“The Spirit Sends Missionaries” Acts 12:24-13:3

Most of the schools in Texas have begun the new year. It’s a special time. New clothes, new supplies, new hopes, new fears. There’s always an air of uncertainty as each child learns who their new teacher or teachers will be, and the teachers get to learn about a classroom of students.

There is something particularly exciting when one of your children starts school for the very first time. Taking your son or daughter to the new kindergarten and seating the child at their desk, having to say goodbye and leaving that precious child in the care of strangers can be an emotional time. For me, Stephen was the hardest to see seated in his kindergarten class. My little boy, growing up and starting the next phase of becoming who he would be.

In our passage today, the new church which had begun in the small house in Jerusalem was showing signs of reaching the next phase, and we see the church on the verge of exploding into the Roman Empire.

Background

The Jerusalem church was helping the Antioch church by sending help in Barnabas. The Antioch church was helping the Jerusalem church by taking up an offering to assist in the coming famine that would sweep across the Roman Empire. Churches were cropping up around Judea and Samaria and other regions in the immediate area.

Meanwhile, Herod was entering into the picture of persecuting the Church. He had James, John’s brother, arrested and beheaded. Seeing the positive response from the religious leaders of Jerusalem, Herod arrested Peter next, with the intention of ending his life as well. Peter was arrested and chained in prison, guarded by four sentries at all times. He was chained to two, and two more stood outside the door of his cell.

But when God wants to set His people free, He does it in sometimes spectacular ways. God sent an angel who set Peter free and the angel did as ordered. Released from captivity, Peter went to a house where a prayer meeting was taking place, probably praying for him. There was some confusion at the door at first, but eventually Peter was allowed into the house where he told them of his escape, then went to another, undisclosed place.

When Herod discovered Peter was no longer in captivity, he did a thorough investigation, and, at the conclusion, condemned the guards in question to execution.

Meanwhile, Herod was having troubles of his own, locked in a dispute with the people of Tyre and Sydon. A delegation came to speak with him, and lauded Herod as having the voice of God. Because Herod failed to give glory to God, Herod was struck down and died. More specifically, the Bible says he was “eaten by worms and died” (12:23).

Up until now, the message of Christ was spread because of persecution. As the Jerusalem church was scattered by the heavy handed tactics of the Sanhedrin, those who sought refuge found themselves telling others about Jesus and what He had done for them. It has been a natural progression of the Gospel spreading from Jerusalem. But that phase was coming to a close. The next phase was the intentional sending of missionaries.

Central Truth: It was always God’s intention to spread the Gospel to the world. The Holy Spirit does it by calling us to bear witness.

The Word spreads (12:24)

Luke begins his summary of the next events with a very simple sentence, contrasting what had just happened with Herod with what was happening in the Church. “But the word of God continued to increase and spread” (v. 24).

Go back to Gamaliel’s words to the Sanhedrin. He told them, regarding Peter, John and the other apostles, “Leave them alone. Let them go! For if their purpose or activity is of human origin, it will fail. But if it is from God, you will not be able to stop these men; you will only find yourselves fighting against God” (5:38-39). At first, the Sanhedrin heeded his advice, but when Stephen defended himself before the same group, they came unglued at his words, stoning him and coming down hard on the Church. Persecution was heavy, and the church was scattered.

It scattered, but it didn’t die. Instead, as Luke notes, it continued to increase and spread.

Think of it. It was unpopular to be a follower of Jesus. It was almost a crime to follow Him. If the wrong people found out, it could mean imprisonment at best, death at worst. Yet, the men and women who had come to know the saving grace of Jesus ignored the dangers and continued to speak Jesus’ truth to those they met in their daily activities. The apostles, well-known to the authorities, did not become silent, but continued to minister and to preach and teach. The work of the Church, despite the best efforts of those who wished to stamp it out, was continuing to thrive. Gamaliel’s words were coming true: They did not stop these men, and the Sanhedrin found themselves fighting against God.

