Why did the Jewish believers go to Antioch?
They went to Antioch as a result of fleeing Jerusalem because of Saul's horrible persecution. They traveled as far as Antioch, located in Syria at the upper corner of the Mediterranean Sea. There, God began to generate interest among Gentiles for the first time.
Les explains that in Acts chapter 11, many Jewish believers had been chased out of Jerusalem by virtue of Saul's horrible persecution. They got as far as Antioch, which is pictured at the upper corner of the Mediterranean Sea, up in what is then Syria. There, God began to generate interest among Gentiles for the first time. Gentiles were getting interested, and when the Jerusalem church heard that, they got shook up and sent Barnabas up to check it out.