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Acts 11:25
Verse
Context
The Church at Antioch
24Barnabas was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and faith, and a great number of people were brought to the Lord.25Then Barnabas went to Tarsus to look for Saul,26and when he found him, he brought him back to Antioch. So for a full year they met together with the church and taught large numbers of people. The disciples were first called Christians at Antioch.
Summary
Commentary
- Adam Clarke
- Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
- John Gill
- Tyndale
Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
To Tarsus, for to seek Saul - The persecution raised against him obliged him to take refuge in his own city, where, as a Roman citizen, his person was in safety. See Act 9:29, Act 9:30.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
BARNABAS, FINDING THE WORK IN ANTIOCH TOO MUCH FOR HIM, GOES TO TARSUS FOR SAUL--THEY LABOR THERE TOGETHER FOR A WHOLE YEAR WITH MUCH SUCCESS, AND ANTIOCH BECOMES THE HONORED BIRTHPLACE OF THE TERM CHRISTIAN. (Act 11:25-26) Then departed Barnabas to Tarsus for to seek Saul--Of course, this was after the hasty despatch of Saul to Tarsus, no doubt by Barnabas himself among others, to escape the fury of the Jews at Jerusalem. And as Barnabas was the first to take the converted persecutor by the hand and procure his recognition as a disciple by the brethren at Jerusalem (Act 9:27), so he alone seems at that early period to have discerned in him those peculiar endowments by virtue of which he was afterwards to eclipse all others. Accordingly, instead of returning to Jerusalem, to which, no doubt, he sent accounts of his proceedings from time to time, finding that the mine in Antioch was rich in promise and required an additional and powerful hand to work, he leaves it for a time, takes a journey to Tarsus, "finds Saul" (seemingly implying--not that he lay hid [BENGEL], but that he was engaged at the time in some preaching circuit--see on Act 15:23), and returns with him to Antioch. Nor were his hopes disappointed. As co-pastors, for the time being, of the Church there, they so labored that the Gospel, even in that great and many-sided community, achieved for itself a name which will live and be gloried in as long as this world lasts, as the symbol of all that is most precious to the fallen family of man:--"The disciples were called CHRISTIANS first in Antioch." This name originated not within, but without, the Church; not with their Jewish enemies, by whom they were styled "Nazarenes" (Act 24:5), but with the heathen in Antioch, and (as the form of the word shows) with the Romans, not the Greeks there [OLSHAUSEN]. It was not at first used in a good sense (as Act 26:28; Pe1 4:16 show), though hardly framed out of contempt (as DE WETTE, BAUMGARTEN, &c.); but as it was a noble testimony to the light in which the Church regarded Christ--honoring Him as their only Lord and Saviour, dwelling continually on His name, and glorying in it--so it was felt to be too apposite and beautiful to be allowed to die.
John Gill Bible Commentary
And in these days came prophets from Jerusalem to Antioch., That is, some time in that year that Saul and Barnabas were at Antioch, there came from Jerusalem thither some Christian prophets; for such there were in the Christian church, who had not only a gift of expounding the more mysterious prophecies of the Old Testament, but also of foretelling things to come; see Act 13:1. . Acts 11:28 act 11:28 act 11:28 act 11:28And there stood up one of them named Agabus,.... The same name with Hagaba in Neh 7:48 and with Hagabah, or Hagab in Ezr 2:45 and which the Septuagint there call Agaba and Agab. The name signifies a "grasshopper", Lev 11:22 or "a locust", Ch2 7:13. In a book that goes under the name of Jerom (r), it is interpreted, "a messenger of tribulation"; respecting, it may be, not the true signification of the word, as the things which Agabus predicted, as the general dearth here, and the binding of the Apostle Paul, Act 21:10. And the same writer observes, that this interpretation is a violent, or a forced one. Some take it to be the same with "Agab", which signifies "to love"; and so may be the same with the Greek name "Agapetus", which may be interpreted "beloved". This Agabus is said to be one of the seventy disciples that Christ sent forth: he seems to have been an itinerant prophet, who went from place to place delivering out his prophecies; we hear of him again at Caesarea, in Act 21:10. Some say he was a native of Antioch; but this does not follow from his being here, any more than that he was a native of Caesarea from his being there also; it seems most likely that he was a native of Judea, and perhaps of Jerusalem, since in both places he is said to come from thence: it is reported that he died at Antioch; and he is placed in the Roman martyrology on the third of February. And signified by the Spirit; not by the position of the stars, or by any natural causes, or by mere conjecture, but by the Spirit of God: that there should be great dearth throughout all the world; not only throughout all the land of Judea, but at least throughout the whole Roman empire; see Luk 2:1 since other writers speak of it in other parts: which came to pass in the days of Claudius Caesar; in the second year of his reign, as Dion Cassius (s), the Roman historian, says: and (t) Eusebius seems to speak of it, as in the beginning of his reign; for he says, Caius, who scarce reigned four years, Claudius the emperor succeeded, in whose time a famine afflicted the whole world; for