The church in Antioch was led by an amazing team – amazing in their diversity and in their devotion.
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The Antioch 5
Acts 13:1-3
Acts 13 is a turning point in the book of Acts. It’s one of the hinges of history. Truly, history was in the making when it came to what was going on here. The church in Antioch became the very first church to send out a missionary team to go and reach the Gentiles with the gospel.
The book of Acts can be outlined quite nicely from the words of Jesus in Acts 1:8 “but you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth. Those believers had been Christ’s witnesses in Jerusalem in Acts 1-7. Acts 5:28 says, “you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching.” Then they became Christ’s witnesses in Acts 8-11 in Judea and Samaria. In fact, Acts 8:1 says, “Saul was in hearty agreement with putting him to death. And on that day a great persecution began against the church in Jerusalem, and they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles.”
So witnesses in Jerusalem – Acts 1-7. Witnesses in Judea and Samaria – Acts 8-12. Now, in Acts 13, we are going to see them as witnesses to the remotest part of the earth!
Starting in Acts 13, we also see another change. Now there is the transfer of attention from the apostle Peter to the apostle Paul. Peter is the primary player in Acts 1-12. However, Paul will be the primary player in Acts 13-28.
Acts 12:25 gives us a good introduction to chapter 13. Remember, that Paul and Barnabas had been sent on a mission from Antioch to Jerusalem. They were commissioned to take an offering from the saints in Antioch to help out the brethren in Jerusalem, knowing that a famine was coming. Well, having faithfully delivered the gift to the elders in Jerusalem, they are returning to the church in Antioch. Along the way they have picked up Barnabas’ nephew, John Mark, and brought him with them.
This morning we are only going to study Acts 13:1-3, and we are going to focus on The Antioch 5. There in the church at Antioch was a leadership team comprised of 5 men. It is true that these men are not called Elders or Overseers, but it appears that they were leading the church according to their gifts. I believe we can learn a lot by examining them today.
1. A Diverse Team: Who Were They?
A Plurality of Men. Now, I know you might think that goes without saying, but I don’t think so. In the New Testament, we don’t find anyone doing the work of ministry by themselves. It is always in a team. Notice in verse 1 that there were prophets (plural) in the church at Antioch. Notice that in Acts 11:27 there were prophets in the church at Jerusalem. These prophets cooperated and worked together in the work of the Lord. You don’t find The Prophet of Antioch, or The Prophet of Jerusalem. There is wisdom in men of God working together in teams. It protects the church from any one power-hungry man rising up and running the church according to his self-will. In a team, men must learn to work together, humble themselves, submit to one another, confront one another, and seek the will of God together.
Men From Different Religious Backgrounds. Barnabas and Saul were Hellenistic Jews, heavily influenced by Greek culture. Simeon who was called Niger, was probably also Jewish, because Simeon is a Jewish name. However, we don’t know about the religious background of Lucius and Manaen. Lucius came from Cyrene, and so probably grew up outside of Judaism. Manaen grew up with Herod who was an Edomite, and so he also was probably raised outside of Judaism. So, in all likelihood, you have men from both Jewish and Greek backgrounds coming together to minister to God’s people.
Men From Different Geographical Backgrounds. Barnabas was from Cyprus, and Saul was from Tarsus, both of which were outside of Palestine. Since Manaen was brought up with Herod, he was probably from Jerusalem or Judea. Lucius was from Cyrene, a coastal city in Africa. And we are not told where Simeon was from. He is called Niger, which means “dark” or “swarthy.” This has led some to conjecture that he was also from Africa, but we don’t know for sure.
Men With Different Gifts of the Spirit: The Antioch 5 were comprised of both prophets and teachers. These are different gifts of the Spirit. 1 Cor. 12:29 says, “All are not prophets, are they? All are not teachers, are they?” Of course, the answer is “No, they aren’t.”
