Bible Study series: Acts 11:19-26. They were first called Christians there. Barnabas is reintroduced. He is a good man, full of the Spirit.
Friendly greetings and a warm welcome to this Bible study! I write to learn. Let’s learn together and apply these truths to our lives.
I also translate to learn. The translations are mine, unless otherwise noted. If you would like to see many others, please click on this link:
At the link to the original post, next, I write more commentary and dig a little deeper into the Greek. I also offer a section titled Observations for Discipleship at the end. Check it out!
In this post, links are provided in the commentary section for further study.
Let’s begin.
Scripture: Acts 11:26-29
19 And so those who were scattered from the trouble that happened with Stephen went as far as Phoenicia and Cyprus and Antioch, speaking the word except to Jews alone. 20 But certain men from among them were Cypriots and Cyrenians, after going to Antioch, began speaking also to the Greeks, preaching the good news of the Lord Jesus. 21 And the hand of the Lord was with them, and a great number who believed turned to the Lord.
22 The news about them was heard in the ears of the church at Jerusalem, and they sent out Barnabas to Antioch. 23 When he arrived and saw the grace of God, he rejoiced and encouraged everyone to remain with the Lord with a resolute heart, 24 because he was a good man and full of the Holy Spirit and faith. And a large crowd was brought to the Lord. 25 Then he went away to Tarsus to look Saul up. 26 When he found him, he brought him to Antioch. It so happened to them that for a whole year they met together in the assembly and taught a large crowd. In Antioch their daily living and business practices marked them to be called Christians for the first time. (Acts 11:19-26)
Comments:
You can look for Antioch on an online Bible map; it is in Syria. At this time it was a major center.
I let Bruce, a true historian, describe Antioch in full:
Antioch on the Orontes [River] … situated some eighteen miles upstream, was founded in 300 B.C by Seleucus Nicator, first ruler of the Seleucid dynasty, and was named by his after his father Antiochus. He had already given his own name to Seleucia Pieria at the mouth of the Orontes, the port of Antioch (cf. 13:4). As the capital of the Seleucid monarchy, Antioch rapidly became a city of great importance. When Pompey reorganized Western Asia in 64 B.C he made Antioch a free city; it became the seat of administration of the Roman province of Syria. It was at this time the third largest city on the Greco-Roman world (surpassed in population only by Rome and Alexandria). It was planned from the first on the Hippodamian grid patter; it was enlarged and adorned by August and Tiberius, while Herod the Great provided colonnades on either side of its main street and paved the street itself with polished stone. The produce of Syria and lands farther east passed through it on its way to the west; it was a commercial center as well as a political capital. Because of its situation between the urbanized Mediterranean world and the eastern desert, it was even more cosmopolitan than most Hellenistic cities. Here Christianity first displayed its cosmopolitan character. (comment on v. 19)
That long excerpt is included because of the last sentence. Followers of the Way were first called Christians in this city. Jewish colonization also thrived there from the very beginning. So of course the early Christians felt at home before they split off from Judaism. Recall that Nicolaus, a proselyte, was one of the seven servants (deacons) who helped out in food distribution (6:5).
Bock says that these groups lived in this important and big city: Greeks, Syrians, Phoenicians, Jews, Arabs, Persians, Egyptians, and Indians (comment on vv. 19-21). I’m struck by the Indians. Could it be that they were a path back to India? Could Christians had witnessed to them and then sent missionaries there? Tradition says Thomas went there. Could this be the link? We will never know for sure. Let’s move on.
19:
We resume the story that began with Stephen’s martyrdom (Acts 8:1).
Recall this passage:
1b And so on that day there was a severe persecution against the church in Jerusalem. Everyone except the apostles was scattered to the region of Judea and Samaria. 2 Devout men took Stephen up for burial and lamented for him.
3 Saul was devastating the church, going from household to household, dragging off both men and women and putting them in prison.
4 And so those who were dispersed spread out, preaching the word. (Acts 8:1-4)
What else happened to those who were scattered? Recall that Cyprus is Barnabas’s home island. He is about to reenter the narrative. And the sons of Simon of Cyrene were well known in the early church, and that’s why their names were remembered (Mark 15:21).
