seekeroftruth
Well-Known Member
Acts 11:19 Now those who had been scattered by the persecution that broke out when Stephen was killed traveled as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus and Antioch, spreading the word only among Jews. 20 Some of them, however, men from Cyprus and Cyrene, went to Antioch and began to speak to Greeks also, telling them the good news about the Lord Jesus. 21 The Lord’s hand was with them, and a great number of people believed and turned to the Lord.
22 News of this reached the church in Jerusalem, and they sent Barnabas to Antioch. 23 When he arrived and saw what the grace of God had done, he was glad and encouraged them all to remain true to the Lord with all their hearts. 24 He was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and faith, and a great number of people were brought to the Lord.
25 Then Barnabas went to Tarsus to look for Saul, 26 and when he found him, he brought him to Antioch. So for a whole year Barnabas and Saul met with the church and taught great numbers of people. The disciples were called Christians first at Antioch.
27 During this time some prophets came down from Jerusalem to Antioch. 28 One of them, named Agabus, stood up and through the Spirit predicted that a severe famine would spread over the entire Roman world. (This happened during the reign of Claudius.) 29 The disciples, as each one was able, decided to provide help for the brothers and sisters living in Judea. 30 This they did, sending their gift to the elders by Barnabas and Saul.
I knew there would be something educational in the commentary.Some of them were men from Cyprus and Cyrene…spoke to the Hellenists, preaching the Lord Jesus: These unnamed disciples from Cyprus and Cyrene are genuine heroes. They began the first mentioned “mission to the Gentiles” (here called Hellenists) in Antioch.
i. In Antioch, we have the first example of Christians deliberately targeting Gentiles for evangelism, and this effort had great results (a great number believed and turned to the Lord).
Antioch was about 300 miles (480 kilometers) north of Jerusalem and about 20 miles (32 kilometers) inland from the Mediterranean Sea. Many considered Syrian Antioch the third greatest city in the Roman Empire, behind Rome and Alexandria. Antioch was known for its business and commerce, for its sophistication and culture, but also for its immorality.
One might say that Jerusalem was all about religion; Rome was all about power; Alexandria was all about intellect, and Athens was all about philosophy. Adding to that, one might say that Antioch was all about business and immorality.
And the hand of the Lord was with them: Because God was with them, their ministry was blessed and multiplied, the result was that a great number believed and turned to the Lord.
i. A ministry can’t turn people to the Lord unless the hand of the Lord is with them.
- You can turn people to a personality without the hand of the Lord.
- You can turn people to a social club without the hand of the Lord.
- You can turn people to a church or an institution without the hand of the Lord.
- But you can’t turn people to the Lord without the hand of the Lord.
ii. The phrase, “believed and turned to the Lord” is a good description of the work of both faith and repentance.
Barnabas departed for Tarsus to seek Saul: Barnabas remembered the precious brother Saul, and how he was sent to Tarsus for his own protection. Now Barnabas went and found him.
In Latin, the ending ian meant “the party of.” A Christ-ian was “of the party of Jesus.” Christians was sort of like saying “Jesus-ites,” or “Jesus People,” describing the people associated with Jesus Christ. Boice thinks the idea was that they were called “Christ-ones.”
And then the church, learning of the coming famine.... started on their mission to feed the people. One church helped another church out. Jerusalem sent supplies. Yay Christians!Yay Christians! They successfully set up the first seed church and the first mission.
Yay Christians! They are finally being called "Christians". Like Republicans and Democrats, the two major political parties of Rome at the time, there were now the Christians.
Now there's the "Christ Party" or the "Christians"
Yay Christians!
