The hand of the Lord was with them, and a great number believed and turned to the Lord. The report concerning them came to the ears of the assembly which was in Jerusalem. They sent out Barnabas to go as far as Antioch, who, when he had come, and had seen the grace of God, was glad. He exhorted them all, that with purpose of heart they should remain near to the Lord. For he was a good man, and full of the Holy Spirit and of faith, and many people were added to the Lord.
Show the surrounding paragraph
Acts 11:21-24 sits inside this longer paragraph.
They therefore who were scattered abroad by the oppression that arose about Stephen traveled as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus, and Antioch, speaking the word to no one except to Jews only. But there were some of them, men of Cyprus and Cyrene, who, when they had come to Antioch, spoke to the Hellenists, preaching the Lord Jesus. The hand of the Lord was with them, and a great number believed and turned to the Lord. The report concerning them came to the ears of the assembly which was in Jerusalem. They sent out Barnabas to go as far as Antioch, who, when he had come, and had seen the grace of God, was glad. He exhorted them all, that with purpose of heart they should remain near to the Lord. For he was a good man, and full of the Holy Spirit and of faith, and many people were added to the Lord.
Parallel Translations
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The hand of the Lord was with them, and a great number believed and turned to the Lord.
The report concerning them came to the ears of the assembly which was in Jerusalem. They sent out Barnabas to go as far as Antioch,
who, when he had come, and had seen the grace of God, was glad. He exhorted them all, that with purpose of heart they should remain near to the Lord.
For he was a good man, and full of the Holy Spirit and of faith, and many people were added to the Lord.
-
And the honde of the Lorde was with them and a greate nombre beleved and turned vnto the Lorde.
Tydinges of these thinges came vnto the eares of the congregacion which was in Ierusalem. And they sente forth Barnabas that he shuld go vnto Antioche.
Which when he was come and had sene the grace of God was glad and exhorted them all that with purpose of hert they wolde continually cleave vnto the Lorde.
For he was a good man and full of the holy goost and of faythe: and moche people was added vnto the Lorde.
Show all 3 translations
-
And the hand of the Lord was with them, so that a great number beleeued and turned vnto the Lord.
Then tydings of those things came vnto the eares of the Church, which was in Hierusalem, and they sent foorth Barnabas, that he should goe vnto Antiochia.
Who when he was come and had seene the grace of God, was glad, and exhorted all, that with purpose of heart they would continue in the Lord.
For he was a good man, and full of the holy Ghost, and faith, and much people ioyned them selues vnto the Lord.
Cross-references (77)
- 1 Corinthians 15:58 (v23) Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the Lord’s work, because you know that your labor is not in…
- Acts 14:22 (v23) strengthening the souls of the disciples, exhorting them to continue in the faith, and that through many afflictions we must enter into…
- Acts 5:14 (vv21, 24) More believers were added to the Lord, multitudes of both men and women.
- Acts 11:21 (v24) The hand of the Lord was with them, and a great number believed and turned to the Lord.
- Acts 13:43 (v23) Now when the synagogue broke up, many of the Jews and of the devout proselytes followed Paul and Barnabas; who, speaking to them, urged…
Show all 76 cross-references
- 1 John 2:28 (v23) Now, little children, remain in him, that when he appears, we may have boldness, and not be ashamed before him at his coming.
- Deuteronomy 30:20 (v23) to love Yahweh your God, to obey his voice, and to cling to him; for he is your life, and the length of your days, that you may dwell in…
- Joshua 23:8 (v23) but hold fast to Yahweh your God, as you have done to this day.
- Psalms 112:5 (v24) It is well with the man who deals graciously and lends. He will maintain his cause in judgment.
- Luke 1:66 (v21) All who heard them laid them up in their heart, saying, “What then will this child be?” The hand of the Lord was with him.
- Acts 2:47 (v21) praising God, and having favor with all the people. The Lord added to the assembly day by day those who were being saved.
- Acts 20:24 (v23) But these things don’t count; nor do I hold my life dear to myself, so that I may finish my race with joy, and the ministry which I…
- 2 Timothy 3:10 (v23) But you followed my teaching, conduct, purpose, faith, patience, love, steadfastness,
- Deuteronomy 10:20 (v23) You shall fear Yahweh your God. You shall serve him. You shall cling to him, and you shall swear by his name.
- John 8:31-32 (v23) Jesus therefore said to those Jews who had believed him, “If you remain in my word, then you are truly my disciples. You will know the…
- Acts 6:5 (v24) These words pleased the whole multitude. They chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit, Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon,…
- Acts 9:31 (v24) So the assemblies throughout all Judea, Galilee, and Samaria had peace, and were built up. They were multiplied, walking in the fear of the…
- Colossians 1:6 (v23) which has come to you, even as it is in all the world and is bearing fruit and growing, as it does in you also, since the day you heard and…
- Joshua 22:5 (v23) Only take diligent heed to do the commandment and the law which Moses the servant of Yahweh commanded you, to love Yahweh your God, to walk…
- 2 Samuel 18:27 (v24) The watchman said, “I think the running of the first one is like the running of Ahimaaz the son of Zadok.” The king said, “He is a good…
- Isaiah 59:1 (v21) Behold, Yahweh’s hand is not shortened, that it can’t save; nor his ear dull, that it can’t hear.
- John 15:4 (v23) Remain in me, and I in you. As the branch can’t bear fruit by itself unless it remains in the vine, so neither can you, unless you remain…
- Acts 6:3 (v24) Therefore select from among you, brothers, seven men of good report, full of the Holy Spirit and of wisdom, whom we may appoint over this…
- Acts 6:7 (v21) The word of God increased and the number of the disciples greatly multiplied in Jerusalem. A great company of the priests were obedient to…
- Acts 6:8 (v24) Stephen, full of faith and power, performed great wonders and signs among the people.
- Acts 9:27 (v22) But Barnabas took him and brought him to the apostles, and declared to them how he had seen the Lord on the way, and that he had spoken to…
- Acts 9:35 (v21) All who lived at Lydda and in Sharon saw him, and they turned to the Lord.
- Acts 14:26 (v23) From there they sailed to Antioch, from where they had been committed to the grace of God for the work which they had fulfilled.
- Romans 15:15 (v24) But I write the more boldly to you in part, as reminding you, because of the grace that was given to me by God,
- 1 Corinthians 3:6-7 (v21) I planted. Apollos watered. But God gave the increase. So then neither he who plants is anything, nor he who waters, but God who gives the…
- 1 Thessalonians 1:5 (v21) and that our Good News came to you not in word only, but also in power, and in the Holy Spirit, and with much assurance. You know what kind…
- Hebrews 10:19-26 (v23) Having therefore, brothers, boldness to enter into the holy place by the blood of Jesus, by the way which he dedicated for us, a new and…
- 2 Peter 1:4-9 (v23) by which he has granted to us his precious and exceedingly great promises; that through these you may become partakers of the divine…
- 2 Peter 3:17-18 (v23) You therefore, beloved, knowing these things beforehand, beware, lest being carried away with the error of the wicked, you fall from your…
- 3 John 1:4 (v23) I have no greater joy than this: to hear about my children walking in truth.
- 2 Chronicles 30:12 (v21) Also the hand of God came on Judah to give them one heart, to do the commandment of the king and of the princes by Yahweh’s word.
- Ezra 7:9 (v21) For on the first day of the first month he began to go up from Babylon; and on the first day of the fifth month he came to Jerusalem,…
- Ezra 8:18 (v21) According to the good hand of our God on us they brought us a man of discretion, of the sons of Mahli, the son of Levi, the son of Israel;…
- Nehemiah 2:8 (v21) and a letter to Asaph the keeper of the king’s forest, that he may give me timber to make beams for the gates of the citadel by the temple,…
- Nehemiah 2:18 (v21) I told them of the hand of my God which was good on me, as also of the king’s words that he had spoken to me. They said, “Let’s rise up and…
- Psalms 37:23 (v24) A man’s steps are established by Yahweh. He delights in his way.
- Proverbs 12:2 (v24) A good man shall obtain favor from Yahweh, but he will condemn a man of wicked plans.
- Proverbs 13:22 (v24) A good man leaves an inheritance to his children’s children, but the wealth of the sinner is stored for the righteous.
- Proverbs 14:14 (v24) The unfaithful will be repaid for his own ways; likewise a good man will be rewarded for his ways.
- Isaiah 53:1 (v21) Who has believed our message? To whom has Yahweh’s arm been revealed?
- Daniel 1:8 (v23) But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the king’s dainties, nor with the wine which he drank. Therefore he…
- Matthew 12:35 (v24) The good man out of his good treasure brings out good things, and the evil man out of his evil treasure brings out evil things.
- Matthew 16:24 (v23) Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If anyone desires to come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.
- Matthew 19:17 (v24) He said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good but one, that is, God. But if you want to enter into life, keep the commandments.”
- Luke 23:50 (v24) Behold, a man named Joseph, who was a member of the council, a good and righteous man
- John 7:12 (v24) There was much murmuring among the multitudes concerning him. Some said, “He is a good man.” Others said, “Not so, but he leads the…
- Acts 4:4 (v21) But many of those who heard the word believed, and the number of the men came to be about five thousand.
- Acts 4:36-37 (v22) Joses, who by the apostles was also called Barnabas (which is, being interpreted, Son of Encouragement), a Levite, a man of Cyprus by race,…
- Acts 8:14 (v22) Now when the apostles who were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent Peter and John to them,
- Acts 11:1 (v22) Now the apostles and the brothers who were in Judea heard that the Gentiles had also received the word of God.
- Acts 11:24 (v21) For he was a good man, and full of the Holy Spirit and of faith, and many people were added to the Lord.
- Acts 13:1-3 (v22) Now in the assembly that was at Antioch there were some prophets and teachers: Barnabas, Simeon who was called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene,…
- Acts 15:2 (v22) Therefore when Paul and Barnabas had no small discord and discussion with them, they appointed Paul and Barnabas, and some others of them,…
- Acts 15:22 (v22) Then it seemed good to the apostles and the elders, with the whole assembly, to choose men out of their company, and send them to Antioch…
- Acts 15:35-39 (v22) But Paul and Barnabas stayed in Antioch, teaching and preaching the word of the Lord, with many others also. After some days Paul said to…
- Acts 24:16 (v24) In this I also practice always having a conscience void of offense toward God and men.
