The Antioch Church Witnesses to the Gentiles (Acts 11:19-26)

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The Antioch Church Witnesses to Gentiles (Acts 11:19–26)

Prepared and preached by Pastor Steve Rhodes for and at Bethel Friends Church in Poland, OH on Sunday, January 12, 2025

Think back for a minute to your days in school. What happens when there is a school bully? Okay, so there is a school bully, and there might be a few options; one option is that everyone will fight him and take him down. Everyone knows that he is the bully, so you all agree that at such and such a day, it is time to say no more, and everyone can take him out. But you know what too often might happen? No one will make the first move, right?

I love history. I love reading historical literature. One reason Rome could win so many battles was not because their army was better trained but because they could toughen things out longer. In ancient warfare, the battles were fought in hand-to-hand combat, so the battles were fought until one army fled. The Roman army was tougher. Okay, what am I getting at, you ask? Am I looking for another excuse to talk about William Wallace? No. I want to talk about Christian persecution.

Here we are in Acts 11:19-26, and it seems to be one of Luke’s common summary passages. He is referring to what has happened since Stephen’s stoning. Now, in the last chapter and the beginning of this chapter, God has opened Peter and some of the Jews in Jerusalem up to Gentiles.

Let’s read Acts 11:19-26.

My theme: the Antioch church witnesses to the Gentiles.

The application: Verses 23 and 24, stay True to the Lord, and may it be said of us like it was of Barnabas.

Turn in your Bibles to Acts 11:19-26:

Acts 11:19–26 (ESV)

19 Now those who were scattered because of the persecution that arose over Stephen traveled as far as Phoenicia and Cyprus and Antioch, speaking the word to no one except Jews. 20 But there were some of them, men of Cyprus and Cyrene, who on coming to Antioch spoke to the Hellenists also, preaching 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 report of this came to the ears of the church in Jerusalem, and they sent Barnabas to Antioch. 23 When he came and saw the grace of God, he was glad, and he exhorted them all to remain faithful to the Lord with steadfast purpose, 24 for he was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and of faith. And a great many people were added to the Lord. 25 So Barnabas went to Tarsus to look for Saul, 26 and when he had found him, he brought him to Antioch. For a whole year they met with the church and taught a great many people. And in Antioch the disciples were first called Christians.

  1. The church begins to grow in the city of Antioch (Acts 11:19-21).
    1. Those who were scattered because of the persecution. Now, you must wonder, “What persecution is he writing about?” We must look back to Stephen’s stoning, which was in Acts 8:1 and 4, and that was when Saul was breathing murderous threats upon the church. At that time, there were wolves after the church. Everyone fled, everyone fled, except… except who?
    2. I heard about this excellent illustration recently. Someone comes to the house with a gun, so everyone will run except who? The kids may flee, the neighbors or friends can flee, but the dad will not flee. The dad is there to protect his children and his wife.
    3. In this case, this was true. The early believers all flee, except the apostles. The apostles stay in Jerusalem and protect the church.
    4. Wolves were on the attack, but they knew the Lord was in control.
    5. In verse 19, they made it through different cities and then to Antioch. Antioch was a very large city. Antioch was the third largest urban city of antiquity behind Rome and Alexandria. Interesting that this is where God will launch the mission to the Gentiles. That is so awesome!
    6. But at this point, the mission is only to Jews.
    7. Then there were some, we find in verse 20, who also started preaching to Gentiles: Praise God! Galatians 3:28!
    8. A large number who believed turned to the Lord. These people trusted the message of Jesus and repented, which is what it means to turn their lives over to Jesus.
  2. Barnabas comes to Antioch to encourage the believers (Acts 11:22-26).
    1. Once again, in verse 22, we see that the Jerusalem church is still the home base. They hear something is going on, so they send Barnabas.
    2. In verse 23, what does he do? He rejoices.
    3. What do you do when you hear God does something amazing?
    4. What do I do when I hear God does something amazing?
    5. Do we rejoice?
    6. We become spiritual introverts instead of extroverts; we must outspokenly praise God!
    7. He encouraged them: this means that he brought them aid. He encouraged them to remain true to the Lord.
    8. That is an application for all of us. Remain True to the Lord— don’t fall away—stay true.
    9. Barnabas saw all these new believers.
    10. He is saying, “Remain faithful.”
    11. Look at the description of Barnabas in verse 24:
      1. He was a good man (that is only given by Luke about Joseph of Arimathea in Luke 23:50);
      2. Full of the Holy Spirit;
      3. Full of faith.
  1. People were saved

That is something to praise God about.

