Acts 11:19-26 (New International Version)
The Church in Antioch
19Now those who had been scattered by the persecution in connection with Stephen traveled as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus and Antioch, telling the message only to Jews. 20Some of them, however, men from Cyprus and Cyrene, went to Antioch and began to speak to Greeks also, telling them the good news about the Lord Jesus. 21The Lord's hand was with them, and a great number of people believed and turned to the Lord.
22News of this reached the ears of the church at Jerusalem, and they sent Barnabas to Antioch. 23When he arrived and saw the evidence of the grace of God, he was glad and encouraged them all to remain true to the Lord with all their hearts. 24He was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and faith, and a great number of people were brought to the Lord.
25Then Barnabas went to Tarsus to look for Saul, 26and when he found him, he brought him to Antioch. So for a whole year Barnabas and Saul met with the church and taught great numbers of people. The disciples were called Christians first at Antioch.
Since we've never lived in Israel, the names of places can all run together. But the Bible records them for a reason. Antioch wasn't in Israel; it was in Syria. It was filled with Gentiles, not Jews. The gospel was bursting past the borders of ancient Israel and beginning to spread to the rest of the world. All of a sudden the makeup of the church was becoming remarkably diverse. There were people of all kinds coming into the church - so many that they were becoming a totally new entity. And once their numbers became large enough, people invented a name for them - a name you and I now share with these early followers of Christ: Christian.
How do you react when people who are very different from you join your church?
Do people in your school see a difference between Christians and non-Christians?
Do your actions show that Christians are different? How?
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