“Acts 13:1-12”

Thursday, January 14, 2016

“Now there were at Antioch, in the church that was there, prophets and teachers: Barnabas, and Simeon who was called Niger, and Lucius of Cyrene, and Manaen who had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch, and Saul. While they were ministering to the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, ‘Set apart for Me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.’ Then, when they had fasted and prayed and laid their hands on them, they sent them away. So, being sent out by the Holy Spirit, they went down to Seleucia and from there they sailed to Cyprus. When they reached Salamis, they began to proclaim the word of God in the synagogues of the Jews; and they also had John as their helper. When they had gone through the whole island as far as Paphos, they found a magician, a Jewish false prophet whose name was Bar-Jesus, who was with the proconsul, Sergius Paulus, a man of intelligence. This man summoned Barnabas and Saul and sought to hear the word of God. But Elymas the magician (for so his name is translated) was opposing them, seeking to turn the proconsul away from the faith. But Saul, who was also known as Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, fixed his gaze on him, and said, ‘You who are full of all deceit and fraud, you son of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness, will you not cease to make crooked the straight ways of the Lord? Now, behold, the hand of the Lord is upon you, and you will be blind and not see the sun for a time.’ And immediately a mist and a darkness fell upon him, and he went about seeking those who would lead him by the hand. Then the proconsul believed when he saw what had happened, being amazed at the teaching of the Lord.”

---End of Scripture verses---

Acts chapter 13 begins what most people refer to as the first “missionary trip” of the Apostle Paul. It is hard to overestimate the importance of the preaching tours undertaken by Paul and his various companions. Obviously all teaching of the truth is of vital importance, and the power to accomplish much good resides in the word, not necessarily in the human vessels that carry the message (Philippians 1:18). But these undertakings by Paul, as directed by the Holy Spirit, are of such extreme significance that the Spirit inspired Luke to dedicate nearly two-thirds of the book of Acts to the coverage of them.

Verses 1-3 tell us that the church in Antioch “set apart” Saul and Barnabas for the work that the Holy Spirit had called them to do. There is a lot in this “separation” that is not specifically clarified, such as the purpose for the two separate fasts, and just who the men were that laid hands on Barnabas and Saul before they set out on their journey. One thing is clear, however—this “laying on of hands” was not to impart miraculous spiritual gifts to these two men. Barnabas and Saul were obviously not lacking anything they needed in that regard. The only times that this action involved a supernatural endowment is when the Apostles laid their hands on Christians for that express purpose of conveying some special gifts (Acts 8:17-19; 19:6). The majority of the other times the term is used, it is merely an expression of approval for a person or the activities that they are involved in (1 Timothy 5:22).

On the Island of Cyprus, after Barnabas and Saul preached the Gospel in the synagogues of the Jews, Luke records the first incident of interest that they encountered. In the city of Paphos, the regional governor, Sergius Paulus, summoned Barnabas and Saul for the express purpose of hearing the word of God (verse 7). The proconsul demonstrated that he was a man of intelligence (verse 7) by doing this, even though he was foolish enough to have a fraud of a magician as his consultant (verse 10). When Paul (as Saul is referred to from this point onward) temporarily blinded Elymas, God removed another serious obstacle to the spread of the Good News, and confirmed the truthfulness of the word of salvation. Because of what he saw and what he heard, the Sergius Paulus believed the truth.

Please read Acts 13:13-31 for tomorrow.

Have a blessed day!

-Louie Taylor

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