Grace Without Borders

SUNDAY MORNING WORSHIP SERVICE, 1 February 2026
Sermon Series: “The Acts of the Apostles” (#17)
Sermon Text: Acts 11:19-26
Main Points:
Introduction
I. Grace spreads (vs. 19-21)
II. Grace strengthens (vs. 22-24)
III. Grace shapes and sends (vs. 25-26)
Conclusion

Let me take you into a farmer’s field for a moment – because what happens there will help us see today’s text more clearly. Farmers have a traditional way of sowing seed called ‘broadcasting.’ It means spreading seed evenly over the surface of the field. This is usually done when the wind is gentle. Why? Because a strong wind will carry the seed to places the farmer never intended. But a gentle wind helps the seed spread evenly and efficiently across the farmland.

In the year Stephen was martyred, however, the wind of persecution was anything but gentle. It was wild, violent. It scattered Christians from Jerusalem into all parts of Judea and Samaria. And as v. 19 of today’s passage tells us, some were pushed even farther – to Phoenicia, Cyprus, and Antioch. But those believers carried something far more precious than their own lives – they carried the gospel.

In this picture, God is the sower, and the Holy Spirit is the wind. Each believer was driven to new places – not always safe places, but exactly the places where the gospel was needed. And in those places, the seed of God’s grace began to sprout.

What happened in Antioch shows us the power of that grace. It broke barries and built the church of the Lord Jesus Christ. In every way, the church in Antioch was a remarkable demonstration of grace without borders. More than that, it became the means by which grace would begin to spread to the ends of the earth.

So, today, as we watch the wind of God carry the seed of the gospel to where it is needed, we’ll see how grace advances – it spreads, it strengthens, and it sends.

I. Grace Spreads (vs. 19-21)

Humanly speaking, the persecution that erupted after Stephen’s death in Acts 8 looked like a disaster. Luke tells us that while the apostles remained in Jerusalem, many ordinary believers were forced to leave. They were scattered from the church they loved, driven from the city they called home. Brothers and sisters in Christ became refugees.

This was not like the Exodus of the OT, where God led His people out in power and promise. It was more like the exiles of Israel in the 8th and 5th centuries BC – painful, confusing, and unwanted expulsion. They left the city of God and searched for quieter, safer places just to survive. By every human measure, it was devastating.

But, was it a disaster from God’s point of view? Look at Acts 11:19. Some of these scattered believers travelled north as far as places called Phoenicia, Cyprus and Antioch. Phoenicia is in today’s Syria. Cyprus is an island about 100 kms off the cost. Antioch was a major city, about 500 to 550 km north of Jerusalem. These places were far from the centre of danger for the believers.

When they arrived, they did not stay silent. They spoke about Jesus; they shared the gospel; they scattered the seed of God’s grace. Because the treasure they had found was too great and precious to hold for themselves, they could not keep the gospel to themselves. Indeed, when someone truly knows the worth of Christ, silence is no longer possible – because grace overflows!

At first, most of them spoke only to Jews. That was natural; that was familiar. But in Antioch, something new happened. Some believers from Cyprus and Cyrene began speaking not only to Jews but also to Greeks, to non-Jews. Cyrene was in what is now Libya, in North Africa. These believers crossed a line that others had not crossed. Not because they had better theology at first – but because God was doing something bigger than they realised. And here is the outcome recorded in v. 21, “The hand of the Lord was with them and a great number who believed turned to the Lord.”

Here is the key lesson: What looked like disaster in human eyes was actually divine sowing. God took the seed of the gospel from Jerusalem and scattered it across the world. Some seed fell on Jewish soil; some fell on Gentile soil. But every seed was placed by the hand of a wise and sovereign God.

So, we can say this: grace crossed geographical and ethnic borders as Gentiles believed. To us in the 21st century, this sounds familiar because cross-cultural evangelism and mission take place almost daily. But it sounds familiar only because grace began crossing borders right here in Acts 11. And in time, that grace reached even us.

Up to this point in Acts, grace had remained mostly in Jerusalem and Judea, largely among Jews. But, in Acts 11, that changes. Grace steps outside its familiar boundaries. It crosses borders and reaches Gentiles in the city of Antioch. That is exactly what God was doing – sowing the seed of the gospel, overflowing His grace across the borders.

II. Grace Strengthens (vs. 22-24)

This news from Antioch reached the ears of the apostles and leaders in the Jerusalem church. They wanted to see for themselves what God was doing, so they sent a trusted delegate – Barnabas.

Now, Barnabas was not his birth name. His given name was Joseph. But the apostles gave him the nickname Barnabas because of his character and ministry. In Hebrew, it means ‘Son of Encouragement,’ and that’s exactly who Barnabas was. And Acts 11:24 adds this beautiful description: “he was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and of faith.”

