Missionaries Sent

[Acts 13:1] Now there were in the church that was at Antioch certain prophets and teachers; as Barnabas, and Simeon that was called Niger, and Lucius of Cyrene, and Manaen, which had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch, and Saul.
Prophets - It is sometimes used in the New Testament to denote simply religious teachers, instructors sent from G-d, without particular reference to future events. To teach the people in the doctrines of religion was a part of the prophetic office; and this idea only was sometimes denoted by the use of the word.
These prophets seem to have been endowed in a remarkable manner with the knowledge of future events; with the power of explaining mysteries; and in some cases with the power of speaking foreign languages. In this case, it seems that one of them at least had the power of foretelling future events.
Teachers - Teachers are several times mentioned in the New Testament as an order of ministers, 1 Corinthians 12:28,29; Ephesians 4:11; 2 Peter 2:11. Their precise rank and duty are not known. It is probable that those here mentioned as prophets were the same persons as the teachers. They might discharge both offices, predicting future events, and instructing the people.
As Barnabas - Barnabas was a preacher, 4:35, 36; 9:27; 11:22, 26; and it is not improbable that the names "prophets and teachers" here simply designate the preachers of the gospel.
Simeon that was called Niger - He was from Cyrene, on the North Coast of Africa.
We know from tradition and several Latin words in the Greek text that Mark was writing his Gospel to a largely Roman audience. So that can help connect Simeon’s son’s Rufus with the Rufus mentioned by Paul in Romans 16:13. We know from Romans 16:13 that Paul apparently knew Rufus’s mother.
Niger is a Latin name meaning black. It’s safe to say he was Jewish and may have been called “Black” simply because of his looks.
There are and long have been dark-skinned Jews. They are a minority, to be sure, but they mainly come from Africa.
There is a Simon of Cyrene mentioned in the Synoptic Gospels (Mk. 15:21) as the man who helped Y’Shua’s carry His cross. Simeon and Simon are alternate spellings of the same name.
If we check out Acts 11:19-21 we find that the church in Antioch, where we first met Niger, was founded by men from Cyprus and Cyrene. So here is another connection. Niger is not said to be from Cyrene in Acts 13, but he’s not said to be from anywhere, so Cyrene is a good possibility, considering he was a leader in a church founded by Cyrenians.
Simon of Cyrene became a believer in Y’Shua and his sons were well-known in the early church. He later traveled to Antioch and helped get the church there started. His wife and sons were with him. In Antioch he received the nickname Niger, “the black guy” for being a dark-skinned Jew. (People in Antioch like to give nicknames, but that would have to be another post.) He was later joined in Antioch by Paul (then Saul of Tarsus) and, later yet, John Mark, who both got to know and love him, his wife and sons.
Years later, after Simon’s/Niger’s death, his wife and son Rufus were living in Rome. They were prominent in the church there in part because of the unique role Simon played in the Gospel story. Writing to a Roman audience, Mark mentions Rufus and Alexander, because he and the Roman church knew them personally. Paul, writing to the Romans, greets Rufus and his mom for the same reason.
Lucius of Cyrene - Cyrene was in Africa. He is afterwards mentioned as with the apostle Paul when he wrote the Epistle to the Romans, 16:21. He is mentioned, in Rom. 16:21, as one of Paul's kinsmen.
And Manaen – Greek name for the Hebrew name Menahem, which means ‘consoler; He is further described as "the foster-brother (suntrophos) of Herod the tetrarch", He was probably brought up and educated with this Herod and his brother Archelaus. Manaen may have been related to the older Manaen, the Essene, who, Josephus tells us, foretold the greatness of Herod the Great, and was afterward treated by Herod as his friend. His position in the church at Antioch was evidently an influential one, whether he himself ranked among the "prophets," or perhaps only among the "teachers."
Which had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch - or, the foster brother of Herod Antipas, not Herod Agrippa. that is, Antipas, who was himself "brought up with a certain private person at Rome" says Josephus. How differently did these two foster brothers turn out--the one, abandoned to a licentious life and stained with the blood of the most distinguished of G-d's prophets, though not without his fits of reformation and seasons of remorse; the other, a devoted disciple of the Y’Shua and prophet of the Church at Antioch! But this is only what may be seen in every age: "Even so, Father, for so it seemed good in Thy sight.' If the courtier, whose son, at the point of death, was healed by our L-rd (John 4:46) was of Herod's establishment, while Susanna's husband was his steward (Lk. 8:3), his foster brother's becoming a Christian and a prophet is something remarkable.
Herod was tetrarch of Galilee, Luke 3:1. The word here translated, "which had been brought up" denotes one who is educated or nourished at the same time with another. It is not elsewhere used in the New Testament. He might have been connected with the royal family; and being nearly of the same age, was educated by the father of Herod Antipas with him. He was therefore a man of rank and education, and his conversion shows that the gospel was not confined entirely in its influence to the poor.
And Saul - is here mentioned among the "prophets and teachers." Showing that these words denote ministers of the gospel in general, without reference to any particular order or rank, henceforward this book is almost exclusively occupied with him; and his impress on the New Testament, on Christendom, and on the world is paramount.