The Mission of Barnabas and Saul
Acts 12:25–13:52
The beginning of the mission of Barnabas and Saul, as Luke recounts it, parallels the beginning of Jesus’ mission. As Jesus was chosen by the Father and filled with the Holy Spirit for his public ministry (Luke 3:21–22), so also Barnabas and Saul are chosen by the Holy Spirit through prophecy and sent on their mission by the Spirit and the church (Acts 13:2–4). Jesus, filled with the Spirit, had his calling immediately tested by Satan, whom he decisively resisted (Luke 4:1–13). During their initial ministry in Cyprus, Barnabas and Paul, filled with the Spirit, are opposed by a magician named Bar-Jesus, whom Paul rebukes as a “son of the devil” (Acts 13:10). Jesus taught in synagogues and was acclaimed by the people, leading up to his first major sermon at Nazareth (Luke 4:15). The apostolic pair teach in synagogues on Cyprus (Acts 13:5), and Paul delivers his first major sermon at the invitation of the synagogue leaders in Antioch of Pisidia. Jesus’ sermon at Nazareth was at first well received, but mixed reactions followed: “Isn’t this the son of Joseph?” (Luke 4:22). When Jesus spoke of the prophets’ ministry to Gentiles, his hearers reacted violently and expelled him from the city (4:24–29). Likewise, Paul’s sermon in Pisidia is initially well received, but then he is rejected by jealous Jews when “almost the whole city gathered to hear the word of the Lord” (Acts 13:44–45). When Paul announces that he and Barnabas will “turn to the Gentiles” (13:46–47), they are evicted from the territory at Jewish instigation (13:50). After Jesus was expelled from the synagogue, “he passed through the midst of them and went away” (Luke 4:30). After their expulsion, Paul and Barnabas continued their journey and “went to Iconium” (Acts 13:51).
By calling attention to these parallels, Luke reinforces his theme that the Church’s mission is a continuation and share in the mission of Jesus. Like the Servant of the Lord in Isaiah, both Jesus and Paul have been sent by God, not only to the chosen people but also to the Gentiles, “to the ends of the earth” (Isa 49:6). Even today, the Church continues Jesus’ servant mission of bearing witness to all nations, just as Paul did.
Mission of Barnabas and Saul (12:25–13:3)
25After Barnabas and Saul completed their relief mission, they returned to Jerusalem, taking with them John, who is called Mark.
1Now there were in the church at Antioch prophets and teachers: Barnabas, Symeon who was called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen who was a close friend of Herod the tetrarch, and Saul. 2While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the holy Spirit said, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” 3Then, completing their fasting and prayer, they laid hands on them and sent them off.
NT: Acts 11:30; 12:12; 13:9; 1 Cor 12:28
Catechism: the Holy Spirit and charisms, 798–800; Holy Orders and the laying on of hands, 1538, 1597; fasting and prayer, 1434, 1438, 1969, 2043
Lectionary: Acts 11:21b–26; 13:1–3: St. Barnabas
[12:25]
Barnabas and Saul were last mentioned as being sent on a relief mission to Jerusalem (Acts 11:30), which they have now completed. It is hard to envisage how, if they were already in Jerusalem, they could return to Jerusalem, especially since the next passage (Acts 13:1–3) finds them back in Antioch. A better translation of verse 25 would be, “After Paul and Barnabas completed their relief mission to Jerusalem, they returned [to Antioch].” They bring as an assistant John, who is called Mark, last mentioned when Peter went to the church gathered at his mother’s house in Jerusalem (Acts 12:12).
[13:1]
This new church at Antioch in Syria, north of Judea, has among its leadership prophets and teachers, two of the ecclesial ministries often listed by Paul. When speaking of the Jerusalem church, Luke mentions offices such as apostles, †presbyters, and the Seven (probably deacons, see 6:3); but in describing church leadership in Antioch, he focuses more on ministries that arise from charisms: prophecy and teaching.
This list of five men is framed by Barnabas first and Saul last. Symeon who was called Niger has both a given name and an added name, like Joseph renamed Barnabas (4:36), “John, who is called Mark” (12:25), and “Saul, also known as Paul” (13:9). Lucius of Cyrene may have been among the Cyrenians who originally reached out to Greeks at Antioch (11:20). The mention of a connection between Manaen and Herod the tetrarch (as with “Joanna, the wife of Herod’s steward Chuza,” in Luke 8:3) might hint at the sources of Luke’s information about Herod Antipas, tetrarch of Galilee during Jesus’ ministry, and not to be confused with Herod Agrippa I, who persecuted James and Peter in Acts 12.
