THE CHURCH AT ANTIOCH became the first church outside of Jerusalem that developed a powerful base from which evangelism spread. Its inception had roots in the events surrounding the martyrdom of Stephen. Luke records, “Now those who had been scattered by the persecution that broke out when Stephen was killed traveled as far as Antioch, and began to speak to Greeks also, telling them the good news about the Lord Jesus. The Lord’s hand was with them, and a great number of people believed and turned to the Lord.” (Acts 11:19-21) The Jerusalem church sent Barnabas to Antioch. “When he arrived and saw what the grace of God had done, he was glad and encouraged them all to remain true to the Lord with all their hearts. A great number of people were brought to the Lord.” (Acts 11:23-24)
To understand, at least partially, the importance of the Antioch church, we must go back in time before Jesus. In the four hundred years of silence after the prophet Malachi, one of the biblically historical events that began to move God’s timeline forward was the elevation to power of Mithridates, who assumed the name Antiochus (IV) Epiphanes as he became king of the Seleucid Empire in the A.N.E. His name choices were significant—he self-declared as “God Manifest,” and under his rule a great persecution began against the Jews in that area of Syria and extending into Israel. The geographical name *Antioch derives from him, and means “driven against.” There was persecution and warfare from this geographical region that was forged against Jews and Judaism. This is the king who desecrated the Jerusalem temple with pig’s blood.
The overarching story here is the birthing of the covenant of the N.T., which was written in the blood of Jesus from the cross. Jesus came at the behest of the Father, and a central part of his mission was/is to annihilate the plans of Satan. John tells us that “The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work.” (1 John 3:8) Jesus, nearing the time of the cross, tells Peter—and by extension, tells you and me—that “I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.” (Matt. 16:18) He meant what he said, and the testimony of the Book of Acts underscores the power of the gospel to build the church of Jesus Christ. Many are the works of the Holy Spirit in accomplishing this. The most significant event furthering this is Jesus’ death on the cross, a devastating moment that only gains its meaning in his miraculous resurrection three days later.
Tertullian, an early church father, said that “the blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church.” He was referring directly to the martyrdom of Stephen, the first Deacon of the church in Jerusalem, and the first Christian to be put to death. Upon his death, “a great persecution broke out against the church in Jerusalem, and all except the apostles were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria. Those who had been scattered preached the word wherever they went.” (Acts 8:1b) Unnamed men and women were driven out of Jerusalem, some driven to the and north to Syria. It was these who stirred in listener’s hearts a movement of God in Syria, and drove the gospel into contention against the forces of the devil in the ANE and extending into Asia Minor.
And, in the mysterious ways in which God works (cf. Hab. 1:5), Barnabas becomes mentor to Saul, who had been the primary agent of the persecution that began in Jerusalem. At Stephen’s death, scripture tells us that “Saul approved of their killing him.” (Acts 8:1a) In this same passage, we are told “Saul began to destroy the church. Going from house to house, he dragged off both men and women and put them in prison.” (Acts 8:3) Saul becomes a Christian himself (cf. Acts 9), but is marginalized for years by the distrust of the Christian community—until Barnabas remembers him, leaves Antioch, and goes to find him. Luke then tells us that “Barnabas went to Tarsus to look for Saul, and when he found him, he brought him to Antioch.” (Acts 11:25-26) And so the plans of God began to unfold. Out of Antioch—and in particular out of the partnership of Barnabas and Saul—many churches in Asia Minor would be birthed. Their efforts—particularly those of the renamed Saul—‘Paul’—would eventually reach into Rome itself, and become the dominant world religion.
There is a lesson here for us. The gospel of Jesus Christ has the power to defeat any enemy and to build the kingdom of heaven on earth. Paul—yes, the once-persecutor of the church of Jesus—says “For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds.” (2 Cor. 10:3-4)
Barnabas and Paul were very different in temperament and gifting, but their partnership was a powerful agent in the flourishing of the gospel. Their third partner was the Holy Spirit, and in this we begin to understand more fully that God works both mysteriously and powerfully through the synergy of what becomes possible in such a three-way union. The ‘weapon’ that you and I must use is spoken into us by the one Holy Spirit, and spoken uniquely out of use by the way in which God has called, shaped, and prepared us. One way of stating this is that “the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.” Better though is this from scripture: “Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.” (Ecc. 4:12)
Q. Is the power of the gospel manifest in my testimony?
*Strong’s 490.
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