1, 2. What is unique about the journey that Barnabas and Saul are about to make, and how will their work help fulfill Acts 1:8?

IT IS an exciting day for the Antioch congregation. Of all the prophets and teachers here, Barnabas and Saul have been chosen by holy spirit to take the good news to faraway places.a (Acts 13:1, 2) True, qualified men have been sent out before. In the past, though, missionaries had journeyed to areas where Christianity had already taken root. (Acts 8:14; 11:22) This time, Barnabas and Saul​—along with John Mark, who will serve as an attendant—​will be sent to lands where people are largely unfamiliar with the good news.

² Some 14 years earlier, Jesus had said to his followers: “You will be witnesses of me in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the most distant part of the earth.” (Acts 1:8) The appointment of Barnabas and Saul to serve as missionaries will spur on the fulfillment of Jesus’ prophetic words!b

4. (a) What directed the choosing of Barnabas and Saul, and how did fellow believers react to the appointment? (b) How can we give support to those who receive theocratic assignments?

⁴ But why did the holy spirit specifically direct that Barnabas and Saul be “set aside . . . for the work”? (Acts 13:2) The Bible does not say. We do know that the holy spirit directed the choosing of these men. There is no indication that the prophets and teachers in Antioch contested the decision. Instead, they fully supported the appointment. Imagine how Barnabas and Saul must have felt as their spiritual brothers, without envy, fasted and prayed and “laid their hands on them and sent them off.” (Acts 13:3) We too should support those who receive theocratic assignments, including men appointed as congregation overseers. Rather than being envious of those who receive such privileges, we should “give them extraordinary consideration in love because of their work.”​—1 Thess. 5:13.