Acts, Chapter 13

Please, in your Bible, first read this chapter.

Verses 1, 2, 3: “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. While they were worshipping the Lord and fasting the Holy Spirit said, ‘Set apart for Me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them. So after they had fasted and prayed, they placed their hands on them and sent them off”.

They did not know where to go, but they could not have a better travel guide.

Verses 4, 5 “The two of them, sent on their way by the Holy Spirit, went down to Seleucia and sailed from there to Cyprus.

‘Sent on their way by the Holy Spirit’ they could not fail to arrive at the place where the Holy Spirit wanted them.

Verses 6, 7: “They travelled through the whole island, until they came to Paphos. There they met a Jewish sorcerer and false prophet named Bar-Jesus, 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.”

We now live in a world where many reject the Word of God. They are believers, but do believe anything but not that life-giving Word. They are wasting their God-given intelligence. For them it is impossible to enjoy peace with God.

Verse 8: “But Elymas the sorcerer (for that is what his name means) opposed them and tried to turn the proconsul from the faith.”

Does that seem familiar to you? How many people in our days have been caught and are being kept from the faith. The Life-giving faith, the written way, Word and will of God. And how many are the deceivers and false prophets? We may not know the answer to that, but rest assured, the only holy and living God, He knows each and every single one of them, and all of them will receive their just desert out of God’s hand. It will not be the easiest road, and it has no short-cuts, but let us always keep on asking, prayerfully asking questions from the Word of God, our Bible and ourselves find God’s answers there.

Verses 9, 10: “Then Saul, who was also called Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked straight at Elymas and said: ‘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?”

There are many such men in this world today. We should never hesitate to speak out and warn them. Secondly, please never forget it, at the Cross of Jesus, all sinners are equal, on one and the same level. All are sinners and all, including you and me, are doomed to eternal death, eternal hell and separated from God. But faith, believing in the precious blood on the Cross, the blood of Jesus, also places all of us on one and the same level. It does not make any difference as to how we see ourselves or our fellow-man.. Each and everyone will find forgiveness for all our sin and cleansing of all our unrighteousness at the Cross of Jesus. That is where He served as our substitute under the awful anger of a most Holy God. He paid our penalty for sin! That’s why God can credit sinners with holy righteousness.

Verse 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.’

Immediately mist and darkness came over him, and he groping about, seeking someone to leas him by the hand.’ “

Do you remember the Saul of Tarsus, who was busy persecuting Jewish Christians? And what happened to him? Can you see him, standing tall in the Jewish synagogues, telling the Jews that Jesus of Nazareth, whom they had crucified, is the Son of God (9:20). We do not know what happened to Elymas, after his sight returned. BUT GOD! God, loving, gracious, forgiving, Most Holy God! He revealed Himself to the proconsul.

Verse 12: “When the pro-consul saw what had happened, he believed, for he was amazed at the teaching about the Lord.”

He was not the only one being amazed. Do you know any parents who are praying for children who do not want to believe the Lord? Are you praying? Well, know this, on His eternity calendar God has the date, the time and the situation when the person will believe Him. Always think of His glory first. You too may be amazed.

Verse 13, 14: “From Paphos, Paul and his companions sailed to Perga in Pamphi;ia, where John left them to return to Jerusalem, From Perga they went on to Pisidian Antioch. On the Sabbath they entered the synagogue and sat down.”

Everywhere in the world where Jews went they had their synagogues and worshipped God. It still is like that in our day and age. Nothing in dress or behaviour did show these two visitors to be Christian Jews. Patiently they sat, and listened to the reading of the Law and the prophets.

Verse 15: “After the reading from the Law and the Prophets, the synagogue rulers sent word to them, saying ‘Brothers, if you have a message of encouragement for the people, please speak’.

The brothers could not have a message from the Law. That Law had been abolished! (Ephesians 2:14). The prophets did announce the coming of the Messiah, a glorious, victorious king. But a Messiah Who would come and be as a lamb, being led to the slaughter, that message did not go down so well with them. But that was the Messiah Paul could speak about, on that day.

Verse 16: “Standing up, Paul motioned with his hand and said: ‘Men of Israel and you Gentiles who worship God, listen to me”

Then Paul related to them some of their history, up to the time of David.

