In our study of Acts chapter thirteen, we look at God's calling and plan for Barnabas and Saul. We learn how God used these two faithful men to bring many Gentiles to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ.
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Barnabas was born in Cyprus with the name of Joseph. After he came to Christ, he sold all of his goods and gave the money to the apostles in Jerusalem. They then gave him the name Barnabas which, in Greek, means Son of Encouragement. When the number of believers in Antioch started to grow, Barnabas was sent there by the church in Jerusalem. When he saw what was happening there, he went and got Saul (Paul) and they taught the church there for a year. (Acts chapter 11)
In the Antioch congregation were prophets and teachers - Bar-Nabba, Shim'on (known as "the Black"), Lucius (from Cyrene), Menachem (who had been brought up with Herod the governor) and Sha'ul. One time when they were worshipping the Lord and fasting, the Ruach HaKodesh said to them, "Set aside for me Bar-Nabba and Sha'ul for the work to which I have called them." After fasting and praying, they placed their hands on them and sent them off.
Barnabas and Saul were faithful workers in Antioch but God had much bigger plans for them. The Spirit called them to be set apart and the other leaders sent them on their way. They could have been content in where they were and the contribution they were making but instead they were listening to the Lord and were obedient to the call. We all, as Christians, should look at ourselves and God's plan for us. We must be open to listening to the Holy Spirit and heeding the call that God has for our lives. It is much easier to be content and comfortable with our local group of believers and our efforts there but, just like Barnabas and Saul, God might have bigger plans for us. Imagine how different things would be if Barnabas and Saul decided to just stay where they were and work with that local "church".
So these two, after they had been sent out by the Ruach HaKodesh, went down to Seleucia and from there sailed to Cyprus. After landing in Salamis, they began proclaiming the word of God in the synagogues, with Yochanan (Mark) as an assistant;
Barnabas and Saul didn't really know all of the details about what God had called them to do but they took the first step. We see that they went to Cyprus and began to try to tell the Jews about Jesus. Today, we know that they were called out to preach to the Gentiles but, at the time, they didn't know. They were obedient in taking the first step without knowing all of the steps that God had in mind. Sometimes, that is hard for us to do but we must take the first step and let God reveal the rest in his time.
and thus they made their way throughout the whole island. They ended up in Paphos, where they found a Jewish sorcerer and pseudo-prophet named Bar-Yeshua. He had attached himself to the governor, Sergius Paulus, who was an intelligent man. Now the governor had called for Bar-Nabba and Sha'ul and was anxious to hear the message about God; but the sorcerer Elymas (for that is how his name is translated) opposed them, doing his best to turn the governor away from the faith.
Paphos was the capital city of Cyprus at this time and so that is where the proconsul (governor of a Roman province) lived. This city was a famous important city for worshiping the Greek goddess of love and beauty (Aphrodite) and in fact the mythical birthplace of Aphrodite was near the city. The proconsul (governor) called for Barnabas and Saul so that he could hear about God but a sorcerer/false prophet, who was also an attendant to the governor, tried to stop it. One of the cool lessons in this passage is that, if you are faithful in God's work, people will notice and know who to call when they want to know more about Jesus. You see, Barnabas and Saul had traveled all over the island and were known for their work so, when the governor wanted to know more, he knew who to call. That is how each of us are called to walk, so that everyone can see Jesus Christ. But, just like Barnabas and Saul in this passage, there will be those who oppose us and the sharing of God's word.
Then Sha'ul, also known as Paul, filled with the Ruach HaKodesh, stared straight at him and said, "You son of Satan, full of fraud and evil! You enemy of everything good! Won't you ever stop making crooked the straight paths of the Lord?k So now, look! The hand of the Lord is upon you; and for a while you will be blind, unable to see the sun." Immediately mist and darkness came over Elymas; and he groped about, trying to find someone to lead him by the hand. Then, on seeing what had happened, the governor trusted, astounded by the teaching about the Lord.
Isn't it amazing how God can even use a "child of the devil"? You see, Elymas was determined to keep the proconsul from learning about Jesus but instead he was used to demonstrate the power of God. Because of that demonstration of power, the proconsul (governor) believed and was saved. This passage can be a great comfort and inspiration for us today, as Christians who face opposition and persecution. It can remind us that God is in total control and he takes care of his own. It can also be encouragement to get involved in the ministry of the gospel as we see that God can and will use anyone for his purposes (even an unwitting sorcerer like Elymas).
