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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