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SECTION I
b. Now there were in the church that was at Antioch.—This first verse resembles in its tone one that might be employed as an inroduction to a special history of the congregation in Antioch. The prophets and teachers of the latter are mentioned to us by name the ðñïöῆôáé are the immediate organs of the Holy Spirit, and utter their sayings and make their addresses to the congregation in an exalted frame of mind [see above, Exeg. note on Act_11:27-28, and Doct. no. 1.—Tr.]; the äéäÜóêáëïé , more directly guided by their own judgment, after due meditation, furnished instructions to others. [They are “those who had the ÷Üñéóìá äéäáóêáëßáò , 1Co_12:28; see also Eph_4:11.” (Alf.).—Tr.]. It is fruitless to attempt to decide which of the five men here named, belonged to the former, and which to the latter class; at least the correlative particles: ôå — êáß — êáß , and, ôå — êáß (Meyer) here afford no important aid. And no argument can be derived from the circumstance that Barnabas received this particular name, áַּø ðְáåּàָä from the apostles [Act_4:36], on account of possessing the gift of prophecy. For if he is named first in the present list, the reason must doubtless be sought in the preëminence which had hitherto been practically assigned to him, while Saul, as the one who had last of all become connected with the congregation, and who, no doubt, still modestly retired from public view, is, accordingly named the last. Of the three persons whose names occupy an intermediate position, we know nothing whatever, with the exception of the facts here stated. Symeon [ Óõìåὼí ] was also called Niger [“a familiar name among the Romans.” (Hack.).—Tr.]. There is no certainty that Lucius is identical with the individual so named in Rom_16:21. As he is here expressly styled a Cyrenian [ ὁ Êõñçíáῖïò ], it may be conjectured that he was one of the first heralds of the Gospel in Antioch, since Luke says (Act_11:19-20) that ‘some of them were men of Cyprus and Cyrene.’ Of Manaen ( îְðַçֵí ), too, no knowledge can be obtained from any other source. [ ÌáíáÞí is “a Hellenistic form of the Hebrew Menahem, 2Ki_15:14.” (Alex.).—Tr.]. The Herod with whom “he had been brought up”, is undoubtedly not Agrippa II., who was only in the seventeenth year of his age when [his father] Agrippa I. died (Jos. Antiq. 19:9. 1). For one of his comrades [taking óýíôñïöïò in the sense of contubernalis, companion.—Tr.] would at this period have been still too young to serve as a teacher in the church. We are hence led to assume that Herod Antipas is meant—the Herod who caused John the Baptist to be beheaded, and to whose jurisdiction [Pilate supposed that] Jesus belonged [Luk_3:1; Luk_23:7.—“He was now in exile on the banks of the Rhone, but though divested of his office is called tetrarch, because he was best known under that title.” (Hack.).—Tr.]. If this be the case, Menahem must have reached the age of 45 or 50 years at the present period.— Óýíôñïöïò may signify: cum aliquo nutritus, i. e. nourished at the same breast; if this is the correct definition here, Menahem’s mother had been the nurse of Antipas (Vulgate [see note 2, appended to the text, above]; Kuin.; Olsh.); but the word usually signifies playmate, Comrade; [it is understood here by Luther; Calvin; Grot.; Baumg.; Ewald, etc. in the sense of: one brought up with another, as in the text of the Engl. version.—Tr.]. Whichever signification of the word may be adopted, it is a remarkable circumstance that a man who had been reared at a royal court, and specially at that of Herod the Great, should have subsequently become a shepherd and teacher of the Christians.
Act_13:2. As they ministered [But as they offered worship] to the Lord.—Luke proceeds to describe the directions which the Spirit gave to the Church respecting the appointment of Barnabas and Saul as missionaries. The command of the Spirit was given at a certain time when the believers were worshipping and fasting. Áåéôïõñãåῖí designates, in the classic writers, the discharge of civil offices and duties—in the Septuagint and in Heb_10:11, the performance of priestly offices in the temple of Jehovah,—and here, obviously, refers to the rites of worship [ ôῷ Ëõñßῳ ]. But that the subject, the pronoun áὐôῶí , does not exclusively refer to the five prophets and teachers mentioned in Act_13:1, but includes the whole Christian congregation of Antioch, appears from the circumstance that the command: ἀöïñßóáôå , according to the tenor of the whole passage (with which compare Act_14:26-27), is not addressed solely to the teachers, but rather to the whole congregation, so that áὐôῶí also necessarily refers to the latter. The Holy Ghost said (namely, through one of the prophets): Separate me [for my service] Barnabas and Saul (namely, for a holy service); ἀöïñßæåéí here involves the idea of sanctifying and consecrating, even as ÷ָãַùׁ always expresses the conception that a certain object has been set apart or separated from common and daily use. The work which the Holy Ghost called these two men to perform, is not expressly stated. It was, without doubt, already known that Saul had been called to labor as a missionary among the Gentiles.
