Acts 11:29

Then the disciples, every man according to his ability, determined to send relief, &c.--This was the pure prompting of Christian love, which shone so bright in those earliest days of the Gospel.

In this chapter we have, I. Peter's necessary vindication of what he did in receiving Cornelius and his friends into the church, from the censure he lay under for it among the brethren, and their acquiescence in it (v. 1-18). II. The good success of the gospel at Antioch, and the parts adjacent (Act 11:19-21). III. The carrying on of the good work that was begun at Antioch, by the ministry of Barnabas first, and afterwards of Paul in conjunction with him, and the lasting name of Christian first given to the disciples there (Act 11:22-26). IV. A prediction of an approaching famine, and the contribution that was made among the Gentile converts for the relief of the poor saints in Judea, upon that occasion (Act 11:27-30).

11:29-30 The upshot of Agabus’s prophecy was that the believers in Antioch decided to make a contribution to the Jewish believers—the brothers and sisters—in Judea. The believers in Antioch gave as generously as they could and committed the responsibility for this financial aid to leaders they trusted, namely, to Barnabas and his fellow worker Saul. This unified love and support of Christians for one another was a tangible demonstration of the difference Christ had made in their lives. Paul describes this visit in his letter to the Galatians (Gal 2:1-10).