“trouble”: It can also be translated as “trial,” “tribulation,” or “persecution.”
It took persecution and trouble to pry the Messianic Jews loose from Jerusalem, so they could reach out to others.
“Jews alone”: these Messianic disciples believed that the Messiah was for Jews alone. Apparently, Peter’s revelation and supernatural meeting with Cornelius had not yet fully impacted the Messianic Jews in Antioch. Or worse, the monumental change did happen and the were still stuck in their old exclusive way.
20:
These men somehow heard that God used Peter to expand the outreach to the Gentiles. Or it could be that the Spirit spoke to them to preach independent of Peter’s outreach to Cornelius. So they naturally shared the gospel with Greek Gentiles. These were not Hellenistic Jews. So did Peter’s testimonial reach these preachers to Gentiles, or did they take the initiative without it? I say they took the initiative. God was working in ways that bypassed the lead apostle and the committee of Jerusalem Messianic Jews, who felt that the message of the gospel might be for Gentiles if the new Jesus Movement kept kosher and required circumcision and maintained as much of law as they could. However, I must admit that Peter’s experience may have reached Antioch in a matter of a week or however long it takes to go from Jerusalem to Antioch.
“Lord Jesus”: they are not recorded as preaching the Messiahship of Jesus, but his Lordship, to the Greek Gentiles. Lordship was relevant to them, not so much the Messiahship, because it takes training in the OT to find out why this title was important. And these Greeks listeners had no training in the OT, so they needed to hear about the Lordship of Jesus. Jesus is Lord, not Caesar. Bible study would have to come later. Remember, the Bible or even sections of the Bible were handcopied and very expensive.
21:
“hand of the Lord”: Of course this is not literally a hand, because God is Spirit (John 4:24). This is called an anthropomorphism, a fancy word meaning the use of human terms to describe God. “Hand” speaks of his power, because workers make things with their hand or warriors fight with their hands. People need these images to help them understand God more clearly, on their level.
As for the conversions, we must see them as eventually getting the fulness of the Spirit, and probably with prayer languages, because that is the major theme of the book of Acts and the reality of the earliest church. The 120 in the upper room were probably all alive at this time, and they would surely touch more people who would in turn touch even more people, much like Priscilla and Aquila explained to Apollos the way of the Lord “more fully” in Ephesus (Acts 18:26). Far-flung Christians in Ephesus knew about John’s water baptism, but not Jesus’s full baptism in the Spirit, so they learned about the fulness of the Spirit, as well (Acts 19:1-6).
Luke does not need to link the fullness or baptism of the Spirit with prayer languages in every verse that talks about turning to the Lord. It would be like Herman Melville, author of Moby Dick, intervening to tell his readers on every other page, “Don’t forget! We’re on a whaling ship!” The author assumes the readers know this from the context.
“turned”: That reality is all about new life. One turns around 180 degrees, going from the direction of death to the new direction of life. Believing requires a turning to the Lord. It cannot be intellectual assent or agreement.
22:
“in the ears”: That is a literal translation, and it is a Semiticism, or a Semitic way of speaking. Don’t forget that Luke is doing research into the sources for his book. And some sources are Semitic; that is, they come from the Messianic Jewish community.
“church at Jerusalem”: Once again, the Jerusalem church functions as the headquarters. Messianic Jews there needed to show a guiding hand to all the new converts (or so the headquarters believed).
“church”: In Greek it is ekklēsia (pronounced ek-klay-see-ah) and the meaning has roots in both Hebrew and Greek. It literally means “the ones called out” or “the called out” or “the summoned” who gather together. It describes an assembly or gathering.
Fellowship is so important for believers. Don’t believe the lie circulating in American society, particularly in social media, that not going to church is good enough. People who skip constant fellowship are prone to sin and self-deception and satanic attacks. We need each other.
This link has a list of the famous “one another” verses, like “love one another.”
