Acts 11:22-23

‘And the report concerning them came to the ears of the church which was in Jerusalem, and they sent forth Barnabas as far as Antioch, who, when he was come, and had seen the grace of God, was glad, and he exhorted them all, that with purpose of heart they would cleave to the Lord.'

News of what had happened came back to the ears of the church in Jerusalem. We can compare this with Acts 11:1, but what a different response it now produced. Fulfilling their responsibility of oversight, and with a desire to help on the growth of the new church, they sent Barnabas to oversee the work that they had learned was going on. It was both important to maintain the oneness of the church, and to ensure that the church was properly taught, as well as ensuring that all was right. But they chose carefully and wisely, for they sent a Hellenistic Christian leader who was himself a Cypriot, but who was also a Levite and in good standing in Jerusalem from the beginning (Acts 4:36; Acts 9:27). He was a man who would be satisfactory to both parties, and would best understand the situation And when he arrived he gave his full support to the work, for he recognised the ‘undeserved favour', the sovereign love, of God at work, and rejoiced. And he himself taught the new believers and exhorted them to ‘stick firmly' to the LORD with dedicated and purposeful hearts.

The coming of Barnabas was clearly seen as vital for the church in Antioch. The impression given is that the Christians who by their witness and obedience had begun this great work of the Spirit did not have sufficient knowledge of the word or of Apostolic teaching to be able to continue to carry the burden of the newborn church (that would be why Saul was needed). This gap was thus partly solved by the arrival of Barnabas. And yet even he soon felt the necessity to bring in Saul. He recognised the importance of obtaining the very best teaching for this important city church at the heart of the Empire. It takes a great man among a leadership to recognise his own shortcomings, and to bring in someone whom he no doubt knew was his intellectual superior, and even his superior in knowing and interpreting the Scriptures. He had recognised Saul's gifts and was not jealous of them.