Acts, Chapter 13
© Copyright 2007 Darroll Evans, all
rights reserved
Acts 13:1-3
1 Now there were in the church that was at Antioch certain prophets and
teachers; as Barnabas, and Simeon that was called Niger, and Lucius of Cyrene,
and Manaen, which had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch, and Saul.
2 As they ministered to the Lord, and fasted, the Holy Ghost said, Separate me
Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them.
3 And when they had fasted and prayed, and laid their hands on them, they sent
them away.
In this chapter, we will find
a reference to two cities with the same name.
Both were named
Luke, the writer of Acts,
tells us that the Church in Syrian Antioch had several Prophets and Teachers,
such as Barnabas, “Now there were in the church at Antioch certain prophets and
teachers such as Barnabas (a Levite Jew from Cuprus), Simeon (called Niger),
Lucius (a native of Cyrene), Manaen (who was a childhood friend of Herod
Antipas, the tetrarch), and of course Saul (who in this chapter will change his
name to Paul).”
As those men ministered to the Lord, and fasted, the Holy Ghost said, “Separate
me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.”
Notice that the call is made
by the Holy Spirit, God the Holy Spirit. Romans 11:29 tells us that the gifts
and the calling of God are irrevocable.
The Bible does not specify whether it is God, the Father, the Son, or
the Holy Ghost. That is irrelevant. They always act in concert. There is no calling or gift from One that is
not also a calling and gift from the others in the God-head.
So, they had fasted and prayed, and then laid their hands on Barnabas and Saul.
It was then that they were commissioned and sent (Gr. apelusan-apelusan). That Greek word comes from apo-apo, meaning to send and from which we get the title
“Apostle” a sent one.
Acts 13:4-5
4 So they, being sent forth by the Holy Ghost, departed unto
5 And when they were at
They were called, gifted to
act in assigned capacities and sent out by the Holy Spirit.
They left Syrian Antioch,
went to a sea
When they came to
Acts 13:6-12
6 And when they had gone through the isle unto Paphos, they found a certain
sorcerer, a false prophet, a Jew, whose name was Bar-jesus:
7 Which was with the deputy of the country, Sergius Paulus, a prudent man; who
called for Barnabas and Saul, and desired to hear the word of God.
8 But Elymas the sorcerer (for so is his name by interpretation) withstood
them, seeking to turn away the deputy from the faith.
9 Then Saul, (who also is called Paul,) filled with the Holy Ghost, set his
eyes on him,
10 And said, O full of all subtilty and all mischief, thou child of the devil,
thou enemy of all righteousness, wilt thou not cease to pervert the right ways
of the Lord?
11 And now, behold, the hand of the Lord is upon thee, and thou shalt be blind,
not seeing the sun for a season. And immediately there fell on him a mist and a
darkness; and he went about seeking some to lead him by the hand.
12 Then the deputy, when he saw what was done, believed, being astonished at
the doctrine of the Lord.
Passing
through
However,
Elymas, the conjurer (that is how his name is translated) opposed them. He sought to turn the proconsul away from the
faith.
Saul
(who from this point on will be called Paul), being filled with the Holy Spirit, looked carefully at
him. Paul said, “You son of the devil,
full of all guile and cunning, and antagonistic to all that is righteous, when will you stop perverting the
righteous ways of the
Lord? The hand of the Lord is
upon you, and you will be blind, not seeing the sun for a time.”
Instantly
blindness fell on Elymas! He had to have another person lead him around.
Seeing
what happened, the proconsul believed.
He as overwhelmed concerning the doctrine of the Lord.
The
“doctrine of the Lord” is not a theoretical teaching. It has become that to many, but Christ’s
doctrine is one of practical application.
Acts 13:13-14
13 Now when Paul and his company loosed from Paphos, they came to Perga in
Pamphylia: and John departing from them returned to
14 But when they departed from Perga, they came to Antioch in Pisidia, and went
into the synagogue on the sabbath day, and sat down.
Leaving
Paphos, Paul and those with him came to the city of
Going
through Perga, the band of evangelists came to Antioch of Pisidia. On the Sabbath, they went into the local
Synagogue.
Going
into a Synagogue was the normal practice for the early Christians. In those days, Christianity was a majority
Jewish movement that was considered to be a sect of Judaism.
