Next, Luke turns his attention to the spread of the Gospel throughout the wider world.
Acts 13:1 Now there were prophets and teachers at Antioch, in the church that was there: Barnabas, Simeon who was called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen who had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch, and Saul. 2 While they were serving the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set Barnabas and Saul apart for Me for the work to which I have called them.” 3 Then, when they had fasted, prayed, and laid their hands on them, they sent them away.
4 So, being sent out by the Holy Spirit, they went down to Seleucia and from there they sailed to Cyprus. 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.
The Holy Spirit called Barnabas and Saul, along with John to leave Antioch and set sail for Cyprus. The elders at Antioch must have had mixed feelings about losing their best teachers but nevertheless they were obedient to God. They fasted, prayed, and laid hands on them, setting them apart with God’s blessing for their upcoming missionary work. Barnabas, Saul, and John landed at Salamis in the east and traversed the whole island reaching Paphos in the west. Even though they were sent into the Gentile world, their first stop was always the Jewish synagogue in town, even if it meant opposition. Saul always presented his message as the fulfillment of the Scriptures and as the synagogue was always the keeper of the Scriptures stopping first at the local synagogue made sense.
Where would be a good place to start sharing the Gospel today?
Eric Metaxas reports that while 71% of the US population claim to be Christians, 70 % of those Christians believe that God accepts all religions as valid. How can Christians believe this in opposition to the Bible’s clear teaching to the contrary? People believe that God will admit all religious people into heaven because the Church has abandoned theological education. Catechesis has fallen by the wayside. (The Colson Center for Christian Worldview, breakpoint.org.)
Just as Paul went to the synagogue to speak to the Old Covenant Church about things that they did not understand, if the numbers above are accurate, we should be teaching the truths to the New Covenant church that they don’t understand.
Acts 13:6 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. 8 But Elymas the magician (for so his name is translated) was opposing them, seeking to turn the proconsul away from the faith. 9 But Saul, who was also known as Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, stared at 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 stop making crooked the straight ways of the Lord? 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. 12 Then the proconsul believed when he saw what had happened, being amazed at the teaching of the Lord.
As they travelled throughout Cyprus, an island about 140 miles long and 60 miles wide at its widest point, they attracted the attention of the proconsul. The proconsul governing the island of Cyprus, Sergius Paulus, was so curious about the message that Barnabas and Saul were teaching that he summoned them so that he might hear the word of God.
Sergius Paulus had a false prophet as an advisor named Elymas. Being a son of the devil, Elymas, feared that he would lose his lucrative and powerful position should Sergius accept the Word of God. Elymas opposed Barnabas and Saul. However, being filled with insight from the Holy Spirit, Paul quickly diagnosed the situation and confronted Elymas. “You who are full of all deceit and fraud, you son of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness, will you not stop making crooked the straight ways of the Lord? 11 Now, behold, the hand of the Lord is upon you, and you will be blind and not see the sun for a time.”
In his rebuke we see clear echoes of Psalm 5:
8 Lead me, O Lord, in thy righteousness because of mine enemies; make thy way straight before my face.
9 For there is no faithfulness in their mouth; their inward part is very wickedness; their throat is an open sepulchre; they flatter with their tongue.
10 Destroy thou them, O God; let them fall by their own counsels; cast them out in the multitude of their transgressions; for they have rebelled against thee.
I often wonder what power the Church would experience if we would only faithfully pray and sing the prayers and songs that God has given us in His inspired songbook, the Psalms.
Seeing his advisor struck blind at the rebuke of Paul convinced the proconsul of the truth of the Gospel.
Acts 13:13 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. 14 But going on from Perga, they arrived at Pisidian Antioch, and on the Sabbath day they went into the synagogue and sat down. 15 After the reading of the Law and the Prophets, the synagogue officials sent word to them, saying, “Brothers, if you have any word of exhortation for the people, say it.”
