Community Bible Study -- Acts
 Text of Presentation, Lesson 11, Acts 13:1-52

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Paul’s First Mission Trip (Part 1)

In the last lesson we talked about the church at Antioch, the first church to include large numbers of Gentiles. Today Antioch today is the minor city of Antakya, Turkey, but in 300 BC it was the capital of the Greek Seleucid empire; and in the 1st century, it is the third largest city of the Roman empire. Antioch has a large Jewish population, and it became one of the four most important centers of the Christian church – but it went into decline after a massive earthquake in the 6th century.

Churches in the 1st century had no buildings; the term “church” as used in Acts refers to a body of believers gathering in a home . . . or a secret place to avoid persecution. The “prophets and teachers” mentioned in Acts 13:1 are the church leaders; the list includes:

·        Barnabas . . . a Hellenized Jew from Cyprus. As discussed last week, he is the “official emissary” of the Jerusalem church.

·        Simeon . . . his name is Hebrew, so he may be a Hebraic Jew.

·        Lucius from Cyrene . . . he has a Roman name, so he may be the leading “God-fearing” Gentile on the council – or he may be one of the Hellenized Jews who first witnessed to the Gentiles of Antioch (Acts 11:20)

·        Manaen – or Manachen – another Hebrew name . . . probably a Hebraic Jew. He was reared with Herod Antipas (who killed John the Baptist), which implies wealth and power; some scholars even claim he is a “foster brother” of Herod.

·        Saul of Tarsus, another Hellenized Jew, and Barnabas’ principle assistant

Judging from this list, the church is diverse . . . possibly with wealthy and influential members. They seem to have successfully integrated Jews and Gentiles into a smoothly functioning organization with an “ethnically balanced” leadership group.

One day while these five leaders are “worshiping and fasting,” the Holy Spirit tells them to “set apart Barnabas and Saul” for missionary work (Acts 13:2). Perhaps Antioch can become a template for other successful Jewish-Gentile churches throughout the Roman world . . . especially those places where Christians dispersed after Pentecost and the stoning of Stephen. There is no mention that the church in Jerusalem is consulted about this; the leaders in Antioch seem to feel instructions from the Holy Spirit are sufficient!

Hence begins Christianity’s greatest evangelism effort . . . generally known as the missionary journeys of Paul (because Saul begins to use his Roman name of Paul to better identify with Gentiles). This task is possible because God has carefully prepared the world to spread the gospel. Greek is a universal language, in the way English is today, because of the conquests of Alexander the Great in the 4th century BC. The Romans brought political stability and a vast network of military roads 200 years later. So in the 1st century Roman world, travel is safer and communications easier than at any earlier time in human history . . . and also at any later time until the 19th century when steamboats and railroads were common. Saul and Barnabas – along with Barnabas’ cousin John Mark (Col 4:10) – take advantage of this situation.

The missionaries plan to go to Jewish synagogues and preach Jesus as the Messiah . . . then branch out to the Gentiles. This is the way the church started in Antioch, and it’s a logical pattern, because Jewish synagogues are located in cities throughout the Roman world. Why? It’s another way God prepared the world to spread the gospel. Since the time of Solomon, Jewish worship is focused on the temple . . . but in the 7th century BC, the Babylonians conquered Jerusalem and destroyed the temple. Many Jews were taken away in captivity, but others escaped to cities all around the Mediterranean. Lack of a temple forced the Jews to develop the synagogue system . . . and even though the temple was rebuilt in the 5th century BC, there are synagogues in cities throughout the 1st century Roman world where Jews gather with God-fearing Gentiles every Sabbath.

Where does the mission team go first? The Holy Spirit sends them to Barnabas’ home of Cyprus (Acts 13:4), where the affable Barnabas probably has lots of friends. “Friend-to-friend evangelism” is the most modern theory for church growth; but it’s really as old as Paul and Barnabas!

Cyprus is 100 miles across the Mediterranean Sea from Antioch. Paul, Barnabas, and John Mark land at Salamis, the Cypriot port nearest Antioch. From Salamis they travel west to Paphos, witnessing in synagogues as they go. In Paphos the Roman proconsul, Sergius Paulus, is probably a “God-fearing” Gentile; he “sent for Barnabas and Saul because he wanted to hear the word of God” (Acts 13:7b). But “a Jewish sorcerer and false prophet named Bar-Jesus,” on the staff Sergius Paulus (Acts 13:6-8), “tried to turn the proconsul from the faith.” Like in the story of Philip in Samaria (cf Acts 8), this influential sorcerer is jealous of the power of the Christians. Bar-Jesus disputes Paul and Barnabas with “deceit and trickery” (Acts 13:8, 10) until Paul has enough; he accuses the sorcerer of “pervert(ing) the right ways of the Lord” and says he will be struck blind . . . which he is! That gets Sergius Paulus’ attention, and he immediately becomes a believer . . . probably the most politically connected member of the early church.

Sergius Paulus is also special for another reason. There is scant secular historical evidence of most people mentioned in the bible. Even for someone as prominent as Pontius Pilate, no archaeological evidence existed until 1961! This has led anti-Christian “scholars” to claim for centuries that bible stories are made up – like novels. Religion is based on faith, but Christianity claims to be based on real historical people. Hence it’s important that some secular record be left, and Sergius Paulus is one for whom there is extensive record: an inscription bearing his name and title of proconsul, found near Paphos in 1877; a memorial stone with his name in Rome; and a stone with his name at Pisidian Antioch (a photo of which is on the web site).

Returning to the story . . . a subtle shift in the narrative occurs after Bar-Jesus is blinded. Up until this point, Acts refers to “Barnabas and Saul”; afterward, references are to “Paul and Barnabas.” It seems leadership has shifted from Barnabas to Paul.

