The First Christians in Antioch

By prof. A.P. Lopukhin

Acts of the Apostles, Chapter 11. The discontent of the believers in Jerusalem against Peter because of his association with the uncircumcised and the appeasement of the discontented (1 – 18). Preaching the Gospel outside Palestine, especially in Antioch (10 – 21). Barnabas and Saul in Antioch (22 – 26). Prophecy of famine and alms for the Christians in Judea (27 – 30)

Acts 11:1. Now the apostles and the brethren who were in Judea heard that the Gentiles had also received the word of God.

Acts 11:2. And when Peter went up to Jerusalem, the circumcised contended with him,

Acts 11:3. saying, Thou wentest in to men that are uncircumcised, and didst eat with them.

The believers from among the Jews (i.e. those who were circumcised) did not reproach Peter for preaching the Gospel to the Gentiles and baptizing them, but only for “going to the uncircumcised and eating with them…” In essence, they could not object to the preaching of Christ among the Gentiles, since they could not forget the command of the Lord Himself “make disciples of all nations, baptizing them” – Matt. 28:19. Their protest was only against the communion that Peter allowed with the uncircumcised.

As the church song – the fourth Gospel stichera, 4th voice, says of Him who Himself had once fought so much against His unreasonable reproaches that “He ate and drank with tax collectors and sinners.”

In this case, the protest of the extreme zealots of the Jewish law and customs, which were not even commanded by Moses, but were only traditions of unknown elders, was even more dangerous, since it was a manifestation of that false teaching which later the Judaizing false teachers spread with such force and which was ready to demand the obligation of all Judaism, with its circumcision and customs, as a condition for entering Christianity.

This is already an extreme with which Peter, and later and to an even greater extent Paul, struggled – even after the Apostolic Council put an end to this question once and for all with its authoritative decrees.

Acts 11:4. And Peter began to tell them everything in order, saying:

Peter’s account of the event in Caesarea is almost identical with the account of the chronicler. Peter does not directly answer the reproach addressed to him that he went to the uncircumcised and communed with them, but simply rejects it by the indisputably revealed will of God for the reception of Gentiles into the Church of Christ. When this happens – and not so much by the will and actions of Peter, but by the will and signs of God, it would obviously be unwise to oppose God and not to recognize them as full members of the brotherhood of Christ, so that in communion with them there can no longer be anything shameful.

Acts. 11:5. I was in the city of Joppa and, praying, I fell into a trance and saw a vision: a certain vessel descending, as it were a great sheet, let down from heaven by the four corners, and came near me.

Acts. 11:6. And when I had looked into it and had observed it, I saw four-footed beasts of the earth, and wild beasts, and creeping things, and fowls of the air.

Acts. 11:7. And I heard a voice saying to me, Rise, Peter, kill and eat!

Acts 11:8. And I said, Not so, Lord: for nothing common or unclean hath ever entered into my mouth.

Acts 11:9. And the voice spake unto me the second time from heaven, What God hath cleansed, that call not thou common.

Acts 11:10. This was done three times: and all things were drawn up again into heaven.

Acts 11:11. And, behold, immediately three men stood before the house where I was, sent unto me from Caesarea.

Acts 11:12. And the Spirit commanded me to go with them, doubting nothing. And these six brethren came with me, and we entered into the man’s house.

Acts 11:13. He told us how he had seen an angel (holy) in his house, who stood and said to him, Send men to Joppa and call for Simon, who is called Peter;

Acts 11:14. He will tell you words by which you and all your household will be saved.

Acts 11:15. And as I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell on them, as on us at the beginning.

Acts 11:16. Then I remembered the word of the Lord, how he said, “John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.”

Acts 11:17. If then God gave them the same gift as he gave us when we believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I that I could withstand God?

Acts 11:18. When they heard this, they were quiet and glorified God, saying, “Then God has also granted to the Gentiles repentance to life.”

After this explanation, Peter’s critics not only quieted down, but also praised God, who had granted to the Gentiles “repentance to life,” that is, life in the eternal kingdom of Christ. “Do you see,” says St. John Chrysostom, “what the speech of Peter, who recounted in detail what had happened, did? For this reason they glorified God, because He had granted repentance to them also: these words humbled them! Then at last the door of faith was opened to the Gentiles…”

Acts 11:19. And those who had been scattered by the persecution that arose at the murder of Stephen went as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus, and Antioch, preaching the word to no one except the Jews.

Meanwhile, those who had been scattered by the persecution, who had followed Stephen, went as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus, and Antioch, preaching the word only to the Jews.