- Acts 26:18-20 (v21) to open their eyes, that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive remission of sins…
- Romans 5:7 (v24) For one will hardly die for a righteous man. Yet perhaps for a righteous person someone would even dare to die.
- 1 Thessalonians 1:9-10 (v21) For they themselves report concerning us what kind of a reception we had from you, and how you turned to God from idols, to serve a living…
- 1 Thessalonians 3:6 (v22) But when Timothy came just now to us from you, and brought us glad news of your faith and love, and that you have good memories of us…
- Hebrews 10:32-39 (v23) But remember the former days, in which, after you were enlightened, you endured a great struggle with sufferings; partly, being exposed to…
- Psalms 17:3 (v23) You have proved my heart. You have visited me in the night. You have tried me, and found nothing. I have resolved that my mouth shall not…
- Proverbs 23:15 (v23) My son, if your heart is wise, then my heart will be glad, even mine.
- Proverbs 23:28 (v23) Yes, she lies in wait like a robber, and increases the unfaithful among men.
- Mark 2:5 (v23) Jesus, seeing their faith, said to the paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven you.”
- Acts 15:40 (v23) but Paul chose Silas and went out, being commended by the brothers to the grace of God.
- Acts 20:32 (v23) Now, brothers, I entrust you to God and to the word of his grace, which is able to build up, and to give you the inheritance among all…
- 2 Corinthians 1:17 (v23) When I therefore was thus determined, did I show fickleness? Or the things that I purpose, do I purpose according to the flesh, that with…
- 1 Thessalonians 1:3-4 (v23) remembering without ceasing your work of faith and labor of love and perseverance of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ, before our God and…
- 1 Thessalonians 3:2-5 (v23) and sent Timothy, our brother and God’s servant in the Good News of Christ, to establish you, and to comfort you concerning your faith,…
- 2 Timothy 1:4-5 (v23) longing to see you, remembering your tears, that I may be filled with joy; having been reminded of the sincere faith that is in you, which…
76 distinct cross-references across this passage (77 total citations).
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this passage (24 sources)
Historical commentary, presented as a primary source — not an endorsement.
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John Calvin 1540 · Public Domain On vv21–24 21. The hand of the Lord was. Luke proveth…
21. The hand of the Lord was. Luke proveth by the success that the gospel was offered unto the Gentiles also by the brethren of Cyprus and Cyrene not rashly nor unadvisedly, because their labor was fruitful and profitable. But such increase should never have followed, unless God had commanded and favored. Therefore, it followeth that it pleased God that the Gentiles should be called. The hand, as it is well known, doth signify power and strength. Therefore, this is Luke’s meaning, that God did testify by his present aid that the Gentiles were called together with the Jews, through his direction, to be made partakers of the grace of Christ. And this blessing of God served not a little to confirm the minds of all men. This place did also teach us, that what pains soever the ministers of God take in teaching, it shall be all vain and void, unless God bless their labors from heaven. For we may plant and water, as Paul teacheth, but the increase cometh from God alone, (1 Corinthians 3,) in whose hand the hearts of men are, that he may bend and frame the same at his pleasure. Therefore, as often as we are to intreat of faith, let us always remember this speech, that God wrought by his ministers, and that he made their doctrine effectual by his hand, that is, by the secret inspiration of the Spirit. Therefore, let the minister attempt nothing trusting to his own wit and industry, but let him commit his labor to the Lord, upon whose grace the whole success dependeth; and where doctrine shall work effectually, let those which shall believe thank God for their faith. Furthermore, we must note that which Luke saith, that many were turned unto God by faith, because he doth very well express the force and nature of faith; that it is not idle and cold, but such as restoreth men (who were before turned away from God) unto his government, and bindeth them unto his righteousness.
John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On v22 The Apostles do not rashly condemn an extraordinary vocation,…
The Apostles do not rashly condemn an extraordinary vocation, but yet they judge it by the effects.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv21–24 21 And the hand of the Lord was with…
21 And the hand of the Lord was with them: and a great number believed, and turned unto the Lord.
Ver. 21. And a great number believed] God sealing his approval of what they did, by an extraordinary success. He hath a mighty hand, and can fetch in multitudes at his pleasure. We hope he is doing some such great work in New England. He can make a law to bring forth in one day, a "nation to be born at once," Isa 66:8.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain On vv21–24 The hand of the Lord; the power, assistance, and…
The hand of the Lord; the power, assistance, and working of God, expressed by the hand, which is the organ or instrument men use in working. This hand or work of God was manifest, first, In the miracles which they wrought. Secondly, In the conversion of any by these miracles. For these alone cannot soften a heart; as appeared in Pharaoh, whose heart was hardened by them.
A great number believed, and turned unto the Lord; faith and conversion are wrought by the hand of the Lord, and are his work. But in vain is faith pretended unto, when there is no change in heart and life. What God hath put together, none may put asunder.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain On vv21–24 Then tidings of these things,.... Of the spread of…
Then tidings of these things,.... Of the spread of the Gospel in several parts, and the success of it in the conversion of sinners, especially at Antioch:
came unto the ears of the church which was in Jerusalem; these tidings were brought to the apostles and brethren there, by messengers which the ministers of the word sent unto them to let them know what success they met with; notwithstanding the persecution raised against the church of Jerusalem at the death of Stephen, and the havoc that was made of the members of it, and the dispersion of others, yet it still continued a church, and so it did for ages after: there are reckoned fifteen bishops of it unto the times of Trajan, and the destruction of the city by him, when the Jews were no longer suffered to live in it; and they are these, James the brother of our Lord, Simeon, Justus, Zacchaeus, Tobias, Benjamin, John, Matthias, Philip, Seneca, Justus, Levi, Ephres, Joseph, and Judas; and these are said (h) to be all originally Hebrews: but after the destruction of the city by Trajan, and the Jews were forbid inhabiting it, the church consisted of Gentiles only; and of them bishops were constituted over it, and were as follow: Marcus, Cassianus, Publius, Maximus, Julianus, Gaianus, Symmachus, Caius, another Julianus, Capito, another Maximus, Antoninus, Valens, Dolychianus, Narcissus, Aelius, Germanio, Gordius, and another Narcissus; all these governed this church in the "second" century: and in the "third" century, the bishops of this church were Alexander, Mazabanes, Labdas, and Hermon, who was the last before the Dioclesian persecution: in the "fourth" century, Macarins, Maximus, and Cyril, presided over it; and these were succeeded in the "fifth" century by Joannes Nepos, Prayllius, Juvenalis, Anastasius, and Martyrius; in this age also Lucian and Hesychius were presbyters of this church. In the "sixth" century, the names of the bishops of this church were Salustius, Helias, Johannes, Petrus, Macarius, Eustochius, Johannes, Neamus, and Isicius: in the "seventh" century were Thomas, Johannes, Neannus, Isaac, Zacharias, and Sophronius, who was the last bishop of Jerusalem before the utter and last devastation of it by the Saracens (i); since which time the city has underwent various fates, being sometimes in the hands of the Christians, and at other times possessed by the Turks, in whose power it now is.
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And they sent forth Barnabas; who was himself an Hellenist, and of the country of Cyprus, and so very fit to be sent to the Grecians or Hellenists at Antioch, who had received the Gospel to confirm them in it: for his orders were,
that he should go as far as Antioch which is said to be about fifteen or sixteen days journey from Jerusalem: the phrase, "that he should go", is not in the Alexandrian copy, nor in the Vulgate Latin, Syriac, and Ethiopic versions.
(h) Euseb. Eccl. Hist. l. 4. c. 5. (i) Magdeburg. Hist. Eccles. cent. 2. c. 2. p. 2. & c. 9. p. 126. cent. 3. c. 10. p. 146. 148. cent. 4. c. 10. p. 503. c. 5. cent. 10. p. 540. cent. 6. c. 10. p. 335. cent. 7. c. 10. p. 251.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain On v21 And the hand of the Lord - That is,…
And the hand of the Lord - That is, the power of his Spirit.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On vv21–24 Verse 21. The hand of the Lord was with…
Verse 21. The hand of the Lord was with them] By the hand, arm, and, finger of God, in the Scripture, different displays or exertions of his power are intended. Here it means that the energy of God accompanied them, and applied their preaching to the souls of all attentive hearers. Without this accompanying influence, even an apostle could do no good; and can inferior men hope to be able to convince and convert sinners without this? Ministers of the word of God, so called, who dispute the necessity and deny the being of this influence, show thereby that they are intruders into God's heritage; that they are not sent by him, and shall not profit the people at all.
A great number believed] That Jesus was the Christ; and that he had died for their offenses, and risen again for their justification. Because the apostles preached the truth, and the hand of God was with them, therefore, a great number believed, and turned unto the Lord, becoming his disciples, and taking him for their portion.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain On v22 Act 11:22-24. Then tidings of these things came to…
Act 11:22-24. Then tidings of these things came to the church at Jerusalem — And, as they had lately seen a way opened for the conversion of the Gentiles, they received information of this further progress of the gospel with peculiar pleasure; and sent forth Barnabas to Antioch — That he might confirm the new converts in the faith into which they had been initiated: who, when he came — To the city, and had seen — Evident proofs of the grace of God conferred upon them; was glad — Rejoiced in the good work wrought among them; and exhorted them all that — Whatever circumstances of difficulty and suffering might arise; they would, with purpose of heart — With full determination and constancy; cleave unto the Lord — Adhere to his truth, cause, and people. For he was a good man — A man eminently pious and benevolent; and full of the Holy Ghost and of faith — Largely endowed with the sanctifying graces and extraordinary gifts of the Divine Spirit; and much people — Through his instrumentality; were added unto the Lord — Were converted unto God, and received into the church by baptism.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain On vv21–24 And the hand of the Lord - See the…
And the hand of the Lord - See the notes on Luk 1:66. Compare Psa 80:17. The meaning is, that God showed them favor, and evinced his power in the conversion of their hearers.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain On v24 Multitude was added, as before, (chap. x.) a few…
Multitude was added, as before, (chap. x.) a few were added to the visible Church. Ever since Christ’s ascension, this Church has been notoriously seen. Of her ministers, their preaching has been open, their sacraments visible, their discipline visible, their persecutions visible, their wonderful increase visible, and their manifestly divine protection visible, and known to all the world. Whilst all that have separated themselves by schism from this venerable body, have fallen into discredit, and most into complete oblivion. The Catholic Church was the first, and it will be the last.
