STORY SETTING AND BACKGROUND

 

PAUL AT ANTIOCH

 

Acts 11:19-21; Galatians 2

 

 

 

Just before ascending into heaven, Jesus told His disciples, "When the Holy Spirit comes on you, you will receive power and will testify of Me in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the farthest parts of the world" (Acts 1:8).

Saul's fierce persecution of the believers in Christ in Jerusalem and Judea served to scatter Christians into various parts of the Middle East. Through his persecution, they were forced to leave the cozy circle of believers in Jerusalem and go out to preach and testify as Jesus had told them.

 

Acts 8:4-25 tells us about Philip's activity in the pagan city of Samaria. God richly blessed his labors, and many believed in Jesus.

 

From Samaria Philip was sent to speak to the high government official from the coun­try of Ethiopia. At that time this country served as "the middleman" between Inner Africa and the Mediterranean world. The official received the Gospel and was bap­tized by Philip. He went on his way re­joicing.

Acts 9: 32--11:18 tells us how God stressed to Peter that he was to preach to non-Jews and receive them into the circle of believers without forcing them to live as Jews. Peter's experience in the house of Cornelius was very persuasive. Later, when he was criti­cized by Christians in Jerusalem, he merely told them what God had done through him.

 

ANTIOCH, SYRIA

 

To escape Saul's persecution, some be­lievers went into the coastal area of Phoeni­cia, which stretched northward from near Caesarea for about 120 miles. Acts 15: 3 speaks of Paul and Barnabas visiting the churches in Phoenicia.

 

Others came to the island of Cyprus, lying 60 miles to the west of Syria. There were many Jewish communities on Cyprus.

Others came to Antioch, the busy capital of the Roman province of Syria. Among these were men from Cyprus and Cyrene, a city on the northern coast of Africa with a large Jewish population. It was Simon of Cyrene who was forced to carry the cross of Jesus (Matt. 27:32).

 

Antioch was peculiarly suited to become the center of missionary activity. This cos­mopolitan city had a tolerant spirit. It also had a large Jewish community. Many non­-Jews were attracted to Judaism; some of these later became Christians.

 

The believers in Antioch were the first to share the Gospel with the non-Jews in Antioch. When these confessed Christ and were baptized into Him, they were then ac­cepted into the circle of believers without being required to live as Jews. That this should happen at Antioch was natural. It was also at Antioch that the believers were first called "Christians."

 

When the good news of the flourishing outreach at Antioch reached Jerusalem, the church sent Barnabas to lead and guide the believers at Antioch. Barnabas had a remarkable grasp of reality; he was filled with the Spirit. He was ideally suited for the task. The outreach in Antioch was signally blessed and the believers grew in number.

 

Barnabas needed help. He remembered Paul at Tarsus and went to find him. Paul came to Antioch to serve the church with Barnabas.

 

THE FAMINE

 

One day Agabus, a prophet from Jeru­salem, told the church at Antioch that the Roman world would be hit by a famine. When the people heard this, they thought of the many desperately poor Christians at Jerusalem. They resolved to gather an of­fering for them. Note that Luke records that everyone gave according to his ability.

Secular history reveals that the famine hit various parts of the Roman Empire at different times. According to Josephus, Palestine suffered a severe food shortage sometime during the years A.D. 44 to 48. It seems that in A.D. 46 the famine was at its worst in Judea.

 

It was probably in A.D. 46 that the church in Antioch sent Paul and Barnabas to Jerusalem with the offering. Galatians 2: I records that Titus, a Greek Christian, went along.

Aside from delivering the offering, Paul and Barnabas used the opportunity to tell the apostles and Christian-leaders at Jeru­salem about the work they had been doing and the Gospel which they shared so effec­tively with the non-Jews.

 

Not all Christians at Jerusalem shared Paul's joy at the blessings which God had shed on the outreach at Antioch. They felt that non-Jews not only had to become Christians but also had to be circumcised and live as Jews in order to be saved.

 

Paul stressed in Galatians 2 that he did not yield to their demands. He insisted that the Jewish way of life was not part of the Gospel and that the Law of Moses and Jewish traditions had been abolished through Christ's death and resurrection. He would not yield to their demand that Titus be circumcised. To do so would have com­promised the Gospel.

James, Peter, and John stood firm with Paul and Barnabas. They also would not yield to the demands made on Paul and Barnabas.

 

Paul records that the three recognized that he and Barnabas were sent to proclaim the Gospel especially to the non-Jewish world. They themselves would work primarily among the Jews. But they did ask that Paul would never forget the great need of the poor Christians at Jerusalem.

I Corinthians 16:1-4,  2 Corinthians 8-9, and Romans 15:25-28 tell us about the offering which Paul had asked the congrega­tions to gather for the poor in Jerusalem.