Day 10
Read: Acts 11
Introduction: Have you ever thought about the crazy stories you will hear in heaven? Not just the stories from people like Moses, Joseph, and David, but imagine all the stories you will get to hear from normal people like you and I. For example, picture talking to an “average Joe” from Israel who shares about his experience crossing the Red Sea! Won’t it be fun to hear their take on the miracle? Those will be some of the stories that I’m sure will be intriguing to hear. In the midst of Acts 11, we find a small group of “normal people” who have a unique story. They are the believers of Cyprus and Cyrene that went to Antioch. They started something new that has impacted the Church and our lives even to this day.
Acts 11:19-24
Now those who scattered because of the persecution that arose over Stephen traveled as for as Phoenicia and Cyprus and Antioch, speaking the word to no one except Jews. But there were some of them. Men of Cyprus and Cyrene, who on coming to Antioch spoke to the Hellenists (Greeks) also, preaching the Lord Jesus. And the hand of the Lord was with them, and a great number who believed turned to the Lord. The report 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 great many people were added to the Lord.
Think about it: Acts has been almost exclusively about the Jewish people hearing the Good News of Jesus. The Greeks have been excluded from the message with a few individual exceptions. But for the most part, Jesus had been understood as the God of the Jews, but the men of Cyprus and Cyrene knew that he was also God of the Gentiles as well. These Christians from Cyprus and Cyrene went north to Antioch and they took the message to the Greeks as well, and this shocked all the other believers! The Greeks and Jews were on the opposite sides of most everything! They had different stances on government, family, taxes, sex, money, war, etc. There was almost nothing that Greeks and Jews agreed on at the time. But these believers from Cyprus and Cyrene knew that the gospel of Jesus would bridge all of these differences. In a time when racism was accepted and taught from generation to generation, Christians shattered that stigma in Antioch. Antioch became one of the most diverse churches in the world—rich people and poor, Jews and Greeks, all united under Jesus Christ. They were the center for missions, including the Apostle Paul. It all started with a few believers taking the gospel to the rejects of Israel, the Greeks, and the grace of God abounded!
Take away: The Gospel of Jesus reaches across all cultures and is for all people.