19 So then those who were scattered because of the persecution that occurred in connection with Stephen made their way to Phoenicia and Cyprus and Antioch, speaking the word to no one except to Jews alone. 20 But there were some of them, men of Cyprus and Cyrene, who came to Antioch and began speaking to the Greeks also, proclaiming the good news of the Lord Jesus. 21 And the hand of the Lord was with them, and a large number who believed turned to the Lord. 22 Now the news about them reached the ears of the church at Jerusalem, and they sent Barnabas off to Antioch, 23 who, when he arrived and saw the grace of God, rejoiced and began to encourage them all with a purposeful heart to remain true to the Lord; 24 for he was a good man, and full of the Holy Spirit and of faith. And a considerable crowd was brought to the Lord. 25 And he left for Tarsus to search for Saul; 26 and when he found him, he brought him to Antioch. And it happened that for an entire year they met with the church and taught a considerable crowd. And the disciples were first called Christians in Antioch.
27 Now in those days, some prophets came down from Jerusalem to Antioch. 28 And one of them named Agabus stood up and indicated by the Spirit that there was going to be a great famine all over the world. And this took place in the reign of Claudius. 29 And as any of the disciples had means, each of them determined to send a contribution for the service of the brothers living in Judea. 30 And this they did, sending it in charge of Barnabas and Saul to the elders. Acts 11: 19-30 LSB
Acts 11: 19-30
Before the foundation can ever be laid for that church the ground had to be prepared, the right kind of leveling and grading and fixing it all up so that the foundation could be put down. The groundwork was preparation. And what preparation was needed? Well you can’t evangelize the Gentiles if you don’t have some evangelists and you can’t get some evangelists who are willing to do it unless they break their prejudice, right? And so there had to be time for all these prejudices to come crumbling down so they would move out with the gospel. And this was it. The fantastic admission. You ought to just make an asterisk or put a circle around verse 18. It’s a catalyst verse in the history of the church. They finally admitted that Gentiles could be saved. Years God has been waiting for this, century after century, and it came finally. Well you know it had been – and some historians tell us, at least seven years from Pentecost to the founding of the church at Antioch. So almost seven years has gone by until this statement is finally made. And then from here the groundwork is done and – wham – they move out. They begin the work of evangelizing Gentiles. You say, well why does it have to take so long? Why couldn’t God just save them and shoot them out. Well there was a sense in which they did move around talking about Christ, but let me just give you some points.
I believe that it took a long time, number one – and get this because I think it’s very important, and I want to translate it into Grace Church in a minute. Number one, apostolic authority had to be established. Now when God spoke to the early church through whom did He speak? The apostles, right? They were the teachers. They were the ones who were the spokesmen for God. And they were the ones who laid out the doctrine. It’s says that in 2:42 that they spent their time in the study of the apostle’s doctrine. God spoke to them and they spoke. They had no Bibles. They had no New Testaments. They hadn’t been written yet. So when the early church came together what was their standard? I mean, how did they know whether this is right and this is wrong? How did they know how to do this, how to do that? What are God’s standards? What are these things? They had to listen to the apostles through whom God spoke. And so there needed to be time for the apostles to lay down a solid doctrinal base. Can you imagine if they all got saved and then just shot out all over the world without any foundation? They’d run into problems they wouldn’t be able to answer because they wouldn’t know what their own theology was. They wouldn’t have a Bible. Now a Christian can get saved and run around now and share Christ and he can run into problems and he can go back to the Word and say let me find that, there’s an answer here. But the guy in those days who ran out and ran into a problem was stuck. There was no New Testament.
So they had to be a foundation planted and rooted firmly. A strong doctrinal basis, and the apostles were the key. What happened was, for seven years, the apostles laid that doctrinal foundation. They spoke, they taught, and these things were compiled and collected in the minds and hearts of men and the framework of doctrine was based as a foundation. And once that foundation was firm then somebody could start the building of the Gentile church on it. But they had to be able to run into a problem and turn around and say, “Hey, there’s an answer because the apostles have thus said.” You see? In other words doctrinal purity, friends, is at the very basis of a church. If it goes, the whole building crumbles. Right? And so we teach doctrine. That’s everything at the base and so there had to be doctrine and there wasn’t any Bible for everybody to read so they had to hang in there and learn from the apostles. And then once it was in them in total, they could move out and teach it to somebody else until such a time as the scripture was completed. There were absolutes that had to be learned and they had to come to the apostles from God and the process was slow and it took time.
