Acts 11:22–30

What were churches or assemblies? These were local. The apostle could say, "To the church of God that is in Corinth." It represented the whole unity of the body in that place. Even in one place, there could not be two bodies of Christ. In Acts 11:22 we have the assembly that was in Jerusalem, though it was very large; in Acts 13 the assembly that was at Antioch. All Scripture clearly shows there was one assembly in a place, which was God's assembly.

Still, the new work is not to drift into independence from the old. Jerusalem itself is to acknowledge and accept it, as it accepted the reception of Cornelius and his company at Caesarea. So when the report reaches the Jewish capital, they send Barnabas to go as far as Antioch — a well-chosen representative. He does not go with authority, and he does not try to use any. When the apostles visited Samaria, they had something lacking to supply. Barnabas has no such task among these Syrian brothers. They have clearly received the Spirit, as the believers at Caesarea did, without needing apostles or the laying on of hands.

The church at Jerusalem sent Barnabas (Acts 11:22), but this again was on an errand of investigation, and not for ministry. He exercised his ministry, but was not sent by any church for this.

The church in Jerusalem did send Barnabas to Antioch. That church held a special position, as we have seen, since all the apostles were there. But he was not sent there as an evangelist. He went for that church, to visit believers who had already come to know the Lord. They had heard from men who preached, sent out by nothing except persecution. So the first church of the Gentiles and the church in Jerusalem — the church where everything had begun — were identified with each other. There was none of the jealousy that talks about "my field of work." The church in Jerusalem sends Barnabas where others had worked, and Barnabas is more than happy to find Paul. They all had one object: Christ and the good of souls.

Barnabas then, who was of Cyprus, though a Levite, comes to Antioch on his mission of inquiry. Nor can we imagine one more admirably chosen, if a warm heart devoted to Christ were wanted to judge fairly of the work in Antioch and to reassure those in Jerusalem adequately.

When news of this striking work reached the assembly at Jerusalem, they sent Barnabas — clearly to inspect and report. When he arrived and saw the grace of God, he rose above all his Jewish leanings and prejudices. He accepted the work as God's work with all his heart, and joined in helping to minister to the new believers. We gather two things. The Spirit controlled him, and his faith was alive and active, so that he embraced the truth of God's purpose to bless the Gentiles. That is how he detected that the work he had come to examine was a genuine work of grace.

Let us remember this: the first spread of the gospel among the nations did not come through official preachers. It came through ordinary Christians. No man sent them out; love for Christ moved them. And in the providence of God, the free activity of Christians became the occasion of Paul's mission.

Antioch, not Jerusalem, now became a centre for spreading the gospel. It did not depend on apostolic authority. Yet it did not break the unity of the Spirit by forming a separate church.

The grace they had received, and were still receiving, from the Lord could be seen. It touched every part of their lives, and Barnabas was glad when he saw it. It is a good thing when the grace of God is seen. There is nothing so delightful to the anointed eye as the grace of God. It pleases the eye and rejoices the heart. There is no sight like it on earth.

Barnabas came and at once recognized a true work of the grace of God. God had used others for this, not himself or the leaders in Jerusalem. Instead of being jealous, he was glad, and he helped the work forward by his encouragement. But then he was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and of faith, so he did not care about his own reputation but about the glory of Christ. The working of God's grace was the great thing with Barnabas, no matter who God used to bring it about.

He does not come with authority, and he does not try to use any. He has no task, as the apostles had on their visit to Samaria, of supplying anything lacking in these Syrian believers... Barnabas sees the grace of God in them, and is glad, and simply urges them all to cleave to the Lord with purpose of heart — a word that is never out of place. Here it is his character that is described, not his office.

Fruitfulness comes from abiding in Christ. What does that really mean? It may be easier to understand if we put it like this: "Keep close to the Lord! Draw everything you need from Him." In Acts 11:23 a servant of the Lord named Barnabas urged the believers "that with purpose of heart they would cleave to the Lord." The word "cleave" is also the same word as "abide" in the original.

The word for "purpose" means, from the verb behind it, what I set before myself, and so propose and determine... It is "purpose of heart" in Acts 11:23, and in five other places it describes the purposes of God's heart: Rom. 8:28; Rom. 9:11; Ephesians 1:11; Eph. 3:11; 2 Timothy 1:9.

