Acts 11:19

Now they which were scattered abroad upon the persecution that arose about Stephen traveled as far as Phenice, and Cyprus, and Antioch, preaching the word to none but unto the Jews only. And some of them were men of Cyprus and Cyrene, which, when they were come to Antioch, spake unto the Grecians, preaching the Lord Jesus. And the hand of the Lord was with them: and a great number believed, and turned unto the Lord... For he was a good man, and full of the Holy Ghost and of faith: and much people was added unto the Lord.

When persecution scatters the church, the word goes out — but only those who preach the true Christ are truly preaching the word.

Scattered by Persecution, Preaching the Word

Earlier in Acts chapter 8 we saw the church begin to be persecuted, especially during the time of Saul of Tarsus, and the believers were scattered. As we pick it up again in verse 19, these people were scattered abroad because of the persecution that arose at the death of Stephen. They traveled as far as three regions: Phenice, which is Phoenicia, the coastal region just north of Israel along the Mediterranean; Cyprus, the island about 60 miles off that coast; and the city of Antioch.

As they went, they went preaching the word. We saw the very same thing in Acts 8:4, where those scattered went everywhere preaching the word. We also see it in Mark 2, very early in Jesus' ministry, when He came to Capernaum and so many gathered that there was no room even about the door — and it says He preached the word unto them.

What Does It Mean to Preach the Word?

But "preach the word" seems something of a generic term, so the question arises: what exactly does it mean? We live in a day geared toward relativism, where everyone has their own truth and their own worldview. Through the internet, cell phones, and Twitter, people deliver what they espouse as truth on a global scale very quickly. So many things are heralded as truth in our day. Yet we're told the early church and Jesus Himself preached the word. What does that mean?

As is our course of study every time we gather, we look to the word of God to answer such questions. In Acts 10, in the house of Cornelius, Peter gives us a clear answer:

The word which God sent unto the children of Israel, preaching peace by Jesus Christ: (he is Lord of all)... how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power: who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with him... whom they slew and hanged on a tree: him God raised up the third day... And he commanded us to preach unto the people, and to testify that it is he which was ordained of God to be the Judge of quick and dead.

Ten Things We Preach When We Preach the Word

Peter gives us ten things to consider. First, we preach peace by Jesus Christ — that peace and abundant life are only found in Him. Jesus said, "I have come to give you life, and that more abundantly," and Isaiah called Him the Prince of Peace. In a world seeking peace, we declare it comes by Jesus Christ.

Second, Jesus is Lord of all — over everything seen and unseen — and we are to yield to Him as Lord. Third, Jesus of Nazareth was anointed by God with the Holy Spirit and with power. The word "anointed" gives us our word Christ — the anointed one, the Messiah who fulfills all the Old Testament prophecies.

Fourth, He did good works, healing the sick and oppressed, proving He is the Christ. Fifth, God was with Him. Nicodemus said in John 3, "We know that you are a man sent from God," for no one could do these works except God be with him.

Sixth, Jesus was crucified by the Jews at Jerusalem. Seventh, He did not stay dead but rose the third day. Eighth, to prove He rose, He was seen of witnesses; Paul echoes this in 1 Corinthians 15, listing Peter, the eleven, the women, the 500, and himself. Ninth, after rising, He commanded His followers to preach and testify — the Great Commission of Matthew 28. Tenth, Jesus is ordained of God to judge the living and the dead. In John 5 He said the Father has committed all judgment to the Son, for it is appointed unto all men once to die, and after this the judgment.

Anything Less Is Not the Word

To preach the word is to preach that Jesus is the God-ordained, Holy Spirit-anointed Lord of all; powerful to heal; crucified and risen; seen by witnesses; ordained as Judge of all; and the only way to peace and life. Many people say many different things about Jesus, and they may have a platform — a pulpit, a website, a podcast, a blog. But they are not preaching the word unless they preach this. Any other thing is vanity, empty, and unable to save.

Paul said in Romans 1:16 that the gospel is the power of God unto salvation. Some say Jesus was a good man, a good teacher, a healer, a prophet. But those who say He is merely these things have no clue who Jesus of Nazareth truly is. Anyone who denies these truths does not know Him, and the Bible says they are of the spirit of Antichrist. I recognize that's about the most politically incorrect thing to say — but it's the truth. And truth has an uncanny way of being non-politically correct.

God Pushes Us Out of the Comfort Zone

Notice in verse 19 that these men preached the word "to none but unto the Jews only." Early Christians were all converts from Judaism and were basically ethnocentric, focused on their own group. Thankfully, God is not ethnocentric. He desires His word to go out to every tribe, tongue, and nation. We know His end game, because Revelation 5 tells us people from every tribe, tongue, and nation will worship around the throne.

