Acts 11 Study Notes

11:25 Saul (soon to be Paul, 13:9) had faded from the picture, while the evangelization of Antioch moved forward. Once again Barnabas played a central role in involving Paul in ministry (see note at 9:27). On Tarsus, see note at 9:28-30.

11:26 The term Christians probably came from Romans who labeled Jesus’s followers in Antioch “little Christs.” Though it was likely intended as an offense, the label is actually an honor insomuch as it indicates disciples are living Christlike lives.

11:27-28 Agabus was a prophet from Jerusalem who reappears in 21:10. The reign of Claudius (AD 41-54) was marked with numerous famines in various parts of the Roman Empire. The famine referred to here may have occurred around AD 46-47, with the effects of the famine lasting for a number of years after that.

11:29 The church at Antioch determined to provide relief for the believers in Judea. In so doing, they gave back to the churches and believers who had brought the gospel to Antioch and abroad in the first place.

From the Greek noun Christos (Christ or Messiah) comes the word Christianos, meaning belonging to Christ. The term occurs in only three places in the NT. Acts 11:26 explains that it was in Antioch that the disciples were “first called Christians.” The famine mentioned in the following verses occurred in AD 46 and indicates the term’s usage entered sacred vocabulary about that time. Since this new word for followers of Christ was coined in Antioch rather than Israel, it may indicate that the Christian movement was being recognized among Gentiles as something distinct from Judaism and not just another Jewish sect. In Ac 26:28, Agrippa referred to Paul’s attempt to persuade the king to become a Christian—an attempt Paul admitted applied not only to Agrippa but to everyone who was listening to his words of testimony (v. 29). Peter uses the term in reference to suffering “as a Christian” (1Pt 4:16).

11:30 Some object that the early church was loosely organized and dependent on the Spirit and did not have offices such as elders and deacons at this early date. However, there is abundant evidence that formal offices existed even in the earliest stages of the church (14:23; 15:2,4,6,22-23; 16:4; 20:17; 21:18; Php 1:1; 1Tm 3:1-13; 4:14; 5:17,19; Ti 1:5-9). There is nothing contradictory between the early church being filled with the Spirit and having leaders appointed to various responsibilities. The ministry of Paul was characterized by such a balance.