Barnabas and Paul's First Missionary Journey to Cyprus |
It is a little known fact that by the time Barnabas and Paul (then still Saul) arrived in Cyprus on their first missionary journey, there was already an established Christian community on the island “by those who had been scattered by the persecution in connection with Stephen” [Acts 11:19], and had been for about a decade, preaching only to the Jews. In actuality, it was from Cyprus and Cyrene (Libya) that early Christians first set out to proselytize to the Greeks of Antioch [Acts 11:20]. |
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Barnabas and Paul's time in Cyprus is often Forgotten |
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Though few people realize it, the story of the first missionary journey to Cyprus actually begins on the island itself a few years before Barnabas and Saul ever set foot there, for “there were some of them, men from Cyprus and Cyrene, who came to Antioch and began speaking to the Greeks also, preaching the Lord Jesus” [Acts 11:20]. It would seem that the proselytizing carried out by these men met with unprecedented success, as Acts clearly states that “a great number of people were brought to the Lord” [Acts 11:24]. So great was the rate of conversion to Christianity at Antioch, that news soon reached the Church of Jerusalem, and Barnabas was dispatched to Antioch as a result. There he found the reports to have been true and rejoiced in the Lord’s grace for some time before leaving for Tarsus, most probably by sea, to find Saul and bring him back to carry out the divine work. It should be remembered that it was Barnabas himself who first introduced Saul to the Elders of the Jerusalem Church in Acts 9:27, and now, once again, Barnabas sought to “bring an active useful man out of obscurity” and to “tell him what a door of opportunity was opened at Antioch” [Matthew Henry - Acts 11].
Upon their return to Antioch, the pair spent an entire year proselytizing to both the city’s Jews and Gentiles, and it was there, at some stage during this year, that the term Christian was first applied to the Followers of the Way. This was a truly monumental development for the Faith, since it completely nullified the distinction between Jewish Follower and Gentile Follower, and instead enabled ALL Followers of the Way, regardless of previous beliefs, to proclaim themselves as Christians. As Matthew Henry points out: “They took their denomination not from the name of his person, Jesus, but of his office, Christ-anointed, so putting their creed into their names, that Jesus is the Christ.” Following their year of missionary work and preaching to the Christians of Antioch, one day, while they were worshipping the Lord and fasting “the Holy Spirit said: ‘Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.’ “ [Acts 13:2]. Thus they were commanded to set forth from Antioch, and take the message of the Lord to the people in foreign lands. |
"The Lord's hand
Christians adopted the peacock as a symbol of immortality because they believed its flesh did not decay. It also represents the Resurrection because it sheds its old feathers every year and grows newer brighter plumage.
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