April 1, 2026 – Responding to a Need — Acts #37
Acts. 11:27-30

Acts 11:27-30   Now in these days prophets came down from Jerusalem to Antioch. And one of them named Agabus stood up and foretold by the Spirit that there would be a great famine over all the world (this took place in the days of Claudius). So the disciples determined, every one according to his ability, to send relief to the brothers living in Judea. And they did so, sending it to the elders by the hand of Barnabas and Saul.

The Bible contains many historical references.  In a way, it is a history.  It is not written as a history of a certain country or region, but a history of how God is redeeming his creation from the effects of sin and death.  But it is not written in a historical vacuum.  There is substantial external historical evidence that corroborates the Bible’s historical truth.   

You may find historians who say the Bible is historically inaccurate.  They often say that we have no historical evidence for certain events of the Bible.  They often say that because they haven’t found evidence for something in the Bible, it didn’t happen.  Historians said for a long time that there was no evidence for a King David in Israel, or Belshazzar in Babylon, or a whole people group called the Hittites…that is, until they later found evidence for all of these.  But that doesn’t stop them from continuing the same argument, that if I don’t have evidence for it, then it never existed.  Using that reasoning, on most days, my wife’s cell phone and my car keys never existed.

But this is one of those places where the New Testament aligns remarkably well with extra-biblical sources: the famine discussed in Acts 11 occurred during the reign of Emperor Claudius, around 46-48 AD.  

The historian Josephus, in Antiquities of the Jews (Book XX, 2.5; 5.2), notes “a famine did oppress them at that time, and many people died for want of what was necessary to procure food.”  He also said that Queen Helena of Adiabene, a convert to Judaism, provided crucial relief by importing food to Jerusalem.  She purchased grain from Egypt and figs from Cyprus to send.  And her son, Izates, also sent large sums of money to the leaders of Jerusalem to aid the suffering.  Other historians also mentioned the famine in their works:  Tacitus, in Annals XII, Suetonius, and Dion Cassius.  

The famine was caused by unusual weather in the Middle East.  At that time, as it had for 1000s of years, Egypt served as the world’s breadbasket.  The annual flooding of the Nile, which brought water for irrigation and rich silt, ensured a harvest almost every year.  But in the mid-40s AD, there was so much rainfall that the Nile rose much higher than usual, leaving much of the farmland underwater.  So several years of decreased production affected much of the Roman Empire.  Oddly, it was coupled with a drought in much of the Middle East, which also greatly reduced crops there.

Israel was most affected by the famine for two reasons.  First, they were normally exporters of grain, so they lacked an effective import mechanism and struggled to establish one during the shortage.  Secondly, as with any shortage, food prices rise, and the poor suffer the most.   Israel had a very high percentage of the population living in poverty.

God saw that Israel’s population would starve, so he sent a prophet, Agabus, to urge the people to prepare resources in advance.  God has compassion on the poor. We look at this passage and may be impressed that the prophet predicted the famine.  But what is most striking is not just that a famine was predicted, but how the followers of Jesus respond.  They take the need seriously.  

“The disciples, each according to his ability, decided to send relief…”

Notice that there is no debate about whether the prophecy is valid.   There is no discussion of whether they can afford to help, given the many needs in their city.  And there is no assumption that “someone else” will handle it.   The church sees a need and hurries to fill it.  They treat future suffering as a present responsibility. This reflects a deep trust in God’s word and a compassion for others.

They Give Proportionally and Personally.  “Each according to his ability…”. This is not equal giving—it is equitable giving. All can give, even the poor can give.  Jesus was clear that we should not celebrate the size of the gift but the size of the sacrifice.  We see this same idea in the Old Testament.

Deuteronomy 16:16-17   Three times a year, all your males shall appear before the LORD your God at the place that he will choose: at the Feast of Unleavened Bread, at the Feast of Weeks, and at the Feast of Booths. They shall not appear before the LORD empty-handed. Every man shall give as he is able, according to the blessing of the LORD your God that he has given you.

Here, Moses is discussing the 3 required feasts, during which all were supposed to go to the temple in Jerusalem.  They should not go empty-handed.    Everyone should bring an offering as he is able.  This anticipates Paul the Apostle’s later teaching in passages like 2 Corinthians 8–9: generosity is not about equal amounts but about equal sacrifice and willingness.

