Friday, December 01, 2006
An Outline of Acts Chapter 13
Beginning with the 13th chapter of Acts, we reach a turning point in Luke's story. Up to now, the action has centered in Jerusalem and the surrounding Palestinian countries. The Early Church, under the leadership of Peter, has been fulfilling Jesus' promise that they would be witnesses "in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria" (1:8), primarily to other Jews.
Now the focus will shift on several counts. For the remainder of the book, we will see the Church expand "to the ends of the earth" (1:8). We will also see the emphasis shift from Peter to Paul, with a corresponding shift from Jerusalem as the center of the Church to Antioch, Paul's headquarters.
Barnabas and Saul Sent Off (13:1-3)
Chapter 13 begins in Antioch, where the saints, gathered for prayer and fasting, were instructed by the Holy Spirit to "set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them" (13:2). Whether these two Christians had plans to be missionaries we don't know, but the Holy Spirit had plans for them!
The church at Antioch commissioned the missionaries and they set off for what we know as the first of Paul's three missionary journeys, a trip which would take approximately three years.
On Cyprus (13:4-12)
Their journey first took them to the island of Cyprus, in the Mediterranean Sea. Cyprus was Barnabas’s home. There they preached in Salamis, on the western coast, and in Paphos, on the eastern coast.
Paphos was the capital of Cyprus. People there worshiped Aphrodite, the Greek goddess of love and sex. The city was famous because the people there were so wicked. Often, when people do wicked things, they have connections with magic. Even Sergius Paulus, the ruler of Cyprus, had a private magician. This magician was a Jew. Usually, the Jews did not do magic. God had said that people must not do magic (Deuteronomy 18:10-12). But Bar-Jesus did magic. His other name, Elymas, meant ‘magician’. If his master became a Christian, Elymas would lose his job as magician. Elymas knew that. So, he opposed the Barnabas and Saul. He tried to persuade his master not to accept the Christian faith.
Paul became full of the Holy Spirit, so that Paul spoke with God’s power and authority. Paul understood that the devil was attacking the missionaries by means of Elymas. Elymas’s other name, ‘Bar-Jesus’, meant ‘son of Jesus’. That is, ‘son of a saviour’. But this man was the devil’s child! He had tried to prevent people so that they would not receive salvation. So, God punished Elymas. Elymas became blind. This was a sign showing that he was blind spiritually. But it would only last ‘for some time’ (verse 11). Perhaps this meant that if Elymas repented, he would see again. Like Simon the magician (Acts 8:9-13), Elymas had power. But again, we see here that God’s power is greater.
The ruler saw what happened and believed in the Lord.
It is in Paphos that the apostle ceased using the name "Saul" in favor of "Paul," by which we know him through the rest of Acts. It was common for Jews to have two names, one being the Hebrew name they were given at birth and the other being a Greek translation. Paul, being the missionary to the Gentiles, probably chose to use his Greek name to make him more acceptable in the non-Hebrew world.
In Pisidian Antioch (13:13-52)
From Cyprus they sailed to the coast of what we now call Turkey, in Asia Minor. At that point, one of their traveling companions, John Mark, left to return home. We will read more about him later.
Paul and Barnabas then traveled inland to Pisidian Antioch (a different Antioch than the one from which they began their journey). Although Luke does not give us any details, this trip was no doubt a difficult one, for the missionaries would have had to cross the Taurus range to reach Antioch, 3,600 feet above sea level. They would have traveled over one of the hardest roads in all Asia Minor, a road also notorious for robbers.
Paul and Barnabas had established the pattern of first contacting the Jewish community in each town they visited, a pattern which Paul would continue on all his journeys. In Antioch, he was invited to speak to the Jewish synagogue. The sermon he delivered there is the only one Luke records completely in Acts. It had three main points. The first and second, traced the history of Israel and its prophets and showed how Jesus was proven to be the Messiah by His death and resurrection. This is similar in structure to Peter’s sermon on the Day of Pentecost. In the third main point, however, Paul moves beyond Peter's sermon. Paul told the Jews at Antioch that "through Jesus the forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you. Through him everyone who believes is justified from everything you could not be justified from by the law of Moses" (13:38-39). Here we see a change in the understanding of the relationship between the old and new covenants and the beginning of a theme Paul would treat heavily in his epistles.
Paul's sermon was so successful that the next Sabbath the entire town turned out to hear him preach, including the Gentiles. This angered the Jewish congregation, who began to severely criticize Paul and his message. At this point, Paul and Barnabas made a significant decision, declaring to the Jews: "We had to speak the word of God to you first. Since you reject it and do not consider yourselves worthy of eternal life, we now turn to the Gentiles" (13:46).