We must be ready for the test that is sure to come to everyone who confesses the name of Jesus and owns Him as Saviour and Lord. Usually it comes first as a flood of persecution, raised to terrify the heart and crush the spirit. If that does not succeed, the enemy tries to draw the heart away from Christ and lure it into some carefully prepared trap.

He did not say "Cleave to the Shepherd" or "Cleave to the Saviour." Why? The Shepherd will cleave to us with an almighty hand. That is how He holds His sheep despite every threatening enemy, and those He saves are safe for ever. But as Lord we must cleave to Him if we are to bear true witness to Him in this world, for all the grace we need is in Him... we are in enemy country, and we must keep close to the base of our supplies.

Notice carefully the words the Spirit of God uses to describe their conversion — they "believed, and turned to the Lord." This is very beautiful and instructive. It gives the true key to, and the basis of, the words Barnabas spoke to them soon after — he "exhorted them all, that with purpose of heart they would cleave to the Lord." This exhortation assumes that they had first "turned to the Lord," and grows out of it.

Barnabas was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and of faith. I wish we had a few more men like that! What kind of man is a good man? The man who is taken up with evil is not a good man, even if he is set on putting it right. What occupies a man affects him. The good man is taken up with good. He will look for what is good in his brothers and rejoice when he sees it. He will help to produce it in them by ministering Christ to them and praying for them.

John the Baptist, Elizabeth, Zacharias, the hundred and twenty on the day of Pentecost, Peter, those assembled together, and Paul were filled with the Holy Spirit (Luke 1:15, 41, 67; Acts 2:4; 4:8, 31; 9:17; 13:9). The six deacons, on the other hand, with Stephen and Barnabas, are said to have been full of the Spirit (Acts 6:3, 5; 7:55; 11:24). Filled with the Spirit is used in both Old and New Testaments of those fitted for special service... Full of the Spirit seems characteristic of the general tenor of the life.

He does not go with authority, and he does not seek to exercise it. Unlike the apostles on their visit to Samaria, he has nothing in hand to supply what is lacking in these Syrian brothers. They have plainly received the Spirit, as the believers at Caesarea did, without the need of apostles or the laying on of hands. Barnabas sees the grace of God in them, and is glad, and simply urges them all to cleave to the Lord with purpose of heart — a word never out of place. It is his character that is dwelt on here, not his office: "he was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit, and of faith." The effect of this shows in the progress of the work there.

God had used others for this work, not him and not the leaders in Jerusalem. Instead of being jealous, he was glad, and he helped the work forward by his encouragement. But then he was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and of faith, and so he did not care about his own reputation but about the glory of Christ... The working of God's grace was the great thing with Barnabas, no matter through whom it was done.

This is the result of the ministry of a man full of the Spirit. Power is shown in results. A man may be accurate and yet cold, without a particle of spiritual strength, and no blessing comes from his constant work. The reason is plain: for believers to be added to the Lord, the servant must, at least in some measure, be full of the Spirit.

He is Lord, not of the Jews only, but also of the Gentiles... They preached the Lord Jesus, and people turned to the Lord. If I turn to the Lord I shall at once admit myself to be under His authority. My place is submission to His mighty Word.

Here is another trait that marks this "good man." It marks the real working of the Holy Spirit too, both in sending him to Antioch and now in his going off to Cilicia. Is this how we feel and act when the Master honours us by using us in a large field of service? Do we, in the middle of it, remind ourselves of another who might be even more effective? Or does jealousy still get in the way? Does it still play its dark and deadly part, to the dishonour of Christ and the loss of souls inside and outside?

Exhortation, however, is not enough to build up souls in the faith, helpful and necessary as it is in its place... Believers, however, need teaching as well. Now, Barnabas evidently felt that teaching was not his special line of service. Would he, then, keep the converts at Antioch under his influence, limited to his ministry alone? No. He wanted them to advance and be established in the faith. And knowing where to find one qualified to teach, he went off to Tarsus in Cilicia to look for Saul.

Let us not be selfish in our service; let us recognise our own limitations, and then recognise the qualities and abilities of others.