Their giving crossed cultural and geographic boundaries.  Remember that the followers in Antioch are a mixture of Gentile and Jewish believers in Jesus.  They don’t hesitate to support the 100% Jewish congregation.  As we discussed last week, they don’t see any difference between Jew and Gentile in Jesus.  The Gentiles there realize that they have been grafted into the promises God gave through Abraham and his descendants.  The Jews were God’s original chosen people, and we have been joined with them through adoption.  And now we can share in the promises God gave through our father Abraham.

Now, let me show you a similar situation in Paul’s letter to the followers of Jesus in Corinth:

2 Corinthians 8:1-4   We want you to know, brothers, about the grace of God that has been given among the churches of Macedonia, for in a severe test of affliction, their abundance of joy and their extreme poverty have overflowed in a wealth of generosity on their part. For they gave according to their means, as I can testify, and beyond their means, of their own accord, begging us earnestly for the favor of taking part in the relief of the saints

Paul says I want you to hear the story of how God has given grace to the churches of Macedonia.  And here is how God gives grace: “in a severe test of affliction, their abundance of joy and their extreme poverty have overflowed in a wealth of generosity on their part.”  These Macedonian followers were being severely persecuted for their faith to the point that they could not work or operate any business.  They were economically and socially cut off because of their faith.  Reduced to living in the poverty of a beggar.  Would you look at them and say God has given them grace?   

We need to understand this.  My wise missionary friend Bob Hunt, looking at a family that has suffered the loss of their child, said,  “They will know grace as I have never known grace.”  He was saying that this family was broken over the death of their child.  They were walking in a valley of sorrow so deep that they could not rely on themselves to walk through it.  Suffering like this reduces you to a point where you have to depend on God to take that next step.

When you are broken, you are more receptive to God.   But more than that, when you are broken, God comes rushing to you.  I want to build on something I mentioned in an Easter Sunrise Service.  There, I looked at whom Jesus appeared to after his resurrection.  The first person he appeared to?  Not Peter nor John, who were both there at the tomb and left, but to Mary Magdalene.  Why her?  Because she was brokenhearted, sobbing at the tomb.  God is drawn to the broken.  And Brother Bob knew that God would be rushing to the side of this family because of their brokenness. 

And these followers in Macedonia were hurting, barely finding food for the day, destitute.  People who had come to this point because they followed Jesus.  And God ran to these broken people, and that is grace.  Grace poured out on them so that in their broken, destitute state, they found joy.   And their joy overflowed in a wealth of generosity.  So when you are broken, look up, look for Jesus; He is coming running towards you in your brokenness.

And how did they respond to the need?  “For they gave according to their means, as I can testify, and beyond their means, of their own accord, begging us earnestly for the favor of taking part in the relief of the saints.”  Like the people in Antioch, they gave according to their means.  And like the widow with her small coins, they gave beyond their means.  These are people as poor as beggars, and what does the scripture say they are begging for?  

2 Corinthians 8:4  “begging us earnestly for the favor of taking part in the relief of the saints.”

In their extreme poverty, they are begging for the chance to help someone else in need.  They understood grace.  They had received grace from God.   Now they are eager to give grace to others.  Do you want to know how to really understand grace?   Now, by reading about it, not by studying it in books, but by receiving it yourself, and even more by dispensing grace to others.    To really understand grace, you must receive grace, and you must give grace.

Finally,  in this passage in Acts 11, we see a powerful model for how the church responds to global need.  Today, we might not have Agabus, or some other prophet, but we do have many forms of information – We have instant Global awareness of crises (famine, war, disaster).  We have immediate knowledge of suffering across the world.   So, usually the question is not  “Do we know about the need?” But the question is, “How will we respond?”

I bet that you can quote the first verse of Psalm 23.

Psalm 23:1 “The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.

God has supplied all of our needs.  God has given us everything.  He is our creator and sustainer.  He gives us life.  He gives us breath today.  Every heartbeat is a gift from God.  The world we live in, the food we eat, our friends, our family.  Everything is from the Father.  He gives us freely out of his love and compassion for us.  You have heard the apostle Paul’s restatement of this verse from Psalm 23:

Philippians 4:19   And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.