Barnabas was exactly the right person for this mission. He was originally from Cyprus, one of the very places mentioned in v. 19. So, he understood the culture; he understood the people. He knew what it meant to live between Jewish and Gentile worlds. Sending Barnabas to Antioch was not just administrative, therefore – it was pastoral. It was God’s way of strengthening the young church, and Barnabas’ task was to encourage that church.

But, when Barnabas arrived in Antioch, he discovered something remarkable, something amazing. V. 23 says, “He saw the grace of God, and he was glad.” Grace was already at work; it was visible. It was shaping lives and building a church.

The book of Acts does not give us all the details, but we can hear echoes of Acts 2:42-47 here – I mean, the fascinating picture of the Spirit-filled early church in Jerusalem. In that church, believers devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, to fellowship, to prayer, to the life of Christ altogether. That is what Barnabas saw in the church at Antioch – grace at work, powerfully at work!

Here is the beautiful truth: God’s grace strengthened even Barnabas. The ‘Son of Encouragement’ was himself encouraged by grace. And that makes sense, doesn’t it? Grace naturally produces encouragement. When grace is experienced in a believer’s life, it becomes encouragement.

And the same grace that once built up the church in Jerusalem was now overflowing in Antioch, greatly encouraging the believers there. It enabled them to live devoted lives, sharing freely with one another. What a joy it must’ve been to see God’s grace overflowing and building them up in Christ!

Seeing all this, and rejoicing in the Spirit, Barnabas “exhorted them all to remain faithful to the Lord with steadfast purpose” (v. 23). Grace strengthens!

III. Grace Shapes And Sends (vs. 25-26)

Now, let us pause and ask this question, ‘Why Antioch?’ Why did God choose to sow the seed of the gospel among Greeks and non-Jews in Antioch, rather than in Saul’s hometown of Tarsus, or Alexandria in Egypt, or even Damascus – the city where Jesus first called Saul?

The answer lies partly in the history and character of Antioch. Founded around 300 BC by Seleucus Nicator, a general of Alexander the Great, Antioch became one of the most important cities of the Roman Empire in the 1st century. With a population of about half a million, it was the third-largest city in the empire, after Rome and Alexandria. It was a bustling commercial hub and cultural crossroads, home to a diverse population of Jews, Greeks, Orientals and Romans. It was the only city in the ancient world at that time that had its streets lighted at night. Yet, it was also a deeply immoral city, as someone described it as ‘perhaps second only to Corinth’ in terms of immorality.

And yet, God chose this city to sow His gospel. He poured out His grace among Jews and Gentiles alike and formed His church in the heart of a worldly city. Why? So that Antioch could become a launching pad for global mission – a church shaped intentionally for the spreading of the gospel to the ends of the earth. In essence, God was duplicating the Jerusalem church in a Gentile context, preparing it for world mission.

For this purpose, God had already prepared a suitable worker: Saul of Tarsus. Barnabas recognised Saul’s gifts and went to Tarsus in search of him. Tarsus was about 120-130 km from Antioch. Saul had been living quietly in Tarsus for seven or eight years after the threats to his life in Jerusalem (Acts 9:30). Finding him there in Tarsus, Barnabas brought him to Antioch, and together they taught the church for a whole year.

What was the fruit? V. 26 tells us: “The disciples were first called Christians in Antioch.” That name, ‘Christian,’ highlights their Christ-centred discipleship. Antioch became not just a church of believers, but a church of followers of Jesus, shaped and ready to be sent out with grace.

From this point on, the focus of Acts shifts from Jerusalem to Antioch, from the apostles to Paul, from local ministry to global mission. All of it flows from this one reality – grace crossed borders, grace strengthened the church, and grace shaped and sent the church.

Conclusion

So, when we look at the whole story, we see this – what began with frightened believers scattered by persecution became a Spirit-driven movement that reached the world. The gospel was not stopped by suffering – it was advanced by grace. God used ordinary believers, a city like Antioch, and a man like Barnabas. And God is still doing the same today.

Just as grace crossed borders in the lives of believers two thousand years ago, grace has crossed borders to reach each one of us. That same grace has strengthened us with encouragement in Christ Jesus. And now, what grace is doing in us is shaping us for the gospel and sending us out for the sake of others.

As in the 1st century, grace is crossing borders again – through us. It crosses cultural borders, relational borders, and even the borders of our own comfort, so that non-believers in every corner of this city and beyond may hear of Christ. Grace never stops when it lands; it always moves outward. And God, in His wisdom and delight, chooses to move His grace through His people – like you and me.

So, may God’s grace overflow in us – strengthen us, shape and send us – until the name of Christ is known, loved, and followed to the ends of the earth. ***