Peter advances the Gentile inclusion with the Jews back in Jerusalem.
Missionaries northwest of Jerusalem and Damascus have most success among Gentiles, especially in Antioch. Barnabas is sent there, and he recruits Saul, from Tarsus. These two become representatives of the church to Jerusalem, where aid is needed for the isolated believers for the prophesied, future famine.
National politics enters the church scene for the first time. Herod wants to do the Jews a favor, and so helps them persecute the church. He kills James and imprisons Peter. An angel releases Peter supernaturally. When he comes to in the street, his first thought is the house church of John Mark's mother, which ought to be a clue to its significance. There seems to be a correlation here between Peter's preservation from Herod and Jesus' in Matthew 2. Herod dies, but Jesus, the Word, increases and grows. John Mark goes to Antioch with Saul and Barnabas.
Application:
1. Defend those God defends, even if society does not.
2. Pay attention to the ministry God blesses with fruit, while not losing sight of the parameters of the Word of God.
3. Do not despair of the giants in the land who resist God; they will soon fade from the scene.
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