Thoughts from Mark "Hat" Rackley

Now in the church at Antioch there were prophets and teachers: Barnabas, Simeon called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen (who had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch) and Saul. While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” So after they had fasted and prayed, they placed their hands on them and sent them off.
The two of them, sent on their way by the Holy Spirit, went down to Seleucia and sailed from there to Cyprus. When they arrived at Salamis, they proclaimed the word of God in the Jewish synagogues. John was with them as their helper.
They traveled through the whole island until they came to Paphos. There they met a Jewish sorcerer and false prophet named Bar-Jesus, who was an attendant of the proconsul, Sergius Paulus. The proconsul, an intelligent man, sent for Barnabas and Saul because he wanted to hear the word of God. But Elymas the sorcerer (for that is what his name means) opposed them and tried to turn the proconsul from the faith. Then Saul, who was also called Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked straight at Elymas and said, “You are a child of the devil and an enemy of everything that is right! You are full of all kinds of deceit and trickery. Will you never stop perverting the right ways of the Lord? Now the hand of the Lord is against you. You are going to be blind for a time, not even able to see the light of the sun.”
Immediately mist and darkness came over him, and he groped about, seeking someone to lead him by the hand. When the proconsul saw what had happened, he believed, for he was amazed at the teaching about the Lord.
From Paphos, Paul and his companions sailed to Perga in Pamphylia, where John left them to return to Jerusalem. From Perga they went on to Pisidian Antioch. On the Sabbath they entered the synagogue and sat down. After the reading from the Law and the Prophets, the leaders of the synagogue sent word to them, saying, “Brothers, if you have a word of exhortation for the people, please speak.”
Standing up, Paul motioned with his hand and said: “Fellow Israelites and you Gentiles who worship God, listen to me! The God of the people of Israel chose our ancestors; he made the people prosper during their stay in Egypt; with mighty power he led them out of that country; for about forty years he endured their conduct in the wilderness; and he overthrew seven nations in Canaan, giving their land to his people as their inheritance. All this took about 450 years.
“After this, God gave them judges until the time of Samuel the prophet. Then the people asked for a king, and he gave them Saul son of Kish, of the tribe of Benjamin, who ruled forty years. After removing Saul, he made David their king. God testified concerning him: ‘I have found David son of Jesse, a man after my own heart; he will do everything I want him to do.’
“From this man’s descendants God has brought to Israel the Savior Jesus, as he promised. Before the coming of Jesus, John preached repentance and baptism to all the people of Israel. As John was completing his work, he said: ‘Who do you suppose I am? I am not the one you are looking for. But there is one coming after me whose sandals I am not worthy to untie.’
“Fellow children of Abraham and you God-fearing Gentiles, it is to us that this message of salvation has been sent. The people of Jerusalem and their rulers did not recognize Jesus, yet in condemning him they fulfilled the words of the prophets that are read every Sabbath. Though they found no proper ground for a death sentence, they asked Pilate to have him executed. When they had carried out all that was written about him, they took him down from the cross and laid him in a tomb. But God raised him from the dead, and for many days he was seen by those who had traveled with him from Galilee to Jerusalem. They are now his witnesses to our people.
“We tell you the good news: What God promised our ancestors he has fulfilled for us, their children, by raising up Jesus. As it is written in the second Psalm:
“‘You are my son;
    today I have become your father.’
God raised him from the dead so that he will never be subject to decay. As God has said,
“‘I will give you the holy and sure blessings promised to David.’
So it is also stated elsewhere:
“‘You will not let your holy one see decay.’
“Now when David had served God’s purpose in his own generation, he fell asleep; he was buried with his ancestors and his body decayed. But the one whom God raised from the dead did not see decay.
“Therefore, my friends, I want you to know that through Jesus the forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you. Through him everyone who believes is set free from every sin, a justification you were not able to obtain under the law of Moses. Take care that what the prophets have said does not happen to you:
“‘Look, you scoffers,
    wonder and perish,
for I am going to do something in your days
    that you would never believe,
    even if someone told you.’”
As Paul and Barnabas were leaving the synagogue, the people invited them to speak further about these things on the next Sabbath. When the congregation was dismissed, many of the Jews and devout converts to Judaism followed Paul and Barnabas, who talked with them and urged them to continue in the grace of God.
On the next Sabbath almost the whole city gathered to hear the word of the Lord. When the Jews saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy. They began to contradict what Paul was saying and heaped abuse on him.
Then Paul and Barnabas answered them boldly: “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. For this is what the Lord has commanded us:
“‘I have made you a light for the Gentiles,
    that you may bring salvation to the ends of the earth.’”
When the Gentiles heard this, they were glad and honored the word of the Lord; and all who were appointed for eternal life believed.
The word of the Lord spread through the whole region. But the Jewish leaders incited the God-fearing women of high standing and the leading men of the city. They stirred up persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and expelled them from their region. So they shook the dust off their feet as a warning to them and went to Iconium. And the disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.