Verse 22: “After removing Saul (David’s predecessor) 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.’

Verses 23, 24, 25: “From this man’s descendants God has brought to Israel the Savior Jesus, as He promised. Before the coming of Jesus, John preached repentance and baptism to all the people of Israel. 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.’ “

Trust Paul! If anyone could drive home the point, Paul could. We did read about him: ‘ Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit’.

Verse 26: “Brothers, you children of Abraham, and you God-fearing Gentiles, it is to us that this message of salvation has been sent.

Children of Abraham, you Jews, and you God-fearing Gentiles, you non Jews., this message of salvation has been sent to all of us.

Verse 27, 28 “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. Though they found no proper ground for a death sentence they asked Pilate to have Him executed.”

Who was it, speaking like this? Who was talking about ‘the people of Jerusalem and their rulers’. Who was one of those rulers? Who was one of those who asked Pilate to have Jesus executed? Who now stood in that synagogue preaching to Jews and Gentiles alike? It was Saul.

Saul, the same of chapter 9: 1, 2. Remember, a ruler of the Jews, in Jerusalem he had consented to the death of Stephen.

But then, on the road to Damascus, he had a one on one meet up with the same Jesus. It convinced him that Jesus crucified and dead, was

nevertheless Jesus alive. Now, in that Jewish synagogue, what is his message?

Verses 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”.

Verses 30, 31 “BUT GOD raised Him from the dead, 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”.

Those witnesses, for more than three years, day after day, they had been with Jesus. Some of them were there, when with their own hands they had wrapped His dead body in linen and placed it in the tomb. If anybody could swear the truth and nothing but the truth they certainly could. They again walked and talked with Jesus, after God raised Him from the dead. Saul also heard the voice of the risen Lord, but he never walked and talked with Him before He died. Yet, to the glory of God, we may read the words Paul spoke on that day in the synagogue at Pisidian Antioch:

Verse 32, 33: “We tell you the good news: What God promised our fathers 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’ “.

Here we need to spend a minute or two. I remember the time of my boyhood. There was this disgraceful, ongoing argument. Some teachers were proclaiming that Jesus became the Son of God on the day He arose from the grave. Other Bible teachers stood up, against that error. And error it was. When Jesus was born in that stable in Bethlehem, the son of Mary was the Son of God. When He died on the cross He was the Son of God ‘For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son’.(John 3:16). On the cross the Son of God cried out: ‘Father, into Your hands I commit My spirit’ (Luke 23:46). Jesus is the eternal Son of God. On the cross, in His human experience of the Son, that Father and Son relationship was NOT broken off. The Father and Son fellowship needed to be interrupted. It happened when the Son cried: ’Why have You forsaken Me?’ Why? He, Who in Himself had no sin, was made to be sin. (2Corinthians 5:21) The Holy God, laid on His holy Son, the sin of the world, yours and mine. Then fellowship between the Father and the Son became impossible.

Verse 34: “The fact that God raised Him from the dead, never to decay, is stated in these words: ‘I will give you the holy and sure blessings promised to David’ “.

This was only part of God’s promises to David before David died. His body returned to dust. But the Lord Jesus is and will be the inheritor of the blessings promised to David. The eternal Father speaks with the eternal Son:

Psalm 2:8 “Ask of Me and I will make the nations Your inheritance; the ends of the earth Your possession.

You will rule them with an iron sceptre; You will dash them to pieces, like pottery”.

Acts 13:35, 36, 37 “So it is stated elsewhere,: ‘You will not let Your Holy One see decay’. For when David had served God’s purpose in his own generation, he fell asleep; he was buried with his fathers and his body decayed. But the One that God raised from the dead did not see decay”.

As expected by the Jews, Jesus did not come into the world as Messiah, the King of the Jews; He came as Messiah, the Savior, not only for the Jews, but for the world.

The promises in Psalm 2 are going to be fulfilled after Israel and the nations have experienced ‘the Lord’s iron sceptre’ on earth, while His Church has become complete and is with Him in Heaven (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18).

Then the Lord Jesus, Israel and the nations will receive all God has promised.