this some writers, different from our religion, have made mention of in their histories: though he elsewhere affirms (u), that it was in the fourth year of his reign; both may be true, it might last so long: and indeed, according to what this writer (w) cites from Josephus, it must be after this time that the famine raged in Judea; for having observed the defeat of Theudas by Cuspius Fadus, the Roman governor, he observes, that at the same time a very great famine happened in Judea: now Fadus was sent into Judea, after the death of king Agrippa, towards the end of the fourth year of Claudius; so that it must be in the fifth or sixth year of Claudius that this famine was (x). The Magdeburgensian Centuriators say (y), it was about the ninth and tenth years of Claudius that this famine raged in Greece, Rome, and other parts of the world. Suetonius (z) makes mention of it, and ascribes it to a constant sterility or barrenness: and that it particularly affected Judea appears from hence, that Helena, queen of the Adiabeni, was at this time at Jerusalem, who sent for, and brought corn out of Egypt, and distributed it to the poor (a); of which Josephus (b) gives this account: "her coming was very seasonable to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, for a famine at that time much afflicted their city, and many perished through want of food. Helena, the queen, sent of her own people some to Alexandria, who bought a great quantity of corn, and some to Cyprus, who brought loads of dry figs; who, as soon they came back, distributed the food to the needy.--And her son Izates, hearing of the famine, sent much money to the chief men of Jerusalem.'' The Misnic doctors (c) speak of various gifts which Helena, and her son Monbaz, as they call him, gave to the Jews for the use of the temple, but make no mention of this bounty; though they represent the son as very liberal to the poor, and giving all his goods unto them (d). (r) De nominibus Hebraicis, fol. 101. H. (s) L. 60. (t) Eccl. Hist. 1. 2. c. 8. (u) In Chronicon. (w) Eccl. Hist. l. 2. c. 11, 12. (x) Vales. not. in Eccl. Hist. l. 2. c. 11, 12. (y) Cent. 1. l. 2. c. 13. p. 501. (z) In Vit. Claud. c. 18. & Victor. Aurel. de Caesaribus in Claud. (a) Euseb. Eccl. Hist. l. 2. c. 12. (b) Antiqu. l. 20. c. 2. sect. 6. (c) Misn. Yoma, c. 3. sect. 10. (d) T. Hieros. Peah, fol. 15. 2.
Tyndale Open Study Notes
11:25-26 Barnabas recognized the special gifts that Saul possessed for preaching and teaching. His assessment of Saul’s gifts was wise, and it resulted in a fruitful team ministry in Antioch.
Acts 11:25
The Church at Antioch
24Barnabas was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and faith, and a great number of people were brought to the Lord.25Then Barnabas went to Tarsus to look for Saul,26and when he found him, he brought him back to Antioch. So for a full year they met together with the church and taught large numbers of people. The disciples were first called Christians at Antioch.
- Scripture
- Sermons
- Commentary
- Adam Clarke
- Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
- John Gill
- Tyndale
Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
To Tarsus, for to seek Saul - The persecution raised against him obliged him to take refuge in his own city, where, as a Roman citizen, his person was in safety. See Act 9:29, Act 9:30.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
BARNABAS, FINDING THE WORK IN ANTIOCH TOO MUCH FOR HIM, GOES TO TARSUS FOR SAUL--THEY LABOR THERE TOGETHER FOR A WHOLE YEAR WITH MUCH SUCCESS, AND ANTIOCH BECOMES THE HONORED BIRTHPLACE OF THE TERM CHRISTIAN. (Act 11:25-26) Then departed Barnabas to Tarsus for to seek Saul--Of course, this was after the hasty despatch of Saul to Tarsus, no doubt by Barnabas himself among others, to escape the fury of the Jews at Jerusalem. And as Barnabas was the first to take the converted persecutor by the hand and procure his recognition as a disciple by the brethren at Jerusalem (Act 9:27), so he alone seems at that early period to have discerned in him those peculiar endowments by virtue of which he was afterwards to eclipse all others. Accordingly, instead of returning to Jerusalem, to which, no doubt, he sent accounts of his proceedings from time to time, finding that the mine in Antioch was rich in promise and required an additional and powerful hand to work, he leaves it for a time, takes a journey to Tarsus, "finds Saul" (seemingly implying--not that he lay hid [BENGEL], but that he was engaged at the time in some preaching circuit--see on Act 15:23), and returns with him to Antioch. Nor were his hopes disappointed. As co-pastors, for the time being, of the Church there, they so labored that the Gospel, even in that great and many-sided community, achieved for itself a name which will live and be gloried in as long as this world lasts, as the symbol of all that is most precious to the fallen family of man:--"The disciples were called CHRISTIANS first in Antioch." This name originated not within, but without, the Church; not with their Jewish enemies, by whom they were styled "Nazarenes" (Act 24:5), but with the heathen in Antioch, and (as the form of the word shows) with the Romans, not the Greeks there [OLSHAUSEN]. It was not at first used in a good sense (as Act 26:28; Pe1 4:16 show), though hardly framed out of contempt (as DE WETTE, BAUMGARTEN, &c.); but as it was a noble testimony to the light in which the Church regarded Christ--honoring Him as their only Lord and Saviour, dwelling continually on His name, and glorying in it--so it was felt to be too apposite and beautiful to be allowed to die.