Barnabas needed help. What did he do?

He went for Saul, and he searched for him. Now, it has been about nine years since Saul has become a believer, and verse 25 describes it as though it was hard to find him, but Barnabas finds him. Saul and Barnabas teach the people for a year. They taught great numbers. The disciples were first called Christians at Antioch.

Saul may have been an outcast from his family by now for his Christianity. Also, Luke is setting this up for Acts 13 and Saul and Barnabas’s first missionary journey.

Notice something about the word “Christians”:

“It contains Jewish thought as the equivalent of the Messiah, the Anointed. (ii) It shows the Greek language in the substantive—’Christ.’ (iii) It also includes the Latin language in the adjectival ending ‘ians’ (Latin, iani). This universality is a reminder of the language of the title on the Cross.”

Something else, the “ians” means that we identify with Christ.

Close:

Swindoll shares:

Do you recall what David did after he killed Goliath? God had already appointed the young shepherd as the next king of Israel. Most young conquerors would have located the nearest Macy’s and tried on crowns. Not David. He went right back to the Judean hills to keep his father’s sheep—a true shepherd with a servant’s heart.

Paul kept a similar vigil in Tarsus. He waited patiently until Barnabas tapped him on the shoulder. Only then did he step into that critical, highly visible role of leadership. I find nothing more attractive in a gifted and competent leader than authentic humility. Paul’s giftedness was framed in the crucible of solitude where he had been honed and retooled by the living Christ.

The evangelist Dwight L. Moody, although unschooled, was a gifted man of God preaching in Birmingham, England, far back in 1875. A noted congregational minister and well-respected theologian, Dr. R. W. Dale, cooperated in that enormously successful campaign. After watching and listening to Moody preach and witnessing the incredible results of the ministry of that simple man, Dr. Dale wrote in his denominational magazine, “I told Mr. Moody that the work was most plainly of God, for I could see no real relation between him and what he had done. Moody laughed cheerily and said, ‘I should be very sorry if it were otherwise.'” No defensiveness, no feeling of being put upon, no embarrassing uneasiness. Moody was the most surprised of anyone that God chose to use him so mightily.

That was Paul. No wonder Barnabas wanted Paul to lead the program in Antioch. What a duet they sang! For an entire year these two men served side by side, and God was greatly glorified.

I love Warren Wiersbe’s succinct definition of ministry: “Ministry takes place when divine resources meet human needs through loving channels to the glory of God.” Paul and Barnabas could have sat for that portrait. Why did Paul and Barnabas experience such pleasure in serving together? No competition. No battle of egos. No one threatened by the other’s gifts. No hidden agendas. No unresolved conflicts. Their single-minded goal was to magnify Christ. It didn’t matter if the crowds multiplied to thousands or shrank to only a few. All that mattered was that Christ be proclaimed and worshipped.

Praise God for the power of two![1]

The application for us is in verses 23 and 24: stay true to the Lord, and may it be said of us like it was of Barnabas. He was a good man, full of faith and full of the Holy Spirit. So, can we pursue being full of the Holy Spirit? Can we pursue being a good man or woman? Can we pursue being full of faith?

Do you identify with Christ? Are you a Christ-“ian”? If so, go and make disciples as they did in this passage.

God created us to be with him (Genesis 1-2).

Our sin separated us from God (Genesis 3).

Sins cannot be removed by good deeds (Genesis 4-Malachi 4).

Paying the price for sin, Jesus died and rose again (Matthew – Luke).

Everyone who trusts in him alone has eternal life (John-Jude).

Life that’s eternal means we will be with Jesus forever (Revelation 22:5).

Pray

[1] Taken from Great Days with the Great Lives by Charles R. Swindoll. Copyright © 2005 by Charles R. Swindoll, Inc. Used by permission of Thomas Nelson. www.thomasnelson.com

https://www.insight.org/resources/daily-devotional/individual/the-power-of-two1

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