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Lange's Commentary on the Holy Scriptures 1864 · Public Domain On v22 s Act_11:22-26
B.—THE CHURCH IN JERUSALEM SENDS BARNABAS TO ANTIOCH; HE ENCOURAGES THE MEMBERS OF THE RECENTLY FORMED CONGREGATION; AND CONDUCTS SAUL TO THEM
s Act_11:22-26
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22Then [But] tidings of these things [concerning them (see Exeg. note)] came unto the ears of the church which was in Jerusalem: and they sent forth Barnabas, that he should go [travel]14 as far as Antioch. 23Who, when he came [arrived], and had seen [and saw] the grace15 of God, was glad [rejoiced], and exhorted them [om. them] all, that with purpose [determination] of [the] heart they would cleave [should adhere] unto the Lord. 24For he was a good man, and full of the Holy Ghost and of faith: and much people [a considerable multitude] was added unto the Lord. 25Then departed Barnabas [But he went forth]16 to Tarsus, for to seek Saul: 26And when he had found him, he brought him unto Antioch. And it came to pass, that a whole year they17 assembled themselves [came together] with the church [in the congregation]18 , and taught much people. And [taught a considerable multitude, and (τε) that (χργμ. also depending on ἐγένετο)] the disciples were called Christians first in Antioch.
EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL
Act_11:22. Then tidings of these things [concerning them].—The tidings referred to the men [not “things” Engl. vers.], who voluntarily labored in Antioch as missionaries among the Gentiles; for αὐτῶν in Act_11:22, like αὐτῶν in Act_11:21, must necessarily be understood as referring to the Hellenists who are described in Act_11:20, as performing the part of evangelists. Public report [ὁ λόγος, fama, as in Mar_1:45 (Meyer).—Tr.] brought the information concerning their operations among the pagans, and the results of their preaching in Antioch, to the congregation in Jerusalem. The members of the latter gave evidence of their interest in this matter, and in the congregation in Antioch, (which had been but recently formed, and which consisted mainly of converted heathens), by sending Barnabas to them. This mission was the more appropriate and kind, as Barnabas himself was also a native of the island of Cyprus (Act_4:36), from which some of those Christians came, who had spread the Gospel in Antioch. A certain connection between these men and Barnabas, accordingly, already existed, inasmuch as he was not only a Hellenist, but, in particular, a native of Cyprus.
Act_11:23-26. a. Barnabas was commissioned by the primitive congregation to examine the state of affairs in Antioch, and then to adopt such active measures as the circumstances should require. When he arrived, he saw such decisive evidences of the grace of God, which had attended the labors of the evangelists, and controlled the newly converted heathens, that he could only heartily rejoice. He found no occasion to censure any thing whatever, or even to remedy any defect, and therefore all that remained for him to do, was, solely, to exhort all the members of the congregation to persevere, and to remain faithful to the Redeemer. He urged them to adhere τῆ προθέσει τῆς καπδιας, with the determination of the heart, to the Lord, i.e., to adopt it as an established principle, and carry it into effect, that they would adhere to Christ. This παρακαλεῖν of Barnabas reminds us of the circumstance mentioned by Luke, Acts, Act_4:36, that he had been surnamed: “Son of prophetic discourse, or exhortation” [see Exeg. note on Act_4:36-37.—Tr.], on account of the special gift which he had received. We may hence assume, that the exhortations which he addressed to the Antiochian Christians, were discourses preëminently marked by depth and power of thought, and by earnestness of manner. There is another allusion to the same general point, in Luke’s remark that Barnabas had a kind heart and disposition, and was full of the Holy Ghost and of faith. The predicate ἀγαθιός designated not only moral worth in general, but also, in a special sense, kindness, or, affectionate sentiments. All this most fully agrees with the statement that he rejoiced so heartily (ἐχάρη, Act_11:23), when he ascertained the spiritual state of the recent converts.
b. Who, when he came, etc.—The mission of Barnabas produced a twofold result: on the one hand, the number of converts was considerably increased (Act_11:24) through his labors in the congregation of Antioch; on the other, it was of the highest importance, and exerted a widely extended influence, in reference not only to this congregation, but also to the entire church of Christ, that Barnabas brought Saul in connection with the congregation of Antioch, Act_11:25 f. Saul did not himself originally conceive the thought, independently of others, of proceeding to Antioch, but it was Barnabas who induced him to adopt this course. It was, according to Act_9:27, Barnabas himself, who had, at an earlier period, introduced Saul to the apostles in Jerusalem, and placed him in connection with the primitive congregation of that city. The same man now brought Saul to Antioch, and established an organic communication between him and this congregation of Gentile-Christians, the future history of which promised to be so rich in events, and which converted Antioch into the metropolis of Gentile-Christianity. Barnabas was acquainted with all the circumstances connected with the conversion of Paul, and hence he had, doubtless, also been informed of the declaration of the exalted Redeemer that He had chosen Saul to bear His name before Gentile nations and kings, Act_9:15; comp. Act_22:21; Act_26:16 ff. It is therefore possible that while Barnabas was laboring in this Gentile congregation, which had been so recently called into existence, and yet had already become so large, the image of that man who was chosen for such lofty purposes, and, specially, for the conversion of heathens, may have, not without the illumination of the Holy Ghost (“full of the Holy Ghost,” Act_11:24), presented itself to his mind. It was soon clear to him that Saul was precisely suited for that field of labor, even as the latter was suited for him, so that he would be the right man in the right place. He accordingly proceeded at once to Tarsus in Cilicia, which was not far distant, for the purpose of seeking Saul in his native city, to which he had retired in order to escape the hostile movements of the Hellenists at Jerusalem, (Act_9:30). Here he had disappeared for a season from the view, not only of his enemies, but also of his Christian brethren, like one who had left no trace behind; it became necessary to seek him out (ἀναζητῆσαι), and, as it were, to discover him anew (εὑρὼν). Barnabas induced him by his earnest requests and representations to accompany him when he himself returned to Antioch. And now Saul enters upon that field of action on which his peculiar labors were destined to unfold themselves in their whole breadth and depth. He labored at first in connection with Barnabas during an entire year, within the limits of the Antiochian congregation: they assembled “in the congregation,” that is, they labored in the assemblies for public worship; [ἐν τῇ ἐκκλησία, they attended at the meetings of the congregation, (de Wette); they came together in the church, the public assembly, i.e., for the purpose of worship. (Hackett).—Tr.].—To understand the word συναχθῆναι, with Meyer (2d ed.) as denoting the hospitable reception with which the two men met, is not in harmony with the context, as the language of Luke refers alike to Paul and Barnabas, whereas the latter already had his home, as it were, in Antioch; συςάειν, moreover, occurs in such a sense only when the words εἰς οἰκίαν are connected with it, or when the connection indicates it unequivocally in some other manner. [In the last (3d ed. 1861) edition of his commentary, Meyer abandons the interpretation mentioned above, and now says: “συνχθῆαι does not denote a hospitable reception (Mat_25:35), which does not suit the case of Barnabas; the sense is: they were brought together, that is, united in the congregation, after having previously lived and labored apart from each other.”—Tr.].—The two men taught much people, which fact indicates the wide extent of their operations; their labors, however, are not to be viewed precisely as those of missionaries, but rather as those of teachers (διδάσκειν), who guided the converts in acquiring a knowledge of the truth, and conducted them onward in the Christian life and walk. It should, besides, be noticed that this διδάσκειν, in the proper sense of the word, is here, for the first time, mentioned in connection with Paul, (although Barnabas is also undoubtedly included), whereas in Act_4:2; Act_4:18; Act_5:25; Act_5:28; Act_5:42; comp. Act_2:42, it is represented as exclusively the act of the apostles.
c. That the name of “Christians” originated in Antioch, is a fact, for the knowledge of which we are indebted to Luke. It may seem to be one of very little importance, and is, indeed, mentioned incidentally, and in quite an unpretending manner. Still, it is a fact of some weight, and is so regarded by Luke, however unpretending his manner of stating it may be. For the connection in which it occurs, shows that he viewed it as an evidence of the blessing which attended the labors of Saul and Barnabas in Antioch. [The Christians styled themselves οἱ μαθηταί, οἱ ἅγιοι, οἱ πιστοί, or οἱ πιστεύοντες, οί ἀδελφοί οἱ τῆς ὁδοῦ, (Alf.) while the names Γαλιλαῖοι (Act_2:7), Ναζωραῖοι (Act_24:5), etc., were applied to them by the Jews. (Kuin.)—Tr.] The original introduction of the name of Christians, constitutes, indeed, in a certain sense, an era. It has long since, and with great truth, been said, that the Christians did not originally apply this name to themselves; for throughout the whole New Testament it is employed by those who were not Christians. (Act_26:28; 1Pe_4:16). Neither could the Jews have introduced it, since they would never have applied the Messianic name, which they held to be sacred, to a hated sect; it would have, according to their views, been desecrated by such a use. No other explanation is possible, except that the name proceeded from the pagans, and this view is sustained by the form of the word, which, in every respect, resembles the names of political parties, such as Herodians [Mat_22:16], Cæsarians, Pompeians. [“That it has a Latin form (like Mariani, Vitelliani, etc.), is no decided proof of a Latin origin: Latin forms had become naturalized among the Greeks, etc”. (Alf.).—Tr.]. To pagans, who were not acquainted with the historical and dogmatical or religious signification of ὁ χριστός as an appellative, it seemed to be a proper name, and thus they formed a party name from it. Ewald, who goes still further, conjectures that the name proceeded from the Roman government in Antioch, the residence of the proconsul of Syria; but it is not probable that the Roman authorities, at this early period, already noticed the Christians officially, as a body of men distinct from the Jews. [Xρηματίισαι, 1. aor. inf. act., “nominati sunt; χρηματίζειν Atticis erat res agere, apud recentiores, res ita agere, it nomen inde adipiscaris, hinc significatione intransitiva, dici, nominari, audire, id. quod ὀνομάξεσθαι, καλεῖσθαι, etc”. (Kuinoel). Comp. Rom_7:3.—Tr.].—Now if the name was furnished by pagans, this circumstance itself demonstrates that the development of the church of Christ had advanced to another grade, which was new in its essential features. Although the pagans often came in contact with Christians, they had not hitherto distinguished them from the Jews, nor recognized them as a separate and independent class of men. But they now made this distinction, and, first of all, in Antioch, and thus two points are established:—first, large numbers of pagans must have been converted in this city; for as Antioch contained a large Jewish population also, it is apparent, that if the great mass of the Christian congregation had consisted of converted Israelites, the Christians, as a whole, would have continued to be identified with the Jews. Secondly, the specific or peculiar features of Christianity, now came prominently into view, in so far as Christ was the centre of the faith, the love, and the hope of the Church (Xριστιανοί). The introduction of this name is, therefore, historically important, as an evidence that, at this point, the church of Christ is entering the sphere of General History, and that the Judæo-Christians are becoming commingled with Gentile-Christians as one body. See my [the author’s] work, entitled: Apostol. u. nachapost. Zeitalter, 2d ed. p. 372 f. [Lechler there remarks, in addition to the thoughts expressed above, that the name Christians embraced all the members, irrespectively of their Jewish or Gentile birth, since Luke here says τοὺς μαθητὰς, and that it appears from Gal_2:12-13, that previously to the arrival of certain men at Antioch, the Judæo-Christians had not been deterred by any Levitical laws from associating with their Gentile-Christian brethren on equal terms, etc., etc.—Tr.].—The supposition that the name of Christians had been originally employed as a term of ridicule, which, after the example of Wetstein, Baumgarten still entertains, has nothing to sustain it, except the circumstance that the people of Antioch were notorious for their wit and satirical language. [For the authorities by which this fact is proved, see Kuinoel, ad loc., and Conyb. and Howson: Life, etc. of St. Paul, I. 130, and n. 4. London. 1354.—Tr.]
