[Thurs, 13 June] Acts 11:19-12:19 (640 words; 4/19)

The first Gentile converts—the Ethiopian eunuch and Cornelius and household—have been God-fearers i.e. Gentiles who were partial converts to Judaism. The coming of the Holy Spirit upon Cornelius etc demonstrated the astonishing fact that the Gentiles could be brought into salvation on full and equal terms. But it is only now, in Antioch (note 1), that the Gentile mission really begins. It begins with diaspora Jews (men from Cyprus and Cyrene) who have been dispersed by the martyrdom of Stephen. They start proclaiming the Lord Jesus (11:20) and many respond in faith. Barnabas, who is also from Cyprus (4:36), is dispatched from Jerusalem to see what is going on, just as Peter and John had been sent to Samaria after the success of Philip (8:14). Barnabas rejoiced to see all that God was doing —he was generous and gracious, and, rather than guarding his ancestral faith, he celebrated that God had joined them in it, and encouraged them. Then he set off to find Saul in Tarsus, where he had been sent in 9:30. 

But why does Barnabas do this? In 9:26, Saul came to Jerusalem, having escaped from Damascus, but was not welcome among the believers, as they are afraid of him and do not trust him. The next verse says that Barnabas interceded for him with the apostles, by telling them of his conversion and of his evangelism in Damascus. But it is left to our imagination what happened in between. Perhaps Saul made several attempts to join the believers, but could not. There is no way he would be accepted by his former friends and colleagues. Barnabas seems just the sort of man who would attach himself to someone lonely and rejected person who needed help. Perhaps he was in the discussions among the leadership regarding Saul, but, where others had expressed mistrust, Barnabas felt it was worth getting to know Saul. He is optimistic. He believes in second chances (as we shall see in 15:37-39). Perhaps he had Saul stay with him, and that is how he learned his story. He could see God's grace in Saul, and was able to commend him to the apostles. Perhaps also Saul told him of the vision he had had in the temple, where Jesus said He would send him far away to the Gentiles. 

We can only speculate. But exciting things are happening in Antioch, and for whatever reason, it occurs to Barnabas that the best man is Saul, whether because of his zeal, his competance, his special mission to the Gentiles, or even the shared unlikeliness of his conversion with that of the Gentiles that marked them both out as spectacular examples of God's grace. 

It was the right move. Saul was probably not easy to find, as Luke's wording seems to suggest. No doubt he was rejected when he went home, too, because of his conversion. Barnabas would have had to search around for his lonely friend. But once together in Antioch for a year, the work prospered, and from this community we have our name, 'Christians'. 

Saul will take the Gospel to the world. His letters contain the most profound, wide-ranging and systematic explanation of the Gospel in the NT. Yet if Barnabas had not taken the initiative to get to know him in Jerusalem when no-one else would, and had not gone to Antioch to see the results there, and then had not gone to Tarsus and persevered in looking for his friend, none of these things would have happened.

 

(1) There were several cities with this name. This one is Antioch on the Orontes, now Antakya in Turkey. Rome made it the administrative seat for Syria, which included Israel. Thus when Pilate killed some Samaritans, they complained to the legate Vitellius in Antioch, who sent him off to Rome.