In this passage Luke reports another significant step in the progress of the gospel to the ends of the earth.  As he does so, he lets us observe some keys to vibrant community life that enabled the church to flourish.  this is seen in the way the group of unnamed pioneers shared their faith in places to which they were scattered (vv. 19-21), in the way the church in Jerusalem reacted to the news of what was happening in Antioch (v.22), in the way Barnabas acted in Antioch (vv. 23-26), and in the way that the church in Antioch responded to the prophecy about the coming famine (vv.27-29).  These are important examples for us to follow.  In keeping with our conviction that Acts gives us inspiring examples that we can follow, we will look at this passage as an example of how God works through vibrant community life. (Fernando)

Acts 11:19-30

 ¹⁹ Now those who had been scattered by the persecution that broke out when Stephen was killed traveled as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus and Antioch, spreading the word only among Jews. ²⁰ Some of them, however, men from Cyprus and Cyrene, went to Antioch and began to speak to Greeks also, telling them the good news about the Lord Jesus. ²¹ The Lord’s hand was with them, and a great number of people believed and turned to the Lord.

 ²² News of this reached the church in Jerusalem, and they sent Barnabas to Antioch. ²³ When he arrived and saw what the grace of God had done, he was glad and encouraged them all to remain true to the Lord with all their hearts. ²⁴ He was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and faith, and a great number of people were brought to the Lord.

 ²⁵ Then Barnabas went to Tarsus to look for Saul, ²⁶ and when he found him, he brought him to Antioch. So for a whole year Barnabas and Saul met with the church and taught great numbers of people. The disciples were called Christians first at Antioch.

 ²⁷ During this time some prophets came down from Jerusalem to Antioch. ²⁸ One of them, named Agabus, stood up and through the Spirit predicted that a severe famine would spread over the entire Roman world. (This happened during the reign of Claudius.) ²⁹ The disciples, as each one was able, decided to provide help for the brothers and sisters living in Judea. ³⁰ This they did, sending their gift to the elders by Barnabas and Saul.

Questions

1. What suggests taht there was no-one prominent among the initial pioneers of the gospel after Stephen?
2. How is Barnabbas presented in this passage?
3. How were missionary roles reversed in this passage?
4. How do you value non-prominant Christians and support them in their work?
5. Who would you describe as an encourager?  What qualities do they have?