DΟCTRINAL AND ETHICAL
1. The apostles here recede in a remarkable manner from our view. When Philip had labored among the Samaritans, the apostles who were at Jerusalem, heard that Samaria had received the word of God, Act_8:14, and they sent thither Peter and John, two of their own number. But in the present passage the tidings of the conversion of Gentiles in Antioch, “came unto the ears of the church,” and it is the church that sends Barnabas to this city. Hence, it is not the college of the apostles, but the church, that grants the commission, and the messenger himself is not an apostle, but a member of the church. It cannot, indeed, be doubted in the least degree, that the church at Jerusalem, including, and not excluding the apostles, is meant, so that the apostles coöperate when Barnabas was commissioned. Nevertheless, even according to this view, it is a striking circumstance that the apostles, whose position was so prominent in Act_8:14, here retire, as it were, among the congregation, and act only in conjunction with the latter. Even when it is fairly taken into account, that at the former period the great majority of the members of the church in Jerusalem had been scattered abroad, in consequence of the persecution mentioned in Act_8:1, and that those who remained in the city were principally the apostles, (whereas, at the present time, a numerous congregation may have again gathered around them), it is still a very significant circumstance that the messenger was a man who did not belong to the circle of the apostles. This course of the apostles in thus retiring from their former prominent position, must, necessarily, have a certain reference to the specific nature of the event that is here brought to view. Baumgarten (I. 267) very correctly here recognizes an instance of the self-control of the apostles. It was not egotism nor sensitiveness which caused them to retire; the church rather acted with an intelligent understanding of the Lord’s plan of salvation, and was governed have by a spirit of love, which, with great delicacy and wisdom, anticipated and provided for the wants of the newly formed Gentile congregation, by sending to Antioch precisely Barnabas, the Hellenist who came from the island of Cyprus.
2. The choice of Barnabas as the representative sent by the primitive congregation to the Gentile-Christians in Antioch, was a very happy one, and fully in accordance with the mind of the Lord, who guides his church. Barnabas at once perceived the grace of God which had here manifested itself, and rejoiced; his part consisted simply in exhorting all to persevere and remain faithful to Christ. As God is, according, to Act_10:34, οὐ προςωπολήπτης, so, too, this disciple, who was enlightened by the Holy Ghost, did not regard the person either in the case of those who had preached here, or in that of the recent converts, who were pagans, but he directed his, attention to the grace of God, the power and operation of which he most plainly saw. Now where the grace of God in Christ is distinctly revealed, a child of God will always rejoice and feel at home, even if any thing unusual or strange should be found in the persons, and in their manners and ways.
3. That Jesus Christ is the personal centre of Christianity, is strikingly manifested in this history of the planting of the church in Antioch. The Hellenistic travelling preachers “preached the Lord Jesus,” Act_11:20; a great number believed, and turned unto the Lord, Act_11:21; Barnabas exhorted the new converts to cleave unto the Lord with purpose of heart, Act_11:23; and much people was added unto the Lord, Act_11:24. A vital Christianity is a vital and personal relation of the individual to the living and personal Christ. Without faith in the living Christ, with out a vital union with Him in spirit and character, Christianity becomes a mere form and mask. The circumstance, moreover, that the Christians received this distinctive name first of all in Antioch, shows that the believers in this city were devoted to Christ personally in a preëminent degree; for otherwise this name would not occurred to the pagans who introduced it, so naturally and vividly, as to be currently applied by them to the members of the church. It is striking that the believers derived their name, not from “Jesus,” but from “Christ.” That Jesus of Nazareth is the Christ [Mat_26:63; Joh_1:20], the Anointed of God, the King and Lord of His redeemed, was the article of faith which so abundantly filled the heart, that the mouth emphatically proclaimed it, insomuch that strangers bestowed on them, not the name “Jesuits,” but that of “Christians.”
HOMILETICAL AND PRACTICAL
See below, (Act_11:27-30.)
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Footnotes:
[14]Act_11:22. It is true that διελθεῖν is wanting in A. B. [and also Cod. Sin.], as well as in several versions [Syr. Vulg. etc.], and it is cancelled by Lachmann. It is, however, sufficiently attested [by D. E. G. H., and retained by AIf.] and could have more easily been omitted as superfluous, than have been interpolated, if it had originally been wanting. [See Winer: Gr. N. T. §65. 4. ult. where the presence of the word is justified and explained.—Tr.]
[15]Act_11:23. [τὴν after τὴν Χάριν omitted in the text. rec., with D. E., but Lachm. and Alf. insert it from A. B. It is found also in Cod. Sin. Alford takes it emphatically in the following sense: “the grace which (evidently) was that of God.”—Tr.]
[16]Act_11:25, The readings ὁ Βαρνάβας and αὐτόν [the latter both before and after ἤγαγεν], are alike spurious; the former [is found in E. G. H., Vulg. etc., but is omitted in Cod. Sin., and by Alf., and, besides,] is wanting in A. B. and D., even though the latter MS. (Cantabrig.) has inserted in the text an unnecessary amplification of this verse. [It is adopted by Bornemann, and is as follows: ἀκούσας δὲ, ὅτι Σαῦλός ἐστίν εἰς Θαρσόν. (corrected by a later hand to Ταρσόν) ἐξῆλθεν ἀναζητῶν—καἱ ὡς συντυχὼν παρεκάλεσεν αὐον ἐλθεῖν εἰς Ἀντιόχειαν.—αὐτὸν before ἤγαγεν, is found in G. H., but is omitted in A. B. E. Cod. Sin., and by Lach., Tisch. and Alf.—αὐτὸν after ἤγαηεν is found in E. G. H., but is omitted in A. B. Cod. Sin., and by Lach., Tisch. and Alf.—Tr.]
[17]Act_11:26. a. The word αὐτοῖς [after Ἐγένετο δὲ], which in reference to the last member of the verse [χρηματίσαι, like the preceding infinitives, depending on ἐγένετο; Winer: Gr. N. T. §44. 3], is obviously the more difficult reading, is, nevertheless, sustained by three important MSS. [A. B. E., and now also Cod. Sin.], and a number of minuscules. Hence, Tisch. and Lach. [as also Born, and Alf.] have very properly preferred it to the reading αὐτούς [of text. rec. from G. H. Meyer says, in opposition to these editors: “The accus. is necessary, as χρημ. which follows afterwards, does not suit this dative.” But Luke may have chosen the dat. on account of εγένετο which immediately precedes, (comp. Act_20:16; Act_22:17) and retained this construction, although he appended the last member of the verse. See Win. Gr. Gr. § § 60–67.—Tr.].—It is more doubtful whether καί before ἐνιαυτὸν [omitted in text. rec., and by E. G. H.] and which Lach. and Tisch. [and Alf.] have inserted from A. B. etc., is genuine; it rather appears to be a later addition, designed to be emphatic. [It is found in Cod. Sin. Meyer regards it as genuine, and as corresponding to καὶ before διδ., equivalent to both—and also.—Tr.]
[18]Act_11:26. b. [The Engl. version offers in the margin the strictly literal rendering (Wiclif; Rheims): in the church (ἐντ. ἐ), instead of with the church (Geneva) in its text. See Exeg. notes below, Act_11:23-26. b.—Tr.]
Lange's Commentary on the Holy Scriptures (Critical, Doctrinal, and Homiletical), ed. John Peter Lange, English translation edited by Philip Schaff (1864–1880) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain On vv21–24 a great number believed--Thus the accession of Cornelius and…
a great number believed--Thus the accession of Cornelius and his party was not the first admission of uncircumcised Gentiles into the Church. (See on Act 10:1.) Nay, we read of no influence which the accession of Cornelius and his house had on the further progress of the Gospel among the Gentiles; whereas there here open upon us operations upon the Gentiles from quite a different quarter, and attended with ever growing success. The only great object served by the case of Cornelius was the formal recognition of the principles which that case afterwards secured. (See on Act 15:19-29.)
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain On vv22–24 22. Barnabas… Antioch—Barnabas was evidently sent as a committee…
22. Barnabas… Antioch—Barnabas was evidently sent as a committee of inspection to see whether this new Gentile movement was genuine, and whether it confirmed the doctrine of Christianity without circumcision. His coming, and favourable decision and cooperation, doubtless settled the permanence of the Antioch Church under the maternal recognition of Jerusalem.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain On vv21–24 21. And the hand of the Lord was with…
21. And the hand of the Lord was with them] The expression is a common one in the O. T. to express the direct interposition of God in the affairs of the world. Cp. Exo_14:31, “And Israel saw that great work [Heb. hand] which the Lord did upon the Egyptians.” So the Egyptian magicians (Exo_8:19), “This is the finger of God.”
