See God’s Grace Where You Wouldn’t Expect
This is the text of a message I preached at Roswell Alliance Church in Roswell, GA. You may watch or listen to it by following the link to the online service. The sermon begins at about the 13th minute.
Video: 47 minutes
Reading time: 8 minutes
Online service — Roswell Alliance Church
Scripture: Acts 11:19-24 Text: Acts 11:23 Barnabas came and saw the grace of God.
Luke tells us that Barnabas “saw the grace of God” when he arrived in Antioch.
Grace is not a commodity that you buy at the store. You can’t bag it, box it, pack it, or put it in storage. You can’t hold it or hug it. So, how do you “see” grace?
This is one of the questions I want to explore together. What did Barnabas see that convinced him, “God’s grace is in this city”?
The second question is, how did this grace come to be in Antioch? Was it always there?
It will help to answer these questions if we enter this account from Barnabas’s point of view. Let’s step into his sandals.
Meet Barnabas
Barnabas was a Jew. He was a Levite, which means Barnabas studied the Law of Moses and was trained in teaching it. He was not a priest but he qualified for religious service.
He was from Cyprus. At some point, his family had left Israel and migrated to this island. Luke doesn’t tell us why, but Barnabas is in Jerusalem during the events in Acts. He may be attending the festivals of Passover and Pentecost.
His nickname was Son of Encouragement. If you fell on hard times, Barnabas was the man you wanted around. The Apostle Paul learned this when the church was reluctant to embrace him and Barnabas came alongside and ushered him into fellowship.
He was a good man, full of faith and the Holy Spirit.
He probably knew many of the disciples in Antioch. They had been in Jerusalem, with Barnabas, before the persecution by Paul scattered them.
This is Barnabas.
His mission: Search out what God is doing
These are the events that caused Barnabas to visit Antioch.
Persecution has scattered the followers of Jesus. The apostles remained in Jerusalem, but many of the disciples fled.
Persecution has not silenced the disciples. Those who scattered brought the Gospel with them. They were “speaking the word” and “preaching the Lord Jesus” wherever they went (Acts 11:19-20).
The Gospel has crossed ethnic boundaries. Philip taught an Ethiopian from the royal court; Philip and Peter ministered in Samaria; and God sent Peter to a Roman centurion, Cornelius.
These events have challenged the church to understand what God is doing. At a church conference, the leaders concluded, “God has also granted to the Gentiles repentance to life” (Acts 11:18).
So, when news reaches Jerusalem that citizens of Antioch, the third largest city in the empire, are turning to the Lord, the Jerusalem church sends Barnabas, the Son of Encouragement, to investigate.
The city where grace breaks out
Before we look at the grace Barnabas saw in Antioch, we should consider the city itself. Antioch
- Had a population of 500,000 to 800,000 people.
- Was a military city. It was founded around 300 BC by one of Alexander the Great’s generals and was headquarters of the Roman garrison in Syria.
- Hosted the region’s government. It was the Capitol of Syria, a Roman province.
- Enjoyed bustling commerce because it was on several major East-West and North-South trade routes.
- Was internationally diverse, with four major ethnic groups: Greek, Syrian, African, and Jews.
- Was spiritually diverse. The Jews served the God of Israel; the other nationalities had a variety of gods; and there were God-fearers who preferred the God of Israel, but not enough to commit wholeheartedly.
This is the city Barnabas came to. Now we ask, what did he see in Antioch that convinced him the grace of God was here?
Barnabas recognizes the grace of God in Antioch because he had seen God’s grace before.
Acts 4:32-33 Now the multitude of those who believed were of one heart and one soul; neither did anyone say that any of the things he possessed was his own, but they had all things in common. And with great power the apostles gave witness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And great grace was upon them all.
Barnabas saw in Antioch the same grace he had seen in Jerusalem. This introduces a truth:
The grace of God travels with the people of God.
Traveling grace begins with Jesus. Let’s trace its journey.
- God the Father sent His Son to earth. Jesus is full of truth and grace (John 1:14).
- The disciples are with Jesus, who sends them around the countryside.
