Audio Download

Acts 13:1-27  Because They Knew Him not They Have Fulfilled the Scriptures in Condemning Christ

[Study Aired April 23, 2023]

Act 13:1  Now there were in the church that was at Antioch certain prophets and teachers; as Barnabas, and Simeon that was called Niger, and Lucius of Cyrene, and Manaen, which had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch, and Saul.
Act 13:2  As they ministered to the Lord, and fasted, the Holy Ghost said, Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them.
Act 13:3  And when they had fasted and prayed, and laid their hands on them, they sent them away.
Act 13:4  So they, being sent forth by the Holy Ghost, departed unto Seleucia; and from thence they sailed to Cyprus.
Act 13:5  And when they were at Salamis, they preached the word of God in the synagogues of the Jews: and they had also John to their minister.
Act 13:6  And when they had gone through the isle unto Paphos, they found a certain sorcerer, a false prophet, a Jew, whose name was Barjesus:
Act 13:7  Which was with the deputy of the country, Sergius Paulus, a prudent man; who called for Barnabas and Saul, and desired to hear the word of God.
Act 13:8  But Elymas the sorcerer (for so is his name by interpretation) withstood them, seeking to turn away the deputy from the faith.
Act 13:9  Then Saul, (who also is called Paul,) filled with the Holy Ghost, set his eyes on him,
Act 13:10  And said, O full of all subtilty and all mischief, thou child of the devil, thou enemy of all righteousness, wilt thou not cease to pervert the right ways of the Lord?
Act 13:11  And now, behold, the hand of the Lord is upon thee, and thou shalt be blind, not seeing the sun for a season. And immediately there fell on him a mist and a darkness; and he went about seeking some to lead him by the hand.
Act 13:12  Then the deputy, when he saw what was done, believed, being astonished at the doctrine of the Lord.
Act 13:13  Now when Paul and his company loosed from Paphos, they came to Perga in Pamphylia: and John departing from them returned to Jerusalem.
Act 13:14  But when they departed from Perga, they came to Antioch in Pisidia, and went into the synagogue on the sabbath day, and sat down.
Act 13:15  And after the reading of the law and the prophets the rulers of the synagogue sent unto them, saying, Ye men and brethren, if ye have any word of exhortation for the people, say on.
Act 13:16  Then Paul stood up, and beckoning with his hand said, Men of Israel, and ye that fear God, give audience.
Act 13:17  The God of this people of Israel chose our fathers, and exalted the people when they dwelt as strangers in the land of Egypt, and with an high arm brought he them out of it.
Act 13:18  And about the time of forty years suffered he their manners in the wilderness.
Act 13:19  And when he had destroyed seven nations in the land of Chanaan, he divided their land to them by lot.
Act 13:20  And after that he gave unto them judges about the space of four hundred and fifty years, until Samuel the prophet.
Act 13:21  And afterward they desired a king: and God gave unto them Saul the son of Cis, a man of the tribe of Benjamin, by the space of forty years.
Act 13:22  And when he had removed him, he raised up unto them David to be their king; to whom also he gave testimony, and said, I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after mine own heart, which shall fulfil all my will.
Act 13:23  Of this man’s seed hath God according to his promise raised unto Israel a Saviour, Jesus:
Act 13:24  When John had first preached before his coming the baptism of repentance to all the people of Israel.
Act 13:25  And as John fulfilled his course, he said, Whom think ye that I am? I am not he. But, behold, there cometh one after me, whose shoes of his feet I am not worthy to loose.
Act 13:26  Men and brethren, children of the stock of Abraham, and whosoever among you feareth God, to you is the word of this salvation sent.
Act 13:27  For they that dwell at Jerusalem, and their rulers, because they knew him not, nor yet the voices of the prophets which are read every sabbath day, they have fulfilled them in condemning him.

