Acts 11

20 But the disciples who went to Antioch began to proclaim the Gospel also to the Greeks, that is, Gentiles. These disciples were mainly from Cyprus and Cyrene.⁵⁴

21 Because the Lord’s hand—that is, His power—was with the disciples, a great number of people believed and turned to the Lord. When the “Lord’s hand” is with us, the church grows. We can assume that most of that great number of people who accepted the Lord in An-tioch were Gentiles, because Antioch was predominantly a Gentile city.

22-24 At that time the church in Jerusalem was considered the “mother church” of all the churches scattered throughout the Middle East; accordingly, the apostles in Jerusalem watched over the affairs of these other churches. Therefore, when the apostles heard that many Gentiles in An-tioch were turning to the Lord, they sent Barnabas, the Son of Encouragement (Acts 4:36-37), to find out about these new Gentile Christians.

Barnabas was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and faith (verse 24). He encouraged the new Gentile believers, and through his encouragement (and also through the “Lord’s hand”), still more people were brought to the Lord. Even though Barnabas was a Jew, he did not complain that the Gentiles were now receiving salvation. Instead, he was glad (verse 23).

25-26 Barnabas needed a colleague in Antioch to help in the work of preaching and teaching. He remembered Saul, and he went to Tarsus to find him (Acts 9:30). When Barnabas found Saul, he brought him to Antioch, and there they worked together for a year. And the church in Antioch grew.

The disciples were first called Christians at Antioch. From that time on, the believers stopped calling themselves “Jews,” “Greeks,” and “Gentiles.” They took the name of Christ. To be a Christian means to belong to Christ. Let us use the name “Christian” openly and joyfully, without shame. Let us do nothing to dishonor that name.

27-28 At that time a prophet named Agabus (see Acts 21:10-11) came down from Jerusalem to Antioch and prophesied that a great famine would soon come. Luke, in a brief historical note here, tells us that that famine actually came during the reign of the Roman emperor, Claudius, 41-54 A.D. It is known from other history books also that there were famines throughout the Roman Empire during Claudius’ reign.

29-30 During times of famine, Jerusalem and the surrounding province of Judea usually were affected more severely than other areas. On a number of occasions, Christians from other regions sent gifts to the believers in Judea. The first such collection was raised in Antioch during this period.

In Antioch Saul learned much about raising a collection. Here we see that the disciples gave each according to his ability (verse 29). This same rule Paul would later teach to other churches also (1 Corinthians 16:1-2; 2 Corinthians 9:6-11).

The Christians of Antioch sent their gift to Jerusalem by the hand of Barnabas and Saul. Some Bible scholars believe that this trip to Jerusalem was the same as the trip described in Galatians 2:1-10⁵⁵ (see Galatians 2:1 and comment). If this is so, then it was at this time that the leaders of the Jerusalem church agreed that Barnabas and Saul should work primarily among the Gentiles (Galatians 2:9). The apostles in Jerusalem asked only that Barnabas and Saul continue to remember the poor. Having just brought a gift from Antioch for the poor believers in Jerusalem and Judea, Saul (Paul) could say: “It was the very thing I was eager to do” (Galatians 2:10).