Monday, October 26, 2020

The Acts of the Apostles, the history of the early church, by Luke the physician - Acts 13:1-13 comments: Saul (Paul) and Barnabas sent on a mission trip

 


Acts 13:1 ¶  Now there were in the church that was at Antioch certain prophets and teachers; as Barnabas, and Simeon that was called Niger, and Lucius of Cyrene, and Manaen, which had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch, and Saul. 2  As they ministered to the Lord, and fasted, the Holy Ghost said, Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them. 3  And when they had fasted and prayed, and laid their hands on them, they sent them away.

 

Besides Barnabas, at Antioch there was Simeon also called Niger meaning black in Latin. There was Lucius of Cyrene in North Africa, and Manaen who may have been an acquaintance of Herod in his youth, and Saul. The Holy Ghost chose Barnabas and Saul for a mission.

 

Acts 13:4 ¶  So they, being sent forth by the Holy Ghost, departed unto Seleucia; and from thence they sailed to Cyprus. 5  And when they were at Salamis, they preached the word of God in the synagogues of the Jews: and they had also John to their minister. 6  And when they had gone through the isle unto Paphos, they found a certain sorcerer, a false prophet, a Jew, whose name was Barjesus: 7  Which was with the deputy of the country, Sergius Paulus, a prudent man; who called for Barnabas and Saul, and desired to hear the word of God. 8  But Elymas the sorcerer (for so is his name by interpretation) withstood them, seeking to turn away the deputy from the faith. 9  Then Saul, (who also is called Paul,) filled with the Holy Ghost, set his eyes on him, 10  And said, O full of all subtilty and all mischief, thou child of the devil, thou enemy of all righteousness, wilt thou not cease to pervert the right ways of the Lord? 11  And now, behold, the hand of the Lord is upon thee, and thou shalt be blind, not seeing the sun for a season. And immediately there fell on him a mist and a darkness; and he went about seeking some to lead him by the hand. 12  Then the deputy, when he saw what was done, believed, being astonished at the doctrine of the Lord. 13  Now when Paul and his company loosed from Paphos, they came to Perga in Pamphylia: and John departing from them returned to Jerusalem.

 

Seleucia was Antioch’s seaport, about 16 miles from it. This is not a reference to the Seleucia on the Tigris river in what would become present day Iraq.  Cyprus is strategically located island in the Eastern Mediterranean that contained at that time numerous religious sites. It was divided into four main districts; Salamis, Paphos, Amathous, and Lapethos.

 

Here we have Saul’s new name, Paul, which may have been a nickname as it means, according to Strong; small or little. Perhaps, Paul was a short man. It is interesting that one of Paul’s first miracles was to make someone else blind temporarily considering what happened to him.

 

Northwest of Cyprus on what is now the Turkish mainland but was then the Roman province of Asia was the region of Pamphylia. The city of Perga was known for its worship of Diana, known in Greek as Artemis.

 

Notice here that John Mark leaves the work and returns to Jerusalem. This will become a point of great contention later between Barnabas and Paul.

 

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