Further, since American Christianity is undergoing discussion on the sizes of churches, let me add: the earliest Christian community met either in houses (Acts 2:46) or in Solomon’s Colonnade in Jerusalem (Acts 3:11; 5:12) or a large number in Antioch (11:26), which could hold a large gathering—call it a mega-church—and presumably in mid-sized gatherings. Size does not matter, since it varies so widely in Scripture.
Moreover, at the time of this writing, I’m not a church planter (or planner), but one thing that impresses me about all those above references, is that the apostles, as they planted churches, were guided by the Spirit—always—and they were also deliberate about setting them up and establishing them. Planning is Scriptural. So wisdom says: listen to the Spirit and plan. Listen as you plan and be ready to drop your plans at a moment notice, when the Spirit says so. God will grow the church as we proclaim the good news.
Barnabas was the perfect man for the mission. For a short study of his life and qualities, click on Acts 4 and scroll down to vv. 36-37.
23:
“grace” and “rejoice” sound similar in Greek, both having a “khar” stem or sound. This is a deliberate pun on Luke’s part.
Grace comes from Greek noun charis (pronounced khah-rees) and has these meanings, depending on the context: graciousness, attractiveness; favor, gracious care, help or goodwill, practical application of goodwill; a gracious deed or gift, benefaction. In some contexts, it means “exceptional effects produced by divine grace,” in other words, empowerment to accomplish a task. In this case it means his ability to do wonders and great signs. God gave him the grace and power to accomplish them.
Let’s go deeper, by repeating part of what I wrote in the post Do I Really Know God? He Is Gracious. Mounce in his Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words teaches us about the Hebrew and Greek words. The Hebrew noun ḥen (pronounced khen) “describes that which is favorable or gracious, especially the favorable disposition of one person to another” (p. 302). The Greek noun further means “the acceptance of and goodness toward those who cannot earn or do not deserve such gain” (p. 303). The verb in Hebrew is ḥanan (pronounced khah-nan) and means to be gracious, “to show mercy favor, be gracious” (ibid.).
Here is a quick definition. God’s grace means he gladly shows his unmerited goodness or love to those who have forfeited it and are by nature under a sentence of condemnation.
Good news! We do not have to suffer condemnation for our past sins because God hands us his grace.
“encouraged”: it comes from the Greek verb parakaleō (pronounced pah-rah-kah-leh-oh). It is related to the noun paraklēsis (pronounced pah-rah-klay-sees), and the Greek in the Gospel of John is paraklētos (pronounced pah-rah-klay-tohs) (John 14:16, 26; 15:26; 16:6). The three words are related and can mean the following things, depending on the context—or they can mean all of them at the same time. What do you need from the Spirit? Here are some options: “counselor / counsel,” “advocate (defense attorney),” “helper / help,” “comforter / comfort,” “encourager / encouragement,” and “intercessor / intercession.”
“with a resolute heart”: the people should have a resolute heart, though the NASB says Barnabas with a resolute heart encouraged them. Either way, a resolute heart keeps us fixed on the ultimate prize—remaining true to the Lord.
“resolute”: It means “plan, purpose, resolve and will.” It is one more indicator that humans have significant free will even in their salvation. But I believe that God woos and courts us to salvation. We just can’t stride into God’s kingdom without a behind-the-scenes invitation worked into our hearts, as we hear the gospel in some form. And yes, God wants all of humanity to hear the gospel, and then each one has enough free will to resist the Spirit’s wooing all of his or her life. So we do not have enough free will to strut unassisted into the kingdom, but we have enough free will to resist God’s invitation to salvation all of our lives.
24:
“good man”: there’s nothing wrong with calling a man good. Do we always have to accept a version of Christianity that says he is totally depraved after salvation or the Old School Renewalist “boast” that “I’m a sinner saved by grace”? It is possible by the Spirit’s inner working (a.k.a. sanctification), to be a good man or woman, measured on a human level. But he is not morally perfect before God.
Word Study on Holiness and Sanctification
Sanctification: Can Christians Achieve Sinless Perfection Now?
“full of the Holy Spirit”: Once again, this has to include a prayer language, archaically and formerly called ‘tongues,’ because it is inconceivable that Saul / Paul and Barnabas would work together so closely and Barnabas not having this wonderful, God-ordained gift.
