It is worth studying the Church at Antioch to witness the
way in which God works in power and provides for the Christians. We observe three things
from Acts 11:19-30:
- We see courage and complete conformity to Christ’s commands…resulting in much fruit.
- We see the Christian character and competence that God works through in power.
- We see cross–cultural care and concern for Christ’s body; a glorious picture of unity in the body of Christ.
Let’s start with the first observation which I believe is a
response to the upward call of God. There is courage and complete conformity to
Christ’s commands. As we begin to read, we notice a couple of things. The
persecution of Stephen had the opposite effect than what was intended;
instead of stopping the preaching of the gospel, it spread it! As Tertullian rightly said
"the blood of martyrs is the seed of the Church." But as we read we
see that the believing Jews that were scattered were only preaching the gospel to
other Jews they encountered. Even though they were pushed into Gentile territory,
most believing Jews did not share the good news with the Pagan people. That
is, until we hear about some unnamed men from Cyprus and Cyrene. These men,
with courage and confidence, travel
to Syrian Antioch to proclaim the gospel to the Greeks (gentiles). I do not doubt that these men heard Christ’s
command to make disciple of ‘ALL NATIONS’, and they courageously followed the
guidance of the Holy Spirit and conformed completely to Christ’s command to GO
to ALL. 
The Lord blessed this obedience and the Scripture says that “the
Lord’s hand was with them, and a great number of people believed and turned to
the Lord.” When these disciples respond to Christ’s call to go, they go in courage and confidence
because the Lord’s hand is with them; wasn't this his very promise in Matthew 28:20? This passage reminds us that nothing of
value will result in our ministries unless ‘the Lord’s hand’ is with us’! When
His presence is among us, and we are led by Him in full obedience, we may get
the privilege of being a part of seeing ‘people believe and [turn] to the Lord.”
This is what we should pray for. This is what we long to see in our
Churches. This is my ‘upward’ observation. When we abide in Christ, hear His
call and obey completely, we can know the presence of Christ in our ministries
and His power at work to change people.
The next point is what I will call the inward observation. Barnabas
is an example of a man with Christian character and competence that the Lord
works through in power. Let us make no mistake about it, our character matters
to the Lord. The Scripture is quite straightforward in describing this man: ‘When
he came and saw the grace of God, he was glad, and he exhorted them all to
remain faithful to the Lord with steadfast purpose, for he was a good man, full of
the Holy Spirit and of faith. And a great many people were added to the
Lord. (Acts 11:24)’
Here is a quote I found helpful as it relates to Barnabas
competency: “The competence of Barnabas is linked…not with an effective
strategy or plan, but with the integrity of his character, the transforming
power of the Spirit and faith”. (Schnabel, Acts 527)
We see the Lord work through this man of character. He was a
man that walked by the Spirit and followed His leading. We want to follow this
example. We also see in Barnabas a man of great humility. How many men would
give up the prestige of leading a church to co-lead with another brother in the
Lord because he knew it would be better for the health of the body? I believe
Barnabas finding Paul was a great sign of his sincerity and desire for the Lord’s
church to be strengthened (not his ego).
In all of this, we see the importance of a ministry that is
led by godly people full of the Spirit. Schnabel has more words to speak to us
in this regard:
There are many things that we can
do in ministry without godliness and the fullness of the Spirit. We can lead
meetings, prepare and deliver messages, organize and implement programs, win
elections, and head committees. But we cannot help people abide in the Lord. To
produce godly people we too must be godly. To produce people of prayer we too
must be people of prayer. To produce people who walk close to God we too must
walk close to God.” (Schnabel, Acts 527-528)
Barnabas was a man that walked the walk and talked the talk.
Finally, we see an outward expression of the call of God. We
see a care and concern for the Body of Christ that bridges divides. The church
in Antioch did not just take care of their own needs; when they heard a need of
the Christians in Jerusalem they were eager to give to them! Why? The Jewish
Christians in Jerusalem were so different…some even opposed to Gentile believers!
The answer is because the Gentile Christians in Antioch knew that they were ALL
the body of Christ. It is easy to get lost in our own congregation and only
care for the needs of people close to us, but these Christians in Antioch
challenge us by caring for those outside of their circles…outside of their
congregation. We would do well to see other Christians around the world in the
same light: they are our brothers and sister in Christ that we should pray for
and provide for as there is opportunity. The Voice of the Martyrs is a
wonderful ministry that allows us to be care in this way for the persecuted
church around the world.
From this passage we are challenged in many ways. We are
challenged to ‘go’ in courage and conformity to Christ’s command and share the
gospel with our neighbours, co-workers, and everyday acquaintances. We are
challenged, as we see Barnabas, to be a people of integrity whose work flow out
of the fullness of the Spirit and faith. Finally, we are challenged to view all
Christ-followers in our city, country and world as the family of God…not just
our own congregation.
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