Acts 11:20

20 But some of them were men from Cyprus and Cyrene, who, [when they] came to Antioch, began to speak to the Hellenists also, proclaiming the good news about the Lord 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 And [when they] heard these [things], they became silent and praised God, saying, "Then God has granted the repentance [leading] to life to the Gentiles also!"
19 Now those who had been scattered because of the persecution that took place over Stephen traveled as far as Phoenicia and Cyprus and Antioch, proclaiming the message to no one except Jews alone.
20 But some of them were men from Cyprus and Cyrene, who, [when they] came to Antioch, began to speak to the Hellenists also, proclaiming the good news about the Lord Jesus.
21 And the hand of the Lord was with them, and a large number who believed turned to the Lord.
22 {And the report came to the attention} of the church that was in Jerusalem about them, and they sent out Barnabas as far as Antioch,

Footnotes 3

  • [a]. *Here "[when]" is supplied as a component of the participle ("came") which is understood as temporal
  • [b]. *The imperfect tense has been translated as ingressive here ("began to speak")
  • [c]. *Here this term could refer to (1) Greek-speaking Jews or (2) Greek-speaking non-Jews (i.e., Gentiles)
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