Memorial Day Video ahead of me.
Today we wrap our 6-week series in the middle of Acts by looking at Barnabas. Barnabas is in fact his nickname. Now, sometimes we can be cruel with our nicknames. We can call a big man “tiny” or a slow-footed person “lightening.” When we think about some of our best nicknames, we think of some of our favorite athletes.
And baseball seems to be the sport with the best nicknames. There’s Lawrence Berra was “Yogi”, Willy Mays was the “Say Hey Kid”, or Pete Rose as “Charlie Hustle.” We also think of family where we call our grandfather Pops. Or even Mafia nicknames such as Teflon Don. Barnabas got his nickname because his personality. Let’s jump right into the story.
“Now those who were scattered because of the persecution that arose over Stephen traveled as far as Phoenicia and Cyprus and Antioch, speaking the word to no one except Jews. 20 But there were some of them, men of Cyprus and Cyrene, who on coming to Antioch spoke to the Hellenists also, preaching the Lord Jesus. 21 And the hand of the Lord was with them, and a great number who believed turned to the Lord. 22 The report of this came to the ears of the church in Jerusalem, and they sent Barnabas to Antioch. 23 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, 24 for he was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and of faith. And a great many people were added to the Lord. 25 So Barnabas went to Tarsus to look for Saul, 26 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. 27 Now in these days prophets came down from Jerusalem to Antioch. 28 And one of them named Agabus stood up and foretold by the Spirit that there would be a great famine over all the world (this took place in the days of Claudius). 29 So the disciples determined, every one according to his ability, to send relief to the brothers living in Judea. 30 And they did so, sending it to the elders by the hand of Barnabas and Saul.” (Acts 11:19–30)
Three Quick Facts You Need to Know about Barnabas
As you read through Acts, it’s obvious that God wants to us to be like Barnabas.
1. Barnabas was a Good Man
The first time we met Barnabas, we learn he is selling some of his property to feed the poor (Acts 4:36-37). Barnabas was highly admired & respected. Luke says of him, “he was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and of faith” (Acts 11:24b) There was a genuineness to him & a sincerity about him that was rare. In fact, look what Barnabas is doing in our story: “When he came … he exhorted them all to remain faithful to the Lord with steadfast purpose…” (Acts 12:23)
1. Barnabas was a Good Man
2. Barnabas was a Bridge-Builder
The 2nd time Barnabas pops up is when Saul switches his allegiance to Christ. While everyone is skeptical of Saul/Paul, Barnabas stands up for him by vouching for him to other apostles/disciples (Acts 9:27). Barnabas invites Paul into the inner circles of the church leadership when few knew they could trust him. Now, Barnabas could have held onto the memory of Saul killing Stephen, yet he let go of this. Do you know you could do that? Instead of holding on to possible bitterness, Barnabas was bridge-builder. If two sides wouldn’t or couldn’t come together, they would come to Barnabas. It was as if people said, “I’ll meet you at Barnabas.”
1. Barnabas was a Good Man
2. Barnabas was a Bridge-Builder
3. You Would Have Liked Barnabas
If you were to meet Barnabas you would remember Barnabas. He had a warm personality. He was a magnet for people. Barnabas was Joseph’s nickname & his nickname means “son of encouragement.” If you saw him coming your way, you’d meet him halfway if not run to him. People enjoyed being around Barnabas. In today’s story, he hears about a bunch of new believers in Antioch & he travels there to encourage them (Acts 11:22–23). Barnabas is like fertilizer to your soil! Everybody should have a Barnabas in their life. Everybody wants a Barnabas in their lives.
Keep those three characteristics of Barnabas in front of you as we circle back for our story.
1. Ordinary People Make an Extraordinary Difference
Let me lead you away from Barnabas for the moment before we return to him in a few moments: “Now those who were scattered because of the persecution that arose over Stephen traveled as far as Phoenicia and Cyprus and Antioch, speaking the word to no one except Jews. 20 But there were some of them, men of Cyprus and Cyrene, who on coming to Antioch spoke to the Hellenists also, preaching the Lord Jesus.” (Acts 11:19-20)
Every other place in our study of Acts shows an apostle or a church leader spreading the gospel. This is the first time we read nameless, ordinary people taking the initiative to spread the good news. Put a bookmark here: ordinary people can make an extraordinary difference. Anonymous missionaries bring the good news of Jesus. The gospel is too valuable to keep to ourselves. You don’t have to be recognized as a church leader to make a difference. The crucial piece for you is the Lord’s presence: “And the hand of the Lord was with them, and a great number who believed turned to the Lord.” (Acts 11:21)
1. Ordinary People Make an Extraordinary Difference
2. Christianity and the City
“And in Antioch the disciples were first called Christians.” (Acts 11:26b) Luke has called them “disciples” (Acts 6:1), “saints” (Acts 9:13), “brethren” (Acts 1:16), “believer” (Acts 10:45), and “people of the Way” (Acts 9:2). Christians is the second nickname we see in our story. Christian is a mash up of two words coming from Greek and Latin, meaning we belong to Christ. Why were they called this here in Antioch rather than in Jerusalem?
