Acts 13:1-15
New International Version
13 1 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. 2 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.” 3 So after they had fasted and prayed, they placed their hands on them and sent them off.
On Cyprus
4 The two of them, sent on their way by the Holy Spirit, went down to Seleucia and sailed from there to Cyprus. 5 When they arrived at Salamis, they proclaimed the word of God in the Jewish synagogues. John was with them as their helper.
6 They traveled through the whole island until they came to Paphos. There they met a Jewish sorcerer and false prophet named Bar-Jesus, 7 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. 8 But Elymas the sorcerer (for that is what his name means) opposed them and tried to turn the proconsul from the faith. 9 Then Saul, who was also called Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked straight at Elymas and said, 10 “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? 11 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. 12 When the proconsul saw what had happened, he believed, for he was amazed at the teaching about the Lord.
In Pisidian Antioch
13 From Paphos, Paul and his companions sailed to Perga in Pamphylia, where John left them to return to Jerusalem. 14 From Perga, they went on to Pisidian Antioch. On the Sabbath, they entered the synagogue and sat down. 15 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.”
These teachers and prophets mentioned in verse 1 were probably the leaders of the church in Antioch. Barnabas and Saul were the most famous ones. But the other leaders were also important in the early church. That is why Luke mentions them. Their names show that they were from different places.
Simeon (or Simon) is a Jewish name. Simeon was also called ‘Niger’, which is the Latin word for ‘black’. (At that time, Latin was the language that people spoke in Rome.) So, Simeon was a black man. He probably came from Africa. Some students say that he was Simon from Cyrene. Simon from Cyrene carried Jesus’ cross (Luke 23:26). But here, Luke spells the name ‘Simeon’. And in Luke’s Gospel, Simon from Cyrene is not called ‘Black’.
Lucius is a Roman name. Some men spoke to the Greek Gentiles about Jesus. This Lucius may have been one of those men. (Look at Acts 11:20. And look at the note about it.)
Manaen is the Greek word for the Hebrew name Menahem. The name means ‘someone who gives comfort’. During Manaen’s childhood, he had lived with Herod Antipas. Antipas was the Herod who killed John the Baptist (Luke 9:9). Antipas was also at Jesus’ trial (Luke 23:6-12).
Christians fast for several reasons. It helps them to think about spiritual things instead of physical things. It can help them to hear what God is saying. To fast was important in the early church. Probably, all the Christians in Antioch were fasting. This meant that they expected God to say something to them.
‘The Lord’ here means Jesus. Those words show that Christians were now worshipping Jesus as Lord and God. Here in verse 2, they were worshipping and they were also fasting. While they were doing those things, the Holy Spirit spoke to them. Probably, the Holy Spirit gave the message by means of one of their prophets. The Holy Spirit chose Barnabas and Saul to be missionaries.
The members of the church fasted again and they prayed again. They knew that something very important was happening. Barnabas and Saul were obeying Jesus’ command in Matthew 28:19. Jesus had told them, ‘Go to the people in all nations. Make them my disciples. Baptize them in the Father’s name, the Son’s name, and the Holy Spirit’s name.’ The whole church sent Barnabas and Saul off to do this. The prophets and teachers put their hands on the two men to bless them before their journey.
The missionaries go to Cyprus, 13:4-12
Luke describes how the first missionary journey started. The island called Cyprus was Barnabas’s home. So, he could guide Saul and he could introduce Saul to people there.
Salamis was on that island’s east coast. It was an important city for trade. Many Jews lived there. So, Barnabas and Saul preached to them first. They usually preached to the Jews first when they came to a new place.
Luke also records that John Mark was with Barnabas and Saul. Perhaps John Mark went to give them practical help. Then they could concentrate on their main task, which was to preach the good news.
Paphos was the capital of Cyprus. People there worshipped 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 a magician. Elymas knew that. So, he opposed the missionaries, Barnabas and Saul. He tried to persuade his master not to believe the Christian faith.
Often, Jews had a second name, which was a Greek or Roman one. Now, Luke calls Saul by his Greek name, Paul. This seems more suitable. This is because Paul had become a missionary to Gentile countries.
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. The sign showed 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. But this did not convince him completely. Paul and Barnabas taught him about Jesus. Only then, ‘the ruler trusted the Lord and he had faith in the Lord’ (verse 12).
Paul and Barnabas go to Pisidian Antioch, 13:13-15
The missionaries travelled north to Perga in Pamphylia. Then, John Mark left them and he went back to Jerusalem. It seems that there was an argument. In Acts 15:38, Paul seems annoyed that John Mark had left them. We do not know why John Mark left. Perhaps he thought that the journey was too hard for him. Pamphylia was a very damp, unhealthy place. People often became ill there. Or perhaps John Mark was unhappy because Paul now seemed more important. When the missionaries started their journey, Luke wrote about ‘Barnabas and Saul’. But when they left Cyprus, Luke wrote Paul’s name first. Luke wrote about ‘Paul and his companions’. He did not even mention Barnabas then. Barnabas was John Mark’s cousin.
Pisidian Antioch was not actually in Pisidia. It was in Phrygia, which was near Pisidia. But there were several cities called Antioch. Paul and Barnabas had come from Antioch in Syria. Also, there were two Antiochs in Phrygia. So, this one was called Pisidian Antioch. This distinguished it from the other Antioch that was in Phrygia.
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.