Acts 11

Acts 11:1

Was returning and . . . read Esaias. Reading aloud in the Oriental manner. Perhaps he had heard at Jerusalem of Jesus and the Christians. At any rate, he was reading in Isaiah a prophecy of Christ.

Acts 11:2

The Spirit said. How we are not told. Philip promptly obeyed, ran to the chariot, listened and heard what he read, and then asked his question, the result of which was that he was asked to take his place in the chariot to explain the Scripture.

Acts 11:5

The place of the scripture . . . was this. See Isaiah 53:7,8. The whole chapter is a wonderful delineation of the sufferings of Christ. Philip found Christ in the text, and from it he “preached to him Jesus” (Acts 8:35). Led as a sheep. Unresisting. Opened he not his mouth. Made no defense.

Acts 11:6

His judgment was taken away. Justice was trampled under foot. Who shall declare his generation? Meyer, De Wette, Robinson and Hackett all agree that this refers to portraying the wickedness of the generation which slew him. Others insist that it means Christ’s spiritual posterity, his followers.

Acts 11:7

Of whom speaketh the prophet this? This gave Philip the opportunity of preaching Jesus.

Acts 11:8

Then Philip . . . preached unto him Jesus. He showed the prophecies of the Messiah, that it behooved him to suffer, die, and rise again, and that he commanded his gospel to be preached and believers to be baptized in his name. That the eunuch calls for baptism (Acts 8:36) shows that in preaching Jesus, Philip preached the rite.

Acts 11:9

They came unto a certain water. The locality of the baptism is not certain. There are several roads from Jerusalem to Gaza. The one by Hebron is through “desert” more than the others. Eusebius and Jerome state that the baptism occurred at a perennial stream, coming from a fountain at Bethsur, not far from Hebron. Robinson places the baptism not far from Gaza, at the old site of Eglon. See, [here is] water. The Greek is, “Behold! Water”! As if his soul was filled with joy that he could obey. What doth hinder me? Nothing, if he was a believer and the means were at hand.

Acts 11:10

If thou believest, etc.? This verse is omitted in the Revised Version. It is not found in the oldest extant manuscripts, but was certainly in manuscripts older than any now extant. It is referred to by Irenaeus in the second century, and by Augustine in the fourth. Whether written by Luke or not, it shows that the custom of the early church was to require such a confession of faith. With all thine heart. A living faith must seize upon and control the heart.

Acts 11:11

They both went down into the water. Abbott states: The original undoubtedly implies a going, not to, but into, the water.'' And Ripley says: No sufficient reason can be given why the parties went down into the water, but for the sake of the immersion of the new convert.''

Acts 11:12

When they were come up out of the water. They did not go “to” and come away “from” the water, but they went, “both Philip and the eunuch” (Acts 8:38), down “into” (Greek, “eis”) and came up “out of” (Greek, “ek”) the water. The Spirit of the Lord caught away Philip. Led him to depart abruptly. He was snatched away. He went on his way rejoicing. The eunuch, in his new-found Savior.

Acts 11:13

But Philip was found at Azotus. The old Philistine city of Ashdod, near the seacoast, between Gaza and Joppa. It is now a ruin. Here he preached in all the seacoast cities, probably founding churches. See Acts 9:32,36. Till he came to Caesarea, the seaport northwest of Jerusalem, the Roman capital of Judea. We are not told how soon he reached Caesarea. It may have been months or years. At any rate, it is likely that it did not take place until after Peter’s missionary work there. Many years later we find Philip living in this city (Acts 21:8).

Acts 11:15

The Conversion of Saul of Tarsus SUMMARY OF ACTS 9: Saul’s Journey to Damascus. The Lord Meets Him on the Way. Called to Be a Witness to the Gentiles. Baptized by Ananias. Preaches Christ to the Jews in Damascus. They Seek His Death. His Escape to Jerusalem and Meeting with the Apostles. Departure to Tarsus. Peter Heals Aeneas at Lydda. Raises Dorcas at Joppa. Saul, yet breathing out threatenings and slaughter. See Acts 8:3, from which the narrative is now resumed. As the great change in the life of Saul is now recorded, it is proper to state what can be known of him before his conversion. Probably about a year before he appears in the history at the death of Stephen. He was of the tribe of Benjamin (Philippians 3:5); his father, though a Jew, had been admitted to Roman citizenship, and Paul was therefore a “Roman” (Acts 22:26,28); he was born at Tarsus (Acts 22:3), a Grecian city, the capital of Cilicia; there he had become familiar with Grecian literature, as well as educated in the law; at what time we know not, but while still young he went to Jerusalem to study in the great Rabbinical schools, and had the celebrated Gamaliel for his teacher (Acts 22:3); he had, according to Jewish custom, learned a trade, being a tent-maker (Acts 18:3); he was a Pharisee after the strictest manner of the sect (Acts 23:6). How long he had been in Jerusalem when he appears in this history, whether he was there for the second time, or had not returned after his attendance at the school of Gamaliel, is uncertain, but when we first behold him he is a “young man” (Acts 7:58), prominent and influential, active in his opposition to the church, and a trusted leader of its enemies. Went unto the high priest. Probably Theophilus, the son of Annas, who was made high priest by the Romans in A.D. 37. He was a Sadducee.