Act_13:3. And when they had fasted and prayed.—The immediate consecration and dismission of the two men, demonstrates that the congregation had clearly understood the revelation of the Spirit. The believers, while fasting and praying, laid their hands on both, commended them—their journey, and its great object—to the protection and the grace of God (Act_14:26), and thus sent them forth.
2. The apostolate of Paul, strictly speaking, begins on the occasion of this mission—he is now first sent forth ( ἀðüóôïëïò ). He had not voluntarily offered his services, but received a call (rite vocatur), is chosen, and is sent forth—and all is done by divine authority. Jesus himself chose the Twelve during his earthly ministry, and exercised them by a preliminary mission (Matt. Acts 10); it was, however, only after his resurrection that they received full authority from him, and were sent forth; but even then it was necessary for them to wait until they were endowed with the gifts of the Spirit [Act_1:4; Act_1:8], before they actually commenced their labors. Saul, too, was called by Jesus Christ, but the Lord had already ascended to heaven and was glorified; at that time he was told by Jesus himself, that he should be sent to the Gentiles and to Israel. But it is only at this comparatively late period, after sufficient time had been afforded for his internal growth and his progress in the divine life, and after he had, besides, lived in retirement, that he is actually sent, and enters upon his glorious career as the apostle of the Gentiles.—It is the Holy Ghost who calls him, together with Barnabas, to his great work, but men are the agents of the Holy Ghost. It is some one of the Christian prophets in Antioch to whose soul the Spirit, who proceeds from the Father and the Son, makes a communication, and through whose mouth He says that Barnabas and Saul should be separated for the work. And it is the church that receives this command, and that, in the obedience of faith, while fasting and praying, dedicates the two men to their work by the imposition of hands, and then sends them forth. When the outward circumstances alone are considered, Barnabas and Saul were missionaries who proceeded from the Antiochian church; the latter was the society or authority that gave them their commission. But this church was, in truth, simply the agent in giving effect in public to the previous internal call proceeding from the Redeemer. It was the Lord himself who both called and sent, who, through his Spirit, made known his will to the church, and who, through the church, sent forth his messengers. The firm conviction of the latter that they had received a divine call and had been sent by the Lord, was the source whence they derived that confidence and that joy, without which they could not have successfully labored. The work of Christ gradually enters upon the ordinary course of congregational and ecclesiastical development, especially in the person of Saul. He had been directly aroused and awakened by the Redeemer, but his conversion was consummated through the agency of a disciple of Jesus, who was an ordinary member of the church in Damascus (Act_9:10-19); so, too, he had originally received his call as the apostle of the Gentiles from the Lord himself, but that call was made effectual through the congregation at Antioch. Such a combination and interweaving of the Divine and the Human, and such an execution of the divine will through human agents, now occur, when men are called and dedicated to the regularly established sacred office, as well as to missionary labors. It is only under such circumstances that the “rite vocari” [a right or properly authorized call], within the pale of ecclesiastical order, can afford joy and confidence, and secure fidelity, in the discharge of official duties.
Act_13:2. As they ministered to the Lord, and fasted, the Holy Ghost said.—The Holy Ghost does not come to a full stomach and a wandering mind. The full stomach neither studies diligently, nor offers devout prayer. (Gossner).—The Holy Ghost said, Separate, etc. The choice of God, the endowment with his gifts, the training which was accomplished by means of various dispensations—all these preceded in the order of time, and created a willing mind; thus they constituted the inward call; the call of the church, the separation and authorization were now added, and constituted the outward call. (Rieger).—Separate me … Barnabas and Saul, i.e. so that they may live, labor, think and desire solely in my service, in accordance with my will and good pleasure. Teachers should be God’s peculiar people, chosen and separated solely to please Him. (Ap. Past.).—Why were precisely Barnabas and Saul separated? All the servants of God should be ready, whenever He needs them; but His call and command alone can authorize them to commence the work. Let not him who is called, despise him who is left; let not him who waits, envy him who receives an office, (ib.).—The most humble service which is required of us in accordance with God’s call, is honorable, and worthy of being performed; the highest dignities are not worthy of being the objects of our pursuit. (Rieger).
Act_13:3. And when they had fasted.—There was, accordingly, no farewell banquet given, but a farewell fast was observed! It is now common, even in affairs belonging to the kingdom of God, first of all to hold gay festivals; and therefore seasons of mourning follow. (Williger, who also appends the beautiful narrative of the consecration and mission of John Williams, the apostle of the South Sea).
