The Mission Begins (Acts 13:1-12)
As we come to this section in the Book of Acts, it is important to remind ourselves what the book is about – it is about the activities of the ascended Saviour on earth. Earlier in this book, Jesus had summarised the spread of the church as beginning in Jerusalem, then going to Judea and Samaria, and then to the ends of the earth (Acts 1:8). Jerusalem was stage 1, Judea was stage 2, Samaria was stage 3, and we are living in stage 4. The development of each stage was under the control of Jesus, and now we see in this chapter how Jesus begins stage 4.
The church that sends
The previous stages had developed out of the church in Jerusalem and progressed under the guidance and leadership of apostles who had been with Jesus. This is not the case with stage 4. Instead of the church in Jerusalem, it is the church in Antioch; and instead of the original disciples of Jesus we see that those involved are not mentioned in the Gospels as being with Jesus.
Luke mentions some details about the church in Antioch. He points out that they had more than one teacher. They may have needed five because the church met in five different places, or the five may have ministered in some form of rotation. I don’t think he is describing what we would call a Kirk Session. Instead, he could be stressing the need of teaching God’s people regularly.
This list of five people is interesting from another angle, which is that it looks as if three had come to the fore recently. A few years before, Barnabas had found the work of teaching the church in Antioch too demanding for one person, so he had gone and located Paul to come and help him. Now, Barnabas had four people helping him. God had obviously supplied what was needed for his church to flourish.
Why are they described as being both prophets and teachers? Obviously, he could mean that some were prophets and some were teachers. Alternatively, he could mean that their teaching was based on their prophetic gift, that God revealed to them what to say and do. It is the case that he revealed to them what they should do with Barnabas and Saul.
The individuals who are mentioned by Luke highlight that the church of Jesus should have a diverse leadership as far as ethnicity and social status is concerned. Barnabas was a wealthy man, and Manaen came from a privileged background. Simeon may have been a coloured person and Lucius was a Roman of some kind. And Saul, of course, was a former persecutor of the church about fifteen years previous to the occasion mentioned here.
It is not clear who the ‘they’ are in verse 2. Luke could be referring to the five men or he could be referring to the church as a whole. I suspect it is a reference to the entire congregation, because if it is not, then it means that the congregation were not consulted or informed about the decision, and they were not participators in sending Barnabas and Saul on their mission.
What was church life like in Antioch? Luke is keen to tell his readers that the church engaged in fasting, but he also points out that they did not fast by itself. It occurred as a help to other spiritual activities, specifically worshipping and praying. Luke also says that the church was Christ-focussed – usually in Acts, whenever the Lord is mentioned, it is a reference to Jesus. And he says that the church was prepared to give sacrificially, except that it is not what they gave, but who they gave.
Applications
One application is that the Lord can start using another church to fulfil his purposes. The church in Antioch had been commenced by some believers who had been forced out of Jerusalem by persecution. Now the younger church, located in another country, was leading the way at that time in expanding the mission of the church.
A second application is that a spiritually healthy church will be seen in its priorities. They met for worship and prayer, and it is interesting that Luke distinguishes between them. The order at this time is opposite to what we usually see. We pray for something and then have a time of worship when we get what we asked for. Here they have a time of worship, are told by God what to do, and then have a time of prayer.
A third application is that sometimes God may surprise leaders and churches. We have already thought about the plans of Barnabas for himself and Saul and the church. Maybe they anticipated being there for a while yet, but unexpectedly God revealed he had other plans.
A fourth application is that the Lord knows how to reveal his will to a worshipping people. We might be curious to know how the Holy Spirit conveyed his mind to the church in Antioch, but we cannot find out because we have not been told. Our response to this kind of experience should not be, ‘Lord, please show me how you spoke on this occasion.’ Rather our response should be, ‘Lord, speak clearly to me so that I will know what to do.’
The mission in Cyprus
We are not told why they went to Cyprus. Perhaps the Lord had given them information that we are not told about. Maybe Barnabas, who had assets in Cyprus, went there to get funds to help them on their travels. Or it could be that since it was the first missionary journey they decided to take a route that was fairly standard, and which involved a boat trip to Cyprus and the use of the road system when they reached there.
