Acts 11:19-26 "Antioch"

Christians don’t have a great reputation these days. I say this as a Christian. Heck, I’m a pastor—a professional Christian—but when someone comes off like a Bible bookstore sales trainer, “they just love Jesus.” “Bless the Lord, brother!” I ask how they’re doing and they say, “Highly favored, praise God!” I feel like I’m being flim-flammed. Am I the only one? Okalidokali!

Christians are not exactly known for being like Christ, are we? Selfless, sacrificing Himself, God’s expression of grace in the world. We seem to talk more about what we hate than what we love. We’re more obsessed with the minor differences that separate us than the central things that bind us together—like Jesus came to save us by His life, death, and resurrection. 

The Bible says they’ll know we’re Christians by our love for one another but people are more likely to recognize us by our questionable taste in music and movies—Christian subculture replacements and the commercialization of faith. Gospel Cola, Holy TriniTea Bags, Testamints, plastic chrome fish, they’ll more likely notice we are Christians by our love of junk. 

Am I being too hard on us? I probably am but It seems to me like… 

People might think we’re Christian if we constantly shake our heads at other people’s sin but then shake our fist in traffic—or on social media—or at the unsuspecting checkout girl who just wished us a “happy holiday!”

People might think we’re Christian if we say we go to church on Sunday but somehow our calendar only has one or two Sundays in most months.

People might think we’re Christian if we can’t resist a good theological debate with anyone who looks like they might have an opinion … or pronounces the final book of the Bible as Revelations—or start a sentence with, “That’s not how it happened in The Chosen!”

People might think we’re Christian if they mistake our joy of the Lord for that face someone makes when they bite into a rotten lemon.

Yeah. We all know it’s easy to point out flaws in others. It’s a lot harder when people point them out in us. We all walk around with the Homer Simpson attitude, “Everyone’s an idiot except for me.” 

But that’s not how the Gospel is supposed to work. We’re not supposed to ignore our own shortcomings—act like we think we’re better than other people. There’s only one perfect person and we all know it’s not us. In this age of the perfectly curated social media image—posting pictures of our perfect food, perfect families, perfect vacations, vanity filters for the wrinkles, a little clever cropping for the extra pounds. It’s more important than ever to just be real. Everyone is watching. People can spot a phony—the age of the smartphone kinda takes phony to a whole new level. Smartphonies.

Let’s not be fake. People need to somehow see Jesus working in our lives. Maybe we can start showing people who Jesus is—not by pretending that we have it all together—but by showing how following Jesus helps us deal with our very frustrating and messy lives. People don’t need to see perfect Christians—they need to see real Christians, who admit their struggles but show that Jesus is helping them through.

We’ve been going through the Book of Acts line by line. Today we’re in chapter 11. We’re going to find out about when Jesus followers were first called Christians. What it meant then, and what it means now. Chapter 11… 

Now those who were scattered because of the persecution that arose over Stephen traveled as far as Phoenicia and Cyprus and Antioch, speaking the word to no one except Jews.  Acts 11:19

Stephen was leader in the Jerusalem church, he was one of the seven Greek Jews who was put in charge of food distribution. He was also a very outspoken follower of Jesus who was especially frustrating to the members of his old synagogue—the ones who couldn’t beat him in a theological argument about Jesus, so they turned him in for heresy, blasphemy, and hurting their feelings. Hey, if you can’t win with facts and truth, then attack them personally, right?! They had Stephen arrested and killed.

One of the religious leaders who was there for the execution was Saul of Tarsus. He became the commanding officer for a gestapo-like task force that hunted down people who believed in Jesus, put them in prison, and had many of them executed like Stephen. This led to a massive scattering of the church—getting out of Jerusalem to escape persecution.

But what the Jewish religious leaders did to squash the church only made it stronger. All those people who fled to other cities, took the Gospel with them. What they meant for harm, God used for good.

The church scattered far and wide. Phoenicia was the coastal region of modern-day Lebanon—it was about 200 miles away. Cyprus is an island in the Mediterranean Sea about 250 miles away. And Antioch was the third largest city in the Roman empire over 300 miles from Jerusalem.

Imagine you’re in Antioch—a city of wealth, wild beliefs, impressive architecture, a center for commerce, culture and politics. It was incredibly diverse, a mixture of Greeks, Romans, Jews, Syrians—a melting pot of people, races, ideas, and creativity.

It also had a reputation of being “sin city”—a place of moral looseness and decadence. The historian Juvenal said, “The sewage of the Syrian Orontes (river) has long been discharged into the Tiber (river).” Meaning the corruption and hedonism of Antioch flows into the rest of Rome. Worship of Roman and Greek gods in Antioch was celebrated with ritual prostitution, all kinds of openly sexual entertainment, gluttony, drunkenness. You know, what happens in Antioch stays in Antioch kinds of things. Enough to make Las Vegas blush. The kind of place Jesus probably had in mind for a prodigal son to squander his inheritance.