As there was need in the church at Antioch, he goes and finds him. He had a conviction that this was the instrument the Lord would use for good. So we see this. In some cases we have the angel of the Lord. In others we have the Spirit of the Lord speaking directly. And we also have, simply, the holy judgment of the gracious heart. We must not treat this as a merely human arrangement. It was right, and God recorded it so that we might see it and profit from it.

The work is enlarging, and help is needed in this field. Barnabas knows the one whom he introduced to the church in Jerusalem, and he knows what he is... The disciples do not send for Saul. This "good man" judges Saul to be fitted to help in this work.

Barnabas found Saul in his native city. Saul had gone back there after his first and short visit to Jerusalem, following his conversion. Barnabas seems to have had no difficulty in persuading him to leave that place of learning and help the work forward in the capital of Syria.

We may safely assume that bringing Saul to Antioch was his introduction to his mission. We may learn from the way it happened that there is no need to push ourselves into the Lord's work. If we wait quietly on Him, wanting to know nothing but His will, the time will come when our path will be unmistakably shown to us. Saul had waited, even though Christ in glory had appeared to him. Now his directions reached him. They did not come by the extraordinary method of his conversion, but through the invitation of a fellow servant. Saul was in communion with his Lord's mind, and that invitation came to him with the force of a divine command.

He had been recognised as a teacher for a long time. We get this in the eleventh chapter... Paul had been preaching and teaching long before what you have recorded in the thirteenth chapter of Acts. So far from that scene carrying the thought that at that moment he was ordained for apostolic work, his own writings set that aside.

Is this how we feel and act when we stand in front of a large field of service where the Master honours us by using us? Do we, while we are in the middle of it, remind ourselves of someone else who might be even more effective? It was not so with Barnabas.

It was Christ's flock, not the flock of either of them, and His love moved them both, as it no doubt moved others too, to care for it. In those days no one said that the assembly was his own. They served in it with more love and holiness, because they always remembered that it is God's, and not man's.

Preaching the gospel had been started and carried on by men of Cyprus and Cyrene. Encouragement had its place and produced much fruit after Barnabas first reached Antioch. Now teaching started, and great blessing followed. We read that "they taught a great many people." So these different gifts appeared. Each one was needed before souls could be fully established in the faith, yet they were quite distinct in character.

Antioch was a city second only to Jerusalem in the early history of the church. What Jerusalem had been to the Jews up to this point, Antioch now became to the Gentiles. From then on it held a leading place in spreading Christianity among the nations. Here the first Gentile church was planted. And here our apostle began his public ministry.

The place once so famous for its nicknames was now to give a name that will never perish. It is a name of immeasurable sweetness and blessing, since it connects Christ with those who are His. It was, no doubt, a Gentile title. There would be no particular force in giving it to Jews, for all Jews claimed to be looking for Christ. What a wonderful change for these poor Gentiles to know Christ for themselves, and to be called after Christ! It was all ordered by God.

The Jews certainly did not give this name; the Gentiles invented it. Antioch was famous for its readiness to jeer and hand out names; it was known for its witty sayings. So they coined a new word, "Christianoi" — Christians. It is used only by outsiders. Jews and Gentiles alike were called by this name, so it bears witness to the oneness of Jew and Gentile in Christ.

The disciples in Antioch were such eager, faithful and true followers of the Lord Jesus that, like Paul, they imitated Him. As the Lord blessed the ministry of Paul and Barnabas in that city, Christ lived in the believers there in a real way. They spoke and acted so much like Him that the world gave them the title "Christians" — which means "of the same character as Christ."

Here we have the Spirit of God accepting and approving the name Christian as applied to believers. It was first used as a descriptive nickname at Antioch. It came into general use later, and now it is formally accepted by the Spirit of God. We may therefore accept it, and as Christians we glorify God even as Christ Himself did.

Instead of the confusion of many names, Scripture gives us only the One Name: the name of Christ. It is a name above every name, the beautiful name, and it is put on all God's people without distinction. They are called Believers, Disciples, Christians, and Saints. But not one of these names is ever used to mark off one part of the Body of Christ from another. On the contrary, they serve as links to bind them all together.

