Saul Is Reconciled To The Joy Of The Saints

Then came the Word of these things to the ears of the church in Jerusalem; so they sent out Barnabas to go as far as Antioch, who came and witnessed the joy of God's grace, exhorting along side their unity of heart with the purpose to continue with the Lord; for he was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and of faith; and a considerable crowd was put forth to the Lord. Then Barnabas went out for Tarsus to search for Saul; and finding him, he led him back to Antioch. Now they both, for a year's end, came together with the church and catechized a considerable crowd; making use, in Antioch, of the first of these disciples, called Christians. (MAST)

verse 23 . . . who came and witnessed the joy of God's grace, exhorting along side their unity of heart with the purpose to continue with the Lord. (MAST) Having then been sent out, Barnabas came to witness the grace that was occurring in Antioch. He was sent out to see first hand "the Word" that was occurring there. In his observations, he perceived "these things" as the gift of God, those of glad tidings in God. Glad tidings was often the term used of the KJV translators for the short hand of evangelizing with the news of the gospel. It's like coming to someone with news of the news is its verb function, but pertaining strictly to the news of the joy that's born out of a particular event, like it was used by the angel to speak of the birth of the Word made flesh. Christ's birth was news of the first promise, but the joy of the promise's fulfillment is the news spoken of here. Luke 2:10 (NKJV) 10 Then the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. Like the angel who sent the poor shepherds to witness the joyous arrival of the Son of David, Barnabas was sent to witness the joy of the Lord born in the hearts of those Hellenists and Christian Jews who came together for the instruction of the Word. Notice that the angel's word agrees with the Word that was occurring in Antioch; for the angel had said "this joy" would be to "all people," meaning both Jew and Gentile nations. This is the heart of "these things" that Barnabas is witnessing in Antioch. The verbiage of Barnabas witnessing this joy is passive, but he also actively came to them along side "these things," not over them in "these things." Therefore, he was there to encourage them to continue in the joy of these things by serving the Lord; and we can surely be free to say that he shared in this joy. But the point, I believe, the text is making, is that this joy overwhelmed him passively. He was the recipient of this gift of grace, being filled to the same measure of joy that had been pouring over them all in Antioch, as a result of the first Word. verse 24 For he was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and of faith; and a considerable crowd was put forth to the Lord. (MAST) Here we find the reason why he felt overwhelmed by "these things." Luke writes this in a way that builds up his character and exemplifies his faith. The church in Antioch must have been already aware of Barnabas' reputation and welcomed him with "these things." Luke may have already been among the number of these Hellenist converts having been native to the city of Antioch, but there is little evidence to support this. However, Luke at some point knew him personally, and confirms the work of the Holy Spirit in him. And so, through his leadership, the multitude in Antioch was formally presented unto the work of the Lord. But we should also make "special" note of the source of Barnabas' goodness. His goodness was of the Holy Spirit. In other words, the Holy Spirit was the source of his goodness, joy and faith. His joy was not "in the resources of this world," but in the power of the Word and the love of God working through the faith of those coming to Christ. verse 25 Then Barnabas went out for Tarsus to search for Saul; . . . (MAST) Now after bringing "these things" into some kind of formal order, he went to search for Saul who had went to Tarsus (Acts 9:30). Tarsus was Saul's native land, but was a "pure blooded" Jew (Acts 9:11;22:3). And so, Saul would have had a lot in common with the Jews in Antioch, but it was Saul who had pushed some of these out of their homes in Jerusalem to settle here. And so Barnabas is looking to reconcile Saul to the rest of the church. Indeed, Barnabas must have already testified on behalf of Saul, but needed to bring him back face to face, for the eyes of the persecuted in Antioch. Seeing Saul's conversion and the fruit of his testimony should have comforted the saints in their persecution - "Do not fear the angel told the poor shepherds." These people had one heart for the joy of the good news in Christ. Reconciliation was not a hurdle; if it was through this particular Word. Therefore, on this basis, Saul would have been welcomed with the same love that Barnabas was.