• Acts 13:1-52

Noted Biblical Scholars, Teachers, and Preachers Comments

Acts 13 ‘Paul’s Journey’s Begin’: “Luke now comes to a turning point in his story. Here we are at the start of an extraordinary triple journey which will take Paul across Turkey and Greece and back again, then again once more, and finally off to Rome itself. We would much prefer the story to be one of gentle persuasion rather than confrontation. We would like it better if Paul had gone about telling people the simple message of Jesus and finding that people were happy to accept it and live by it. But there is no advance for the gospel without opposition. Christian mission is about radical transformation of life, something which was already happening all over the place in the early chapters of Acts.”

• N. T. Wright, Acts (from the For Everyone Bible Study Series)

Acts 13:2 ‘God’s holiness’: “People say, ‘Are your problems too much for you? Jesus will handle your problems.  Are you troubled mentally? Jesus will give you mental peace. Do you have trouble at the office? Jesus will help you at the office.’ All this is true—but oh, how far it is from biblical religion! God was in their midst!
“What was it that gathered the people together in the book of Acts? They ministered unto the Lord and fasted and prayed. And there in the awesome presence they heard the voice of the Holy Spirit say, ‘Separate me Barnabas and Saul.’ Now when the church gathers, we’re thrown back on our planning, our reasoning, and our thinking—when the great and holy God is in our midst.
“l would recommend that you remember these words: ‘Thou art of purer eyes than to behold evil.’ You have evil in your life, your heart, your home, your business, your memory—al| unconfessed, unforgiven, and uncleansed. Remember that it is only by the infinite patience of God that you are not consumed (see Lamentations 3:22). ‘Our God is a consuming fire’ (Hebrews 12:29). And it is also written, ‘Follow … holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord’ (Hebrews 12:14). Teachers come from everywhere with their dingy gray interpretations, pulling this down and explaining it away and saying, ‘See note on such and such.’ But it stands-‘holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord.’
“If you can interpret that neatly and go home without being bothered, I wonder if your eyes have ever gazed upon that Awful Thing. I wonder if you have ‘the knowledge of the holy’ (Proverbs 9:10). I wonder if that sense of the overwhelming, crushing holiness of God has ever come upon your heart.”

• A. W. Tozer, The Attributes of God I

Acts 3:12-26 ‘Paul’s Ministry’: “The church at Antioch was full of ‘prophets and teachers’ (verse 1) who were ministering to the Lord, fasting, and waiting for guidance as to how the work of evangelizing should be carried out. The Holy Spirit revealed that Barnabas and Saul were to do the work to ‘which I have called them’ (verse 2). Hands were laid upon them and prayers were said, and the men were sent out by the Spirit to Seleucia and Cyprus (verses 3-4), and then on to Salamis (verse 5). Here the apostle, whose Jewish name was Saul and who was also known as Paul, would exercise the gift of foretelling the future in a confrontation with a warlock, an evil magician name Elymas.”

• Tim LaHaye and Ed Hindson, Exploring Bible Prophecy

Acts 13:12 ‘Paul on Cyprus’: “Cyprus was devoted to the goddess Venus, and its worship was the fruitful licentiousness that sprang from it. It was the native country of Barnabas and, as he was at first the leader of the missionary party sent out by the church of Antioch, it was fitting that Barnabas and Saul should begin preaching there. Landing at one end of the island, the two missionaries traversed it till they came to Paphos, where the Roman proconsul Sergius Paulus resided. Paphos was the central city of the worship of Venus and was the scene of frequent profligate processions and abominable rites. Neither men nor women could resort to the shrine of Venus without being defiled in mind and depraved in character. Yet it was no business of the apostles to stay away either from Cyprus or Paphos because there was a special need for them to go there with the purifying waters of the gospel. Happily for the two servants of the Lord, the chief magistrate of the island was a candid, studious, prudent man. He possessed an intelligent and inquisitive spirit and was desirous to know all that could be known.
“A certain Jew, who was expert in the dark learning of the East and practiced sorcery, had considerable influence over Sergius Paulus. But instead of teaching him the truth, this false-hearted man imparted the mysteries and the superstitions of sorcery. Bar-Jesus was this charlatan’s name, but he was false to it for he was no son of Jesus. He also was called Elymas, meaning ‘the sorcerer.’ Sergius Paulus, hearing that there were other Eastern teachers on the island and, being dissatisfied with the teaching of Elymas, sent for Barnabas and Saul to teach him the word of God. What a splendid opening for the two preachers of Christ! Although Elymas ‘opposed them and tried to turn the proconsul away from the faith’ (v. 8), Saul looked at him and pronounced on him the solemn judgment of God, namely that he should be blind and should not see the sun for a time (v. 1 1). Then the proconsul saw what power attended the word of the Lord. The conversion of the proconsul of Cyprus was a great triumph for the gospel.”