Acts 11:16

Desired of him letters. A commission and letter addressed to the rulers of synagogues. The sway of the high priest was recognized in the synagogues of all the East. He was a sort of pope with the Sanhedrin for his cardinals. To Damascus. Situated about 140 miles northeast of Jerusalem, east of Mt. Hermon, in Syria, a beautiful city in a fertile spot redeemed from the desert by the mountain streams, Abana and Pharpar. It is one of the oldest cities in the world, existed in the time of Abraham, and now has about 150,000 inhabitants. Of this way. “The Way” (Revised Version). The way of Christ, a phrase applied to Christianity. Paul’s commission, while given in the name of the high priest, was from the Sanhedrin (Acts 26:10).

Acts 11:17

And as he journeyed. It would require six or seven days to make the journey. It was probably made on foot. There shined around about him a light from heaven. Brighter than the sun (Acts 26:13). It was the splendor of the glorified Savior as seen at the Transfiguration (Matthew 17:2 Mr 9:3 Lu 9:29), or by John at Patmos (Revelation 1:16). In order to get the full history of this revelation of Christ and Paul’s conversion, we must compare the accounts given by Paul himself in Acts 22:3-21 26:10-20 with Luke’s account here.

Acts 11:18

Heard a voice. After he had fallen. Not a sound merely, but words that he could understand. Why persecutest thou me? Observe how Christ sympathizes with his persecuted followers. The blows that fall upon them, fall upon him. If Saul strikes the disciples in Damascus, Christ feels the blows in heaven.

Acts 11:19

Who art thou, Lord? Sure that it was a supernatural communication, though he might possibly suspect its source, he did not yet know that it came from Christ. Perhaps at times he had had misgivings that he might be wrong, but he was sincere. I am Jesus. It is not said, “the Christ”, but Jesus, the crucified one against whom Saul was raging. Had the answer been “the Christ”, or the Son of God, Saul might still have doubted whether this was Jesus. [It is] hard for thee to kick against the pricks. Omitted here by the Revised Version, but found in Acts 26:14. The idea is that he is injuring himself, like the ox that kicks back on the goads used to urge him forward.

Acts 11:20

And he, trembling and astonished, said, Lord, What wilt thou have me to do? The question, to which the remainder of the verse seems to be the answer, is omitted in the Revised Version and the oldest MSS. Arise, and go into the city, etc. He must enter the church just as others. The Lord had appeared to him in order that he might be qualified for apostleship by having seen Christ, but he must learn the way of the gospel from one of its preachers. Christ never told a mortal how to be saved after he gave the Great Commission to the church.

Acts 11:21

And the men . . . hearing a voice, but seeing no man. They were dumb with amazement, but did not see Christ, who was only revealed to Saul. They heard the sound but the words were for Saul and only understood by him. Compare with Acts 22:9. The two passages taken together mean that they heard a sound, but no words.

Acts 11:22

He saw no man. His eyes were blinded by the brightness of the Lord. He who had come with such power to Damascus had to be led helpless into the city.

Acts 11:24

A certain disciple at Damascus, named Ananias. He is named nowhere but in connection with the conversion of Saul. To him said the Lord in a vision. As in the case of Philip sent by the angel to the eunuch (Acts 8:26), so he is sent by revelation to Saul. A revelation was needful from the fact that Saul was a terror to the church and all would avoid him.

Acts 11:25

Go into the street which is called Straight. This street ran in a direct line from gate to gate, east and west, and was anciently 100 feet wide and celebrated for its magnificence. It is now contracted and mean. Enquire in the house of Judas. Nothing more is known of this Judas. Saul of Tarsus. As the name was not uncommon, he is designated by his native city, “no mean city” (Acts 21:39), a place of 30,000 inhabitants, 20,000 at present, then celebrated for its schools. It was the Cilician capital. He prayeth. An assurance that Ananias would be favorably received. Besides, in his prayer, the vision came that Ananias would come.

Acts 11:27

Ananias answered. In view of the terrible record of Saul the fears of Ananias were not unreasonable.

Acts 11:29

He is a chosen vessel to me. On this account the Lord appeared to him, “for this purpose to make him a minister and a ‘witness’” (Acts 26:16). Unless a man is called like Saul to be an apostle he need not expect such a vision. To bear my name before the Gentiles. His mission as the apostle to the Gentiles is pointed out. See Acts 13:46. And kings. He not only bore witness before the Roman rulers, but before King Agrippa (Acts 26:1) and the emperor Nero (Acts 28:19 Philippians 1:13 4:22).