seekeroftruth
Well-Known Member
Acts 13:1 Now there were in the church at Antioch prophets and teachers, Barnabas, Simeon who was called Niger,[a] Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen a lifelong friend of Herod the tetrarch, and Saul. 2 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.” 3 Then after fasting and praying they laid their hands on them and sent them off.
4 So, being sent out by the Holy Spirit, they went down to Seleucia, and from there they sailed to Cyprus. 5 When they arrived at Salamis, they proclaimed the word of God in the synagogues of the Jews. And they had John to assist them. 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. 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. 8 But Elymas the magician (for that is the meaning of his name) opposed them, seeking to turn the proconsul away from the faith. 9 But Saul, who was also called Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked intently at him 10 and said, “You son of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness, full of all deceit and villainy, will you not stop making crooked the straight paths of the Lord? 11 And now, behold, the hand of the Lord is upon you, and you will be blind and unable to see the sun for a time.” Immediately mist and darkness fell upon him, and he went about seeking people to lead him by the hand. 12 Then the proconsul believed, when he saw what had occurred, for he was astonished at the teaching of the Lord.
13 Now Paul and his companions set sail from Paphos and came to Perga in Pamphylia. And John left them and returned to Jerusalem, 14 but they went on from Perga and came to Antioch in Pisidia. And on the Sabbath day they went into the synagogue and sat down. 15 After the reading from the Law and the Prophets, the rulers of the synagogue sent a message to them, saying, “Brothers, if you have any word of encouragement for the people, say it.” 16 So Paul stood up, and motioning with his hand said:
“Men of Israel and you who fear God, listen. 17 The God of this people Israel chose our fathers and made the people great during their stay in the land of Egypt, and with uplifted arm he led them out of it. 18 And for about forty years he put up with[b] them in the wilderness. 19 And after destroying seven nations in the land of Canaan, he gave them their land as an inheritance. 20 All this took about 450 years. And after that he gave them judges until Samuel the prophet. 21 Then they asked for a king, and God gave them Saul the son of Kish, a man of the tribe of Benjamin, for forty years. 22 And when he had removed him, he raised up David to be their king, of whom he testified and said, ‘I have found in David the son of Jesse a man after my heart, who will do all my will.’ 23 Of this man's offspring God has brought to Israel a Savior, Jesus, as he promised. 24 Before his coming, John had proclaimed a baptism of repentance to all the people of Israel. 25 And as John was finishing his course, he said, ‘What do you suppose that I am? I am not he. No, but behold, after me one is coming, the sandals of whose feet I am not worthy to untie.’
26 “Brothers, sons of the family of Abraham, and those among you who fear God, to us has been sent the message of this salvation. 27 For those who live in Jerusalem and their rulers, because they did not recognize him nor understand the utterances of the prophets, which are read every Sabbath, fulfilled them by condemning him. 28 And though they found in him no guilt worthy of death, they asked Pilate to have him executed. 29 And when they had carried out all that was written of him, they took him down from the tree and laid him in a tomb. 30 But God raised him from the dead, 31 and for many days he appeared to those who had come up with him from Galilee to Jerusalem, who are now his witnesses to the people. 32 And we bring you the good news that what God promised to the fathers, 33 this he has fulfilled to us their children by raising Jesus, as also it is written in the second Psalm,
“‘You are my Son,
today I have begotten you.’
today I have begotten you.’
34 And as for the fact that he raised him from the dead, no more to return to corruption, he has spoken in this way,
“‘I will give you the holy and sure blessings of David.’
35 Therefore he says also in another psalm,
“‘You will not let your Holy One see corruption.’
36 For David, after he had served the purpose of God in his own generation, fell asleep and was laid with his fathers and saw corruption, 37 but he whom God raised up did not see corruption. 38 Let it be known to you therefore, brothers, that through this man forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you, 39 and by him everyone who believes is freed[c] from everything from which you could not be freed by the law of Moses. 40 Beware, therefore, lest what is said in the Prophets should come about:
41 “‘Look, you scoffers,
be astounded and perish;
for I am doing a work in your days,
a work that you will not believe, even if one tells it to you.’”
be astounded and perish;
for I am doing a work in your days,
a work that you will not believe, even if one tells it to you.’”
