Antioch of Pisidia (2025)-Revised
Book of Acts: Deer Creek • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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· 14 viewsAim: To look at the next stop for Paul and Barnabas; To look at the journey, the message and the results
Notes
Transcript
Handout
Handout
The journey begins
The journey begins
Under the prayer and fasting of the certain prophets (Act13:1-2) to the laying on of hands and sending (Act13:3). All under the guidance, direction of the Holy Spirit (Act13:2) now we get to the journey itself.
4 So, being sent out by the Holy Spirit, they went down to Seleucia and from there they sailed to Cyprus. 5 When they reached Salamis, they began to proclaim the word of God in the synagogues of the Jews; and they also had John as their helper.
6 When they had gone through the whole island as far as Paphos, they found a magician, a Jewish false prophet whose name was Bar-Jesus, 7 who was with the proconsul, Sergius Paulus, a man of intelligence. This man summoned Barnabas and Saul and sought to hear the word of God.
8 But Elymas the magician (for so his name is translated) was opposing them, seeking to turn the proconsul away from the faith. 9 But Saul, who was also known as Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, fixed his gaze on him,
10 and said, “You who are full of all deceit and fraud, you son of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness, will you not cease to make crooked the straight ways of the Lord? 11 “Now, behold, the hand of the Lord is upon you, and you will be blind and not see the sun for a time.” And immediately a mist and a darkness fell upon him, and he went about seeking those who would lead him by the hand.
12 Then the proconsul believed when he saw what had happened, being amazed at the teaching of the Lord.
What did you see, what did you notice, what sticks out to you?
Geographical and Biblical facts worth knowing
43 miles S of Asia Minor, 76 miles W of Syria
3rd largest island of the Mediterranean had a land mass covering 3584 sq mi.
Barnabas was from Cypress (Act4:36)
I mentioned the Act4:36 before, but let me give to you now.
36 Now Joseph, a Levite of Cyprian birth, who was also called Barnabas by the apostles (which translated means Son of Encouragement),
Gospel previously preached in Cyprus (Act11:19)
Church of Antioch of Syria was started by men from Cyprus (Act11:20)
The mission team will split up in the future and Barnabas and Mark will return to Cyprus (Act15:39)
First stop, Seleucia - Port city on the Mediterranean coast, 16mi away from Antioch (Act13:4)
Second stop, Salamias on Cyprus (Act13:5)
This is 130mi SW of Seleucia
Cyprus as known for its copper mines and for ship building, it was an industrial island and was even nick named “Happy Isle”
Question: What can we know about What happened in Salamias (Act13:5)?
They preached the word, they did it in the synagogues, John Mark was with the as their assistant.
This should not be surprising what they did nor where they did it.
Barnabas was more than likely well known there in his home area, starting preaching in the synagogues was typical for Paul, it was his pattern, you can look up other examples (Act17:1-2, Rom1:16)
John Mark, we have seen him before, he was from Jerusalem, his mother was Mary (Act12:12); he accompanied Barnabas and Saul from there to Antioch of Syria (Act12:25) And he was Barnabas cousin, in case you did not know (Col4:10)
From Salamias to Paphos (Act13:6)
Paphos is abut 90 mi W of Salamias and it is the capital of Cyprus.
The team, the resistance, the gospel, the results (Act13:6-12)
(Transition) now where we know limited on the other stops, we can learn much more when they get to Paphos, so let’s glean from the scripture
Question: Who are the characters introduced to us (vv.6-8)?
False Prophet named Bar-Jesus (v.6)
We see Sergius Paulus the proconsul, as well s Barnabas and Saul. (v.7)
Question: What did Sergius Paulus want from Barnabas and Saul (v.7)?
He sought them to hear the word of God .
(Transition)Now in (v.8) you see Bar-Jesus is aka Elymas, and he was a sorcerer or magician, but still more we can learn:
Question: why was Elymas trying to oppose Saul and Barnabas (v.8)
To keep the proconsul from the faith.(v.8)
(Transition) Now we get to the actions taken by the Holy Spirit (vv.9-11)
I’m not going to read the verses again, but will put up so we can get information from them.
9 But Saul, who was also known as Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, fixed his gaze on him,
Question: What do you learn from (v.9)?
Saul is known as Paul, He was filled with Holy Spirit.
This is the first time Saul is addressed, identified as Paul. Saul was the Jewish name, Paul was the Greek name, it was common to have two names.
Paul was not acting, responding under his power and guidance but was filled and acting under the power of God through the Holy Spirit.
