Acts 13

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Acts 13 is the beginning of the church's deliberate mission to the wider world. In Antioch the Holy Spirit sets apart Barnabas and Saul, and they sail to Cyprus, where a sorcerer is struck blind and a Roman proconsul believes. From there Saul, now called Paul, travels to Pisidian Antioch and preaches the chapter's centerpiece, a sermon in the synagogue that tells Israel's story from Egypt to David and then announces that God has raised Jesus, David's promised descendant, from the dead, so that forgiveness and justification are offered through him. The whole city gathers the next Sabbath; jealousy and opposition follow; and Paul and Barnabas turn to the Gentiles.

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Acts 13 is where the church stops waiting for the world to come to it. In Antioch, during worship and fasting, the Holy Spirit tells the leaders to set apart Barnabas and Saul, and they go, first to Cyprus and then into the interior of Asia Minor. Cyprus gives the journey its first confrontation, a sorcerer named Elymas who tries to keep a Roman governor from the faith and is struck blind, and its first notable convert, the governor himself. Luke marks the moment by calling Saul "Paul" for the first time. Then comes the sermon that occupies the center of the chapter. Invited to speak in the synagogue of Pisidian Antioch, Paul tells the story his hearers already knew, Egypt, the wilderness, the judges, Saul, David, and lands it on Jesus, David's promised descendant, whom Jerusalem did not recognize and God raised from the dead, never to see decay. Through him, Paul says, forgiveness is proclaimed and everyone who believes is justified from everything the law of Moses could not justify them from. The response is enormous and divided. The whole city gathers the next Sabbath; some believe, others contradict, and Paul and Barnabas announce that they will turn to the Gentiles, quoting Isaiah's promise of a light to the nations. They are driven out. They shake the dust off their feet. And the disciples, Luke says, were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.

Pasajes clave

Acts 13:1-3 Acts 13:26-39 Acts 13:46-48 Isaiah 49:6

Historical and literary context

Antioch in Syria was the first largely Gentile church and the base for the journeys that took the gospel across the Roman world. Cyprus was Barnabas's home island. Sergius Paulus was a genuine Roman governor, and his interest reflects the curiosity Judaism and its offshoots attracted among educated Romans. Pisidian Antioch, in the interior of Asia Minor, had a synagogue with both Jews and God-fearing Gentiles, the mixed audience Paul addresses. Luke marks the transition from "Saul" to "Paul" in this chapter, and John Mark's departure at Perga will later cause a rift between Paul and Barnabas.

How the chapter unfolds

Verses 1 to 3 are the commissioning at Antioch by the Spirit, through fasting, prayer, and laying on of hands. Verses 4 to 12 are Cyprus: preaching in synagogues, the confrontation with Elymas, and the proconsul's faith. Verse 13 records John Mark leaving. Verses 14 to 41 are the sermon at Pisidian Antioch, recounting God's acts from the exodus through the judges, Saul, and David to Jesus, John the Baptist's witness, the crucifixion by those who did not recognize him, the resurrection with quotations from Psalm 2, Isaiah 55, and Psalm 16, and the offer of forgiveness with a warning from Habakkuk. Verses 42 to 52 tell of the crowds, the opposition, the turn to the Gentiles with Isaiah 49, the spread of the word, the expulsion, and the disciples' joy.

Why this chapter matters

Acts 13 records the first missionary journey and the sermon that shows how Paul preached to people who knew the Scriptures: as the completion of Israel's story in the resurrection of Jesus. Verse 39, "through Him everyone who believes is justified from everything you could not be justified from by the law of Moses," is the seed of the doctrine Paul will develop in Romans and Galatians. The turn to the Gentiles in verses 46 and 47, grounded in Isaiah's "light for the Gentiles," is a hinge of the whole book of Acts. The chapter also models mission as something the Spirit initiates and the church confirms through worship, fasting, and prayer.

Interpretive tension to watch

Verse 48 says that "all who were appointed for eternal life believed," while verse 46 says the opponents "do not consider yourselves worthy of eternal life." The chapter places divine appointment and human refusal side by side without explaining how they relate, and Christian traditions have read that juxtaposition very differently. Luke seems content to let both stand.

Preguntas para este capítulo

The mission begins while the church is worshiping and fasting. What does that setting suggest about how the church discerns its calling?
Paul preaches the resurrection by walking through Israel's history. Why might telling the whole story matter more than stating the conclusion?
When opposed, Paul and Barnabas turn to the Gentiles and quote Isaiah. How does rejection become an opening in this chapter?

Study with context

Use this as a chapter guide, then press deeper into the text itself. The goal is to slow down observation, notice structure, and ask better questions before jumping to conclusions.

