INTRODUCTION TO ACTS 13
The first seven chapters of this book might be
entitled, The Church among the Jews; the next five (chapters eight
through twelve), The Church in Transition from Jews to Gentiles; and
the last sixteen (chapters thirteen through twenty-eight), The Church
among the Gentiles [BAUMGARTEN]. "Though Christianity had already
spread beyond the limits of Palestine, still the Church continued a stranger
to formal missionary effort. [2]
Casual occurrences, particularly the persecution at
Jerusalem ( Acts 8:2 ), had hitherto
brought about the diffusion of the Gospel. It was from Antioch that teachers
were first sent forth with the definite purpose of spreading Christianity, and
organizing churches, with regular institutions ( Acts 14:23 )"
[OLSHAUSEN]. [2]
The Holy Spirit Commissions Barnabas and Saul, 13:1-3
1 Now there were at Antioch, in the church that was there, prophets and teachers: Barnabas, and Simeon who was called Niger, and Lucius of Cyrene, and Manaen who had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch, and Saul.
This verse implies there were already prophets and
teachers already in the Antioch church.
However if we were to cross reference this verse with Acts 11:27 which states some
prophets came from Jerusalem, we would see that it was these men listed in this
verse who were the prophets and teachers.
2 While they were ministering to the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.”
The word Lord is used here to as Jesus now being
worshiped by His believers as Lord and God.
They were identified in the previous verse as those who
accompanied Barnabas and Saul.
The word ministering here probably means performance of some priestly duties.
Fasting was not done as a ritualistic practice but
rather a means to purify the body and spirit in preparation for a divine
message or commission refer to Acts 13:3.
The Holy Spirit identified Barnabas and Saul to be
missionaries to be sanctified (set apart)
Whether or not a voice was heard by all or just by one
or more of the prophets identified in verse one.
we are not told here all we know for cretin is the Holy Spirit spoke.
Note.--While the personality of the Holy
Ghost is manifest from this language, His supreme divinity will appear equally so by comparing it with Hebrews 5:4. [2]
3 Then, when they had fasted and prayed and laid their hands on them they sent them away.
The laying on of hands served to anoint Barnabas and
Saul to there new commission. (see also Acts
6:6)
Although not stated here I believe when hands were laid
on it also served to unite
the
church behind the mission given to Barnabas and Saul.
In verses 4 through 12 we will look at the mission of
Barnabas and Saul.
The missionaries go to *Cyprus, 13:4-12
4 So, being sent out by the Holy Spirit, they went down to Seleucia and from there they sailed to Cyprus.
The island of Cyprus was the home of Barnabas.
Barnabas was undoubtedly he was
able to show Paul (Saul) around the island.
He knew people on the island, and could introduce
Saul to them (breaking
the
ice).
5 When they reached Salamis, they began to proclaim the word of God in the synagogues of the Jews; and they also had John as their helper
Salamis the Grecian capital of the island, located on
the Eastern side not far from Seleucia.
Notice how Luke stated there were Synagogues (plural) in Grecian
As a very busy mercantile port many Jews settled there,
requiring more than one place to worship.
6 When they had gone through the whole island as far as Paphos, they found a magician a Jewish false prophet whose name was Bar-Jesus, 7 who was with the proconsul, Sergius Paulus, a man of Intelligence. This man summoned Barnabas and Saul and sought to hear the word of God.
Paphos the capital of Cypurs is located on the west side of the Island of about a hundred miles by
land.
This Sorcerer was an impostor pretending to be a prophet while deceiving the people by his magic.
This name was reserved for the governors of settled
provinces, which were placed under the Roman Senate, and is never given in the
New Testament to Pilate, Felix, or Festus, who were but procurators, or subordinate
administrators of unsettled, imperial, military provinces. [2]
8 But Elymas [Bar-Jesus] the magician (for so his name is translated) was opposing them, seeking to turn the proconsul away from the faith.
The name Elymas means “the wise”.
The proconsul was obviously seeking spiritual
fulfillment not being satisfied with the status quo.
We all have a spiritual need even the atheist have a
spiritual need they just won’t admit it.
Elymas did not want to take the chance in losing his influence with
the proconsul and tried to steer him away from hearing the good news.