A prophet was someone who was enabled by the Spirit to bring forth revelations from God to His people. The revelations would come in the moment, and the prophet would speak them spontaneously. 1 Cor. 14:3 says that “one who prophesies speaks to men for edification and exhortation and consolation.” In the case of Agabus, we have two examples of his prophecies and in both he foretold something would take place in the future – a famine and the binding of Saul in Jerusalem. So a prophet may foretell the future, or he may speak words to edify, exhort and comfort the saints.
So, how would teaching differ from a prophecy. The gift of teaching his not spontaneous. It is the ability of someone to study, research, meditate, compare Scripture with Scripture, and then instruct God’s people. The teacher explains the Scriptures. The prophet utters the revelation from the Spirit. In the church at Antioch there were both, and both were needed, and both made a huge contribution to the life and health of the church.
It would be good for us here at The Bridge, if we experienced both gifts regularly. The gift of teaching is in operation regularly, but what about prophecy? Did you know that one of the reasons we have an open sharing time each Sunday after our time of ministering to the Lord, is so that we can hear a word from God? I see some of the spontaneous messages that you share with the church as a form of prophecy. Prophecy can take many forms: foretelling, forthtelling, sharing spontaneous messages the Lord puts on your heart, etc. So, do not despise prophetic utterances. Examine everything carefully; hold fast to that which is good. Just as you should judge the teaching here, you should also judge any prophecies here. The Word of God is our only perfect standard by which everything that is shared must be judged.
So, in the church at Antioch, we had many different men with different spiritual gifts, all using them for the edification of the church.
Different Social Backgrounds: Saul was raised under the tutelage of Gamaliel, one of the finest Jewish teachers at that time. He had an excellent education. Manaen was raised in prominence, power, and luxury, being brought up with Herod. Barnabas had been successful enough to own a tract of land which he later gave to the apostles. However, we know nothing of Simeon or Lucius’ background. They may very likely have come from humble and poor settings.
The leaders of the church in Antioch look a lot like America – they were a melting pot. All of these different men from different backgrounds came together. The one thing they had in common was Christ. That’s a lot like us here, isn’t it? Some of us have very little in common that would draw us together as friends, except for Jesus. But He is enough!
2. A Devoted Team: What Did They Do?
- They ministered to the Lord. Acts 13:2. What does that mean? The ESV translates this verse as “while they were worshiping the Lord and fasting…” I believe that is a good way to understand “ministering to the Lord.” The Antioch 5 gathered together to worship the Lord, wait on the Lord, seek His face together.
You know, we really can’t minister for the Lord, until we have ministered to the Lord! If we desire to be effective in ministering to people, we must first take time to minister to the Lord. Is this something you do regularly in your own life? I’m not talking about singing praise songs on Sundays when the church meetings. Do you regularly minister to the Lord? I encourage you to include singing to the Lord in your daily communion with God. Get alone with God, and just sing to Him. Minister to Him. Actually, it is amazing to me that I have the ability to minister to the Lord! He ministers to me all the time, because I’m so needy. But He’s not needy. How could I possibly minister to Him? I can do it, simply by lavishing my love on Him. I exhort you this morning to make this a regular part of each day. Take time to just delight in Him. You’re not asking Him for anything. You’re just praising Him and enjoying being with Him.
- They Fasted. While they ministered to the Lord, they also fasted. They decided that they would not be distracted by preparing and eating food. They would just spend that time with the Lord, seeking Him together. And they didn’t just do this once. Verse 3, says that after the Spirit spoke to them, they fasted and prayed again. They were committed to fasting and prayer. I’m afraid that we fail miserably in this spiritual discipline here in America. In other parts of the world, fasting is a regular practice. Not so with us. Will you, include fasting in your life as a regular habit? This is one thing that really does test the level of our commitment and willingness to sacrifice for the sake of seeking the Lord. The Antioch 5 had a strong desire to seek the Lord and His will.
Notice that fasting does not occur alone. In the first instance, they ministered to the Lord and fasted. Later they fasted and prayed. Fasting is not an end in itself. Fasting is a means to free us up from physical, worldly distractions so that we can give ourselves undistractedly to the Lord.
