What does Acts 11:28 mean?
Barnabas and Saul are in Syrian Antioch on the northwest corner of the Mediterranean Sea, building up the young church filled with Jews and Gentiles. They maintain close contact with their sending church in Jerusalem and to a large degree submit to the leadership of James, the brother of Jesus, and the twelve apostles (Acts 15:1–35). Several prophets have come from Jerusalem, 300 miles south, to Antioch to warn that a famine is coming.Josephus affirmed this famine, saying it hit Rome, Greece, Egypt, and Judea from AD 45–48. This matches the timeline as the death of Herod Agrippa I, which occurred in AD 44, is recorded in Acts 12:20–23. At the time Luke describes, the church isn't even fifteen years old and has already spread 300 miles.
It's unclear if this is the first time an outlying congregation is asked to support the church in Jerusalem, but it's not the last. Barnabas would be very comfortable with the idea; he was one of the many converts in Jerusalem who sold property to provide for the travelers who stayed to learn from the apostles (Acts 4:36–37). Saul takes this to heart; throughout his ministry as Paul, famine or not, he exhorts new churches to remember the legitimate needs of leaders in Jerusalem by supporting them financially (Romans 15:25–26; 1 Corinthians 16:1–3; 2 Corinthians 9:1–5).
After Paul's third missionary trip he will go through Caesarea Maritima on his way to Jerusalem and Agabus will come to meet him. Agabus will wrap his own wrists and feet in Paul's belt and prophesy that Paul will similarly be bound when the Jewish leadership hands him to the Romans (Acts 21:10–11). The prophecy is metaphorical; Paul is arrested by the Roman guards when Greek-influenced Jews from modern-day western Asia Minor try to kill him (Acts 21:27–36). Paul's protective custody is solidified when the Sanhedrin conspires to assassinate him (Acts 23:12–35). Although the Sanhedrin will not literally bind Paul, their actions will result in a long prison stay in Rome.
Acts 11:27–30 records a prophecy that great famine will affect the Roman Empire; the church in Jerusalem needs support. This is related to the narrative because it takes place in Syrian Antioch, as did the previous account. It's also about Jerusalem, as is the next chapter. But Luke is intentional, here. Acts 11:19–26 describes the origin of Paul's extensive evangelistic ministry. One of Paul's recurring themes is the responsibility of new churches to financially support the church in Jerusalem; this is where Paul's conviction starts.
Acts 11 accelerates the journey of the message of Jesus into the Gentile world. Peter returns to Jerusalem and explains to the church leaders how the Holy Spirit has fallen on a group of Gentiles in Caesarea Maritima (Acts 11:1–18). Then the church hears how Gentiles are coming to faith far north in Syrian Antioch; they send Barnabas to investigate and Barnabas brings in Saul (Acts 11:19–26). Finally, prophets travel from Jerusalem to Antioch to request aid for the Jerusalem church (Acts 11:27–30). The scene is almost set for Paul's extensive evangelism career to begin.