9 But Saul, who was also known as Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, fixed his gaze on him, 10 and said, “You who are full of all deceit and fraud, you son of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness, will you not cease to make crooked the straight ways of the Lord?
Often times the Jews would take a second name from Greek
or Rome in Saul‘s case it was a Roman name.
Elyumas was took the name Bar-Jesus meaning son of Jesus
With this rebuke by Paul; Barnabas begins to sink into the background while Paul
takes a more prominent role as missionary to the Gentile.
We can only imagine what Paul’s piercing gaze must have
been like with the fire of the Holy Spirit working through him.
Using the words “deceit” and “fraud” points to this mans
use of magic to fool and astound people.
11 “Now, behold, the hand of the Lord is upon you, and you will be blind and not see the sun for a time.” And immediately a mist and a darkness fell upon him, and he went about seeking those who would lead him by the hand.
Saul himself was struck blind the end result being
repentance.
Perhaps the Lord struck Elymas not so much for
punishment but rather as a chance for this man to repent and see as Paul himself did.
12 Then the proconsul believed when he saw what had happened, being amazed at the teaching of the Lord.
As a result of Elymas being blinded the proconsul saw the power of the Lord
and was amazed at the authority by which Paul called upon the Lord.
We are not told whether Elymas did repent or not
the important thing to remember even as wicked as this man was he was given the
chance to repent.
The proconsul saw the wonder but Paul and Barnabas
preached the good news him before he truly believed.
The door was opened through Elymas becoming blind but
it took the witness of Paul and Barnabas to bring the proconsul to his knees.
Paul and Barnabas go to Pisidian
Antioch, 13:13-15
13 Now Paul and his companions put out to sea from Paphos and came to Perga in Pamphylia; but John left them and returned to Jerusalem.
The distance from Paphos to Attalia, on the Gulf of Pamphylia in a northwest direction, is not much greater than from
Seleucia to Salamis on the east. Perga was the metropolis of Pamphylia, on the river Cestrus, and about seven
miles inland from Attalia. [2]
The John referred to here is John Mark.
In Acts 15:38 leads us to believe that may have been a
falling out and this is the reason John left to return to Jerusalem.
Perhaps John left because of illness or perhaps because
of jealously that Paul was becoming more important. We can only speculate at this point.
14 But going on from Perga, they arrived at Pisidian Antioch, and on the Sabbath day they went into the synagogue and sat down.
This was a very long and physically demanding journey.
There were many physical barriers such as mountains and perilous rivers as well as
robbers. See also what Paul writes in 2 Corinthians
11:26
15 After the reading of the Law and the Prophets the synagogue officials sent to them, saying, “Brethren, if you have any word of exhortation for the people, say it.”
“On the *Sabbath, people went to the
*synagogue. There, they heard someone read the *scriptures. Readers read twice,
from two different parts of the scriptures. First, they read from the books
that contain the *Law. Then, they read from the books that contain the
*prophets’ messages. After that, someone would explain what those *scriptures
meant. The leaders of this *synagogue invited the *missionaries to do this.
Perhaps they saw that Paul was wearing a *rabbi’s clothes. This is the first
time that Luke records a public speech by Paul.” [3]
16 Paul stood up, and motioning with his hand said, “Men of Israel, and you who fear God, listen:
This action of motioning with the had was a custom used
by persons whishing to speak.
Look also at Acts 12:17
This is similar to the raising of the hand to speak in
today’s classroom environment.
Notice how Peter first addressed the Jews then to the
God fearers as though they were two separate groups of people.
We have previously learned from our classroom discussion
to fear God is to hold Him in reverence and to acknowledge His supreme
authority in all things.
17 “The God of this people Israel our fathers and made the people great during their stay in the land of Egypt, and with an uplifted arm He led them out from it.
Peter is reminding all who were there how God had chosen
a man to lead Israel from bondage.
It was God who made Israel great in Egypt.
18 “For a period of about forty years He put up with them in the wilderness.
The people of Israel failed to obey God and He delayed
there promised inheritance.
