Acts 13 (Bible Study) - Paul Preaches
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1 Now 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.On Cyprus
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.
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. 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 for a time, not even able to see the light of the sun.”
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.
In Pisidian Antioch
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. 15 After the reading from the Law and the Prophets, the leaders of the synagogue sent word to them, saying, “Brothers, if you have a word of exhortation for the people, please speak.”
16 Standing up, Paul motioned with his hand and said: “Fellow Israelites and you Gentiles who worship God, listen to me! 17 The God of the people of Israel chose our ancestors; he made the people prosper during their stay in Egypt; with mighty power he led them out of that country; 18 for about forty years he endured their conduct[a] in the wilderness; 19 and he overthrew seven nations in Canaan, giving their land to his people as their inheritance. 20 All this took about 450 years.
“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. God 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.’
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 suppose I am? I am not the one you are looking for. But there is one coming after me whose sandals I am not worthy to untie.’
26 “Fellow 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. 29 When they had carried out all that was written about him, they took him down from the cross 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.
32 “We tell you the good news: What God promised our ancestors 33 he has fulfilled for us, their children, by raising up Jesus. As it is written in the second Psalm:
“‘You are my son;
today I have become your father.’[b]34 God raised him from the dead so that he will never be subject to decay. As God has said,
“‘I will give you the holy and sure blessings promised to David.’[c]
35 So it is also stated elsewhere:
“‘You will not let your holy one see decay.’[d]
36 “Now when David had served God’s purpose in his own generation, he fell asleep; he was buried with his ancestors and his body decayed. 37 But the one whom God raised from the dead did not see decay.
38 “Therefore, my friends, I want you to know that through Jesus the forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you. 39 Through him everyone who believes is set free from every sin, a justification you were not able to obtain under the law of Moses. 40 Take care that what the prophets have said does not happen to you:
41 “‘Look, you scoffers,
wonder and perish,
for I am going to do something in your days
that you would never believe,
even if someone told you.’[e]”42 As Paul and Barnabas were leaving the synagogue, the people invited them to speak further about these things on the next Sabbath. 43 When the congregation was dismissed, many of the Jews and devout converts to Judaism followed Paul and Barnabas, who talked with them and urged them to continue in the grace of God.
44 On the next Sabbath almost the whole city gathered to hear the word of the Lord. 45 When the Jews saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy. They began to contradict what Paul was saying and heaped abuse on him.
46 Then Paul and Barnabas answered them boldly: “We had to speak the word of God to you first. Since you reject it and do not consider yourselves worthy of eternal life, we now turn to the Gentiles. 47 For this is what the Lord has commanded us:
“‘I have made you[f] a light for the Gentiles,
that you[g] may bring salvation to the ends of the earth.’[h]”48 When the Gentiles heard this, they were glad and honored the word of the Lord; and all who were appointed for eternal life believed.
49 The word of the Lord spread through the whole region. 50 But the Jewish leaders incited the God-fearing women of high standing and the leading men of the city. They stirred up persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and expelled them from their region. 51 So they shook the dust off their feet as a warning to them and went to Iconium. 52 And the disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.
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Acts of Jesus through the Apostles
Introduction
Luke shows us that the gospel is a living word. The Good News is growing and multiplying under its own power (Acts 6:7; 12:24; 19:20). It has progressed according to the pattern Jesus laid down in Acts 1:8 - to go “Jerusalem, Samaria, the ends of the earth”.
In Acts 2-6 the gospel spreading in Jerusalem (eg Acts 6:7 “so the word of God spread. The number of disciples in Jerusalem increased rapidly”).
In Acts 7-8 the gospel broke through to non-Jews. First, via Stephen (his theology and death) and Phillip (by his mission to Samaria). The gospel spread from Jerusalem to - the Samaritans and the Ethiopians.
In Acts 10-12, through the conversion of Cornelius and the new church in Antioch, we saw the gospel show its power not only to enter any and every culture and class, but to also unite Christians with a bond deeper than any other. Christianity is truly supernatural and trans-cultural. To become a Christian, a Greek does not have to become a Jew. (eg Acts 12:24, “But the word of God continued to increase and spread”).
The stage is set for the final stage, to spread geographically to “the ends of the earth”. Beginning with the church of Antioch. Paul and Barnabus had returned from taking an offering to Jerusalem (12:25,11:29)
1.Acts 13:1-3. The Antioch fellowship was the first missionary-sending body. What led them to this? Note the role of a) their leadership, b) their routines, c) the Holy Spirit
Answer: Antioch was the first missionary-sending church. The evangelistic efforts in Samaria and Antioch were not strategically planned by the Jerusalem church. Christians fleeing persecution simply shared their faith by friendship with the people around them in their new cities (Acts 8:1-4 & 11:19-20). How did the church in Antioch receive the insight to begin the worldwide missionary project?
a) Their leadership make-up. The church at Antioch had a council of leaders (like elders) who were “prophets and teachers”. NB the diversity Barnabus was a Cypriot Jew (4:36). Simeon was called “Niger” (black African). Lucian was from “Cyrene” (North Africa). A Cyrenian evangelist who came to Antioch (11:20). Manaen, a relative of Herod Antipas, of royal status. And Saul, a Jew an “academic”. The ‘elders’ reflected the multi-class & -cultural make-up of the church. Such a group can agree on common goals and is a more creative than a group of similar people. Mission was born of this group.