Yet our flesh wants to stay in our comfort zone, around people who talk like us, walk like us, and shop at the same stores. So notice how God works. What caused these believers to get out to other people? Verse 19 — persecution. God has a very interesting way of removing our comforts to push us out. Perhaps this is not a comfortable message for you right now. As we continue through Acts, we'll see a famine and what appears to be an ancient recession move people out of their comfort zones. We live in a very similar time. God is no respecter of persons.

The Gospel Reaches Antioch

Verse 20 tells us some who went out were men of Cyprus and Cyrene, who came to Antioch and spoke to the Grecians — the Hellenists, the Greeks — preaching the Lord Jesus. They stepped outside their comfort zone, the hand of the Lord was upon them, and a great number believed and turned to the Lord.

Cyrene was far west of Jerusalem, in modern-day Libya; Cyprus was north and west in the Mediterranean. Who took the gospel to these places? Remember that Jews from all nations were gathered in Jerusalem in Acts 2. It's also worth recalling that in Matthew 27, Mark 15, and Luke 23, when Jesus fell carrying His cross, the Romans conscripted a man named Simon of Cyrene to carry it. It's very plausible Simon came to faith and brought the gospel to his own people.

Antioch was one of the three largest cities of the ancient world, after Rome and Alexandria — a city of about 500,000 that the Romans viewed as a little eastern Rome. It was founded in the fourth century BC by a man who named fifteen cities Antioch after his father, Antiochus. This was Syrian Antioch, called Antioch the Great, a very Hellenistic, Greek-oriented city. It would become the cradle of Gentile Christianity. In fact, verse 26 tells us the disciples were first called Christians at Antioch — and many of us today are very thankful for the work God did there.

They Turned to the Lord

Verse 21 says the hand of the Lord was upon them and a great number believed and turned to the Lord. This is so important for the preaching of God's word to be effective, which is why we pray that God would anoint the preaching of His word. The proof His hand was upon them is that these people believed, received the word, and turned.

The word "turned" is epistrophe — to turn away from one thing to another. What were they turning away from in that Greek city? Very likely their pagan philosophies and many gods. The men from Cyrene and Cyprus told them Jesus is Lord of all, the Christ, anointed of God with power to save, and that they needed to turn from their false gods to Him. This implies they preached repentance. Remember, repent means to change one's mind, resulting in a change of action. These people changed their minds and changed direction.

The preaching of repentance is vital. John the Baptist preached it, Jesus preached it, Peter preached it, Paul preached it. Why? Because without repentance, people simply add Jesus to the pantheon of their own making. There are many today who have heard the gospel, said "that sounds good," and placed Jesus alongside all their other gods. They still worship drugs, alcohol, lust, gluttony, greed — and figure that having Jesus there too will make everything okay. It won't, and it never will. You must turn away from those things and turn to God.

Perhaps some of you are in that very place, not experiencing the joy of the Lord or the fruit of the Spirit — love, joy, peace, kindness, gentleness, self-control — because you've merely added Jesus to your false worship. We need to renounce the unfruitful works of darkness, turn away from those things, and turn to the Lord. The Gentiles at Antioch did, and the turn was so great that news traveled fast.

The Church Sends Barnabas

Verse 22 says the news came to the church in Jerusalem. They didn't have Twitter; for word to travel 360 miles from Antioch to Jerusalem, someone had to carry it on foot, and it took time. We often assume Acts is perfectly chronological, but I suspect that while Peter was being prepared to go to Cornelius in Acts 10, God's word was already spreading in Antioch, and the Jerusalem church was already discussing whether the gospel should go to the Gentiles.

So they sent forth Barnabas to Antioch. We met Barnabas in Acts 4 — a well-known Jewish believer whose name means "son of encouragement." He sold a parcel of land and gave the proceeds to the church. Acts 4 also tells us he was born on Cyprus and came from the tribe of Levi. He was a Jewish man raised in a Greek culture, so he understood the Greek mindset. The church said, in effect, "Let's send Barney — he understands those people."

Understanding Culture in Mission

It's so important in reaching people of other nations, tribes, and tongues — even in our own backyard in California — that we understand at least a little of their culture. We Americans have a tendency to step on people. You may not notice it until you leave Southern California and go to Europe or Asia, but our reputation is that we are loud, obnoxious, and opinionated, often offending people and closing the door to the gospel.

One of the first things we tell any missionary going to the field is: when you get there, just observe. Be quiet, and watch how they greet and interact and talk with one another. Think how loud it is when you go out to dinner here on a crowded weekend night — you have to yell to be heard. Put a German in the middle of that and it'll drive them nuts, because in a German restaurant you can speak quietly and still be heard. The church wisely sent Barnabas because he understood that Greek culture.