The beginning of the first mission team (12:25)

One of the great ministries that was taking place in the new church age was that of the believers in Antioch. Their actions and words gave rise to the mocking nickname of “Christian,” and the church there seemed to thrive on the new name. As Barnabas, Saul and other capable leaders continued to build up the church with wise, Spirit-led teaching and ministry, the church was becoming more influential.

Barnabas and Saul had been sent to Jerusalem by the brothers and sisters of Antioch to deliver the offering that had been taken up for the Jerusalem church. When the two men returned to Antioch, they brought with them a young man named John Mark. These three men were destined to play a major part in the establishment of the Church throughout the Roman Empire.

Barnabas, as we know, was an encourager. He delighted in promoting others, of helping them to reach their fullest potential. He had stood up for Saul when he first came to Jerusalem, and helped introduce the new convert to the apostles. Now he was bringing along a young disciple, John Mark.

John Mark was the young man whose mother was hosting the prayer meeting when Peter escaped from Herod by the ministry of an angel sent by God. We will see his name scattered throughout the remainder of the New Testament, some in the book of Acts, and frequently in Paul’s letters. It is John Mark who is credited with writing the second Gospel, under the influence of Peter in Rome. The Gospel according to Mark is focused on a Roman audience, and it focuses on action and deeds instead of teachings, more to the liking of a Roman audience.

Saul will become known as Paul. What we know of Saul at this point is that he was a man who was deeply devoted to doing God’s will. At first, this zealous devotion is misdirected, seeking to preserve the Pharisaic way of teaching by stamping out the embryonic Church. On the road to Damascus, though, Saul became a follower of Jesus, and began to testify about Jesus fervently and forcefully in Damascus. His enemies sought to have him arrested, and he escaped, going eventually to Jerusalem, where, with the help of Barnabas, he became an accepted member of the Church and continued to preach the Gospel.

Now we have these three men gathered together at the church in Antioch, and God is preparing to do a great thing with them.

The calling of the first missionaries (13:1-3)

Luke begins this chapter with a listing of prophets and teachers in Antioch. He doesn’t distinguish which of the men were prophets and which were teachers. He may have meant that all the men mentioned were prophets and teachers. It doesn’t matter, really.

What does matter is that these men were being used by God to strengthen the ministry of the Antioch Church. It seems these men would sometimes gather for a time of prayer, worship and fasting, seeking to discern God’s leadership for their church.

It was during one of these sessions that the Holy Spirit spoke to them. “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them” (13:2). At this point, the Spirit hasn’t specifically said that His intent is to use Barnabas and Saul as missionaries, but the next verses and the remainder of the book show that such was the case.

The passage ends with the men fasting and praying more, then giving an official blessing to Barnabas and Saul through the laying on of hands. The last words of the verse is that the church of Antioch “sent them off.”

Chapter 13:5 says that John Mark went along with Barnabas and Saul as their helper. I think it’s important to note that the Holy Spirit has specifically set apart Barnabas and Saul for the mission work, but did not include John Mark. It may be that they brought Mark along because they were the ones who brought him to Antioch in the first place. Maybe Barnabas felt a certain responsibility for the young man. Certainly, there is no indication that Saul voiced any objections to bringing Mark along.

With the calling and setting apart of Barnabas and Saul, the first phase of the new Church was coming to a close. A new chapter was opening up, and God was going to continue to do great things in a broader, bigger way that would spread His message throughout the mightiest empire in the history of the world up to that time.

Conclusion

To share the Gospel was to invite persecution. Yes, there were many who saw what the new Church was doing, and they wanted to be a part of this new movement. But as is the case with almost anything new, there were many forces, some of them powerful, that opposed this new message, this new way.

The point is that God cannot be stopped. His Word does return to Him and His people always gain the final victory. It was true in the days of Jesus, it was true in the days of Peter, James, John and Andrew and it was true in the days of Barnabas, Saul and John Mark.

And it’s true today. God still uses His Spirit to lead us, to call us, to prepare us and to set us apart for His service and His will. He opens the doors that allow us to share His word with conviction and with compassion. He uses His Spirit to convict and to save.

All He asks is that we place ourselves at His disposal.