Acts 11:20

20 Then some of the men from Cyprus and Cyrene who had come to Antioch started talking to Greeks, giving them the Message of the Master Jesus.

Acts 11:20 Meaning and Commentary

Acts 11:20

And some of them were men of Cyprus
That is, some of the preachers, that were scattered abroad, were Jews born at Cyprus: such was Barnabas particularly, ( Acts 4:36 ) though he was not among these, as appears from ( Acts 11:22 ) "and Cyrene"; such were Simon that carried the cross after Christ, and his sons Alexander and Rufus, ( Mark 15:21 ) and others that heard the apostles speak with tongues on the day of Pentecost, ( Acts 2:10 )

which when they were come to Antioch, spake unto the Grecians;
or Hellenist Jews, who were born and brought up in Greece, and spoke the Greek language; though the Alexandrian copy, and the Syriac version, read "Greeks", as if they were native Greeks, and properly Gentiles, to whom these ministers spoke the word of the Lord; but the former seems most likely.

Preaching the Lord Jesus;
the dignity of his person, as the Son of God; what he did and suffered to obtain salvation for lost sinners; his resurrection from the dead, ascension to heaven, and intercession; the virtue of his blood for peace and pardon of his sacrifice for atonement of sin, and of his righteousness for justification.

Acts 11:20 In-Context

18 Hearing it all laid out like that, they quieted down. And then, as it sank in, they started praising God. "It's really happened! God has broken through to the other nations, opened them up to Life!"
19 Those who had been scattered by the persecution triggered by Stephen's death traveled as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus, and Antioch, but they were still only speaking and dealing with their fellow Jews.
20 Then some of the men from Cyprus and Cyrene who had come to Antioch started talking to Greeks, giving them the Message of the Master Jesus.
21 God was pleased with what they were doing and put his stamp of approval on it - quite a number of the Greeks believed and turned to the Master.
22 When the church in Jerusalem got wind of this, they sent Barnabas to Antioch to check on things.
Published by permission. Originally published by NavPress in English as THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright 2002 by Eugene Peterson. All rights reserved.