🔥 Acts Chapters 13-14 💒

🙏🏽 Dear Heavenly Father – This little lost sheep can never thank You enough for the overwhelming and faithful love that You are. You’ve demonstrated this by Your provision of a faithful Shepherd who saves His lost sheep… even me!!! (The largest alabaster jar of the most expensive treasure I own, would not be enough to contain my love and my gratitude to You, for the life You’ve restored.)  I draw near again in humble submission to hear what You are ready to speak to my heart today. Strengthen and encourage me; share with me more of Your wisdom, so that I may go where You lead me and honor Your name always. I pray this in the name of my most beautiful Savior, Jesus. Amen.

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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.

Points to Ponder:  There is incredible gifting during the apostolic age – these people did not have a written Gospel or the Epistles to  read, study, and meditate on.  These people were convicted of the truth and went all-in – giving up their former lives and recognizing that Jesus had all authority.  The Holy Spirit works powerfully in them as they are recognized as prophets and teachers.  We’ve met Barnabas and Saul already – now we meet more: Simeon, Lucius from Cyrene [Luke 23:26], and Manaen who was raised with Herod! 

When the Spirit reaches a person, it doesn’t matter where they’ve come from or what they’ve done, the invitation to follow Jesus is made to all.  These men chose to follow. The Holy Spirit honors them by recording their names and their responsibilities in building the early Church.

We remember that God doesn’t need anyone or anything; He chooses to partner with those who worship Him.  So what does ‘placing their hands on them and sending them off’ mean?  It doesn’t matter. What matters is that they were commanded to do so and they obeyed.

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.

Points to Ponder:  Here we see Barnabas and Paul begin the work that God had called them do back in Antioch.  (Christian history refers to this as Paul’s 1^st missionary journey.)  We see Barnabas’ cousin John, [Colossians 4:10] also known as John Mark [Acts 12:12] – the writer of the Gospel of Mark, joins them on this journey.

We see a curious incident in Paphos.  Paul and Barnabas are just doing what they called to do, when an intelligent, ruling authority, Sergius Paulus, calls for them. He is in the company of a sorcerer… a Jewish false prophet named Bar-Jesus, who opposes their teaching. 

Here is Paul, Jewish by birth, calling out the false prophet, also a Jew, for his deceit and trickery… for taking whatever influence he had and perverting all that is right.  Paul pronounces a temporary condemnation of blindness on him… The intelligent proconsul saw and believed. 

🙏🏼 Oh, Lord, open the eyes of the blind so that they may believe!

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.”

Points to Ponder:  They just got started when John Mark bailed on them. Let’s take a minute to remember that God called Barnabas and Paul… not John Mark, so let’s not judge too harshly. 

They got on a ship and sailed to Cyprus… walked the island while preaching the Word of God, called out a false prophet and made him blind, then boarded a ship for Perga.  When they get there, John is done.  Sometimes people think that if they were in the presence of the power that caused the sorcerer to go blind, then they would be convinced to believe.  Scripture doesn’t necessarily support that.

Here John Mark is in the presence and he runs away. When Peter realized what Jesus had done, he said… Depart from me, I’m a sinner. [Luke 5:8]  In the Old Testament, Isaiah responded the same way. [Isaiah 6:5]  Perhaps recognizing the ‘almightiness’ of our Creator and our Lord is the first step of ‘Fearing the Lord’ and the beginning of wisdom.

Jesus told us to count the cost if we are to follow Him. [Luke 14:26, 27, 33]  At this point in his life, John Mark might have been eager to be associated with the Christian Church; he had not, however, counted the cost.

¹⁶ Standing up, Paul motioned with his hand and said: “Fellow Israelites and you Gentiles who worship God, listen to me! ¹⁷ 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; ¹⁸ for about forty years he endured their conduct in the wilderness; ¹⁹ and he overthrew seven nations in Canaan, giving their land to his people as their inheritance. ²⁰ All this took about 450 years.

Points to Ponder:  And just like that Paul uses one summary concept each for Genesis 12-40, 41-50, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy, Joshua.

“After this, God gave them judges until the time of Samuel the prophet. ²¹ Then the people asked for a king, and he gave them Saul son of Kish, of the tribe of Benjamin, who ruled forty years. ²² 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.’

Points to Ponder:  He continues with their history – Judges, 1 & 2 Samuel

²³ “From this man’s descendants God has brought to Israel the Savior Jesus, as he promised. ²⁴ Before the coming of Jesus, John preached repentance and baptism to all the people of Israel. ²⁵ 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.’

Points to Ponder:  The great promise of God to King David in 2 Samuel 7:16 is proclaimed by Paul to be fulfilled in Jesus.

²⁶ “Fellow children of Abraham and you God-fearing Gentiles, it is to us that this message of salvation has been sent. ²⁷ 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. ²⁸ Though they found no proper ground for a death sentence, they asked Pilate to have him executed. ²⁹ When they had carried out all that was written about him, they took him down from the cross and laid him in a tomb. ³⁰ But God raised him from the dead, ³¹ 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.

³² “We tell you the good news: What God promised our ancestors ³³ 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.’ [Psalm 2:7]

³⁴ 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.’ [Isaiah 55:3]

³⁵ So it is also stated elsewhere:

“‘You will not let your holy one see decay.’ [Psalm 16:10]

³⁶ “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. ³⁷ But the one whom God raised from the dead did not see decay.

³⁸ “Therefore, my friends, I want you to know that through Jesus the forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you. ³⁹ Through him everyone who believes is set free from every sin, a justification you were not able to obtain under the law of Moses. ⁴⁰ Take care that what the prophets have said does not happen to you:

⁴¹ “‘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.’” [Habakkuk 1:5]

Points to Ponder:  Another gem in scripture.  This section is worth reading, rereading, and remembering. Paul is proclaiming the Gospel to a Jewish audience using their own history. They have known the recorded history… they have studied the prophets… they have wondered when the fulfillment of the promised messiah would be realized.