• Charles H. Spurgeon, from sermon notes

Acts 13:13-43 ‘from Antioch to Antioch’: “Paul and Barnabas, having left Antioch in now arrive in a different Antioch, this one in Pisidia in what is now south central Turkey (v. 14). It was customary in synagogue, following the reading of the law and the prophets, to allow visitors to give a fresh word of exhortation. The instant fellowship of Jewish people around the world and the ready acceptance of previously unknown visitors to public worship provided a natural context for Paul to announce the good news.”

• N. T. Wright, Acts (from the For Everyone Bible Study Series)

Acts 13:13 ‘came to Perga in Pamphylia’: “Perga was a major city in the Roman province of Pamphylia, in Asia Minor—some 200 miles north across the Mediterranean Sea from Cyprus. John, departing from them. Whatever reason John Mark gave for leaving, Paul didn’t accept it (15:38). While his desertion did not hamper the mission, it did later create dissension between Paul and Barnabas (15:36—40). This was finally resolved (cf. Col. 4:10; 2 Tim. 4:11). See … 12:12.”

• John MacArthur, John MacArthur Commentary (quoted Scripture without bold/italics)

Acts 13:16-50 ‘Paul’s Review of Israel’s History’: “In a message similar to that which Stephen spoke to the Jewish authorities (7:1-53), Paul preached on the Sabbath in a synagogue at Pisidian Antioch (in Asia Minor). Paul addressed the synagogue officials when they asked if he had any exhortation for the people gathered there (13:13-15). Beginning with the call of the fathers of Israel and the sojourn in Egypt, Paul showed how God led His people from slavery into the 40-year exodus in the wilderness, and finally into the land of Canaan (verses 17-19). Bruce says, “Paul’s exhortation takes the form of a historical retrospect, as Stephen’s defense did. Paul’s retrospect surveys the course of God’s dealings with his people Israel from his election of the patriarchs and deliverance of the nation from Egypt on to the accession of David and the establishment of his dynasty’ (Book of Acts, pp. 252-53). After God removed King Saul, whom the people had asked for, ‘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”.’ (verses 21-22; 1 Samuel 13:14).”

• Tim LaHaye and Ed Hindson, Exploring Bible Prophecy

Acts 13:22 ‘A man after My own heart’: “See … 1 Samuel 13:14. Some would question the reality of this designation for David since he proved to be such a sinner at times (cf. l Sam. 11:1-4; 12:9; 21:10-22:1). No man after God’s own heart is perfect; yet, he will recognize sin and repent of it, as David did (cf. Pss. 32; 38; 51). Paul quoted from 1 Samuel 13:14 and Psalm 89:20.”

• John MacArthur, John MacArthur Commentary (quoted Scripture without bold/italics)

Acts 13:29-30 ‘the backbone of the gospel’: “Now the apostle has reached the heart of his sermon. He has come to the great cornerstone of the Christian faith. There are no embellishments here—not even an anecdote or an illustration—but just a plain declaration of the great facts of the life and death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. These are the backbone of the gospel, and the more we dwell on these facts, the better. Let us preach the doctrines that grow out of these facts, put him in a tomb. But God for facts are stubborn things, and if they are backed by the Spirit of God, they will carry all before them. Exhortation is well enough in its place, but you must not have only powder in your gun—there must be some shot, also. The apostle has solid facts here which he drives home to the heart and conscience of his hearers. He does not forget that the weight and forge of a sermon must lie in the distinct truth of God it teaches.”

• Charles H. Spurgeon, from sermon notes

Acts 13:31 ‘witnesses’: “We are witnesses. And like witnesses in a court, we are called to testify, to tell what we have seen and heard. And we are to speak truthfully. Our task is not to whitewash nor bloat the truth. Our task is to tell the truth. Period.
“There is, however, one difference between the witness in court and the witness for Christ.
“The witness in court eventually steps down from the witness chair, but the witness for Christ never does. Since the claims of Christ are always on trial, court is perpetually in session, and we remain under oath.”

• Max Lucado, Just Like Jesus

Acts 12:36 ‘and then we fall on sleep’: “The life ideal was described by the apostle in the Book of Acts: ‘For David, after he had served his own generation by the will of God, fell on sleep.’
“We submit that it would be difficult, if not impossible, to improve upon this. It embraces the whole sphere of religion, appearing as it does in its three directions: God, the individual, society. Within that simple triangle all possible human activities are carried on. To each of us there can be but these three dimensions: God, myself, others. Beyond this we cannot go, nor should we even attempt to go. If we serve God according to His own will, and in doing so serve our generation, we shall have accomplished all that is possible for any human being.
“David was smart enough to serve God and his generation before he fell asleep. To fall asleep before we have served our generation is nothing short of tragic. It is good to sleep at last, as all our honored fathers have done, but it is a moral calamity to sleep without having first labored to bless the world. No man has any right to die until he has put mankind in debt to him.”