Our study today will cover some of the events which occurred on the first missionary trip of Barnabas and Saul, which began shortly after the Passover season, which Barnabas and Saul had spent in Jerusalem, having been sent there to deliver a gift of relief from the church at Antioch. This 13th chapter begins by placing the name of Barnabas in the preeminent position and the name of Saul in the last position:

Act 13:1  Now there were in the church that was at Antioch certain prophets and teachers; as Barnabas, and Simeon that was called Niger, and Lucius of Cyrene, and Manaen, which had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch, and Saul.

Notice that ‘Saul’ is mentioned last at this point. It was Barnabas who had brought Saul to Antioch, and at this point Barnabas is still more prominent than Saul. Barnabas’ name will precede Saul until Saul’s name is changed to ‘Paul’ later in this 13^th chapter of the Acts of the apostles.

Barnabas had been sent by the apostles in Jerusalem to minister in Syrian Antioch. When Barnabas arrived in Antioch, he saw how the holy spirit was working so well in the lives of those who were ministering to the people there so all he did was to encourage them to continue in the Lord.

Act 11:22  Then tidings of these things came unto the ears of the church which was in Jerusalem: and they sent forth Barnabas, that he should go as far as Antioch.
Act 11:23  Who, when he came, and had seen the grace of God, was glad, and exhorted them all, that with purpose of heart they would cleave unto the Lord.
Act 11:24  For he was a good man, and full of the Holy Ghost and of faith: and much people was added unto the Lord.

Let’s review the events which have led us up to this first missionary trip by Barnabas and Saul of Tarsus, beginning with Saul’s conversion just outside Damascus, a Gentile Syrian city:

Act 9:1  And Saul, yet breathing out threatenings and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord, went unto the high priest,
Act 9:2  And desired of him letters to Damascus to the synagogues, that if he found any of this way, whether they were men or women, he might bring them bound unto Jerusalem.
Act 9:3  And as he journeyed, he came near Damascus: and suddenly there shined round about him a light from heaven:
Act 9:4  And he fell to the earth, and heard a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?
Act 9:5  And he said, Who art thou, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest: it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks.
Act 9:6  And he trembling and astonished said, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? And the Lord said unto him, Arise, and go into the city, and it shall be told thee what thou must do.

This is the story of Saul of Tarsus coming “out of Babylon” and out of the established church of his day. The Lord has already determined what each of us “must do”.

Here is how Paul relates this incident to the Jews who “went about to kill him” when he went up to Jerusalem for the last time (Acts 21:31):

Act 22:10  And I said, What shall I do, Lord? And the Lord said unto me, Arise, and go into Damascus; and there it shall be told thee of all things which are appointed for thee to do.

Our days are “written in [the Lord’s] book… before there are any of them”. Everything we do is “all things which are appointed for [us] to do”, because it is the Lord alone who is “working all things after the counsel of His own will”:

Psa 139:16  Thine eyes did see mine unformed substance; And in thy book they were all written, Even the days that were ordained for me, When as yet there was none of them.

Eph 1:11  In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will:

Everything I did today, and everything you did today, was “ordained for [you and for me]… of all the things which are appointed for [us] to do”. So, it is for every day of our lives “when as yet there was none of them.”

This is the first account of any New Testament apostle being called into the Lord’s service outside of the physical nation of Israel. It was expedient that Christ must come of David’s physical seed before He could become the spiritual seed of David. He is now a spiritual body, and Saul’s calling took place outside physical Israel near the Gentile city of Damascus, Syria. The time for the calling of the Gentiles is come, and Saul is given no choice if he ever wants to see anything again… “Arise, and go into the city, [of Damascus] and it shall be told thee what thou must do”.

The Lord commands him to go into Damascus and wait at the home of a Jewish man named Judas on a street named Straight. About this same time the holy spirit is telling another Jew in Damascus, one who had been converted to the doctrines of Christ, to go to the home of Judas and pray for Saul to receive his sight and tell Saul what the Lord will do through him:

Act 9:7  And the men which journeyed with him stood speechless, hearing a voice, but seeing no man.
Act 9:8  And Saul arose from the earth; and when his eyes were opened, he saw no man: but they led him by the hand, and brought him into Damascus.
Act 9:9  And he was three days without sight, and neither did eat nor drink.

