| Acts 13 | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Acts 15:22–24 in Latin (left column) and Greek (right column) inCodex Laudianus, written about AD 550. | |
| Book | Acts of the Apostles |
| Category | Church history |
| Christian Bible part | New Testament |
| Order in the Christian part | 5 |
Acts 13 is the thirteenth chapter of theActs of the Apostles in theNew Testament of theChristianBible. It records the first missionary journey ofPaul andBarnabas toCyprus andPisidia. The book containing this chapter isanonymous, but early Christian tradition uniformly affirmed thatLuke composed this book as well as theGospel of Luke.[1] From this point onwards, except for theCouncil held in Jerusalem (Acts 15), Luke's narrative focusses on Paul, his ministry, and the events of his life.[2]
The original text was written inKoine Greek.This chapter is divided into 52 verses.
Some earlymanuscripts containing the text of this chapter are:
The apostle Paul's "potted resume ofIsrael's history"[3] in this chapter includes a number ofOld Testament references:
This chapter mentions the following places (in order of appearance):
The first missionary journey of Paul and Barnabas took place about AD 47–48.[7]
This section opens the account of Paul's first missionary journey (Acts 13:1-14:28) which starts with a deliberate and prayerful step of the church in Antioch, a young congregation established by those who had been scattered frompersecution in Jerusalem (Acts 11:20–26) and has grown into an active missionary church.[3] Paul's mission was not his own initiative, but was undertaken at the command of the Holy Spirit (verses 2, 4), with the framework of prayer and fasting forming aninclusio at the end of this first journey (Acts 14:26).[3]
ThisLucius of Cyrene is thought to be the same person as mentioned inRomans 16:21, or the same asLuke, the writer of theGospel of Luke and theActs of the Apostles.[9] Heinrich Meyer observes that:
The order of the persons named is, without doubt, such as it stood in the original document: hence Barnabas and Saul areseparated; indeed, Barnabas is placed first (the arrangement appears to have been made according to seniority) and Saul last; it was only by his missionary labours now commencing that the latter acquired in point of fact his superiority.[10]
This ritual oflaying on hands relates to the two apostles being commissioned for a specific task: it is not anordination.[3]
The first main destination of the missionary journey is the island ofCyprus, Barnabas' home area (Acts 4:36). There were already believers who scattered due to the persecution in Jerusalem (Acts 11:19), but Barnabas and Saul came on a mission ('sent out by the Holy Spirit', verse 4) to visit formal meeting-places of Jewish communities they pass through (verse 5) to preach the gospel.[3]
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The account of Saul/Paul displaying the supernatural power of the Holy Spirit (verse 9)that led a proconsul into faith (verse 12) parallelsSimon Peter's encounters withSimon Magus (Acts 8:14–24), and withAnanias and Sapphira (Acts 5:1–11). Paul sharply denounced Elymas using a prophetic language (verses 10–11) that resulted in the latter's blindness using words echoing Paul's own experience inActs 9:8–9.[3]
It is noted from his failure to recognize the truth of gospel (verse 8) that Elymas is a 'false prophet', using the termmagus (verses 6, 8), which is always in negative sense in the book of Acts (Acts 8:5—13).[3]
The correct Greek title (anthupatos, proconsul) is used for a governor of a senatorial province. A 'Sergius Paulus' is mentioned in a Roman inscription as a holder of an office in Rome under Claudius (at about the same period)[3] and his family also seems to have a tie toPisidia.[16]
The change of name from Saul (a Hebrew name) to Paul (Latin name; verse 9) is appropriate as he moved deeper into "Gentile territory", and very common for diaspora Jews to have Greek or Latin names alongside their Hebrew names.[3]
Luke presentsSergius Paulus as the first Gentile ruler to believe the gospel. UnlikeCornelius (Acts 10:2), there is no evidence that Sergius attended the temple or was a God-fearer. This pagan government official was amazed at the power of God and believed the truth.[19]
It is customary for Paul to start his mission by visiting the local synagogue (verse 14). Paul's sermon in a synagogue of Antioch in Pisidia (13:16—41) serves as the centerpiece of a long and tightly constructed travel-and-mission account, moving into new places (13:13-14, 51; 14:6-7), then successively going back retracing each stage of the journey (14:21, 24–26).[3] All the sites visited by Paul on this journey eventually fall within the territory of the Roman province of Galatia in the first century,[20] so it could be assumed that 'these are the churches Paul addresses in theEpistle to the Galatians'.[3]
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ThisJohn, also mentioned in verse 5, wasJohn Mark, the nephew ofBarnabas (Acts 12:25). Whatever the trouble was between Paul and John Mark, it was enough for Paul not to want John Mark to accompany him on a later journey, which caused a rift between Paul and Barnabas (Acts 15:36–39). John Mark would prove faithful later in Paul's ministry (see2 Timothy 4:11).[19]
CitingPsalm 2:7, which is also quoted and used for exposition inHebrews 1:5;5:5.[6]
CitingIsaiah 55:3
