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Scripture reading –Acts 13

Today’s Scripture reading continues with Acts 13 and marks the beginning of what I will describe as modern missions. In the following chapters, we will observe an ever-rising tide of persecution.

After traveling from Antioch to bring “relief to the brethren which dwelt in Judaea” (Acts 11:29), Paul and Barnabas departed Jerusalem, taking with them John Mark (Acts 12:25). After returning to Antioch, the Holy Spirit moved that church to “separate” and consecrate Barnabas and Saul to be sent forth as the first missionary team (Acts 13:2-4).

 

Acts 13

 

The Calling and Ordination of the First Missionaries (Acts 13:1-3)

While the inception of the Great Commission was recorded in Matthew 28:19-20 and repeated in Acts 1:8, the birth of missions was detailed in Acts 13-14. I invite you to consider four simple but central mission principles in today’s text. 

 

First, God called to mission service those who were serving. (Acts 13:1)

Barnabas and Saul (i.e., Paul, Acts 13:9) were named among the “prophets and teachers” who were at Antioch (Acts 13:1). When God called that dynamic duo of preachers to be ordained and sent out by the church; they were numbered among those who “ministered to the LORD” (Acts 13:2).

The Calling and Ordination of the First Missionaries (Acts 13:1-3)

A second principle for missions is that Gods call is specific. (Acts 13:2)

We read, “The Holy Ghost said, Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them” (Acts 13:2). Although several men were serving in the church at Antioch, the Holy Ghost explicitly called Barnabas and Saul to a specific ministry: for the work whereunto I have called them (Acts 13:2b). 

The third principle of missions was separation. (Acts 13:2-3)

A call to missions often means a parting, a separation from home, family, friends, aspirations, and comforts. Seas, distant lands, hardships, persecutions, and adversaries awaited Barnabas and Saul’s deployment to mission endeavors.

A fourth principle of missions was that church leaders were sanctioned to confirm Gods call on Barnabas and Saul. (Acts 13:3-4)

We read, When they [the church and its leaders] had fasted and prayed and laid their hands on them, they sent them away” (Acts 13:3). Called by the Holy Ghost, set apart for service, and ordained by the elders of the Antioch church, Barnabas and Saul departed (Acts 13:4).

Team Missions: Paul, Barnabas, and John Mark

Team Missions: Paul, Barnabas, and John Mark (Acts 13:5-13)

John Mark accompanied Paul and Barnabas (Acts 13:5), and together they “sailed to [the island of] Cyprus (Acts 13:4-6). When they arrived at “Salamis,” a port city of Cyprus, they “preached the word of God in the synagogues of the Jews” (Acts 13:5). John Mark, however, soon deserted the team and “returned to Jerusalem” (Acts 13:13). (John Mark’s departure would later prove to be a divisive issue between Barnabas and Saul, Acts 15:38-40). 

The Gospel Paul and Barnabas Preached (Acts 13:14-41)

Paul and Barnabas came to another Antioch, known in the Scriptures as “Antioch in Pisidia” (Acts 13:14). This Antioch began in Asia Minor as a Roman outpost, but by Paul’s day was the capital city of Galatia in modern-day Turkey. Antioch’s population of Jews was large enough to have a synagogue. As was their custom, Paul and Barnabas worshipped there on the Sabbath (Acts 13:14). As guests of the synagogue, Paul and Barnabas were invited to give a “word of exhortation for the people” (Acts 13:15). 

Trained in the Scriptures, Paul was a powerful, persuasive speaker, and he declared God’s providential work and care for Israel (Acts 13:18-22). He beckoned with his hand and said, “26 Men and brethren, children of the stock of Abraham, and whosoever among you feareth God, to you is the word of this salvation sent… 28And though they found no cause of death in him, yet desired they Pilate that he should be slain. 29And when they had fulfilled all that was written of him, they took him down from the tree, and laid him in a sepulchre. 30But God raised him from the dead” (Acts 13:23-41).

The Jews’ Rejection of the Gospel and the Reception of the Gentiles

The Jews’ Rejection of the Gospel and the Reception of the Gentiles (Acts 13:42-52)

Many Jews and Gentiles who heard the Gospel believed and were baptized (Acts 13:42, 47-48). Nevertheless, many rejected Christ, opposed Paul and Barnabas, and “expelled them out of their coasts” (13:45, 50). In turn, Paul and Barnabas rejected their rejectors and “shook off the dust of their feet against them” (Acts 13:51). Yet, though rejected by man, those preachers “were filled with joy, and with the Holy Ghost” (Acts 13:52).

Closing thoughts –

The first mission team’s leadership changed subtly after its deployment to Antioch. What began as a team of “Barnabas and Saul” (Acts 13:2) by Acts 13:13 was described as “Paul and his company.” Soon after, we read, “John departing from them returned to Jerusalem” (Acts 13:13). Jerusalem was John Mark’s home, where he resided with his mother (Acts 13:13; note Acts 12:25). The reason for John Mark abandoning the team is not recorded. Later, however, his early departure became the catalyst for Paul and Barnabas to divide their team and go their separate ways (Acts 15:36-41).

Unlike Paul and Barnabas, who faithfully served in the Antioch church when God called them, I fear many 21st-century believers are content to be spiritual spectators. This may be why there is a void in men going into ministry today. The questions Paul expressed in Romans 10 should challenge the churches and haunt us all:

“How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher? 15 And how shall they preach, except they be sent?” (Romans 10:14-15a)

Copyright © 2024 – Travis D. Smith 

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