Acts 14:27-28 27And after they arrived and gathered the church together, they reported all that God had done with them, and how he had opened a door of faith to the Gentiles. 28And they remained no little time with the disciples.
Once Paul and Barnabas arrived in Antioch, they called for an assembly. The use of the word church in verse 27 could refer to all the believers scattered around Antioch who met in homes. There was no one gathering every week for all the Christians together because their numbers had grown, and they obviously could not fit in one house. How this gathering took place can only be imagined, but it represented the believers in the city.
Luke records two major reasons why Paul and Barnabas returned to Antioch. First, they recounted the details and stories of their travels and experiences. These included what Luke wrote about and much more, since it was their own experiences. It is important for the home church to be inspired by the stories of God’s grace, guidance, and protection. The listeners would be encouraged to stand strong and be faithful in their own struggles and challenges. It is always inspiring to hear the true stories of the experiences of missionaries when they return to their home country or their sending church.
Second, Paul and Barnabas recounted how the Gentiles believed in the gospel. This last point becomes a major topic, question, and controversy in chapter 15. The church in Antioch had set the example for this outreach, so this must have been good news to them because of their global vision. One of the reasons Paul, Barnabas, and John Mark had left in 13:2 was to spread the gospel to new areas in the Gentile world.
Verse 28 gives a final summary of the first major missionary journey in the early church. The mission was a great success because of God’s presence and guidance at each step. Paul and Barnabas had learned many things in their journey. They had returned to their home base, likely returning to their positions of preaching and teaching the people for no little time, perhaps for many months.