4. Ministr;/ at Antioch. — During this stay of Paid at Tarsus, which lasted several years, occupied doubtless with those elsewhere unrecorded labors to some of which he occasionally alludes (2 Cor. xi, 24, 25), a movement was going on at Antioch which raised that cit}' to an importance second only to that of Jerusalem itself in the early history of the Church. In the life of the apostle of the Gentiles Antioch claims a most con- spicuous place. It was there that the preaching of the (iospel to the Gentiles first took root, and from thence that it was afterwards propagated. Its geographical position, its political and commercial importance, and the presence of a large and powerful Jewish element in its population, were the more obvious characteristics which adapted it for such a use. There came to Anti- och, when the jiersecution which arose about Stephen scattered upon their diflfercnt routes the disciples Mho held been assembled at Jerusalem, men of Cyprus and Cyrene, eager to tell all who would hear them the good news concerning the Lord Jesus. Until Antioch was reached, the word was spoken " to none but unto Jews only" (Acts xi, 19). But here the Geutiles also (ot
PAUL
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PAUL
"EXXfji/fe) — not, as in the A. V., "the Grecians" — were among the hearers of the word. A great number be- lieved ; and when tliis was reported at Jerusalem, Bar- nabas was sent on a special mission to Antioch.
As the work grew under his hands, and ''much peo- ple was adiled unto the Lord," Barnabas felt the need of help, and went himself to Tarsus to seek Saul. Pos- sibly at Damascus, certainly at Jerusalem, he had been a witness of Saul's energy and devotedness, and skill in disputation. He had been drawn to him by the bond of a most brotherl}' affection. He therefore longed for him as a helper, and succeeded in bringing him to An- tioch. There they labored together unremittingly for "a whole year," mixing with the constant assemblies of the believers, and " teaching much people." All this time, as Luke would give us to understand, Saul was subordinate to Barnabas. Until " Saul" became " Paul," we read of '• Barnabas and Saul" (Acts xi, 30 ; xii, 25 ; xiii, 2, 7). Afterwards the order changes to " Paul and Barnabas." It seems reasonable to conclude that there was no marked peculiarity in the teaching of Saul dur- ing the Antioch period. He held and taught, in com- mon with the other Jewish believers, tlie simple faith in Jesus tlie Christ, crucified and raised from the dead. Nor did he ever afterwards depart from the simplicity of this faith. But new circumstances stirred up new questions; and then it was to Saul of Tarsus that it was given to see, more clearly than any others saw, those new applications of the old truth, those deep and world-wide relations of it, with which his work was to be permanently associated. In tlie mean time, accord- ing to the usual method of the divine government, facts were silently growing, wliich were to suggest and oc- casion the future developments of faith and practice, and of these facts the most conspicuous was the un- precedented accession of Gentile proselytes at Antioch.
An opportunit)' soon occurred, of which Barnabas and Saul joyfidly availed themselves, for proving the aftection of these new disciples towards their brethren at Jerusalem, and for knitting the two communities to- gether in the bonds of practical fellowship. A mani- fest impulse from the Holy Spirit began this work. There came " prophets" from Jerusalem to Antioch : " and there stood up one of them, named Agabus, and signitied bj' the Spirit that there should be great dearth throughout all the world." The " prophets" who now arrived may have been the Simeon and Lucius and Ma- naen mentioned in xiii, 1, besides Agabus and others. The prediction of the dearth need not have been pur- poseless; it would naturally have a direct reference to the needs of the poorer brethren and the duty of the richer. It is obvious that the fulfilment t\)llowed closely upon the intimation of the coming famine. For the disciples at Antioch determined to send contributions immediately to Jerusalem; and the gift was conveyed to the elders of that Church by the hands of Barnabas and Saul. The time of this deartli is vaguely desig- nated in the Acts as the reign of Claudius. It is ascer- tained from Josephus's history that a severe famine did actually prevail in Judaea, and especially at Jerusalem, at the very time fixed by the event recorded in Acts xii, the death of Herod Agrippa. Tliis was in A.D. 44. See Agakus.
It could not have been necessary for the mere safe conduct of the contribution that Barnabas and Saul shouUl go in person to Jerusalem. We are bound to see in tlie relations between the Mother-Church and that of Antioch, of which this visit is illustrative, ex- amples of the deep feeling of the necessity of union which dwelt in the heart of the early Church. The apostles did not go forth to teach a system, but to en- large a body. The spirit which directed and furthered their labors was essentially the spirit of fellowship. By this spirit Saul of Tarsus was practically trained in strict co-operation with his elders in the Church. The habits which he learned now were to aid in guarding him at a later time from supposing that the indepen-