Acts 13:1

Acts 13:1. The church that was at Antioch. It was a grand work the church of Antioch was about to inaugurate, but a work which to the fathers of the Church who dwelt under the shadow of the proud Jerusalem Temple would seem very strange and contrary to the spirit which had so long dwelt in the Hebrew peoples, and which bound and fettered the first Christian fathers. Conscious of this feeling of non-approval with which so many Jewish Christians would view the Gentile mission work of Antioch, the writer of the ‘Acts' is very careful to record how blessed was this innovating church of Antioch, how strong in inspired men. The eleventh chapter, Acts 13:27-28, recounts how Agabus and certain prophets from Jerusalem came to Antioch; but in this solemn introduction to the story of the Gentile missions, special mention is made of the Divine powers and gifts which belonged exclusively to the Syrian church, and the very names of the more distinguished of these inspired men are given.

Certain prophets and teachers. The Church of the first days during the lifetime of the apostles possessed certain supernatural gifts; we find in the ‘Acts' and ‘Epistles' many references to these powers. In a well-known passage (1 Corinthians 12:8-11), St. Paul speaks of these gifts at some length; they certainly existed in the early years which succeeded the first Pentecost. The exercise of these powers by a few gifted persons is mentioned in the writings of the apostles as a matter of ordinary occurrence. But when the apostles and the first generation of believers had passed away, and the foundations of the Church of Jesus had been surely laid, these powers, given for a certain time and a special purpose, seem to have ceased. In writings later than the books of the New Testament, the mention of such supernatural gifts is very rare. The power bestowed on men for a certain season to assist in working out a great work, may after the death of the last of the apostles have lingered a brief while in the person of some old and honoured brother, once the companion or pupil of John, or even of Paul; and an exercise of the old gift of ‘prophecy' or of ‘healing' by one of these grey and time-worn soldiers of the cause, who in their youth sat at the apostles' feet, and from them received some portion of the blessed influence of the Spirit, is probably alluded to in those rare passages in early Christian writings when mention is made of the fading splendour of these Divine powers.

The ‘prophets' and ‘teachers' here spoken of were men to whom the power was at times given of communicating truths connected with the religion of Jesus under a Divine inspiration, and occasionally of predicting future events. The ‘prophets,' who seem to have been the more gifted order, were all teachers; but the teacher was not necessarily a prophet. We can hardly estimate now the extraordinary influence which the burning words and the wise instructions of these divinely-inspired men must have had in those first days on the congregations of Christians.

Barnabas. This eminent man is mentioned first in the list as being the most prominent person among the Antioch Christians. One of the first members of the little band of believers who were gathered at Jerusalem, he was distinguished in the earliest days of the faith by his generous gift to the brethren (Acts 4:36-37). After the death of Stephen, many of the believers were scattered abroad; some of them chose Antioch as their home (Acts 11:19-20). Among these exiles Barnabas occupied a leading position. The work in the great Syriac capital appears to have been singularly successful, and soon a large and increasing brotherhood was established there.

In all generous and devoted work, Barnabas was ever prominent. He it was who induced the older apostles first to look kindly on the Pharisee Saul after his conversion; he it was who, again recognising the splendid powers, and reading well the great heart of Saul, went subsequently to Tarsus, and having sought out, induced the future apostle to come to Antioch to help him in his work there; and later it was Barnabas in company with this same Saul who carried to the impoverished congregations of Jerusalem the offerings of the kindly Antioch church.

No one in the early Church exercised a more noble influence than the Cypriote Barnabas; no one laboured more earnestly or more successfully to carry out his Risen Master's plans. As a Levite and one of the old Jerusalem brotherhood, he was especially fitted to act as mediator between the two representative churches of early Christianity, the one which looked backward only, and, fondly holding fast to a noble but worn-out tradition, was reluctant to enlarge its borders; the other, which looked only forwards, and forgetting the things which were behind, kept its eye fixed on the vast Gentile lands, whose fields were white already for harvest, but across which no reaper as yet had ever passed. If Christian history has scarcely done justice to this great memory, it is because the name of Barnabas was overshadowed by one far greater. His work and name are both alike well-nigh forgotten in the greater glory which surrounds the name and work of Paul.

Simeon called Niger. Nothing is known of this Simeon. Some have conjectured he was identical with that Simon the Cyrenian who carried the cross of Christ on the crucifixion morning.

Lucius of Cyrene. It is possible that this was the Lucius mentioned by St. Paul as his kinsman (Romans 16:21).

Manaen. We are told here that Manaen was brought up with Herod Antipas the tetrarch, who was at this time an exile at Lyons. The Greek word translated ‘brought up with,' might signify either ‘foster-brother' or ‘comrade.' It was very much the practice for persons of high rank to associate other children with their own in their studies and pastimes. This Manaen was no doubt a person of considerable position and rank at Antioch. Ewald remarks that it is evident that men and women of the higher orders joined the ranks of Christians in Palestine in very early days, as we see from the example of this Manaen and also of Joanna (Luke 8:3).

Saul. Mentioned last, because no doubt up to this time he occupied a position lower in the Church than the other prophets and teachers mentioned here.