Title: The Power of Antioch Church
Contents
Let's read verse 26 together. Here, it is recorded that the disciples were first called “Christians” in Antioch. A common name for those who believe in Jesus is Christian. However, it was the members of this Antioch church who began to be called Christians for the first time in history. The people of Herod are Herodians, and the people of Caesar are Caesars, and in today's language, old-fashioned mothers are such names. At that time, people called “Christians” who called Jesus Christ. This is the strength of the Antioch church. If you read the text carefully, the Antioch Church grows very powerfully. Verse 21, Many believed and returned to the Lord, Verse 24, and a great crowd added to the Lord! Then, what was the strength of the Antioch Church, we should seriously learn. We look at the characteristics of the members of the Antioch Church and the attitude of the leaders of the Antioch Church.
First, the Antioch Church did not have prejudice among the members. (11:19-21)
What is Prejudice? When you take a side, you are on that side. So, prejudice refers to the thought that divides you from your side, your attitude to stand on one side and the other. Prejudice is a food taste with prejudice. The food I eat is to separate the food I don't eat and treat it with food. I don't have any prejudices about food. There is something my father said to me. Youngjin eats everything from Sotdanji except for the laundry! That was it. What is favoritism? I treat people I like and people who I hate. I'm a red bean mom. Is it wrong that Padjji's mom loves patjji? no. So what's the problem? The fact that Kong-ju was pre-determined as a child to hate, this is a matter of favoritism. To be prejudiced is, in our mind, you get out of my fence. This is my territory and this is my territory, so you are out!
In the book of James, it warns against the appearance of a church armed with prejudice, speaking of a dead faith and an improbable church. It is to have a prejudice against material things among the saints. When a rich person with a lot of money joins the church, they are treated very favorably, and the poor and the weak are ignored and despised. I heard yesterday, young mothers from elementary school in Gangnam came to a school event, and mothers of large apartment complexes were gathering, and one of them said, oh oh, there's Jugong too! Do you know what I mean? I don't play with people in Jugong Apartment. If we go to the Gangnam parent reunion, oops, there's even a rental! That would be it.
If you look closely at the flow of the Bible record from verses 19 to 21, verses 19 and 20 are very different from each other. There are still prejudices of Judaism. When tribulation broke out in Jerusalem because of Stephen, the Jerusalem saints went to Samaria. At that time, the deacon Philip preaches the gospel to the Samaritans. So the village of Samaria receives the Holy Spirit. But looking at verse 19, those who were scattered because of the tribulation caused by Stephen's martyrdom did not go only to Samaria, but also to Cyprus and Antioch in Phoenicia. Phoenicians are called Phoenicians. This is where Lebanon is now. Cypress is Cypress. Antioch is now part of Turkey. So, when there was persecution in Jerusalem, the saints went further north and west as they went to Samaria.
However, if you look closely, these scattered saints preach the gospel, but there was a prejudice against them. Who are you preaching the gospel to? For Jews only! I only preach to people who are familiar with me! People I don't know well or strangers to me don't talk to me, and I don't just talk to them, I don't even preach the gospel to them! Who has decided to live with such a heart? Are you declaring that? No. It's just something I'm not looking for. It's not that I don't do it on purpose, but somehow, people I don't know or people I'm not close with don't even share the gospel I have. But in verse 20, the people of Cyprus and Cyrene came to Antioch. Those people also preached the gospel to the Greeks. So, what kind of prejudice did the Jerusalem church members, that is, Jewish Christians, have? Jews only preach to Jews! what? It's racial prejudice.
Guys, can I ask a question? believing Jews in Antioch