Rachel Workman: 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[g] were first called Christians.)
27 During this time some prophets traveled 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[h] 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.
Saul
had been converted for about ten years when Barnabas brought him to Antioch.
The New Testament does not tell us what Saul did back home in Tarsus after he
left Jerusalem (Acts 9:28–30), but it is likely he was busy evangelizing both
Jews and Gentiles. It may have been during this period that he founded the
churches in Cilicia (Acts 15:23, 41; Gal. 1:21), and that he experienced some
of the sufferings listed in 2 Corinthians 11:23–28. As he witnessed in the
synagogues, you can be sure he would not have had an easy time of it!
____________________________________________________________________________________
John Burnett: 25 And he left for Tarsus to look for Saul; 26 and when he had found him, he brought him to Antioch. And for an entire year they met with the church and taught considerable numbers of people; and the disciples were first called Christians in Antioch.
27 Now at this time some prophets came down from Jerusalem to Antioch. 28 One of them, named Agabus, stood up and indicated by the Spirit that there would definitely be a severe famine all over the world. And this took place in the reign of Claudius. 29 And to the extent that any of the disciples had means, each of them determined to send a contribution for the relief of the brothers and sisters living in Judea. 30 And they did this, sending it with Barnabas and Saul to the elders. Humanists think that people have something to do with climate change. God is in control of the climate and everything else for that matter. Here, God is showing the Christians in Antioch that He is in control and He sends Agabus to share with them that there will be a severe famine all over the world. Again, God's sovereignty is on display but so is His grace in that He warns them before it comes so they can prepare.
____________________________________________________________________________________
Monday’s reading for Acts 12:1-5
12 About that time King Herod Agrippa[a] began to persecute some believers in the church. 2 He had the apostle James (John’s brother) killed with a sword. 3 When Herod saw how much this pleased the Jewish people, he also arrested Peter. (This took place during the Passover celebration.[b]) 4 Then he imprisoned him, placing him under the guard of four squads of four soldiers each. Herod intended to bring Peter out for public trial after the Passover. 5 But while Peter was in prison, the church prayed very earnestly for him.
No comments:
Post a Comment