Acts 11:20

20 However, some of the believers who went to Antioch from Cyprus and Cyrene began preaching to the Gentiles 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 When the others heard this, they stopped objecting and began praising God. They said, “We can see that God has also given the Gentiles the privilege of repenting of their sins and receiving eternal life.”
19 Meanwhile, the believers who had been scattered during the persecution after Stephen’s death traveled as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus, and Antioch of Syria. They preached the word of God, but only to Jews.
20 However, some of the believers who went to Antioch from Cyprus and Cyrene began preaching to the Gentiles about the Lord Jesus.
21 The power of the Lord was with them, and a large number of these Gentiles believed and turned to the Lord.
22 When the church at Jerusalem heard what had happened, they sent Barnabas to Antioch.

Footnotes 1

  • [a]. Greek the Hellenists (i.e., those who speak Greek); other manuscripts read the Greeks.
Holy Bible. New Living Translation copyright© 1996, 2004, 2007, 2013 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.