‘Therefore’, because of all this

Verses 38, 39 “ Therefore, my brothers, I want you to know that through Jesus the forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you. Through Him everyone who believes is justified from everything you could not be justified from by the Law of Moses”.

Not the condemnation by the Law of Moses, no longer the blood of animal sacrifices, but the grace of a merciful, loving God, as told by the precious blood of His Son, is now the way to forgiveness for sin. That was an extremely difficult change for many Jews in those days. The very serious warning from the lips of Paul was valid for the Jews in those days; it still is valid today, even for many non-Jews.

Once the question was asked: ‘Is not grace the only means enabling us to keep the Law?’ Asked by a non-Jew. The answer is in Psalm 147:19, 20. God’s Law, through Moses was never given to any non-Jew.

Secondly, the Law impinges on Grace. We may give thanks to God because that is not possible. In our human terms, the Law devalues Grace. Please, never try a mixture of the two.

Verse 40, 41 “Take care that what the prophets have said does not happen to you;

‘Look you scoffers, wonder and . . . perish,

for I am going to do in your days that you would never believe,

even if some one told you’ “ (Habakkuk 1:5).

In our days millions are worshipping football-teams and . . . perishing.

Perishing, NOT because of their love for football, but because they will not love and obey God and His Word. That Word says ‘Take care that does not happen to you’. Our days are just as serious as their days.

Verses 42, 43: “As Paul and Barnabas were leaving the synagogue, the people invited them to speak further about these things on the next Sabbath. When the congregation was dismissed many of the Jews and devout coverts to Judaism followed Paul and Barnabas, who talked with them and urged them to continue in the grace of God.”

These people did have so much to learn. It would take years of time and teaching. Teaching by men who were filled with the Holy Spirit. Teachers, men and women, who, today, patiently teach beginners in the faith, and all who are well on the way, all that God is saying in His precious, written Word, teaching towards Christ-like maturity.

Verse 44: “On the next Sabbath almost the whole city gathered to hear the Word of the Lord”.

To Paul and Barnabas a delightful encouragement. They gathered to hear the Word of the Lord. But how often did it happen and how easily does it still happen again?

Encouragement and opposition meet each other. But opposition often means that God is at work.

Verse 45: “When the Jews saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy and talked abusively against what Paul was saying”.

On the previous Sabbath Paul and Barnabas had been urging them to continue in the grace of God. Grace, that unearned, undeserved favor of God. For ages and generations Israel had endeavoured to merit, to deserve that favour by observing the Law. Israel never realized that the Law was given to make them conscious of sin, newer to make them righteous. For Israel to have peace with a Holy God, Israel had to realize that by HIS GRACE, blood-sacrifices would satisfy His holiness. They always had to depend on grace and never were able to achieve righteousness by the works of the Law. Now these guys were confronting them, who preached that the blood of that Jesus of Nazareth, whom they had crucified, was the only blood that could save guilty sinners from righteous judgment.

Verses 46, 47 “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.

For this is what the Lord has commanded us: ‘I have made you a light to the Gentiles, that you may bring salvation to the ends of the earth’ “.

In chapter 9:15 we did already read about God moving the emphasis away from Israel to the Gentiles. It had taken some time while this move was occuring. Most of the Book of Acts shows us events that took place during that time of transition. Steadily that time is beginning to end.

Verses 48, 49: “When the Gentiles heard this, they were glad and honoured the Word of the Lord; and all who were appointed to eternal life believed. The Word of the Lord spread through the whole region.”

Let us be clear about this. The decision to believe or not to believe, to accept or reject the Word of the Lord, rests with the sinner. It is the sinner’s responsibility. The gift of eternal life is by the grace of God. When God’s grace and a sinner’s faith do meet, there is salvation for the sinner and glory for God.

Verse 50: “But the Jews 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 the region.”

Their decision was to definitely not believe the Word of the Lord and therefore not to receive forgiveness and eternal salvation.

Paul and Barnabas moved on.

Verse 51, 52: “So they shook the dust from their feet in protest against them and went to Iconium. And the disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit”.

And so the Word of the Lord went on its way ‘to the ends of the earth’. The prince of this earth is still exerting massive power to try and stop its progress. But he will never stop God and finally finish up in the pool of fire. To God be the glory!