Where did the Jewish believers go when they fled from Saul's persecution?
The Jewish believers who fled Jerusalem because of Saul's persecution went as far as Antioch, in what was then Syria, at the upper corner of the Mediterranean Sea. At Antioch, God began generating Gentile interest, and the Jerusalem church later sent Barnabas to investigate.
Les explains that in chapter 11 many Jewish believers had been chased out of Jerusalem by Saul's horrible persecution, and they got as far as Antioch. He pictures Antioch 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, unlike earlier chapters of Acts where Gentiles were not coming and asking about the God of Israel. When the Jerusalem church heard this, they got shook up and sent Barnabas up to check out what was going on.