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain On vv22–24 (22) They sent forth Barnabas.—The choice was probably determined,…
(22) They sent forth Barnabas.—The choice was probably determined, we may believe, by the known sympathies of the Son of Consolation for the work which was going on at Antioch. The friend of Paul, who had been with him when he was at Jerusalem (Act_9:27), must have known his hopes and convictions on this matter, and must have welcomed the opening which was thus given him for working in the same direction. The fact that he was himself of the same country would also qualify him for co-operating with the men of Cyprus, who were carrying on that work in Antioch.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain On vv21–24 That believed turned for believed and turned, A.V. and…
That believed turned for believed and turned, A.V. and T.R. The hand of the Lord; i.e. his power working with them and through them. Compare the frequent phrase in the Old Testament, "with a mighty hand and a stretched out arm". (see too Act_4:30; Luk_1:66)
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain On vv21–24 The hand of the Lord.
Act_11:21
The hand of the Lord.
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The hand
The word hand occurs in Scripture no fewer than 1,295 times. Man is the only being on earth that is furnished with two hands. Some other creatures have claws, but not hands. They cannot do as you can, make the thumb meet all the four fingers, so as to seize and hold all the most minute objects; nor can they perform one thousandth part of the skilful acts that man can perform with his hand. What other creature, e.g., can make a watch, or a needle? And there is power in mans hand as well as skill; he can apply force in ways which none of them can approach.
I. In relations to God Himself, the word hand is used--
1. To denote His eternal purpose and almighty power (Act_4:28; Act_4:30).
2. To denote His mighty power to keep, defend, preserve (Joh_10:28-29; Isa_49:2).
3. To express His rich, providential provision for the wants of all His creatures (Psa_104:28; 1Ch_29:16).
4. To signify Gods right to be, as He is, the sovereign disposer of all circumstances, persons, and events (Psa_31:15; Job_2:10).
5. When His inflictions and corrections are referred to (Jdg_2:15; Psa_32:4; Heb_10:31).
6. To denote His power to help (Psa_74:11; Ezr_7:6; Ezr_7:9; Ezr_8:18; Ezr_8:22; Neh_2:8; Neh_2:18; Psa_80:17; Luk_1:66). As an expression for Gods Spirit, putting the spirit of power into us, as well as of love and of a sound mind (Eze_1:3; Eze_3:14; Eze_3:22; Eze_8:1; Eze_37:1). We can be strong for any high and arduous duty only in His strength; all power indeed, all energy of purpose, all special skill in any art, cometh of Him. And not only is this spoken of as Gods hand as the mover, but the term is applied to the agent--the doer of the particular thing. The men of the world are spoken of as Gods hand; and His hand is also to be upon all them for good who seek Him. The right hand, as specially denoting power, is an expression that often occurs in Scripture, and is almost always applied to God (Psa_16:11; Psa_17:7; Psa_20:6; Psa_21:8; Psa_44:3; Psa_45:4; Psa_45:9; Psa_48:10; Psa_60:5; Psa_63:8; Psa_74:1; Psa_48:13; Psa_62:8; Mar_16:19; Heb_1:3, etc., etc.).
II. In relation to man the word hand is used--
1. To denote power in all its various applications (Pro_3:27; Ecc_9:10). To give ones hand is an expression which signifies to pledge peace, promise security, swear friendship, make an alliance.
2. To denote help (Psa_16:8; Psa_73:23; Psa_142:4).
3. To indicate possession, as to rend it out of the hand of anyone denotes deprivation (1Ki_11:11-12).
4. For the giving of advice (2Sa_14:19; 2Sa_14:5).
5. For deliverance from the power and oppression of others (Exo_18:9-10).
6. To denote work of any kind (Luk_1:1; Luk_9:62; Act_20:34; Pro_10:4; Pro_12:24). (S. Jenner, M. A.)
A great number believed, and turned, to the Lord.--
Conversions desired
I. The end which we desire.
1. That men may believe the testimony of Christ to be true. There are some who have not reached as far as that: they reject the inspired Word, and to them the incarnation, etc., are so many old wives fables. There are also many who profess to believe these things, but their only reason is that they have been taught so, and it is the current religion of the nation. But we want more than this faith of indifference, which is little more than unbelief; we want men to believe for themselves because they have felt the saving power of Christ. We pray that nominal believers may treat the doctrines of revelation, not as dogmas, but as facts.
2. That men may savingly believe by putting their trust in Christ. A man commits his soul to Christ for safe keeping, and that saves him. He makes the Saviour trustee of his spiritual estates.
3. That men may so believe in Jesus that they may be turned unto the Lord. This means--
(1) To turn from idols to the living and true God. We desire that faith in Jesus may lead you to give up the objects of your idolatrous love, yourselves, your money, your pleasures, the world, the flesh, the devil.
(2) To turn from the love of sin. He who looks sinward has his back to God--he who looks Godward has his back to sin.
(3) That henceforth God shall he sought in prayer. The man who lives without prayer lives without God, but the man who has turned to God is familiar with the mercy seat.
(4) To yield yourself obediently to His sway. Faith is nothing unless it brings with it a willing mind.
II. The power by which this can be attained. The hand of the Lord was with them. Be encouraged; the hand of God--
1. Is upon men before we speak. I am studying a certain subject, and praying for a blessing on it, and in a chamber, which I have never seen, one of my hearers is smitten with a sense of sin, or troubled with uneasy thoughts, or rendered hopeful of better things, and thus he is being made ready to accept the Christ whom I shall preach to him. Sickness and pain, shame and poverty, often produce a condition of mind most hopeful for the reception of the gospel. Sow, brother, for God has ploughed. Go up and build, for God has prepared the stones and made ready the foundation.
2. Upon the teachers and preachers themselves. There are strange impulses which come over us at times, which make us think and say what otherwise had never crossed our minds, and these work with power upon mens minds.
3. Upon the hearts of men when the gospel is preached. Not only is the Spirit in the Word, but over and above that He makes men--
(1) Recollect their sins. Men who have been giddy and careless and forgetful have on a sudden found themselves reviewing the past.
(2) See the beauty of holiness. When the preacher proclaims the way of salvation the Spirit leads men to admire it and to long for a share in it. Yes, it is not the preacher, and it is not altogether what the preacher says, but there is a power abroad as potent as that by which the worlds were made.
III. The desirableness of our object. Because conversions--
1. Promote the extension of truth, godliness, and virtue.
2. Make men happy. If religion be indeed a source of joy to yourself, you are inhuman if you do not wish others to drink of it.
3. Save men from hell.
4. Increase the Church. Self-preservation is a law of nature, and the Church can never preserve herself except by increasing from the world by conversion.
5. Promote the glory of Christ and give Him to see the travail of His soul.
6. Augment personal blessedness.
IV. How we may promote its attainment.
1. We must distinctly aim at it. As a rule, a man does what he tries to do, and not that which is mere by-play. There is the target, and if you continue to shoot into the air long enough an arrow may perhaps strike it; but if you want to win the prize of archery you had better fix your eye upon the white and take your aim distinctly and with skill.
2. We must press upon men the truths which God usually blesses (Act_11:20). If we do not preach Christ we shall not see souls saved. Who ever heard of a Unitarian Whitfield, or a Socinian Moody gathering twenty thousand people to listen to a Christless gospel? We must equally avoid the modern intellectual system in all its phases. How many conversions are wrought by displays of genius, fine rhetoric, etc.? Certain views as to mans future are equally to be kept clear of, if you would be the means of conversion. Diminish your ideas of the wrath of God and the terrors of hell, and in that proportion you will diminish the results of your work. Other crotchets and novelties of doctrine are also to be let alone, for they are not likely to promote your object, and will most probably divert mens attention from the vital point. If you want a harvest, look well to your seed. If I had to sow my fields with wheat I would not take any but the very best.
3. We must feel a solemn alarm about souls. Believe their danger, their helplessness, that only Christ can save them, and talk to them as if you meant it. The Holy Spirit will move them by first moving you.
4. There must be much prayer. In your closets, at your family altars, and in your prayer meetings be importunate, and the hand of the Lord must and will be with you.
5. There must be direct personal effort on the part of all of you. Great numbers may be saved by my preaching if the Holy Spirit blesses it, but I shall expect larger numbers if you all turn witnesses for Christ. We must expect converts. According to your faith so be it unto you. (C. H. Spurgeon.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
B. W. Johnson 1891 · Public Domain On v22 22–24. Sent forth Barnabas. Barnabas was himself a Grecian…
22–24. Sent forth Barnabas. Barnabas was himself a Grecian Jew (Acts 4:36), also the friend of Saul, another Grecian Jew (Acts 9:27). He was chosen as a suitable man to go to Antioch and see whether there had been a real work of the Lord. When he had seen that it was
the grace of the Lord, he rejoiced and gave it Godspeed, and the work grew more and more in this great metropolis. Note that this is the first church named outside the bounds of Palestine. It was to become the great missionary center for the conversion of the Gentile world.
B. W. Johnson's The People's New Testament with Notes (1889–1891) — public domain. Electronic text from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) ThML edition.
William B. Godbey 1900 · Public Domain On vv21–24 21. “The hand of the Lord was with them,…
21. “The hand of the Lord was with them, and a great number, believing, turned to the Lord.” These were Gentiles in the Syrian Empire, some time before Peter, by his apostolical ipse dixit, had unfurled the Gentile banner at Caesarea.
William B. Godbey, Commentary on the New Testament (1896–1900) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Alexander MacLaren 1905 · Public Domain On vv23–24
Acts
THE EXHORTATION OF BARNABAS 1
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Act 11:23.
The first purely heathen converts had been brought into the Church by the nameless men of Cyprus and Cyrene, private persons with no office or commission to preach, who, in simple obedience to the instincts of a Christian heart, leaped the barrier which seemed impassable to the Church in Jerusalem, and solved the problem over which Apostles were hesitating. Barnabas is sent down to see into this surprising new phenomenon, and his mission, though probably not hostile, was, at all events, one of inquiry and doubt. But like a true man, he yielded to facts, and widened his theory to suit them. He saw the tokens of Christian life in these Gentile converts, and that compelled him to admit that the Church was wider than some of his friends in Jerusalem thought. A pregnant lesson for modern theorists who, on one ground or another of doctrine or of orders, narrow the great conception of Christ’s Church! Can you see ‘the grace of God’ in the people? Then they are in the Church, whatever becomes of your theories, and the sooner you let them out so as to fit the facts, the better for you and for them.
