Acts 13
Summary for Acts 13:1-3: 13:1-3 a The prophets and teachers of the church at Antioch spent significant time in worship and prayer, earnestly seeking the Lord’s will as they fasted and opened themselves to divine direction. As they prayed, the Holy Spirit spoke to them, and they set apart Barnabas and Saul in clear recognition of God’s call for them to carry out a special work in his name. The believers’ inward journey in prayer and listening to God is matched by their outward journey in service, evangelism, and mighty works of healing and salvation. 13:1 b prophets and teachers: See thematic note for The Gift of Prophecy at end of chapter; see also 1 Cor 12:28-29 c; Eph 4:11 d.• The name Simeon suggests a Jewish background (see Gen 29:33 e; Luke 2:25 f; 3:30 g); he is also called “the black man”—he was probably of African descent.
• Lucius is a Latin name; he came from Cyrene, the capital of Libya in North Africa. He was probably one of the preachers from Cyrene who had brought the Christian message to Antioch (Acts 11:20 h).
• Manaen had been brought up with King Herod Antipas; he was probably Luke’s source for insight into Antipas’s thoughts and actions (see Luke 9:7-9 i).
• Barnabas and Saul are prominently featured in the subsequent narrative.
13:3 j the men laid their hands on them: This solemn act was only done after more fasting and prayer; the Pastoral Epistles warn against laying hands on a person to appoint that person as a Christian leader without due care and diligence (1 Tim 5:22 k). At this point, Barnabas and Saul were sent ... on their way as missionaries of the church at Antioch.
13:4 l Barnabas and Saul’s first missionary journey was undertaken with a strong consciousness of the Holy Spirit as their guide.
• Seleucia was Antioch’s ancient seaport, located about twelve miles (20 km) west of the city at the mouth of the Orontes River.
• Their journey took them westward by sea to the island of Cyprus, which was Barnabas’s homeland (4:36 m).
13:5 n Landing in the town of Salamis on the eastern end of Cyprus, they went to the Jewish synagogues (see study note on 9:2), where the Jews could hear and respond to the Christian message. They would also meet converts to Judaism (see study note on 13:43) and spiritually hungry Gentiles who are sometimes described as “God-fearers” (see study note on 10:2).
Summary for Acts 13:6-12: 13:6-12 o At Paphos there was a power struggle with a false prophet, with the result that the power of God was manifested and the Roman governor became a believer. 13:6 p Paphos was located on the southwest coast of Cyprus. As the leading city of Cyprus, it was of strategic importance.
• a Jewish sorcerer ... named Bar-Jesus: Such eastern magicians often exercised a tremendous influence in the Greco-Roman world.
Summary for Acts 13:7-8: 13:7-8 q The governor, Sergius Paulus, who was an intelligent man, was attracted to the teaching of Barnabas and Saul. But Elymas (the sorcerer’s Greco-Roman name) recognized a challenge to his power and strongly opposed the message of Barnabas and Saul.
13:9 r Luke makes the significant transition from the name Saul (a Hebrew name) to Paul (a Greco-Roman name), perhaps indicating that Paul was now on a predominantly Gentile mission. For the rest of the book of Acts, he is called Paul except when he recounts his conversion (as in 22:7 s, 13 t; 26:14 u).
Summary for Acts 13:10-11: 13:10-11 v Paul, who became the chief spokesman, rebuked the sorcerer’s fraudulent claims, exposed his deceit, and pronounced divine judgment (cp. 8:20-24 w). The sorcerer was instantly struck blind, a condition that lasted for some time, giving a strong demonstration of the truthfulness and superiority of the apostolic message over the bogus claims of the sorcerer.
13:12 x The teaching about the Lord included a miraculous demonstration of divine power (cp. Mark 1:21-27 y), for it was a teaching about the living God (see Acts 14:15 z).
Summary for Acts 13:13-14: 13:13-14 aa They landed at the port of Perga. From here, major roads opened into the interior beyond the Taurus Mountains.
