They are Christians - Acts 11

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

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

Barnabas went there and became their pastor.  What a wonderful thing it is if we could all be called good, full of the Spirit and faith.  He was leading this church in growth.  Antioch has become the second center of the early church and many people believe it takes over as the main center of the early church.

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

Maybe Barnabas needed an associate pastor and he knew just where to find one.  Or maybe he was being lead to go get Saul.  As an encouraging person who had stood by Saul in Jerusalem, maybe he was wondering what he was doing and why he wasn’t teaching.  Whatever the reason, Barnabas goes and finds him and puts him to work.

The term Christian means Christ follower.  There in Antioch, someone coins the phrase and it has stuck.  It should be a description of every believer.  It should be the why behind our actions.  I once asked a guy professing to be a Christian who was pushing for a divorce if Jesus was leading him to do that; I asked another caught up in pornography is Jesus was leading him in that; I asked another who had become an alcoholic if Jesus was leading him to drink.  In each case, they had stopped following Christ and were following their own wants or desires.  We are to be a people who follows Christ.  When we get distracted, we should be willing to be confronted, seek repentance and start following again.  The world should so see Jesus the Christ directing our actions that they would call us Christ followers even if that term was not being used today.

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

There is evidence of this famine in history.  The worst of this famine was felt in Jerusalem.  The church in Antioch helps the church in Jerusalem with support.  We are very familiar with this type of help having hurricanes and such in our region.  I’m excited to say the church to this day reaches out to help one another in such times.  It is a testimony of the church as it follows the example presented here in the early church.