Acts 13:1-12 · Read 10 min · think and write 15 min
In the last lesson, Barnabas brought Saul from Tarsus to Antioch, and for a year the two of them taught many people there. Later, when there was a famine, the disciples in Antioch sent relief to the brothers who lived in Judea, “sending it to the elders by the hands of Barnabas and Saul” (Acts 11:30). When their service was done, they came away “also taking with them John who was called Mark” (Acts 12:25).
In this lesson, the assembly in Antioch sends Barnabas and Saul out.
1Now in the assembly that was at Antioch there were some prophets and teachers: Barnabas, Simeon who was called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen the foster brother of Herod the tetrarch, and Saul.
2As they served the Lord and fasted, the Holy Spirit said, “Separate Barnabas and Saul for me, for the work to which I have called them.”
3Then, when they had fasted and prayed and laid their hands on them, they sent them away.
4So, being sent out by the Holy Spirit, they went down to Seleucia. From there they sailed to Cyprus.
5When they were at Salamis, they proclaimed God’s word in the Jewish synagogues. They also had John as their attendant.
6When they had gone through the island to Paphos, they found a certain sorcerer, a false prophet, a Jew whose name was Bar Jesus,
7who was with the proconsul, Sergius Paulus, a man of understanding. This man summoned Barnabas and Saul, and sought to hear the word of God.
8But Elymas the sorcerer (for so is his name by interpretation) withstood them, seeking to turn the proconsul away from the faith.
9But Saul, who is also called Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, fastened his eyes on him
10and said, “You son of the devil, full of all deceit and all cunning, you enemy of all righteousness, will you not cease to pervert the right ways of the Lord?
11Now, behold, the hand of the Lord is on you, and you will be blind, not seeing the sun for a season!” Immediately a mist and darkness fell on him. He went around seeking someone to lead him by the hand.
12Then the proconsul, when he saw what was done, believed, being astonished at the teaching of the Lord.
The teachers at Antioch. “Now in the assembly that was at Antioch there were some prophets and teachers” (v. 1). The passage names them one by one: Barnabas, “Simeon who was called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen the foster brother of Herod the tetrarch, and Saul” (v. 1). When Saul first came to Jerusalem, the disciples “were all afraid of him, not believing that he was a disciple” (Acts 9:26); now he is one of the teachers of the assembly in Antioch.
As they served the Lord and fasted. The Holy Spirit spoke “As they served the Lord and fasted” (v. 2). He said, “Separate Barnabas and Saul for me, for the work to which I have called them” (v. 2). In Damascus, the Lord had told Ananias that Saul was “my chosen vessel to bear my name before the nations and kings, and the children of Israel” (Acts 9:15). On this day, in Antioch, the Holy Spirit named him.
Hands laid on them, and sent away. The assembly, “when they had fasted and prayed and laid their hands on them, they sent them away” (v. 3). The passage goes on: “So, being sent out by the Holy Spirit” (v. 4). The assembly sent them away, and the Holy Spirit sent them out; both are recorded. Antioch sent off two of its own teachers.
To Cyprus. “From there they sailed to Cyprus” (v. 4). At Salamis “they proclaimed God’s word in the Jewish synagogues. They also had John as their attendant” (v. 5). The passage does not say why they went to Cyprus first; readers of Acts 4 will remember that Barnabas was “a man of Cyprus by race” (Acts 4:36).
The proconsul wanted to hear. In Paphos, the proconsul Sergius Paulus was “a man of understanding. This man summoned Barnabas and Saul, and sought to hear the word of God” (v. 7). But with the proconsul was a Jewish sorcerer named Bar Jesus, also called Elymas, who “withstood them, seeking to turn the proconsul away from the faith” (v. 8).
Also called Paul. Right here, for the first time, the passage calls him by another name: “But Saul, who is also called Paul” (v. 9). It does not say where the name came from, or that he changed his name that day. From here on the passage mostly calls him Paul: “Now Paul and his company set sail from Paphos” (v. 13).
You will be blind. Paul, “filled with the Holy Spirit, fastened his eyes on him” (v. 9), said that he would not “cease to pervert the right ways of the Lord” (v. 10), and then: “Now, behold, the hand of the Lord is on you, and you will be blind, not seeing the sun for a season!” (v. 11). “Immediately a mist and darkness fell on him. He went around seeking someone to lead him by the hand” (v. 11). Readers of lesson 1 will remember that Saul himself once could not see, and “They led him by the hand and brought him into Damascus” (Acts 9:8). The passage does not connect the two events; we only set them side by side.
The proconsul believed. “Then the proconsul, when he saw what was done, believed, being astonished at the teaching of the Lord” (v. 12). He saw Elymas struck blind, yet the passage says what astonished him was ‘the teaching of the Lord.’
Later, writing to the assembly in Rome, Paul introduced himself at the start of the letter: “Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, set apart for the Good News of God” (Rom 1:1). In Galatians he also wrote of God, “who separated me from my mother’s womb and called me through his grace” (Gal 1:15).
These are Paul’s own words, from his letters. They let the reader know that being ‘set apart’ and ‘called’ was, in Paul’s own view, the work of God.
Perhaps you belong to an ordinary church, an ordinary small group, and what you do each week is gather, pray, and read the Bible.
This lesson does not say everyone needs to travel far like Paul. What it lets you see is this: the Holy Spirit spoke while a group of people “served the Lord and fasted” (v. 2); and behind those who were sent out stood an assembly that laid on hands, prayed, and let them go. Paul later wrote, “And how will they preach unless they are sent?” (Rom 10:15).
This week: Think of someone from your church, or someone you know, who serves far from home. Pray for them specifically once this week, and then send them a letter or a message telling them you are praying for them.
Scripture: World English Bible.