DAY 13
Acts 13:1-52
Barnabas and Saul Are Commissioned
Among the prophets and teachers of the church at Antioch of Syria were Barnabas, Simeon (called “the black man”), Lucius (from Cyrene), Manaen (the childhood companion of King Herod Antipas), and Saul. 2 One day as these men were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Appoint Barnabas and Saul for the special work to which I have called them.” 3 So after more fasting and prayer, the men laid their hands on them and sent them on their way.
Paul’s First Missionary Journey
4 So Barnabas and Saul were sent out by the Holy Spirit. They went down to the seaport of Seleucia and then sailed for the island of Cyprus. 5 There, in the town of Salamis, they went to the Jewish synagogues and preached the word of God. John Mark went with them as their assistant.
6 Afterward they traveled from town to town across the entire island until finally they reached Paphos, where they met a Jewish sorcerer, a false prophet named Bar-Jesus. 7 He had attached himself to the governor, Sergius Paulus, who was an intelligent man. The governor invited Barnabas and Saul to visit him, for he wanted to hear the word of God. 8 But Elymas, the sorcerer (as his name means in Greek), interfered and urged the governor to pay no attention to what Barnabas and Saul said. He was trying to keep the governor from believing.
9 Saul, also known as Paul, was filled with the Holy Spirit, and he looked the sorcerer in the eye. 10 Then he said, “You son of the devil, full of every sort of deceit and fraud, and enemy of all that is good! Will you never stop perverting the true ways of the Lord? 11 Watch now, for the Lord has laid his hand of punishment upon you, and you will be struck blind. You will not see the sunlight for some time.” Instantly mist and darkness came over the man’s eyes, and he began groping around begging for someone to take his hand and lead him.
12 When the governor saw what had happened, he became a believer, for he was astonished at the teaching about the Lord.
Paul Preaches in Antioch of Pisidia
13 Paul and his companions then left Paphos by ship for Pamphylia, landing at the port town of Perga. There John Mark left them and returned to Jerusalem. 14 But Paul and Barnabas traveled inland to Antioch of Pisidia.
On the Sabbath they went to the synagogue for the services. 15 After the usual readings from the books of Moses and the prophets, those in charge of the service sent them this message: “Brothers, if you have any word of encouragement for the people, come and give it.”
16 So Paul stood, lifted his hand to quiet them, and started speaking. “Men of Israel,” he said, “and you God-fearing Gentiles, listen to me.
17 “The God of this nation of Israel chose our ancestors and made them multiply and grow strong during their stay in Egypt. Then with a powerful arm he led them out of their slavery. 18 He put up with them through forty years of wandering in the wilderness. 19 Then he destroyed seven nations in Canaan and gave their land to Israel as an inheritance. 20 All this took about 450 years.
“After that, God gave them judges to rule until the time of Samuel the prophet. 21 Then the people begged for a king, and God gave them Saul son of Kish, a man of the tribe of Benjamin, who reigned for forty years. 22 But God removed Saul and replaced him with David, a man about whom God said, ‘I have found David son of Jesse, a man after my own heart. He will do everything I want him to do.’
23 “And it is one of King David’s descendants, Jesus, who is God’s promised Savior of Israel! 24 Before he came, John the Baptist preached that all the people of Israel needed to repent of their sins and turn to God and be baptized. 25 As John was finishing his ministry he asked, ‘Do you think I am the Messiah? No, I am not! But he is coming soon—and I’m not even worthy to be his slave and untie the sandals on his feet.’
26 “Brothers—you sons of Abraham, and also you God-fearing Gentiles—this message of salvation has been sent to us! 27 The people in Jerusalem and their leaders did not recognize Jesus as the one the prophets had spoken about. Instead, they condemned him, and in doing this they fulfilled the prophets’ words that are read every Sabbath. 28 They found no legal reason to execute him, but they asked Pilate to have him killed anyway.
29 “When they had done all that the prophecies said about him, they took him down from the cross and placed him in a tomb. 30 But God raised him from the dead! 31 And over a period of many days he appeared to those who had gone with him from Galilee to Jerusalem. They are now his witnesses to the people of Israel.
32 “And now we are here to bring you this Good News. The promise was made to our ancestors, 33 and God has now fulfilled it for us, their descendants, by raising Jesus. This is what the second psalm says about Jesus:
‘You are my Son.
Today I have become your Father.’
34 For God had promised to raise him from the dead, not leaving him to rot in the grave. He said, ‘I will give you the sacred blessings I promised to David.’ 35 Another psalm explains it more fully: ‘You will not allow your Holy One to rot in the grave.’ 36 This is not a reference to David, for after David had done the will of God in his own generation, he died and was buried with his ancestors, and his body decayed. 37 No, it was a reference to someone else—someone whom God raised and whose body did not decay.