10 and said, “You who are full of all deceit and fraud, you son of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness, will you not cease to make crooked the straight ways of the Lord?
Question: what more do you learn about Bar-Jesus from Paul in (v.10)?
Full of deceit, a fraud, son of devil
Paul’s desire is known, not in so many words, repent and turn to the Lord.
Again, this is not surprising when God is working there Satan comes along and tries to sow tares among the wheat (see Mt13:24ff for parable of wheat and tares)
Paul through Holy Spirit discernment can see that Bar-Jesus is son of the devil, Like Jesus said in (Jn8:44).
Question: What was the judgment given, and look closely, who gives it in (v.11)?
11 “Now, behold, the hand of the Lord is upon you, and you will be blind and not see the sun for a time.” And immediately a mist and a darkness fell upon him, and he went about seeking those who would lead him by the hand.
You will be blind because the hand of the Lord is upon you!
(Transition) Immediately this happened and he had to be lead by hand, sound familiar, maybe like Saul after meeting Jesus (see Act9:8); what matters is the result, now look at (v.12) and we will close out in a few
12 Then the proconsul believed when he saw what had happened, being amazed at the teaching of the Lord.
Question: what was the result to that transpired in (v.11) here in (v.12)?
Proconsul believed what he saw, was amazed at the teaching.
(Encouragement)
(Transition) Does God’s word, God’s teaching still amaze you? Does it bring belief and faith to you? It did to the Proconsul along with many others we have seen in Acts thus far, and many more to come.
A journey starts with a first step, your journey with God started when you accepted Christ, your journey continues, your missionary trip here continues with each step you take. Are you stepping up and out in faith today?
Mission trip continues
Mission trip continues
Missionary trip with mission team (Paul, Barnabas and John Mark) continues from Cyprus. In our study today we will look at the setting, the sermon, and time permitting the response.
Antioch of Syria to Seleucia (13:1, 4)
Met with the prophets there who had been praying (v.3)
Laid hands on Paul and Barnabas and sent them out (v.3-4)
Under the direction of the Holy Spirit (v.2)
Seleucia to Salamis (on island of Cyprus (v.5)
Under the power and the guidance of the Holy Spirit they set sail from Seleucia to the island of Cyrus to Salamis. There the started to preach in the synagogues
Salamis to Paphos (capital of Cyprus) (v.6)
Then on to Paphos, a land journey and meet up with false prophet and the proconsul (v.6-7)
Paul under power of the Holy Spirit called out the false prophet (v.8) and the results were seen in (v.11) since the hand of the Lord was on him.
The proconsul believed (v.12)
Today we journey leaving from Paphos (v.13)
13 Now Paul and his companions put out to sea from Paphos and came to Perga in Pamphylia; but John left them and returned to Jerusalem.
Question: Where was the next stop after Paphos (v.13)? What else happened there?
Next stop was Perga in Pamphylia
Also can see that John (aka John Mark) left and returned to Jerusalem.
We do not know for sure why John Mark left, there is lots of conjecture on reasons, but scripture is not clear here. what we can know is that it caused division between Paul and Barnabas, but that is not seen until (Act15:36-40); so just note that down in your notes.
(Transition) Now this leads to the next part of the journey and the setting.
The Setting
The Setting
Now they continue the journey and Paul in like manner will do as he has in other places (Act13:5, 17:1-3) and bring the good news to the Jews.
First I think we need to journey to then get to the setting.
14 But going on from Perga, they arrived at Pisidian Antioch, and on the Sabbath day they went into the synagogue and sat down.
So you can see the journey now, it was had hard long, arduous trip through hundreds of miles of mountains, rivers and bandits. This could be what Paul wrote to the Corinthians about
26 I have been on frequent journeys, in dangers from rivers, dangers from robbers, dangers from my countrymen, dangers from the Gentiles, dangers in the city, dangers in the wilderness, dangers on the sea, dangers among false brethren;
Now it was Paul’s custom when he entered a town to go to the synagogues and preach there first
5 When they reached Salamis, they began to proclaim the word of God in the synagogues of the Jews; and they also had John as their helper.
and you will see that again
1 Now when they had traveled through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where there was a synagogue of the Jews. 2 And according to Paul’s custom, he went to them, and for three Sabbaths reasoned with them from the Scriptures,
3 explaining and giving evidence that the Christ had to suffer and rise again from the dead, and saying, “This Jesus whom I am proclaiming to you is the Christ.”
I had to bring in (v.3), just to keep it in context, lol.
