Acts 11:24Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

It seems to me that “good” here means simple, without pretense, and very zealous for the salvation of his neighbors.

And he was not only “a good man,” but also “full of the Holy Spirit and of faith.” Therefore he “exhorted them all to remain with the Lord with purpose of heart,” that is, with glorification and praise of the Lord.

“He,” Barnabas, “when he had come,” the writer says, “and had seen the grace of God,” not human effort, “exhorted them all to remain with the Lord with purpose of heart.” By praising and approving the people, he probably converted still more.

“For he was a good man, and full of the Holy Spirit and of faith.” It does not mean the same thing when God is called good (Mk 10:18) and when a man is called good.

The former is good in essence, being the beginning and source of all good things. A man is good not in essence, but by virtue.

For Barnabas was a good man and full of the Holy Spirit and faith. After Barnabas's exhortations, a considerable crowd was again added to the Lord.

With such an influx of believers into the Christian Church, it was difficult for Barnabas alone to manage in Antioch.

Pastoral duty, especially with a multitude of believers and with constant awareness of grave responsibility for every converted or entrusted soul, requires intense and excessive labors.

One person must be comforted, another reproved and instructed. To one material help must be given, and another must be led toward enlightenment.

Here a falling sinner must be raised and supported, if he is ready to correct himself. There one must rejoice with those who rejoice.

Here is the fruit of Barnabas's mission. This good man, full of the gifts of the Holy Spirit and of warm and firm faith, came to Antioch and saw there the grace of God, that is, the miracles, faith, and virtue of the believers.

He rejoiced and was glad. Receiving divine zeal, he urged those who had accepted the faith to remain firm and unshaken in the disposition of heart with which, having believed in Christ, they performed works of virtue.

It is also known that with the same zeal he taught the unbelievers and exhorted them to turn from their error. From the time of his coming to Antioch, the number of believers increased very greatly.

But he was not satisfied with this. Seeing that "the harvest truly was plentiful, but the laborers were few" (Mt 9:37), he went out from Antioch, seeking a most capable and diligent laborer of the Gospel.

Meanwhile Christianity had already been brought by preachers of the Gospel from among the Hellenists to the Gentiles in Antioch, the great capital of Roman Asia.

News of this attracted the attention of the Christians of Jerusalem. Perhaps it did so because nothing like this had yet occurred among them.

That is, Peter had not yet returned from the journey during which he enlightened Cornelius. The news of a newly forming Church from the Gentiles, without observance of the ceremonial Law of Moses, produced only perplexity and distrust.

Or perhaps the incident with Cornelius had already in some measure prepared them for such a phenomenon. Yet they still could not agree to the innovations connected with these events or have direct trust toward Christians from the Gentiles.

The report that a significant Christian community from the Gentiles had been formed in Antioch reached the Church of Jerusalem.

The Apostles, as well as the other Christians in Jerusalem, after the conversion of the Gentiles to the Christian faith in Caesarea, undoubtedly understood that the founding of the Church in Antioch had taken place wholly according to the will of God.

Nevertheless, the young Christian community was far from Jerusalem and lacked the immediate guidance of the Apostles of Christ, or at least of persons enjoying their full confidence.

The Church of Jerusalem therefore commissioned Barnabas (Acts 4:36-37) to go to Antioch, lest this community from the very beginning take a false direction in Christian faith and life.

His arrival in Antioch was accompanied by great good for the Church. Seeing in this whole movement the grace of God, Barnabas rejoiced and, by his influential word, "exhorted them all to cleave to the Lord with purpose of heart."

The Gentiles, seeing before them a man so "good and full of the Holy Spirit and faith," willingly joined the Church in considerable numbers.

Thus the first Church from the Gentiles was formed in Antioch. Because of the strong movement of population from there in every direction, Christianity first spread from that very place through all the eastern provinces of the empire.

Then it passed into Europe, as far as Rome itself.

"For he was," and so forth. This gives the reason why he was sent to Antioch, and why the condition of the Antiochene community made such an impression upon him. Both were determined by his moral character and spiritual gifts.

"A considerable crowd was added." Through Barnabas's activity in Antioch at that time, the great number of those who had previously believed there (v. 21) was increased by a considerable number of newly converted believers in Christ.

Probably here, as in verse 21, the reference is to converted Gentiles. Thus this new society of Christians from the Gentiles in Antioch was very large, and this was a new and great phenomenon in apostolic history.

The increase in the number of believers in Antioch prompted the Apostles to send the Apostle Barnabas there. He was to strengthen them in the faith and arrange whatever was possible for the newly forming body of the young Church of Antioch.

The already known goodness of Barnabas (see Acts 4:36-37) was shown here first of all in his sympathy with the local preachers of the faith. It was also shown in his necessary help to the newly converted, by the word of instruction and by the work of guidance.

This further multiplied the number of believers there. Thus God's guidance, the grace of the Holy Spirit, and the special gifts of the Spirit manifested through Barnabas visibly set this Church firmly and unshakably upon the rocks of faith.