The mighty ‘Saul of Tarsus’ is now in the process of “dying daily”, and it has literally taken his appetite, just as we all experience at this time in our walk with our Lord. Facing “the loss of all things” our old man wanted in this life just naturally and literally takes our physical appetite away from us for a season (Php 3:8).

Act 9:10  And there was a certain disciple at Damascus, named Ananias; and to him said the Lord in a vision, Ananias. And he said, Behold, I am here, Lord.
Act 9:11  And the Lord said unto him, Arise, and go into the street which is called Straight, and enquire in the house of Judas for one called Saul, of Tarsus: for, behold, he prayeth,
Act 9:12  And hath seen in a vision a man named Ananias coming in, and putting his hand on him, that he might receive his sight.
Act 9:13  Then Ananias answered, Lord, I have heard by many of this man, how much evil he hath done to thy saints at Jerusalem:
Act 9:14  And here he hath authority from the chief priests to bind all that call on thy name.
Act 9:15  But the Lord said unto him, Go thy way: for he is a chosen vessel unto me, to bear my name before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel: [Notice the order of things. The Gentiles are mentioned before ‘the children of Israel’]
Act 9:16  For I will shew him how great things he must suffer for my name’s sake.
Act 9:17  And Ananias went his way, and entered into the house; and putting his hands on him said, Brother Saul, the Lord, even Jesus, that appeared unto thee in the way as thou camest, hath sent me, that thou mightest receive thy sight, and be filled with the Holy Ghost.
Act 9:18  And immediately there fell from his eyes as it had been scales: and he received sight forthwith, and arose, and was baptized.

This is the very first person, other than Christ Himself who has the preeminence in everything, to be told he will be used by the holy spirit to take the gospel to the Gentiles. The next chapter, chapter ten, gives us the story of Peter while in Joppa, being told to preach the gospel in the house of a Gentile Roman Italian centurion named Cornelius. While in Cornelius’ house the Lord gave all those Gentiles the gift of the holy spirit while Peter was still speaking. Between these two irrefutable miraculous events, 1) the fact that the holy spirit had also at about the same time sent Peter to the home of the Gentile Roman centurion, Cornelius and 2) the miraculous conversion of Saul of Tarsus, and Saul being told by the Lord that He was sending him to the Gentiles, the apostles at Jerusalem had no choice but to acknowledge that the Lord had indeed granted the Gentiles repentance unto salvation:

Act 11:17  Forasmuch then as God gave them the like gift as he did unto us, who believed on the Lord Jesus Christ; what was I, that I could withstand God?
Act 11:18  When they heard these things, they held their peace, and glorified God, saying, Then hath God also to the Gentiles granted repentance unto life.

These events in the home of the Gentile Roman centurion were taking place while Saul of Tarsus was preaching Christ in Damascus for three years. Saul of Tarsus during those three years had never met a single apostle of our Lord. Yet he had met the Lord Himself just outside the city of Damascus, and during his three years at Damascus, Saul had gone into the wilderness of Sinai to hear words from Christ which were not yet lawful to be uttered and to learn the doctrines of Christ directly from Christ Himself.

Here are Paul’s own words:

Gal 1:17  Neither went I up to Jerusalem to [be taught by] them which were apostles before me; but I went into Arabia, and returned again unto Damascus.

Saul of Tarsus “went into Arabia” to learn from the Lord Himself exactly how the Lord wanted his gospel to be when he was given the gospel which he “preached… among the Gentiles”.

Here are the verses where Paul speaks of this time which was “above fourteen years ago”:

2Co 12:2  I knew a man in Christ above fourteen years ago, (whether in the body, I cannot tell; or whether out of the body, I cannot tell: God knoweth;) such an one caught up to the third heaven.
2Co 12:3  And I knew such a man, (whether in the body, or out of the body, I cannot tell: God knoweth;)
2Co 12:4  How that he was caught up into paradise, and heard unspeakable words, which it is not lawful for a man to utter.

