AM May 30th Acts 13

May 30^th            Acts 13             D.  Preaching in Power – Paul & Barnabas  

(To the uttermost parts of the earth)       1) (The First Missionary Journey)            Paul & Barnabas called

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.

They go to Cyprus

4: So they, being sent forth by the Holy Ghost, departed unto Seleucia; and from thence they sailed to Cyprus. 5: And when they were at Salamis, they preached the word of God in the synagogues of the Jews: and they had also John to their minister. 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.

Antioch in Pisidia

13: Now when Paul and his company loosed from Paphos, they came to Perga in Pamphylia: and John departing from them returned to Jerusalem. 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. 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 Israel, and ye that fear God, give audience. 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 land of Chanaan, he divided their land to them by lot. 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 fulfill all my will. 23: Of this man's seed hath God according to his promise raised unto Israel a Saviour, Jesus: 24: When John had first preached before his coming the baptism of repentance to all the people of Israel. 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. 27: For they that dwell at Jerusalem, and their rulers, because they knew him not, nor yet the voices of the prophets which are read every sabbath day, they have fulfilled them in condemning him. 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 Jerusalem, who are his witnesses unto the people. 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. 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. 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. 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.

The focus of Luke’s history moves north to the city of Antioch. In the church there were prophets and teachers. The difference between a prophet and a teacher is that the prophet receives direct revelation from God and the teacher teaches on the basis of previously given revelation. As these Godly men ministered to the Lord and fasted, the Holy Spirit gave direction regarding Paul and Barnabas. They were to be separated unto the Lord for the work that he had called them to. Did this come out of the blue? No, this was a confirmation of the call that Paul and Barnabas felt already. God confirmed his call to the believers. Paul and Barnabas were to be separated unto the work that God had called them. Paul and Barnabas set out for Cyprus. When they arrived at Seleucia they visited the Jewish Synagogue and they preached the word. John Mark came along as their assistant. Then they moved on to Paphos were they found a sorcerer and a false prophet a Jewish man called Bar-Jesus. He was close to the Roman Deputy Sergius Paulus who sent for Paul to hear the message that they brought. But Elymas (Bar-Jesus) withstood him seeking to turn away the deputy from the faith. Paul filled with the Holy Spirit gave a stinging rebuke to him. Then Paul commanded him to be blind for a while as a discipline of God. (He was a Jew) When Paulus saw this he believed the Gospel. They moved on to Perga in Pamphylia but John left the team and returned to Jerusalem. Then Paul and Barnabas went to Antioch in Pisidia and again they attended the Jewish Synagogue. It was the Jewish custom to allow speakers to stand up if they wished to address the people. So after the reading of the Law and the prophets the rulers of the synagogue invited them to speak. Paul rose to speak and Luke records his sermon. He addresses the men of Israel and the god-fearing proselytes. He spoke of the whole history of Israel from the call of God in Egypt and of their greatest King David and from him directly to Jesus the Son of David. He describes the ministry of John the Baptiser. Then he applies his message directly to the Jews and proselytes. He describes the rejection of Christ by the Jerusalem leaders and of their murderous plot and he spoke of his crucifixion, burial. But then he delivers his bomb shell. BUT GOD raised him from the dead and he was seen for many days. Then he went on to prove this from scripture. Psa 2. Then he summarises his message saying that through his name is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins. And by Christ all that believe are justified from all things from which they could not be justified by obedience to the Law of Moses. Then he gives them a general warning not to despise this message. The Jews left the Synagogue but the proselytes asked Paul to come again the following week. When they left the synagogue there were many Jews and proselytes who followed them. On the next Sabbath the whole city came to hear the message of Paul. The Jews when they saw the huge multitudes were full of envy and opposed them, contradicting them and blaspheming. Paul and Barnabas became very bold and said it was right that you should hear the word first but because you show yourselves to be unworthy of everlasting life we will turn to the Gentiles. Paul showed that this was a fulfilment of prophecy. The Gentiles were very glad and the message was preached throughout the whole region by the converts. However the Jews stirred up trouble and expelled Paul and Barnabas from the area. They did the apostolic thing of shaking the dust from their feet. This was like saying I do not want to be contaminated by the dust of the streets where the gospel is rejected. They moved on to Iconium. The disciples were filled with joy and power for serving God.