Leaving Paphos, the missionaries sail to Perga, in what is now southern Turkey. Here Paul and Barnabas say good-bye to John Mark – who returns to Jerusalem – and go directly to Pisidian Antioch. Scholars wonder why they make no effort to witness in Perga or any place in between . . . but since Sergius Paulus owns land in Pisidian Antioch, the best explanation seems to be that he sent the missionaries there with letters of recommendation to family and friends.

Upon reaching Pisidian Antioch, Paul and Barnabas go to the synagogue on the Sabbath. It’s a normal part of the service to ask visitors if they have a “message of encouragement” – and when Paul and Barnabas are invited to speak, Paul indeed brings such a message . . . in his first major speech recorded in the bible.

Paul first addresses the crowd: "Men of Israel and . . . Gentiles who worship God” (Acts 13:16). Both groups are familiar with Jewish scripture, and Paul employs the same theme used by Peter and Stephen: Jesus was the Messiah, the fulfillment of Jewish prophesy. He starts with a thumbnail sketch of Jewish history, beginning with the Exodus: the great event defining God’s love for Israel. He discusses King David, founder of the Messianic line foretold by the prophets . . . and Jesus as part of – and culmination of – that line. Then Paul offers proof Jesus is Messiah. First he quotes the proclamation of John the Baptist; the people here probably knew of John, since his influence extended far beyond Israel (cf Acts 19:3). Then, building to his climax, Paul tells those gathered in a city far from Israel: “The people of Jerusalem and their rulers did not recognize Jesus, yet in condemning him they fulfilled the words of the prophets that (you hear) read every Sabbath” (Acts 13:27). Paul says Jesus’ death and resurrection fulfill Messianic prophesy, and he quotes prophesy from Psalms and Isaiah 53; as proof, he says Jesus’ disciples witnessed Jesus’ resurrection. Then he delivers the “punch line”:

Through Jesus the forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you. Through him everyone who believes is justified from everything you could not be justified from by the law of Moses. (Acts 13:38b-39)

Paul closes by addressing those who are thinking: “This isn’t the Messiah we expected” with a quote from the prophet Habakkuk, to expect the unexpected with the coming of the Messiah.

Paul’s points strike home. “Many of the Jews and devout converts” apparently become believers then and there (Acts 13:43); and those who do not believe at least find Paul’s remarks so thought-provoking that he is invited to speak again the following Sabbath.

To understand what happens next, imagine living in a small city before radio or TV or automobiles; there isn’t a lot of news and few distractions. If foreigners speak in the synagogue about a Jew who was raised from the dead and promise “forgiveness” for anything you have done wrong . . . the word will spread quickly. So “on the next Sabbath almost the whole city gathered to hear the word of the Lord” (Acts 13:44). The synagogue is not large; its foundations are pictured on the web site. Even allowing for some exaggeration by Luke (who wasn’t there), it must have been packed like a subway train at rush hour . . . with people outside, unable to get in!

But Paul never gets a chance to speak. Instead: “When the Jews saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy and talked abusively against what Paul was saying” (Acts 13:45). Jews are a small minority in Pisidian Antioch, so most of the crowd is probably Gentile; the synagogue leaders may be afraid of losing control in their own house of worship! They are willing to debate Messianic prophesy among a Jewish majority in the normal synagogue setting, but are reluctant to do so in front of a large crowd of Gentiles – most of whom know little about Jewish scripture, but support Paul’s claim of salvation for Gentiles. Luke doesn’t report what the Jewish leaders say . . . but they are probably skeptical of Paul’s claim Jesus is the Messiah . . . and they reject what Paul says about “justification” coming from believing in Jesus, not from following the Jewish oral law. “Justification” is usually defined as righteousness gained by forgiven sin, and to 1st century Jews, the only way to be justified is through legalistic compliance with the oral law; it’s easy to see how they might become both “jealous” and “abusive.” And Paul responds by saying the Jews have “reject(ed) . . . the word of God” and are not “worthy of eternal life.” Paul quotes prophesy from Isaiah that the Messiah is “a light for the Gentiles” (Isa 49:6), and declares he and Barnabas will go to the Gentiles.

This makes the Gentile majority filling the synagogue very “glad” (Acts 13:46-48) . . . and although Paul and Barnabas don’t get a chance to speak in the synagogue, their message of Gentile salvation gets out anyway, because many “believed,” and “the word of the Lord spread through the whole region” (Acts 13:48-49). 

Unfortunately, Paul’s and Barnabas’ success makes the Jews even angrier, and they “incited the God-fearing women of high standing and the leading men of the city” (Acts 13:50a). The “God-fearing women” are influenced by Jewish leaders whom they have cone to trust – and scholars say, Gentile women (who are not required to be circumcised) were more receptive to becoming Jews than their husbands! The “leading men of the city” are mostly pagans who don’t care about a religious dispute within the Jewish community, but do care if outsiders disrupt the peace of Pisidian Antioch – even if they may have letters of recommendation from Sergius Paulus. So with this unlikely alliance of devout Gentile women and pagan Gentile men, the Jews succeed in having Paul and Barnabas “expelled . . . from the region” (Acts 13:50).

This is quite a different outcome from their smashing success in Cyprus; yet “the disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit” (Acts 13:52). They may be run out of town, but they are justifiably proud of their success in bringing people to Jesus and planting seeds for future church growth. What happens here in Pisidian Antioch will become a familiar pattern as we continue through Acts.

The next lesson will discusses Paul’s and Barnabas’ visit to Iconium, Lystra, Derbe, Perga, and Attilia . . . then their return to Antioch. It will also address verse 51:  “They shook the dust from their feet in protest.”  That phrase carries too much significance to skip . . . but in the interests of time it will be held over to the next session.