What happensPermalink
Peter recounts the story of the Holy Spirit baptizing Cornelius to skeptical Christians in Jerusalem. The Gospel spreads to Antioch, where some Christians preach to Gentiles. Barnabas investigates, then retrieves Saul from Tarsus and they support the church there together.
Why it mattersPermalink
Some Jewish Christians thought you had to become Jews first to become Christians; Peter’s story of Cornelius rejects that thinking. Barnabas goes to Antioch to validate the preaching there, but he and Saul end up making Antioch a major center of Christianity.
Key versePermalink
…and when [Barnabas] had found [Paul], he brought him to Antioch. For a whole year they met with the church and taught a great many people. And in Antioch the disciples were first called Christians.