Act 11:19-24 | TNotes | STEP | Summary for Acts 11:19-26: 11:19-26 The persecution that followed Stephen’s death forced believers into other areas (8:1-3 ), and they traveled as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus, and Antioch . • Antioch of Syria was a thriving cosmopolitan city, the third-largest in the Roman Empire after Rome and Alexandria. Antioch was of central importance in the spread of the Christian message to the Gentile world.

a11:19-26►

d11:21-24►

‏ Acts 11:19-24

Summary for Acts 11:19-26: 11:19-26 ^a The persecution that followed Stephen’s death forced believers into other areas (8:1-3 ^b), and they traveled as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus, and Antioch.

• Antioch of Syria was a thriving cosmopolitan city, the third-largest in the Roman Empire after Rome and Alexandria. Antioch was of central importance in the spread of the Christian message to the Gentile world.
11:20 ^c This outreach effort on the part of Jewish believers ... from Cyprus and Cyrene was the first systematic attempt to preach to Gentiles about the Lord Jesus.
Summary for Acts 11:21-24: 11:21-24 ^d Once again, as had happened in the household of Cornelius, Gentiles turned to the Lord in considerable numbers. The explosion of Christian faith into the Gentile world had to remain in harmony with the church at Jerusalem, so the Jerusalem church sent Barnabas to Antioch to oversee developments there. He could see that God’s blessing was on what was happening, so he endorsed it with joy.