Acts of the Apostles, chapter 13.1-32

1. Acts of the Apostles, chapter 13.1-32 The First Missionary Journey

2. BIBLE STUDY First Missionary Journey ACTS 13

3. 1st Missionary Journey Acts 13 & 14 Modern Day Turkey Antioch (Pisidian) Iconium Perga Lystra Attalia Derbe Antioch Mediterranean Sea Seleucia Paphos Salamas Cyprus Satellite Image - NASA

4. Introduction • The Antioch church becomes the first base of operations for missionary outreach to the Roman world. • Jesus had chosen Paul to be the main force in organizing missions to the Gentiles. • The Holy Spirit sends out Barnabas and Saul (Paul) on this first journey. • John Mark accompanies them part of the way. Antioch Chalice

5. Acts 13:1-3 • 13:1 In the church at Antioch there were prophets and teachers: Barnabas, Simeon called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen (who had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch) and Saul. 2 While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, "Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them." 3 So after they had fasted and prayed, they placed their hands on them and sent them off.

6. DISCUSSION QUESTION: • What is the difference between a prophet and a teacher?

7. This first church in the Gentile world was truly multiethnic and diverse. • Simeon was called “Niger,” “Black,” in Greek, probably a black man. The Ethiopian Eunuch was undoubtedly a black man who had converted to Judaism, then to Christianity. • Lucius was from Cyrene, a city in Libya in North Africa. • Manaen could have been related to King Herod the Tetrarch (Antipas) or just a childhood companion of his. Coin of Herod Antipas

8. 13:2 SAUL or PAUL? • Saul was his Hebrew name and Paul his adopted Roman name.

9. The First Missionary Journey 3 So after they had fasted and prayed, they placed their hands on them and sent them off. • Like all things there is more involved than can be seen at first glance • Evangelism is a team effort • There are the Goers And the senders • Cash • prayer

10. Acts 13:4-5 • 4 The two of them, sent on their way by the Holy Spirit, went down to Seleucia and sailed from there to Cyprus. 5 When they arrived at Salamis, they proclaimed the word of God in the Jewish synagogues. John was with them as their helper. • It’s easy to remember the name of the first city they visited on Cyprus, Salamis, because the island of Cyprus has a shape similar to a salamander’s.

11. Seleucus was the seaport for northern Syria. Paul, Barnabas and John (Mark) embarked for Cyprus from there. • The scientific name for copper is cuprium, related to the Greek word for Cyprus “Cupros.” Cyprus was an abundant source of copper in ancient times. It is also noted as the birthplace of Aphrodite (Latin, Venus) in Greek mythology. • The Hebrew name was Kittim, from which the Hebrews got their word for the islands, coastal countries and their inhabitants around the Mediterranean Sea. Ruins of Ancient Seleucus

12. The First Missionary Journey • When they arrived at Salamis, they proclaimed the word of God in the Jewish synagogues. John was with them as their helper. 6 They traveled through the whole island until they came to Paphos.

13. Acts 13:6-8 • 6 They traveled through the whole island until they came to Paphos. There they met a Jewish sorcerer and false prophet named Bar-Jesus, • 7 who was an attendant of the proconsul, Sergius Paulus. The proconsul, an intelligent man, sent for Barnabas and Saul because he wanted to hear the word of God. • 8 But Elymas the sorcerer (for that is what his name means) opposed them and tried to turn the proconsul from the faith. Harbor at Paphos

14. The sorcerer and false prophet Bar-Jesus (“Son of Joshua” in Aramaic) was also called Elymas, from an Arabic word meaning “wise man” or “magician.” The Greek equivalent would be “Magus.” The “wise men” who visited Jesus in His infancy were called by this name. Daniel had been one in Babylon. • Do you see any resemblances to Simon the Sorcerer of Samaria in Acts 8? • Is it significant that after his encounter with Sergius Paulus that from that moment on, Saul is called “Paul” (“Paulus” in Greek)? Sergius Paulus Inscription, 1st Century