Satisfied as to their true Christian character, Barnabas sets himself to help them to grow. Now, remember how recently they had been converted; how, from their Gentile origin, they can have had next to no systematic instruction; how the taint of heathen morals, such as were common in that luxurious, corrupt Antioch, must have clung to them; how unformed must have been their loose Church organisation- and remembering all this, think of this one exhortation as summing up all that Barnabas had to say to them. He does not say, Do this, or Believe that, or Organise the other; but he says, Stick to Jesus Christ the Lord. On this commandment hangs all the law; it is the one all-inclusive summary of the duties of the Christian life.
So, brethren and fathers, I venture to take these words now, as containing large lessons for us all, appropriate at all times, and especially in a sermon on such an occasion as the present.
We may deal with the thoughts suggested by these words very simply, just looking at the points as they lie-what Barnabas saw, what he felt, what he said.
I. What Barnabas saw.
The grace of God here has very probably the specific meaning of the miracle-working gift of the Holy Spirit. That is rendered probable by the analogy of other instances recorded in the Acts of the Apostles, such as Peter’s experience at Caesarea, where all his hesitations and reluctance were swept away when ‘the Holy Ghost fell on them as on us at the beginning, and they spake with tongues.’ If so, what convinced Barnabas that these uncircumcised Gentiles were Christians like himself, may have been their similar possession of the visible and audible effects of that gift of God. But the language does not compel this interpretation; and the absence of all distinct reference to these extraordinary powers as existing there, among the new converts at Antioch, may be intended to mark a difference in the nature of the evidence. At any rate, the possibly intentional generality of the expression is significant and fairly points to an extension of the spiritual gifts much beyond the limits of miraculous powers. There are other ways by which the grace of God may be seen and heard, thank God! than by speaking with tongues and working miracles; and the first lesson of our text is that wherever that grace is made visible by its appropriate manifestations, there we are to recognise a brother.
Augustine said, ‘Where Christ is there is the Church,’ and that is true, but vague; for the question still remains, ‘And where is Christ?’ The only satisfying answer is, Christ is wherever Christlike men manifest a life drawn from, and kindred with, His life. And so the true form of the dictum for practical purposes comes to be: ‘Where the grace of Christ is visible, there is the Church.’
That great truth is sinned against and denied in many ways. Most chiefly, perhaps, by the successors in modern garb of the more Jewish portion of that Church at Jerusalem who sent Barnabas to Antioch. They had no objection to Gentiles entering the Church, but they must come in by the way of circumcision; they quite believed that it was Christ who saved, and His grace which sanctified, but they thought that His grace would only flow in a given channel; and so do their modern representatives, who exalt sacraments, and consequently priests, to the same place as the Judaizers in the early Church did the rite of the old Covenant. Such teachers have much to say about the notes of the Church, and have elaborated a complicated system of identification by which you may know the genuine article, and unmask impostors. The attempt is about as wise as to try to weave a network fine enough to keep back a stream. The water will flow through the closest meshes, and when Christ pours out the Spirit, He is apt to do it in utter disregard of notes of the Church, and of channels of sacramental grace.
We Congregationalists, who have no orders, no sacraments, no Apostolic succession; who in order not to break loose from Christ and conscience have had to break loose from ‘Catholic tradition,’ and have been driven to separation by the true schismatics, who have insisted on another bond of Church unity than union to Christ, are denied nowadays a place in His Church.
The true answer to all that arrogant assumption and narrow pedantry which confine the free flow of the water of life to the conduits of sacraments and orders, and will only allow the wind that bloweth where it listeth to make music in the pipes of their organs, is simply the homely one which shivered a corresponding theory to atoms in the fair open mind of Barnabas.
The Spirit of Christ at work in men’s hearts, making them pure and gentle, simple and unworldly, refining their characters, elevating their aims, toning their whole being into accord with the music of His life, is the true proof that men are Christians, and that communities of such men are Churches of His. Mysterious efficacy is claimed for Christian ordinances. Well, the question is a fair one: Is the type of Christian character produced within these sacred limits, which we are hopelessly outside, conspicuously higher and more manifestly Christlike than that nourished by no sacraments, and grown not under glass, but in the unsheltered open? Has not God set His seal on these communities to which we belong? With many faults for which we have to be, and are, humble before Him, we can point to the lineaments of the family likeness, and say, ‘Are they Hebrews? so are we. Are they Israelites? so are we. Are they the seed of Abraham? so are we.’
Once get that truth wrought into men’s minds, that the true test of Christianity is the visible presence of a grace in character which is evidently God’s, and whole mountains of prejudice and error melt away. We are just as much in danger of narrowing the Church in accordance with our narrowness as any ‘sacramentarian’ of them all. We are tempted to think that no good thing can grow up under the baleful shadow of that tree, a sacerdotal Christianity. We are tempted to think that all the good people are Dissenters, just as Churchmen are to think that nobody can be a Christian who prays without a prayer-book. Our own type of denominational character-and there is such a thing-comes to be accepted by us as the all but exclusive ideal of a devout man; and we have not imagination enough to conceive, nor charity enough to believe in, the goodness which does not speak our dialect, nor see with our eyes. Dogmatical narrowness has built as high walls as ceremonial Christianity has reared round the fold of Christ, And the one deliverance for us all from the transformed selfishness, which has so much to do with shaping all these wretched narrow theories of the Church, is to do as this man did-open our eyes with sympathetic eagerness to see God’s grace in many an unexpected place, and square our theories with His dealings.
It used to be an axiom that there was no life in the sea beyond a certain limit of a few hundred feet. It was learnedly and conclusively demonstrated that pressure and absence of light, and I know not what beside, made life at greater depths impossible. It was proved that in such conditions creatures could not live. And then, when that was settled, the Challenger put down her dredge five miles, and brought up healthy and good-sized living things, with eyes in their heads, from that enormous depth. So, then, the savant had to ask, How can there be life? instead of asserting that there cannot be; and, no doubt, the answer will be forth coming some day.
We have all been too much accustomed to set arbitrary limits to the diffusion of the life of Christ among men. Let us rather rejoice when we see forms of beauty, which bear the mark of His hand, drawn from depths that we deemed waste, and thankfully confess that the bounds of our expectation, and the framework of our institutions, do not confine the breadth of His working, nor the sweep of His grace.
II. What Barnabas felt.
‘He was glad.’ It was a triumph of Christian principle to recognise the grace of God under new forms, and in so strange a place. It was a still greater triumph to hail it with rejoicing. One need not have wondered if the acknowledgment of a fact, dead in the teeth of all his prejudices, and seemingly destructive of some profound convictions, had been somewhat grudging. Even a good, true man might have been bewildered and reluctant to let go so much as was destroyed by the admission-’Then hath God granted to the Gentiles also repentance unto life,’-and might have been pardoned if he had not been able to do more than acquiesce and hold his peace. We are scarcely just to these early Jewish Christians when we wonder at their hesitation on this matter, and are apt to forget the enormous strength of the prejudices and sacred conviction which they had to overcome. Hence the context seems to consider that the quick recognition of Christian character on the part of Barnabas, and his gladness at the discovery, need explanation, and so it adds, with special reference to these, as it would seem, ‘for he was a good man, full of the Holy Ghost and of faith,’ as if nothing short of such characteristics could have sufficiently emancipated him from the narrowness that would have refused to discern the good, or the bitterness that would have been offended at it.
So, dear brethren, we may well test ourselves with this question: Does the discovery of the working of the grace of God outside the limits of our own Churches and communions excite a quick, spontaneous emotion of gladness in our hearts? It may upset some of our theories; it may teach us that things which we thought very important, ‘distinctive principles’ and the like, are not altogether as precious as we thought them; it may require us to give up some pleasant ideas of our superiority, and of the necessary conformity of all good people to our type. Are we willing to let them all go, and without a twinge of envy or a hanging back from prejudice, to welcome the discovery that ‘God fulfils Himself in many ways’? Have we schooled ourselves to say honestly, ‘Therein I do rejoice, yea, and will rejoice’?
There is much to overcome if we would know this Christlike gladness. The good and the bad in us may both oppose it. The natural deeper interest in the well-being of the Churches of our own faith and order, the legitimate ties which unite us with these, our conscientious convictions, our friendships, the esprit de corps born of fighting shoulder to shoulder, will, of course, make our sympathies flow most quickly and deeply in denominational channels. And then come in abundance of less worthy motives, some altogether bad and some the exaggeration of what is good, and we get swallowed up in our own individual work, or in that of our ‘denomination,’ and have but a very tepid joy in anybody else’s prosperity.
In almost every town of England, your Churches, and those to which I belong, with Presbyterians and Wesleyans, stand side by side. The conditions of our work make some rivalry inevitable, and none of us, I suppose, object to that. It helps to keep us all diligent: a sturdy adherence to our several ‘distinctive principles’ and an occasional hard blow in fair fight on their behalf we shall all insist upon. Our brotherhood is all the more real for frank speech, and ‘the animated No!’ is an essential in all intercourse which is not stagnant or mawkish. There is much true fellowship and much good feeling among all these. But we want far more of an honest rejoicing in each other’s success, a quicker and truer manly sympathy with each other’s work, a fuller consciousness of our solidarity in Christ, and a clearer exhibition of it before the world.
And on a wider view, as our eyes travel over the wide field of Christendom, and our memories go back over the long ages of the story of the Church, let gladness, and not wonder or reluctance, be the temper with which we see the graces of Christian character lifting their meek blossoms in corners strange to us, and breathing their fragrance over the pastures of the wilderness. In many a cloister, in many a hermit’s cell, from amidst the smoke of incense, through the dust of controversies, we should see, and be glad to see, faces bright with the radiance caught from Christ. Let us set a jealous watch over our hearts that self-absorption, or denominationalism, or envy do not make the sight a pain instead of a joy; and let us remember that the eye-salve which will purge our dim sight to behold the grace of God in all its forms is that grace itself, which ever recognises its own kindred, and lives in the gladness of charity, and the joy of beholding a brother’s good. If we are to have eyes to know the grace of God when we see it, and a heart to rejoice when we know it, we must get them as Barnabas got his, and be good men, because we are full of the Holy Ghost, and full of the Holy Ghost because we are full of faith.