Acts 13:15-23
15 And after the reading of the law and the prophets the rulers of the synagogue
sent unto them, saying, Ye men and brethren, if ye have any word of exhortation
for the people, say on.
16 Then Paul stood up, and beckoning with his hand said, Men of
17 The God of this people of Israel chose our fathers, and exalted the people
when they dwelt as strangers in the land of Egypt, and with an high arm brought
he them out of it.
18 And about the time of forty years suffered he their manners in the
wilderness.
19 And when he had destroyed seven nations in the
20 And after that he gave unto them judges about the space of four hundred and
fifty years, until Samuel the prophet.
21 And afterward they desired a king: and God gave unto them Saul the son of
Cis, a man of the tribe of Benjamin, by the space of forty years.
22 And when he had removed him, he raised up unto them David to be their king;
to whom also he gave testimony, and said, I have found David the son of Jesse,
a man after mine own heart, which shall fulfil all my will.
23 Of this man's seed hath God according to his promise raised unto Israel a
Saviour, Jesus:
After
the reading of the Law and of the Prophets, as the Sabbath service progressed,
the Synagogue leaders asked Barnabas and Paul to speak.
Paul
began, “Men, Israelites, and those of you, who fear God (that greeting was to
the Israelites and Gentile proselytizes in attendance), please listen. The God
of Israel chose our fathers, and exalted this people during their stay in
As
40 years passed, God
affectionately guided them through the wilderness. He defeated seven nations in
After
that, as 450 years passed, God
gave
After
removing Saul, God annointed David, of whom He said, “I found David, the son of Jesse, to be a man after My own
heart. He will do all My will. It is from David’s children, according to
promise that God raised up a Savior in
Acts 13:24-26
24 When John had first preached before his coming the baptism
of repentance to all the people of
25 And as John fulfilled his course, he said, Whom
think ye that I am? I am not he. But, behold, there cometh one after me, whose
shoes of his feet I am not worthy to loose.
26 Men and brethren, children of the stock of Abraham,
and whosoever among you feareth God, to you is the word of this salvation sent.
Paul
continued, “John (the Baptizer) appeared in advance of Christ Jesus to proclaim
His entrance through a baptism of repentance to all the people of
Acts 13:27-41
27 For they that dwell at
28 And though they found no cause of death in him, yet desired they Pilate that
he should be slain.
29 And when they had fulfilled all that was written of him, they took him down
from the tree, and laid him in a sepulchre.
30 But God raised him from the dead:
31 And he was seen many days of them which came up with him from Galilee to
32 And we declare unto you glad tidings, how that the promise which was made
unto the fathers,
33 God hath fulfilled the same unto us their children, in that he hath raised
up Jesus again; as it is also written in the second psalm, Thou art my Son,
this day have I begotten thee.
34 And as concerning that he raised him up from the dead, now no more to return
to corruption, he said on this wise, I will give you the sure mercies of David.
35 Wherefore he saith also in another psalm, Thou shalt not suffer thine Holy
One to see corruption.
36 For David, after he had served his own generation by the will of God, fell
on sleep, and was laid unto his fathers, and saw corruption:
37 But he, whom God raised again, saw no corruption.
38 Be it known unto you therefore, men and brethren, that through this man is
preached unto you the forgiveness of sins:
39 And by him all that believe are justified from all things, from which ye
could not be justified by the law of Moses.
40 Beware therefore, lest that come upon you, which is spoken of in the
prophets;
41 Behold, ye despisers, and wonder, and perish: for I work a work in your
days, a work which ye shall in no wise believe, though a man declare it unto
you.
Paul
told them, “Those living in
“Since
they could find no reason to kill Him, they asked Pilate to do it. And, when
they finished doing those things that have been written concerning Him, they
took Him down from the tree
(the cross), they laid Him in a
tomb.
“But,
God raised Him from the dead!
“For
many days, He appeared to those who followed Him from Galilee to
“And
as a consequence, we have come to preach the gospel to you, the gospel of the promise
made to our fathers that God has fulfilled in and to us, their children.
“In
raising up Jesus, we have a fulfillment of the second Psalm, ‘You are My Son,
today I have begotten You.’
“And
furthermore, He raised Him from the
dead, never to experience corruption.
So, He has said, ‘I will give You the holy consecration of faithful
David.’
“The
Scripture also says in another place, ‘You will not give Your Holy One to see
corruption.’