42 As they went out, the people begged that these things might be told them the next Sabbath. 43 And after the meeting of the synagogue broke up, many Jews and devout converts to Judaism followed Paul and Barnabas, who, as they spoke with them, urged them to continue in the grace of God.
44 The next Sabbath almost the whole city gathered to hear the word of the Lord. 45 But when the Jews[d] saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy and began to contradict what was spoken by Paul, reviling him. 46 And Paul and Barnabas spoke out boldly, saying, “It was necessary that the word of God be spoken first to you. Since you thrust it aside and judge yourselves unworthy of eternal life, behold, we are turning to the Gentiles. 47 For so the Lord has commanded us, saying,
“‘I have made you a light for the Gentiles,
that you may bring salvation to the ends of the earth.’”
that you may bring salvation to the ends of the earth.’”
48 And when the Gentiles heard this, they began rejoicing and glorifying the word of the Lord, and as many as were appointed to eternal life believed. 49 And the word of the Lord was spreading throughout the whole region. 50 But the Jews incited the devout women of high standing and the leading men of the city, stirred up persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and drove them out of their district. 51 But they shook off the dust from their feet against them and went to Iconium. 52 And the disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.
Footnotes:
a. Acts 13:1 Niger is a Latin word meaning black, or dark
b. Acts 13:18 Some manuscripts he carried (compare Deuteronomy 1:31)
c. Acts 13:39 Greek justified; twice in this verse
d. Acts 13:45 Greek Ioudaioi probably refers here to Jewish religious leaders, and others under their influence, in that time; also verse 50.
The commentary this morning is from the easy English site.
These teachers and prophets were probably the leaders of the church in Antioch. Barnabas and Saul were the most famous ones. But the other leaders were also important in the early church. That is why Luke mentions them. Their names show that they were from different places.
Simeon (or Simon) is a Jewish name. Simeon was also called ‘Niger’, which is the Latin word for ‘black’. (At that time, Latin was the language that people spoke in Rome.) So, Simeon was a black man. He probably came from Africa. Some students say that he was Simon from Cyrene. Simon from Cyrene carried Jesus’ cross (Luke 23:26). But here, Luke spells the name ‘Simeon’. And in Luke’s Gospel, Simon from Cyrene is not called ‘Black’.
Lucius is a Roman name. Some men spoke to the Greek Gentiles about Jesus. This Lucius may have been one of those men.
Manaen is the Greek word for the Hebrew name Menahem. The name means ‘someone who gives comfort’. During Manaen’s childhood, he had lived with Herod Antipas. Antipas was the Herod who killed John the Baptist (Luke 9:9). Antipas was also at Jesus’ trial (Luke 23:6-12).
Paphos was the capital of Cyprus. People there worshipped Aphrodite, the Greek goddess of love and sex. The city was famous because the people there were so wicked. Often, when people do wicked things, they have connections with magic. Even Sergius Paulus, the ruler of Cyprus, had a private magician. This magician was a Jew. Usually, the Jews did not do magic. God had said that people must not do magic (Deuteronomy 18:10-12). But Bar-Jesus did magic. His other name, Elymas, meant ‘magician’. If his master became a Christian, Elymas would lose his job as magician. Elymas knew that. So, he opposed the missionaries, Barnabas and Saul. He tried to persuade his master not to believe the Christian faith.
Often, Jews had a second name, which was a Greek or Roman one. Now, Luke calls Saul by his Greek name, Paul. This seems more suitable. This is because Paul had become a missionary to Gentile countries.
