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Commentary Index | Return to PrayerRequest.com | DownloadPaul Kretzmann Commentary - Acts 11:27 - 11:30
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Barnabas and Saul sent on a charitable mission:
v. 27. And in these days came prophets rom Jerusalem unto Antioch.
v. 28. And there stood up one of them, named Agabus, and signified by the Spirit that there should be great dearth throughout all the world; which came to pass in the days of Claudius Caesar.
v. 29. Then the disciples, every man according to his ability, determined to send relief unto the brethren which dwelt in Judea;
v. 30. which also they did, and sent it to the elders by the hands of Barnabas and Saul.
"In these days," the days of the first love, when the fires of zeal for the Lord and of love for the brethren were still burning high, there were also extraordinary gifts of the Spirit to be found in the congregations. Fraternal relations with the congregation at Jerusalem having been established, there came down from that city to Antioch some prophets, men that had received the special gift of being able to foretell the future. One of these prophets, a man by the name of Agabus, by the power of the Spirit indicated that a great famine was destined to come over the whole world. This prediction, as Luke notes, was fulfilled in the reign of the Emperor Claudius. As all the secular historians of note, Suetonius, Dion Cassius, Tacitus, and also Eusebius, bear witness, a severe famine at that time struck the entire civilized world, notably the countries along the Mediterranean. But now the love of Christ which lived in the Christians by faith became manifest. Every one of the disciples, according to his individual ability, pledged himself to send, in proportion to his means, for the service of relief to those brethren in the faith that lived in Judea. Since Antioch was a prosperous city, the chances are that many of the Christians living there partook of this prosperity in one form or the other, and were therefore in a position to give material aid to the brethren that were less fortunately situated. When therefore the need arose, the congregation at Antioch sent aid, very likely in the form of money, to the elders at Jerusalem by the hand of Barnabas and Saul. The elders, or presbyters, included all the officers of the congregation, both those that labored in the Word and doctrine, and those that did the work of deacons. The apostles were teachers extraordinary, not only of the congregation at Jerusalem, but of the entire Church. The example of the Christians of Antioch may well serve for emulation at all times. Individual Christians and entire congregations should have not only their own needs in mind, but have regard also to those of others, and remember especially such as have served them with spiritual gifts and blessings, in the preaching of the Gospel.
Summary
Peter explains and defends his action at Caesarea over against the scruples of Judaizing critics, the congregation at Antioch is founded by some of the dispersed disciples and established by Barnabas, later with the aid of Saul.