- Persecution scatters the disciples from Jerusalem, a place of great grace, to a city that needs grace.
- And now, Barnabas sees the grace of God, and is glad.
What does Barnabas see in Antioch that reminds him of Jerusalem?
- Believers. No longer were there just Gentiles and Jews in Antioch. Now there were those who followed The Way of Jesus.
- Unity. They heard the same message: Jesus is Lord. They believed and were baptized into the same Lord: Jesus Christ. They were of one heart and one soul.
- Care for one another. As in Jerusalem, “ they had all things in common.” Jesus had said the way of Gentiles is to worry about what they will eat and drink and wear. His followers seek the kingdom of God first and worry about one another more than themselves.
Barnabas wasn’t the only one to see this. The neighbors in Antioch were so taken by the difference in the followers of Jesus that they came up with a new name: Christians. The disciples were like no one else in the city.
Observing their behavior, someone wrote:
“while they … conform to the customs of the country in dress, food, and mode of life in general, the whole tenor of their way of living stamps it as worthy of admiration and admittedly extraordinary.”
What did Barnabas see of God’s grace in Antioch? We answer this way:
Grace: The life of God that is in the Son of God lived out in the people of God.
We move on to the second question: How did the grace of God come to Antioch?
Grace is both given and received.
Grace was given to Antioch
by preaching the Lord Jesus. Acts 11:20
- There is one message. The Jesus in Antioch is the same Jesus as in Jerusalem.
- This one message is for all people. There is not one Gospel for Jews and another for Gentiles.
in answer to prayer. Acts 11:21
The answer to prayer is in the phrase, the hand of the Lord.
When Peter and John were released from prison in Acts 4, the church prayed
Grant to Your servants that with all boldness they may speak Your word, by stretching out Your hand to heal, and that signs and wonders may be done through the name of Your holy Servant Jesus. (Acts 4:29-30)
“The hand of the Lord” was with the disciples in Antioch. How did they know this? In their prayer, the disciples connected God’s hand with healing, signs, and wonders. Hebrews bears this out.
God also bearing witness both with signs and wonders, with various miracles, and gifts of the Holy Spirit. (Hebrews 2:4)
Healing and signs and wonders are important, but Jesus reminds us of their greater purpose.
“Believe the works, that you may know and believe that the Father is in Me, and I in Him” (John 10:38).
Jesus healed a man of paralysis so that “you may know that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins…” (Luke 5:24).
People who believe in Christ and are forgiven of their sins is the greatest evidence of God’s grace.
Grace may be given, but it also has to be received. Barnabas saw evidence of this in Antioch, as well.
A great number believed. Acts 11:21
Believe means to have faith and involves persuasion, a moral conviction. But something more than being persuaded by the Gospel is necessary, because the devils believe, and tremble. And in John 8 are people who began to believe in Jesus but within minutes are taking up stones to kill Him.
In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said the wise are those who hear and practice His teaching. Those in Antioch who heard the Gospel believed, and put that belief to practice. They
turned to the Lord. Acts 11:21
- They didn’t hear, then walk away;
- They didn’t turn to someone else;
- Persecution didn’t drive them from the Lord;
- The culture of Antioch didn’t absorb them;
The word for turned is a compound of two words.
- A word of direction (epi)
- A word for the action itself: to twist, to turn quite around; to reverse.
Luke is giving us a picture of what Barnabas saw. The people of Antioch had been living their lives when the news about Jesus stopped and turned them around. But it didn’t end just with stopping, or even turning. The action is complete when they turn to the Lord. They came to the destination of repentance: Jesus Christ Himself.
Barnabas saw in Antioch what he had seen in Jerusalem: the great grace of God upon the people. People were turning to Jesus, caring for one another, united in their devotion.
What do the people around you and me see?
Residents of Antioch saw people living so differently that they came up with a new name for them: Christians. These are people who live like the Christ they preach and believe in.
The Bible tells us the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all. This grace is in Jesus Christ, who came into our world full of truth and grace.
Grace has come. Have you received it?
If not, I urge you, today is the day of God’s favor. Receive His grace while you may.
God’s grace changed Antioch. It will change you, too.