Having set sail from Paphos, Sha'ul and his companions arrived at Perga in Pamphylia. There Yochanan left them and returned to Yerushalayim,
So, Barnabas, John Mark, and Paul left Cyprus and sailed to what is now the country of Turkey. Then, John left them to go back to Jerusalem. At first glance, this verse may seem rather unimportant but, as we will see later in the Book of Acts, it was a major event. You would think that, after such a wonderful experience in Paphos, things would really be going well but here we see the beginning of a major dispute.
but the others went on from Perga to Pisidian Antioch, and on Shabbat they went into the synagogue and sat down. After the reading from the Torah and from the Prophets, the synagogue leaders sent them a message, "Brothers, if any of you has a word of exhortation for the people, speak!"
Paul and Barnabas continued on their journey. At the synagogue in Pisidian Antioch, a passage from the "Law and the Prophets" (Old Testament) was read and then Paul and Barnabas were encouraged to speak. This passage gives us another glimpse into the worship of the early church. In these days, a portion of the Word was read from the scriptures and then it was discussed and explained where necessary. Today, the focus is more on the words of men than the Word of God.
So Sha'ul stood, motioned with his hand, and said: "Men of Isra'el and God-fearers, listen! The God of this people Isra'el chose our fathers. He made the people great during the time when they were living as aliens in Egypt and with a stretched-out arm he led them out of that land. For some forty yearsm he took care of them in the desert and after he had destroyed seven nationsn in the land of Kena'an he gave their land to his people as an inheritance.
Paul stood up and began to speak in the synagogue. We notice that he addresses both the Jews and the Gentiles and pleads with them to listen. He then reminds them of what God has done in the history of his people.
All this took about 450 years. After that, he gave them judges, o down to the prophet Sh'mu'el. Then they asked for a king, and God gave them Sha'ul Ben-Kish, a man from the tribe of Binyamin. After forty years, God removed him and raised up David as king for them, making his approval known with these words, 'I found David Ben-Yishai to be a man after my own heart; he will do everything I want.' "In keeping with his promise, God has brought to Isra'el from this man's descendants a deliverer, Yeshua.
Paul continues his history lesson to the synagogue and recounts the time of the judges and the kings. He points out that Jesus fulfilled the promises that God made to his people. All of the Jews that were listening would have already known this history but Paul was reminding them and pointing them to Jesus.
Now before the coming of Yeshua, Yochanan proclaimed to all the people of Isra'el an immersion in connection with turning to God from sin. But as Yochanan was ending his work, he said, 'Who do you suppose I am? Well - I'm not! But after me is coming someone, the sandals of whose feet I am unworthy to untie.'
Paul continues his history lesson with John the Baptist as he transitions from the Law and the Prophets to the good news of Jesus. The Jews new the prophecy that there would be one who would come before their Messiah and Paul was explaining to them that this prophecy was fulfilled in John and the coming of Jesus.
"Brothers! - sons of Avraham and those among you who are 'God-fearers'! It is to us that the message of this deliverance has been sent!
It is almost as if you can feel Paul pleading with the people to understand about salvation through Jesus Christ. This verse can serve to remind us that this good news is for all men who will accept it.
For the people living in Yerushalayim and their leaders did not recognize who Yeshua was or understand the message of the Prophets read every Shabbat, so they fulfilled that message by condemning him.
Paul is telling the people that the words that they hear spoken in the synagogue each week refer to Jesus. The lesson is for us as well. Many try to separate the Old Testament and the New Testament as if God just abruptly had to change his plans. In reality, God knew it all from the beginning and Jesus, the Savior of the world, was not a "backup plan".
They could not find any legitimate ground for a death sentence; nevertheless they asked Pilate to have him executed; and when they had carried out all the things written about him, he was taken down from the stakeq and placed in a tomb. "But God raised him from the dead! He appeared for many days to those who had come up with him from the Galil to Yerushalayim; and they are now his witnesses to the people.
Paul continues to show the people that Jesus is the promised Messiah. He reminds them that there was no legal reason to kill Jesus and that the grave could not hold him.
"As for us, we are bringing you the Good News that what God promised to the fathers, he has fulfilled for us the children in raising up Yeshua, as indeed it is written in the second Psalm, 'You are my Son; today I have become your Father.'
Paul tells of how the words of the Psalmist are fulfilled in Christ and his resurrection. There is also a promise for us as, when we accept Jesus, we too become sons of God. We inherit all things through our relationship with the Father.
And as for his raising him up from the dead, to return to decay no more, he said, 'I will give the holy and trustworthy things of David to you.' This is explained elsewhere: 'You will not let your Holy One see decay.' For David did indeed serve God's purposes in his own generation; but after that, he died, was buried with his fathers and did see decay. However, the one God raised up did not see decay.