Because of their ministry to the Gentiles in Antioch, Paul and Barnabas became the objects of persecution, culminating in their expulsion from the region. Shaking the dust from their feet (13:51), the missionaries moved further inland, to Iconium.
Now the focus will shift on several counts. For the remainder of the book, we will see the Church expand "to the ends of the earth" (1:8). We will also see the emphasis shift from Peter to Paul, with a corresponding shift from Jerusalem as the center of the Church to Antioch, Paul's headquarters.
Barnabas and Saul Sent Off (13:1-3)
Chapter 13 begins in Antioch, where the saints, gathered for prayer and fasting, were instructed by the Holy Spirit to "set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them" (13:2). Whether these two Christians had plans to be missionaries we don't know, but the Holy Spirit had plans for them!
The church at Antioch commissioned the missionaries and they set off for what we know as the first of Paul's three missionary journeys, a trip which would take approximately three years.
On Cyprus (13:4-12)
Their journey first took them to the island of Cyprus, in the Mediterranean Sea. Cyprus was Barnabas’s home. There they preached in Salamis, on the western coast, and in Paphos, on the eastern coast.
Paphos was the capital of Cyprus. People there worshiped Aphrodite, the Greek goddess of love and sex. The city was famous because the people there were so wicked. Often, when people do wicked things, they have connections with magic. Even Sergius Paulus, the ruler of Cyprus, had a private magician. This magician was a Jew. Usually, the Jews did not do magic. God had said that people must not do magic (Deuteronomy 18:10-12). But Bar-Jesus did magic. His other name, Elymas, meant ‘magician’. If his master became a Christian, Elymas would lose his job as magician. Elymas knew that. So, he opposed the Barnabas and Saul. He tried to persuade his master not to accept the Christian faith.
Paul became full of the Holy Spirit, so that Paul spoke with God’s power and authority. Paul understood that the devil was attacking the missionaries by means of Elymas. Elymas’s other name, ‘Bar-Jesus’, meant ‘son of Jesus’. That is, ‘son of a saviour’. But this man was the devil’s child! He had tried to prevent people so that they would not receive salvation. So, God punished Elymas. Elymas became blind. This was a sign showing that he was blind spiritually. But it would only last ‘for some time’ (verse 11). Perhaps this meant that if Elymas repented, he would see again. Like Simon the magician (Acts 8:9-13), Elymas had power. But again, we see here that God’s power is greater.
The ruler saw what happened and believed in the Lord.
It is in Paphos that the apostle ceased using the name "Saul" in favor of "Paul," by which we know him through the rest of Acts. It was common for Jews to have two names, one being the Hebrew name they were given at birth and the other being a Greek translation. Paul, being the missionary to the Gentiles, probably chose to use his Greek name to make him more acceptable in the non-Hebrew world.
In Pisidian Antioch (13:13-52)
From Cyprus they sailed to the coast of what we now call Turkey, in Asia Minor. At that point, one of their traveling companions, John Mark, left to return home. We will read more about him later.
Paul and Barnabas then traveled inland to Pisidian Antioch (a different Antioch than the one from which they began their journey). Although Luke does not give us any details, this trip was no doubt a difficult one, for the missionaries would have had to cross the Taurus range to reach Antioch, 3,600 feet above sea level. They would have traveled over one of the hardest roads in all Asia Minor, a road also notorious for robbers.
Paul and Barnabas had established the pattern of first contacting the Jewish community in each town they visited, a pattern which Paul would continue on all his journeys. In Antioch, he was invited to speak to the Jewish synagogue. The sermon he delivered there is the only one Luke records completely in Acts. It had three main points. The first and second, traced the history of Israel and its prophets and showed how Jesus was proven to be the Messiah by His death and resurrection. This is similar in structure to Peter’s sermon on the Day of Pentecost. In the third main point, however, Paul moves beyond Peter's sermon. Paul told the Jews at Antioch that "through Jesus the forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you. Through him everyone who believes is justified from everything you could not be justified from by the law of Moses" (13:38-39). Here we see a change in the understanding of the relationship between the old and new covenants and the beginning of a theme Paul would treat heavily in his epistles.
Paul's sermon was so successful that the next Sabbath the entire town turned out to hear him preach, including the Gentiles. This angered the Jewish congregation, who began to severely criticize Paul and his message. At this point, Paul and Barnabas made a significant decision, declaring to the Jews: "We had to speak the word of God to you first. Since you reject it and do not consider yourselves worthy of eternal life, we now turn to the Gentiles" (13:46).
Because of their ministry to the Gentiles in Antioch, Paul and Barnabas became the objects of persecution, culminating in their expulsion from the region. Shaking the dust from their feet (13:51), the missionaries moved further inland, to Iconium.