So, all those nice little Jesus believing Jewish people ran away from the persecution in Jerusalem and ended up in this crazy city, surrounded by every kind of sin you can imagine. So, they mostly kept to themselves, played it safe—only shared the Gospel with other nice Jewish people. If they would have all been this timid, the Gospel might have fizzled out. 

But there were some of them, men of Cyprus and Cyrene, who on coming to Antioch spoke to the Hellenists also, preaching the Lord Jesus. And the hand of the Lord was with them, and a great number who believed turned to the Lord.  Acts 11:20-21

These guys were bold. They were Greek Jews who were all-in on Jesus. They were also from Cyprus and Cyrene—very cosmopolitan places—they would have spoken multiple languages, been familiar with different cultures—men about town who were as comfortable making deals in the marketplace as discussing big ideas with philosophers. 

They figured if this Jesus thing was good for them, then it was good for everyone else, too. So, they just went for it. Went around Antioch telling pagan Greeks that Jesus was for them, too. That Jesus is Lord. Lord over all those other worthless gods like Zeus, Apollo, Astarte—Caesar. None of them are Lord, Jesus is Lord. Can you imagine being that bold? Telling people whatever they were looking for in those empty gods, they were only going to find in Jesus.

And it worked. People believed. The city turned to Jesus in great numbers. The hand of the Lord was with them. A bunch of unnamed disciples who had just found out about Jesus themselves. They didn’t go to seminary. They didn’t have all the answers. They just talked about what Jesus meant to them.

That’s our job — to say the words, share the message of what God has done for us in Jesus—it’s up to God to make something happen with it. 

This was a spontaneous explosion of faith in Antioch—of all places! Revival in sin city. News got back to headquarters.

The report of this came to the ears of the church in Jerusalem, and they sent Barnabas to Antioch. When he came and saw the grace of God, he was glad, and he exhorted them all to remain faithful to the Lord with steadfast purpose, for he was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and of faith. 
Acts 11:22-24

The Apostles, the guys we usually think of as the disciples of Jesus, they were all out of town—like Peter who we followed to Lydda, and Joppa, and the House of Cornelius in Caesarea. They were all out checking on the believers who had fled Jerusalem. We should remember Barnabus as one of the leaders in the church—it's actually his nickname. Barnabus means son of encouragement. He was an encourager, he knew how to get the best out of people. He was also a native of Cyprus, so he was perfect to go check out the explosive growth of the church in Antioch. 

He showed up and was very happy with what he saw—all these people excited about Jesus and the Gospel. So, he did what he always did, he encouraged them! A bunch of pagans had come to faith, so he encouraged them to be faithful! Keep going! Learn about Jesus, what He taught, what He’s all about. Don’t give up. Don’t give into doubt and temptation. Don’t fall back into your old life. Keep going. Faith has to lead to faithfulness.

These new believers in Antioch—they didn’t know anything about the Bible. There’s thousands of new converts. Yesterday they were getting naked in the temple of Artimus, and today they’re listening to a guy named Barnabus encourage them to be faithful in their new life of following Jesus. But what did that even mean? What does being faithful to the Lord look like? They did not grow up in Sunday school. But they wanted to learn!

Things were going great before he got there but once he got there, even more people started coming to church.

And a great many people were added to the Lord. So Barnabas went to Tarsus to look for Saul, and when he had found him, he brought him to Antioch.  Acts 11:24-25

A brand new church filled with thousands of baby believers. Barnabas was going to need some help to teach them about Jesus.

He knew just the guy.

His old buddy Saul. The guy we all know as Saint Paul. The guy he introduced to Peter and James—vouched for him. Saul was all about Jesus now but before his conversion—he was the main blood-thirsty enemy of the church and the reason all these new believers had fled to Antioch in the first place—but Barnabus thinks he’s just the person he needs to help disciple all these newbies. Saul helped with the church in Damascus for a while but then he also fled the Jewish leaders in Jerusalem and went back to his hometown of Tarsus. He’s been gone for a few years.

So, Barnabus takes a trip to Tarsus—100 miles by boat—and finds his old friend. “Hey, remember how you talked about being an apostle to the Gentiles? Well, I got a whole city full of them just dying to meet you. The Gospel is going like hotcakes there.”

Saul’s like, “What are hotcakes?”

For a whole year they met with the church and taught a great many people.  Acts 11:26

Discipleship takes time. Telling people that Jesus died for them and saves them is just the beginning. Grace is received by faith. True. But then faith has to become faithfulness. A disciple is a person who is disciplined in how they live for Jesus. We have to put in effort.

Discipleship works like this:

There are things to know. We have to read our freakin’ Bible.
There are things to believe. We have to believe our freakin’ Bible.
And there are things to do. We have to do what it freakin’ says.

