Acts 12:25-13:3 (NIV)
When Barnabas and Saul had finished their mission, they returned from Jerusalem, taking with them John, also called Mark.
In the church at Antioch there were prophets and teachers: Barnabas, Simeon called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen (who had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch) and Saul. While they were worshiping 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 after they had fasted and prayed, they placed their hands on them and sent them off.
After a brief side-story about Peter’s miraculous escape from prison and Herod’s ignominious death, Luke again takes up the story of Saul where he left off in Acts 11:27-30. At that time, a famine had come on the Roman Empire and had hit the area of Judea quite hard. So, the Christians in Antioch had decided to send food and funds to their brothers and sisters in Christ down south and had sent Saul and Barnabas to take their gift.
Now Saul and Barnabas had returned from delivering the gift and had brought along with them John Mark, Barnabas’ cousin (Colossians 4:10). They also brought with them the story of Peter’s miraculous escape from prison and general news of the Church in Jerusalem.
Saul and Barnabas were among the prophets and teachers in the Antioch Church, two of the five callings listed by Paul in Ephesians 4:11, callings that God provides in each congregation “to prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.” (Ephesians 4:12-13 NIV) The callings of prophet and teacher frequently occur together in the same individuals. Prophets are not necessarily those who foretell the future. They are simply those who speak the words of God to the people. These words sometimes deal with the future, but more frequently they provide guidance for the present. And teachers are those who help people to better know and understand the Scriptures.
At one of the gatherings of the Church, while the people were worshiping and fasting, seeking God’s guidance, the Holy Spirit spoke, directing the leaders to commission Saul and Barnabas to go as missionaries, traveling emissaries for the kingdom of God, to those in parts of the empire where the gospel had not yet been taken. In the past, when God’s people had been scattered by persecution, they had shared the good news wherever they went (Acts 8:4). But this was the introduction of a new phase in the spread of the gospel, where the Church intentionally sends out missionaries to go “to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8).
The Church wasted no time in obeying. As soon as their time of fasting and prayer was completed, they laid their hands on Saul and Barnabas, commissioning them for the work God had assigned to them, and sent them off with their blessing.
Father, even though the structure You have put in place in Your Church is not always obvious, it is always there – people You have called and gifted to fill specific roles and to do key jobs that will facilitate the Church’s accomplishment of our mission to make disciples of all nations. It is a clear indication that the Church is not ours, but Yours, and that if we will listen and obey, You will help us to grow and to be effective in our ministry, both here and in the wider world where You send us. Thank You for sharing these great truths today. Amen.
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