In the 4 chapters that precede tonight’s reading, we learn of another kind of danger that threatened people’s lives - a danger that sent people fleeing for their lives from their homes in Jerusalem. Interestingly though, it wasn’t a danger that threatened all people – in fact it only affected one group of people, and that was people from what we would call today a religious minority. In other words, it was persecution purely because of their religious belief.

Now, some of you will know that in recent weeks, our government has been trying to push through an incitement to religious hatred bill – thankfully the amendments which protect our freedom of speech as Christians to declare Jesus as the only way have been kept, otherwise this nation could have potentially seen a dramatic increase in it’s prison population with pastors and ministers being jailed! Yet, here in the first century AD, there was nothing like this. To make matters worse, this persecution in Jerusalem wasn’t from the state or from the then rulers (that is the Romans) initially that one might have expected – instead it was from the dominant religious group of the time – the Jews, who considered it an anathema to suggest that Jesus Christ was anything but dead. So, here we have one religious group persecuting another, all because they don’t like what the other is saying.

And chapter 7 tells us all about their stoning of a man called Stephen – the first follower of Jesus to be put to death for his faith. Chapter 8 tells us that as a result of this, a great persecution then broke out against the church in Jerusalem resulting in their members (except the apostles who stayed behind) being scattered throughout Judea and Samaria. Now in chapter 11, we hear more about some of those who had been scattered by this persecution and in verse 19 we read: ‘Now those who had been scattered by the persecution in connection with Stephen travelled as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus and Antioch.’ [Map showing distances?]

Tonight, we’re interested in those who went to Antioch. Now why would some have wanted to flee as far as Antioch, after all it was a fair distance of some 300 miles to travel? Well, with a population of around half a million, Antioch ranked as the 3rd largest city in the Roman Empire, following Rome and Alexandria at this time. The main street was more than four miles long, paved with marble, and lined on both sides by marble colonnades. It’s sheer magnificence and love of anything luxurious and cultural, led it to being known as ‘Antioch the Golden, Queen of the East.’ But like many cities, it also had a darker side, and along with Corinth was well known for its notorious immoral practices. As such, it attracted people from all walks of life.

And for those who fled there, not only was it a haven away from the Jerusalem persecutions, but it also presented them with an exciting opportunity, and that was, what better place to preach the Gospel of Christ than to a large cosmopolitan audience. And this is what they did – verse 20 we read: ‘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.’

Even though they had had to flee their homes in Jerusalem, they hadn’t turned their back on their newfound faith - why - because it had turned their lives upside down. They knew with every fibre of their being that the truth, mercy and love of Jesus and the empowering work of the Holy Spirit once experienced were things that would affect everything they said and did from that day onwards, and they sought to live it out in their daily lives.

Now, if we think back for a moment, to the first talk in this series, we learned from Acts 2 that these new believers had sat at the Apostles feet to learn all about Jesus, and had received such a thorough grounding in the Lord that it had impacted their whole life (as it should!). For the benefit of those who weren’t here on that occasion, we learned four things about the early church from Acts 2. The first, was that it was a church devoted to learning and growing in ones knowledge and experience of God – they knew who they were in God – they had grasped how great God’s love was for them; the second, that it was a loving church in terms of sharing ones resources with each other; the third, that it was a worshipping church, meeting together both in large gatherings and in small groups; and fourth that it was an evangelistic church; and it is this fourth characteristic that lies at the heart of the reason why these believers travelled all the way to Antioch – if we read verse 20 again ‘Some of them went to Antioch and began to speak to Greeks also, telling them the good news about the Lord Jesus.’

At the heart of their new life in Christ lay the task to tell others about the good news of Jesus Christ because it was part ‘n parcel of their very existence. Just as we all need to eat and drink to survive physically speaking, so telling people about Jesus was just as essential to them spiritually speaking. And verse 21 tells us the impact of there witness: ‘The Lord’s hand was with them, and a great number of people believed and turned to the Lord.’
So effective was their witness, that some of the citizens decided to mock and taunt them by using the then prevalent Latin suffix ‘ian’ which meant ‘belonging to the party of’ and joining it to the name of their Saviour – Christ, thus effectively saying these people belonged to the party of Christ. Yet, instead of being a name of ridicule, it came to be the trademark – the patent by which believers throughout the centuries have been known. You and I are known as these – what is it? Christians – so now you know how believers came to be known as Christians – it’s all thanks to Antioch.

