What does Acts 14:26 mean?
Their first missionary journey complete (Acts 13:1–3), Paul and Barnabas have returned to Syrian Antioch with many stories to tell. They rescued the proconsul of Paphos from a Jewish magician, were abandoned by their assistant in Perga, were chased out of Pisidian Antioch, and nearly stoned in Iconium—and Paul was stoned in Lystra after the locals tried to offer sacrifices to them. In several cities, they explained how Jesus of Nazareth fulfills the prophecies of the Messiah and established churches and leadership so the new Jesus-followers could continue to grow in the faith and withstand persecution (Acts 13:4—14:25).Syrian Antioch was one of five cities with that name and the third largest city in the Roman Empire. Paul has a unique relationship with the church there. After the murder of Stephen, when he was still going by the name Saul, he received permission to persecute the Jesus-followers in Jerusalem (Acts 8:1–3; 9:1–2). Some of these followers from Cyrene and Cyprus traveled to Syrian Antioch and shared Jesus' offer of salvation not only to the Jews there, but also the Gentiles (Acts 11:20). In the meantime, Saul accepted Jesus as his savior and after a tense encounter in Jerusalem, the leadership of the church in Jerusalem sent him home to Tarsus (Acts 9).
When the apostles heard Gentiles were coming to faith, they sent Barnabas to investigate. Barnabas realized their faith was true and sent for Saul to help train the growing church (Acts 11:19–26). Through his violent persecution, Paul indirectly had a hand in establishing the church in Syrian Antioch. Through God's grace and Barnabas' wisdom, he helped build the church.
After the church was well-established, the leadership fasted and prayed for guidance as to what they should do next. The Holy Spirit led them to set aside Paul and Barnabas to travel to Cyprus and Galatia (Acts 13:1–3). The elders dedicated the pair to the grace of God, and now they have returned having reached many Gentiles and founded at least four churches.