Early Christian History and Influence in Acts
Acts 12 and 13 highlight significant events in early Christian history, including the martyrdom of James, Peter's miraculous escape from prison, the formation of early Christian communities in Antioch, and the missionary journeys of Barnabas and Saul (later known as Paul). These events showcase the pivotal role of key figures like Barnabas, Saul, and others in spreading the message of Christianity in different regions. The narratives provide insights into the challenges and triumphs faced by the early Christians as they navigated societal opposition and divine guidance.
- Early Christian history
- Acts of the Apostles
- Antioch church
- Barnabas and Saul
- Christian missionary journeys
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Acts 13:1-13 2 3 15
Review of Acts 12 Herod Agrippa I executed James the brother of John Zebedee and imprisoned Peter An Angel helps Peter escape from prison Peter arrives at the house of Mary, the mother of John Mark and he instructs them to tell James what happened and that he was leaving Jerusalem Herod Agrippa I has the guards killed, goes to his palace at Caesarea, sits on his throne while the people of Tyre and Sidon proclaim him a god resulting in an Angel killing him Barnabas and Saul depart Jerusalem for Antioch
Early Christian Time Line 0-6 AD Birth of Jesus the Christ 1-5 Saul s birth 30-33 Christ is crucified, raised and ascends into Heaven 33 Pentecost 33 Stephen is martyred 33-34 Saul s conversion on the Road to Damascus 34-36 Saul s sojourn in Arabia 36-37 Saul s return journey to Jerusalem 37-42 Saul in Tarsus
Early Christian Time Line (Cont) 41-44 Herod Agrippa I reigns 42 Paul in Antioch 44 Famine in Jerusalem 45-49 Paul s 1stmissionary journey 50 Council of Jerusalem 49-52 Paul s 2ndmissionary journey
Acts 13 Acts 13:1-2 Now in the church at Antioch there were prophets and teachers, Barnabas, Symeon who was called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen a member of the court of Herod the tetrarch, and Saul. 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. We can see the zeal of the faith of these leaders as Luke points out that it was under the constant guidance of the Holy Spirit who is speaking here in the first person The Greek word for worship here is leitourgeo from which we get the word liturgy and was found in the Septuagint to refer to priestly ministry in the temple (Ex 28:35)
Antioch Was the third largest city of the Roman Empire (after Rome and Alexandria [Egypt]) with over million inhabitants Most beautiful city of the East Seen as the Paris of the Orient with many city lights at night Marked the boarder line between two worlds (East and West) Was a very wicked city The population consisted of four groups (Haughty Romans; Sensual Greeks; degenerate native Syrians; the proud Jews) After Jerusalem it became the second mother of the Infant Church (later the center moves to Rome) Paul called it his home and headquarters for 20 years
Acts 13 (Cont) Acts 13:3-4 Then after fasting and praying they laid hands on them and sent them off. So, being sent out by the Holy Spirit, they went down to Seleucia; and from there they sailed to Cyprus. Highlight this as the beginning of Paul s 1stMissionary Journey (45 49 A.D.) It seems from reading Acts that this was a very brief little journey, but in fact it may have taken approximately 5 years to complete It is very important to understand the historical and geographical context in order for us to understand from where Paul wrote his Epistles Paul s 1stMissionary Journey begins at Antioch, and continues as he and Barnabas go through Cyprus
A more detailed itinerary 42 (Spring) Barnabas brings Saul from Tarsus to Antioch 43 (Spring) ends one year for the two friends in Antioch Famine predicted the two go to Jerusalem 44 Herod Antiochus I dies and Barnabas and Saul return to Antioch 45 (Spring) Barnabas and Saul called to start the 1st missionary journey beginning in Cyprus
Acts 13 (Cont) After responding to this directive with additional fasting and prayer, the leaders of the church lay their hands on Paul and Barnabas to express the community s setting them apart and commending the to God for this mission So here we see these men being sent on this missionary journey with the expectation that at its completion they will report back to the community (Acts 17:26-27) Paul and Barnabas are good friends and when they discussed where to go they thought they might start in Asia Minor, but Barnabas may have suggested that they start in Cyprus because he was from there and most likely had family and friends on the Island so they sail from Seleucia They arrive in Salamis and cross the Island to Paphos
