The Gospel Preached in Antioch

We pick up the ongoing story of Sha’ul in Acts 11:19. If you are familiar with the Book of Acts, we have seen Cornelius (a Gentile Centurion) and his friends come to faith. Here we see a people movement among Gentiles in a large city, Antioch.

Map courtesy of The Carta Bible Atlas

¹⁹ Now, those who had been scattered because of the persecution which had arisen over Stephen went as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus, and Antioch; they spoke God’s word, but only to Jews.

²⁰ However, some of these men from Cyprus and Cyrene, when they arrived at Antioch, began speaking to the Greeks too, proclaiming the Good News of the Lord Yeshua. ²¹ The hand of the Lord was with them, and a great number of people trusted and turned to the Lord.

Bar-Nabba & Sha’ul Head to Antioch

²² News of this reached the ears of the Messianic community in Yerushalayim, and they sent Bar-Nabba to Antioch. ²³ On arriving and seeing for himself the grace of God at work, he was glad; and he encouraged them all to remain true to the Lord with their whole hearts; ²⁴ for he was a good man, full of the Ruach HaKodesh and trust. ²⁵ Then Bar-Nabba went off to Tarsus to look for Sha’ul; ²⁶ and when he found him, he brought him to Antioch. They met with the congregation there for a whole year and taught a sizeable crowd. Also, it was in Antioch that the talmidim, for the first time, were called “Messianic.

Famine Predicted and Bar-Nabba & Sha’ul Return to Yerushalayim

²⁷ During this time, some prophets came down from Yerushalayim to Antioch; ²⁸ and one of them, named Agav, stood up and, through the Spirit, predicted that there was going to be a severe famine throughout the Roman Empire. (It took place while Claudius was Emperor.) ²⁹ So the talmidim decided to provide relief to the brothers living in Y’hudah, each according to his means; ³⁰ and they did it, sending their contribution to the elders in the care of Bar-Nabba and Sha’ul.  ^[1]

Prophets among the Believers are mentioned here, and in Acts 13:1, 15:32, and 21:9–10, as well as in 1 Corinthians 12:28–29, 14:29–37; Ephesians 4:11, and possibly 2 Kefa 3:2. Non-Messianic Jews maintained then and maintain still that prophecy ceased in Isra’el soon after the Return from Babylon. But according to the Brit Hadashah, prophecy recommenced with Yochanan the Immerser (Mt 11:9). The title, “Prophet,” is applied frequently to Yeshua (Acts 3:22–23, 7:37; Mattityahu 21:11; Luke 24:19; Yochanan 7:40, 9:17). In the Messianic Community prophets ranked after Emissaries (1 Corinthians 12:28, Ephesians 4:11). Since Yeshua promised His talmidim that the Ruach HaKodesh “will … announce to you the events of the future” (Yochanan 16:13), all Believers are urged to seek the Gift of Prophecy (1 Corinthians 14:39), which is promised to everyone (Acts 2:17–18, fulfilling Joel 3:1–2(2:28–29)). Prophecy may mean either prediction of things to come, as in this passage, or, more often, clearly, and boldly speaking forth the word God wants to be spoken (see 1 Corinthians 12:8–10).

It took place while Claudius was still Emperor, that is, quickly. Claudius ruled the Roman Empire from 41 to 54 CE. ^[2]

In our next post, Sha’ul and Bar-Nabba Head Out on their First Missionary Journey beginning in Acts 13.

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^[1]  Acts 11:19–30.
^[2]  Jewish New Testament Commentary.