Theme Number 30 The Missionary Sending Church at Antioch

Barnbas and Saul Teaching in Antioch

Acts 13:1-3


Call and sending out of Barnabas and Saul on their First Missionary Journey.
Contents: The Missionary Sending Church at Antioch in Syria. Paul and Barnabas called. Satanic opposition from a sorcerer. Paul’s sermon in the synagogue at Antioch. Opposition from Jews. Paul and Barnabas turn to Gentiles. Acts 13:1-52

1. The Missionary Sending Church at Antioch in Syria. The Gospel goes to the Ends of the Earth.

This church had been founded when after the persecution connected with the death of Stephen, when some of the scattered believers came to Antioch speaking only to Jews. Some of the Greek speakers began to witness to the Greeks in the city. Great Numbers believed and turned to the Lord. Acts 11:19-21
Then the church in Jerusalem sent Barnabas, a Cypriot Jew, to Antioch. He was a good man and full of the Holy Spirit and faith. Great numbers of people were brought to the Lord. Acts 11:22-26

Barnabas went to Tarsus to look for Saul. When he found him he brought him to Antioch. Apparently Barnabas was a great  encouragement as His name suggests. They needed help from a Greek speaking educated believer and he saw the necessary qualities in young Saul of Tarsus.

Acts 13 : 1 In this Assembly at Antioch was multiple ministries all functioning especially Prophets and teachers. Eph 4:11 It was not just Barnabas doing all the preaching and teaching. There was also a Multi-racial Ministry team. With Barnabas, a Greek- speaking Jew, was Simeon [a Jewish name] who was called Niger [ which means ‘black man] Now whether he was a Jew with dark complexion or a black-man from West Africa we do not know.
There was also Lucius from Cyrene which is present day Libya, and Manean who had been reared with Herod the tetrarch. There was also Saul from Tarsus the famous University city of Asia Minor.

Note of Manean : He was Herod’s foster brother. The Syriac version calls him Manail, and one of Stephens's copies Manael, and the Ethiopic version Manache, and renders what is said of him, "the son of king Herod's nurse"; which accounts for their being brought up, nourished, and suckled together: the name seems to be the same with Menachem, or Menahem, a name frequent with the Jews; there was one of this name, who was very intimate with Herod the great, and was in his service, though before he was vice president of the sanhedrim.” J. Gill

Applications
1. For a revival Church to continue to grow there must be an inclusive leadership which develops younger ministers. Barnabas brought young Saul to Antioch and they taught large numbers of new Believers for a whole year together.
2. The Prophets and Teachers were operating in their gifts. Some were fore-telling.i.e. their prophecies were predictive of the future. Others were forth-telling or preaching and explaining the Old Testament Prophecies concerning the Messiah. Others were teachers who were gifted in grounding the new believers in the basic of the Good News.
3. There was a Ministry Team apparently under the leadership of Barnabas. Does your church have a Multiple- Ministry team operating.
4. From this church the Missionary team was called out. It was a Vibrant expanding Work of God in Greek- speaking Syria. This became the new base for outreach to the world.

Young Believers on the Move