The second reason I believe there was a delay of many years before they moved out was because the right instruments had to be prepared. Nothing worse than sending out an unprepared person to do a job. It took time to mature these people. Do you realize that when the church was formed everybody was a baby? It’s tough enough in a church dealing with a group of spiritual babes. Can you imagine having a congregation all saved the same day? I mean, it’s something like our nursery. They were telling me on Easter Sunday they had 150 babies under one. Well you can imagine having 3,000 like that, one day old trying to get around to all of them and teach them the basics. Well here they had to have time to mature, to grow, to see their exhibited so that they would know who could do what. How do they know who to send where if they don’t have any idea from seeing them operate, from seeing them mature, from seeing them grow, from seeing them learn doctrine, and seeing them minister faithfully. It’s important to have a good foundation, but if you have a terrific foundation and you have guys building the walls that don’t know what they’re doing the thing will fall down too. So they needed time for preparation.
So the third thing you might add to that is that they needed time for prejudice to come down. And so for these reasons the Spirit of God delayed and at least seven years went by before they ever began to move toward Antioch, but believe me when the groundwork was done, it was done right. And when that church moved out to build, they really built. They really built. - J Mac
V. 19 Those who were scattered because of the persecution - They say the blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church, and after Stephen was killed, well guess what, those that believed were scattered all over, and they took the gospel with them. Persecution from the Jews pushed the gospel outward. It's marvelous, because in the minds of men, Rome built these roads to provide infrastructure for their kingdom. We think they were for trade, but God had a much grander use in mind, a far more precious cargo was intended for these highways.
…23But Jesus replied, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. 24Truly, truly, I tell you, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a seed; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. 25Whoever loves his life will lose it, but whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.… John 12: 23-25
Vs. 20-21 Began speaking to the Greeks also - Greeks is another way of saying gentile. Rome is the present kingdom, but Rome adopted much of Greek culture. It says, the hand of the Lord was with them. If the Holy Spirit is not in it, then they that labor do so in vane. It is interesting that it says a large number who believed turned to the Lord, as though some believed and did not repent, had no fruit of being born again. Judas believed Jesus enough to follow Him for 3 years, but then was called a devil. There is intellectual ascent, and I have heard many spout off great doctrines, yet not show the fruit of repentance. It is always something to think about, to examine ourselves to see if we are truly in the faith. It is the thing to look for in a friend, that they love me enough to risk our earthly camaraderie by questioning where I stand, asking, "Is that a fruit of the Spirit"? It must be strange for these Jewish Christians to see pagans turn about in such numbers. The gospel demands that there is only One way to be saved, and many of these are used to polytheism. Those raised to know the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob have been the most difficult to reach. They read the promises of Jesus in the OT, but they couldn't see Him standing in front of them, yet these heathens are believing and showing fruit unto repentance.
…6I planted the seed and Apollos watered it, but God made it grow. 7So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow. 8He who plants and he who waters are one in purpose, and each will be rewarded according to his own labor.… 1 Corinthians 3: 6-8
14After the arrest of John, Jesus went into Galilee and proclaimed the gospel of God. 15 “The time is fulfilled,” He said, “and the kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe in the gospel!” 16As Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee, He saw Simon and his brother Andrew. They were casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen.… Mark 1: 14-16
1Surely the arm of the LORD is not too short to save, nor His ear too dull to hear. 2But your iniquities have built barriers between you and your God, and your sins have hidden His face from you, so that He does not hear.… Isaiah 59: 1-2
…4Brothers who are beloved by God, we know that He has chosen you, 5because our gospel came to you not only in word, but also in power, in the Holy Spirit, and with great conviction— just as you know we lived among you for your sake. 6And you became imitators of us and of the Lord when you welcomed the message with the joy of the Holy Spirit, in spite of your great suffering.… …7As a result, you have become an example to all the believers in Macedonia and Achaia. 8For not only did the message of the Lord ring out from you to Macedonia and Achaia, but your faith in God has gone out to every place, so that we have no need to say anything more. 9For they themselves report what kind of welcome you gave us, and how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God…
10and to await His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead— Jesus our deliverer from the coming wrath. 1 Thessalonians 1: 4-10
Vs. 22-24 They sent Barnabas off to Antioch - This was to assess the situation, to validate the claim, what did you believe? They also need to be taught by those who had been taught by Jesus and the Apostles. It says he saw the grace of God, and Barnabas has a wonderful spirit, so he rejoices upon finding these new brothers and sisters in Christ.
