From today’s reading...
Some of them, however, who came from Cyprus and Cyrene, went to Antioch where they started preaching also to the Greeks, proclaiming the good news of the Lord Jesus to them.” Acts 11:20
If you want something to spread like wildfire, try to suppress it.
When the Jews in power persecuted Stephen, many of the early followers of Jesus “scattered” (v19) to Phoenicia, Cyprus, and Antioch.
At the time, Antioch of Syria was the third-largest and most influential city in the Roman Empire, which had a significant population of Greeks.
The Greeks are important because 350 years prior, Alexander the Great expanded the Greco Empire through Syria down to Egypt and through the Medo-Persian Empire all the way to India.
So, even though Rome was in power at the time of the New Testament, the influence of the Greeks was still significant.
Preaching to and converting the Greeks was also meaningful because they were polytheistic, pagan, or a mixture of both, so winning over the hearts of minds of non-Jews gave these new religious upstarts momentum in spreading the Good News to the four corners of the world, which is why today’s reading ends with, “It was at Antioch that the disciples were first called ‘Christians’.” (v26)
So spread the Good News that Satan’s followers are trying to suppress, which is the only way to...
Stay the course.
Keep the faith.
Endure.
Market like you mean it. Now go sell something.