19 “When He had destroyed seven nations in the land of Canaan, He distributed their land as an inheritance—all of which took about four hundred and fifty years. 20 “After these things He gave them judges until Samuel the prophet. “
We do not know why God took so long to prepare the
promise land only that scripture states it was about 450 years.
This brings to mind prayer. We as Christians pray expecting an immediate
answer. Often times Gods answer is NOT
NOW.
Judges were named to adjudicate differences that arose
between the people on many different matters such as property disputes.
21 “Then they asked for a king, and God gave them Saul the son of Kish, a man of the tribe of Benjamin, for forty years.
Israel demanded to have a king not realizing that they
already had a king.
God was their King but they wanted a fallible human king
like other nations.
God gave them Saul as king.
According to the historian Josephus Saul served as king
for 40 years.
22 “After He had removed him, He raised up David to be their king, concerning whom He also testified and said, ‘I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after My heart, who will do all My will.’
Here we see where God removed Saul from the thrown.
God puts leaders in place and He also removes leaders
who do not or will not obey Him.
We know through history that power corrupts people both
Saul and David were not exempted from this adage.
We have seen numerous people ascend to places of
authority receiving
much notoriety; only to be consumed
by authority
and notoriety resulting in not obeying God and subsequently
began to
fall into sin, becoming
arrogant
and believing
they are
above the law. An out of control death
spiral. I am certain we all could all name people
today who think they are above the law.
23 “From the descendants of this man, according to promise, God has brought to Israel a Savior, Jesus, 24 after John had proclaimed before His coming a baptism of repentance to all the people of Israel.
Jesus was, and is, a king in His own right. He and did not need to be
born of royal lineage to be king.
However this was to fulfill the prophesies which said
“from the seed of David a Savior will be born.”
We read about the repentance baptism for the forgiveness
of sin in Mark 1:4; Luke 3:3 and we see Luke
recording once again here in Acts 13:24.
John the baptize cried out in the wilderness “repent and
make way for the Lord”
He was calling on the people to acknowledge their sin
and turn away from that sin and sin no more.
They were to do this publically and by doing so they
were making room in their lives for the Lord and His forgiveness of their sin.
25 “And while John was completing his course, he kept saying, ‘what do you suppose that I am? I am not He. But behold, one is coming after me the sandals of whose feet I am not worthy to untie.
The crowd thought that he, John, was the promised one
the one who would deliver them.
John the Baptist was quick to correct them and to that
he couldn’t deliver them only the one to follow him could do that Jesus the
Lord.
John the Baptist went on to say I baptize with water but
He will baptize with the Holy Spirit (Mark 1:4).
We see at Pentecost where the Apostles were baptized by
the Holy Spirit sent to them by Jesus.
Jesus is the Savior! 13:26-41
26 “Brethren, sons of Abraham’s family, and those among you who fear God, to us the message of this salvation has been sent.
He was addressing both the Jew (sons of Abraham) and the
Gentile believers.
It was the Jew who first received the message and then
the Gentile just as it is stated in this verse.
Sons of Abraham and those among you who fear God.
27 “For those who live in Jerusalem, and their rulers, recognizing neither Him nor the utterances of the prophets which are read every Sabbath, fulfilled these condemning Him.
Paul blamed the officials and the people in Jerusalem
for failing to recognize Jesus as the prophesied Messiah, and it was they that
killed him.
Paul, a very knowledgeable man concerning the Hebrew
Scriptures, now realized what the prophecies meant, and he pointed out that the
Jewish leaders did not understand the true meaning of the prophecies
foretelling of the coming Messiah.
28 “And though they found no ground for putting Him to death, they asked Pilate that He be executed.
We remember from our studies in John how the high priest
looked for any excuse to put Jesus to death.
Matthew also recorded this in chapter 26 verse 59 &60.
29 “When they had carried out
all that was written concerning Him, they took Him
down from the cross and laid Him in a tomb.
Those who loved Jesus took him from the cross prepared
his body for burial, and laid him in the tomb, an act of honor and love.
However the high priest asked Pilate to assign guards at
the tomb site; to prevent Jesus’ followers from taking the body and claiming a
resurrection.
30 “But God raised Him from the
dead; 31 and for
many days He appeared to those who came up with Him from
Galilee to Jerusalem, the very ones who are now His
witnesses to the people.
