Christians - Act 11:19-30

With Peter telling the believers in Jerusalem that the Lord had required the gospel to be preached to the gentiles, to their credit, the people believed what Peter had said and set out to preach the gospel. Some of the preachers “were men of Cyprus and Cyrene” and they went to Antioch and “spake unto the Grecians, preaching the Lord Jesus.” These missionaries preached a powerful witness of Christ and “a great number believed, and turned unto the Lord.”

When the success of the missionaries reached “the church which was in Jerusalem” they sent Barnabas to go as far as Antioch and probably either observe or help out where he could. We have heard of Barnabas before, first when he sold everything he had and gave the money to Peter for the Church, which was contrasted with Ananias and Sapphira who said they did the same thing, but actually didn’t. It seems that he was chosen to go support the missionary effort because “he was a good man, and full of the Holy Ghost and of faith.” These are important characteristics for missionaries to have because being a good person and having faith is vital to being “full of the Holy Ghost” and the Holy Ghost is the power that converts. So if a missionary goes out to the field and does not have the Spirit with them, then they can’t preach the gospel with the power needed for conversion.
Barnabas was moved by the “grace of God… and exhorted them all, that with purpose of heart they would cleave unto the Lord.” This is a perfect example of someone adding to the work by their presence and participation, instead of being needy and detracting from the Spirit and momentum. It’s unclear from the scriptures how Barnabas knew to go “to Tarsus, for to seek Saul,” but he went and found him, presumably after his three year stay in Arabia. From what I understand, Barnabas found Saul in Tarsus, “and brought him unto Antioch,” and for a whole year “they assembled themselves with the church, and taught much people. And the disciples were called Christians first in Antioch.”
We know that the name of Christian was used in the Book of Mormon to denote followers of Christ, and so it is also here in the ancient Middle East. The IM comments, “The reference to ‘Christians’ in Acts 11:26 is the first recorded use of the term in the Bible. The term means ‘follower of Christ’ and was first used by non-Christians in Antioch to refer to members of the Church. Eventually members of the Church adopted the term to refer to themselves. This period of time witnessed an increasing parting of the ways between the early Church and the Judaism from which it grew. This separation occurred as the Church began doing missionary work among Gentiles, as Jewish and Gentile members fellowshipped with each other, and as Church leaders declared that members did not need to be circumcised. The use of the term ‘Christian’ was one of the ways in which the Church differentiated itself from Judaism.”
While Barnabas and Saul are in Antioch organizing the Church, “prophets from Jerusalem” came and prophesied of a “great dearth throughout all the world” that would come. With this news, the disciples in Antioch “determined to send relief unto the brethren which dwelt in Judaea.” It’s interesting to me that they didn’t do their own study, they didn’t need expert opinions to confirm, they just believed the words of these prophets because they “signified by the Spirit.” Those who were in the audience were worthy of the Holy Ghost, and those who spoke were also worthy, so the Spirit could be unrestrained, and that’s all the people needed to impart of their substance to those who were in need.
The people get the supplies together and sent them to “the elders by the hands of Barnabas and Saul.” These men were trusted to not just take the food and run away and keep it for themselves. The people believed that the supplies wouldn’t be sold and then the two men could keep the money, these two men were trusted by the people because they had probably built a history of good works and confidence, even though Saul had a history of persecution. They also demonstrated their worthiness to have the Spirit with them as they built up the church during their time, which connects to others who are worthy of the Spirit. So they go off to Jerusalem with the donated supplies to relieve the suffering of the saints there.