On Act_13:1-3.—The Lord sends forth laborers into his harvest: I. The harvest which he has in view; II. The laborers whom he chooses; III. The mission—the manner in which it is to be effected. (From Lisco.).—The Scriptural mode of sending forth heralds of the Gospel to the heathen: I. By the impulse and direction of the Lord; (a) those who send, must be moved, not by their own spirit, but by the Holy Spirit; (b) those who are sent, must be chosen, not solely in accordance with the dictates of human prudence, but rather on account of the influences of divine grace on them, of which they furnish good evidence; (c) their destination must not be arbitrarily determined, but be indicated by the Lord. II. With holy desires and acts; (a) those who send should fast, abstaining from all excess, so that they may hare means for providing for the wants of the heathen; (b) they should pray—the united prayer of those who send, and of those who are sent, availeth much; (c) the heralds should receive the imposition of hands—after having been consecrated to their work in the proper manner, their labors are also to be conducted according to ecclesiastical order, unto the salvation of the heathen, and the growth of the church. (Lisco).—The first Christian missionary meeting at Antioch: I. The circumstances, in consequence of which the first missionaries went forth from Antioch; (a) on account of the peculiarly flourishing condition of the congregation in that city; (b) and the special indication of the will of divine wisdom. II. The solemn appointment of the first missionaries; (a) the men who were first commissioned; (b) the manner in which they were commissioned. (id.).—That the assumption of the sacred office requires both an internal and an external call: I. The internal; II. The external call. (id.).—The missionary power of Christianity: I. When the church possesses spiritual life, missions prosper; II. When missions are actively maintained, the church prospers. (From Lisco).—The best attendants of a messenger of the faith who is sent forth: I. The call of God, addressed to him; II. The impulse of the Spirit, within him; III. The prayers of the church, which are offered for him; IV. The sighs of the pagans, who long for him.—The blessed bond of union between the church at home, and her missionaries abroad: I. The blessing which extends to missionaries, from their original but distant home—spiritual and temporal gifts, support, ordination, prayer. II. The blessing which missionaries send back to their distant home—admonitions to pray, exhortations to praise God, the strengthening of faith, the increase of love.—What gives to missions their life and power? I. The call of God, in which they originate; II. The fidelity of the laborers who are sent; III. The prayers of the church, by which they are sustained.—How can the church secure the divine blessing, when she engages in any work? I. Not by being directed by human calculations, but by yielding to the impulses of the Holy Spirit; II. Not by premature rejoicings, but by humble prayer; III. Not by confiding in the names of men, even though they should be those of Barnabas and Saul, but by confiding in the name of the living God, on whose blessing all depends.—[The manifestations of the influences of the Divine Spirit: I. In the conversion of sinners; which is effected (a) through the inspired Word (Eph_6:17 : Jam_1:18; 1Pe_1:23); (b) set forth, in its purity, by divine aid; and (c) applied by the Spirit to the sinner’s heart. II. In the edification of believers; which is effected (a) by the Spirit through the Word (1Th_2:13); (b) and the holy Sacraments, as means of grace, combined with prayer and self-examination; (c) all of which are profitable only through faith wrought by the Spirit. (Heb_4:2; Eph_2:8). III. In the extension of the Church in heathen lands; which is effected (a) when the Spirit incites men to go forth as heralds of the cross; (b) opens the hearts of their hearers (Act_16:14; Rom_10:17); (c) and conveys light, life and power through their words (1Co_2:4).—Tr.]
Footnotes:
Act_13:1. a. The text. rec. inserts [with E. G. H.] after ἦóáí äÝ , the word ôéíåò which is wanting in A. B. D. [Cod. Sin.], in several minuscules, and in ancient versions [Syr. Vulg.]; it is, without doubt, a spurious addition, intended to imply that the persons here named, were only some, but not all of the prophets and teachers of the Antiochian congregation. [Omitted by recent editors generally, except Scholz.—Tr.]
Act_13:1. b. [For the words: “which … Herod,” (Geneva), the margin of the Engl. Bible offers the version: “Herod’s foster-brother.” (Rheims.). Alford says of óýíôñïöïò , that it is “probably collactaneus (Vulg.), ‘foster-brother’; not ‘brought up with,’ for, if he had been brought up with Antipas, he would also have been with Archelaus.”—Archelaus and Antipas were brought up with a certain private man at Rome. (Jos. Ant. xvii. 1. 3). The original is “more concisely and exactly rendered in the margin, Herod’s foster-brother.” (Alex.). See below, Exeg. note b. on Act_13:1., and comp. with collactaneus of the Vulg. the German equivalent Milchbruder i. e., milk-brother.—Tr.]