After having gone throughout the entire island of Cyprus spreading the Gospel they set sail north for Pamphylia in Asia Minor. As was his custom, Paul first visited the synagogue. Again, the Holy Spirit paved the way for the clear presentation of the Gospel. Paul is asked if he has any word of exhortation. And, of course, Paul was always ready to give an answer to every man for the hope that was within him. 1 Peter 3:15
Acts 13:16 Paul stood up, and motioning with his hand said,
“Men of Israel, and you who fear God, listen: 17 The God of this people Israel chose 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. 18 For a period of about forty years He put up with them in the wilderness. 19 When He had destroyed seven nations in the land of Canaan, He distributed their land as an inheritance—all of which took about 450 years. 20 After these things He gave them judges until Samuel the prophet. 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. 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.’ 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. 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.’
26 “Brothers, sons of Abraham’s family, and those among you who fear God, to us the message of this salvation has been sent. 27 For those who live in Jerusalem, and their rulers, recognizing neither Him nor the declarations of the prophets which are read every Sabbath, fulfilled these by condemning Him. 28 And though they found no grounds for putting Him to death, they asked Pilate that He be executed. 29 When they had carried out everything that was written concerning 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 appeared to those who came up with Him from Galilee to Jerusalem, the very ones who are now His witnesses to the people. 32 And we preach to you the good news of the Promise made to the fathers, 33 that God has fulfilled this Promise to those of us who are the descendants by raising Jesus, as it is also written in the second Psalm:
‘You are My Son; today I have fathered You.’
34 As for the fact that He raised Him from the dead, never again to return to decay, He has spoken in this way:
‘I will give you the holy and faithful mercies of David.’
35 Therefore, He also says in another Psalm:
‘You will not allow Your Holy One to undergo decay.’
36 For David, after he had served God’s purpose in his own generation, fell asleep, and was buried among his fathers and underwent decay; 37 but He whom God raised did not undergo decay. 38 Therefore let it be known to you, brothers, that through Him forgiveness of sins 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. 40 Therefore, see that the thing spoken of in the Prophets does not come upon you:
41 ‘Look, you scoffers, and be astonished, 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, once again referred to the Covenant Promise that God had made to Adam and Eve and had reiterated to the fathers of the faith, Abraham, Moses, and David. The Promise that He was going to rescue mankind and defeat death.
From the descendants of… David, the son of Jesse… according to the Promise, God has brought to Israel a Savior, Jesus… That through Him forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you. And through Him everyone who believes is freed from all things…
Christ is the fulfillment of all of the Old Covenant. And to those who refuse to believe that Christ is the fulfillment of everything that had been written about Him… including His resurrection from the dead, Paul issues a stern warning, quoting Habakkuk 1:5:
Look, you scoffers, and be astonished, 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.
The Gospel was so amazing, and Paul’s presentation was so compelling that the people begged for more. They wanted to go deeper into the mysteries of God long hidden in the Old Covenant. The news spread so quickly around the city that, in fact, the following Sabbath nearly all the city assembled to hear the word of the Lord.
Acts 13:42 As Paul and Barnabas were going out, the people repeatedly begged to have these things spoken to them the next Sabbath. 43 Now when the meeting of the synagogue had broken up, many of the Jews and the God-fearing proselytes followed Paul and Barnabas, who were speaking to them and urging them to continue in the grace of God. 44 The next Sabbath nearly all the city assembled to hear the word of the Lord.
The dragon, the ancient adversary, though defeated, was a not content to just watch his kingdom of death slip away without a fight.
Acts 13:45 But when the Jews saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy and began contradicting the things spoken by Paul, and were blaspheming. 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 consider yourselves unworthy of eternal life, behold, we are turning to the Gentiles. 47 For so the Lord has commanded us,
‘I have appointed You as a light to the Gentiles,
That You may bring salvation to the end of the earth.’” Isaiah 49:6
48 When the Gentiles heard this, they began rejoicing and glorifying the word of the Lord; and all who had been appointed to eternal life believed. 49 And the word of the Lord was being spread through the whole region. 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 region. 51 But they shook off the dust from their feet in protest against them and went to Iconium. 52 And the disciples were continually filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.
