In those days, those apostles who were scattered because of the persecution that arose over Stephen travelled as far as Phoenicia and Cyprus and Antioch, speaking the word to none except Jews. But there were some of them, men of Cyprus and Cyrene, who on coming to Antioch spoke to the Greeks also, preaching the Lord Jesus. And the hand of the Lord was with them, and a great number that believed turned to the Lord. News of this came to the ears of the church in Jerusalem, and they sent Barnabas to Antioch. When he came and saw the grace of God, he was glad; and he exhorted them all to remain faithful to the Lord with steadfast purpose; for he was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and of faith. And a large company was added to the Lord. So Barnabas went to Tarsus to look for Saul; and when he had found him, he brought him to Antioch. For a whole year they met with the church, and taught a large company of people; and in Antioch the disciples were for the first time called Christians. Now in these days prophets came down from Jerusalem to Antioch. And one of them named Agabos stood up and foretold by the Spirit that there would be a great famine over all the world; and this took place in the days of Claudius. And the disciples determined, every one according to his ability, to send relief to the brethren who lived in Judea, and they did so, sending it to the elders by the hand of Barnabas and Saul.
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After the death by stoning of the protomartyr Stephen, followers of Christ dispersed into faraway areas including Phoenicia located in modern-day Lebanon, Cyprus and Antioch, located in modern-day Syria. There they planted their understanding of the word of Christ. Notice: these are not apostles, nor are they named such, suggesting that these were unexceptional people who were able to preach through the Holy Spirit, but did so only to Jews. We are further told that people from Cyprus and Cyrene (now in modern-day Libya) went to Antioch with the purpose of spreading the word of the Lord to the Hellenistic-minded inhabitants of that great city. Now, these people were actively seeking to proselytise. They were opening the faith to the world.
Antioch in those times was the third largest city of Empire after Rome and Alexandria. It was located some 500 km the north of Jerusalem and was the centre for commerce thus putting it at the crossroads between Europe and the Orient and, as with all such centres, was a melting pot of all races and ideas. There, pagan gods ruled. Some eight kilometres outside of Antioch in the grove of Daphne, there the worshippers of Artemis and Apollo pursued their hedonistic pleasures with temple prostitutes. Such was the reputation of the city that the Roman writer Juvenal described the moral turpitude of Rome by saying that the sewerage of the Orantes, the river flowing through Antioch, had for too long been discharging into the Tiber, the river flowing through Rome, thus implying that the source of all filth that had manifested itself in Rome was no more than the same filth that was enjoyed in Antioch.
Antioch, a Hellenistic-minded and Greek-speaking city, was to put it plainly, morally corrupt and focused upon the things of the world. It was a tough market to spread the message of the Lord. Any faith that purported to straighten their lustful habits would have been met with derision. Any message declaring that salvation was through baptism, repentance and becoming a follower of the Lord would have been alien to their ears. Repentance, abstinence, meekness, humility and sharing would have been alien words to the citizens of Antioch. Why would they be interested in the otherworldly promises of the Christians when the pathway leading to it was so austere? How could such a message that was no doubt incongruous to their ears take hold in such a cosmopolitan city? Yet we are told not once, but three times, in this reading that a great number of people believed and turned to the Lord. Clearly, it was not the charisma nor the clever words of the followers of this new religion that would have impressed so many. After all, this was just one more belief that simply would have joined the crowded pantheon of belief systems of the day, and with its message of forgiveness, repentance, simplicity, love, service and selflessness it would have been destined to fail and be forgotten by history. So, why wasn’t it? The answer given by the book of Acts is clear: the hand of the Lord was with them. In other words, the Holy Spirit guided the early church and the simple men.
Notice that their teaching was true. We are told that news of the growth of the church in Antioch and reached the ears of the church in Jerusalem and they sent Barnabas to go and see and report back. The name Barnabas, we know, means son of encouragement. He was a Levite from Cyprus who, we are told, had land in his name, sold it, left Cyprus and brought the proceeds and laid them the feet of the apostles in Jerusalem as an overt act of submission of his life to Christ. Barnabas, full of God’s grace found the teaching and practice of these Antiochian Christians to be true and correct. Barnabas was filled with the Holy Spirit. Not for him the rule of law but the law of love and grace! You will recall at that time that there was struggle between those who insisted that the only way to Christianity was through the folds of the law as practised by the Jews for millennia and those who followed the new covenant given by Jesus Christ to his church. Barnabas, filled with the Holy Spirit, spoke to the church by grace and the church responded to Barnabas in love. So, there the church grew and, indeed, it was in Antioch that its followers were being referred to for the first time as Christians, which name they wore as a badge of honour.
At that time of course, there was no multimedia presentations, no singing bands, no melodramatics, no electronics – all that there existed was love for the Lord and the desire to follow in his footsteps. Today, modern Christians feel the need to be entertained constantly or else they get bored. Everything seems to be judged on its entertainment value. People are quick to lose interest and quick to drift away. The successful nondenominational and mega churches today consider the church as a marketable commodity with a focus on growth in numbers, in larger auditoriums, in flashier presentations, in more sophisticated shows and, of course, the all-important bottom line – financial profitability. The churches that are seen to be succeeding today are those that design their teaching around making people feel good, promoting a “can do” attitude, giving comfort and vindication to the lifestyle choices of its attendees, promising that God loves them and that they are saved if they declare themselves to be Christians no matter what they may subsequently do. The harsh reality is that these churches are pandering to the emotional needs whilst ignoring the spiritual needs of its audience, and, in exchange they receive a commercial return.
I asked myself is there any difference in principle between what these new-age churches provide to their followers and what the gods Artemis, Apollo and the grove of Daphne provided to their devotees. I find myself coming to the conclusion that there is little difference. People want to hear what people want to hear. People seek affirmation of their lifestyle choices and, above all, people want to be entertained and free to pursue pleasure while being told that they are saved.
So what made this emerging church of Christ grow, while consigning pagan religions to the dustbin of history? I think the answer must surely lie in the authenticity of the relationship that must exist between God and man, and man and God. We need to remember that God blesses and sanctifies not only the act (for that would be legalism) but also the intention (which He honours with his Grace). In other words we are all called to be apostles to spread the living word of the Lord to the best of our ability. More often than not we fail in that endeavour but, graciously, the Lord honours the endeavour. So, serving God, doing good in the name of the triune God must be our driver. Even if we fail in doing the good of the Lord we are not to be diverted from our task, we are not to be discouraged. In that way we become the living exemplars of the Christian life. Finally, we need to give of ourselves. Most certainly, we need to give money if we have it to give. When all is said and done, our financial resources and their abundance, or lack thereof, depends upon how we view what we have and whether the focus is upon our needs, which are a few, or whether our focus is upon our wants, which are many. The true Christian focuses on the things that are needful to keep body and soul together. The false Christian focuses upon their wants which is no more than a manifestation of their greed, selfishness and self-centredness.
You see, nothing has changed. The choice is ours. We are caught between God and mammon, and now, just as then, we need to make our decision in the knowledge that whatever decision we make will surely define us.
