Now there were in the church that was at Antioch certain prophets and teachers; as Barnabas, and Simeon that was called Niger, and Lucius of Cyrene, and Manaen, which had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch, and Saul.
Antioch was a major city in what is now southern Turkey, and it had become one of the most vibrant early Christian communities outside of Jerusalem. This verse introduces the leadership team of that church just before a pivotal moment: the commissioning of Barnabas and Saul — later known as Paul — for the first organized missionary journey. What's remarkable about this list is its diversity. Barnabas was from the island of Cyprus. Simeon, nicknamed "Niger" — a Latin word meaning "black" — was likely of African descent. Lucius came from Cyrene, a city in modern-day Libya. Manaen had been raised alongside Herod Antipas, the ruler who had John the Baptist executed, meaning he came from the highest levels of political power. And Saul was a former persecutor of Christians turned missionary. This was not a homogenous group.
Lord, you built your church out of improbable people — different countries, different pasts, different everything. Forgive me for how small and familiar I let my world stay. Widen my table. Show me who I'm missing. Amen.
A man raised in Herod's palace, sitting across from someone who likely crossed the Mediterranean from North Africa, both of them leading a church alongside a former zealot who used to arrest believers for sport. This is the team God chose to launch the first missionary movement into the wider world. It's almost absurd — and it's clearly intentional. Luke, who wrote Acts, didn't have to name all five of them. He could have simply said "the leaders at Antioch." But he named them — their nicknames, their hometowns, their complicated histories. That specificity suggests something: God doesn't build his work through frictionless, interchangeable people. He builds it through actual human beings with actual stories, actual differences, and probably actual disagreements around the table. The church at Antioch didn't just tolerate its diversity; it seems to have been the very thing that made it credible to a watching world. It's worth asking honestly what you might be missing because your own circle has gotten a little too comfortable.
Why do you think Luke took the time to name all five leaders and their backgrounds — what might he have wanted his readers to notice about this community?
Manaen came from Herod's royal household — one of the most corrupt institutions of his day. What does his presence in church leadership suggest to you about who God calls and uses?
The church at Antioch was one of the most ethnically and socially diverse in the early Christian movement. How diverse is your own faith community — and does that gap trouble you, or not?
If you were part of a leadership team as different as these five, what would be the hardest part for you personally — and what might you uniquely bring to it?
Is there a specific person in your life whose background or perspective differs sharply from yours, and from whom you could deliberately seek to learn something this week?
Or I only and Barnabas, have not we power to forbear working?
1 Corinthians 9:6
And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever.
Daniel 12:3
And as they came out, they found a man of Cyrene, Simon by name: him they compelled to bear his cross.
Matthew 27:32
Or ministry, let us wait on our ministering: or he that teacheth, on teaching;
Romans 12:7
Now in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, Pontius Pilate being governor of Judaea, and Herod being tetrarch of Galilee, and his brother Philip tetrarch of Ituraea and of the region of Trachonitis, and Lysanias the tetrarch of Abilene,
Luke 3:1
And Jesus said unto them, Can the children of the bridechamber mourn, as long as the bridegroom is with them? but the days will come, when the bridegroom shall be taken from them, and then shall they fast.
Matthew 9:15
And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;
Ephesians 4:11
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.
Acts 8:1
Now in the church at Antioch there were prophets [who spoke a new message of God to the people] and teachers: Barnabas, Simeon who was called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen who had been brought up with Herod [Antipas] the tetrarch, and Saul.
AMP
Now there were in the church at Antioch prophets and teachers, Barnabas, Simeon who was called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen a lifelong friend of Herod the tetrarch, and Saul.
ESV
Now there were at Antioch, in the church that was [there], prophets and teachers: Barnabas, and Simeon who was called Niger, and Lucius of Cyrene, and Manaen who had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch, and Saul.
NASB
Barnabas and Saul Sent Off In the church at Antioch there were prophets and teachers: Barnabas, Simeon called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen (who had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch) and Saul.
NIV
Now in the church that was at Antioch there were certain prophets and teachers: Barnabas, Simeon who was called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen who had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch, and Saul.
NKJV
Among the prophets and teachers of the church at Antioch of Syria were Barnabas, Simeon (called “the black man” ), Lucius (from Cyrene), Manaen (the childhood companion of King Herod Antipas ), and Saul.
NLT
The congregation in Antioch was blessed with a number of prophet-preachers and teachers: Barnabas, Simon, nicknamed Niger, Lucius the Cyrenian, Manaen, an advisor to the ruler Herod, Saul.
MSG