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 great many people. And in Antioch the disciples were first called Christians.
The “so” in the above verse is to explain why Barnabas traveled to Tarsus to look of Saul. After the persecution of Stephen (Acts 6) the church began to both grow, but also to be dispersed. The persecution would intensify and the next chapter in Acts tells us of how Herod the king tried kill James the brother of John and tried to kill Peter. So, God used this persecution to scatter that church. But, that created another problem. As the church was scattered the Apostles were left in Jerusalem. They needed more teachers of God’s Word to mature these early believers who are now being referred to as “Christians” (followers of Christ), probably meant to be derogatory at first ... they were followers of a “dead man”). In order to teach these new believers God used Barnabas, who eventually went to get Paul. This is the beginning of Paul’s ministry. It happened because Barnabas was willing to share the ministry and find someone who could teach God’s Word. Remember, in those days they did not have the NIV, the NASB, the ESV, or the Living Bible translations. They probably didn’t even have too many copies of the Old Testament. (Remember, later when Paul is arrested and imprisoned in Rome, just before his death, he asked Timothy to bring him the “scrolls” he had. These were rare copies.) Paul and Barnabas, for the next year, would teach believers and have them grow. Growth comes from teaching God’s Word. It was Barnabas and Paul who started doing this outside the main teaching center in Jerusalem. God opened the door for ministry to Paul, by the hands of Barnabas, via the persecution of the church.
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