Now onward with the text
15 After the reading of the Law and the Prophets the synagogue officials sent to them, saying, “Brethren, if you have any word of exhortation for the people, say it.” 16 Paul stood up, and motioning with his hand said, “Men of Israel, and you who fear God, listen:
Paul never missed an opportunity to preach! here is the invitation, and he ceases the moment. So now we get the meat of the scripture, then after we will see the results.
The Sermon
The Sermon
It is an interesting fact that Paul’s sermon (Act13:24-33) can be laid out next to Stephens (Act7:2-46) and then Paul’s address to Antioch (Act13:24-34) and Peter’s address to Cornelius (Act10:37-43). So in short God’s message, the gospel is echoed in Peter and in Stephen.
Paul preaches Hebrew History (Act13:17-23)
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 an uplifted arm He led them out from it. 18 “For a period of about forty years He put up with them in the wilderness.
19 “When He had destroyed seven nations in the land of Canaan, He distributed their land as an inheritance—all of which took about four hundred and fifty years. 20 “After these things 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 “After He had removed him, He raised up David to be their king, concerning whom He also testified and said, ‘I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after My heart, who will do all My will.’
23 “From the descendants of this man, according to promise, God has brought to Israel a Savior, Jesus,
So highlights to grab from the history.
God chose them (v.17); God brought them into wilderness (v.18)
God gave them, distributed their land (v.19); God appointed judges (v.20)
They asked for king, got a king (v.21); God raised up a man after His own heart (v.22)
All Hebrew history points to Jesus as its fulfillment. So starting with delivery out of Egypt, to wilderness, wilderness to the promised land, in the promised land to a cycle of sin and God gives the judges. The people ask for a king and then God brings the man after his own heart who will bring into view God’s promise to Abraham, the seed of promise, Jesus
God brought a Savior, Jesus (v.23)
Paul proclaims Jesus is the promise (Act13:23-26)
23 “From the descendants of this man, according to promise, God has brought to Israel a Savior, Jesus, 24 after John had proclaimed before His coming a baptism of repentance to all the people of Israel.
25 “And while John was completing his course, he kept saying, ‘What do you suppose that I am? I am not He. But behold, one is coming after me the sandals of whose feet I am not worthy to untie.’ 26 “Brethren, sons of Abraham’s family, and those among you who fear God, to us the message of this salvation has been sent.
Starting with the proclaiming by John, and the baptism of repentance (v.24)
The message of salvation has been sent (v.26)
He gives the evidence of death and resurrection of Jesus (Act13:27-37)
27 “For those who live in Jerusalem, and their rulers, recognizing neither Him nor the utterances of the prophets which are read every Sabbath, fulfilled these by condemning Him. 28 “And though they found no ground for putting Him to death, they asked Pilate that He be executed.
29 “When they had carried out all that was written concerning Him, they took Him down from the cross and laid Him in a tomb. 30 “But God raised Him from the dead;
31 and for many days He appeared to those who came up with Him from Galilee to Jerusalem, the very ones who are now His witnesses to the people. 32 “And we preach to you the good news of the promise made to the fathers,
33 that God has fulfilled this promise to our children in that He raised up Jesus, as it is also written in the second Psalm, ‘You are My Son; today i have begotten You.’ 34 “As for the fact that He raised Him up from the dead, no longer to return to decay, He has spoken in this way: ‘I will give you the holy and sure blessings of David.’
35 “Therefore He also says in another Psalm, ‘You will not allow Your Holy One to undergo decay.’ 36 “For David, after he had served the purpose of God in his own generation, fell asleep, and was laid among his fathers and underwent decay;
37 but He whom God raised did not undergo decay.
The words of the prophets were fulfilled in condemning Him (v.27); They put Him to death (v.28)
God raised Him up (v.30); there were witnesses (v.31)
This brought about the good news that was being preached by Paul and the others, fulfilling what was said in Ps2:7 (see v.33) God raised him so to see no corruption (Isa55:3; Ps16:10); David served his generation (v.36) but now look at (v.38-39) again together
38 “Therefore let it be known to you, brethren, that through Him forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you, 39 and through Him everyone who believes is freed from all things, from which you could not be freed through the Law of Moses.
Question: What is proclaimed (v.38) and how is freedom obtained (v.39)
Forgiveness of sins is proclaimed (v.38); It is obtained through belief (v.39)
Warning issued (Act13:40-41)
40 “Therefore take heed, so that the thing spoken of in the Prophets may not come upon you:
41 ‘Behold, you scoffers, and marvel, and perish; For I am accomplishing a work in your days, A work which you will never believe, though someone should describe it to you.’ ”
Take heed what has been spoken by Prophets (v.40)
You will perish because you do not believe (v.41)
(Stop; expand; believe or perish)
(Transition) now that brings us to the last section, the response to the sermon.
