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The book of Acts

The Gospel comes to Antioch

Chapter 11:19-30

Going back to the times of persecution that followed the death of Stephen (8:1), before the conversion of Cornelius, we have the account of how the Gospel came to Antioch.

Among those who were scattered because of Stephen, some believers went very far away, and took the Gospel, but only for the Jews, to:

• Phoenicia, a narrow strip of land along the eastern Mediterranean Sea, currently Lebanon, which included the ports of Tyre and Sidon.

• Cyprus, a large island in the northeastern Mediterranean.

• Cyrene, a port city located in northern Africa, in the country now called Libya.

• Antioch, capital of Syria, and the Roman province of Asia. It was the third city in importance in the Roman Empire, coming after Rome and Alexandria.

However, the Gentiles in Antioch heard about the Lord Jesus from believers originating from Cyprus and Cyrene. The Greek language was known internationally in the Middle East, because of the Greek occupation long before the arrival of the Romans. In the book of Acts, we find the "Hellenists", who were Jews from abroad and spoke Greek, and the "Greeks", who were Gentiles in general and communicated in Greek. Exceptionally, here we find "Hellenists" to mean "Greeks" (as in the Authorised Version).

The Lord’s hand was with the believers from Cyprus and Cyrene and a great number of Gentiles believed and turned to the Lord. It is remarkable that the name of these pioneers of evangelization among the Gentiles it is not given. The introduction of the Gospel in Antioch was an important step forward in the world, and it was there that Paul and his companions left for their mission trips later, spreading the Gospel to the Gentiles.

When the church in Jerusalem heard about it, they sent over Barnabas, a "good man, and full of the Holy Spirit and of faith": a great recommendation for a missionary. He was glad to see the grace of God revealed among the Gentiles, and encouraged all to remain faithful to the Lord with all their hearts.

It is good when men with the spiritual qualities of Barnabas visit a new church. As he stayed there, many people came to the Lord, and spiritual unity was preserved with the church in Jerusalem. Barnabas knew that Saul had been chosen by the Lord Jesus to be His apostle to the Gentiles (Acts 9:15, Romans 1:1, Galatians 1:1), and also knew his ability to teach, and succeeded in finding and bringing him over to Antioch. The church in Antioch could also count now with the teaching of Saul, and they stayed there for a year (estimated to be 44 AD), teaching many.  

Tarsus was the city of Saul, and it gave him Roman citizenship which years later protected him from the wrath of the leaders of the Jews in Jerusalem, and enabled him to go to Rome. Tarsus was within the province of Cilicia, and Paul witnessed the Gospel there too (Galatians 1:21).

It was in Antioch that the name "Christians" was first given to the disciples, meaning "followers of Christ". It was used with scorn by King Agrippa (Acts 26:28) and as the object of persecution by the Roman government (1 Peter 4:16) appearing only in these three places in the Bible. The name Christ refers to the Messiah expected by the Jews, so the unbelieving Jews do not call them "Christians" but "Nazarenes", because do not believe that the Lord Jesus was indeed the Messiah.

Then prophets came to Antioch from Jerusalem. In those days, men were enabled by the Holy Spirit to teach, exhort and strengthen the churches before the books of the New Testament were written and divulged, and these were the prophets. Like Judas and Silas (Acts 14:4 and 15:32), they helped the apostles. One of these prophets, Agabus, predicted there would be "a great famine throughout the world" - "world" was a colloquial expression to mean the Middle East, where they lived. History records food shortages in the region during the reign of Emperor Claudius (41-44 AD), who preceded Nero.

The brethren in the church of Antioch, here called "disciples", took up a collection among themselves, giving each according to his ability, and sent a contribution to the brethren in Judea. Their contribution was sent to the elders in Jerusalem by the hands of Barnabas and Saul. It is the first time the word "elders" is used for those who are in the supervision of the local church (also called "bishops"). This way of contributing to the Lord’s work has been used as a model for local assemblies, where each member gives according to his ability into the hands of two appointed treasurers, for distribution by the elders of the church (note the plurality in both cases).

We never read in the Bible about a contribution by "tithing" in local assemblies of believers (churches). Each member always makes his contribution voluntarily, as he may prosper.

 

R David Jones

 

 

 

19 Now those who were scattered after the persecution that arose over Stephen traveled as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus, and Antioch, preaching the word to no one but the Jews only.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

20 But some of them were men from Cyprus and Cyrene, who, when they had come to Antioch, spoke to the Hellenists, preaching the Lord Jesus.

 

 

21 And the hand of the Lord was with them, and a great number believed and turned to the Lord.

 

 

22 Then news of these things came to the ears of the church in Jerusalem, and they sent out Barnabas to go as far as Antioch.

 

23 When he came and had seen the grace of God, he was glad, and encouraged them all that with purpose of heart they should continue with the Lord.
24 For he was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and of faith. And a great many people were added to the Lord.
25 Then Barnabas departed for Tarsus to seek Saul.
26 And when he had found him, he brought him to Antioch. So it was that for a whole year they assembled with the church and taught a great many people. And the disciples were first called Christians in Antioch.

 

 

 

 

27 And in these days prophets came from Jerusalem to Antioch.
28 Then one of them, named Agabus, stood up and showed by the Spirit that there was going to be a great famine throughout all the world, which also happened in the days of Claudius Caesar.

 

 

29 Then the disciples, each according to his ability, determined to send relief to the brethren dwelling in Judea.

30 This they also did, and sent it to the elders by the hands of Barnabas and Saul.

Acts chapter 11, verses 19 to 30