He was a prophet, named Agabus — a prophet in the ordinary sense of the word, that is, one who foretells future events. At what precise moment he visited Antioch is not stated. The historian leaves it undetermined. "In these days," he writes, leading us to conclude that while Saul and Barnabas were happily engaged in teaching, Agabus and others appeared in the city.

As yet all is linked with the work at Jerusalem, although extending now to the Gentiles... Still everything takes place in connection with Jerusalem, from where some prophets come down and announce a famine. Sending relief to Jerusalem shows and strengthens the links between the flock and Jerusalem as a centre. Jerusalem was the religious capital of Judaism — and of Christianity too, if we look at Christianity as beginning with the Jewish remnant who believed in Jesus as the Christ.

The end of this chapter lets us see how freely servants of God, such as prophets, moved between the various churches. Gifts are granted in the church to be used in a universal way, not merely a local one.

Here the Gentile believers in Antioch give back for the spiritual gift they received from the Jewish believers in Jerusalem, by sending relief for their material needs. This passage beautifully shows how different members of the same body act in harmony. And this is not confined to one place; it shows in the way believers in different places walk together.

This is the first time the New Testament mentions Christian prophets. Yet they seem not to have been few in number, and in the list of gifts Christ gave to the Church they stand second only to the apostles themselves. Prophecy also, as we shall find elsewhere, is in a special way characteristic of Christianity... Prediction was never more than a fairly small and changing part of it.

A large part of the Old Testament prophet's ministry was given to bringing the mind of God concerning the state of the people and calling them to repentance. It was not only foretelling but also forth-telling. So it was with the New Testament prophets. Special revelation has completely passed away with them. But we still have the prophetic character of their ministry, and "the one who prophesies speaks to people for their upbuilding and encouragement and consolation" (1 Corinthians 14:3). How much of this may be sought today to real profit.

It is a joy to see this. The free activity of the Spirit began the work and founded the assembly in Antioch. That same free activity was no more uneasy at the special gifts ministering among them than it distrusted what the Lord had done through simple believers evangelising as they could. It was not Barnabas and Saul only who laboured there, but prophets came down from Jerusalem... How deeply interesting is the faith and love that responded to this! It was no charity appeal. They did not wait for a call from saints already impoverished by their generous love after the great Pentecost. They believed in the coming scarcity, and thought of the saints in Jerusalem as truly "one body."

A prophet who came from Jerusalem to Antioch. He foretold "a great famine over all the world," which "took place in the days of Claudius." Acts 11:28. He also foretold that Paul would be bound at Jerusalem and delivered to the Gentiles; which also came to pass. Acts 21:10. In the first passage Agabus "signified by the Spirit" that there would be a great famine. In the second he said, "Thus says the Holy Spirit." This shows that the prophetic spirit in man was under the direct guidance of the Holy Spirit, who now dwells in the Christian.

This is the first time the New Testament mentions Christian prophets. They do not seem to have been few in number. In the list of gifts Christ gave to the Church, they come second only to the apostles themselves. Prophecy also, as we shall find elsewhere, is in a special way characteristic of Christianity. No one passes it on by succession. It springs out of close fellowship with God. It discloses His mind, so as to bring souls into His presence... Prediction was never more than a small and changing part of it. Yet prediction is what we find in the prophesying of Agabus, on the only two occasions where he appears in the history.

"and signified by the Spirit that a great famine was about to be over all the habitable [earth]; which came to pass under Claudius." {"Caesar" is added in Text. Rec.}

Here let us mark the first note of time given us in the Acts. The famine predicted by Agabus came to pass in the reign of Claudius. History outside the Bible tells us that it took place in the fourth year of his reign, which was AD 44... A severe famine struck Judaea and the neighbouring countries in AD 44. It pressed hard on the people of the land. Helena, the widowed queen of Adiabene, was then living at Jerusalem, and she sent to Alexandria for corn, figs, and other food to relieve the suffering. She ministered to the Jews. The Antiochian Christians ministered to the saints in Judaea.

What do these Christians do? Do they say, "We had better lay in a store of corn. We had better save for a rainy day and make sure we are well provided for"? No. They say, "When this famine comes it will go very hard with these dear disciples at Jerusalem. We had better think of our brothers' need and make a collection for them." They were not thinking about themselves. It was not a question of how the famine would affect them. It was a question of how it would affect others.