We should also note that Barnabas wasn't sent out but went out on his own authority. This was all Barnabas. Barnabas was a risk taker; and this may have been why he had such a reputation of faith. The Greek verbiage for, search, indicates a thorough hunt down with the sole purpose of tracking a target. You could say that he "hunt him down," like a police officer with a search warrant. But the context doesn't support an authoritative sending like a warrant requires. Again, this was all Barnabas out of the "goodness" of his heart. He most likely used his own resources for this search. He did not require it from the hands of the church in Antioch, but rather used his own money. Barnabas was a man of great faith and used his resources for the benefit of the whole universal body of Christ. Without a man like Barnabas to lead in such matters, the church may have had a slower beginning; and because of this, Barnabas was always well received and spoken highly of. verse 26 . . . and finding him, he led him back to Antioch. Now they both, for a year's end, came together with the church and catechized a considerable crowd; making use, in Antioch, of the first of these disciples, called Christians. (MAST) We find here, that Barnabas did not quit until he found Saul. This search continued until Saul was found and in his grasp. But once Saul was found, the task was not over. Saul was a man with his own will, and Barnabas would have had to reason with him in order to bring him back to Antioch. One commentator believes that Barnabas already understood Saul's call to minister "to the Gentiles (Acts 9:15)." So, he was going to convince him to begin in Antioch where many of the Hellenists were already converted. God would use these "already" partially trained converts "in the fear of the Lord" to be more fully catechized in the wisdom of Christ (1Cor.1:18-25;2:1-8). Being converts of Judaism they possessed an understanding of the Law of God "in the fear of the Lord," but this was only the beginning of wisdom (Prov.1:7;Ps.111:10). The fullness of wisdom is found in the Law's fulfillment in the news of Christ (Prov.9:10). Therefore, these Hellenists, while already turning toward the news of the Law's fulfillment in Christ, needed to further understand the implications of such news. In other words, they needed to systematize their understanding in order to disciple others. The Law and "the fear of the Lord" is incomplete without Christ. These churches now needed to shape their doctrines concerning the person and work of Christ, and how he relates to the Father, and how "in Him" we relate to the Holy Spirit who unites us to the substance of the whole essence of God in sanctification. So they needed a formal pattern that would shape their worship; for the Father seeks such worshipers (Jn.4:23,24;14:17); and surely this Spirit was in Barnabas (Eph.5:9). Antioch was a prosperous city and at one time central to Rome. It was laid along the route that led straight to Rome; and therefore made for a good hub to headquarter Paul's missionary journeys, who is currently still named Saul, for our context. It was also a multi-cultural city of which Jews, Greeks, Syrians and others inhabited. Much commerce took place here, which would have provided the people of the church with many opportunities to work with their hands. This would have made the church prosperous to do its greater work in sending and receiving pastors and evangelists. Because of the multi-cultural business and trade, it would have been liberal; and so, it gave the church more liberty than it would normally have had in other religious cities. Therefore it made for a good home base and a way to blend in from the greater threat of persecution from the Jews of national Judaism (the Circumcision). But they were not free from all persecution. It was here where the term Christian was most likely first coined.

Most of the converted Hellenists and fleeing persecuted Jews would have been slaves of the Roman elite in this city (Acts 19:35;Mk.12:15-17) like the other cities. Though liberal for the sake of wealth and trade, these slaves were mocked at for professing salvation through a man crucified upon a Roman cross (1Cor.1:18,22-24). But Saul and Barnabas, in all understanding, view these disciples as the "first of these." What Luke means by this, is that, though slaves, and considered by the greater society as "the least of these," (Matt.25:40,45) those whom Saul and Barnabas placed before the gathered saints were "the first of the least of these," (Matt.5:19) who suffered persecution for the sake of Christ's cross/name/reputation.

Therefore the term Christian was a degrading and derogatory term placed on these particular slaves (1Cor.1:26-31). You could even say that they were a separate "political" party, like the "Republicans and Democrats." But these were considered the lowest of the immoral scum (1Cor.4:10-13) in relation to the rest of society, because their morals were not in relation to men but to this crucified Christ, who was "believed" to have somehow risen from the grave; utter foolishness to the "slave-masters of the city, who were considered gods in the sight of the poor and common slaves (1Tim.6:5)." Unfortunately, some of the slave-masters took this worship to heart and believed it. And when these Christians preached against it, it would have disrupted everything that this city cherished. So, these particular Christians were set apart for the ministry "in the church." The term was then considered to be a badge of honor, for the those who valued the cross of Christ, and so it cleaved to the church ever since. Now I don't want to be dogmatic, but I don't believe it took Saul and Barnabas a whole year to get these things in order. It could just be equally saying that it took place unto the year's completion to fulfill this task. Saul and Barnabas have their heart on extending this mission upon the next city, and the two worked well together having one purpose. After completing this, they were sent out to Jerusalem, most likely to "bring news" of the news, but first of all to give relief to "the brethren" in Judea. It was not a save all, share all, democracy for the poor campaign. This was a specific relief for those who labored in the gospel. And that brings us to the very heart of the gospel. The gospel is not to be a burden to us, but to give relief and grace to those whom Christ has redeemed. Gospel ministers labor for this purpose; to relieve the burdened. The message did not continue on, until it settled accounts where the message was first planted. If the message could not succeed where it was sent, the message returned to the sender (Lk.10:6;Acts 16:6). And nevertheless, the poor always have the gospel message preached to them free of charge (Isa.61:1;Matt.11:5;Lk.4:18;7:22) at no burden to them.