On the Sabbath, people went to the synagogue. There, they heard someone read the scriptures. Readers read twice, from two different parts of the scriptures. First, they read from the books that contain the Law. Then, they read from the books that contain the prophets’ messages. After that, someone would explain what those scriptures meant. The leaders of this synagogue invited the missionaries to do this. Perhaps they saw that Paul was wearing a rabbi’s clothes. This is the first time that Luke records a public speech by Paul.
Paul used words from the scriptures. In this way, he showed what God had done. Paul said that God had ‘raised Jesus up’. This meant that God had given Jesus to be his Messiah. Paul said words from Psalm 2:7. This is a psalm about the king that God chooses. It reminds us about God’s promise to David. Someone from among David’s family would be the Saviour.
David died and his body went bad. But Jesus died and his body did not go bad. This was because God raised him from death. Paul spoke those words from Psalm 16:10. Peter had also spoken them in Acts 2:27. But Paul linked them with Isaiah 55:3, where we read about God’s blessings. God’s blessings are certain because Jesus is alive! His resurrection means that God’s kingdom is here.
But the Jews were jealous. Perhaps it was because the missionaries were so popular. More probably, the Jews did not like the missionaries’ message. The Jews were God’s special people. Paul and Barnabas’s message was about God’s grace. And that grace was for everyone who believes in Jesus. Many Gentiles had come to the synagogue to hear about this. Perhaps the Jews did not like them to come. The Jews did not believe that God accepts Gentiles. They did not want Gentiles to be equal with Jews in front of God. So, the Jews insulted Paul and they opposed his message.
In many Roman cities, people did wicked things. Some women sold their bodies to men for sex. Men had sex with women who were not their wives. As a result, many women suffered. Their families also suffered. Many Gentile women wanted to live in the right way. So, some Gentile women followed Judaism, because it had rules about sex. The Jewish Law taught also that people should not steal. They should not lie, nor should they do other bad things.
Some such Gentile women in Pisidian Antioch were married to important men. The Jews persuaded them to make their husbands oppose Paul and Barnabas. The Jews forced the missionaries to leave.
So... now Saul of Tarsus is know as Paul. Paul is still only a disciple.... and he's working with Barnabas.... that good guy who sold all his stuff to give it to the widows and the poor. In verse 2 the Bible says God sent them on this mission. So... now I know God wanted Peter to work building churches and God wanted Saul [of Tarsus.... with the Greek name of Paul] have been called out to teach the Gentiles.According to what I just read.... the Gentile men were in the synagogue..... Outside of Israel [Judah, Jerusalem, and Israel combined] all men could go to the synagogue..... after all they were celebrating Aphrodite there.... so they were interested.... sex is always an easy sell. On top of that... Aphrodite also meant there would be more babies... more babies meant more workers.... and more workers meant more crops and more crops meant prosperity.... so even back then.... the church was run by the money addicted......
Barnabas and Paul were in the crowd... and they were invited to speak. Paul was the orator.... apparently Barnabas was happy just taking care of people.... and when Paul spoke..... he poured it all out.... He went all the way back to the beginning to Abraham... to Moses.... to Canaan..... to Saul.... to David.... to Solomon.... and Jesus the Messiah. Paul laid it all out for them.... and everyone just absorbed the message.... some believed and wanted more and more..... some spit it out right away.... they saw it as a threat to their normal.
I find it interesting, by the way, that the Cyrene that carried the Cross for Jesus might have been a black man. Luke [the same guy who wrote the Gospel of Luke] also wrote the Book of Acts. So it's here, not in the Gospel, that Luke [a physician by the way] noted that "Simeon who was called Niger,Lucius of Cyrene" and Niger meant "black". Man.... that's interesting.....
So.... Saul of Tarsus has become Paul.... he's a disciple now.... not an Apostle.... but he's already been run out of town for talking about the Messiah. His message is a good one.... truthful and really complete. Magicians and fake prophets aren't really happy with the truth.. and those happy little Jews were more than happy to send Barnabas and Paul [the disciple.... Saul of Tarsus].... on their way to keep their cushy position in the synagogue.... polishing the statue of Aphrodite.
