Now those who were scattered because of the persecution that
arose over Stephen travelled as far as Phoeni'cia and Cyprus and Antioch,
speaking the word to none except Jews. But there were some of them, men of
Cyprus and Cyre'ne, who on coming to Antioch spoke to the Greeks also,
preaching the Lord Jesus. And the hand of the Lord was with them, and a great
number that believed turned to the Lord. News 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 large company was added to the Lord. So Barnabas went to Tarsus to
look for Saul; and when he had found him, he brought him to Antioch. For a
whole year they met with the church, and taught a large company of people; and
in Antioch the disciples were for the first time called Christians.
In a Nutshell
The gospel was not only preached to Gentiles by the Apostles. The Hellenists, scattered by the persecution, had also proclaimed the good news.
Questions
What impact did the spread of the gospel have upon the Jewish believers?
Luke tells us about the arguments the Jewish believers had among themselves. They confronted big changes to the way they were to understand themselves in a Gentile world. At first, persecution sent the Hellenistic believers fleeing, but as they did so they proclaimed the Gospel to fellow Jews wherever they went. But when believers from Cyrene and Cyprus started to share the good news with Gentiles in Antioch, the cat was well and truly out of the bag. No longer was it just a message for Jews resident in the land of God's promise to Abraham. Pentecost meant that believing Jews from around the world were part of a movement that believed the Christ had come and completed His work. The Spirit of God was being poured out not only at Jerusalem but also at Caesarea in the house of Cornelius. Now in Antioch, "ordinary Gentiles", not just proselytes like Nicola'us, had come to faith. The gospel was on the move; the Lord's hand was upon them.
Believers from Cyprus and Cyrene are mentioned together. They were part of that new church at Antioch. You may recall that the group that had accused Stephen included Jews from Cyrene. Luke tells us about the deep tensions that defied easy resolution. There were "Jews" who believed and those who didn't; there were "Hellenists" who had been circumcised, and now there were uncircumcised "Greeks" who believed. Besides there were Hellenist widows, Jewish women, and presumably other groups as well. The Gospel was being presented to one and all and the believers were being given their own name: "Christians". It was a time when many new believers joined Jesus' disciples. The church was growing.
Luke presents the growth as a harvest - it followed the outpouring of God's Spirit. It was not just a reaction to persecution but disciples of Jesus were discovering new aspects of His teaching. The Apostles sent Barnabas to Antioch, and when he saw what was going on he decided the time was right for Saul to come and make his contribution. So off he went to Tarsus and brought him to Antioch and together the Levite and the former student of the law worked together to build a discipleship school which has benefited Christians ever since.