[13:2]
The leaders’ zeal to be under the constant guidance of the Holy Spirit is shown in their worshiping the Lord and fasting. The Greek verb for worship, leitourgeō (from which “liturgy” is derived), is often used in the †Septuagint for priestly ministry in the temple (see Exod 28:35; 1 Sam 2:11) and may imply liturgical celebration, including the Eucharist. Throughout Scripture, fasting is a way of humbling oneself before God (sometimes in repentance, as in 1 Sam 7:6), or asking for his help. For example, the Israelites fasted when they desperately needed God’s guidance at a time of civil war (Judg 20:26).The elderly widow Anna worships God with prayer and fasting as she seeks the fulfillment of God’s plan (Luke 2:36–38). The leaders of the Antioch church are fasting as they fervently seek God’s will for their community and its mission. As they worship, the holy Spirit gives the leaders a prophetic directive: “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul.” Though the nature of the work to which the Spirit has called them is not explained here, the story that follows makes clear that it is an evangelizing mission.
[13:3]
After responding to this directive with further fasting and prayer, the leaders lay hands on Barnabas and Saul to express the community’s setting them apart and commending them to God for this mission. Barnabas and Paul are then sent off on their missionary journey. At its completion, they will return and report its results to the community (14:26–27).
Reflection and Application (13:1–3)
The example of the church leaders of Antioch worshiping together and fasting to seek the guidance of the Holy Spirit remains relevant today. The Spirit still desires to guide and empower the mission activity of the Church, whether on a parish, diocesan, or international level. It is crucial that in our contemporary planning for our mission, we likewise seek and listen to the Spirit.
The following portion of Acts, describing Paul and Barnabas’s mission, illustrates the confidence and blessing that comes when missionaries have a mandate from the Holy Spirit. Mission that proceeds from prayer and fasting, follows the Spirit’s guidance, and enjoys the endorsement of the community will bear fruit.
Do we have as much zeal as the early Christians to seek God’s guidance for mission through prayer and fasting? A common temptation in pastoral ministry is to first plan everything and then ask God’s blessing on our plans, instead of letting the Holy Spirit take the lead. The testimony of Acts can build our confidence in what God is willing to do with those who open themselves to the Spirit’s initiative and power.
First Mission Begins in Cyprus (13:4–12)
4So they, sent forth by the holy Spirit, went down to Seleucia and from there sailed to Cyprus. 5When they arrived in Salamis, they proclaimed the word of God in the Jewish synagogues. They had John also as their assistant. 6When they had traveled through the whole island as far as Paphos, they met a magician named Bar-Jesus who was a Jewish false prophet. 7He was with the proconsul Sergius Paulus, a man of intelligence, who had summoned Barnabas and Saul and wanted to hear the word of God. 8But Elymas the magician (for that is what his name means) opposed them in an attempt to turn the proconsul away from the faith. 9But Saul, also known as Paul, filled with the holy Spirit, looked intently at him 10and said, “You son of the devil, you enemy of all that is right, full of every sort of deceit and fraud. Will you not stop twisting the straight paths of [the] Lord? 11Even now the hand of the Lord is upon you. You will be blind, and unable to see the sun for a time.” Immediately a dark mist fell upon him, and he went about seeking people to lead him by the hand. 12When the proconsul saw what had happened, he came to believe, for he was astonished by the teaching about the Lord.
OT: Isa 6:9–10; 40:2–5
NT: Mark 1:27; Luke 3:4–6; 4:1–13; Acts 5:3; 19:13–20
Catechism: divination and magic, 2115–17; baptismal name, 2156, 2158; action through the Spirit, 1704, 1813; charisms, 799, 951
[13:4–5]
Verse 3 reported the church’s human role in commissioning Barnabas and Saul for their journey. Now verse 4 focuses on the divine role: they are sent forth by the holy Spirit, who had singled them out for this mission through prophecy (v. 2).
Fig. 10. A small Roman sailing vessel, from a third-century sarcophagus.
Gun Powder Ma/Wikimedia Commons
Fig. 11. Paul’s first missionary journey (Acts 13–14).