III. What Barnabas said.
‘He exhorted them all, that with purpose of heart they would cleave unto the Lord.’ The first thing that strikes one about this all-sufficient directory for Christian life is the emphasis with which it sets forth ‘the Lord’ as the one object to be grasped and held. The sum of all objective Religion is Christ-the sum of all subjective Religion is cleaving to Him. A living Person to be laid hold of, and a personal relation to that Person, such is the conception of Religion, whether considered as revelation or as inward life, which underlies this exhortation. Whether we listen to His own words about Himself, and mark the altogether unprecedented way in which He was His own theme, and the unique decisiveness and plainness with which He puts His own personality before us as the Incarnate Truth, the pattern for all human conduct, the refuge and the rest for the world of weary ones; or whether we give ear to the teaching of His Apostles; from whatever point of view we approach Christianity, it all resolves itself into the person of Jesus Christ. He is the Revelation of God; theology, properly so called, is but the formulating of the facts which He gives us; and for the modern world the alternative is, Christ the manifested God, or no God at all, other than the shadow of a name. He is the perfect Exemplar of humanity! The law of life and the power to fulfil the law are both in Him; and the superiority of Christian morality consists not in this or that isolated precept, but in the embodiment of all goodness in His life, and in the new motive which He supplies for keeping the commandment. Wrenched away from Him, Christian morality has no being. He is the sacrifice for the world, the salvation of which flows from what He does, and not merely from what He taught or was. His personality is the foundation of His work, and the gospel of forgiveness and reconciliation is all contained in the name of Jesus.
There is a constant tendency to separate the results of Christ’s life and death, whether considered as revelation, atonement, or ethics, from Him, and unconsciously to make these the sum of our Religion, and the object of our faith. Especially is this the case in times of restless thought and eager canvassing of the very foundations of religious belief, like the present. Therefore it is wholesome for us all to be brought back to the pregnant simplicity of the thought which underlies this text, and to mark how vividly these early Christians apprehended a living Lord as the sum and substance of all which they had to grasp.
There is a whole world between the man to whom God’s revelation consists in certain doctrines given to us by Jesus Christ, and the man to whom it consists in that Christ Himself. Grasping a living person is not the same as accepting a proposition. True, the propositions are about Him, and we do not know Him without them. But equally true, we need to be reminded that He is our Saviour and not they, and that God has revealed Himself to us not in words and sentences but in a life.
For, alas! the doctrinal element has overborne the personal among all Churches and all schools of thought, and in the necessary process of formulating and systematising the riches which are in Jesus, we are all apt to confound the creeds with the Christ, and so to manipulate Christianity until, instead of being the revelation of a Person and a gospel, it has become a system of divinity. Simple, devout souls have to complain that they cannot find even a dead Christ, to say nothing of a living one, for the theologians have ‘taken away their Lord, and they know not where they have laid Him.’
It is, therefore, to be reckoned as a distinct gain that one result of the course of more recent thought, both among friends and foes, has been to make all men feel more than before, that all revelation is contained in the living person of Jesus Christ. So did the Church believe before creeds were. So it is coming to feel again, with a consciousness enriched and defined by the whole body of doctrine, which has flowed from Him during all the ages. That solemn, gracious Figure rises day by day more clearly before men, whether they love Him or no, as the vital centre of this great whole of doctrines, laws, institutions, which we call Christianity. Round the story of His life the final struggle is to be waged. The foe feels that, so long as that remains, all other victories count for nothing. We feel that if that goes, there is nothing to keep. The principles and the precepts will perish alike, as the fair palace of the old legend, that crumbled to dust when its builder died. But so long as He stands before mankind as He is painted in the Gospel, it will endure. If all else were annihilated, Churches, creeds and all, leave us these four Gospels, and all else would be evolved again. The world knows now, and the Church has always known, though it has not always been true to the significance of the fact, that Jesus Christ is Christianity, and that because He lives, it will live also.
And consequently the sum of all personal religion is this simple act described here as cleaving to Him.
Need I do more than refer to the rich variety of symbols and forms of expression under which that thought is put alike by the Master and by His servants? Deepest of all are His own great words, of which our text is but a feeble echo, ‘Abide in Me, and I in you.’ Fairest of all is that lovely emblem of the vine, setting forth the sweet mystery of our union with Him. Far as it is from the outmost pliant tendril to the root, one life passes to the very extremities, and every cluster swells and reddens and mellows because of its mysterious flow. ‘So also is Christ.’ We remember how often the invitation flowed from His lips, Come unto Me; how He was wont to beckon men away from self and the world with the great command, Follow Me; how He explained the secret of all true life to consist in eating Him. We may recall, too, the emphasis and perpetual reiteration with which Paul speaks of being ‘in Jesus’ as the condition of all blessedness, power, and righteousness; and the emblems which he so often employs of the building bound into a whole on the foundation from which it derives its stability, of the body compacted and organised into a whole by the head from which it derives its life.
We begin to be Christians, as this context tells us, when we ‘turn to the Lord.’ We continue to be Christians, as Barnabas reminded these ignorant beginners, by ‘cleaving to the Lord.’ Seeing, then, that our great task is to preserve that which we have as the very foundation of our Christian life, clearly the truest method of so keeping it will be the constant repetition of the act by which we got it at first. In other words, faith joined us to Christ, and continuously reiterated acts of faith keep us united to Him. So, if I may venture, fathers and brethren, to cast my words into the form of exhortation, even to such an audience as the present, I would earnestly say, Let us cleave to Christ by continual renewal of our first faith in Him.
The longest line may be conceived of as produced simply by the motion of its initial point. So should our lives be, our progress not consisting in leaving our early acts of faith behind us, but in repeating them over and over again till the points coalesce in one unbroken line which goes straight to the Throne and Heart of Jesus. True, the repetition should be accompanied with fuller knowledge, with calmer certitude, and should come from a heart ennobled and encircled by a Christ-possessing past. As in some great symphony the theme which was given out in low notes on one poor instrument recurs over and over again, embroidered with varying harmonies, and unfolding a richer music, till it swells into all the grandeur of the triumphant close, so our lives should be bound into a unity, and in their unity bound to Christ by the constant renewal of our early faith, and the fathers should come round again to the place which they occupied when as children they first knew Him that is ‘from the beginning’ to the end one and the same.
Such constant reiteration is needed, too, because yesterday’s trust has no more power to secure to-day’s union than the shreds of cloth and nails which hold last year’s growth to the wall will fasten this year’s shoots. Each moment must be united to Christ by its own act of faith, or it will be separated from Him. So living in the Lord we shall be strong and wise, happy and holy. So dying in the Lord we shall be of the dead who are blessed. So sleeping in Jesus we shall at the last be found in Him at that day, and shall be raised up together, and made to sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus.
But more specially let us cleave to Christ by habitual contemplation. There can be no real continuous closeness of intercourse with Him, except by thought ever recurring to Him amidst all the tumult of our busy days. I do not mean professional thinking or controversial thinking, of which we ministers have more than enough. There is another mood of mind in which to approach our Lord than these, a mood sadly unfamiliar, I am afraid, in these days: when poor Mary has hardly a chance of a reputation for ‘usefulness’ by the side of busy, bustling Martha-that still contemplation of the truth which we possess, not with the view of discovering its foundations, or investigating its applications, or even of increasing our knowledge of its contents, but of bringing our own souls more completely under its influence, and saturating our being with its fragrance. The Church has forgotten how to meditate. We are all so occupied arguing and deducing and elaborating, that we have no time for retired, still contemplation, and therefore lose the finest aroma of the truth we profess to believe. Many of us are so busy thinking about Christianity that we have lost our hold of Christ. Sure I am that there are few things more needed by our modern religion than the old exhortation, ‘Come, My people, enter into thy chambers and shut thy doors about thee.’ Cleave to the Lord by habitual play of meditative thought on the treasures hidden in His name, and waiting like gold in the quartz, to be the prize of our patient sifting and close gaze.
And when the great truths embodied in Him stand clear before us, then let us remember that we have not done with them when we have seen them. Next must come into exercise the moral side of faith, the voluntary act of trust, the casting ourselves on Him whom we behold, the making our own of the blessings which He holds out to us. Flee to Christ as to our strong habitation to which we may continually resort. Hold tightly by Christ with a grasp which nothing can slacken {that whitens your very knuckles as you clutch Him}, lean on Christ all your weight and all your burdens. Cleave to the Lord with full purpose of heart.
Let us cleave to the Lord by constant outgoings of our love to Him. That is the bond which unites human spirits together in the only real union, and Scripture teaches us to see in the sweetest, sacredest, closest tie that men and women can know, a real, though faint, shadow of the far deeper and truer union between Christ and us. The same love which is the bond of perfectness between man and man, is the bond between us and Christ. In no dreamy, semi-pantheistic fusion of the believer with his Lord do we find the true conception of the unity of Christ and His Church, but in a union which preserves the individualities lest it should slay the love. Faith knits us to Christ, and faith is the mother of love, which maintains the blessed union. So let us not be ashamed of the emotional side of our religion, nor deem that we can cleave to Christ unless our hearts twine their tendrils round Him, and our love pours its odorous treasures on His sacred feet, not without weeping and embraces. Cold natures may carp, but Love is justified of her children, and Christ accepts the homage that has a heart in it. Cleaving to the Lord is not merely love, but it is impossible without it. The order is Faith, Love, Obedience-that threefold cord knits men to Christ, and Christ to men. For the understanding, a continuous grasp of Him as the object of thought. For the heart, a continuous outgoing to Him as the object of our love. For the will, a continuous submission to Him as the Lord of our obedience. For the whole nature, a continuous cleaving to Him as the object of our faith and worship.
Such is the true discipline of the Christian life. Such is the all-sufficient command; as for the newest convert from heathenism, with little knowledge and the taint of his old vices in his soul, so for the saint fullest of wisdom and nearest the Light.
