Acts 11:26 - Coke's Commentary on the Holy Bible

When he had found him, he brought him unto Antioch.— Barnabas might go in quest of Paul, from a persuasion, that, as he was by his country a Greek, though by descent an Hebrew of the Hebrews; that is, descended from two Jewish parents, he would be peculiarly fit to assist him in his great work, especially considering on the one hand his fine accomplishments as a scholar, and on the other his extraordinary conversion, and eminent zeal and piety. Antioch was the metropolis of Syria; for magnitude, situation, and other agreeable circumstances, the third city in the Roman empire, being excelled by none except Rome and Alexandria. It was built by Seleucus, and called Antioch from the name of his son Antiochus. There was a Jewish university in this city, anda great number of proselytes according to Josephus, out of whom was formed a large Christian church, which was looked upon as the mother church of the Gentiles, as the church of Jerusalem was of the Jewish, or of all the Christian churches; and they were likewise the first fruits of the devout Gentiles out of Palestine. The Jewish converts had hitherto been called by their enemies, Men of that way, or sect; Galileans, Nazarenes, and other like names of reproach; and among themselves they had been called disciples, believers, the church, the saints; and to denote the unity and concord which were among them, they stiled one another brethren. But now the Gentile converts at Antioch were called by the name of CHRISTIANS, taking their denomination immediately from their Lord and Master CHRIST himself, just as among the philosophers, the Platonists, Pythagoreans, &c. took their names from their several masters.This name was first given to the converts at Antioch, I doubt not, by divine appointment; for the word χρηματισαι, here used, signifies "to be warned by a divine admonition;" see Matthew 2:12.Luke 2:26. Acts 10:22 and accordingly Doddridge renders it were called by divine appointment. Dr. Mill has informed us, that the Cambridge manuscript reads this sentence thus; and then they first named by divine appointment, εχρηματισαν, the disciples, CHRISTIANS, in Antioch; whereby is signified, that Barnabas and Saul first gave them the name of Christians; and indeed the common reading, fairly rendered, seems to intimate the same thing: and it came to pass that they assembled, &c. and that they called the first disciples at Antioch by the name of Christians. Barnabas knew how unlikely it was that the church at Jerusalem should allow them the name of brethren, considering how strongly they had been prejudiced against them, and how backward they had been to receive them into the Christian church; though afterwards indeed the appellation of brethren was given them by the church at Jerusalem upon a full and mature consideration of their case. See chap. Acts 15:23. However, as the Jewish Christians could not presently get over all their former prejudices, and allow those Gentile converts to be upon a level with themselves, and as it was nevertheless proper that they should have some name to distinguish them from such of the Gentile proselytes of the gate as had not embraced the Christian religion;—for these, and such like wise reasons, they were called and distinguished by the name of Christians; and if that name was given them by a divine admonition, as we have shewn, it indicates the divine concern for them, and the honour which Heaven put upon them, in dignifying and distinguishing them by so high and honourable an appellation. Witsius thinks it a circumstance of remarkable wisdom, that this celebrated name should arise from Antioch, a church consisting of a mixture of Jews and Gentiles, rather than from Jerusalem, dignified in so many other respects; and that it was a kind of victory gained over Satan, who, from Antioch some ages before, had raised so many cruel persecutors of the church of God.