When Paul quoted the prophet Isaiah to the Gentiles, assuring them about God’s Promise to bring them salvation they were overjoyed. In contrast, however, the Jews who rejected the Gospel, the good news about Christ, were filled with jealousy. The brother of Christ, James, writes that jealousy is rooted in the dragon and is demonic. Jealousy, envy, and selfish ambition… [are] demonic. James 3:15-16
What makes jealousy, Acts 13:45, such a demonic sin?
Proverbs provides the answer:
A stone is heavy, and the sand weighty; but the fool’s wrath is heavier than them both. Wrath is cruel, and anger is outrageous; but who is able to stand before jealousy? Proverbs 27:3-4
Stones and sand are heavy, but a fool’s wrath is heavier than both of them. But jealousy is even worse than wrath. In other words, you would be better off carrying large stones or heavy bags of sand than being attacked by a jealous person.
What makes jealousy so deadly?
Wrath is cruel, angry, outrageous, and, when full grown, it is jealousy.
Jealousy diminishes the value of others. Galatians 5:26 The Jewish leaders were jealous. Their status and standing in the community were at stake. Something had to be done. In their jealousy the Jewish leaders had murdered Christ, had tried to silence Peter, Acts 5:17, and now, intent on destroying or murdering Paul and Barnabas, they incited the devout women of prominence and the leading men of the city, and instigated a persecution.
As Fulton J. Sheen famously observed, “Jealousy is the tribute mediocrity pays to genius.”
Why were the Jewish leaders so jealous and enraged?
Instead of coming to them, crowds of people were coming to Christ, rejoicing and glorifying the word of the Lord; and all who had been appointed to eternal life believed.
Even though they were successful in getting Paul and Barnabas driven out of the region they were not able to interrupt God’s plan because all who had been appointed to eternal life believed.
Or as Paul explained to the Ephesians:
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, 4 even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and without defect before him in love, 5 having predestined us for adoption as children through Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his desire… Ephesians 1:3-5
Try as they might, the dragon and his unrepentant followers (those who belong to [their] father, the devil, and want to carry out [their] father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning. John 8:44), can never thwart God’s eternal plan. In what is a great comfort to believers, Christ will successfully bring to salvation all of those who were chosen by God before the foundation of the world. No power can stop it. Romans 8:38-39
Following Christ’s command, Paul and Barnabas left Pisidian Antioch, shaking the dust off their feet.
Why did they shake the dust from their feet?
As Christ had taught: If anyone will not welcome you or listen to your words, leave that home or town and shake the dust off your feet. 15 Truly I tell you, it will be more bearable for Sodom and Gomorrah on the day of judgment than for that town. Matthew 10:14-15
It is no small thing when a society ignores God and His commands. As Paul taught the Romans, What can be known about God is plain for all to see, because God has shown it to them. 20 For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made.
So men are without excuse. Romans 1:19-20.
God expects even unbelievers to follow His way. God will not excuse wicked nations or people. Instead God calls them to repent. Look at the behaviors of the nations that God had the prophet Amos condemn.
Syria was ruthless toward the people they conquered threshing Gilead with Sledges having iron teeth. Amos 1:3
Philistia took captive whole communities and sold them… Amos 1:6
Phoenicia sold whole communities of captives…disregarding a treaty. Amos 1:9
Edom pursued his brother with a sword, stifling all compassion.
Amos 1:11
Ammon ripped open pregnant women in order to extend it’s border. Amos 1:13
Moab burned to lime the bones of Edom’s King. Amos 2:1
God judges ruthlessness, slavery, not keeping agreements and treaties, terrorism, lack of compassion, abortion, and disrespect, just to name a few of the sins pursued by the nations, and also unfortunately, behaviors excused by believers.
They even sacrificed their sons and daughters to the demons and shed innocent blood… their land was polluted with the blood. Psalm 106:37-38 So if you defile the land, it will vomit you out. Leviticus 18:28
Rejecting God’s call to repentance is always serious business.
