When the saints were scattered abroad during Saul’s persecution of the church (Acts 8:1), some of them ended up in Antioch, the capital of Syria, three hundred miles north of Jerusalem. (Don’t confuse this city with Antioch in Pisidia, Acts 13:14.) There were at least sixteen Antiochs in the ancient world, but this one was the greatest.
With a population of half a million, Antioch ranked as the third largest city in the Roman Empire, following Rome and Alexandria. Its magnificent buildings helped give it the name “Antioch the Golden, Queen of the East.” The main street was more than four miles long, paved with marble, and lined on both sides by marble colonnades. It was the only city in the ancient world at that time that had its streets lighted at night.
A busy port and a center for luxury and culture, Antioch attracted all kinds of people, including wealthy retired Roman officials who spent their days chatting in the baths or gambling at the races. With its large cosmopolitan population and its great commercial and political power, Antioch presented to the church an exciting opportunity for evangelism.
Antioch was a wicked city, perhaps second only to Corinth. Though all the Greek, Roman, and Syrian deities were honored, the local shrine was dedicated to Daphne, whose worship included immoral practices. “Antioch was to the Roman world what New York City is to ours,” writes James A. Kelso in An Archaeologist Follows the Apostle Paul. “Here where all the gods of antiquity were worshipped, Christ must be exalted.” Not only was an effective church built in Antioch, but it became the church that sent Paul out to win the Gentile world for Christ.
When the persecuted believers arrived in Antioch, they did not at all feel intimidated by the magnificence of the buildings or the pride of the citizens. The Word of God was on their lips and the hand of God was on their witness, and “a great number” of sinners repented and believed. It was a thrilling work of God’s wonderful grace.
The church leaders in Jerusalem had a responsibility to “shepherd” the scattered flock, which now included Gentile congregations as far away as Syria. Apparently the apostles were ministering away from Jerusalem at the time, so the elders commissioned Barnabas to go to Antioch to find out what was going on among the Gentiles. This proved to be a wise choice, for Barnabas lived up to his nickname, “son of encouragement” (Acts 4:36).
Acts 11: gives us a “spiritual profile” of Barnabas, and he appears to be the kind of Christian all of us would do well to emulate. He was a righteous man who obeyed the Word in daily life so that his character was above reproach. He was filled with the Spirit, which explains the effectiveness of his ministry. That he was a man of faith is evident from the way he encouraged the church and then encouraged Saul. New Christians and new churches need people like Barnabas to encourage them in their growth and ministry.
How did Barnabas encourage these new Gentile believers? For one thing, he rejoiced at what he saw. Worshipping with Gentiles was a new experience for him, but he approached it positively and did not look for things to criticize. It was a work of God, and Barnabas gave thanks for God’s grace.
He emphasized dedication of the heart as he taught the people the Word of God. The phrase “cleave [cling] to the Lord” does not suggest that they were to “keep themselves saved.” The same grace that saves us can also keep us (1 Cor. 15:10; Heb. 13:9). The phrase reminds us of Joshua’s admonition to Israel in Joshua 22:5. To “cleave to the Lord” includes loving the Lord, walking in His ways, obeying His Word, and serving Him wholeheartedly. It means that we belong to Him alone and that we cultivate our devotion to Him. “No man can serve two masters” (Matt. 6:24).
There were two wonderful results from Barnabas’s work in Antioch. First, the church’s witness made a great impact on the city so that “many people were added to the Lord” (Acts 11:24). When the saints are grounded in the Word, they will have a strong witness to the lost, and there will be a balance in the church between edification and evangelism, worship and witness, teaching and testifying.
Second, the growth of the church meant that Barnabas needed help, so he went to Tarsus and enlisted Saul. But why go so far away just to find an assistant? Why not send to Jerusalem and ask the deacon Nicolas, who was from Antioch (Acts 6:5)? Because Barnabas knew that God had commissioned Saul to minister to the Gentiles (Acts 9:15; 22:21; 26:17). You recall that Barnabas befriended Saul in Jerusalem (Acts 9:26–27), and no doubt the two of them often talked about Saul’s special call from God.
Saul had been converted about ten years when Barnabas brought him to Antioch. The New Testament does not tell us what Saul did back home in Tarsus after he left Jerusalem (Acts 9:28–30), but it is likely he was busy evangelizing both Jews and Gentiles. It may have been during this period that he founded the churches in Cilicia (Acts 15:23, 41; Gal. 1:21), and that he experienced some of the sufferings listed in 2 Corinthians 11:23–28. As he witnessed in the synagogues, you can be sure he would not have had an easy time of it!
What Barnabas did for Saul needs to be practiced in our churches today. Mature believers need to enlist others and encourage them in their service for the Lord. It was one of D. L. Moody’s policies that each new Christian be given a task soon after conversion. At first, it might be only passing out hymnals or ushering people to their seats, but each convert had to be busy. As previously mentioned, he said, “It is better to put ten men to work than to do the work of ten men.” Many of Mr. Moody’s “assistants” became effective Christian workers in their own right, and this multiplied the witness.
It was at Antioch that the name Christian was first applied to the disciples of Jesus Christ. The Latin suffix -ian means “belonging to the party of.” In derision, some of the pagan citizens of Antioch joined this Latin suffix to the Hebrew name “Christ” and came up with Christian. The name is found only three times in the entire New Testament: Acts 11:26; 26:28; 1 Peter 4:16.
Unfortunately, the word Christian has lost a great deal of significance over the centuries and no longer means “one who has turned from sin, trusted Jesus Christ, and received salvation by grace” (Acts 11:21–23). Many people who have never been born again consider themselves “Christians” simply because they say they are not “pagans.” After all, they may belong to a church, attend services somewhat regularly, and even occasionally give to the work of the church! But it takes more than that for a sinner to become a child of God. It takes repentance from sin and faith in Jesus Christ, who died for our sins on the cross and rose again to give us eternal life.
The believers in the early church suffered because they were Christians (1 Peter 4:16). Dr. David Otis Fuller has asked, “If you were arrested for being a Christian, would there be enough evidence to convict you?” A good question! And the answer is a matter of life or death!