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Context No. 1629 of 4322 · Acts

Context · Reflection

Acts 11:17-24: in context

17If then God gave to them the same gift as us when we believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I, that I could withstand God?” 18When they heard these things, they held their peace and glorified God, saying, “Then God has also granted to the Gentiles repentance to life!” 19They therefore who were scattered abroad by the oppression that arose about Stephen traveled as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus, and Antioch, speaking the word to no one except to Jews only. 20But there were some of them, men of Cyprus and Cyrene, who, when they had come to Antioch, spoke to the Hellenists, preaching the Lord Jesus. 21The hand of the Lord was with them, and a great number believed and turned to the Lord. 22The report concerning them came to the ears of the assembly which was in Jerusalem. They sent out Barnabas to go as far as Antioch, 23who, when he had come, and had seen the grace of God, was glad. He exhorted them all, that with purpose of heart they should remain near to the Lord. 24For he was a good man, and full of the Holy Spirit and of faith, and many people were added to the Lord.

Peter has defended his going to the Gentiles: if God gave them the same Spirit he gave us, who was I to stand in God's way? The Jerusalem church, hearing it, falls silent and then glorifies God: then God has granted repentance and life to the Gentiles too. Meanwhile, the gospel spreads to Antioch, where a great number believe. The church sends Barnabas to see; and when he arrives and sees the grace of God at work, he is glad, and encourages them all to remain faithful. He was a good man, the text says, full of the Holy Spirit and of faith.

The response of Barnabas is worth dwelling on: when he came and saw the grace of God, he was glad. Sent to inspect a new and surprising work, the gospel taking root among Gentiles in Antioch, Barnabas looked at it and rejoiced. He did not respond with suspicion, or with envy that God was working somewhere he had not been, or with a critical eye looking for what was wrong; he saw the grace of God, and it made him glad. There is a beautiful spirit in that, the gladness at seeing God at work in others, especially in new and unexpected people and places. It is a spirit we do not always share. We can look at God's grace evident in someone else, in another church, another person, another kind of Christian, and respond with suspicion, criticism, or a quiet envy, rather than gladness. Barnabas saw the grace of God and simply rejoiced in it, and then did what came naturally to a good man full of the Spirit: he encouraged them, urging them to remain faithful to the Lord. His was the ministry of the glad encourager, one who rejoices at God's grace in others and builds them up. There is a challenge in this to our own response to God's work in others. When we see the grace of God at work in someone else, do we, like Barnabas, rejoice and encourage, or do we respond with suspicion, criticism, or envy? To see the grace of God and be glad, and then to encourage, is the mark of a good heart full of the Spirit. The church has too few Barnabases, glad at grace and quick to encourage; and it is a thing worth becoming.

When I see the grace of God at work in others, in another person, church, or kind of Christian, do I respond, like Barnabas, with gladness and encouragement, or with suspicion, criticism, or a quiet envy, and can I become one who rejoices at God's grace in others and builds them up?

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