Hebrews 11 Exegesis

In Acts 11:19 the story now goes back to the time of the persecution following the martyrdom of Stephen. In other words, the events described in the next verses took place before the conversion of Cornelius.

The introduction of Christianity to Antioch was an important step in the forward march of the church. Antioch was located on the river Orontes in Syria, north of Palestine. It was considered the third city of the Roman Empire, and has been dubbed "the Paris of the ancient world." From here, Paul and his companions later went forth on their missionary journeys, taking the good news to the Gentiles.

(Believer's Bible Commentary: A Thorough, Yet Easy-to-Read Bible Commentary That Turns Complicated Theology Into Practical Understanding.)

Hebrews 6:12 (NASB)

12 so that you will not be sluggish, but imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.

And of course Hebrews 11 is a collection of excerpts from the lives of great men and women of faith. The author of Hebrews was convinced that the dead can and will go on speaking for our encouragement if someone will take the trouble to preserve their memory.

Proverbs 13:20 (NASB)

20 He who walks with wise men will be wise, But the companion of fools will suffer harm.

Isaac Watts, who wrote so many of great hymns, loved to read Christian biography. He said,

“The lives or memoirs of persons of piety, well written, have been of infinite and unspeakable advantage to the disciples and professors of Christianity, and have given us admirable instances and rules how to resist every temptation of a soothing or a frowning world, how to practice important and difficult duties, how to love God above all, and to love our neighbors as ourselves, to live by the faith of the Son of God, and to die in the same faith, in sure and certain hope of a resurrection to eternal life. (In James Reid, Memoirs of the Westminster Divines, p.

30 And this they did, sending it in charge of Barnabas and Saul to the elders.

Characteristics of Barnabas “the Encourager”

Goodness, Full of Holy Spirit, Faith (vs 24)

24 for he was a good man, and full of the Holy Spirit and of faith. And considerable numbers were brought to the Lord.

At the very beginning of the Christian life we receive the Holy Spirit by trusting in the truth of the gospel (Galatians 3:2). Then as the Christian life goes on and there is need again and again to be strengthened and filled with the Spirit, this too happens by faith in the word of God's promise (Galatians 3:5). One of the practical fruits or products of this Spirit-filled faith is goodness (Galatians 5:22).

So when Luke says that Barnabas was "a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and faith," my understanding is that Barnabas had a great faith in God, and that by this faith the Holy Spirit became powerful in his heart, and that the result was a lot of practical goodness in Barnabas' life.

Compassion to