So effective was their witness, that verse 22 tells us ‘news of [their witness] reached the ears of the church at Jerusalem.’ Now remember, these are the days before the web and the internet, before fax machines and phone lines; before any modern communication devices that we enjoy today ever existed – yet news of their work still carried over some 300 miles to the believers headquarters in Jerusalem, and full of interest they despatch a man called Barnabas to check things out.

Now why would they do this? One reason was to ensure that this new church was teaching sound doctrine – in other words, the right stuff and not wrong stuff. Remember that at this time, they didn’t have the Bible as we know it today, so without this instruction manual, it would be much easier to fall into error. [All they might have had were fragments of Jesus’ teaching that make up the Gospels as we know them today.] Remember too, that the Apostle Paul hadn’t even begun to write any of his letters that make up the greater part of the New Testament [illustrate this?] In fact, this passage brings Paul into the picture for the first time since his conversion, and we’re told in verse 25 that Barnabas went to Tarsus to look for Paul, in order to bring him to Antioch.

But getting back to Barnabas’ inspection, what did he find – what did he think? Verse 23 tells us that ‘when he arrived and saw the evidence of the grace of God, he was glad and encouraged them all to remain true to the Lord with all their hearts.’

The grounding that these believers had received back in Jerusalem had stood them in good stead to remain firm in the Lord and to be able to pass it on – and here was the fruit of it.

How exciting it can be when we, in life have the opportunity to nurture, teach, encourage and watch people grow in whatever discipline we might exercise a leadership capacity in. Even when they are no longer under our wing and have flown the nest, it can and should still be very exciting to watch their developments, especially when they become the teacher!
When I used to live in New Zealand, I taught the violin part time to over 30 students ranging in age from 3½ to retired folk. One of the greatest joys was the young 3½ year old I taught – a young boy called Ben (here’s a photo of him taken 15 years ago), because in around 4 years, he went from being a beginner to attaining somewhere between grade 5/6. At that time, I knew within a year or two he would be beyond my expertise, and would require another teacher with more experience to take him further, and this is what happened.

Today, Ben is one of New Zealand’s leading violinists for his age, and has played with Hayley Westerna etc and is doing extremely well – I’m very proud of Him (here’s his debut CD he released 2 years ago). And, he’s a much better violinist than I could have ever become, even if I had pursued music as a career. The reality is that if He had stayed with me, his developing musicianship would have been restricted - handing Him on to someone else was the best thing to do, in order to build further on the foundation laid.

In a similar way, Barnabas has the wisdom to recognise that here was a group of people who were growing into all fullness of Spirit and who were living to love God and their neighbours. In this, Barnabas also recognises that the gifts given to the apostles were no longer their sole prerogative – now all Spirit-filled believers could proclaim God’s salvation and lead people to faith – because this is what this group of believers was engaged in doing. And to complement this new growing church, Barnabas brings Paul along to assist them.

Sadly, it can be hard for some people to share or pass the baton of their ministries onto others when it is appropriate. Today, in the life of the church, it is all too easy to fall into the trap of wanting to build ones own little empire where one is the King-pin – where they are in charge, and woe to anyone who would seek to challenge them or appear to be more gifted than they.

The fact is Barnabas here challenges such attitudes because he was willing to recognise that God had gifted others and did not need to hold the glory for himself or the other apostles. Today, are we willing to empower others, especially those who come to faith now and in the years to come, even of it means our own ministries might reduce or diminish for the sake of the Gospel?

Will we today, as has been practised by churches in the past, encourage new believers soon after conversion to get stuck into the life of the church and to play their part? At first, it might only be handing out the hymn books, but each should be put to work so they get used to contributing to church life. After all, it is better to put 10 men to work than to do the work of 10 men. Over time, their spiritual gifts can be explored and put to work according to what God has given them.

Today, will you be a Barnabas (which means Son of encouragement) to new Christians and to other believers or will you be someone who will not recognise other people’s giftings – the choice is up to you!