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25 Barnabas then went to Tarsus[a] to look for Saul, 26 and when he had found him, he brought him to Antioch. For a whole year they met with the church and taught a large number of people. It was in Antioch that the disciples were first called Christians.

Threats against the Church[b]

27 A Famine in the World.[c] During these days, some prophets[d] came down from Jerusalem to Antioch.

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Footnotes

  1. Acts 11:25 Tarsus: see note on Acts 9:30.
  2. Acts 11:27 Calamities strike the Church—famine, persecution, political conflicts. This corresponds to the description of the signs of the last times in Luke (21:9-13). As the Gospel says, it is not the time of the end but the time of perseverance. When the signs of crisis are manifested in the world, believers testify to the hope and the effort for a change. The Church emerges from these threats with tranquil joy and humility. This account brings to a close the first twelve chapters of Acts.
  3. Acts 11:27 A collection is organized in the Church. The action is an application of one of the essential elements of the community: the sharing of goods, which gives a new meaning to economic property. Paul will regard this kind of mutual help as very important (see Rom 15:31; 1 Cor 16:15; 2 Cor 8:4; 9:1, 12-13; Gal 2:10).
  4. Acts 11:27 Prophets: the first mention of the gift of prophecy in this Book. Prophets are to preach, exhort, explain, or predict (see Acts 13:1; 15:32; 19:6; 21:9f; Rom 12:6; 1 Cor 12:10; 13:2-8).