Acts 11:25 - Printer Friendly

ESV: So Barnabas went to Tarsus to look for Saul,

NIV: Then Barnabas went to Tarsus to look for Saul,

NASB: And he left for Tarsus to look for Saul;

CSB: Then he went to Tarsus to search for Saul,

NLT: Then Barnabas went on to Tarsus to look for Saul.

KJV: Then departed Barnabas to Tarsus, for to seek Saul:

NKJV: Then Barnabas departed for Tarsus to seek Saul.

When Jesus-followers from the island of Cyprus fled persecution in Jerusalem, some of them traveled north to Syrian Antioch. There, they shared the message of Jesus with other Jews. Some, however, also shared the truth about Jesus with pagan Gentiles. When the news reached Jerusalem, the church leaders knew they needed to determine what, exactly, was going on (Acts 11:19–22). They also knew who to send: Barnabas, the great encourager who happens to be from Cyprus (Acts 4:36–37).

Barnabas is qualified in several ways. He is from Cyprus, he has a welcoming heart, he is courageous, and he has great discernment. He proves this with his interactions with Saul. Saul had been a young Pharisee-in-training when he became aware of the "heretical" Jewish sect that taught a teacher from Galilee was the Jewish Messiah and had raised from the dead. Saul viciously persecuted the church, driving members from Jerusalem. When Saul traveled to Damascus to arrest what Jesus-followers he could find there, he met Jesus, instead, and repented of his violence (Acts 9:1–25). But when he returned to Jerusalem to meet the apostles, only Barnabas had the courage to meet with him and discern that his conversion was genuine (Acts 9:26–27).

Saul gained a Savior but didn't lose his zealous nature. He debated so fervently that Jesus is the Messiah that the foreign-born Jews in Jerusalem started planning to kill him. The apostles realized he was in danger and sent him home to Tarsus (Acts 9:28–30).

Tarsus is quite close to Antioch. So, when Barnabas finds he needs help guiding the new church in Antioch, he goes looking for the man whose persecution inadvertently led to its creation.

Acts 11:19–26 continues the inauguration of the international church. While Peter is in Caesarea Maritima leading a houseful of Gentiles to faith in Jesus (Acts 10) and then in Jerusalem explaining that Jesus has come to the Gentiles (Acts 11:1–18), the church has already spread far north to Syrian Antioch. The Jesus-followers who fled Saul's persecution in Jerusalem took Jesus' story with them (Acts 8:1–4). Some, from Cyprus and Cyrene, taught Gentiles. If they, Jews who lived within the Greco/Roman culture, could worship Jesus, why couldn't their Gentile friends? This is exactly what Jesus intended in Acts 1:8.

Acts 11 accelerates the journey of the message of Jesus into the Gentile world. Peter returns to Jerusalem and explains to the church leaders how the Holy Spirit has fallen on a group of Gentiles in Caesarea Maritima (Acts 11:1–18). Then the church hears how Gentiles are coming to faith far north in Syrian Antioch; they send Barnabas to investigate and Barnabas brings in Saul (Acts 11:19–26). Finally, prophets travel from Jerusalem to Antioch to request aid for the Jerusalem church (Acts 11:27–30). The scene is almost set for Paul's extensive evangelism career to begin.

Until the martyrdom of Stephen (Acts 7:54–60), the story of Jesus' followers remained mostly in Jerusalem. Saul started persecuting the church and the members fled, taking Jesus' story with them. This included Philip who shared Jesus' story with Samaritans and an Ethiopian official (Acts 8). Saul's persecution even led to his own conversion (Acts 9). And Peter brought the gospel to a group of Gentiles (Acts 10). After one more story about Peter and rising persecution by the Roman government, the book of Acts will turn to Saul, who will use the Greek variation of his name, Paul, and his missionary journeys to southeast Europe.

The summary of the book of Acts is provided in Jesus' words in Acts 1:8: ''But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.'' In Acts 2:1–13, the Christ-followers receive the Holy Spirit. Acts 2:14—7:60 describes the rapid growth of the church in Jerusalem. Chapters 8—12 find Jewish persecution inadvertently spreading the gospel throughout Judea and Samaria. And in chapters 13—28, Paul and his companions spread the good news throughout the Roman Empire.