Paul now uses the words of Isaiah and David to show the people the promise that God fulfilled through Jesus Christ. He is showing them that death was conquered through Jesus and his resurrection.
"Therefore, brothers, let it be known to you that through this man is proclaimed forgiveness of sins! That is, God clears everyone who puts his trust in this man, even in regard to all the things concerning which you could not be cleared by the Torah of Moshe. "Watch out, then, so that this word found in the Prophets may not happen to you: 'You mockers! Look, and marvel, and die! For in your own time, I am doing a work that you simply will not believe, even if someone explains it to you!' "
Paul ends his history lesson with the reason for the history which is salvation through Jesus Christ. He explains that God knew there would be "scoffers" who would not believe and be saved and Paul begs them not to be one of them. The quote is from Habakkuk the prophet and comes after Habakkuk has asked God why he allows the injustice in the world. God's reply was that he would bring judgement that the prophet would not even believe. God was referring to the coming invasion by the Babylonians.
As they left, the people invited Sha'ul and Bar-Nabba to tell them more about these matters the following Shabbat. When the synagogue meeting broke up, many of the born Jews and devout proselytes followed Sha'ul and Bar-Nabba, who spoke with them and urged them to keep holding fast to the love and kindness of God.
By simply presenting the good news (gospel) to the people and trusting God to work, Paul set a very good example that is missed today. Paul didn't have a fancy planned out sermon with bullet points and the like; he simply told people about Jesus. Too many "preachers" today are trusting in their words, wisdom, and works instead of allowing God to work. We see that, in this passage, God worked on the people's hearts and caused them to want to know more about him and his Son; it wasn't anything about Paul or his wisdom and strength.
The next Shabbat, nearly the whole city gathered together to hear the message about the Lord; but when the Jews who had not believed saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy and spoke up against what Sha'ul was saying and insulted him.
Wouldn't it be awesome to have an entire city turn out to hear about Jesus? When God works in people's hearts this can happen. That's what happened here but the Jewish leaders weren't happy about it. Instead of being happy that people were coming to worship, they saw there influence diminishing and were jealous. The same thing is true today in many cities where churches compete for "members" instead of reaching out to those who do not know Jesus.
However, Sha'ul and Bar-Nabba answered boldly: "It was necessary that God's word be spoken first to you. But since you are rejecting it and are judging yourselves unworthy of eternal life - why, we're turning to the Goyim! For that is what ADONAI has ordered us to do: 'I have set you as a light for the Goyim, to be for deliverance to the ends of the earth.' "
Now, God reveals his purpose for Paul and Barnabas and they turn their attention to the Gentiles. (That is most of us in the world.) Their new goal is to "bring salvation to the ends of the earth". Like Paul and Barnabas, we all (as Christians) are called to share the message of salvation with the world.
The Gentiles were very happy to hear this. They honored the message about the Lord, and as many as had been appointed to eternal life came to trust.
The non-Jews gladly accepted the news of Jesus Christ and many believed on him for salvation. The last part of this verse has caused some confusion among Christians. Many take the "all who were appointed" and use it as an excuse for not going and sharing the gospel. The reasoning is that, since God has appointed them, then we do not need to do anything. The thing to understand is that God knows and has appointed those that will be saved but we do not have the wisdom of God and so we do not know all that will be saved. We cannot look at someone and know whether they will come to Christ or not therefore, we must share the gospel with all people and trust God to work.
And the message about the Lord was carried throughout the whole region. But the unbelieving Jews stirred up the women 'God-fearers' of high social standing and the leading men of the city, and they organized persecution against Sha'ul and Bar-Nabba and expelled them from their district.
The rich and powerful in the city worked together to get rid of Paul and Barnabas.
However, Sha'ul and Bar-Nabba shook off the dust of their feet against them and went on to Iconium;
Instead of quarreling with the religious leaders and others that were persecuting them, Paul and Barnabas left and went to Iconium which is in the modern country of Turkey. They put the situation in God's hands as they "shook the dust from their feet". That is a good pattern for us as well when people start to argue and persecute us. We too must give all situations and people over to God and realize that only he has the power to change people.
and the talmidim were filled with joy and with the Ruach HaKodesh.
Joy and the Holy Spirit; Does that describe your life in Christ? In the face of persecution, the disciples were filled with joy because they were focused on God and his eternal perspective. When things get difficult (and they will if you are following Jesus), that is when you have the opportunity to demonstrate the power of God in your life. Others can see that your joy is not affected by your situation.
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