PREACHING THE LORD UNTO THE GRECIANS?
Act 11:19 Now they which were scattered abroad upon the persecution that arose about Stephen travelled as far as Phenice, and Cyprus, and Antioch, preaching the word to none but unto the Jews only.
Act 11:20 And some of them were men of Cyprus and Cyrene, which, when they were come to Antioch, spake unto the Grecians, preaching the Lord Jesus.
Act 11:21 And the hand of the Lord was with them: and a great number believed, and turned unto the Lord.
As you undoubtedly know, after describing in Acts 8:1 to 11:18 that His program with Israel did not continue on as it was expected to do, and as it was prophesied to do, following the vision that He gave to Stephen; (but instead by what did happen God made it clearly evident that He was doing something completely unexpected and different); beginning in Acts 11:19 God returns to the issue of the historical time when Stephen was stoned at the end of Acts 7 and He declares how that at that time He did something special with some of the saints who were “scattered abroad” at that time. And what He did was to alter the exclusive nature of their preaching. Instead of these “preaching the word to none but unto the Jews only” as the rest were doing, the ones who “were men of Cyprus and Cyrene” started “preaching the Lord Jesus” “unto the Grecians” when they “were come to Antioch.” And, as verse 21 says, these men did not do this on their own, nor in disobedience, but they did it because “the hand of the Lord was with them.”
Act 8:1 And Saul was consenting unto his death. And at that time there was a great persecution against the church which was at Jerusalem; and they were all scattered abroad throughout the regions of Judaea and Samaria, except the apostles.
Act 8:2 And devout men carried Stephen to his burial, and made great lamentation over him.
Act 8:3 As for Saul, he made havock of the church, entering into every house, and haling men and women committed them to prison.
Act 8:4 Therefore they that were scattered abroad went every where preaching the word.
Wherefore it was God Himself who had them do this. God deliberately altered the formerly exclusive nature of their preaching, and He did this in view of the great dispensational change that He was bringing in at that time; which is what He is substantiating and confirming all the more by what He has Luke set forth in Acts 11:19 and following. Now as I said you undoubtedly understand and appreciate this, and therefore know the doctrinal significance of what God has Luke relate in Acts 11:19–21. But in view of what these verses are teaching, the reference to “the Grecians” in verse 20 sometimes puzzles folks. For they expect that it would say “Greeks” or “Gentiles” instead of “Grecians,” especially seeing that earlier on in chapter six the reference to “Grecians” was to Jews, specifically to the issue of Greek-speaking Jews in contrast to Hebrew-speaking ones. Wherefore they are puzzled by “the Grecians” in 11:20, for all they think about when they encounter the word is the issue of Greek-speaking Jews.
Act 11:19 Now they which were scattered abroad upon the persecution that arose about Stephen travelled as far as Phenice, and Cyprus, and Antioch, preaching the word to none but unto the Jews only.
Act 11:20 And some of them were men of Cyprus and Cyrene, which, when they were come to Antioch, spake unto the Grecians, preaching the Lord Jesus.
Act 11:21 And the hand of the Lord was with them: and a great number believed, and turned unto the Lord.
But it is obvious from what verses 19 and 20 say that the word “Grecians” has more than one meaning to it, including a meaning that strictly applies to Gentiles and not to Jews at all. Simply stated when the word “Grecian” applies to Gentiles, (as verse 19 demands), it refers to ones who are Hellenized Gentiles, but who are not actually Greeks by birth or by extraction. They are “Grecians” in view of the world-wide influence and marking of the third Gentile dominion, (the Greek empire), that had dominion in this world upon the arrival of the Fifth Course of Punishment in Israel’s program. In view of what God allowed to take place during the time of the Greek dominion the world became “Hellenized” by it. As such the word “Grecian” developed to speak of this and to denote the issue of ones, (whether it be individuals, or communities, or regions, or whole nations), who were so ‘marked’ by the Greek influence. Wherefore outside of Israel the word “Grecian” naturally referred more to ‘Grecian Gentiles’ than to ‘Greek-speaking Jews.’ So then the word “Grecians” does not always refer to ‘Greek-speaking Jews.’ And the context of Acts 11:19– 21 naturally indicates that in verse 20 it does not refer to ‘Greek-speaking Jews’ at all, but to ‘Grecian Gentiles’; which is exactly what the city of Antioch was naturally full of.
Keith Blades
Enjoy The Bible Ministries