Day 240: Acts 11:19–26

But there were some of them, Cypriot and Cyrenian men, who came to Antioch and began speaking to the Hellenists, proclaiming the good news about the Lord Jesus (v. 20).

Persecution scattered the early Christians as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus, and Antioch. But some gutsy believers who had traveled to Antioch broke the mold. They began to share with Gentiles also. As a result of their testimony in Antioch, “a large number who believed turned to the Lord” (Acts 11:21 hcsb).

When God desires to do “a new thing” (Isa. 43:19), He purposely seeks out a few righteous renegades who don’t have a problem breaking the mold! Mold-breakers are usually people who don’t care much about popularity or tradition.

I have a good friend at church who is a mold-breaker. He has been used of God to help make our church a viable presence in this generation. I don’t mind telling you, he has had as many enemies as friends. These men from Cyprus and Cyrene were mold-breakers too. The soil across the street from the synagogue looked awfully fertile to them—so they scattered and spoke!

I have to smile as I read the words in Acts 11:22, “The report about them reached the ears of the church in Jerusalem” (hcsb). Antioch was about three hundred miles north of Jerusalem, but juicy news travels faster than a speeding bullet! Barnabas was dispensed to Antioch immediately. When he arrived in Antioch, he “saw the evidence of the grace of God” (v. 23). Reality superseded rumor, and he was glad!

According to verse 23, Barnabas “encouraged all of them to remain true to the Lord with a firm resolve of the heart” (hcsb) to plan in advance to remain faithful to Him! I cannot overemphasize the importance of this exhortation. This principle is one I diligently sought to teach my children, to make them understand that the point of temptation or the pinnacle of pain is not the ideal time to decide whether to stick with Christ. The most effective time to resolve to obey Christ is in advance of difficulty. Planning to stay faithful can greatly enhance victory.

I wish I could say I always resolved in advance to “remain true to the Lord.” Certainly there were times I didn’t. But I finally learned the wisdom of Barnabas’s good advice and have been thankful for the fruit of safety it bears. Barnabas had seen the cost of believing in Christ firsthand. He was teaching these new believers the kind of resolve that would hold up even against the threat of death. And under his faithful tutelage, a great number of people were brought to the Lord.

Although Barnabas was overjoyed at the great harvest the scattered seeds had ultimately produced, these missionaries were obviously in a situation over their heads. They needed a specialist, an expert discipler. They needed Saul. And right about then, he probably needed them. Barnabas headed for Tarsus, looking for him. So for a whole year Barnabas and Saul met with the church and taught great numbers of people. What a team they must have made—Saul the teacher, Barnabas the encourager. One taught the principles of a godly life. The other assured them they could do it with God’s help.

The next phrase in Acts 11:26 conjures up many emotions in me: “The disciples were first called Christians in Antioch” (hcsb). What a great word: Christian—

• An emotional word causing one man joy and another man fury—one man peace and another man turmoil.

• A dividing word unceasingly drawing a line. Either a man is or he is not; he is either for or against.

• A uniting word, drawing together unlikely pairs in workplaces and neighborhoods over one single bond.

• A defining word for which countless people have lived and, likewise, countless people have died.

The Greek word the believers were called was Christianos. It does not occur in the New Testament as a name commonly used by Christians themselves. Christian was a label coined by unbelievers as a form of ridicule. Once again, how beautifully God stole the victory from Satan. The very word used as a mockery became the greatest privilege a man could boast.

The apostle Peter gave a different twist to this insult directed at believers: “If anyone suffers as a Christian, he should not be ashamed, but should glorify God with that name” (1 Pet. 4:16 hcsb). Christians have been beaten, whipped, starved, humiliated, mutilated, hung, tortured, burned at the stake, crucified, and fed to lions. Yet two thousand years after a man called Jesus of Nazareth walked the streets of Jerusalem, two billion people alive on this earth today call themselves by the ever-dividing, ever-uniting word: Christian. God is still scattering the seeds a few righteous renegades planted in a city called Antioch. Had they only known what they were starting.