As we saw last week, the Greek word translated ‘unspeakable’ literally means ‘not said’, meaning that the doctrine of God speaking to and through Gentiles had never been said, because it would have been “unlawful for a man to utter” such words while living under the law of Moses, just as Peter informed those in Cornelius’s house:

Act 10:28  And he said unto them, Ye know how that it is an unlawful thing for a man that is a Jew to keep company, or come unto one of another nation; but God hath shewed me that I should not call any man common or unclean [words which until now were “not lawful for a man to utter” (2Co 12:14)].

Here is the Greek word translated ‘unspeakable’ in 2 Corinthians 12:14:

G731
ἄῤῥητος
arrhētos
ar’-hray-tos
From G1 (as a negative particle) and the same as G4490; unsaid, that is, (by implication) inexpressible: – unspeakable.

Here is the definition of G4490:

G4490
ῥητῶς
rhētōs
hray-toce’
Adverb from a derivative of G4483; outspokenly, that is, distinctly: – expressly.
Total KJV occurrences: 1

Both ‘arrhetos’ and ‘rhetos’ appear only once, and here is the one entry for this Greek word ‘rhetos’:

1Ti 4:1  Now the Spirit speaketh expressly  [G449: rhetos], that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils;

Paul had not heard “unspeakable words”. What he had heard were words which had never before been articulated, and were not yet lawful to be articulated, just as Peter told Cornelius and those assembled in Cornelius’s house:

Act 10:28  And he said unto them, Ye know how that it is an unlawful thing for a man that is a Jew to keep company, or come unto one of another nation; but God hath shewed me [‘words never before lawful to be uttered’] that I should not call any man common or unclean.

Getting back to our review of the events leading up to this first missionary journey, Barnabas was apparently in Damascus when the great Saul of Tarsus came looking for people like Barnabas, who professed to believe in the resurrected Christ because he alone was able to tell the apostles at Jerusalem that Saul had been preaching Christ powerfully for three years in Damascus before the Jewish leaders of Damascus conspired to kill Saul:

Act 9:23  And after that many days were fulfilled, the Jews took counsel to kill him:
Act 9:24  But their laying await was known of Saul. And they watched the gates day and night to kill him.
Act 9:25  Then the disciples took him by night, and let him down by the wall in a basket.

When Saul is forced to flee for his life from Damascus, he then returns to Jerusalem for the first time since being given papers from the chief priest of Jerusalem which authorized him to bind the Christians in Damascus and bring them to Jerusalem, where Saul himself had three years earlier been “breathing out slaughter against the disciples of the Lord” (Act 9:1). Instead, he returns to Jerusalem three years later as a Christian convert hoping to be received by the apostles only to discover that they still fear him as an enemy of Christ:

Act 9:26  And when Saul was come to Jerusalem, he assayed to join himself to the disciples: but they were all afraid of him, and believed not that he was a disciple.
Act 9:27  But Barnabas took him, and brought him to the apostles, and declared unto them how he had seen the Lord in the way, and that he had spoken to him, and how he had preached boldly at Damascus in the name of Jesus.
Act 9:28  And he was with them coming in and going out at Jerusalem.

The only way Barnabas could do this was if he had been with Saul there in Damascus having already heard Saul telling the Jews of Damascus about “how he had seen the Lord in the way” and about the circumstances of his own conversion. It was Barnabas who “brought him to the apostles and declared unto them how [Saul]… had spoken to [the Lord] and that [Saul] had preached boldly at Damascus in the name of Jesus.”

The phrases “brought him to the apostles” and “he was with them coming in and going out at Jerusalem” would lead us to believe that Barnabas had brought Saul to all the apostles and declared to them all how Saul had seen the Lord in the way and how Saul had preached boldly at Damascus. However, the phrase “the apostles” is not the same as ‘all of the apostles’. The fact is that Paul was in Jerusalem a mere three weeks, and he met only “Peter and James the Lord’s brother” before he was once again forced to flee for his life from Jerusalem.