The context for the verse is that it falls right after Paul commends the church at Philippi for their generosity in supporting him.  And there is the connection.   God, in his compassion towards them, has supplied all their needs.  They, in turn, have compassion on others and supply their needs. Anything we share with others, we have only because he first gave it to us.

When King David was collecting money and items to build the first temple, people overwhelmed him with their gifts.   He had to tell them to stop contributing, for they had more than they could use.  And David praised God for blessing them so that they could give generously:

1 Chronicles 29:14   Everything comes from you, and we have given you only what comes from your hand.

Anything we give comes from His hand to us.  And it is His love in us, His heart of compassion within us, that drives us to that same love and compassion for others. And if the spirit of God dwells in us, if we are filled with God’s love, then we will respond out of that same love towards others we see who have needs.

1 John 3:16-18 “ By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers. But if anyone has the world’s goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God’s love abide in him?  Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth.

Love is an action, not a thought.  If there are no actions, there is no love.  But there is a problem.  There are so many in need around us.  Practically speaking, how do we respond to the needs around us?  Working with the homeless ministry, or just walking down a city street, you see more needs than you have the ability to meet.  We can’t help everyone.   So how do you determine whom to help? 

Perhaps you just use your best judgment?  Just use common sense.  Maybe just meet the needs closest to home first?  That’s just common sense, right?  What if we only help the people who deserve the help?  I mean, some of them got themselves into this bad situation.  It is their own fault.  They made their bed; now they have to sleep in it.

No!  That is not the right way.   The minute we appoint ourselves as judges deciding which needs we meet, we have made the same mistake Adam and Eve made.  That fruit on the tree seemed right to them.  But it was not their judgment to make.  It was God’s call.  He decides what is right or wrong, what is good or bad,

And we certainly have no right to judge if anyone is worthy of our help.  How could we think this way?   Remember, everything we give we got from God’s hand.   Go ahead and try to tell me that you deserved God’s help.  God reached out to help us despite our unworthiness.   If He only gave to those who deserved it, then we all would have nothing.   If we are His children, we act the same way.  We give to others out of grace and compassion, not out of judgment of who deserves it.

So how do you handle this?  Here is the rule in our family: when we see a need, and we have the ability to help, unless God tells us not to, we help. That is our default action.   And God sometimes tells us, “not this one” or “not today.” But if we do not feel him speaking “No” to us, then our answer is “yes.” It is up to us to grow close to God so that we will hear His voice when he speaks. So we will know His will.  The needs are so great.

 But the fact that we can’t help everyone is not an excuse to help no one.   I have told this story before, but here it is again:

A man was walking on the beach early one morning.  He was the only one out that early, except for a boy he could see far in the distance.  As he walked further, he saw the little boy throwing something into the ocean.  As he got closer, he saw that the tide had washed up thousands of starfish on the beach.  They were drying out in the morning sun, but the little boy threw one after another back into the water.  The man said, “Hey, kid, there are thousands of starfish washed up.  Stop wasting your time.   You can’t possibly make a difference.  The little boy picked up another starfish and threw it as far as he could into the ocean, and then replied to the man, “It made a difference to that one.”

We can’t just be overwhelmed by the amount of trouble and needs in the world and do nothing.  We must do something, trusting that God will honor our actions and enable others to meet the needs we cannot.  Ask God to break your heart with the things that break His heart.    Then we will be moved to act in accordance with God’s plans in the world.  Compassion always leads to action.  And that will be the way God judges us one day, on the final, final exam:

Matthew 25:31-46  When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left.
Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty, and you gave me drink, I was a stranger, and you welcomed me, I was naked, and you clothed me, I was sick, and you visited me, I was in prison, and you came to me.’
Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’
Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.’
Then they also will answer, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to you?’ Then he will answer them, saying, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.’ And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.

Helping others and meeting needs comes from a heart of compassion.  And God has given us a heart like His.  Do you remember in Exodus when God gives his character description to Moses?  Here is how God describes himself:

Exodus 34:6-7    Yehovah, Yehovah, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty,”

When we display these characteristics in our lives, we are acting like our Father. He wants us to be a chip of the old block, for we were created in His image, to be His image bearers.  Do you want to make God smile?  Go out of your way to show compassion to someone in need.  And God will say, “That’s my boy!”  Or “Did you see that? She is my girl.”  Your heavenly Father will be so proud of you.  And one day he will say Well done, my good and faithful servant.