NLT Illustrated Study Bible - Book of Acts - Flipbook - Page 37
A cts 1 2 : 2
1993
11:21
Luke 1:66
Acts 2:41
11:22
Acts 4:36
11:23
Acts 13:43; 14:26;
15:40; 20:24
11:24
Acts 2:41
11:25
*Acts 9:30
11:27
Acts 13:1; 15:32
11:28
Acts 21:10
11:29
Rom 15:26
11:30
Acts 12:25
1 Pet 5:1
12:2
Matt 4:21; 20:23
Mark 10:39
phen’s death traveled as far as Phoenicia,
Cyprus, and Antioch of Syria. They preached
the word of God, but only to Jews. 20 However,
some of the believers who went to Antioch
from Cyprus and Cyrene began preaching
to the Gentiles* about the Lord Jesus. 21 The
power of the Lord was with them, and a
large number of these Gentiles believed and
turned to the Lord.
The Ministry of Barnabas
22 When the church at Jer us al em heard
what had happened, they sent Barnabas to
Antioch. 23 When he arrived and saw this
evidence of God’s blessing, he was filled
with joy, and he encouraged the believers
to stay true to the Lord. 24 Barnabas was a
good man, full of the Holy Spirit and strong
in faith. And many people were brought to
the Lord.
25 Then Barnabas went on to Tarsus to
look for Saul. 26 When he found him, he
brought him back to Antioch. Both of them
stayed there with the church for a full year,
teaching large crowds of people. (It was at
Antioch that the believers* were first called
Christians.)
The Ministry of the Church in Antioch
27 During this time some prophets trav
eled from Jerusalem to Antioch. 28 One of
them named Agabus stood up in one of the
meetings and predicted by the Spirit that a
great famine was coming upon the entire
Roman world. (This was fulfilled during
the reign of Claudius.) 29 So the believers
in Antioch decided to send relief to the
brothers and sisters* in Judea, everyone
giving as much as they could. 30 This they
did, entrusting their gifts to Barnabas and
Saul to take to the elders of the church in
Jerusalem.
Persecution in the Jerusalem Church
(12:125)
The Martyrdom of James
About that time King Herod Agrippa*
began to persecute some believers
in the church. 2 He had the apostle James
(John’s brother) killed with a sword.
12
1:20 Greek the Hellenists (i.e., those who speak Greek); other manuscripts read the Greeks. 11:26 Greek disciples; also in 11:29.
1
11:29 Greek the brothers. 12:1 Greek Herod the king. He was the nephew of Herod Antipas and a grandson of Herod the Great.
conspiracy and orchestrating Antipas’s banishment. Agrippa
then acquired all of Antipas’s territories and property (ad 39).
When his friend Caligula died in ad 41, Agrippa curried
the favor of the new emperor, Claudius, whereupon Claudius
added Judea and Samaria to Agrippa’s d
omain—territory
once ruled by his grandfather, Herod the Great.
Agrippa was an active persecutor of the early Christians.
He is remembered for killing the apostle James and having
Peter arrested—acts which gained him the favor of the Jews
(Acts 12:14). The Jews, for their part, liked him more than
any of the other Herods. Agrippa died suddenly in ad 44
shortly after his subjects hailed him as a god (12:1823; see
Josephus, Antiquities 19.8.2; 19.9.1; War 2.11.5).
of Saul’s gifts was wise, and it resulted in
a fruitful team ministry in Antioch.
11:26 Christians was possibly a term of
derision. The Greek text uses this term
in only two other NT passages (26:28;
1 Pet 4:16).
11:2728 some prophets: See “The Gift
of Prophecy,” 21:911. • Agabus: See also
21:1012.
11:28 Claudius, nephew of Tiberius Cae
sar (Luke 3:1), was the Roman emperor
in ad 41–54. His last wife was his niece
Agrippina, whose son Nero he adopted.
11:2930 The upshot of Agabus’s proph
ecy was that the believers in Antioch
decided to make a contribution to the
PROPHETS OF ISRAEL
ABOVE: Roman coin bearing the
image of Herod Agrippa I
Jewish believers—the brothers and sisters—in Judea. The believers in Antioch
gave as generously as they could and
committed the responsibility for this
financial aid to leaders they trusted,
namely, to Barnabas and his fellow
worker Saul. This unified love and sup
port of Christians for one another was
a tangible demonstration of the differ
ence Christ had made in their lives. Paul
describes this visit in his letter to the
Galatians (Gal 2:110).
11:30 This is the first reference in Acts to
elders as officers of the Christian church
(see also 14:23; 15:223; 16:4; 20:1735;
21:18; cp. 1 Tim 3:17; Titus 1:59).
GOSPELS & ACTS
12:15 Jesus had clearly predicted per
secution and hardship for his followers
(Luke 11:4951). For the first time since
Jesus’ death, Roman authorities took
direct violent action against the church.
James, the brother of John, was one of
the first called to be a disciple (Mark
1:1620; Luke 5:111), and he was one of
the first Christians to be martyred for his
faith. • King Herod Agrippa attacked the
church (cp. Acts 12:2023), a move that he
found to be politically helpful with the
Jewish people. The letter of James, the
brother of Jesus, was probably written
after this persecution to the scattered
Christians (see 8:14; James Introduction,
“Date of Writing”).
L E T T E R S O F PAU L
OTHER LET TERS