It is Paul himself who sets the record straight concerning who he met while in Jerusalem during those three weeks and who had been his Teacher:

Gal 1:11  For I make known to you, brethren, as touching the gospel which was preached by me, that it is not after man.
Gal 1:12  For neither did I receive it from man, nor was I taught it [by any man], but it came to me [directly] through revelation of Jesus Christ.
Gal 1:13  For ye have heard of my manner of life in time past in the Jews’ religion, how that beyond measure I persecuted the church of God, and made havoc of it:
Gal 1:14  and I advanced in the Jews’ religion beyond many of mine own age among my countrymen, being more exceedingly zealous for the traditions of my fathers.
Gal 1:15  But when it was the good pleasure of God, who separated me, even from my mother’s womb, and called me through his grace,
Gal 1:16  to reveal his Son in me, that I might preach him among the Gentiles; straightway I conferred not with flesh and blood:
Gal 1:17  neither went I up to Jerusalem to them that were apostles before me [Saul’s commission to go to the Gentiles did not come from the other apostles who were still struggling with such a revolutionary doctrine]: but I went away into Arabia; and again I returned unto Damascus.
Gal 1:18  Then after three years I went up to Jerusalem to visit Cephas, and tarried with him fifteen days.
Gal 1:19  But other of the apostles saw I none, save James the Lord’s brother.
Gal 1:20  Now touching the things which I write unto you, behold, before God, I lie not.
Gal 1:21  Then I came unto the regions of Syria and Cilicia.
Gal 1:22  And I was still unknown by face unto the churches of Judaea which were in Christ:
Gal 1:23  but they only heard say, He that once persecuted us now preacheth the faith of which he once made havoc;
Gal 1:24  and they glorified God in me.

So Saul had been thirteen years in “the regions of Syria and Cilicia” when Barnabas came to Tarsus, a city of Cilicia, seeking Saul to take him back to the huge city of Syrian Antioch to help Barnabas and the other  preachers and teachers there in Antioch “for a whole year” minister to the growing number of Christians there in that city before being sent with Barnabas and Titus up to Jerusalem to deliver some relief from the church in Antioch to the starving saints in Jerusalem.

Act 11:25  And he [Barnabas] went forth to Tarsus to seek for Saul;
Act 11:26  and when he had found him, he brought him unto Antioch. And it came to pass, that even for a whole year they were gathered together with the church, and taught much people, and that the disciples were called Christians first in Antioch.

This “whole year” of ministering to the church in Antioch, began 13 years after Saul had fled Jerusalem because Paul tells us that when he and Barnabas took the relief from the church at Antioch up to Jerusalem, that trip to Jerusalem was “fourteen years… after” he had been forced to leave Jerusalem after spending three weeks with Peter and meeting after meeting only one other of the apostles, which was “James the Lord’s brother”.

Gal 2:1  Then after the space of fourteen years I went up again to Jerusalem with Barnabas, taking Titus also with me.

What this tells us is that Paul had come to know Titus before he and Barnabas took their first missionary journey with John Mark, because at the time they took the relief from Antioch up to the saints in Jerusalem, they had not yet begun their first missionary journey, which is the topic of our study today:

This all brings us to time of the beginning of the first missionary journey of Barnabas and Saul:

Act 13:2  As they ministered to the Lord, and fasted, [having just returned to Antioch from Jerusalem] the Holy Ghost said, Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them.
Act 13:3  And when they had fasted and prayed, and laid their hands on them, they sent them away.

We are told “they… departed unto Seleucia” a seacoast city slightly south and west of Syrian Antioch. They may well have ministered in the synagogues of Seleucia, but we are not told of anything they may have done there. It is almost as if they simply passed through that city on their way to Cyprus, the homeland of Barnabas:

Act 13:4  So they, being sent forth by the Holy Ghost, departed unto Seleucia; and from thence they sailed to Cyprus.
Act 13:5  And when they were at Salamis, they preached the word of God in the synagogues of the Jews: and they had also John to their minister.