38 “Brothers, listen! We are here to proclaim that through this man Jesus there is forgiveness for your sins. 39 Everyone who believes in him is made right in God’s sight—something the law of Moses could never do. 40 Be careful! Don’t let the prophets’ words apply to you. For they said,
41 ‘Look, you mockers,
be amazed and die!
For I am doing something in your own day,
something you wouldn’t believe
even if someone told you about it.’”
42 As Paul and Barnabas left the synagogue that day, the people begged them to speak about these things again the next week. 43 Many Jews and devout converts to Judaism followed Paul and Barnabas, and the two men urged them to continue to rely on the grace of God.
Paul Turns to the Gentiles
44 The following week almost the entire city turned out to hear them preach the word of the Lord. 45 But when some of the Jews saw the crowds, they were jealous; so they slandered Paul and argued against whatever he said.
46 Then Paul and Barnabas spoke out boldly and declared, “It was necessary that we first preach the word of God to you Jews. But since you have rejected it and judged yourselves unworthy of eternal life, we will offer it to the Gentiles. 47 For the Lord gave us this command when he said,
‘I have made you a light to the Gentiles,
to bring salvation to the farthest corners of the earth.’”
48 When the Gentiles heard this, they were very glad and thanked the Lord for his message; and all who were chosen for eternal life became believers. 49 So the Lord’s message spread throughout that region.
50 Then the Jews stirred up the influential religious women and the leaders of the city, and they incited a mob against Paul and Barnabas and ran them out of town. 51 So they shook the dust from their feet as a sign of rejection and went to the town of Iconium. 52 And the believers were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.
1. As Saul was commissioned to go out to do missionary work (and was thus renamed Paul), it was clear that the Holy Spirit became active in his life. As a theme that has run throughout the book of Acts, it is more and more clear that the Holy Spirit activates believers for ministry. In what ways do you need to relinquish areas of your life to the work of the Holy Spirit? Why do you think this is important? In what sense have you felt a call of God in your own life? Take a moment to reflect, and to pray that God would provide you some clarity in this area.
2. Often we get nostalgic about how we saw God move at some point in our lives, and we think that if we recreate the same circumstances, God will move again in the future. Paul described this by using the old law (in the Old Testament) as something that could never be followed. However, Acts 13:41 says, “…I am doing something in your own days, something you wouldn’t believe even if someone told you about it.” We can always look to God to prepare works for us that are new every day, and prepared for every generation. What are the ways that you notice God is moving in your own life that is different today than it may have been in the past? In what ways have you been stuck in thinking that God only moved at a certain time in your life, and that you need to recreate those circumstances to see Him move again? Do you find yourself living in an “Old Testament Law” mentality?
3. Paul and Barnabas told the Jewish believers to continuously rely on the grace of God. What does it mean to rely on God’s grace? Do you rely on that grace in your own life? In what ways? Do you believe it is possible to abuse God’s grace? What might that look like?
4. Any of us can act out against even good works that God is doing, as evidenced by some of the Jewish leaders that got jealous of the crowds that Paul and Barnabas were reaching with the message of Christ. There was a jealously that was evident within the hearts of those who were watching the Gentiles turn to Christ. As believers, we are called to join in with the good works that God is doing, whether that’s with our local faith community or others. As the universal church, we are called to join in and celebrate with the movement of Jesus and not the movement of any particular church or faith group. In what ways have you been jealous of God’s work in other’s lives? How can you begin to change your heart towards celebrating the work that God is doing in lives of believers everywhere?
God in heaven, I take solace today in knowing that You are working in all areas, whether I am a part of it or not. Just as the church united after they saw the resurrected Jesus, I pray for a heart of unity with all other believers, giving praise to You even when I’m not directly involved. Eliminate any jealousy that is in my heart and allow me the grace to recognize and celebrate all of the ways in which You move amongst people in the world, both near me and far from me. Just as Jesus prayed for unity for His church, I pray for a heart of unity for other believers and faith groups around me that are trying to reach others with the Good News of Your gospel. Thank you for the power of a unified church. I pray that I would recognize and celebrate all that You are doing as You change lives and hearts. Thank you for allowing me to be united in a faith group that is actively trying to reach people around me with that same Good News. Amen.
LIFE IS NOT MEANT TO BE LIVED ALONE. YOU WERE CREATED TO EXPERIENCE LIFE WITH OTHER PEOPLE.