The Grace of God and Purpose of Heart

When Barnabas came, verse 23 says he saw the grace of God and was glad. How did he see grace? He saw Gentiles, non-Jews, coming to faith in Christ and receiving the gift of the Holy Spirit. God is gracious and no respecter of persons. Then he exhorted them — the word means to preach — that with purpose of heart they would cleave unto the Lord.

Why "purpose of heart"? To follow Jesus in a world filled with so many gods and worldviews takes determination. I believe we in America are shifting from a Judeo-Christian nation to a multicultural, Greco-Roman, first-century kind of environment, filled with every worldview. In the midst of that, it takes purpose of heart to stand strong. This echoes Paul's word to Ephesus: "having done all, to stand. Stand therefore." Remember Daniel, taken captive as a teenager and pressured to become a good Babylonian, even renamed Belteshazzar — yet Daniel 1:8 says he purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself. We need to do the same.

The Battle Against the World, the Flesh, and the Devil

We are in the midst of a battle against three enemies. The world's philosophy is contrary to Christ — it says get all you can, eat, drink, and be merry — while Jesus says it's more blessed to give, and asks what it profits a man to gain the world and lose his soul.

The flesh wars against the spirit. Your flesh says, "Tell that person off"; the Spirit says, "Forgive them." The flesh says, "Demand your rights"; the Spirit says, "Move on to higher things." The flesh says, "Get even"; the Spirit says, "Show mercy." The spirit is often willing, but the flesh is weak — yet these are the things the Lord calls us to.

Thirdly, the devil is there to exploit the weakness of your flesh through the things of this world. He is not omniscient, but he knows you well, having studied mankind for millennia. He knows the chinks in your armor and every lure to use on you. Just as different fish are attracted to different bait, every one of us has a different lure the enemy uses, and it catches us every time. He goes about as a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour, distorting truth to make us believe a lie. So we must purpose in our hearts to stand.

Cleave to the Lord

Barnabas also said they should purpose to cleave unto the Lord. Many people have once been part of a church and have walked away — turned away, fallen away, or simply drifted. No doubt Barnabas had seen some deny the Lord under persecution. The word "cleave" pictures being in a great storm at sea, hanging on for dear life to the mast so you aren't swept off the deck.

In a world of tossing waves and winds of different doctrine, we the church must purpose in our hearts to hang on to the foot of the cross. Antioch was different from religious Jerusalem; now the gospel was going into the Greco-Roman world. We today have shifted from a Judeo-Christian worldview to a Greco-Roman one, and we need to hold fast, because the enemy wants to take you out and rob your joy and your life in Christ.

A Good Man, Full of the Holy Spirit and of Faith

Finally, verse 24 tells us Barnabas was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and of faith, and many people were added to the Lord. This verse hung in my mind all week. We often think that for many to come to the Lord we must be eloquent, have all the answers, and be able to defend the faith against atheists, Mormons, Muslims, and every "ism." Yet notice why many came: Barnabas was a good man. The word means he had a pleasant nature; he was joyful and agreeable.

Charles Spurgeon once said, "When you speak of the glories of heaven, let your face shine with the glory of the Lord; but when you speak of hell, your everyday face will do." It matters that when we share the gospel we light up with the joy of the Lord. Think of Gail Irwin, who has spoken here over the years — that big, smiling "face of grace" everywhere he goes. Or Pastor Chuck Smith, who could preach the hardest sermon on the judgment of God with a smile, the face of grace.

Barnabas was also full of the Holy Spirit — so ask the Lord to fill you to overflowing as you share. And he was full of faith, willing to step outside his comfort zone and go where others would not, to reach the person others feared to reach. As a result, many were added to the Lord — not because he was eloquent. In fact, Paul was probably the more eloquent one, which is why Barnabas went to find him at the end of this chapter.

Here is the application for you and me. If you have a job or position around unbelievers, does the testimony of your life say you are a good person — that you have honesty, integrity, and self-control? Or do they say, "I wouldn't leave my wallet on the desk if he were around"? Barnabas was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and of faith, and he exhorted the church to cleave to the Lord with purpose of heart, because they lived in a shifting generation. And yet the gospel still stands, and we preach the word.

Closing Prayer

Father, thank You for Your grace, thank You for calling us even in the midst of a dark, wicked, and perverse generation. Lord, I pray that we would stand and shine brightly as lights as we go from here this morning. I ask that You would pour out Your Spirit upon myself and my brothers and sisters here, that we would step outside these doors and into our mission field. Fill us to overflowing with Your Spirit, as You filled Barnabas, and give us the strength of faith to step out and speak with someone we wouldn't normally — that we would see many come to know You in these last days. For we ask it in the mighty and precious name of Jesus we pray. Amen.