• At this point, John Mark left the team for reasons that are not stated (see study note on 15:36-41). Possibly he was unhappy that the Good News was moving out into Gentile lands; possibly he was homesick or otherwise unable to continue a difficult journey. Whatever the reason, he returned to the more familiar and comfortable Jewish surroundings of Jerusalem.
13:14 ab Paul and Barnabas traveled inland into the high country and came to Antioch of Pisidia (in the Roman province of Galatia in Asia Minor, not to be confused with Antioch in Syria). As was their custom, the apostles began at the synagogue (see study note on 9:2; cp. 13:5 ac; 14:1 ad; 17:1 ae, 2 af, 10 ag, 17 ah; 18:4 ai, 19 aj; 19:8 ak).
13:15 al After the usual Scriptures for the day had been read, one from the books of Moses and the other from the prophets (see Luke 4:16-28 am), the officials of the synagogue invited the visitors to speak any word of encouragement for the people.
Summary for Acts 13:16-41: 13:16-41 an Paul accepted the invitation, motioned to quiet his audience (cp. 19:33 ao; 21:40 ap), and launched into a straightforward proclamation of the Good News. This is Paul’s first great speech in Acts, and it provides a model of his preaching to a Jewish audience (see 22:1-21 aq).
Summary for Acts 13:17-22: 13:17-22 ar To establish common ground, Paul traced Jewish history from the Exodus onward, stressing the Jews’ powerful deliverance from Egyptian bondage, the providential occupation of their inheritance in Canaan, the establishment of the monarchy, the removal of Saul, and the special place of David.
13:22 as David was a man after God’s own heart despite his sins (e.g., 2 Sam 11–12 at).
Summary for Acts 13:23-25: 13:23-25 au Paul here moved to the theme of his message: Jesus, one of David’s descendants, was God’s promised Savior of Israel. The Messiah’s way had been prepared by John the Baptist, who insisted that Israel needed to repent ... and turn to God and be baptized. John was a humble servant who simply cleared the ground for the one whose coming he announced.
Summary for Acts 13:26-37: 13:26-37 av Paul reviewed the shameful treatment Jesus had received, involving unjust condemnation and death. But God raised Jesus from the dead, as attested by witnesses. This message provides good news, for through Jesus sinners can experience the forgiveness of sins. But this message must be met with faith, or dire consequences will follow.
13:31 aw The fact that Jesus was raised from the dead was well documented by witnesses.
Summary for Acts 13:38-41: 13:38-41 ax Paul appealed for them to believe the message about Jesus, through whom there is forgiveness for your sins.
13:39 ay Faith is prerequisite to being made right in God’s sight; this was not provided for in the law of Moses (Ps 14:1-3 az; see Rom 3:9-20 ba).
Summary for Acts 13:40-41: 13:40-41 bb Paul closed his message with a strong warning (cp. Heb 2:3 bc). The Good News must not be ignored, neglected, or rejected, or frightening consequences will follow.
Summary for Acts 13:42-43: 13:42-43 bd The message stirred up interest among the people, and many of them were converted.
13:43 be Full converts to Judaism (also called proselytes) were Gentiles who had gone through the rite of circumcision to become full members of the Jewish community, observing the Jewish law (see also 2:11 bf; 6:5 bg; Matt 23:15 bh).
• The grace of God is a key concept in the New Testament to describe God’s unmerited favor shown preeminently through Jesus Christ.
Summary for Acts 13:44-49: 13:44-49 bi The excitement caused by the apostles’ preaching led to a mass turnout on the following week. This response provoked the jealousy of some of the Jews (cp. 4:1-2 bj; 5:17 bk), whose ability to win converts to Judaism (13:43 bl) was being dwarfed by Paul’s ministry. They verbally attacked Paul and his ministry (cp. 6:8-12 bm; 18:6 bn; 19:9 bo; Matt 23:13 bp). Paul met this hostility with a bold declaration that these Jews had had their opportunity to hear the word of God, and that since they had rejected it, the offer of salvation would now be given to the Gentiles (cp. Acts 10:34-35 bq), in accord with the Lord’s command in Scripture. The local Gentiles welcomed the Good News and many responded to it, so the Lord’s message was carried throughout that region.