This ‘John’ is “John whose surname was Mark”, to whose house Peter had gone when the angel delivered him out of the prison:

Act 12:12  And when he had considered the thing [the miracle of his deliverance from the prison], he came to the house of Mary the mother of John, whose surname was Mark; where many were gathered together praying.

This is the same ‘John’ whom Barnabas and Saul took back to Antioch with them right after Peter had been delivered from prison while Barnabas and Saul were right there in Jerusalem during “the days of unleavened bread” when Barnabas and Saul had been sent to Jerusalem with a gift for the poor saints suffering from a great drought in Jerusalem:

Act 12:25  And Barnabas and Saul returned from Jerusalem, when they had fulfilled their ministry [of delivering the gift from the church at Antioch], and took with them John, whose surname was Mark.

It was at this time that Paul shared with the other apostles the message the Lord had given him to preach to the Gentiles:

Gal 2:2  And I went up by revelation, and communicated unto them that gospel which I preach among the Gentiles, but privately to them which were of reputation, lest by any means I should run, or had run, in vain.

“Lest by any means I should run, or had run, in vain” in no way indicates that Paul doubted the authority of the Lord’s words to Him. What Paul is saying, as the following verses demonstrate, is that he wants to let the other apostles know that there are many false prophets who are saying slanderous things about Paul, and it is needful that they be aware of what the adversary is doing to divide the body of Christ. The fact that Titus was not required to be circumcised demonstrates to these Galatians, and to all of us, that Paul and the other apostles were on the same page:

Gal 2:3  But neither Titus, who was with me, being a Greek, was compelled to be circumcised:
Gal 2:4  And that because of false brethren unawares brought in, who came in privily to spy out our liberty which we have in Christ Jesus, that they might bring us into bondage:
Gal 2:5  To whom we gave place by subjection, no, not for an hour; that the truth of the gospel might continue with you.

These words here in Galatians 2 were delivered to the apostles Barnabas and Saul met fourteen years after Paul had fled Jerusalem, while Barnabas and Saul were in Jerusalem witnessing the death of the apostle James, the brother of John, at the hands of King Herod, and the apprehension and miraculous delivery of Peter from prison, and then a few days later, the death by worms of King Herod.

It is only after telling the apostles of “the false brethren brought in” and witnessing all these things that Barnabas and Saul then return to Antioch and prepare for their first missionary journey:

Act 12:23  And immediately the angel of the Lord smote him [King Herod], because he gave not God the glory: and he was eaten of worms, and gave up the ghost.
Act 12:24  But the word of God grew and multiplied.
Act 12:25  And Barnabas and Saul returned from Jerusalem, when they had fulfilled their ministry, and took with them John, whose surname was Mark.

We will now continue with the events of the first missionary journey after the return of Barnabas and Saul from Jerusalem:

Act 13:6  And when they had gone through the isle unto Paphos, they found a certain sorcerer, a false prophet, a Jew, whose name was Barjesus:

“When they had gone through the isle” tells us they did so on foot and not by sea. It is in Paphos that the “the deputy of the country… called for Barnabas and Saul…”

Act 13:7  Which [“false prophet, a Jew, whose name was Barjesus”] was with the deputy of the country, Sergius Paulus, a prudent man; who called for Barnabas and Saul, and desired to hear the word of God.
Act 13:8  But Elymas the sorcerer (for so is his name by interpretation) withstood them, seeking to turn away the deputy from the faith.
Act 13:9  Then Saul, (who also is called Paul,) filled with the Holy Ghost, set his eyes on him,
Act 13:10  And said, O full of all subtilty and all mischief, thou child of the devil, thou enemy of all righteousness, wilt thou not cease to pervert the right ways of the Lord?