15. The First Missionary Journey Acts 13 & 14 Geldenhuys: “As recently as 1902 Weisaker believed that the historical value of Acts ‘shrinks until it reaches a vanishing point.’” Tubingen school “These books are without value except for the ‘we’ sections in Acts” Sir William Ramsey • 6 They traveled through the whole island until they came to Paphos. There they met a Jewish sorcerer and false prophet named Bar-Jesus • 7 who was an attendant of the proconsul, Sergius Paulus. The proconsul, an intelligent man, sent for Barnabas and Saul because he wanted to hear the word of God. Geldenhuys: “Toward the end of last century though, and during the first part of the present century, the researches of men like Ramsey, Harnak, and Hawkins, brought to light masses of surprising facts that confirm the historical accuracy of the statements in Luke, which were formerly condemned as fictitious.”

16. The First Missionary Journey Acts 13 & 14 Geldenhuys: “These words are important coming, as they do, not from an apologist or theologian, but from a recognized authority in archeology.” Geldenhuys: “In consequence, a complete changeover has been brought about in historian’s opinions regarding the historical trustworthiness of Luke. After doing research work for many years in the regions described by Luke, Ramsey stated unambiguously that ‘Luke’s writing is unsurpassed in respect of it’s trustworthiness.’” Professor Otto Piper: “Whenever modern scholarship has been able to check up on the accuracy of Luke, The judgment has been unanimous, he is one of the finest and ablest historians in the ancient world.” Geldenhuys: “Summing up, he wrote, ‘Luke is a historian of the first rank. Not merely are his statements trustworthy, but he is possessed of the true historic sense… in short, this author should be ranked along with the very greatest of historians.’”

17. Acts 13:9-11 • 9 Then Saul, who was also called Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked straight at Elymas and said, 10 "You are a child of the devil and an enemy of everything that is right! You are full of all kinds of deceit and trickery. Will you never stop perverting the right ways of the Lord? 11 Now the hand of the Lord is against you. You are going to be blind, and for a time you will be unable to see the light of the sun."

18. DISCUSSION QUESTION: • Others had opposed the gospel but had not been struck blind, why strike a sorcerer blind?

19. DISCUSSION QUESTION: • Why was it particularly significant that Paul was involved with this man becoming blind?

20. DISCUSSION QUESTION: • Why was it a play on words for Paul to call the man “the child of the devil”?

21. Christian Evangelism • Missionaries today are often classed as really the “new cultural imperialists” • A cultural group develops its local “story” or account of the world • They dutifully impose their “story” on other groups

22. Christian EvangelismCrushing others local stories in the process Metanarrative

23. The Biblical Account God reveals the true story of the world Because it comes from the Creator of all, it applies to all

24. The Biblical Account Therefore, whoeverlearns it first is obligated to tell all Metanarrative

25. Are religious “faith” (fake) healers and false prophets still perverting the right ways of the Lord? You can see them on TV every day and night of the week. • I suspect the motives of these modern-day Elymases are the same as Balaam’s and all the rest: money and power. • After Paul said that if anyone listened to an angel who spoke a message different from the written gospel that he would be accursed, • we’ve had at least two religions begin that way, Islam and Mormonism.

26. Acts 13:11-12 • Immediately mist and darkness came over him, and he groped about, seeking someone to lead him by the hand. 12 When the proconsul saw what had happened, he believed, for he was amazed at the teaching about the Lord. • Is being struck with blindness a fitting punishment for a deceiver like Elymas? • What effect did the miracle have on the Proconsul?

27. The Proconsul • Proconsul: Roman magistrate, former consul in charge of a province. Like a propraetor, the proconsul was someone who acted as if (pro) he were an official magistrate.  He could have all the powers of a consul, but was, in fact, a former consul whose term in office was prolonged (prorogatio). The Proconsul in “Ben Hur”

28. 13 From Paphos, Paul and his companions sailed to Perga in Pamphylia, where John left them to return to Jerusalem. 14 From Perga they went on to Pisidian Antioch. On the Sabbath they entered the synagogue and sat down. Ruins of Ancient Perga