Acts 13 (Cont) Acts 13:5 When they arrived at Salamis, they proclaimed the word of God in the synagogues of the Jews. It is important for us to see that when they arrive in a city the first thing they do is to ask if there are any Jews living there Then they find one of the local Jews and ask how many Jews are in the city and if they have a synagogue Next, they wait until the next Sabbath when all the Jews are gathered at the local synagogue This is exactly what Jesus did (Mk 1:21) Then they show up and preach the gospel to them They always started out by presenting the good news to the Jews and once they were rejected, they would go out into the marketplace and preach to the Gentiles
Acts 13: (Cont) Eventually they would move on to the next town It is very important to understand that this was the typical order of operations for Paul and whoever was travelling with him This will help us understand Paul s Epistles and their applicability for apologetics It is also important to see how this follows the model that Jesus often used as he proclaimed the Gospel throughout Galilee and Judah (Mk 1:21) It most likely took several week for them to stop at all the little towns spread across the island before they arrived at Paphos We find John Mark joining them from the beginning of this journey
Acts 13 (Cont) Acts 13:6 When they had gone through the whole island as far as Paphos, they came upon a certain magician, a Jewish false prophet, named Bar-Jesus. Bar means son of in Aramaic Remember that the name Jesus was very common in the first century as was Simon and Mary If you went to a playground in Jerusalem half the boys would be named Simon and the other half, Jesus Remember that the name Jesus is the same name as Joshua in Hebrew, Aramaic, Greek and Latin Only in our English culture did we develop a tradition of having two different pronunciations
Acts 13 (Cont) So Bar-Jesus means son of Jesus, but not the Jesus of Nazareth This Bar-Jesus is a false prophet and magician (similar to the magician discussed in Acts 8:9) in contrast to the true prophets sent by the Holy Spirit in by Paul and Barnabas This individual is also called Elymas in the next verse
Acts 13 (Cont) Acts 13:7 He was with the proconsul, Sergius Paulus, a man of intelligence, who summoned Barnabas and Saul and sought to hear the word of God. The Roman governor Sergius Paulus is depicted by Luke as being a man of intelligence perhaps because he summons Barnabas and Saul to preach the word to him This leads to the missionaries first proclamation of the gospel to a Gentile (a Roman) See how the leadership of the team shifts from the native Barnabas to the Roman citizen Paul who will speak to the proconsul
Acts 13 (Cont) Acts 13: 8-12 But Elymas the magician (for that is the meaning of his name) withstood them, seeking to turn away the proconsul from the faith .But Saul, who is also called Paul Then the proconsul believed, when he saw what had occurred, for he was astonished at the teaching of the Lord. Remember that there is no relationship between the baptism of Saul and the name change from Saul to Paul as he has both a Jewish name (Saul) and a Roman name (Paul) Often a person would take a name that sounds like their original name in their native language Paulus and Saul are close enough Saul means chosen while Paul means short in Latin
Acts 13 (Cont) We have no idea why Luke introduces this Paul here It may be that Luke was introducing the other name Paul for us because from here on we will see Paul moving into the Gentile world Since he does not want to go back and forth with his name, Luke will usually use his Latin name Paul from here on out This debate with the false prophet reflects back to the many Old Testament debates between true and false prophets such as Elijah and the false prophets of Baal (1 Kings 18:19-40)
Acts 13 (Cont) Acts 13:13 Now Paul and his company set sail from Paphos, and came to Perga in Pamphylia. And John (John Mark) left them and returned to Jerusalem; but they passed on from Perga and came to Antioch of Pisidia. This is the Antioch in Asia Minor not the Antioch in Syria We will see Paul going through this Antioch of Pisidia several times Do not confuse these two cities since Luke sometimes only refers to them as Antioch It is like the fact that there seems to be a Springfield in every state Also note the John Mark leaves them at this point and returns to Jerusalem This becomes a matter of contention with Paul later in his journeys as Paul sees this departure as an abandonment of the mission by Mark
A more detailed itinerary (Cont) 45 (Autumn) the two missionaries travel to Antioch in Pisidia 46 (Autumn) the two missionaries leave for Iconium 49 Paul and Barnabas end their 1stMissionary journey back in Antioch (in Syria) 50 They go to Jerusalem for the Council