The Lord Himself, for His own purposes, gave to Saul (which name means ‘desired’) and whose name here is changed to ‘Paul’, meaning ‘small’, with no explanation, to call out and punish Elymas for attempting “to turn away the deputy from The Truth.” We may or may not be given the opportunity to deal with an individual in this manner, but we all deal with the false doctrines in this very same way every time we shine the light of the Lord’s words upon the darkness of all the false doctrines of Babylon. We should never shun the opportunity to do just that, and we should be very careful never to allow the fear of men to supersede our fear of the Lord and our love of Him and His Truth. There will always be the tendency in our nature to want to fit in with society and in so doing deny our Lord while we justify our spineless ways, telling ourselves we are just being loving and inclusive. We should never go out looking for a fight, but when confronted with an adversary such as Elymas and his false doctrines, like Paul we, too, must be bold in calling a spade a spade and letting our yea be yea and our nay, nay:

Mat 5:37  But let your communication be, Yea, yea; Nay, nay: for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil.

Jas 5:12  But above all things, my brethren, swear not, neither by heaven, neither by the earth, neither by any other oath: but let your yea be yea; and your nay, nay; lest ye fall into condemnation.

Christ, Paul, and James all spoke “as one having authority and not as the scribes”, and so should all of us:

Mat 7:28  And it came to pass, when Jesus had ended these sayings, the people were astonished at his doctrine:
Mat 7:29  For he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.

Act 13:11  And now, behold, the hand of the Lord is upon thee, and thou shalt be blind, not seeing the sun for a season. And immediately there fell on him a mist and a darkness; and he went about seeking some to lead him by the hand.
Act 13:12  Then the deputy, when he saw what was done, believed, being astonished at the doctrine of the Lord.

It is the things we do, more than the things we say, which will astonish and convert others. When we say and do not, we are actually guilty of blaspheming the name of God:

Rom 2:22  Thou that sayest a man should not commit adultery, dost thou commit adultery? thou that abhorrest idols, dost thou commit sacrilege?
Rom 2:23  Thou that makest thy boast of the law, through breaking the law dishonourest thou God?
Rom 2:24  For the name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles through you, as it is written.
Rom 2:25  For circumcision verily profiteth, if thou keep the law: but if thou be a breaker of the law, thy circumcision is made uncircumcision.
Rom 2:26  Therefore if the uncircumcision keep the righteousness of the law, shall not his uncircumcision be counted for circumcision?

Act 13:13  Now when Paul and his company loosed from Paphos, they came to Perga in Pamphylia: and John departing from them returned to Jerusalem.

This story of John forsaking the ministry is written for our admonition. The ministry of Christ is not something you take up and put down lightly. John Mark was a young man who had apparently grown weary in well doing and wanted to go back home to Jerusalem instead of walking for many miles just to hear Barnabas and Saul speak of Christ in the synagogues of all the cities they visited. He had been brought along to minister to these two ministers, and it simply overwhelmed him in his youth just as our own calling overwhelms each of us at our own appointed time. This incident will cause Paul and Barnabas to go their own ways after the Jerusalem conference while planning their second journey after returning to Antioch. Paul is not willing to take the chance for John leaving them again and ends up taking Silas with him, while Barnabas is content to trust that John Mark will not leave him this time around.

Act 15:36  And some days after [returning to Antioch from Jerusalem] Paul said unto Barnabas, Let us go again and visit our brethren in every city where we have preached the word of the Lord, and see how they do.
Act 15:37  And Barnabas determined to take with them John, whose surname was Mark.
Act 15:38  But Paul thought not good to take him with them, who departed from them from Pamphylia, and went not with them to the work.
Act 15:39  And the contention was so sharp between them, that they departed asunder one from the other: and so Barnabas took Mark, and sailed unto Cyprus;
Act 15:40  And Paul chose Silas, and departed, being recommended by the brethren unto the grace of God.
Act 15:41  And he went through Syria and Cilicia, confirming the churches.

In time, even Paul sees the progress John Mark has made and says that he is useful to him for the ministry:

2Ti 4:9  Do thy diligence to come shortly unto me:
2Ti 4:10  For Demas hath forsaken me, having loved this present world, and is departed unto Thessalonica; Crescens to Galatia, Titus unto Dalmatia.
2Ti 4:11  Only Luke is with me. Take Mark, and bring him with thee: for he is profitable to me for the ministry.