John Gill Bible Commentary
And in these days came prophets from Jerusalem to Antioch., That is, some time in that year that Saul and Barnabas were at Antioch, there came from Jerusalem thither some Christian prophets; for such there were in the Christian church, who had not only a gift of expounding the more mysterious prophecies of the Old Testament, but also of foretelling things to come; see Act 13:1. . Acts 11:28 act 11:28 act 11:28 act 11:28And there stood up one of them named Agabus,.... The same name with Hagaba in Neh 7:48 and with Hagabah, or Hagab in Ezr 2:45 and which the Septuagint there call Agaba and Agab. The name signifies a "grasshopper", Lev 11:22 or "a locust", Ch2 7:13. In a book that goes under the name of Jerom (r), it is interpreted, "a messenger of tribulation"; respecting, it may be, not the true signification of the word, as the things which Agabus predicted, as the general dearth here, and the binding of the Apostle Paul, Act 21:10. And the same writer observes, that this interpretation is a violent, or a forced one. Some take it to be the same with "Agab", which signifies "to love"; and so may be the same with the Greek name "Agapetus", which may be interpreted "beloved". This Agabus is said to be one of the seventy disciples that Christ sent forth: he seems to have been an itinerant prophet, who went from place to place delivering out his prophecies; we hear of him again at Caesarea, in Act 21:10. Some say he was a native of Antioch; but this does not follow from his being here, any more than that he was a native of Caesarea from his being there also; it seems most likely that he was a native of Judea, and perhaps of Jerusalem, since in both places he is said to come from thence: it is reported that he died at Antioch; and he is placed in the Roman martyrology on the third of February. And signified by the Spirit; not by the position of the stars, or by any natural causes, or by mere conjecture, but by the Spirit of God: that there should be great dearth throughout all the world; not only throughout all the land of Judea, but at least throughout the whole Roman empire; see Luk 2:1 since other writers speak of it in other parts: which came to pass in the days of Claudius Caesar; in the second year of his reign, as Dion Cassius (s), the Roman historian, says: and (t) Eusebius seems to speak of it, as in the beginning of his reign; for he says, Caius, who scarce reigned four years, Claudius the emperor succeeded, in whose time a famine afflicted the whole world; for this some writers, different from our religion, have made mention of in their histories: though he elsewhere affirms (u), that it was in the fourth year of his reign; both may be true, it might last so long: and indeed, according to what this writer (w) cites from Josephus, it must be after this time that the famine raged in Judea; for having observed the defeat of Theudas by Cuspius Fadus, the Roman governor, he observes, that at the same time a very great famine happened in Judea: now Fadus was sent into Judea, after the death of king Agrippa, towards the end of the fourth year of Claudius; so that it must be in the fifth or sixth year of Claudius that this famine was (x). The Magdeburgensian Centuriators say (y), it was about the ninth and tenth years of Claudius that this famine raged in Greece, Rome, and other parts of the world. Suetonius (z) makes mention of it, and ascribes it to a constant sterility or barrenness: and that it particularly affected Judea appears from hence, that Helena, queen of the Adiabeni, was at this time at Jerusalem, who sent for, and brought corn out of Egypt, and distributed it to the poor (a); of which Josephus (b) gives this account: "her coming was very seasonable to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, for a famine at that time much afflicted their city, and many perished through want of food. Helena, the queen, sent of her own people some to Alexandria, who bought a great quantity of corn, and some to Cyprus, who brought loads of dry figs; who, as soon they came back, distributed the food to the needy.--And her son Izates, hearing of the famine, sent much money to the chief men of Jerusalem.'' The Misnic doctors (c) speak of various gifts which Helena, and her son Monbaz, as they call him, gave to the Jews for the use of the temple, but make no mention of this bounty; though they represent the son as very liberal to the poor, and giving all his goods unto them (d). (r) De nominibus Hebraicis, fol. 101. H. (s) L. 60. (t) Eccl. Hist. 1. 2. c. 8. (u) In Chronicon. (w) Eccl. Hist. l. 2. c. 11, 12. (x) Vales. not. in Eccl. Hist. l. 2. c. 11, 12. (y) Cent. 1. l. 2. c. 13. p. 501. (z) In Vit. Claud. c. 18. & Victor. Aurel. de Caesaribus in Claud. (a) Euseb. Eccl. Hist. l. 2. c. 12. (b) Antiqu. l. 20. c. 2. sect. 6. (c) Misn. Yoma, c. 3. sect. 10. (d) T. Hieros. Peah, fol. 15. 2.
Tyndale Open Study Notes
11:25-26 Barnabas recognized the special gifts that Saul possessed for preaching and teaching. His assessment of Saul’s gifts was wise, and it resulted in a fruitful team ministry in Antioch.