Acts 13, Part 24
Notes
Transcript
1 Now there were in the church at Antioch prophets and teachers, Barnabas, Simeon who was called Niger, 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.
Here we see the setting apart, or the calling of Barnabas and Saul/Paul to be the first missionaries of the New Testament church. The Christian church launched forth, making a deliberate effort to carry the gospel to the whole world. It commissioned its first two missionaries for the deliberate purpose of going to meet the world’s desperate need for Christ.
The first missionaries were members of a great church, a church that reached out to all. The greatness of the Antioch church is seen in two facts.
1. The Antioch church was God’s choice to become the mission and evangelistic center of the world. God was now ready to send His Word to the whole world. The first three phases of the great commission had been launched. The disciples of Christ had borne and left a witness in Jerusalem and Judea and Samaria. Now it was time for a witness to go into all the world, reaching out even to the uttermost part (Acts 1:8).
But note a significant fact, a fact that stands as a warning to every church: God had to choose some church other than the Jerusalem church to launch the worldwide mission. The Jerusalem church was too narrow and traditional to do the job (see note, Salvation vs. Ritual—Acts 15:1–3 for discussion). Too many of its members (Jews) were too prejudiced and held too many feelings against the rest of the world (Gentiles). They refused to freely and wholeheartedly commit themselves to world missions and evangelism. They refused to repent of their exclusiveness and their traditional, formal approach to God. God had to bypass the Jerusalem church and raise up another church to become the center of His mission upon earth.
Note what this means, for it is a warning to every believer. Some leaders other than the Jewish leaders had to be chosen to launch God’s purposes on earth. The Jewish leaders had proven too slow in launching out in the full liberty and freedom of God’s Spirit. They, too, had waited too long to repent of their sins. God was ready to move out into the world and the leaders in Jerusalem were not ready. God had no choice but to raise up other leaders who would commit their lives fully to the gospel and to carry the gospel to the whole world in an uninhibited and free spirit.
2. The Antioch church was diverse, a church that reached out to everyone. This is clearly seen in the men mentioned.
a. Barnabas: he was a wealthy Cyprian, a man born and reared on the island of Cyprus. (See note—Acts 4:36–37 for discussion.)
b. Simeon or Niger: the name “Niger” means black, referring to the complexion of his skin. He was probably from Africa. The name is also a Roman name which shows that he moved about in Roman society. Some commentators suggest he was the Simon of Cyrene who carried the cross for Jesus (see Mk. 15:21).
c. Lucius of Cyrene: he was probably one of the poor persecuted believers who had fled to Antioch for safety. If so, he was one of the founders of this great church. When he arrived in Antioch, he and the others began to share Christ immediately (see Acts 11:19–20).
d. Manaen: he was of the higher class of society, being a foster brother to Herod Antipas. This is the Herod who had tried Jesus and murdered John the Baptist.
e. Saul of Tarsus: he was one of the religionists of society. He is mentioned last as though he was considered least important among the leaders. However, Saul’s deep love for the Lord and his driving commitment to the Lord’s cause would soon lead God to use Saul beyond imagination.
The point is this: these men, with their diversity of backgrounds and social standings, show just how much the church at Antioch reached out to everyone throughout the community. It reached out to all classes of people, all needs, all nationalities and races. No one was excluded; everyone was invited to Christ and welcomed into the fellowship and ministry of the church. The church at Antioch was a ministering church, a great outreach church, just the kind of church God needed to launch and support the first missionaries to the world.
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.
This is the first picture of missionary action in the world. As such it paints a graphic picture of just what missions and evangelism involve. there was the leading of the Holy Spirit. Picture the scene: Seleucia was the seaport of Antioch. It lay fifteen miles to the west of Antioch. Barnabas and Saul with all their luggage were being escorted to the port by some of their Christian friends from Antioch. Imagine the conversation and excitement as they shared their plans and dreams of what lay ahead. But note: this is not what Scripture stresses. What Scripture stresses is simply stated, but it is critical.
The servants of God were “sent forth by the Holy Spirit.” They were not striking out on their own. They were not going because of a feeling, an inner idea that told them they should go. They were not going because the church was sending them forth. They were not going because they had chosen missions as a profession. The source of their call and mission was the Holy Spirit. It was the Spirit of God that had called them and was sending them forth (cp. Acts 13:1–3).