It is obvious that only some details of their travels could be given, otherwise Luke would have had to write a much longer account. So we can assume that Luke selects the important features of their time in Cyprus. We can identify some of them.
The first detail is that they proclaimed the word of God in the Jewish synagogues, of which there were several in Salamis. This is a reminder that although the Jews in Jerusalem had rejected Jesus, he still wanted his servants to take the gospel to his ancient people. It was also the case that the gospel had already been take to Cyprus (Acts 11:19), and probably Barnabas and Saul wanted to strengthen any groups that adhered to Jesus as the Messiah. They could do this by explaining what the Old Testament said about Jesus.
The second detail that Luke mentions is that Barnabas and Saul covered the whole island. Salamis is on the east side of the island and Paphos is on the west, with about ninety miles between them. One assumes that they spread the message as they moved along on their journey.
The third detail is what occurred in Paphos, the capital and political centre of the island. It was a very different place from Salamis. In Salamis, there were several synagogues, whereas in Paphos there was a strong focus on the worship of Venus. It is interesting that in Salamis, when they were speaking to Jews, they proclaimed the word of God, maybe showing how Jesus fulfilled the Old Testament. In Paphos, where false religion was more entrenched, another form of divine power was revealed. The servants of God did focus on the word of God, but their message led to a spiritual encounter with evil.
What is Luke pointing out in this brief description of what occurred in Paphos? One detail is that not all Jews are the same. So far, we have seen Jews who accepted that Jesus was the Messiah and other Jews who refused to believe that Jesus was the Messiah. In Paphos, there was a third kind of Jew, a man who dabbled in magic.
A second detail that he highlights is that not all rulers are the same. The Roman governor in Paphos was prepared to listen to the Christian message. He was different from Pontius Pilate who had no regard for truth. Here was a man who wanted to know more about the truth, even if he was still spiritually blind.
A third detail to observe is that the devil will oppose the gospel. On this occasion, he used the false Jewish prophet Elymas to try and prevent the governor coming to faith in Jesus. This kind of opposition to the gospel would occur in different ways throughout the various places that Barnabas and Saul would visit.
Fourth, we can see from Saul’s response that there are times to be angry with those who oppose the gospel. Perhaps Paul was angry with his fellow-Jew because he had completely abandoned the faith of his Jewish forefathers. Elymas had become a pagan. Of course, it is very important that any expressions of anger come from the Holy Spirit and not for other reasons.
Fifth, we can see from what Luke tells us that divine judgement can bring about conversions. Sergius Paulus became a believer when he saw the temporary judgement that fell on Elymas. At the same time we should note what it was that astonished him – the teaching of the Lord. It grasped his heart in a manner that the act of judgment did not do. Luke’s description gives the impression that wonder had filled the man’s heart before the act of judgement, and the act only confirmed that the message was true.
Sixth, we see from this passage that Luke starts to use Paul instead of Saul. Some have wondered if this happened because of the conversion of a man with that name, and Paul chose to use that name in gratitude for what Jesus had done through him.
Applications
The first lesson from this brief account of the mission in Cyprus is that we should have confidence in the gospel to convert all kinds of sinners, whether they are Gentiles or Jews, prominent or unknown. We don’t know what knowledge Sergius Paulus may have had of Christianity before the men from Antioch appeared, but we can see that the Lord had been preparing him for the moment when he heard the truth. The fact is, although men and women may seem very different, they all share the same need and that need is met by the gospel. They all need to know the God that they have sinned against, and the gospel tells them how they can do so.
A second application is that we should expect spiritual conflict when spreading the gospel. If we don’t experience such conflict, it could be a sign that we are not perceived as dangerous by the enemy. In later places, Paul and others would be very aware of the opposition of the devil. For example, when he was in Ephesus, he said that God had opened a door for the gospel there, even although there were many adversaries (1 Cor. 16:9). Opposition is a sign that success is round the corner.
A third application is that having the Lord on one’s side is better than having anything else on our side. Barnabas and Saul seemed small in comparison to the position of Sergius Paulus, and they seemed small in comparison to the number of devotees attending the worship of Venus. But the Lord was on their side, and because that was the case, they would win. And the same is true for us in our twenty-first century world.