2.1 Antioch
Antioch would lie in modern day Turkey. Antioch was the third largest city in the Roman Empire, its population of some 500,000 to 800,000. Antioch was remarkably crowded. Where Manhattan would have a population density of 100 people per acre, it’s estimated that Antioch would have 195 people per acre. Lastly, here I want to call on us to love the city. Mayor Betsy Price tweeted out this week that Fort Worth is the fifteenth largest city in the US. There are 2,277 people per square mile in Tarrant County. And there are 3,870 people per square miles in North Richland Hills, TX. This doesn’t count the numbers of people who might be here on a workday.
When you come into the city of Antioch, you see many races, many cultures, & many religions. There were Romans and Greeks there, of course. There were lots of Jews because it was close to Israel, and a lot of Africans. And there were Persians, Indians, & Chinese there too. The original design of Antioch included a wall to separate the Syrians & the Greeks into separate sections. Racial tension plagued this city. Now, watch what God does through Barnabas here. The reason they are called Christians for the first time here in Antioch is how Christ brought the races together. Ancient Antioch has walls within the city, high walls, between every ethnic neighborhood to protect the different racial groups from each other. If there was an incident in a marketplace, somebody insulted somebody else, or something like that, the next thing you know, one ethnic group was out to absolutely kill everybody in the other ethnic group. The reason they had to have walls between the racial groups in Antioch was to protect the groups from each other. Families of different races begin to pray to the same God together.
The five leaders in Acts 13:1, if you look at their names carefully, they represented three continents and four different racial groups. The reason they were called Christians in Antioch is because Christ was bringing the people were crossing the walls to worship together. The gospel has the ability to break down walls like nothing else. Christianity should not belong to just one culture. Christianity can center even the various races together.
2.2 Christianity’s Geographic Center
Think of three major religions and their respective geographic centers. Islam started in Arabia, at Mecca. Today, Islam is still centered there. Buddhism started in the Far East, and that’s still the center of Buddhism. Hinduism began in India and it’s largely centered is still in India. But Christianity is the exception. The original center of Christianity was Jerusalem, but soon Gentiles embraced Christianity. Then Christianity’s center was Antioch, Alexandria, and later Rome. Today, Christianity’s center is moving from North America to Latin America, Asia, and Africa. The moving center of Christianity through the centuries shows the uniqueness of Jesus. Antioch shows us that Christianity is not a reflection of how we are raised. We are not Christians because we are from the South. Barnabas shows us that Christianity moves from city to city & culture to culture. The gospel has the ability to break down walls like nothing else.
1. Ordinary People Make an Extraordinary Difference
2. Christianity and the City
3. Be Like Barnabas
We end where we began – with Barnabas: “The report of this came to the ears of the church in Jerusalem, and they sent Barnabas to Antioch. 23 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, 24 for he was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and of faith. And a great many people were added to the Lord. 245 So Barnabas went to Tarsus to look for Saul, 26 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.” (Acts 11:22-24)
3.1 Paul Increases, Barnabas Decreases
Barnabas gets Paul to lead the work at Antioch. In our story today, Barnabas sees how the church is flourishing in Antioch & brings Paul in to help pastor the work. Barnabas & Paul tag teamed on the church in Antioch for about one year (Acts 10:26). In the beginning of Acts, it was Barnabas and Saul but soon Acts will read Paul and Barnabas (Acts 11:30; 13:43). Not a lot of people are willing to take a backseat so others will get the credit. Barnabas would & he did. At a cost to his prestige, Barnabas gets Paul to lead the work at Antioch.
3.2 Speak the Truth in Love
Barnabas went to believers in every section of the ancient city & called them together in Christ. This was painstaking work that included hours of listening. Barnabas built the disciples up by speaking the truth in love. You must encourage as well as tell the truth. “Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ” (Ephesians 4:15)
