Verse 24: “He was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and faith, and there was added a large crowd to the L-rd.”

A good man: An individual who is committed to the will of God.

Full of the Holy Spirit: If we expect the ministry of the Holy Spirit to be working in our lives we need to be doing the will of God.

Faith: A person who has faith is going to be committed to the will of God and there will be a manifestation of the Holy Spirit in their lives.

Added a large crowd: When someone is submissive to the will of God and manifesting the ministry of the Holy Spirit in their life other people are going to be saved.

Verse 25: “Barnabas went out into Tarsus seeking Saul.”

Verse 26: “After finding him he brought him into Antioch. It came about for a full cycle that they assembled in the congregation and they taught this large crowd. It was first in Antioch that the believers were called Christians.”

Brought him into Antioch: Barnabas realized that God was working in Antioch and he went to find Saul to help him with the ministry there. Full (whole) cycle: A whole year. There is a Torah cycle and a holiday cycle that repeats each year in Judaism. It is through the cycle of the Torah reading and the holidays that the more excellent way of the L-rd can be taught.

Christians (Messianic): This word is tied to Yeshua. What is important here is that people were looking at these individuals and understood they had a connection to Yeshua the Messiah the Christ.

Verse 27: “And in those days the prophets came down from Jerusalem into Antioch.”

Verse 28: “One from them named Agabus stood up and he gave a sign through the Spirit that there was going to be a great famine that was about to be upon all of the earth. (This came about upon Caesar Claudius).”

He gave a sign: Probably something miraculous as he did it through the Spirit. Signs can also be doing something prophetically (physically) as an illustration of something to come (e.g. Jeremiah wearing a belt as a picture of what was to come – Jeremiah 13v1-11)

Great famine: Difficult times were coming.

Came about upon Caesar Claudius: It happened during the administration of the Caesar by the name of Claudius.

Note: What Agabus prophesied came true. Are we people who respond in light of prophetic truth? These believers had matured and were willing to leave their traditions and receive new revelation (the foundation of that new revelation was obviously based in the Scriptures). Prophecy oftentimes speaks about future and we need to respond for the future right now. The reason that Agabus revealed this was because the people needed to respond and prepare for this famine.

Verse 29: “Of the disciples, according to how he prospered, each one did what they determined and gave to their Jewish brethren dwelling in Judea.”

According to how he prospered: (Written in the singular, but applied to the many) The disciples decided that they were going to look at their financial situations and, depending on their profit, they were going to send money to those who were left in Judea. When God revealed to them that there was going to be a famine their thoughts, attention and their actions were for the Jews in Judea, the Jewish people in Israel.

Determined: The same word is often translated as ‘predestined’. The word means to see beforehand – they saw how they prospered, and, based upon knowing the facts of that, they decided what they were going to give from the profit.

Verse 30: “Which also they did, sending it to the elders through the hand of Barnabas and Saul.”

Note: Believers in Messiah should have a powerful testimony of supporting and blessing the Jewish people.