- They Heard from God. Verse 2 says, “While they were ministering to the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for Me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” So, just how did the Spirit speak this word? Of course, He could have spoken audibly so that all 5 of them heard him clearly and distinctly. However, I think it is more likely that He spoke to them through one of the prophets that were there. As they were together, praising and worshiping the Lord, waiting upon Him, one of these men with a gift of prophecy probably shared that the Lord had really put a strong message on his heart, and that the church needed to set apart Barnabas and Saul for the work the Spirit had called them to.
- They Fasted and Prayed. 13:3. It seems that when they originally fasted, that put them in a spiritual frame of mind to where they were receptive to hearing the word of God. Now that they have heard the word of the Spirit, they go back to fasting and praying. Why? I think one reason was because they were trying to make sure the word they had heard was from the Lord. They were probably judging the prophecy. Another reason they would fast and pray is that after they became convinced this word was the will of God, they would begin to petition the Lord and ask Him to prepare Barnabas and Saul for this work, and prepare the people to whom they would be sent. They would probably pray that the Lord would provide all their needs, and send them to the people He wanted them to preach to. I’m sure they were asking God to give them the blessing and power they would need to effectively reach the Gentiles with the gospel.
- They Sent Their Best. The Church at Antioch was being required to give up their 2 best men. These men weren’t new converts. They were seasoned and proven men of God who had given themselves in ministry to the saints, teaching and shepherding them over a lengthy period of time. They were gifted in evangelism, teaching, and exhorting. They were loved and respected by all. To send them to the mission field would be like cutting off an arm and a leg. There may come a time when we are required to give up one of our best men because God has a work for them to do. God may call some to leave our church. No matter how much we love one another’s company, we need to be willing to release one another to do the work God is calling each to do. Notice the words – “to which I have called them.” Notice it is past tense. I don’t think this is the very first time this kind of work had occurred to Barnabas and Saul. The Spirit had already called them, and had made that known to them. Now was the time for the church to formally set them apart and release them. This would have been difficult. It required sacrifice and a willingness to put the will of the Lord before our own desires.
Conclusion
Our Church can learn a lot from The Antioch 5.
- Let what you have in common in Christ overcome any differences you have. Find unity in Jesus. We are going to have all kinds of things we don’t see eye to eye on. Put way more emphasis on the spiritual things you do have in common, than the worldly things you don’t.
- Welcome into this church people who are different from you! Whether they look different, talk different, come from a different culture, come from a different economic class, come from a different part of the world, come from a different religious background… none of that matters! One of the beautiful things about The Bridge is that we have had a lot of different cultures represented here: Caucasian, Mexican, Russian, Korean, African-American. And all of that in a church small enough to meet in a Living Room. Let’s continue to welcome all and make them feel welcome. Let’s invite them into our midst.
- Let us be a worshiping church. Let’s put a great emphasis on ministering to the Lord. Folks, we exist to worship. Let’s fulfill the reason for our existence. I pray this church would fulfill the reason for its existence. I pray we can learn to “minister to the Lord”!
- Let us be a church that fasts and prays. When a particular need surfaces in your life, or you become aware of a pressing need, spiritual or physical, and you feel like you should fast and seek the Lord, let the rest of us know about it. Send out a text. That way, we have the opportunity to join you in fasting. Maybe we could even meet somewhere to pray during the fast. Just say, “Hey, I feel like the Lord wants to fast and pray about this situation. Would anyone like to join me? I’ll be fasting on Thursday. Maybe we could meet up Thursday evening and pray together about it.”
- Let us be a church that sends. We have not been tested in this area yet. However, the day will probably arrive when one of our number will be called to leave to serve the Lord somewhere else. Will we be big-hearted enough to send them, support them, and pray for them? It might be to the mission field. It might be to another church. It might be to a different State. That’s up to the Lord. But if we see the hand of God in it, let’s be willing to send them on their way, knowing their brothers and sisters back home support them and are praying for them. Just tuck that into the back of your mind, and keep your hands open. Although it hursts when people leave, we must be willing if the Lord is calling.
Let’s pray.
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