Saul, after all, writing later, said he spoke in his Spirit-inspired languages more than the Corinthians did (1 Cor. 14:18). He said he wanted everyone to pray in their spiritual languages (1 Cor. 14:5) and not forbid this wonderful gift (1 Cor. 14:39).
“full”: it is the translation of the Greek adjective plērēs (pronounced play-rayss), and it simply means—full!
“faith”: It is directional, and the best direction is faith in God (Mark 11:22; 1 Thess. 1:8; 1 Pet. 1:21; Heb. 6:1) and faith in Jesus (Acts 3:16; 20:21; 24:24; Gal. 3:26; Eph. 1:15; Col. 1:4; 1 Tim. 3:13). Believing (verb) and faith (noun) is very important to God. It is the language of heaven. We live on earth and by faith see the invisible world where God is. We must believe he exists; then we must exercise our faith to believe he loves us and intends to save us. We must have saving faith by trusting in Jesus and his finished work on the cross. True acronym: F-A-I-T-H = Forsaking All, I Trust Him.
In Barnabas’s case, he worked signs and wonders, much like Stephen did, when he was said to be full of the Spirit and wisdom (Acts 6:3), full of faith and the Holy Spirit (6:5), and full of God’s grace and power (6:8). Incidentally, Stephen was said to be full of the Spirit three times: Acts 6:3, 5 and 7:55. Barnabas will exhibit this fulness throughout his ministry with Paul.
See the post:
Baptized, Filled, and Full of the Spirit: What Does It All Mean?
24-25:
Recall these verses:
28 And so he went with them around Jerusalem, boldly proclaiming in the name of the Lord. 29 He was both speaking and debating with Hellenist Jews, but they were trying to arrest him to kill him. 30 When the brothers learned of this, they brought him down to Caesarea and sent him away to Tarsus. (Acts 9:28-30)
Barnabas needed help. He could not teach so many people on his own. Whom should he get? Of course! Saul of Tarsus! Without Luke mentioning it, I believe that the Spirit told Barnabas to look for Saul. This is a first-century charismatic church, after all, and big decisions like this are not taken independently of the Spirit. Once again Luke expects his readers to fill in the gaps in his narrative, namely, with the Spirit’s guiding hand in the background.
26:
“assembly”: it is the standard word for church, and see v. 22 for more comments.
Well, the Greek surprised me in the last sentence in v. 26. The verb has to do with money or conducting business or living in prosperity. Therefore I get the impression from this verse that the Christians became so numerous and prosperous and influential in Antioch that they were a business force to be reckoned with. As these Christians lived their daily lives, their behavior and business transactions were distinguished from the worldly people. They were honest and trustworthy. This large, believing community therefore first became known or were first called Christians in Antioch. But the Greek dictionary Liddell and Scott tell us to translate the verb as “bear a name,” “named,” or “called.” I like my interpretation, however. But don’t make a big thing of the verb.
“Christians”: the suffix –ian is Latin, much like in the word Herodian. Clearly the believers in Jesus referred to themselves as Christ’s followers so often that the Roman authorities attached the suffix to Christ. They were Christians. They belonged to Christ. They were a large crowd of them, So let’s call it a mega-church that gathered.
“they met together in the church and taught”: It must have been great Bible studies! No doubt it included Messianic prophecies.
At that link, there is a table of OT and NT prophecies. But Jesus goes beyond just fulfilling quoted verses. He fulfills entire themes and shadows and systems in the OT, like animal sacrifices and the way of salvation.
GrowApp for Acts 11:19-26
1. Certain Christians broke down religious and ethnic barriers and preached the good news to Gentiles. Barnabas was sent to check things out and observed that God was at work, so he encouraged everyone because he was a good man and filled with the Spirit and faith. Has your deeper walk with God changed your perspective, as it did with Barnabas? How have your deeper walk changed you?
RELATED
The Historical Reliability of the Book of Acts
Book of Acts and Paul’s Epistles: Match Made in Heaven?
SOURCES
For the bibliography, please click on this link and scroll down to the very bottom:
Dr. Jim's Essential Bible Teaching 