• A. W. Tozer, The Next Chapter after the Last

Acts 13:39 ‘justified from’: “This is better translated ‘freed from.’ you could not be justified by the law of Moses. Keeping the law of Moses did not free anyone from their sins (cf. Rom. 3:28; 1 Cor. 1:30; Gal. 2:16; 3:11; Phil. 3:9). But the atoning death of Jesus completely satisfied the demands of God’s Law, making forgiveness of sins available to all who believe (Gal. 3:16; Col. 2:13, 14). Only the forgiveness Christ offers can free people from their sins (Rom. 3:20, 22).”

• John MacArthur, John MacArthur Commentary (quoted Scripture without bold/italics

Acts 13:46 ‘to you first’: “God offered the plan of salvation to the Jews first (Matt. 10:5, 6; 15:24; Luke 24:47; Rom. 1:16). Although the thrust of Paul’s ministry was to Gentiles, he had a desire to see Jews saved (Rom. 9:1—5; 10:1), preaching to them first in many cities (see note on v. 5). we tum to the Gentiles. This was because the Jews rejected the gospel. But God never planned salvation as an exclusive possession of the Jews (Is. 42:1, 6; 49:6).”

• John MacArthur, John MacArthur Commentary (quoted Scripture without bold/italics)

 

My Thoughts

This chapter could have a subtitle of from Antioch to Antioch.  But note the Syrian Antioch church’s focus.  The leaders gathered to pray.  The Holy Spirit came upon them to have Barnabas and Paul go out and do as God had wished for them to do.  But then they fasted and prayed, before they laid hands on them to bless them on their journey.  Today we bury the idea in a subcommittee and lay hands without fasting or praying if we ever get to the point of sending missionaries out.

They first went to Cyprus.  After walking the length of the island, they see the proconsul in Paphos.  A wizard named Elymus or Bar-Jesus used trickery and deceit to have a voice with the Roman leader, but the proconsul is intrigued by Paul’s teaching.  When Elymus insinuates himself into their midst, Paul calls him out and then says he will be blind.  When blindness overtakes Elymus, the proconsul believes.  But note, the power of the Holy Spirit came upon Paul.  This was not a shot in the dark.  Paul had the power he needed at that moment.

Then, the group goes to Perga, but John Mark goes back to Jerusalem.  This causes Paul and Barnabas to split on the next journey.  Barnabas and John Mark go back to Cyprus to strengthen those churches while Paul takes Silas across Asia Minor and to Greece.  But for now, Paul and Barnabas complete this mission trip.

Paul is asked to speak two sabbath’s in a row at the synagogue, but the Gentiles were more enthused.  The Gentiles also gathered nearly everyone in town for the second sermon.  The Jews became jealous and started arguing against Paul.  As mentioned by the scholars above, the Paul sermon is similar to the Stephen sermon, mentioning historical things that the audience knew about.  As you look at Paul’s sermons, they all seem to be tailored to the audience – probably a combination of Paul’s teacher, Gamaliel, and the Holy Spirit’s guidance.  We are never alone.

One focus Paul made was on decay.  David’s remains decayed.  They are still in the tomb, but Christ arose and suffered no decay.  Then Jesus frees us from our sins.  But either seeing dissension within the crowd or guided by the Holy Spirit, he mentions that some will be scoffers who hear and yet do not believe.  As the crowd of Jews erupts against him, Paul states that he will focus his message for the Gentiles.  At that, the Gentiles are praising God, but the Jews run Paul out of town.  They go to Iconium.

Some Serendipitous Reflections

Acts 13: 1. If you were to emphasize one central truth about the gospel, what would it be? Why?
“2. What difference would it make to your faith if there were no Easter to celebrate, but only a Good Friday to remember?
“3. How do you think Paul would respond to a modern—day skeptic who felt Jesus was a noble, but misguided, martyr? What role would the OT play in Paul’s answer? How would knowing the OT, even memorizing it, help you to understand and share your faith better?
“4. What kind of opposition have you faced because of your faith? How do you usually respond to opposition? Does it make you stronger? Why? Would it be tougher for you to face opposition from community leaders or from family members? Why?”

• Lyman Coleman, et al, The NIV Serendipity Bible for Study Groups

There is one set of questions for Acts 13.

Substitute whatever group for any reference to a small group or ask who could come to your aid.

If you like these Thursday morning Bible studies, but you think you missed a few, you can use this LINK. I have set up a page off the home page for links to these Thursday morning posts. I will continue to modify the page as I add more.

Soli Deo Gloria.  Only to God be the Glory.