Summary for Acts 13:50-51: 13:50-51 br Jewish opposition once again forced Paul and Barnabas ... out of town. They shook the dust from their feet as a sign of rejection, as Jesus had taught his disciples (see Matt 10:14-15 bs; Mark 6:11-12 bt; Luke 9:5-6 bu; 10:10-11 bv). That place was then treated as pagan territory, and other people were given access to the message of new life in Christ.
13:52 bw Despite probable harassment and persecution, the believers were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit (cp. 5:41 bx; 16:23-25 by; Matt 5:10-12 bz; 2 Cor 8:2 ca; 1 Thes 1:6 cb).
Thematic note: The Gift of Prophecy
As Peter had declared at Pentecost, the gift of prophecy was one of the results of the outpouring of God’s Holy Spirit (Acts 2:17-21 cc; see Joel 2:28-32 cd). The book of Acts names a few Christian prophets (Acts 11:27-28 ce; 13:1 cf; 15:32 cg; 21:9-11 ch; see also The Martyrdom of Polycarp 12:3; 16:2). One of these prophets was Agabus, whose function was similar to that of an Old Testament prophet, performing symbolic acts (Acts 21:10-11 ci; see 1 Kgs 11:29-32 cj; Isa 20:2-6 ck; Jer 13:1-11 cl; Ezek 4:1–5:17 cm) and predicting events to come (Acts 11:28 cn; 21:10-11 co).
Philip the Evangelist was the father of four young women who “had the gift of prophecy” (21:9 cp). The apostle Paul also acknowledged the prophetic gift of some Christian women (1 Cor 11:5 cq). In the Old Testament, most prophets were men, but several women are also described as prophets, for example, Miriam (Exod 15:20 cr), Deborah (Judg 4:4 cs), and Huldah (2 Kgs 22:14-20 ct; 2 Chr 34:22-28 cu). In the New Testament, the gift of prophecy is given to both men and women, and both young and old, as Peter signaled in his sermon at Pentecost (Acts 2:17-18 cv).
Although prophecy sometimes involves foretelling the future (20:22-23 cw; 21:10-11 cx; see Rom 9:24-33 cy; 1 Thes 4:13-17 cz; 2 Thes 2:3-4 da), at its core prophecy is proclaiming God’s word by preaching, exhorting, and explaining the will of God (Acts 15:32 db; 19:6 dc; Rom 12:6 dd; 1 Cor 14:3-4 de, 29-33 df; Rev 19:10 dg). The gift of prophecy is clearly mentioned in 1 Corinthians and Ephesians as one of the gifts of the Holy Spirit and of Christ to the church (1 Cor 12:4-11 dh; Eph 4:11-13 di). It is to be used for the benefit of believers (1 Cor 14:22 dj).
Prophecy is always in need of testing (1 Thes 5:19-21 dk), and the church is strongly warned against false prophets (1 Jn 4:1 dl; see also Rev 2:20-23 dm). When used faithfully and in submission to God’s word and his Spirit, courageous proclamation of God’s truth helps the church to determine what God’s will is and inspires God’s people to do it.
Passages for Further Study
Exod 15:20 dn; Deut 13:1-5 do; Judg 4:4 dp; 1 Kgs 11:29-32 dq; 2 Kgs 22:14-20 dr; Isa 20:2-6 ds; 44:25 dt; Jer 13:1-11 du; 23:25-32 dv; Ezek 4:1-17 dw; 13:2-9 dx; Joel 2:28-32 dy; Matt 7:15 dz; 24:24 ea; Acts 2:17-21 eb; 11:27-28 ec; 13:1 ed; 15:32 ee; 19:6 ef; 20:23 eg; Acts 21:9-11 eh; Rom 12:6 ei; 1 Cor 11:5 ej; 12:4-11 ek; 14:1-40 el; Eph 4:11-13 em; 1 Thes 5:19-21 en; 2 Pet 2:1 eo; 1 Jn 4:1-3 ep; Rev 2:20-23 eq; 19:10 er
Copyright information for
TNotes