Why did Barnabas think Saul was the one who needed to come to Antioch?
Barnabas believed Saul was the needed man because God had revealed it to him, and Saul possessed the message for Gentiles. At Antioch, God was opening Gentile hearts and doors, so Saul’s gospel message suited the new Gentile work that was beginning there.
Les teaches that Barnabas told Saul things were happening at Antioch and that God had revealed to him that Saul was the man they had to have—the one with the message now for the Gentiles. God had opened their hearts and was opening the door, and it was evident God was going to move out into the Gentile world. Barnabas then brought Saul to Antioch, where for a whole year they assembled with the church and taught many people. Les points out that the disciples were first called Christians in Antioch, not Jerusalem; the Jerusalem church had held forth for twelve years, yet the Bible never calls those Jewish believers Christians. They were under the Judaistic umbrella and had only believed Jesus was the Messiah of Israel, whereas these believers at Antioch accepted Paul’s Gospel—that He had died for them, His blood was shed for their sin, and He had been raised from the dead. Les explains that Antioch was being presented with Paul’s Gospel, which was different from everything before, a secret held in the mind of God until it was revealed that He would do something totally different.