The Church at Antioch
The practice of preaching the Lord Jesus to the Gentiles had not made mainstream ministry until some men preached to the Greeks at Antioch (11:19–22). Peter had opened the door for evangelism to the Gentiles (Acts 10), and a new city was experiencing growing predominance as a Christian center. When the leaders at Jerusalem heard there was a move of God in Antioch, they sent Barnabas north to investigate and encourage the work (v. 22). He found the “hand of the Lord was with them.”
Conversions were recorded in great number following the preaching by the scattered believers who found refuge in the Syrian city along the coast of the Mediterranean. Antioch was the gateway to the Orient, and for many, it became the gateway to the kingdom of God.
Barnabas was very encouraged by the work of God evident at Antioch, but the labor was too much for them to handle (11:23–26). God put it on Barnabas’ heart to head for Tarsus to find Saul. There is an excellent example of the contrasting gifts of the Spirit in the early church. Evangelism was being conducted by the Cyprians and Cyrenians, helps were added by Barnabas, and now it was time to bring in the educated Saul to preach and teach to the maturing local church.
In his sermon “On the Priesthood” John Chrysostom, the golden-mouthed preacher of 4th century Antioch, championed the point that learned preaching of the Scriptures is what truly serves God. He speaks of, “the expenditure of great labor upon the preparation of discourse to be delivered in public (5.1).” Today, in great contrast, one in three mega church pastors does not even a basic seminary degree. Classical Protestantism followed the example of Antioch in emphasizing learned preaching, with the exception of the Anabaptists.
In spending a year in the daily discipline of teaching the Scriptures to the new believers, teaching was the clear priority for the church at Antioch. The key to productive evangelism is effective discipleship. Saul’s appearance came after some 13 years in Tarsus. The gap in this period, by Luke and Saul/Paul himself, should not deny the idea that Saul had been ministering.
There is a season of small things on most preachers’ resumes. Luke definitely promotes the church in its finest endeavors. I like to call the Book of Acts, “The Advance of the Unstoppable Gospel.” Luke shows Theophilus that when the Gospel is preached: some people believe; they are then baptized; and they are matured by the teaching of the Scriptures.
The number of converts was significant enough to give this new group a new moniker, “Christians.” The meaning is “little Christ.” Jews and Greeks and the Semitic peoples of Syria were hearing of Christ by preachers. They formed a community solid enough to produce a legacy of learning known throughout the world and down through history.
Diodore of Antioch was born in Antioch during the reign of Roman Emperor Constantine. The more he studied the Scriptures, the more he was convinced that the monopolistic school of Alexandria was wrong in their allegorical interpretation of the Scriptures. Diodore became the father of the grammatical-historical interpretative method of exegesis. Chrysostom and his best friend Theodore of Mopsuestia were his students. Their transfers from Antioch to Constantinople and Mopsuestia, respectively, canvassed the region with solid theology and powerful preaching.
As we close the study of Acts 11, we encounter one of many sections of the New Testament that give us a view to Christian giving (11:27–30). Jerusalem sent more prophets to help Saul with the teaching load. Agabus prophesied a famine for the region. When it appeared, the church at Antioch responded with the sharing of resources for the relief of the church at Jerusalem. There is a beautiful exchange in this relationship between these local churches. Jerusalem supplied the spiritual blessing, and Antioch supplied the material blessing.
The principle of giving in this example is based on proportion. The wealthier members contributed more than the poorer, according to their available means. Saul and Barnabas were entrusted with the financial gift and sent on their way to Jerusalem. Barnabas could encourage the leaders at Jerusalem with the good report of the excellent teaching the church at Antioch had been receiving from the very learned Saul.
In conclusion, we see a shift in the geographical center of the church. Jerusalem is important to Christianity. It plays its part in history, but worship can happen wherever Christians gather in the Spirit and in truth. Antioch was the second city to experience the revival work of the Spirit. It immediately understood the necessity for Christian education to ground the euphoria into a state of growing maturity.
The legacy of Antioch remains in the history of the church: a center for Christian learning; a generous community; and as we will learn in Acts 13, it became the hub of short-term missions. May our local churches today follow the example of Antioch, a good example indeed.
David Norczyk
Spokane Valley, Washington
July 1, 2021