30. DISCUSSION QUESTION:Acts 13:14; • Why do you think that they went to the Synagogues to teach?

31. It was the custom of the Jews to invite visiting rabbis to speak to the congregation. • This is why Paul always went to the synagogue on the Sabbath Day. He always found a “captive” audience there. • Paul did not go to the synagogue on the Sabbath Day because he had to observe the Sabbath. • The Sabbath was given to the Jews only and was not part of the new law of Christ (Deuteronomy 5:2 & 3; Nehemiah 9:14; Romans 7:4-7; Colossians 2:14-16). Ruins of Antioch in Pisidia

32. Acts 13:16-20 • 16 Standing up, Paul motioned with his hand and said: "Men of Israel and you Gentiles who worship God, listen to me! • 17 The God of the people of Israel chose our fathers; he made the people prosper during their stay in Egypt, with mighty power he led them out of that country, • 18 he endured their conduct for about forty years in the desert, 19 he overthrew seven nations in Canaan and gave their land to his people as their inheritance. • 20 All this took about 450 years. In a Synagogue

33. This passage gives an inspired clue that helps date events in the Old Testament. • What Paul is saying is that from the time Jacob brought his family into Egypt until the land of Canaan was conquered by Joshua and the Israelites was a period of about 450 years. • Other clues given elsewhere, taken with this one, help the chronologist date with relative accuracy many events recorded in the Bible.

34. Acts 13:20-22 • "After this, God gave them judges until the time of Samuel the prophet. 21 Then the people asked for a king, and he gave them Saul son of Kish, of the tribe of Benjamin, who ruled forty years. 22 After removing Saul, he made David their king. He testified concerning him: 'I have found David son of Jesse a man after my own heart; he will do everything I want him to do.'

35. Israel became a nation in Egypt. It went through several stages in its development to a monarchy. David was the greatest king and was a type, or prophetic picture, of the Coming King, Jesus, because David ruled over the earthly kingdom of God. • God made a promise to David that one of his descendants would sit on the throne of Israel, in this case meaning spiritual Israel, which is the church. This King is Jesus. • Jesus reigns over the spiritual kingdom of God, the universal church.

36. Acts 13:23-25 • 23 "From this man's descendants God has brought to Israel the Savior Jesus, as he promised. 24 Before the coming of Jesus, John preached repentance and baptism to all the people of Israel. 25 As John was completing his work, he said: 'Who do you think I am? I am not that one. No, but he is coming after me, whose sandals I am not worthy to untie.' John the Baptist was famous even here. . .

37. It was John’s job to introduce the Son of David, the promised Messiah to the nation of Israel. He did this when Jesus came to him to be baptized. It was at this time that Jesus was anointed by God when the Holy Spirit came upon Him in the form of a dove from heaven (Acts 10:38; Luke 3:22). • John was also to prepare a nucleus of disciples for the coming kingdom, some of whom would become the Apostles and would be the startup force for the new kingdom, the church.

38. Acts 13:26-28 • 26 "Brothers, children of Abraham, and you God-fearing Gentiles, it is to us that this message of salvation has been sent. 27 The people of Jerusalem and their rulers did not recognize Jesus, yet in condemning him they fulfilled the words of the prophets that are read every Sabbath. 28 Though they found no proper ground for a death sentence, they asked Pilate to have him executed.

39. The words of the prophets that these Jews and proselyte Gentiles had heard read every Sabbath Day in their synagogues had predicted in great detail the suffering and death of the Son of God (See Psalm 22 and Isaiah 53). • These prophecies had been fulfilled not long ago in Jerusalem. The righteous man they had killed had come back from death, appeared to many witnesses and ascended to heaven to reign on what was symbolically called “David’s throne.”

40. Acts 13:29-31 • 29 When they had carried out all that was written about him, they took him down from the tree and laid him in a tomb. 30 But God raised him from the dead, 31 and for many days he was seen by those who had traveled with him from Galilee to Jerusalem. They are now his witnesses to our people.

41. DISCUSSION QUESTION: Acts 13:31; • This passage says the twelve Apostles were witnesses to “our people,” meaning the nation of Israel. Who else was a witness? If Paul hadn’t become a Christian until after Jesus’ death how could he be a witness?