Acts 11:19-21 Now they which were scattered abroad on the persecution that arose about Stephen traveled as far as Phenice, and Cyprus, and Antioch… I. ITS ENTRANCE INTO ANTIOCH. Here (ver. 19) we discover — 1. Evil overruled for good. The very efforts to crush the gospel gave it new vigour and a wider sweep. Thus it has ever been. 2. The invincibility of Christian courage. The fugitives did not flee from the cause they had espoused, nor relax their efforts to advance it. While true courage does not consist in callous indifference to danger, it demands at all risks eternal fealty to principle and duty. 3. The legitimacy of lay preaching. It is significant that the planting of Christianity here, and in numerous instances since, has been the work of private men holding no ecclesiastical office whatever: which shows — (1) That it is the duty of everyone who knows the gospel to proclaim it. (2) That those who would restrict preaching to the professionally ordained are opposed to the best interests of man and to the genius of the New Testament. 4. The universality of the gospel. It is a system as suited to the Greek as to the Hebrew mind, and equally essential to the highest interests of both. II. ITS ACHIEVEMENTS AT ANTIOCH, which — 1. Involved a Divine change in the characters of many (ver. 21). Observe — (1) The Divine power which attended their ministry. (2) The faith which their ministry generated. (3) The revolution which their faith effected. 2. Attracted the attention of the mother Church (ver. 22). This was natural. (D. Thomas, D. D.) Parallel Verses KJV: Now they which were scattered abroad upon the persecution that arose about Stephen travelled as far as Phenice, and Cyprus, and Antioch, preaching the word to none but unto the Jews only. |
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