You’re saved by grace through faith—Jesus completely did that part for you.
But then you have to do what He says. You have to know what He said, believe what He said, and do it. Being a disciple of Jesus means we have to work at it.

This is the number one failing in the western church. We don’t know what it means to be a disciple. We don’t really make disciples. We make baby Jesus followers who drink milk from a bottle for the rest of their lives. Babies who never grow in their faith. They never move on to the deeper things. They never do anything they are called to do.

The failure of the western church is we don’t make disciples who can make disciples.

It’s like we have children who refuse to have children. That’s not a sustainable plan for the future.

All those new followers of Jesus, being taught by Barnabus and Saul. They stood out. There was something different about them. People noticed.

And in Antioch the disciples were first called Christians. Acts 11:26

It was in “sin city” that followers of Jesus were first called Christians. Up to that point, they were called disciples, people of the way, the church, believers—but not Christians. 

And it was outsiders that started doing it. Some people think they meant it as a jab—like, “Ooo look, it’s one of those little Christs! Little Messiahs! Do goody religious fanatics!”

I don’t think so. I think it was just a way to refer to them instead of the Jews or other religious people. Like we would say Mormons or Muslims or Dallas Cowboy fans. Except, I don’t think they meant anything bad by it. Ha.

Remember, “Christ” is just the Greek word for “Messiah.” “Jesus Christ” is literally “Jesus the Messiah.” It’s His title, not His last name.

So, in Antioch there were so many of these new Jesus followers, it got people’s attention. There was a buzz in the city. People needed something to call them—these people who talked about Jesus the Christ all the time. They loved each other. They took care of each other. They seemed like really good people. 

What should we call them? Hmm…

Jews who were politically loyal to Herod were called “Herodians.”
So, this new group of people who were loyal to Christus, Christ—they started calling them Christians.

It was going to be a little while before it caught on inside the church. This is why some people think it was perceived as an insult but I think it’s more likely they thought it was too much of an honor. It probably didn’t seem very humble to go around saying, “I’m like a little Jesus Christ over here!” But it caught on pretty quick—Peter and Paul use it to refer to Jesus followers in the epistles. 

In this multicultural world of Antioch, these new believers in the Gospel got a new identity. Separating them from Judaism, separating them from Roman and Greek culture—they were known by their association with Jesus Christ. This made world-changing ripples in the ancient world and the church continued to grow until Christianity went from being a tiny little offshoot of Judaism to becoming the largest and fastest growing religion in the world for the next two thousand years.

So, that brings us full circle. 

What Does it Mean to be a Christian? When people find out you’re a Christian, what do they think that means? What do you think it means? It ought to reflect your calling to be Christ-like and carry His name and reputation in how you live and act. 

It’s been a long time since the label “Christian” didn’t carry some negative baggage with it, though. We talked about some of those things earlier. But I want us to think about what we can do to reclaim the name “Christian” for the Gospel. Put “Christ” back in “Christian.” 

In Antioch, the believers didn’t have it all figured out either. They were new to the faith, but their lives were different enough that people needed a word to describe them. And that’s where the term ‘Christian’ was born. In a city as diverse and morally chaotic as Antioch, these Christians stood out—not because they were perfect, but because Jesus had changed them.

The life of following Jesus is a life of discipline—that’s why they were called disciples. It’s a life-long calling. We’re supposed to disciple each other. We’re supposed to be discipled. To challenge each other with gentleness, patience, and grace. To encourage each other in our faith and faithfulness.

We all need Barnabases in our lives. People who see what God is doing, who remind us to stay faithful, and who give us the push to keep going when we’re ready to give up. We all need to be encouragers for each other. 

Maybe it’s a good start to remember this: You don’t call yourself a Christian because you’ve got it all figured out, or because you live perfect lives—you’re not better than anyone else. You get to call yourself a Christian because of what Christ has done for you. It’s not about you getting it right—it’s about Him getting it right for you. Jesus came into this world, knowing how messy, broken, and sinful you are, and He willingly gave His life for you anyway. He took your sin, your guilt—and it was nailed to the cross with Him so that you could be forgiven and made new.

You're a Christian because your identity—your innocence before God—is found in Christ alone. 

So, when people see you, they shouldn’t see someone trying to earn their way to glory—they shouldn’t see someone full of spiritual pride. They should see someone who is living in God’s grace—someone who lives out that grace in the way they love, forgive, and serve people. That’s what it means to be called a Christian. It means you are forgiven, you are redeemed, and you are sent out to show the world who Jesus is through how you live and how you love.

Christians are sinners. Jesus died to save sinners. That’s all of us. And He rose again to give us new life. That’s the life we live now, by grace, through faith. So when people find out you’re a Christian, hopefully they’ll see Christ in you—a least a little—instead of the judgmental, hypocritical, or self-righteous reputation everyone keeps talking about. Let’s give them something different to talk about: the love, grace, and forgiveness that Jesus has shown us. AMEN