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Bruce, F.F. (1988). "Antioch Becomes a Christian Base (11:19-30)." In The Book of Acts (Revised). (pp. 223-231). William B. Eerdmans Publishing,
Acts 11:19 is a reflection of the same status as seen in Acts 8:4, where Christians were dispersed following the death of Stephen (Bruce 1988, p. 223). In chapter 11, Luke follows people who went north toward Antioch. Bruce observes that Antioch, "as the capital of the Seleucide monarch" grew in importance quickly after its founding in 300 BC (Bruce 1988, p. 224). By the middle of the first century BC, Antioch was behind only Rome and Alexandria in population within the Graeco-Roman territory. The city was cosmopolitan in character, a trait which Bruce sees as characteristic of the Christian community as well. The region was home to Jewish colonization, cults of Artemis and Apollo, Syrian worship including ritual prostitution, and then a development of Gentile Christianity (Bruce 1988, p. 224).
Acts 11:20 reflects this cosmopolitan character as some of the Hellenistic Jews began bringing the gospel to Gentiles (Bruce 1988, p. 225). Bruce observes that identifying Jesus as "Messiah" would be meaningless to Gentiles, but that terms such as "Lord" and "Savior" would be understood. In verse 21 we learn that the Gentiles were receptive of this message. Bruce speculates that some of the receptive audiences may have been considered "God-fearers," though the text is not specific about this (Bruce 1988, p. 225).
The new situation in Antioch was reported to leaders in Jerusalem. In verses 22-24, they sent Barnabas to evaluate it. Bruce notes that this was the same procedure they followed when Peter and John went to Samaria to review Philip's work (Bruce 1988, p. 26). Barnabas, being from Cyprus, would be more receptive of Gentiles than someone from Jerusalem would. Barnabas' work of encouragement resulted in an increase of conversion (Bruce 1988, p. 227). Bruce sees Barnabas' decision to call on Paul as motivated by the scale of the work, too much for one person. In verses 25-26, he went to Tarsus to search for Paul. Bruce observes this was several years after Paul had left for Tarsus (Bruce 1988, p. 227). After finding Paul, the work in Antioch continued for a year. Bruce notes that bringing the gospel to Jews and Gentiles alike and uniting them in one community would have seemed normal in Antioch (Bruce 1988, p. 228). Bruce notes that the adjective 'Christos" could easily be mistaken for "Chrestos" meaning "useful." The followers of Christ could then be called "Christians" as people who seemed concerned with this "Christ" (Bruce 1988, p. 228).
Acts 11:27-30 refers to a prophecy of a great famine. The Christians from Antioch decided to gather an offering and sent it to Judea (Bruce 1988, p. 229). Bruce observes the living gift of prophecy shown by Agabus. Paul freely accepted the reality of prophetic revelation. Bruce references a severe famine during the reign of Claudius, in 41-54 (Bruce 1988, p. 229). Bruce further suggests that Luke may have been from Antioch and could have been a convert during this time (Bruce 1988, p. 230). Extrabiblical sources refer to a severe famine in Judah between 45 and 48, requiring substantial assistance. Bruce observes that Barnabas and Paul turned the offering over to the local elders in Jerusalem for administration (Bruce 1988, p. 231). bruce considers it possible, though not definite, that Paul's trip to Jerusalem at this time could be that mentioned in Galatians 2:1-10. On the other hand, the visit in Galatians 2 could refer to Acts 15 (Bruce 1988, p. 231).