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First Missionary Journey Acts 13:1-12
work God had for them. To separate or dedicate means to set apart for a special pur- pose.
A Christian could be both a prophet and teacher. The followers of Jesus were first called Christians in Antioch.
This was the beginning of Paul’s first missionary jour- ney.
Jesus said His followers would fast after He left them, and so they did. When fast- ing, they spent the time they would normally be eating to worshiping the Lord Jesus. As they were worshiping, the Holy Spirit probably revealed to all of those named above at the same time the will of Jesus for Barnabas and Saul (Paul). He spoke words in a way that left no doubt what Jesus wanted from Barnabas and Saul (Paul).
In response to the Holy Spirit, they continued to fast and pray, and then they laid hands on Barnabas and Saul(Paul) to commission them and assure them that
the Church in Antioch would continue to support them as they obeyed the Holy Spirit and were sent on their jour- ney.
“Acts of the Holy Spirit, the First Journey Acts 13:4-6
The two of them, sent on their way by the Holy Spirit, went down to Seleucia and sailed from there to Cyprus.
Saul and Barnabas had the assurance that they were obeying the Lord Jesus in the work.
For this reason, some pre- fer to call this book the “Acts of the Holy Spirit” and the Gospel of Luke the “Acts of Jesus Christ.”
Seleucia was a port city in Syria about 15 miles south of Antioch. They sailed to Cyprus, the home of Barn- abas. Barnabas would serve as guide for the two of them, and could easily introduce Saul (Paul) to those he knew.
When they arrived at Salamis, they proclaimed the word of God in the Jewish synagogues.
The Good News of Jesus Christ is the word of God, which eventually became the Gospels and the entire New Testament, the Word of God written.
John Mark (Barnabas’ nephew), later the writer of the Gospel of Mark, was with them as a helper, but left them, (probably meaning he was not, or not yet, consid- ered by the Church a preacher, prophet, or teacher).
They traveled through the whole island until they came to Paphos. There they met a Jewish sorcerer and false prophet whose name was Bar- Jesus(Acts 13:6), who was with the deputy (procon- sul) of the country, Sergius Paulus.
They completely obeyed the Holy Spirit by travelling through the whole island preaching the gospel.
Believers are to beware of false signs and wonders, as Jesus warned: “For false messiahs and false prophets will appear and perform signs and wonders to de- ceive, if possible, even the elect” (Mark 13:22).
Hearing The Word Of God Acts 13:7-9
Despite his intellectual abilities and curiosity, that influenced him to seek greater learning from Barn- abas and Saul (Paul), Sergius Paulus was misled by a false prophet (Acts 13:8). But Elymas, a sorcerer opposed them and tried to turn Sergius Paulus from the faith.
Elymas probably wanted to retain his power over Sergius Paulus. He was also influenced to oppose the gospel because he had linked himself to demonic powers for the powers they gave him.
As Paul later wrote to the Corinthians: “The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they can- not see the light of the gospel that displays the glory of Christ, who is the image of God” (2 Corinthians 4:4).
Here, for the first time, Saul is called by his Roman name, Paul.
Paul did not say or do any- thing regarding Elymas until after the Holy Spirit had filled him.
Temporary Blindness Acts 13-10-11
At some point, the Holy Spirit decided that Elymas’ false teachings and reason- ings needed to stop.
Since Elymas was advo- cating for the devil and trying to destroy the effectiveness of the truth of the gospel, the Holy Spirit called him through Paul, a child of the devil and everything that is right.
Until Jesus Christ re- turns, believers will experi- ence conflicts with the children of the devil who in some way will do as Elymas did.
Elymas had demonstrated the power of the devil to de- ceive others. Now, the Holy Spirit would demonstrate the greater power of the Lord Jesus Christ to reveal the truth to others.
For choosing to be spiri- tually blind in order to have the power to blind the eyes of others to control them, the Holy Spirit would make Ely- mas physically blind immedi- ately.
The fact that the Holy Spirit did not make him per- manently blind indicates there was the possibility for him to repent.
This form of punishment, chosen by the Holy Spirit, would open a door for Paul to later give his testimony to Elymas and perhaps lead him to faith.
When Sergius Paulus heard and saw what hap- pened, he believed on the basis of the evidence before his eyes and the right and reasonable gospel Paul preached.
He was no longer influ- enced by the devil and his spiritually and rationally blinding arguments. He be- lieved in Jesus and was amazed at the teaching about Jesus as Lord over all cre- ation and as the Savior of the world.
Saul’s (also known as Paul) Ministry Acts:13:1
In this lesson, we are in- troduced to a group of lead- ersinthechurch...at Antioch. Antioch was the capital city of Syria under Greek kings and Roman em- perors.
Barnabas, Simeon that was called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, and Manaen, which had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch, and Saul aka Paul.
What a variety there is in the church! The common thread among these five men was their deep faith in Christ.
Simeon is an Aramaic name, is called Niger, a Latin word meaning “black.” Peo- ples from Africa south of the Sahara commonly migrate to
the Mediterranean region and are well known in the Bible.
Lucius is a Greek name, and he is said to come from Cyrene, a region of North Africa to the west of Egypt (approximately where mod- ern Libya is). So two of the leaders of the church in Anti- och are from Africa.
Manaen is described as having been brought up with Herod the tetrarch and clearly comes from the upper echelon of wealth and power. His presence shows that the gospel is penetrating all seg- ments of the population.
Saul (Paul) And Barnabas Are Separated Acts 13: 2-3
The church ‘separated’ Barnabas and Saul to the
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