b) Their routines. Acts 13:2 “while they were worshipping the Lord and fasting.” It implies that it wasn’t a special season of prayer, nor were they deliberately planning for missions. Their routine of worship and seeking God’s presence was their norm. Acts 13:1 says the whole church along with the leaders were praying i.e. this prayer time was not just for the 5 prophet/ teachers. Periods of worship, fasting, and seeking God’s presence were normal. This is the kind of church that God reveals himself to.
c) The Holy Spirit. Luke does not say how the Holy Spirit showed the church that he wanted Paul and Barnabus to become missionaries. Perhaps a prophecy through a member of the church (cf.11:28). “Set apart for me Barnabus and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” (v.2) The message does not say what countries to go. Only to send the two missionaries out. The Holy Spirit reveals one step at a time.
d) Finally, in v3 they again fasted and prayed some more until they “layed their hands on them”. The laying on of hands is identifying with them. The whole church was confirming and agreeing that the Holy Spirit had truly called them and they prayed for the Spirit’s empowering.
In response to the Spirit’s leading some members, the whole group prayed and confirmed it.
2. Acts 13:1-3. What can we learn in church today, from this incident?
We learn that we are not to be self-accredited, eg. “God told me this” but get confirmation from other Christians. On the other hand, our church isn’t a bureaucracy where decisions are made through committees. We must seek to hear the Holy Spirit in the fellowship. Then seek confirmation of what we have heard together. This avoids individualism and institutionalism.
3. Acts 13:6-12. Why was Paul so forceful with Elymas?
Why was the supernatural judgement on Elymas appropriate?
Paul’s condemnation was very severe. He plays on the Elymas’ proper name, “Bar-Jesus” which means “son of salvation”, and says, “you are a child of the devil” v10. He was struck blind in judgement. Luke used “mist & darkness,” medical terms for blindness (Stott, p.220). The blindness is “for a time”. Paul’s forcefulness is due to a) the public nature of Elymas’s opposition to the gospel & b) the openness of the proconsul Sergius Paulus to the gospel. Paul therefore acted decisively.
The judgement is appropriate in two ways. First, it had revelational value. A perfect illustration that if we deny the light (the truth) that we have, we will become spiritually blind. Paul knows his blindness showed him his spiritual blindness (Acts 9). Second, the judgment had redemptive value. It was temporary. If Elymas “got the point” it could have been the way for him to find God.
We must be willing to speak out clearly, especially when there is public opposition to the gospel that could harm an open person. We should be opposing people only in order to redeem them
4. Acts 13:13-41. Read Paul’s gospel presentation. What do you know about the audience, from his sermon detail? What is his case that Christianity is true in v16-25,31? What is the heart of Christianity in v26-37? How should they respond in v38-41?
Each presentation of the gospel in Acts has four basic components: (a) the gospel witnesses (credibility), (b) the gospel promises (relevance for our needs), (c) the gospel events (what Jesus has done), (d) the gospel conditions (how to appropriate it for oneself). Luke provides 3 summaries of Paul’s preaching. Here in Acts 13, we see him communicating to Jews and Gentile God-fearers. In Acts 14, we hear his message to non-educated pagans, and in Acts 17, we have his sermon to philosophers and educated pagans. It is helpful to see the different ways that knowing the audience shapes the way Paul both presents and argues for the gospel.
The audience: In any synagogue outside of Judea, there would have been a combination of Jews and Gentile “God-fearers”, some of whom had been circumcised and were full converts to Judaism, and others of which (like Cornelius) had adopted monotheism and Biblical morality in general ways, but had not converted. His audience is explicitly named in v.16. But it is deduced by the way that the gospel is presented and defended. Anyone in the synagogue respected the authority of the Jewish Scriptures, the Bible (OT). That is evident in his opening “argument” in v16-25 - Paul makes his case for the truth of Christianity, and throughout he assumes that his audience already trusts the Bible. So his arguments come from the Scripture.
The gospel witnesses: Paul makes his case for Christianity by appealing (a) to two authorities (the Scripture and John Baptist), (b) to eye-witness evidence. Throughout v16-25 Paul makes his case for Christianity by stressing how God has always taken the initiative of grace in his relationship with his people. God “chose” the Jewish patriarchs (v.17). He patiently “endured” them (v.18). He “gave” them all their leaders and deliverers — first Moses (v.17), then the judges, prophets, kings (v.20), especially David, the greatest deliverer of all. He shows that God’s favour has never been earned, always been graciously given, and always mediated through great leaders who saved the people by God’s power. When he gets to David, he jumps to Jesus and points to him as David’s son (v.23), the “promised” One that had been foretold. Finally he notes that John the Baptist accredited Jesus as the Messiah.
He then says the Bible has predicted a great Saviour, who John the Baptist recognised as Jesus.
Finally, in v.31, he refers to the eyewitnesses to the resurrection of Christ (as Peter did).
So Paul’s case for the gospel is:
a) Jesus life and death fits the Scripture’s prediction of the Messiah,
b) the greatest prophet, John the Baptist, recognized Jesus as the Messiah, and
c) we have evidence for the reality and truth of the bodily resurrection of Christ.
It is important to see that the apostles never proclaimed the gospel by saying, “just believe because I told you so” or “just believe because it will feel wonderful”. They made a reasonable argument for the truth of the gospel.