At the end of this chapter we see how freely servants of God, such as prophets, moved between the various churches. God grants gifts in the church to be used in a universal way, and not just a local one. So through Agabus, a prophet from Jerusalem, the church at Antioch heard of a coming famine. It took steps in advance to meet the expected need of the saints in Judaea. This early, the Gentile believers already had the opportunity to show love towards their Jewish brothers.

How deeply interesting is the faith and love that answered this! No one had preached a charity sermon. They did not wait for a request from believers who were already poor through their own generous love after the great Pentecost, which first saw the church here on earth. They believed the shortage was coming, and they thought of the believers in Jerusalem as truly "one body." Perhaps we may apply 1 Corinthians 12:26 here: if one suffers, all suffer, and as they feel with each other, they also help… It is a blessed thing to act from heavenly motives in earthly duties.

As each of the disciples had the means, they decided that every one of them would send help [literally, for service] to the brothers living in Judea.

Let their giving be "according to what a person has." There is no thought of meeting one person's need by pushing another into need. That would only lift the burden off one person by laying it on someone else.

The coming trouble was to be "a great famine over all the world." So Antioch was in danger as well as Judea, and yet they sent their gifts. That was unselfish love. It is a stronger and longer-lasting bond than church rules, however well meant those rules may be.

We have seen how the disciples in the earliest days at Jerusalem shared everything they had. But at that time they all belonged to one nation, the Jews. This case was different. Many of these givers had once been Gentiles, and they now decided to help those who had been Jews. This was a step forward in putting Christian teaching into practice. The dividing wall of hostility (Ephesians 2:14) really had come down, and they knew it and showed it.

Here the Gentile believers in Antioch give something back for the spiritual gift they had received from the Jewish believers in Jerusalem: they send relief for their material needs. This passage is a beautiful picture of how different members of one body act in harmony. It is not limited to one place. It shows in the way believers in different places walk together.

Selling their possessions left many believers very poor when the famine came years later. That opened the way for the relief sent by Gentile churches (see Acts 11:27-30), which did so much to bind together the Jewish and Gentile parts of the church of God.

How deeply interesting is the faith and love that responded to this! It was no charity sermon. They did not wait for a call from the saints in Jerusalem, who had already been made poor by their generous love after the great Pentecost that first saw the assembly here on earth. They believed in the coming scarcity, and thought of the saints in Jerusalem as truly "one body."

We have seen how the disciples in very early days at Jerusalem had all things in common. But all of them were then of one nation, Jews. In this case it was different. It was Gentiles, as many of them had been, who now determined to minister to those who had been Jews. This marked a development in the practical understanding of Christian teaching. The dividing wall between them was indeed broken down, and they were conscious of it, and showed it.

The threatened trouble was to be "a great famine over all the world." So Antioch was in danger too, not only Judea, yet they sent their gifts. That is unselfish love. This bond is greater and lasts longer than church rules, however well meant those rules are.

In those fresh days everyone gave "according to his ability," and how much love — divine love — was expressed in it! How different it is in the many sad days of decline since then! Then it has to be said instead: "everyone a little of his surplus, and the richest in proportion least of all!" The heart that is in a thing, or is not in it, either degrades it or makes it spiritual.

Saul (as he is still called) and Barnabas become the channels for bringing the contributions to the elders, who have not been named before. We are not told how these elders were appointed, or even whether anyone appointed them formally. Among the Gentiles we know that the apostles chose and installed them, as we shall see a little later. Scripture does not say whether the same was true among the Jews. But we clearly see that some men held this responsible place among them, as others did in the Gentile churches later.

They sent it by the hand (some translations read hands, but that letter s should not be there) of Barnabas and Saul. Later on we read Paul and Barnabas, but here at the start of his service he is content to be named last. It is a good thing not to seek first place in our service… I grant you fully and simply that our service is individual. It is to our own Master that we stand or fall. But I would not want to take up any service where I felt I did not have the fellowship of my fellow believers.

But it was important that this assembly should not be cut off from the one at Jerusalem, so the account suddenly takes us back to that city. That assembly is still lovingly recognised… Now the fruits of love strengthen the union.