William Barclay wrote that "One of the highest of human duties is the duty of encouragement…. It is easy to laugh at men’s ideals; it is easy to pour cold water on their enthusiasm; it is easy to discourage others. The world is full of discouragers. We have a Christian duty to encourage one another. Many a time a word of praise or thanks or appreciation or cheer has kept a man on his feet. Blessed is the man who speaks such a word." - PA
Vs. 25-26 They met with the church and taught a considerable crowd - Barnabas goes for backup, and I think he recognizes that Paul, who is here still called Saul, is a great candidate for teacher. They spend a whole year teaching all these new believers, protecting their minds from both the culture of Antioch, which is a hot mess, and from those who would sweep in with bad doctrine. They are establishing this first of the gentile churches. It says that they were first called Christians there, and really that was a derogatory name that the church embraced. It's like when the Muslim terrorist called our soldiers, "infidels" and many soldiers went out and got that tattooed on themselves.
…13But rejoice that you share in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed at the revelation of His glory. 14If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you. 15Indeed, none of you should suffer as a murderer or thief or wrongdoer, or even as a meddler.… 1 Peter 4: 13-15
Kistemaker (Baker NTC - Acts) - Why are you called a Christian? The name Christian means that you identify completely with Christ because you are his disciple. But for many Christians this identification seems to apply only in a Sunday worship service. During the week, many Christians appear to have put aside the Christian nametag that they display on Sundays when they sing praises to God, read Scripture, pray, and listen to a sermon. How do some Christians live? Some live for the sake of money; others are in the process of destroying their bodies through chemical dependence; and still others use vile and profane language as part of their daily speech. The question, “Why are you called a Christian?” is personal and to the point. It makes many Christians blush. In the sixteenth century, German theologian Zacharius Ursinus asked this same question and formulated the following answer:
Because by faith I am a member of Christ
and so I share in his anointing.
I am anointed
to confess his name,
to present myself to him as a living sacrifice of thanks,
to strive with a good conscience against sin and the devil in this
life,
and afterward to reign with Christ
over all creation
for all eternity.
(Heidelberg Catechism, question and answer 32.) - PA
Vs. 27-30 For the service of the brothers living in Judea - These gentile converts were sending money to support the Jewish converts who at first questioned their inclusion.
Now Antioch is a very interesting city, 15 miles or so from the mouth of the Orontes River, founded in about 300 B.C. Later it was made a free city, and when it was made a free city under the Roman government in 64 A.D., it has its own self-government. It became the capital of the Province of Syria. It became very famous, grew like crazy. It was the third largest city in the world. First was Rome, then was Alexandria, then was Antioch, had 600,000 people at least. It was famous for culture, it was famous for business. It was just a very, very, very large city. The network of Roman roads crisscrossed Antioch so it was a place where all the caravans of the East unloaded their wares in all the wharves and warehouses of Antioch. Cicero said it was a land of most learned men and liberal studies. But with all this good thing, it was basically known as an evil city. In fact, Juvenal, a Roman writer said that the Orontes River spilled its garbage into the Tiber, and what he meant was that Antioch corrupted Rome.
Now if Rome was rotten, you can get an idea about how rotten that which corrupted Rome must have been. Antioch was gross to put it mildly. The people lived for their pleasures. One writer said that life there was a perpetual festival of vice revolving around the baths, brothels, the amphitheater and the circus. And so it was an evil place. There was a goddess by the name Daphne, who was supposed to be the lover of Apollo and they built a garden that was so big it was 10 miles in circumference and it was populated by prostitutes and you went in and indulged yourself in the garden and the prostitute activity and all kinds of sick immoralities. That was worship in the city of Antioch. When they wanted to extend their religious opportunities, they hired magicians, sorcerers, charlatans, and Babylonian astrologers made a fortune off the people of Antioch. So it was a vile place. But you know God so many times finds that the most lovely rose grows amidst the most ugly weeds, and so he designed to plant the first church in Antioch. He wanted to reach a city with a lot of people and indeed He did. - J Mac
