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25 Then Barnabas went to the city of Tarsus to look for Saul, 26 and when he found Saul, he brought him to Antioch. For a whole year Saul and Barnabas met with the church and taught many people there. In Antioch the followers were called Christians for the first time. 27 About that time some prophets came from Jerusalem to Antioch. 28 One of them, named Agabus, stood up and spoke with the help of the Holy Spirit. He said, "A very hard time is coming to the whole world. There will be no food to eat." (This happened when Claudius ruled.) 29 The followers all decided to help the believers who lived in Judea, as much as each one could. 30 They gathered the money and gave it to Barnabas and Saul, who brought it to the elders in Judea. ~ Acts 11:25-30
Today, we conclude our study of Acts 11. In this chapter the walls that existed for thousands of years began to crack. These walls were erected by the prejudice of people who had the very same blood as those whom they viewed as less than they. A hard heart is fertile ground for prejudice. It is through a hardened heart that we welcome separation from those whom we deem less than we are. This chapter has taught us that our faith in the Lord Jesus makes it unbiblical for us to treat anyone as less than we are. In fact, it is the teaching of Christ that tells us to go in the opposite direction. His way of love which is of the unconditional nature.
In v.25-26 of today's passage we read, "25 Then Barnabas went to the city of Tarsus to look for Saul, 26 and when he found Saul, he brought him to Antioch. For a whole year Saul and Barnabas met with the church and taught many people there. In Antioch the followers were called Christians for the first time."
Today's events occurred ten years after the crucifixion of the Lord Jesus. Since Barnabas was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and of faith, it was he whom the Lord used to train these new believers in the faith. So, Barnabas traveled to Tarsus to search earnestly for Saul. After Barnabas arrived in Tarsus, he told Saul of the work being done in Antioch. Soon thereafter Saul agreed to join Barnabas to do ministry in Antioch for an entire year.
Paul was uniquely prepared to be the apostle to the Gentiles through a combination of his Roman citizenship, his upbringing in the Hellenistic city of Tarsus, his strict Pharisaic training under Gamaliel in Jerusalem, and his dramatic conversion experience on the road to Damascus. Everything that transpired in Paul's life had prepared him for this calling. You and I are no different. Everything happens in our lives for a very good reason, especially since the Lord Jesus has redeemed us unto His will. We do well not to run from our trials because in doing so we find ourselves running from the Lord.
It was at Antioch that the disciples were first called "Christians" which simply means followers of Christ. Although those who called them such were being derogatory, I find it interesting that in the New Testament, believers never refer to themselves as "Christians." Rather, they used such terms as brethren, disciples, and saints. This just underscores the idea about who defines us. We can be insulted all day long, but if we are only concerned about God's definition of us the victim's mentality will not trip us up.
Before his conversion, Saul of Tarsus sought out those "who belonged to the Way," indicating that an early label for Christians was "the people of the Way." Of course the word "Way" refers us back to John 14:6 where the Lord Jesus said, "I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. No one comes to the Father but through Me." Unlike all of the other "leaders" of "religions," the Lord Jesus did not say, "I will show you the way." No, He said, "I am the way." The Lord Jesus had to be the Way because we could never perform our way back to God. It was Mike Yaconelli who once aptly said, "It's not about perfection; it's about our intimacy with God, or our connection, our relationship with God. Once we get through that, once we realize that we can be imperfect, flawed, broken; those kinds of things are the ingredients of spirituality."
In v.27-28 of today's passage we read, "27 About that time some prophets came from Jerusalem to Antioch. 28 One of them, named Agabus, stood up and spoke with the help of the Holy Spirit. He said, 'A very hard time is coming to the whole world. There will be no food to eat.' (This happened when Claudius ruled.)"
These prophets were men who made the Old Testament understandable to the people. With their words, they drove out the darkness in their lives. Of course, it was the truth of God that did this work. Occasionally these prophets were also able to tell the people things that would happen in the future. On this occasion, a man named Agabus stood up and, by the Spirit, foretold of a soon coming famine throughout the world, especially severe in Judea. This came true just a few months later. Once the disciples heard of the soon coming famine, they believed the prophecy and began to prepare for it.
There are prophets who foretell the future and there are those who forth tell the Word of God. The latter have been given the ability by God to explain the meaning of God's Word in a manner that enables others to understand it. Today, these are not called prophets in most Christian contexts. As for prophecies, there are still many prophecies in the Bible that are yet to be fulfilled. They have been recorded, they are from prophets whose words have been validated, and they will certainly come to pass. Since God has given us His Word there is no longer any need for prophecies which were primarily used to authenticate the Gospel message.
In v.29-30 of today's passage we read, "29 The followers all decided to help the believers who lived in Judea, as much as each one could. 30 They gathered the money and gave it to Barnabas and Saul, who brought it to the elders in Judea."
One way we can tell a person has entered into a personal relationship with God is that he displays a heart for the needy. Those who were taught desired to help those who taught them. They did this according to their ability to do so. And, knowing that the famine would be especially hard for the believers in Judea, these believers in Antioch gave to the soon coming need. In Galatians 6:6 we read, "Let him who is taught the word share in all good things with him who teaches." We should never give to some person or some project if we feel pressured to give. If we cannot give, then we shouldn't. We should never feel compelled by others to do what is not coming from a cheerful and willing heart that has been touched by God. It was John Piper who once said, "If we love God most, we will love people best."
This is the first time the word "elder" is used in the book of Acts in relation to a body of believers. It essentially means "a mature man having seasoned judgment." I was once approached by a man who complained that the people of the church would not acknowledge him as an elder. I asked him if he did the work of an elder. He said he did but the people would not include him in the mentioning of the other elders. I asked him, "Why did it matter as long as the work was being done?" Being an elder is not a position to fill but a work to be done. Those with the gift of being an elder will only be concerned that the work of shepherding is being accomplished.