God is patient but He will not allow men, communities, or nations to indefinitely refuse to follow His ways. Those who continue to ignore God will face judgment and collapse when God’s patience runs out.
When we no longer want to be governed by God, why shouldn’t God send tyrants to torment and harass us? (John Calvin, Solomon’s Porch, facebook.com)
Acts 14:1 In Iconium they entered the synagogue of the Jews together, and spoke in such a way that a large number of people believed, both of Jews and of Greeks. 2 But the unbelieving Jews stirred up the minds of the Gentiles and embittered them against the brothers. 3 Therefore they spent a long time there speaking boldly with reliance upon the Lord, who was testifying to the word of His grace, granting that signs and wonders be performed by their hands. 4 But the people of the city were divided; and some sided with the Jews, while others, with the apostles. 5 And when an attempt was made by both the Gentiles and the Jews with their rulers, to treat them abusively and to stone them, 6 they became aware of it and fled to the cities of Lycaonia, Lystra and Derbe, and the surrounding region; 7 and there they continued to preach the gospel.
Here a large number of both Jews and Gentiles became Christians. And even though the Jews who refused to accept the truth about their Messiah tried to stir up trouble, Paul and Barnabas continued to teach about the Lord. In the face of opposition, they spoke boldly and performed many signs and wonders, until they heard of a plot to stone them. At which point they fled to Lystra so that they could continue their work and return another day.
Acts 14:8 In Lystra a man was sitting whose feet were incapacitated. He had been disabled from his mother’s womb, and had never walked. 9 This man was listening to Paul as he spoke. Paul looked at him intently and saw that he had faith to be made well, 10 and he said with a loud voice, “Stand upright on your feet!” And the man leaped up and began to walk. 11 When the crowds saw what Paul had done, they raised their voice, saying in the Lycaonian language, “The gods have become like men and have come down to us!” 12 And they began calling Barnabas, Zeus, and Paul, Hermes, since he was the chief speaker. 13 Moreover, the priest of Zeus, whose temple was just outside the city, brought oxen and garlands to the gates, and wanted to offer sacrifice with the crowds. 14 But when the apostles Barnabas and Paul heard about it, they tore their robes and rushed out into the crowd, crying out 15 and saying, “Men, why are you doing these things? We are also men, of the same nature as you, preaching the gospel to you, to turn from these useless things to a living God, who made the heaven and the earth and the sea, and everything that is in them. 16 In past generations He permitted all the nations to go their own ways; 17 yet He did not leave Himself without witness, in that He did good and gave you rains from heaven and fruitful seasons, satisfying your hearts with food and gladness.” 18 And even by saying these things, only with difficulty did they restrain the crowds from offering sacrifices to them.
The Roman poet, Ovid, had written about how Zeus, the chief god, and Hermes, the messenger of Zeus had visited Lystra. Subsequently a temple had been built there. In seeing Paul heal the crippled man they assumed that Paul was the messenger, Hermes, doing the bidding of Zeus. Because Barnabas was the silent one, they believed that he was Zeus.
If Paul and Barnabas were it this for fame and glory it would have been easy for them to accept the adulation and sacrifices of the people. But they were there for the glory of God not self-promotion or greed. They were there to expose the lies of the worthless idols, Zeus and Hermes, saying, turn from these useless things to the living God. Just as Paul and Barnabas fearlessly presented the truth of the only true God, Jesus Christ, we too should implore our generation to turn from the useless things that they pursue.
Acts 14:19 But Jews came from Antioch and Iconium, and having won over the crowds, they stoned Paul and dragged him out of the city, thinking that he was dead.
It was not enough that Paul and Barnabas left Antioch and Iconium. The unbelievers of those cities, in obedience to the dragon, were hell-bent on permanently silencing them. Their jealousy was so intense, their hatred was so intense, that they pursued them, traveling one hundred miles to Lystra so that they could kill Paul. And notice how fickle the mob was. One minute they were trying to worship Paul as a god, and the next, after having been incited by the citizens from Iconium, they were stoning Paul, leaving him for dead.