When Mark left them, Paul and Barnabas continued their journey. From the time Saul of Tarsus confronted the false prophet Elymas, and we are told that Saul “is called Paul”, from that point on Paul’s name precedes the name of Barnabas:

Act 13:14  But when they departed from Perga, they came to Antioch in Pisidia, and went into the synagogue on the sabbath day, and sat down.
Act 13:15  And after the reading of the law and the prophets the rulers of the synagogue sent unto them, saying, Ye men and brethren, if ye have any word of exhortation for the people, say on.
Act 13:16  Then Paul stood up, and beckoning with his hand said, Men of Israel, and ye that fear God, give audience.
Act 13:17  The God of this people of Israel chose our fathers, and exalted the people when they dwelt as strangers in the land of Egypt, and with an high arm brought he them out of it.
Act 13:18  And about the time of forty years suffered he their manners in the wilderness.
Act 13:19  And when he had destroyed seven nations in the land of Chanaan, he divided their land to them by lot.
Act 13:20  And after that he gave unto them judges about the space of four hundred and fifty years, until Samuel the prophet.
Act 13:21  And afterward they desired a king: and God gave unto them Saul the son of Cis, a man of the tribe of Benjamin, by the space of forty years.
Act 13:22  And when he had removed him, he raised up unto them David to be their king; to whom also he gave testimony, and said, I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after mine own heart, which shall fulfil all my will.
Act 13:23  Of this man’s seed hath God according to his promise raised unto Israel a Saviour, Jesus:

When Paul says, “of this man’s seed hath God according to His promise raised unto Israel a Savior, Jesus”, Paul is speaking in physical terms. The point is that not every word of God is meant to be taken in a spiritual sense because our natural understanding must precede our spiritual understanding:

1Co 15:45  And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a [physical, natural] living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit.
1Co 15:46  Howbeit that was not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural; and afterward that which is spiritual.

The word “afterward” demonstrates the importance of knowing the order in which the Lord is performing His promises to mankind. Just as the first man Adam had to precede the last Adam, so also there must be an outward kingdom of God ruling all the nations of this world, before God will be all in all.

Paul understands the necessity of knowing the order of the Lord’s works so he gives us a summary of the history of the nation of Israel to let us see that God is doing exactly what He said He would do for His people:

Act 13:24  When John had first preached before his coming the baptism of repentance to all the people of Israel.
Act 13:25  And as John fulfilled his course, he said, Whom think ye that I am? I am not he. But, behold, there cometh one after me, whose shoes of his feet I am not worthy to loose.
Act 13:26  Men and brethren, children of the stock of Abraham, and whosoever among you feareth God, to you is the word of this salvation sent.
Act 13:27  For they that dwell at Jerusalem, and their rulers, because they knew him not, nor yet the voices of the prophets which are read every sabbath day, they have fulfilled them in condemning him.

We will stop here for today, but it must be pointed out that Paul always begins his witness to every synagogue with the assumption that those to whom he is speaking already know the entire story of the birth and ministry of John the Baptist, and the fact that John said the Messiah was Christ. His appeal to the people is that only those who “know the voices of the prophets” will know the voice of Christ.

I hope also that I have made it clear that this trip to Jerusalem by Barnabas and Saul with the relief from the church at Antioch is the trip to Jerusalem Paul refers to in Galatians. Paul shared the details of his ministry with the apostles at this time, which was “fourteen years after” he had fled Jerusalem and gone back home to Tarsus. I hope we all see that the events of this thirteenth chapter, chronicling the history of their first missionary journey, take place well before the trip to the Jerusalem conference concerning the question of whether Gentiles must be circumcised. It is after that Jerusalem conference that Paul and Barnabas separate over whether to take John Mark with them on a second missionary journey.

It helps us to know the Lord’s mind much better when we know the order in which He is working with His people.