It is all-sufficient. If Barnabas had been like some of us, he would have had a very different style of exhortation. He would have said, ‘This irregular work has been well done, but there are no authorised teachers here, and no provision has been made for the due administration of the sacraments of the Church. The very first thing of all is to give these people the blessing of bishops and priests.’ Some of us would have said, ‘Valuable work has been done, but these good people are terribly ignorant. The best thing would be to get ready as soon as possible some manual of Christian doctrine, and in the meantime provide for their systematic instruction in at least the elements of the faith.’ Some of us would have said, ‘No doubt they have been converted, but we fear there has been too much of the emotional in the preaching. The moral side of Christianity has not been pressed home, and what they chiefly need is to be taught that it is not feeling, but righteousness. Plain, practical instruction in Christian duty is the one thing they want.’
Barnabas knew better. He did not despise organisation, nor orthodoxy, nor practical righteousness, but he knew that all three, and everything else that any man needed for his perfecting would come, if only the converts kept near to Christ, and that nothing else was of any use if they did not. That same conviction should for us settle the relative importance which we attach to these subordinate and derivative things, and to the primary and primitive duty. Obedience to it will secure them. They, without it, are not worth securing.
We spend much pains and effort nowadays in perfecting our organisations and consolidating our resources, and I have not a word to say against that. But heavier machinery needs more power in the engine, and that means greater capacity in your boilers and more fire in your furnace. The more complete our organisation, the more do we need a firm hold of Christ, or we shall be overweighted by it, shall be in danger of burning incense to our own net, shall be tempted to trust in drill rather than in courage, in mechanism rather than in the life drawn from Christ. On the other hand, if we put as our first care the preservation of the closeness of our union with Christ, that life will shape a body for itself, and ‘to every seed its own body.’
True conceptions of Him, and a definite theology, are good and needful. Let us cleave to Him with mind and heart, and we shall receive all the knowledge we need, and be guided into the deep things of God. In Him are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge, and the basis of all theology is the personal possession of Him who is ‘the wisdom of God’ and ‘the Light of the world.’ Every one that loveth is born of God and knoweth God. Pectus facit Theologum.
Plain, straightforward morality and everyday righteousness are better than all emotion and all dogmatism and all churchism, says the world, and Christianity says much the same; but plain, straightforward righteousness and everyday morality come most surely when a man is keeping close to Christ. In a word, everything that can adorn the character with beauty, and clothe the Church with glorious apparel, whatsoever things are lovely and of good report, all that the world or God calls virtue and crowns with praise, they are all in their fulness in Him, and all are most surely derived from Him by keeping fast hold of His hand, and preserving the channels clear through which His manifold grace may flow into our souls. The same life is strength in the arm, pliancy in the fingers, swiftness in the foot, light in the eye, music on the lips; so the same grace is Protean in its forms, and to His servants who trust Him Christ ever says, ‘What would ye that I should do unto you? Be it even as thou wilt.’ The same mysterious power lives in the swaying branch, and in the veined leaf, and in the blushing clusters. With like wondrous transformations of the one grace, the Lord pours Himself into our spirits, filling all needs and fitting for all circumstances. Therefore for us all, individuals and Churches, this remains the prime command, ‘With purpose of heart cleave unto the Lord.’ Dear brethren in the ministry, how sorely we need this exhortation! Our very professional occupation with Christ and His truth is full of danger for us; we are so accustomed to handle these sacred themes as a means of instructing or impressing others that we get to regard them as our weapons, even if we do not degrade them still further by thinking of them as our stock-in-trade and means of oratorical effect. We must keep very firm hold of Christ for ourselves by much solitary communion, and so retranslating into the nutriment of our own souls the message we bring to men, else when we have preached to others we ourselves may he cast away. All the ordinary tendencies which draw men from Him work on us, and a host of others peculiar to ourselves, and all around us run strong currents of thought which threaten to sweep many away. Let us tighten our grasp of Him in the face of modern doubt; and take heed to ourselves that neither vanity, nor worldliness, nor sloth; neither the gravitation earthward common to all, nor the temptations proper to our office; neither unbelieving voices without nor voices within, seduce us from His side. There only is our peace, there our wisdom, there our power.
Subtly and silently the separating forces are ever at work upon us, and all unconsciously to ourselves our hold may relax, and the flow of this grace into our spirits may cease, while yet we mechanically keep up the round of outward service, nor even suspect that our strength is departed from us. Many a stately elm that seems full of vigorous life, for all its spreading boughs and clouds of dancing leaves, is hollow at the heart, and when the storm comes goes down with a crash, and men wonder, as they look at the ruin, how such a mere shell of life with a core of corruption could stand so long. It rotted within, and fell at last, because its roots did not go deep down to the rich soil, where they would have found nourishment, but ran along near the surface among gravel and stones. If we would stand firm, be sound within, and bring forth much fruit, we must strike our roots deep in Him who is the anchorage of our souls, and the nourisher of all our being.
Hearken, beloved brethren, in this great work of the ministry, not to the exhortation of the servant, but to the solemn command of the Master, ‘Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine, no more can ye, except ye abide in Me.’ And let us, knowing our own weakness, take heed of the self-confidence that answers, ‘Though all should forsake Thee, yet will not I,’ and turn the vows which spring to our lips into the lowly prayer, ‘My soul cleaveth unto the dust, quicken Thou me according to Thy word.’ Then, thinking rather of His cleaving to us than of our cleaving to Him, let us resolutely take as the motto of our lives the grand words: ‘I follow after, if that I may lay hold of that for which I am also laid hold of by Christ Jesus!’
1 Preached before the Congregational Union of England and Wales.
Alexander MacLaren, Expositions of Holy Scripture (1904–1910) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
J. W. McGarvey 1914 · Public Domain On vv21–24 See notes one verse 20
See notes one verse 20
J. W. McGarvey (with Philip Y. Pendleton), Commentaries on the New Testament (The Fourfold Gospel, 1914; Acts; and the epistles) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Paul E. Kretzmann 1924 · Public Domain On v22 Barnabas in Antioch and Tarsus:
Barnabas in Antioch and Tarsus:
v. 22. Then tidings of these things came unto the ears of the church which was in Jerusalem; and they sent forth Barnabas that he should go as far as Antioch,
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v. 23. who, when he came, and had seen the grace of God, was glad, and exhorted them all that with purpose of heart they would cleave unto the Lord.
v. 24. For he was a good man, and full of the Holy Ghost and of faith; and much people was added unto the Lord.
v. 25. Then departed Barnabas to Tarsus for to seek Saul;
v. 26. and when he had found him, he brought him unto Antioch. And it came to pass that a whole year they assembled themselves with the church, and taught much people. And the disciples were called Christians first in Antioch.
Jerusalem, being the headquarters of the apostles, was still considered the capital city of Christendom. But proclamation of the unity of faith, so far as the believers of Samaria were concerned, had already been made, chap. 8:14-17. When therefore the news reached Jerusalem and was brought to the attention of the congregation, the brethren formally delegated Barnabas to go down to Antioch. If the report was based upon facts, he was to establish fraternal relations with the disciples in this great metropolis also. Barnabas made the trip, came to the end of his journey. and was more than repaid. He saw the grace of God; he was fully convinced by the many evidences of the working of God’s grace on every hand; he could not but acknowledge this fact with great joy and thanksgiving. And as a true son of comfort and exhortation he encouraged and admonished all the brethren to abide unwaveringly with the Lord, to cling to Him with full devotion of heart. The benefits and blessings of faith will come only to him that remains steadfast in his faith. And that is one of the purposes of the Gospel, to keep the believers in their faith. This preaching and admonishing of Barnabas made all the more impression, since he himself was a good man, and full of the Holy Ghost and of faith. His preaching and exhorting was not like saying a lesson by rote, but it flowed out of the depth of his conviction of faith and the power of the Holy Ghost, who lived in him. It is not absolutely essential for the proclamation of the Word, but it is not without influence upon the force and vividness of presentation, that the preacher have the full conviction of the truth of Scriptures and the great Gospel-facts. In Antioch the effect was immediate and wonderful: a great multitude was turned to the Lord. With the establishment of the congregation now assured and the work growing in scope every day, Barnabas thought of his friend Saul, who was only a short distance from Antioch, at Tarsus, and who, as Barnabas knew, was destined for work among the Gentiles. So Barnabas made the trip across the sea to Tarsus to look up Saul, and finding him, he led him to Antioch. For a whole year these two men now worked together in the church at Antioch, with its hundreds and thousands of souls in need of salvation. "The united labors of two such men for a whole year, in a community to which the Gospel had already been favorably introduced, could not fail of great results; and the ultimate results were far beyond any hope which they could then have entertained; for they were now erecting, as it were, the second capital of the Christian world, whence were sent forth, not long afterward, the most fruitful missions of the apostolic age. " Here in Antioch also a great honor came to the disciples, for here, for the first time, they were called Christians. The heathen applied this name to the believers because they professed faith in Christ. Ever since, it has been the name which the believers have deemed the greatest honor to bear. Compare Act 26:28; 1Pe 4:16.
Paul E. Kretzmann, Popular Commentary of the Bible (1921–1924) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On v22 General Information:
General Information:
In these verses, the word "he" refers to Barnabas. The word "they" refers to the believers of the church at Jerusalem.
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General Information:
The words "them" and "their" refer to the new believers. (See: Acts 11:20)
ears of the church
Here "ears" refers to the believers' hearing about the event. AT: "the believers in the church" (See: Metonymy)
saw the grace of God
"saw how God acted kindly toward the believers"
he encouraged them
"he kept on encouraging them"
to remain with the Lord
"to remain faithful to the Lord" or "to continue to trust in the Lord"
with all their heart
Here the "heart" refers to a person's will and desire. AT: "with all their will" or "with complete commitment" (See: Metonymy)
full of the Holy Spirit
The Holy Spirit controlled Barnabas as he obeyed the Holy Spirit.
many people were added to the Lord
Here "added" means they came to believe the same thing as the others. AT: "many more people also believed in the Lord" (See: Metonymy)
translationWords
church
Jerusalem
Barnabas
Antioch
grace
lord
filled with the Holy Spirit
Holy Spirit
faith
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On v21 11:21-24 Once again, as had happened in the household…
11:21-24 Once again, as had happened in the household of Cornelius, Gentiles turned to the Lord in considerable numbers. The explosion of Christian faith into the Gentile world had to remain in harmony with the church at Jerusalem, so the Jerusalem church sent Barnabas to Antioch to oversee developments there. He could see that God’s blessing was on what was happening, so he endorsed it with joy.
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.