was given unto me, they gave to me and Barnabas the right hands of fellowship; that we should go unto the heathen, and they unto the circumcision.
Gal 2:10  Only they would that we should remember the poor; the same which I also was forward to do.

There is no word here about the question of circumcision for the Gentiles. The next verse is worded in a way that would lead us to believe that Paul’s confrontation with Peter at Antioch was at some later time. The words “when Peter was come to Antioch” indicates that this happened later and not at the time James, Cephas (Peter) and John, gave to Paul and Barnabas the right hands of fellowship to go to the Gentiles while they agreed to “go to the circumcision”.

Contrast the tone of the visit to Jerusalem described by Paul here in Galatians 2, “privately unto them that were of reputation”, with the tone of the visit to Jerusalem over the question of circumcision of the Gentiles in Acts 15 where we are told that “[Paul and Barnabas] were received of the church, and of the apostles and elders” (Act 15:4):

Act 15:1  And certain men which came down from Judaea taught the brethren, and said, Except ye be circumcised after the manner of Moses, ye cannot be saved.
Act 15:2  When therefore Paul and Barnabas had no small dissension and disputation with them, they determined that Paul and Barnabas, and certain other of them, should go up to Jerusalem unto the apostles and elders about this question.

They determined to “seek a multitude of counselors, and be persuaded of and defer to their leaders” (Pro 11:14; 15:22; 24:6, and Heb 13:17).

Act 15:3  And being brought on their way by the church, they passed through Phenice and Samaria, declaring the conversion of the Gentiles: and they caused great joy unto all the brethren.
Act 15:4  And when they were come to Jerusalem, they were received of the church, and of the apostles and elders, and they declared all things that God had done with them [all].
Act 15:5  But there rose up certain of the sect of the Pharisees which believed, saying, That it was needful to circumcise them [the Gentiles], and to command them to keep the law of Moses.
Act 15:6  And the apostles and elders came together for to consider of this matter.

“They were received of the church and of the apostles and elders” is an entirely different tone and different circumstance than Paul saying:

Gal 2:2  And I went up by revelation, and communicated unto them that gospel which I preach among the Gentiles, but privately to them which were of reputation, lest by any means I should run, or had run, in vain.

Gal 2:9  And when James, Cephas, and John, who seemed to be pillars, perceived the grace that was given unto me, they gave to me and Barnabas the right hands of fellowship; that we should go unto the heathen, and they unto the circumcision.
Gal 2:10  Only they would that we should remember the poor; the same which I also was forward to do.

On the other hand, remembering the poor would fit in well with Paul and Barnabas taking a gift from the church of Antioch up to Jerusalem before Barnabas and Saul make their first missionary journey, which we do not read of until chapter thirteen, and that is long before Paul’s confrontation with Peter which preceded the next trip to Jerusalem to settle the question of whether it was needful for the Gentiles to be circumcised.

If we notice what we are told about the timing of this trip to Jerusalem here in chapter 11, then we cannot deny that it took place “in these days” right after Barnabas brought Saul to Antioch from Tarsus, and during “that… whole year [when] they assembled themselves with the [Jewish, Grecian] church… in Antioch.” We are plainly told that this is “the days” in which “Barnabas and Saul” were “sent [with] relief from the [Jewish brethren]” in Antioch where they were still “preaching the Word to none but to the Jews only” (vs 19) and had not yet even been “set aside [by] the holy spirit” to make their first missionary journey, which is when they will first begin to encounter uncircumcised Gentiles who are hungry for the Word and who fit the mold of Cornelius and his family.

Act 11:25  Then departed Barnabas to Tarsus, for to seek Saul:
Act 11:26  And when he had found him, he brought him unto Antioch. And it came to pass, that a whole year they assembled themselves with the church, and taught much people. And the disciples were called Christians first in Antioch.
Act 11:27  And in these days [during that “whole year”] came prophets from Jerusalem unto Antioch.
Act 11:28  And there stood up one of them named Agabus, and signified by the Spirit that there should be great dearth throughout all the world: which came to pass in the days of Claudius Caesar.
Act 11:29  Then [that same year] the disciples [at Antioch with its many synagogues], every man according to his ability, determined to send relief unto the brethren which dwelt in Judaea:
Act 11:30  Which also they did, and sent it to the elders by the hands of Barnabas and Saul.

Notice that at this point the name of Barnabas precedes the name of Saul of Tarsus. This will continue to be the case at the beginning of their first missionary journey, which we will not read of until chapter 13, after Barnabas and Saul return from taking the “relief” from the saints of Antioch to the poor starving saints in Jerusalem.

We will stop here for now. Our next study in chapter 12 will be concerned with the martyrdom of James the brother of John and the jailing and deliverance from prison of Peter. This we are told happened “about that time” when Barnabas and Saul brought the gift from Antioch up to Jerusalem. Then in chapter 13 we will return to the story of Barnabas and Saul. It is not until that 13^th chapter we are informed that the holy spirit sends Barnabas and Saul out from Syrian Antioch on their first missionary journey. It appears from the order of events as they are presented to us here in the book of Acts, that the trip up to Jerusalem with the gift from the saints in Antioch for the famine-stricken saints in Jerusalem took place before Barnabas and Saul had even been called to do their missionary work.

We need to know the sequence of events if we expect to understand what Paul meant when he tells us:

Gal 2:1  Then fourteen years after I went up again to Jerusalem with Barnabas, and took Titus with me also.

“Fourteen years after” what? I hope we will come to see clearly that those fourteen years were just before Barnabas and Saul had been chosen to take a gift of relief from a famine up to the poor saints in Jerusalem, and before they had begun their first missionary journey, and Barnabas and Saul were already made aware of their calling to minister to the Gentiles in accord with Peter’s experience in the house of Cornelius the Italian, Gentile, Roman centurion.