Having set forth the events that require special attention and that took place after the murder of Stephen (Acts 8, Acts 9, Acts 10), the author proceeds to describe the activities of the scattered believers outside the borders of Judea and Samaria. His aim is to present more clearly the important results of the persecution and dispersion of Christians. “Persecution,” says St. John Chrysostom, “has brought no small benefit to the preaching of the Gospel. If the enemies had deliberately sought to spread the Church, they would not have done anything differently: I mean – to scatter the teachers.”

“Phoenicia” – a coastal strip of land north of Galilee, at that time subject to the Romans, with the once famous cities of Tyre and Sidon.

“Cyprus” – a large island located near the Syrophoenician coast of the Mediterranean Sea (see Acts 4:36).

“Antioch” – a large and flourishing city in Northwestern Syria, on the Orontes River, 6 hours’ journey from the sea (about 30 versts), founded by Antiochus, father of Seleucus Nicator, founder of the Seleucid Empire. Its population was predominantly Greek, but there were also many Jews. Greek education and language also prevailed in the city.

“they preached the word to no one except to the Jews.” They followed the rule once stated by the Apostle Paul that the Jews were the first to whom the word of God should be preached (Acts 13:46).

In this way, they preached the Gospel to the Jews, bypassing the Gentiles, “not because of the fear of man, which was nothing to them, but wanting to keep the law and to be condescending to them” (St. John Chrysostom), that is, to the Jews, who considered themselves to have the greatest rights to be proclaimed with the Gospel.

Acts 11:20. There were some of them, men of Cyprus and Cyrene, who, having entered Antioch, spoke to the Hellenists, preaching the Lord Jesus.

“Cyprians and Cyrenes”. After the events in Caesarea (the conversion of Cornelius), the strict distinction between Jews and Gentiles regarding the right to enter the Church of Christ completely lost its force, and from then on the spread of the Gospel among the Gentiles increased. The believers from among the Hellenistic Jews (“Cyprians and Cyrenes”) showed particular zeal in this regard, who, having come to Antioch, openly “spoke to the Hellenists, preaching the Lord Jesus” and had complete success, having created the first large community of Christians from among the Gentiles, which played a great role in the life of the early Christian Church.

Acts 11:21. And the hand of the Lord was with them, and a great multitude believed and turned to the Lord.

“And the hand of the Lord was with them,” i.e. with the preachers. They were strengthened by a special gracious power of God, through which they performed signs and wonders.

Acts 11:22. The news of this reached the church in Jerusalem, and they sent Barnabas to go to Antioch.

“The news of this reached.” In Greek: ὁ λόγος … περὶ αὐτῶν. Literally: “the word about them.”

“to the church in Jerusalem” – in its full composition, with the apostles at the head, who sent Barnabas to go to Antioch. Why Barnabas? Barnabas was the most suitable in case any misunderstandings arose, such as those mentioned in Acts 11: 2 – 3 and for the leadership of the new Christian community. He was a native of the same Cyprus from which some of the Antiochian preachers came (Acts 11:20, Acts 4:36); he was especially respected in the Jerusalem church (Acts 4:36-37, 9:26-27), was “a good man” and full of grace (Acts 11:24). He had a special gift for persuasion and comfort, as the very name Barnabas indicates (Acts 4:36). Such a man must have seemed especially capable of calming any disturbances that might arise and of bringing the whole life of the community into a right spirit.

Acts 11:23. When he arrived and saw the grace of God, he rejoiced and exhorted them all to remain in the Lord with a sincere heart.

Upon his arrival, Barnabas could only rejoice in the grace of God among the Christians in Antioch, whom he urged to “remain in the Lord with a sincere heart.” In Greek: τῇ προτέθηση τῆς καρδίας προσμένειν τῷ Κυρίῳ. In the Slavic translation: “Ισυλονειμενή сердцα τερπετι ο Γοσποδε”. Literally: with the intention of the heart to remain in the Lord. St. John Chrysostom suggests that after Barnabas praised and approved the believing people, he converted even more people to Christ.

Acts 11:24. for he was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and faith. And a great number of people were added to the Lord.

“because” – refers to verse 22. Explains why Barnabas was sent, and also why Barnabas rejoiced so much and took the condition of the new converts close to his heart.

Acts 11:25. Then Barnabas went to Tarsus to look for Saul, and when he found him, he brought him to Antioch.

Barnabas undoubtedly wanted to direct Saul, who had moved to Tarsus from Jerusalem, to the new and wide field of activity that had opened up for him as the apostle to the Gentiles (Acts 8:15, 29-30).

Acts 11:26. And it came to pass, that for a whole year they assembled together in the church, and taught much people; and it was in Antioch that the disciples were first called Christians.

“they assembled together in the church.” The general meetings of the Christians are meant.