Even though the high priest took the precaution of
asking for and receiving guards to guard the tomb, nothing is impossible for God.
Although the people had condemned Jesus to death Jesus
defeated death and rose on the 3rd day
The precaution taken by the high priests only served to
validate a true miracle of God.
The witnesses Paul spoke of were the apostles who saw
and touched Jesus after the resurrection.
Because of their intimate relationship with Jesus their
could be no doubt as to their identification of Him.
32 “And
we preach to you the good news of the
promise made to the fathers, 33 that God has
fulfilled this promise to our children in that
He raised up Jesus, as it is also written in the
second Psalm, ‘You are My Son; today i have
begotten You.’
The following commentary on the king James scripture
translation is well worth discussing:
33. God hath fulfilled the same--"hath
completely fulfilled.“ in
that he hath raised up Jesus again--literally, "raised up"; but the meaning is
(notwithstanding the contrary opinion of many excellent interpreters) "from
the dead";
as the context plainly shows. As it
is written in the second psalm--in many manuscripts "the first Psalm"; what
we call the first being regarded by the ancient Jews as only an introduction to
the Psalter, which was considered to begin with the second. This day have I begotten thee--
As the apostle in Romans 1:4 regards the
resurrection of Christ merely as the manifestation of a prior Sonship, which he afterwards
( Acts 8:32 ) represents asessential, it is plain
that this is his meaning here. (Such declarative meaning of the
verb "to be" is familiar to every reader of the Bible). See John 15:8 , "So
shall ye be," that is, be seen to be "My
disciples." It is against the whole sense of the New Testament to ascribe
the origin of
Christ's Son ship to His resurrection. [2]
Paul said words from Psalm 2:7. This is a psalm about
the king that God chooses. It reminds us about God’s promise to David. Someone
from among David’s family would be the *Saviour. [3]
As we readily see by this commentary it is well worth our while to compare different translation in order to obtain a clear picture of scripture meaning.
34 “As for the fact that He raised Him up from the dead, no longer to return to decay, He has spoken in this way: ‘I will give you the holy and sure blessings of David’. [ Ref: Isaiah 55:3 ] 35 “Therefore He also says in another Psalm, ‘You will not allow Your Holy One to undergo decay.
Once again in verse 34 we see a prophecy of king David,
concerning the Messiah, being fulfilled through Jesus.
Breaking these verses into two major elements:
1.We first see the word fact, a matter of record because
it is substantiated by 7+ witnesses; the apostles who saw Jesus before and
after death.
2.(V35) Victory of death;
the grave no longer is the final resting place where the
body is corrupted by the elements of this world.
Because Jesus was victorious over death the promise was
given to all who accepts Jesus as Messiah also share in His victory.
The King James translates this victory passage
eloquently “death hath no more dominion over Him."
In King David’s Prophesy he tells us 3 things which will
happen.
1.He will die.
2.He will not suffer the element of decay in the grave.
3.Through his seed the Messiah will come and not suffer
the decay of the grave.
Why is all this important to us as redeemed followers of
Jesus?
Because Jesus holds victory over death, we too will have
victory over death.
I am not talking about a physical death but rather the
spiritual death we all face apart from Jesus.
Unless Jesus
comes first our bodies will decay because we were sired of this world.
36 “For David, after he had served the purpose of God in his own generation, fell asleep, and was laid among his fathers and underwent decay; 37 but He whom God raised did not undergo decay.
Once again we can gain understanding by dissecting these
verses.
1.It makes no difference what your station in this life
is, you’re here to serve the purpose of God
2.We often see the phrase “fell asleep” it appears 244
times in scripture and is used in the same sense as the word die, perish or
dead. To fall asleep is a temporary
state of being. When you fall asleep you
anticipate waking.
3.When followers of Jesus die (fall asleep) our
earthly bodies decay while our souls go on to
Judgment for our works as children of God.
38 “Therefore let it be known to you, brethren, that through Him forgiveness of sin is proclaimed to you, 39 and through Him everyone who believes is freed from all things, from which you could not be freed through the Law of Moses.
Because Jesus purchased our redemption by the shedding
of His life giving blood we are redeemed.