“‘Because,
having served his generation by
the counsel of God, David truly fell asleep and was added to his fathers and
saw corruption. But, He whom God raised up did not
experience corruption.’
“So then, let it be known to you, men, and brothers that through this One
(Christ Jesus) forgiveness of sin is being announced to you. And as a result,
all that believe in this One is justified from all things, from which they
could not be justified by the Law of Moses.”
***Remission
and forgiveness (Gr. afesis-afesiV) come from the same Greek root word and speak of deliverance.
Paul continued, “So then, watch and see so that the things spoken negatively in the Prophets may not come
on you. Such as ‘Look out, you haters, and be in awe, and
perish, because I do a great work in your lifetime, a work which you in no way
would believe, even if anyone declares it
to you.’”
That message seems filled
with hope and harshness.
Acts 13:42-43
42 And when the Jews were gone out of the synagogue,
the Gentiles besought that these words might be preached to them the next
sabbath.
43 Now when the congregation was broken up, many of
the Jews and religious proselytes followed Paul and Barnabas: who, speaking to
them, persuaded them to continue in the grace of God.
When the Jews left the
Synagogue, the Gentiles asked that the gospel be preached to them the next
Sabbath. Many Jews and Gentile proselytes stood with Paul and Barnabas, and
they urged them to continue in the grace of God.
Acts 13:44-45
44 And the next sabbath day came almost the whole city
together to hear the word of God.
45 But when the Jews saw the multitudes, they were
filled with envy, and spake against those things which were spoken by Paul,
contradicting and blaspheming.
The
next Sabbath, almost the entire city assembled to hear the Word of God. As a result, Jews, seeing the crowds, were
filled with jealousy, and attempted to challenge the things spoken by
Paul. They were disagreeing with both
Paul and Barnabas to the point of cursing Christ Jesus.
Acts 13:46-52
46 Then Paul and Barnabas waxed bold, and said, It was
necessary that the word of God should first have been spoken to you: but seeing
ye put it from you, and judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life, lo, we
turn to the Gentiles.
47 For so hath the Lord commanded us, saying, I have
set thee to be a light of the Gentiles, that thou shouldest be for salvation
unto the ends of the earth.
48 And when the Gentiles heard this, they were glad,
and glorified the word of the Lord: and as many as were ordained to eternal
life believed.
49 And the word of the Lord was published throughout
all the region.
50 But the Jews stirred up the devout and honourable
women, and the chief men of the city, and raised persecution against Paul and
Barnabas, and expelled them out of their coasts.
51 But they shook off the dust of their feet against
them, and came unto Iconium.
52 And the disciples were filled with joy, and with
the Holy Ghost.
At
that Paul and Barnabas spoke more boldly.
They told them that it was required for the Word of God to be spoken first to Jews. Then they told
them that “since you threw it away, and do not consider yourselves worthy of
eternal life, we now turn to the Gentiles. Because the Lord has ordered us
saying (of Christ), ‘I have set You for a Light of nations, that You be for
salvation to the end of the
earth.’”
Upon hearing that, the Gentiles expressed great joy and glorified the Word of
the Lord. And consequently, as many as were “ordained” to eternal life
believed. The Word of the Lord was accepted throughout all the country.
However, the Jewish leaders began to harass Paul and Barnabas, and forced them
to leave the area.
Did
you get that?
As
many as were ordained (Gr. tetagmenoi-tetagmenoi), set in order, or appointed to eternal life
believed.
There
is a teaching that says we must “make” Jesus Lord. That teaching is not
biblical. Jesus is Lord whether or not
we acknowledge His Lordship.
We
do not seek Him, He seeks us!
John 15:16 Ye have not chosen me, but I
have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth
fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the
Father in my name, he may give it you.
John 15:19 If ye were of the world,
the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I
have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you.
II Thess 2:13 But we are bound to give
thanks alway to God for you, brethren beloved of the Lord, because God hath
from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification
of the Spirit and belief of the truth:
Christianity
is not man seeking God. Christianity is God seeking man!
Luke 19:10 For the Son of man is come
to seek and to save that which was lost.
An
unregenerate heart will not seek God!
Rom 3:11 There is none that
understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God.
Isa 53:6 All we like sheep
have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD
hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.
Paul
and Barnabas shook the dust off their feet (as a sign of rejection), and went
to Iconium. And as a result of Jewish rejection, the disciples were actually
filled with joy and the Holy
Spirit.