Believed

Pete Kersker - Jun 15, 2026

Simon Peter was given a vision, direction, and then a clear sign from the Lord: Gentiles are invited into Christ's Church. The apostles and other disciples (students) in Jerusalem were convinced. So, they started inviting everyone to reconcile with God through the work of Jesus, who is the Christ.

Now those who had been scattered by the persecution that broke out when Stephen was killed traveled as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus and Antioch, spreading the word only among Jews. Some of them, however, men from Cyprus and Cyrene, went to Antioch and began to speak to Greeks also, telling them the good news about the Lord Jesus (Acts 11:19-20 NIV).

The message about Jesus was the same: Jesus, who was put to death, God raised from the dead declaring him both Christ and Lord. The problem, though, was that Gentiles were not expecting a Christ (Messiah). They didn't know what that meant.

The message-communicators, who had a Jewish background, needed to communicate the good news about Jesus in a way the Gentiles would understand. They might need to talk about how the LORD, who created the heavens and the earth, is the only real God. They would have to explain that the LORD God designed and created us on purpose, in the image of God. They would also need to tell them that God is always good and communicates what is good for us to live, to live abundantly, and to live eternally.

They would also need to tell the Gentiles that when we do what is not good, we walk away from the LORD and set ourselves up as God's enemies. Returning to the LORD will not go well for us...unless God is willing to forgive us. God sent his only Son, Jesus, to show us that we can come back, be forgiven, and walk with God again. Jesus is the only way we can return to God and live.

This simple message takes a lot longer to communicate to Gentiles than it did to the Jews. The Jewish people already knew most of this from their Scriptures. It may have taken longer, but it was an important use of their time. God wanted the Gentiles to know that they could come home to the LORD and walk with God as well. The message went out and many of them responded.

The Lord's hand was with them, and a great number of people believed and turned to the Lord (Acts 11:21 NIV).

Did you know that the message about Jesus takes longer to explain
to someone who doesn't know about the LORD?

Are you glad these early believers obeyed the Lord and reached out to the non-Jewish people?
Did you grow up Jewish? (In other words, are you a Gentile who needs Jesus?)