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. 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. And the hand of the Lord was with them, and a great number who believed turned to the Lord.

The report of this came to the ears of the church in Jerusalem, and they sent Barnabas to Antioch. 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, for he was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and of faith. And a great many people were added to the Lord.

So Barnabas went to Tarsus to look for Saul, and when he 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.

Acts 11:19-26

Prior to Stephen’s death in Acts 7, the followers of Jesus were primarily concentrated in Jerusalem. But after his death, many of these believers fled in fear, going to different places throughout the Roman Empire. At first, that might have seemed like a bad thing. And the persecution that arose was a nightmare, without a doubt. But in the hands of our God, even tragedy can become a holy opportunity leading to something redemptive. Because in this great scattering, these believers take the gospel message to all of these new places and people.

Luke tells us about how this played out in Antioch, the third largest city in the Roman Empire at the time. Antioch had an estimated population north of 500,000 and it was notorious as a place of immorality and emperor worship. You wouldn’t expect a religious revival to break out in Antioch. But this just goes to show that if the gospel can change lives in a place like Antioch, it can change lives anywhere in the world. And we’ve seen this now for two thousand years.

There was a large Jewish population in Antioch and soon the believers were sharing the good news about Israel’s Messiah with them. But they didn’t stop there. They also had an opportunity to tell their non-Jewish neighbors about Christ — and that’s exactly what some of them did.

Acts 11:19-20 is the first biblical account we have of evangelism being done by someone other than the apostles and the prophets of the early church. As you read through Acts, the previous examples of evangelism come from leaders like Simon Peter or Stephen or Phillip. But here, in Antioch of all places, these believers don’t have any of these titles or prestige. These are just men and women who believe in Jesus and when the opportunity presents itself, they step up and use their gifts for the sake of the Kingdom — because the work of bearing witness to the lordship of Jesus falls to each believer.

And Luke summarizes this work succinctly in verse 21, noting that the hand of the Lord was with them.

When you step forward to seize a holy opportunity, you can be confident that the hand of the Lord will be with you. I hope that gives you confidence as you consider some of the holy opportunities for you to use your particular spiritual gifts: when you take a risk and start up that spiritual conversation with your friend; when you sign up to serve in a way that is far outside of your comfort zone; when you give sacrificially — giving until it hurts — for the sake of the Kingdom. When you do these things, you can be sure that the hand of the Lord will be with you, just as He was with our earliest brothers and sisters in Christ.

So you have a situation in Antioch where some Gentiles have turned to the Lord. When the Jerusalem church hears about this, they send Barnabas to Antioch. As we noted in our previous post, Barnabas was a Levite whose given name was Joseph (Acts 4:36-37), but the apostles had taken to calling him Barnabas, which means “son of encouragement.” This same word is used elsewhere in the New Testament to describe the Holy Spirit as an encourager, an advocate, a helper. And Barnabas is hailed as a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and faith (Acts 11:24). This Greek root word is also connected to the word “calling,” which is fitting because there’s a sense in which this kind of godly encouragement helps us to discover our calling.

Acts 11:23 says that when he arrived in Antioch, Barnabas “exhorted” the believers. We might miss this in our English translations, but “exhort” is once again the same word translated elsewhere as “encourage.” When the son of encouragement arrives, he encourages the people. He uses his gift to bless others. And many people come to the Lord as a result.

But this godly encouragement creates yet another holy opportunity. The believers in Antioch begin to ask, “How are we going to disciple these new Gentile believers?” At this point, Barnabas departs and heads off to Tarsus to retrieve Paul in Acts 11:25. Why?

The answer is found in the story of Paul’s conversion in Acts 9. As we have already noted, Barnabas played a key role in Paul being accepted by the brethren in Jerusalem. After Barnabas vouches for him before the apostles, Paul is given permission to continue the same bold preaching ministry he began in Damascus.

So he went in and out among them at Jerusalem, preaching boldly in the name of the Lord. And he spoke and disputed against the Hellenists. But they were seeking to kill him.

Acts 9:28-29

Note that a primary focus of Paul’s ministry in Jerusalem was to dispute the worldview of the Hellenists. In Acts 9, these Hellenists were likely Greek-speaking and Greek-thinking Jews. Paul, well steeped in Israel’s scriptures and zealous for his new Lord Jesus, steps into the fray and boldly confronts some of the erroneous aspects of this prevailing worldview. Of course, the Jewish powers in Jerusalem seek to have Paul killed — which will become a prevailing theme in Luke’s record of Paul’s ministry. But now, possibly as many as ten years later, as the disciples in Antioch are wondering how to disciple the Gentile Hellenist converts in their midst, Barnabas remembers Paul and his skillful handling of the scriptures.

Barnabas goes to Tarsus because he sees this as a holy opportunity for someone like Paul to use his gifts. Barnabas knows that Paul has a tremendous mind and that he’s a bold preacher. He knows Paul won’t back down when he’s confronted with some of the prevailing worldviews of the Greek world. He is perfectly suited to help disciple these Hellenists in the way of Jesus — that assignment seems tailor-made for someone like Paul. So Barnabas goes to recruit his old friend to help with this work.

And this holy opportunity launches Paul into a world of ministry and service.