Today let’s read and talk briefly about Acts 11:19-21 together – here’s what it says:

Now those who had been scattered by the persecution that broke out when Stephen was killed traveled as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus, and Antioch, spreading the word only among Jews. Some of them, however, men from Cyprus and Cyrene, went to Antioch and began to speak to Greeks also, telling them the good news about the Lord Jesus. The Lord’s hand was with them, and a great number of people believed and turned to the Lord.

Acts 11:19-21

So just 12 years after the end of Jesus’ life, there was a thriving Jewish community in the north-Libyan coastal city of Cyrene, from which the Simon who carried Jesus’ cross came.

Remember Simon of Cyrene? He happened to be passing through Jerusalem on a business trip in April of 33 A.D. when some Roman soldiers grabbed him and forced him to carry Jesus’ cross from the Praetorium, through the streets of Jerusalem, and all the way up to the crucifixion mount of Golgotha.

This is his city! Cyrene is where he was from. And we know that the Jewish community there must have accepted Jesus as Messiah early, as evidenced by the fact that they are already sending out missionaries across the Mediterranean to Syria and to southern Turkey only about a decade after the end of Jesus’ life!

This is so cool – we read about all of this in the Book of Mark, in chapter 15 – Mark references the two sons of Simon of Cyrene, named Alexander and Rufus – these men were most likely known to Mark’s readers (he would’ve mentioned them to add credibility, like, “Hey, don’t just take my word for it – talk to Alexander and Rufus – you know them, and they can personally confirm everything I’ve told you!”) And, Mark himself was from the north-African coast as well – and so it was most likely Simon of Cyrene, and his two sons, Alexander and Rufus, who evangelized their city in north Africa, right after the death and Resurrection of Jesus!

Simon and his sons taught the Jews living in their city how Jesus from Nazareth was the long-awaited Savior sent from God. And now the Jewish believers in Cyrene have made that faith their own, to the point they are now sending missionaries as far as southern Turkey to tell others the Good News of God’s salvation through Jesus. It’s amazing!

Now this is a really fascinating aspect of the history here: the Christian Jews who came from Cyrene were most likely “diaspora Jews” – this means they were not multi-generational Cyrenians. These were Jews who had fled from the persecution that had broken out in Jerusalem just a few years before.

That means they would have been native speakers of the Greek language, and therefore naturally able to communicate the Gospel to the Greeks who lived up in Syria and Turkey.

Y’all – never underestimate God‘s ability to utilize the bad things that happen in our lives in order to accomplish His good, Kingdom purposes on the Earth! God does not cause the evil that happens in the world, but He can and will certianly turn it for good!

Remember what Joseph said to his brothers in Genesis chapter 50, after his brothers had sold him into slavery years before? God didn’t cause this to happen to him, but He sure used it for good. Joseph said,

“You all intended to harm me, but God intended it for good, in order to accomplish what is now being done: the saving of many lives.”

Genesis 50:20

Y’all, the Jewish diaspora was horrible! Imagine if Christianity became so illegal in our region that the authorities were hunting us down, and we either had to flee to another country or risk imprisonment, or torture, or execution for our faith… The diaspora was an absolute nightmare!

And God didn’t cause it, but He sure did turn it for good. This is just one example – just one example of how God leverages the evils of mankind to somehow work good out of it:

These Christ-following Jews, who had originally been from Judea – they had fled from persecution a few years before, they had evangelized their new city in the Name of Jesus, and they were native speakers of the Greek language. So these people were the perfect candidates to travel to another Roman empirical city across the Mediterranean, and preach the Gospel to Greek-speaking Romans living there!

Brothers and Sisters, surrender every part of your life to God – both the good and the evil – and invite Him to work His good out of every situation and circumstance – and even consequence! – we face in our lives!