³⁰So when they were sent away, they went down to Antioch; and having gathered the congregation together, they delivered the letter. ³¹When they had read it, they rejoiced because of its encouragement. ³²Judas and Silas, also being prophets themselves, encouraged and strengthened the brethren with a lengthy message. ³³After they had spent time there, they were sent away from the brethren in peace to those who had sent them out. ³⁴But it seemed good to Silas to remain there. ³⁵But Paul and Barnabas stayed in Antioch, teaching and preaching with many others also, the word of the Lord.

The team of four (apparently with some others) were sent out from the Jerusalem Council of apostles and elders with full authorization to represent their decision in letter and in spoken word. The report was received in Antioch with great rejoicing, for it had overridden the earlier false representation of the Judaizers. The two leading men from the council, Judas and Silas, saw this report as more than ecclesiastical formality; being prophets themselves, they focused on encouraging and building up the believers there in Antioch. The Jewish believers were not merely resigning or reluctantly accepting the decision but fully embracing the new Gentile believers and desiring their spiritual well-being.

Of the commissioned group from Jerusalem, Judas and some of the others (“they”) returned, but Silas remained in Antioch along with Paul and Barnabas. This sets the stage for the second mission tour and the similar conditions that led to sending out Paul and his new team.

We pause to notice the emphasis on teaching and encouragement. Barnabas, Judas, and Silas had ministries of encouragement; Luke takes pains to point this out. Such is needed for strengthening faith. Even the English word used by translators, “encouragement,” carries a sense of “to add courage.” Faith needs to be fanned, strengthened, or it can easily die out. It is one thing to see numerical growth in churches through effective evangelism, but the roots of faith must also grow deep in order to withstand the winds that will blow down shallow-rooted faith. The first test of this was the false teaching that circumcision and keeping the Law of Moses is required to be saved. We can infer that the encouragement and strengthening in the Antioch church effectively countered that error.

Paul and Barnabas continued in their teaching and preaching ministry, which seems to have been contagious as others also joined them. As they prepared to move out from Antioch, they didn’t want to leave this “sending” church bereft of sound teaching of the Word that would carry on after they left.

Lord, I commit myself to the study of Your Word for strengthening of my faith.