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 in Antioch, in the assembly which was [there], prophets and teachers: Barnabas, and Simeon who was called Niger, and Lucius the Cyrenian, and Manaen, foster-brother of Herod the tetrarch, and Saul. 2 And as they were ministering to the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, Separate me now Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them. 3 Then, having fasted and prayed, and having laid [their] hands on them, they let [them] go. 4 They therefore, having been sent forth by the Holy Spirit, went down to Seleucia, and thence sailed away to Cyprus. 5 And being in Salamis, they announced the word of God in the synagogues of the Jews. And they had John also as [their] attendant. 6 And having passed through the whole island as far as Paphos, they found a certain man a magician, a false prophet, a Jew, whose name was Bar-jesus, 7 who was with the proconsul Sergius Paulus, an intelligent man. He, having called Barnabas and Saul to [him], desired to hear the word of God. 8 But Elymas the magician (for so his name is by interpretation) opposed them, seeking to turn away the proconsul from the faith. 9 But Saul, who also [is] Paul, filled with [the] Holy Spirit, fixing his eyes upon him, 10 said, O full of all deceit and all craft: son of [the] devil, enemy of all righteousness; wilt thou not cease perverting the right paths of [the] Lord? 11 And now behold, [the] Lord's hand [is] upon thee, and thou shalt be blind, not seeing the sun for a season. And immediately there fell upon him a mist and darkness; and going about he sought persons who should lead him by the hand. 12 Then the proconsul, seeing what had happened, believed, being amazed at the teaching of the Lord. 13 And having sailed from Paphos, Paul and his company came to Perga of Pamphylia; and John separated from them and returned to Jerusalem. 14 But they, passing through from Perga, came to Antioch of Pisidia; and entering into the synagogue on the sabbath day they sat down. 15 And after the reading of the law and the prophets, the rulers of the synagogue sent to them, saying, Brethren, if ye have any word of exhortation to the people, speak. 16 And Paul, rising up and making a sign with the hand, said, Israelites, and ye that fear God, hearken. 17 The God of this people Israel chose our fathers, and exalted the people in their sojourn in [the] land of Egypt, and with a high arm brought them out of it, 18 and for a time of about forty years he nursed them in the desert. 19 And having destroyed seven nations in the land of Canaan, he gave them their land as an inheritance. 20 And after these things he gave [them] judges till Samuel the prophet, [to the end of] about four hundred and fifty years. 21 And then they asked for a king, and God gave to them Saul, son of Kis, a man of the tribe of Benjamin, during forty years. 22 And having removed him he raised up to them David for king, of whom also bearing witness he 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 according to promise has God brought to Israel a Saviour, Jesus; 24 John having proclaimed before the face of his entry [among the people] [the] baptism of repentance to all the people of Israel. 25 And as John was fulfilling his course he said, Whom do ye suppose that I am? I am not [he]. But behold, there comes one after me, the sandal of whose feet I am not worthy to loose. 26 Brethren, sons of Abraham's race, and those who among you fear God, to you has the word of this salvation been sent: 27 for those who dwell in Jerusalem, and their rulers, not having known him, have fulfilled also the voices of the prophets which are read on every sabbath, [by] judging [him]. 28 And having found no cause of death [in him], they begged of Pilate that he might be slain. 29 And when they had fulfilled all things written concerning him, they took him down from the cross and put him in a sepulchre; 30 but God raised him from among [the] dead, 31 who appeared for many days to those who had come up with him from Galilee to Jerusalem, who are now his witnesses to the people. 32 And we declare unto you the glad tidings of the promise made to the fathers, 33 that God has fulfilled this to us their children, having raised up Jesus; as it is also written in the second psalm, Thou art my Son: this day have I begotten thee. 34 But that he raised him from among [the] dead, no more to return to corruption, he spoke thus: I will give to you the faithful mercies of David. 35 Wherefore also he says in another, Thou wilt not suffer thy gracious one to see corruption. 36 For David indeed, having in his own generation ministered to the will of God, fell asleep, and was added to his fathers and saw corruption. 37 But he whom God raised up did not see corruption. 38 Be it known unto you, therefore, brethren, that through this man remission of sins is preached to you, 39 and from all things from which ye could not be justified in the law of Moses, in him every one that believes is justified. 40 See therefore that that which is spoken in the prophets do not come upon [you], 41 Behold, ye despisers, and wonder and perish; for I work a work in your days, a work which ye will in no wise believe if one declare it to you. 42 And as they went out they begged that these words might be spoken to them the ensuing sabbath. 43 And the congregation of the synagogue having broken up, many of the Jews and of the worshipping proselytes followed Paul and Barnabas, who speaking to them, persuaded them to continue in the grace of God. 44 And on the coming sabbath almost all the city was gathered together to hear the word of God. 45 But the Jews, seeing the crowds, were filled with envy, and contradicted the things said by Paul, [contradicting and] speaking injuriously. 46 And Paul and Barnabas spoke boldly and said, It was necessary that the word of God should be first spoken to you; but, since ye thrust it from you, and judge yourselves unworthy of eternal life, lo, we turn to the nations; 47 for thus has the Lord enjoined us: I have set thee for a light of the nations, that thou shouldest be for salvation to the end of the earth. 48 And [those of] the nations, hearing it, rejoiced, and glorified the word of the Lord, and believed, as many as were ordained to eternal life. 49 And the word of the Lord was carried through the whole country. 50 But the Jews excited the women of the upper classes who were worshippers, and the first people of the city, and raised a persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and cast them out of their coasts. 51 But they, having shaken off the dust of their feet against them, came to Iconium. 52 And the disciples were filled with joy and [the] Holy Spirit.

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