Acts 11:4Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

Yet Peter does not defend himself in this way. He was prudent. Or rather, these were not words of his prudence, but of the Spirit.

In his defense he shows that he himself was in no way the author of the whole matter, but God. He speaks to them as though saying this.

He caused me to fall into ecstasy, while I was simply praying. He showed the vessel, while I objected. Then again He spoke, and even then I did not obey.

The Spirit commanded me to go, yet even then I did not go hastily. I told Cornelius that God had sent me. But even after this, I did not baptize by myself. Again, God did everything.

The news of the event in Cornelius's house quickly spread among the Christians and reached, among others, the Church of Jerusalem. There it stirred up serious misunderstandings. Christians from among the circumcised were perplexed and even indignant, above all because the Apostle Peter had allowed himself to go into the house of uncircumcised men and eat with them. Therefore, when Peter came to Jerusalem, they reproached him for what they regarded as defiling himself through fellowship with Gentiles. But the Apostle Peter's detailed account of all the extraordinary circumstances, in which God's will concerning the Gentiles was expressed, completely calmed their minds. All the Christians glorified God, saying that it was evident God had also granted the Gentiles repentance unto life.

Peter began to recount everything to them in order. He considered the best means of clarifying the matter, justifying his conduct, and calming the circumcised who had reproached him, to be a complete account of what had happened. The narrative is entirely the same as the one given above and explained by us. Only a few particulars in it require brief explanation. The reason why the writer of Acts recounts this narrative a second time is, of course, the special importance and great significance of the event itself for the Church. Verse 12: "These six brethren also went with me." From this it is clear that the Christians of Joppa who accompanied Peter to Caesarea, to the house of Cornelius (Acts 10:23), also accompanied him from Caesarea to Jerusalem and were now there with him.

Peter's defense against the reproach consisted in recounting how wondrously the calling and conversion of the Gentiles to Christ had taken place. From this his accusers could see that there was no place or possibility for circumcision there, especially since everything occurred under God's special guidance. Consequently, this matter had to be received as God's work. Therefore they were not to reproach its participants, but to take all this as guidance in determining the relations of all Christians toward Gentiles. "He, Peter, defends himself and does not use the authority of a teacher, because the more briefly he answers them, the more he calms them.