The leadership of the Spirit is critical to the servant of God. If he is led by the Spirit, he is filled with the greatest encouragement; but if he is not led by the Spirit, he is often filled with the greatest discouragement. Paul and Barnabas were led by the Spirit; therefore, they were able to march forth triumphantly.
They were there to be missionaries, and in doing so they preached the Gospel and they made disciples. They took John Mark with them. The word “minister” (hupereten) means attendant, assistant, helper. Mark was ministering under Barnabas and Paul, being discipled by them—helping, serving, ministering right with them, learning all he could. Apparently he was somewhat younger. Note the word “also”: this could be saying Mark was doing some preaching as well as helping in other areas.
Making disciples of young men was one of the major ministries of Paul. He was usually seen with at least several disciples accompanying him. Even on this mission, he seemed to have several whom he was discipling, although they were not named (cp. “his company,” v. 13).
Just how Paul went about making disciples of others can be seen in the words of the great commission: “Go ye … and teach [make disciples of] all nations.…” (Mt. 28:19). The word “teach” (metheteusate) means to make disciples. Thus the verse accurately reads, “Go ye therefore and ‘make disciples’ of all nations.…” The point to note is this: our Lord is not only telling us to go and evangelize; He is telling us how to go and how to evangelize. He is not only giving His ultimate objective and overriding purpose; He is giving the method to use in evangelizing the world.
Think about the word “metheteusate” (make disciples). What does our Lord mean by make disciples? Is He not telling us to do exactly as He did?
What did He do? Christ “came to seek and save that which was lost” (Lk. 19:10). He sought the lost, those who were willing to commit their lives to Him. And when He found such a person, He saved that person. When Christ found a person who was willing to commit his life, Christ attached Himself to that person. Christ began to mold and make that person into His image. The word attach is the key word. It is probably the word that best describes discipleship. Christ made disciples of men by attaching Himself to them; and through this personal attachment, they were able to observe His life and conversation; and in seeing and hearing, they began to absorb and assimilate His very character and behavior. They began to follow Him and to serve Him more and more closely.
In simple terms this is what Paul did. This is the way he made disciples. This was his mission and his method, his obsession. There is another way to describe what Paul did. Paul envisioned something beyond himself, beyond his day and time. He envisioned an extension of himself, an extension of his very being, and an extension of his mission and method. The way he chose to extend himself was discipling; he attached himself to committed persons, and through attachment, the persons absorbed and assimilated the Lord’s very character and mission. Then they in turn attached themselves to others and discipled them. They, too, expected their disciples to make disciples of others who were willing to commit their lives to Christ. It was by this method that the glorious message of Christ marched down through the centuries until it reached us. And it is by this method that the message of Christ is to march down to the generation that is to follow us (2 Tim. 2:2).
There is no question what our Lord’s commission is: we are to go; but more than that, we are to make disciples, to attach ourselves to those persons who will follow our Lord until they in turn can make disciples.
The Lord’s servants reached out to new areas. Note the two men went through Cyprus, to the city of Paphos. The idea is that they evangelized and preached the Word from town to town, village to village as they moved about the island. They reached out to every area, carrying the glorious gospel to those who were even in the back areas of the island.
The Lord’s servants confronted a false prophet. If there were no false prophets, there would be no false teaching. False teaching exists because of false prophets. Therefore the servants of Christ will not only be confronting false teaching, they will be confronting the false prophet himself. This is important to note, for it is usually much more difficult to confront a person than just an idea. A person can stand toe to toe with a person, threatening and persecuting him. The false prophet and teacher is usually in rebellion and opposition against God; therefore some form of evil attack is almost sure to happen.
The point is this: the Lord’s true servant will run across false prophets and teachers. And so he must be walking in the Spirit, relying upon His leadership, care, presence, and power in order to stand against false teachers and their teaching.
Leadership Ministries Worldwide. 2003. The Acts of the Apostles. The Preacher’s Outline & Sermon Bible. Chattanooga, TN: Leadership Ministries Worldwide.