We know from scripture the penalty for sin is
death. There is no appeal to a higher
court.
There is no other way except through Jesus. For all was created through Him and all are
saved through Him.
40 “Therefore take heed, so that the thing spoken of in the Prophets may not come upon you: 41 ‘Behold, you scoffers, and marvel, and perish; for I am accomplishing a work in your days, a work which you will never believe, though someone should describe it to you.”
Paul was speaking first to the believers and then more
directly to the unbelievers in verses 40 & 41.
The King James translation uses the words “beware,
therefore, “
This was an awesome warning take heed or else.
Perhaps Paul may have been referring to the prophesy
found in Habakkuk 1:5 foretelling of the destruction of
Jerusalem by the Chaldeans and Babylonians.
The people of that time did not recognize what He was
doing, nor would the unbelievers recognize what He is doing now.
The Jews oppose Paul and Barnabas,
13:42-52
42 As Paul and Barnabas were going out, the people kept begging that these things might be spoken to them the next Sabbath.
rather (according to what is beyond doubt the true
reading), "Now, as they were going out [of the synagogue], they
besought"--that is, not the Gentiles, whose case comes in afterwards, but
the mixed congregation of Jews and proselytes, to whom the discourse had been
addressed, entreated to have another hearing of such truths; those of them,
that is, who had been impressed.
"And after the breaking up of the synagogue, many
of" both classes, Jews and religious; proselytes, followed Paul and
Barnabas (observe, from this time forward, the inverted order of these names;
except Acts 14:14 , 13:7 ,12:25 ; what they had
heard, and felt a clinging to their spiritual benefactors.
43 Now when the meeting of the synagogue had broken up, many of the Jews and of the God-fearing proselytes followed Paul and Barnabas, who, speaking to them, were urging them to continue in the grace of God.
We can all take this advise from Paul as a good course
of action.
The grace of God is a gift not earned, but freely given
by God to the believer.
As believers we must learn to trust in this gift and not
lean on our own understanding.
God will not forsake those who believe and obey Him.
He will give all the tools we need to complete the
mission He has set before us.
Paul Turns to the Gentiles
44 The next Sabbath nearly the whole city assembled to hear the word of the Lord. 45 But when the Jews saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy and began contradicting the things spoken by Paul, and were blaspheming.
Word of the good news spread. The Sabbath the synagogue
was filled with both Jew and gentile eager to hear what the apostles would say.
The Jews became jealous of the inclusion were angered
when the Gentile crowded into the synagogue to joined them in worship.
Even though the Jewish believers knew the Gentiles were
accepted by God, they fell back to their former predigests.
46 Paul and Barnabas spoke out boldly and said, “It was necessary that the word of God be spoken to you first; since you repudiate it and judge yourselves unworthy of eternal life, behold, we are turning to the Gentiles. 47 “For so the Lord has commanded us, I have placed you as a light for the Gentiles, that You may bring salvation to the end of the earth.’
Paul and Barnabas spoke without fear to the Jewish people.
The Jews were also the first people to reject the Gods
message.
They sealed there own fait by their rejection of Jesus and His
salvation.
Then Paul was sent out to give the message to the
Gentile, who did not reject it.
48 When the Gentiles heard this, they began rejoicing and glorifying the word of the Lord; and as many as had been appointed to eternal life believed. 49 And the word of the Lord was being spread through the whole region.
The King James translation uses the phrase “ordained to
eternal life”
“a very remarkable statement, which cannot, without
force, be interpreted of anything lower than this, that a
divine ordination to eternal life is the cause, not the
effect, of any man's believing.” [2]
This would seem to mean God only wants some people and
not others.
This could not be further from the truth. God wants all to come to Him.
God does not choose for us; but rather leaves that choice to us. He
knows who will choose Him; this he knew from the beginning.
50 But the Jews incited the devout women of prominence and the leading men of the city, and instigated a persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and drove them out of their district. 51 But they shook off the dust of their feet in protest against them and went to Iconium. 52 And the disciples were continually filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.
We see in verse 50 Luke gives attention to the women who
must have been a powerful influence on the men of the community.
Notice how Luke gives the women the stature as the men
of prominence.
CREDITS, LINKS, AND CITATION
