Acts 11:1-2 1Now the apostles and the brothers who were throughout Judea heard that the Gentiles also had received the word of God. 2So when Peter went up to Jerusalem, those from the circumcision party took issue with him, saying, 3“You went to uncircumcised men and ate with them.”
People continued his travels, returning purposefully to Jerusalem to tell of what happened at Cornelius’ house. A new day was dawning in the mission of the church. Two groups are described in these verses. Verse 1 mentions the apostles and brothers (a generic term inclusive of women). This group appears neutral at this point and simply heard of the Gentile conversion. However, there was a second group, which could have been part of the larger group, that saw things differently. Luke labels them the circumcision party.
This description assumes much. Circumcision was one of the special identifications of Jews, stretching as far back as Abraham. To be a male Jew meant to be circumcised. Circumcision made a person part of the covenant community, with all its privileges and obligations. These would have included eating kosher food and staying away from anything that defiles, particularly Gentiles and their lifestyles. Being labeled in this way implies that this group had legalistic tendencies and emphasized Jewish identity. They believed the Messiah was for the Jews. They may still have had some nationalistic tendencies and hopes. The group particularly had a problem with Peter eating with Gentiles. Peter had defiled himself by having fellowship with unclean Gentiles. The racism and prejudice of this group of Jewish Christians had blinded them to the mission of God.
When this group heard about Peter’s experience, they criticized him, likely for being in fellowship with Gentiles. In their theology, a person needed to become a Jew in order to be a believer in Jesus Messiah. Later in 15:5, another group labeled as Pharisees made this claim, and it is possible that these two groups were the same or shared the same mindset. If this thinking were accepted, the church would have stopped growing and would never have fulfilled Jesus’ mission stated in 1:8. To force Gentiles to be circumcised put the load of the law upon them. Paul criticized the Galatians for this same issue in his letter to them. The mission of the church was about to take a giant leap forward, but the troubling question about Gentile believers would not be worked out until chapter 15 and the Jerusalem council.
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