“they taught much people.” In Greek: διδάξαι ὄχλον ἱκανόν. That is, they instructed and confirmed the newly converted in the truths of faith and the rules of Christian life. It is noteworthy that the preaching activity of Saul is described here (although together with Barnabas) with the word “taught” (διδάξαι), which is usually used only for the apostolic preaching (Acts 4:2, 18, 5:25, 28, 42; cf. Acts 2:42).

“The disciples were first called Christians in Antioch.” Until then, the followers of the Lord had been called disciples, brothers, believers, etc. In two places in the New Testament (Acts 26:28 and 1 Pet. 4:16) this name is used by people who were not in the Church. This suggests that the giving of the name Christians is hardly due to the Christians themselves. It is doubtful that it came from the Jews, who would not dare to give the name sacred to them, Christ (a translation of the Hebrew Messiah), to the followers of the One whom they did not consider to be such. Therefore, it remains with the greatest probability to assume that the name Christians was given to the believers by the pagans of Antioch. They did not know the dogmatic and religious-historical meaning of the name Messiah, and accepted its Greek translation (Christ) as their own name, thus naming the party of His followers. The new name was especially successful, because it united in one all those professing the new faith – both those who came from among the Jews and those from the pagans who knew Christianity completely independently of Judaism.

Acts 11:27. In those days prophets came down from Jerusalem to Antioch.

“there came down … prophets.” Among the various spiritual gifts with which the early church of Christ was so rich, at that time the gift of prophecy was also manifested in some believers, i.e. the prediction of future events inaccessible to natural human knowledge (1 Cor. 12:10). One of these prophets was Agabus, who is mentioned again later (Acts 21:10).

Acts 11:28. And one of them, named Agabus, stood up and predicted by the Spirit that there would be a great famine throughout the whole world, such as occurred in the time of Caesar Claudius.

“predicted by the Spirit”. In Greek: ἐσήμανε διὰ τοῦ Πνεύματος. In the Slavic translation: назнаменаше Духом. That is, he announced by some sign, an external figurative action, symbolic of what was suggested to him by the Holy Spirit (cf. Acts 21:10).

“over the whole world… a great famine.” An intensified expression is used, meaning the onset of a great famine everywhere (cf. Luke 2:1), in many places, perhaps not simultaneously, but over several years, region by region, and not everywhere at once. The historian notes that such a famine “occurred under Claudius Caesar.” This was the successor of Caligula, who ruled the empire from 41 to 54 BC. During all this time, famines raged in various places in the Roman Empire, and about 44 AD a great famine broke out throughout Palestine (Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews, XX, 2, 6; 5, 2; Eusebius of Caesarea. Ecclesiastical History, II, 11). Around 50 AD there was a famine in Italy itself and in other provinces (Tacitus, Annals, XII, 43).

Acts 11:29. Then the disciples determined, each according to his means, to send relief to the brothers who lived in Judea;

In Greek: τῶν δὲ μαθητῶν καθὼς ηὐπορεῖτό τις. Literally: the disciples, as much as they could, determined… This apparently happened at the beginning of the famine in Judea. Then for the first time the touching and brotherly love and unity between the individual Christian communities were manifested.

Acts 11:30. this they did, sending the collected amount to the elders by Barnabas and Saul.

“to the elders.” This is the first mention of elders in the apostolic history. As is evident from further references (Acts 15:2, 4, 6, 22, 23, 20, etc.) and from the apostolic epistles (Titus 1:4; 1 Tim. 5:17, 19, etc.), the elders were the leaders of individual Christian communities, shepherds and teachers, and administrators of the sacraments (cf. Acts 20:17, 28; Eph. 4:11; 1 Pet. 5:1; James 5:14-15).

They were ordained to the ministry by the laying on of hands by the apostles (Acts 14:23) or bishops (1 Tim. 5:22). In those cities where the Christian communities were more numerous, for example, Jerusalem, Ephesus, etc., there were several presbyters (Acts 15:1, 4, etc.; Acts 20:17).

There is no such special testimony about the initial establishment of this sacred degree as, for example, about the establishment of deacons (Acts 6, etc.). One thing is clear that the custom of ordaining presbyters in newly founded Christian communities was established very early (Acts 14:27), apparently caused by the urgent need for each community to have, in addition to the bishop, an authoritative and authorized by apostolic authority leader, superior, shepherd and teacher, the performer of the sacraments.

It was to the presbyters, as the closest representatives of the individual communities, that the help of the Antiochians was entrusted.

Source in Russian: Explanatory Bible, or Commentaries on all the books of the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments: In 7 volumes / Ed. prof. A. P. Lopukhin. – Ed. 4th. – Moscow: Dar, 2009, 1232 pp.