INRODUCTION

        The historian, Luke, is picking up the narrative after the events described in Acts 8:1-4. This was the scattering of the church following the death of Stephen. It was said “that everywhere they went they preached the Word.”

THE BEGINNING OF THE WORK IN ANTIOCH: Acts 11:19-21

          In verse 19 we read, “now those who had been scattered by the persecution with Stephe8n traveled as far as Phoenicia, Cypress and Antioch, telling the message only to the Jews.”  Gareth Reese writes the following,

        “…In some of the similar chapters he (Luke) has shown Phillip going down to Samaria, Saul to Damascus, Peter to Joppa and Caesarea, and now we shall see the disciples going to Antioch.”

          Concerning Antioch, Irving L. Jenson writes,

          “Antioch of Syria is located on the Orantes River, fifteen miles inland from the sea. When Syria was brought into the Roman Empire in 64 B.C., the city became a free city. During the days of Acts, it was the third largest city in the Empire, surpassed only by Rome and Alexandria. Although Antioch was a cosmopolitan city of various races and religions, it was predominately a Gentile city The city was branded with a wide reputation of loose morals. It is very possible that Luke was native of Antioch.”

We also have the phrase, “that they spoke the Gospel to the Jews alone.” It is apparent that the Good News was for the Gentiles. The events described took place before the conversion of Cornelius. In verse 20 we’re told that the men of Cyprus and of Cyrene were speaking to the Gentiles also. J. W. McGarv1ey wrote the following,

“It appears that these men came to Antioch8 at a later period than those who spoke to the Jews alone. It is clearly implied that something else had taken place in the interval to cause the change. What could that event be, save the conversion of Cormelius, which Luke has just related. So, while Peter’s work opened the way, this work in Antich was the first vigorous invasion of the Gentile world by the advances of the Lord’s army.”

What was the probable date for the coming of these men? It was somewhere after the conversion of Cormelius and the death of Herod, which is related in Acts 12. Herod died in A.D. 44. In verse 26 we’re told that Paul and Barnabus labored together for an entire year. So, it follows that Barnabus brought Paul to Antioch in A.D. 43. Further in verse 20, Luke tells us that the men were preaching the Lord Jesus Christ. The emphasis was on the Lordship of Jesus. Verse 21 informs us they were quite successful in their actions and that many were added to the Body of Christ. Reese writes,

“…Now there is a church in Antioch made up of converts from both Jewish and Greek backgrounds, and this church then becomes the springboard for evangelistic efforts to the Gentile world at large.”

BARNABUS SENT BY THE JERUSALEM CHURCH TO ANTIOCH: Acts 11:22-24

In verse 22 Luke tells us that the news of Gentiles becoming Christians had spread back to Jerusalem. We’re told that the Jerusalem Church sent Barnabus to Antioch. Barnabus was introduced in Acts 4. In verse 23 we read the following,

“When he had arrived and saw the evidence of the grace of God, he was glad and encouraged them all to remain true to the Lord with all their hearts.”

In verse 24 we’re told why Barnabus was selected by the Jerusalem Church for this task. It was said that he was a good man and full of the Holy Spirit and of faith. His life produced the fruit of the Spirit. Under his influence many were brought to the Lord.

BARNABUS BRINGS PAUL INTO THE WORK AT ANTIOCH: Acts 11:25-28

        Verse 25 says that Barnabus left the work in Antioch to go to Tarsus to look for Saul. We last read of Saul of Tarsus in the 9^th chapter. What happened in Saul’s life since the Jerusalem brethren had sent him away to Tarsus as recorded in Acts 9:30? Reese relates this to us,

          “Paul will next be seen at Antioch where he is brought by Barnabus to help in the evangelistic work there. If our chronology is correct, Paul was converted about 34 A.D. The next time we see him is 37 A.D., as he returns from Arabia to Damascus, only to have to flee for his life, whereupon he goes to Jerusalem, from which also he has to flee. The next time is about 40 or 42 A.D., when he turns up in Antioch of Syria.”

          The phrase “to look for Saul” implies that he found him with some difficultly. In verse 26 Barnabus has found Saul and persuaded him to Antioch and labor for the Lord of Glory. It is revealed that Paul and Barnabus labored with the Body in Antioch for an entire year and that they taught many the way of the Lord. It was in this verse that we have these words, “the disciples were called Christians first at Antioch.”

THE ANTIOCH CHURCH AIDS IN THE RELIEF FOR THE JUDEAN FAMINE: Acts 11:27-30.

          During the time when Barnabus and Paul were laboring in Antioch some prophets came down from Jerusalem. In verse 28 we’re told that one of them was named Agabus. The same prophet will reappear in the narrative at Acts 21:10-11. In the passage in the 11^th chapter, he prophecies that there will be a great famine all over the world, i.e., the Roman Empire. Luke tells us that this famine took place in the reign of Claudius. This would put the date between A.D. 41-54.

          In verse 29 the disciples at Antioch decided to help financially the less privileged and hungry in Judea. The text tells us that each of the disciples purposed to give of their means. In verse 30 we have the first mention of elders in the New Testament. The brethren entrusted Saul and Barnabus to take the money to Jerusalem.

          We have read in this chapter of the work of Barnabus and Saul in Antioch and how the Gentiles were hearing the Good News and were responding in numbers to the cause. In our next article we will deal with the12th chapter of Acts dealing with the persecution of the Church by the civil authorities. Please study the 12^th chapter of Acts in preparation for our lesson. Until next time, Maranatha!