⁴² As Paul and Barnabas were leaving the synagogue, the people invited them to speak further about these things on the next Sabbath. ⁴³ 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.

⁴⁴ On the next Sabbath almost the whole city gathered to hear the word of the Lord. ⁴⁵ When the Jews saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy. They began to contradict what Paul was saying and heaped abuse on him.

⁴⁶ 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. ⁴⁷ 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.’” [Isaiah 49:6]

⁴⁸ When the Gentiles heard this, they were glad and honored the word of the Lord; and all who were appointed for eternal life believed.

⁴⁹ The word of the Lord spread through the whole region. ⁵⁰ 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. ⁵¹ So they shook the dust off their feet as a warning to them and went to Iconium. ⁵² And the disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.

Points to Ponder:  No one promised that proclaiming the Good News of the Gospel would be easy.  Yet when the light of the Gospel turns a sinful heart into one of hope, you are compelled to do it anyway.

Jesus warned His disciples in John 15:18-20 “If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first…”

In Iconium

14 At Iconium Paul and Barnabas went as usual into the Jewish synagogue. There they spoke so effectively that a great number of Jews and Greeks believed. ² But the Jews who refused to believe stirred up the other Gentiles and poisoned their minds against the brothers. ³ So Paul and Barnabas spent considerable time there, speaking boldly for the Lord, who confirmed the message of his grace by enabling them to perform signs and wonders. ⁴ The people of the city were divided; some sided with the Jews, others with the apostles. ⁵ There was a plot afoot among both Gentiles and Jews, together with their leaders, to mistreat them and stone them. ⁶ But they found out about it and fled to the Lycaonian cities of Lystra and Derbe and to the surrounding country, ⁷ where they continued to preach the gospel.

Points to Ponder:  We see what Christian life can look like… shake the dust off, get up, and keep going because we go in His power, not our own. Proverbs 24:16.  It is with the same power that resurrected Jesus from the dead that enables us to keep going. (You can’t keep a good man down.)

In Lystra and Derbe

⁸ In Lystra there sat a man who was lame. He had been that way from birth and had never walked. ⁹ He listened to Paul as he was speaking. Paul looked directly at him, saw that he had faith to be healed ¹⁰ and called out, “Stand up on your feet!” At that, the man jumped up and began to walk.

¹¹ When the crowd saw what Paul had done, they shouted in the Lycaonian language, “The gods have come down to us in human form!” ¹² Barnabas they called Zeus, and Paul they called Hermes because he was the chief speaker. ¹³ The priest of Zeus, whose temple was just outside the city, brought bulls and wreaths to the city gates because he and the crowd wanted to offer sacrifices to them.

¹⁴ But when the apostles Barnabas and Paul heard of this, they tore their clothes and rushed out into the crowd, shouting: ¹⁵ “Friends, why are you doing this? We too are only human, like you. We are bringing you good news, telling you to turn from these worthless things to the living God, who made the heavens and the earth and the sea and everything in them. ¹⁶ In the past, he let all nations go their own way. ¹⁷ Yet he has not left himself without testimony: He has shown kindness by giving you rain from heaven and crops in their seasons; he provides you with plenty of food and fills your hearts with joy.” ¹⁸ Even with these words, they had difficulty keeping the crowd from sacrificing to them.

¹⁹ Then some Jews came from Antioch and Iconium and won the crowd over. They stoned Paul and dragged him outside the city, thinking he was dead. ²⁰ But after the disciples had gathered around him, he got up and went back into the city. The next day he and Barnabas left for Derbe.

Points to Ponder:  Wild. Lesser men would either (1) give up this mission or (2) bask in the glory bestowed on them by men. (Can’t help but remember the false humility and excuses given by Miguel and Tulio, in the very entertaining bit, It’s Tough to be a God, from The Road to El Dorado (2000).  

It’s quite a test for Paul and Barnabas in Lystra and Derbe.

The Return to Antioch in Syria

²¹ They preached the gospel in that city and won a large number of disciples. Then they returned to Lystra, Iconium and Antioch, ²² strengthening the disciples and encouraging them to remain true to the faith. “We must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God,” they said. ²³ Paul and Barnabas appointed elders for them in each church and, with prayer and fasting, committed them to the Lord, in whom they had put their trust. ²⁴ After going through Pisidia, they came into Pamphylia, ²⁵ and when they had preached the word in Perga, they went down to Attalia.

²⁶ From Attalia they sailed back to Antioch, where they had been committed to the grace of God for the work they had now completed. ²⁷ On arriving there, they gathered the church together and reported all that God had done through them and how he had opened a door of faith to the Gentiles. ²⁸ And they stayed there a long time with the disciples.

Points to Ponder:  We see them returning the way they came.  How encouraging for the new disciples to see that Paul and Barnabas had endured all that was thrown at them.  And how encouraging for the original group of disciples in Antioch who commissioned them to hear of the work that had now been completed.

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Summary:  The honesty of these final verses describe the narrow focus of Christian life… strengthening the disciples and encouraging them to remain true to the faith.  We must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God.

The mystery of this continues to baffle me.  It’s not about what we do that saves us… it’s the wonder of what we now want to do because we’re saved.

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🙏🏼 Heavenly Father – How amazing You are that you don’t give us what we desire, when what we desire leads to our death. Instead, You give us a new heart, transform us into Your children, then strengthen and encourage us to desire only that which brings us new and abundant life.  Let us go fearlessly, like Paul and Barnabas, into a hostile world, proclaiming the good news of Salvation through Jesus. Amen.