The preaching of the Gospel is always an offense to the culture, but like Paul, we preach the whole truth knowing that, while we may be hated by some, many will come to Christ.
We must always keep eternity in mind when facing temporal opposition.
Acts 14:20 But while the disciples stood around him, he got up and entered the city. The next day he left with Barnabas for Derbe. 21 And after they had preached the gospel to that city and had made a good number of disciples, they returned to Lystra, to Iconium, and to Antioch, 22 strengthening the souls of the disciples, encouraging them to continue in the faith, and saying, “It is through many tribulations that we must enter the kingdom of God.” 23 When they had appointed elders for them in every church, having prayed with fasting, they entrusted them to the Lord in whom they had believed.
While the new believers stood mourning over, what they believed was Paul’s dead body, Paul stood up. What he did next was just as astounding. He got up and entered the city.
Paul had just been pelted with stones, dragged outside the city gates, and left for dead. Would your immediate response be to walk back into a situation that almost killed you?
Paul knew that he had more work to do in Lystra. After preaching in Derbe, Paul even returned to Lystra for a third time where he appointed elders to carry on the work that he had begun and to shepherd the new believers.
Why did Paul appoint elders?
…to put in order what was left unfinished…
What kind of people did Paul appoint?
An elder must be blameless, faithful to his wife, a man whose children believe and are not open to the charge of being wild and disobedient. 7 Since an overseer manages God’s household, he must be blameless—not overbearing, not quick-tempered, not given to drunkenness, not violent, not pursuing dishonest gain. 8 Rather, he must be hospitable, one who loves what is good, who is self-controlled, upright, holy and disciplined. 9 He must hold firmly to the trustworthy message as it has been taught, so that he can encourage others by sound doctrine and refute those who oppose it.
Why were elders necessary?
Because there are many rebellious people, full of meaningless talk and deception… They must be silenced, because they are disrupting whole households by teaching things they ought not to teach—and that for the sake of dishonest gain. Titus 1:5-16
Remember, Christ’s command was not to simply make converts. Christ’s command was to make disciples, Matthew 28:18-20, believers who would dedicate their lives to seeking Christ and His kingdom first, encouraging others by sound doctrine, above their own desires, Matthew 6:33, and refuting those who oppose sound doctrine.
Are you a convert or a disciple?
How can you tell the difference?
Acts 14:24 They passed through Pisidia and came into Pamphylia. 25 When they had spoken the word in Perga, they went down to Attalia. 26 From there they sailed to Antioch, where they had been entrusted to the grace of God for the work that they had accomplished. 27 When they had arrived and gathered the church together, they began to report all the things that God had done with them and how He had opened a door of faith to the Gentiles. 28 And they spent a long time with the disciples.
Back in Acts 13:1 the church in Antioch had sent Paul and Barnabas out on their missionary journey across the Roman Empire. Here in Acts 14:26-27 we see that Paul and Barnabas returned to Antioch to report all the things that God had done with them and how He had opened a door of faith to the Gentiles.
Paul spent a long time in Antioch teaching and strengthening the disciples of Christ, and explaining how they successfully established Churches. The accounts of Paul and Barnabas’ work in establishing Churches is instructive, even for the Church today.
First, they preached repentance and presented, without apology, the Gospel of salvation through Christ alone, frequently pointing our the error and folly of the religious beliefs that people had placed their faith and hopes on.
Second, they discipled the new believers, instructing them in worship, doctrine, and in the commands of the Lord so that they could grow toward conformity to Christ.
Third, they left elders in each Church to shepherd the new believers into a loving community and to guard against false teaching in the Church.
Fourth, they followed up by revisiting the new Churches as they were able and by writing letters to be circulated among the Churches.
In the next section of Acts, Luke addresses one of the first false teachings that the apostles had to address:
Was salvation granted through faith in Christ alone?
Or…
Was salvation granted through faith in Christ plus keeping the law?
Go to next Chapter.
Return to Acts, Table of Contents.