Believers First Called Christians at Antioch

“And the hand of the Lord was with them, and a great number who believed turned to the Lord.  The report of this came to the ears of the church in Jerusalem, and they sent Barnabas to Antioch.  When he came and saw the grace of God, he was glad, and he exhorted them all to remain faithful to the Lord with steadfast purpose, for he was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and of faith.  And a great many people were added to the Lord.  So Barnabas went to Tarsus to look for Saul, and when he had found him, he brought him to Antioch.  For a whole year they met with the church and taught a great many people.  And in Antioch the disciples were first called Christians.” –Acts 11:21-26 (ESV.  Read Acts 11:19-30).

Upon the death of Stephen, a major persecution of the church in Jerusalem occurred.  Believers scattered to many places and as they went they told people of the Way.  Antioch of Syria was the third largest city of the known world at that time, with Rome the largest and Alexandria in Egypt the second largest.  It is estimated that the population of Antioch was half a million or more.  Many Hellenistic (Greek-speaking) Jews lived there.  It was also the capital of the Roman province of Syria.  A commercial port city located on the Orontes River and inland fifteen miles from the Mediterranean Sea, it was a rich and powerful city.  Worship of Daphne, Antioch’s patron goddess, was widely practiced, with immoral practices and festivals held in her honor.  Legend holds that Daphne was a mortal.  The pagan god Apollo fell in love with her and as he pursued her, she was turned into a laurel bush.  The laurel groves throughout Antioch held shrines to her honor, and every year the chase was reenacted.  To such a city, the message of Christ was preached and taught with zeal.  If the gospel could be heard and accepted in such a den of iniquity as the city of Antioch, then it can be spread anywhere.  Three distinct milestones are noted in the spread of the gospel to the Gentiles.  Philip, one of the first deacons, preached in Samaria.  But the Samaritans were a mixed race—Jewish and Gentile.  Peter then preached to Cornelius and many in Caesarea; but the invitation had come from a non-Jew, Cornelius himself.  Third, those who were scattered abroad went preaching in Phoenecia, Cyprus and Antioch.  The church grew, and soon the Jerusalem Church sent one of their finest, Barnabas, to check on the church at Antioch.  When he arrived, he liked what he observed.  But he needed help.  He remembered Saul and that he had returned to his hometown of Tarsus about ten years previously.  Barnabas went looking for him, and when he found him invited Saul to Antioch.  Together they ministered in the city for about a year.  The church kept growing.

 

And then a remarkable thing happened.  The believers got a name:  “And in Antioch the disciples were first called Christians.”  The suffix –iani—added to a word makes it mean “belonging to the party of.”  The word was a nickname at first, and uttered in a teasing, mocking way:  “These Christ-folks.”  The word may have originated in the court of the Roman ruler in Antioch, or on the street among yet-unbelieving Gentiles.  But the name stuck, and came to have a deep connotation, one of meaning “like Christ.”  By living their lives in the nurture and admonition of the Lord, with courage and faith and emulating Christ’s teachings and His deeds, the name has spread to all the world.  The courage exemplified in the face of cruel treatment, and the sacrificial lifestyle all spoke of being “like Christ.”  Agabus, a prophet, spoke to the Antioch church and told them a famine was coming and would especially affect the church at Jerusalem.  This was about the year 44 A. D.  A famine did occur in 45 A. D. under the rule of the Roman Emperor Claudius.  It especially hit in Judea and Greece.  The Antioch Church took up an offering to aid the suffering believers at Jerusalem.  Barnabas and Saul were selected to deliver it.  The focus of Christian outreach moved from Jerusalem to Antioch, from mainly Jewish to Gentile believers. The loving concern for those in hardship became a theme of sharing the love of Christ.  So may we continue!