The Response
The Response
The Good news will have different responses, some positive, some negative, some immediate some delayed.
Response on that Sabbath (Act13:42-43)
42 As Paul and Barnabas were going out, the people kept begging that these things might be spoken to them the next Sabbath. 43 Now when the meeting of the synagogue had broken up, many of the Jews and of the God-fearing proselytes followed Paul and Barnabas, who, speaking to them, were urging them to continue in the grace of God.
The people (Gentiles) begged them to stay (v.42); the Jews urged them to continue in the grace of God (v.43)
Immediate response, many wanted to hear more, more on the following Sabbath.
Response on the next Sabbath (Act13:44-48)
44 The next Sabbath nearly the whole city assembled to hear the word of the Lord. 45 But when the Jews saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy and began contradicting the things spoken by Paul, and were blaspheming.
46 Paul and Barnabas spoke out boldly and said, “It was necessary that the word of God be spoken to you first; since you repudiate it and judge yourselves unworthy of eternal life, behold, we are turning to the Gentiles. 47 “For so the Lord has commanded us, ‘I have placed You as a light for the Gentiles, That You may bring salvation to the end of the earth.’ ”
48 When the Gentiles heard this, they began rejoicing and glorifying the word of the Lord; and as many as had been appointed to eternal life believed.
Question: what was the reason almost the whole city assembled the next Sabbath (v.44)?
To hear the word of the Lord
(expand on hearing the word) -
Question: in looking at (v.45) what is the response from the Jews?
They were filled with jealousy; then they were contradicting what Paul was preaching.
In (vv.46-47) Paul and Barnabas turn attention to the Gentiles. The Jews heard the Good News first and they were rejecting it. This was always a part o God’s plan, you can see that it was promised to the Gentiles if you look at (Isa42:6, 49:6)
6 “I am the Lord, I have called You in righteousness, I will also hold You by the hand and watch over You, And I will appoint You as a covenant to the people, As a light to the nations,
6 He says, “It is too small a thing that You should be My Servant To raise up the tribes of Jacob and to restore the preserved ones of Israel; I will also make You a light of the nations So that My salvation may reach to the end of the earth.”
Question: what was the response of the Gentiles in (v.48)?
They were rejoicing, they were glorifying the word of the Lord.
In looking at (v.48) in fact let me put it back up in front of you for a minute for there is something more I want to say on it.
48 When the Gentiles heard this, they began rejoicing and glorifying the word of the Lord; and as many as had been appointed to eternal life believed.
Notice at the end it says as many as had been appointed.
some believe this has to do with divine election (Calvin view); that would be contrary to God’s will (1Tim2:4; 2Pt3:9) Where God wants all saved, all to come to repentance.
This can do with God’s foreknowledge of who will accept the Christ when they hear the gospel
Without a doubt it does mean that if you reject the gospel you are rejecting God and are unworthy of eternal life (v.46)
More response results seen in (Act13:49-51)
49 And the word of the Lord was being spread through the whole region. 50 But the Jews incited the devout women of prominence and the leading men of the city, and instigated a persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and drove them out of their district.
51 But they shook off the dust of their feet in protest against them and went to Iconium.
Question: What was being spread and where (v.49)?
The Word was being spread to the whole region.
(expand on this for 1-2 minutes)
Question: What more response do you see in (v.50)?
By devout women and leading men, persecution was instigated that drove Paul and Barnabas out of region.
So driven out of the region, look at (v.51) and let me ask
Question: What was the results of being drive out of the region (v.51)?
They shook dust off their feet, and then then came to Iconium.
God grows the church, God adds to the numbers, and oftentimes the great growth happens in persecution. Here it sent Paul and Barnabas to Iconium. It sent us from Texas to Iowa. And the end result for this leg of the mission trip and for us to learn and apply is found in (v.52)
52 And the disciples were continually filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.
Summing it up, drawing a conclusion
Paul and Barnabas experienced what happen in Jerusalem
People were believing, obeying, following
Persecution followed too
Some wanted more, some rejected
Persecution led to distribution, moving on to carry the good news elsewhere. They were filled with Joy , filled with the Holy Spirit!
Are you joy filled? Be joy filled regardless of circumstances
(Prayer) (Exit)