Añadir a notas

1 Now there were at Antioch, in the church that was [there], prophets and teachers, Barnabas, and Symeon that was called Niger, and Lucius of Cyrene, and Manaen the foster-brother of Herod the tetrarch, and Saul. 2 And as they ministered to the Lord, and fasted, the Holy Spirit said, Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them. 3 Then, when they had fasted and prayed and laid their hands on them, they sent them away. 4 So they, being sent forth by the Holy Spirit, went down to Seleucia; and from thence they sailed to Cyprus. 5 And when they were at Salamis, they proclaimed the word of God in the synagogues of the Jews: and they had also John as their attendant. 6 And when they had gone through the whole island unto Paphos, they found a certain sorcerer, a false prophet, a Jew, whose name was Bar-Jesus; 7 who was with the proconsul, Sergius Paulus, a man of understanding. The same called unto him Barnabas and Saul, and sought to hear the word of God. 8 But Elymas the sorcerer (for so is his name by interpretation) withstood them, seeking to turn aside the proconsul from the faith. 9 But Saul, who is also [called] Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, fastened his eyes on him, 10 and said, O full of all guile and all villany, thou son of the devil, thou enemy of all righteousness, wilt thou not cease to pervert the right ways of the Lord? 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. 12 Then the proconsul, when he saw what was done, believed, being astonished at the teaching of the Lord. 13 Now Paul and his company set sail from Paphos, and came to Perga in Pamphylia: and John departed from them and returned to Jerusalem. 14 But they, passing through from Perga, came to Antioch of Pisidia; and they went into the synagogue on the sabbath day, and sat down. 15 And after the reading of the law and the prophets the rulers of the synagogue sent unto them, saying, Brethren, if ye have any word of exhortation for the people, say on. 16 And Paul stood up, and beckoning with the hand said, Men of Israel, and ye that fear God, hearken: 17 The God of this people Israel chose our fathers, and exalted the people when they sojourned in the land of Egypt, and with a high arm led he them forth out of it. 18 And for about the time of forty years as a nursing-father bare he them in the wilderness. 19 And when he had destroyed seven nations in the land of Canaan, he gave [them] their land for an inheritance, for about four hundred and fifty years: 20 and after these things he gave [them] judges until Samuel the prophet. 21 And afterward they asked for a king: and God gave unto them Saul the son of Kish, a man of the tribe of Benjamin, for the space of forty years. 22 And when he had removed him, he raised up David to be their king; to whom also he bare witness and said, I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after my heart, who shall do all my will. 23 Of this man’s seed hath God according to promise brought unto Israel a Saviour, Jesus; 24 when John had first preached before his coming the baptism of repentance to all the people of Israel. 25 And as John was fulfilling his course, he said, What suppose ye that I am? I am not [he]. But behold, there cometh one after me the shoes of whose feet I am not worthy to unloose. 26 Brethren, children of the stock of Abraham, and those among you that fear God, to us is the word of this salvation sent forth. 27 For they that dwell in Jerusalem, and their rulers, because they knew him not, nor the voices of the prophets which are read every sabbath, fulfilled [them] by condemning [him]. 28 And though they found no cause of death [in him], yet asked they of Pilate that he should be slain. 29 And when they had fulfilled all things that were 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 he was seen for many days of them that came up with him from Galilee to Jerusalem, who are now his witnesses unto the people. 32 And we bring you good tidings of the promise made unto the fathers, 33 that God hath fulfilled the same unto our children, in that he raised up Jesus; as also it is written in the second psalm, Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee. 34 And as concerning that he raised him up from the dead, now no more to return to corruption, he hath spoken on this wise, I will give you the holy and sure [blessings] of David. 35 Because he saith also in another [psalm], Thou wilt not give thy Holy One to see corruption. 36 For David, after he had in his own generation served the counsel of God, fell asleep, and was laid unto his fathers, and saw corruption: 37 but he whom God raised up saw no corruption. 38 Be it known unto you therefore, brethren, that through this man is proclaimed unto you remission of sins: 39 and by him every one that believeth is justified from all things, from which ye could not be justified by the law of Moses. 40 Beware therefore, lest that come upon [you] which is spoken in the prophets: 41 Behold, ye despisers, and wonder, and perish; For I work a work in your days, A work which ye shall in no wise believe, if one declare it unto you. 42 And as they went out, they besought that these words might be spoken to them the next sabbath. 43 Now when the synagogue broke up, many of the Jews and of the devout proselytes followed Paul and Barnabas; who, speaking to them, urged them to continue in the grace of God. 44 And the next sabbath almost the whole city was gathered together to hear the word of God. 45 But when the Jews saw the multitudes, they were filled with jealousy, and contradicted the things which were spoken by Paul, and blasphemed. 46 And Paul and Barnabas spake out boldly, and said, It was necessary that the word of God should first be spoken to you. Seeing ye thrust it from you, and judge yourselves unworthy of eternal life, lo, we turn to the Gentiles. 47 For so hath the Lord commanded us, [saying], I have set thee for a light of the Gentiles, That thou shouldest be for salvation unto the uttermost part of the earth. 48 And as the Gentiles heard this, they were glad, and glorified the word of God: and as many as were ordained to eternal life believed. 49 And the word of the Lord was spread abroad throughout all the region. 50 But the Jews urged on the devout women of honorable estate, and the chief men of the city, and stirred up a persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and cast them out of their borders. 51 But they shook off the dust of their feet against them, and came unto Iconium. 52 And the disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.

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