International Mapping
Several ancient cities were named Seleucia after the Hellenistic dynasty that had ruled the northern section of the Greek Empire left by Alexander the Great. This Seleucia was the Mediterranean port city for nearby Antioch. From here the missionary team sails to the island of Cyprus. They land at its eastern port of Salamis and immediately begin their ministry, proclaiming the word of God in the Jewish synagogues.
Barnabas and Saul had brought John Mark back from Jerusalem (12:25); now they include him as their assistant on mission. Although the community had commissioned only Barnabas and Saul, they added John Mark probably to help with practical details such as arrangements for travel and accommodation. Thus far there is no explicit mention of outreach to Gentiles, but only of preaching to Jews, and probably †God-fearing Gentiles, in the synagogues of Cyprus.
[13:6]
They travel without incident through the whole island until they arrive at the city of Paphos, on the west side of Cyprus. There they encounter their first conflict, with Bar-Jesus, meaning “son of Jesus.” Jesus is the Greek form of Joshua (spelled the same as Joshua in Acts 7:45; Luke 3:29). Bar-Jesus was a Jew who is both a magician (magos), like the Samaritan Simon in Acts 8:9, and a false prophet. It may seem strange for a Jew to be a magician, which involved the occult, not entertainment by sleight of hand as today, since the Old Testament strictly forbids all forms of magic and dealings with the occult (Deut 18:10–12). But there is evidence that some first-century Jews dabbled in magic. This false prophet is contrasted with Paul and Barnabas, true prophets filled with and sent by the Spirit (vv. 1–4, 9).
[13:7]
Bar-Jesus is some kind of consultant for the Roman governor of the island, the proconsul Sergius Paulus, whom Luke calls a man of intelligence, perhaps because he summoned Barnabas and Saul and wanted to hear the word of God. The proconsul’s request leads to the missionaries’ first proclamation of the gospel to a Gentile.
[13:8]
Luke now mentions another name for Bar-Jesus, Elymas the magician, claiming that is what his name means. Elymas does not appear in Greek dictionaries except as a proper name, so Luke’s meaning is unclear. This false prophet opposes Barnabas and Saul’s preaching in an attempt to turn the proconsul away from the faith. Here “faith” refers not to the act of believing but to the content of Christian faith. The word translated “turn away” means to pervert or mislead people (it is translated “twisting” in v. 10), as false prophets did (see Ezek 13:18, 22—the NABRE translates the Hebrew with “ensnare” and “discourage”). Elymas’s opposition to Paul’s mission parallels the role of Satan, who opposed Jesus from the beginning of his ministry (Luke 4:1–13).
[13:9]
The conflict between Bar-Jesus and Paul recalls biblical contests between true and false prophets, like those between Elijah and the prophets of Baal (1 Kings 18:19–40), and between Jeremiah and Hananiah (Jer 28). At issue is who is speaking God’s truth and who is misleading the hearers. In each case, the conflict requires discernment about which spirit is inspiring each prophet. Paul’s justified anger at Elymas’s opposition to the word of God is similar to the anger of prophets and of God himself at his people’s idolatry (Exod 32:8–10, 19; Num 25:3–8; Jer 7:13–20).
Luke uses the name “Paul” instead of “Saul” for the first time in verse 9, making the transition by simply writing Saul, also known as Paul. The most common explanation for the two names is that Saul is his Jewish name (after King Saul, the first Israelite king); Paul (meaning “little”) is his Roman name. Paul is filled with the holy Spirit, as were some of the Old Testament judges, kings, and prophets (as in Judg 14:6, 19; 1 Sam 16:13; Ezek 11:5) and Peter and Stephen before they spoke or acted in power (Acts 2:4; 6:5; 7:55). Paul looked intently at the magician, an expression for giving penetrating attention.
[13:10]
Paul’s excoriation of Bar-Jesus—as son of the devil, . . . enemy of all that is right, full of every sort of deceit and fraud—is not merely rhetorical bluster. It is grounded in the biblical identification of the occult as the work of the devil. This denunciation sharpens the contrast between Paul as a true prophet filled with the Holy Spirit and Bar-Jesus as a false prophet guided by Satan. As such he is more properly called “son of the devil” than “son of Jesus” (playing on his name Bar-Jesus). Paul accuses him of twisting the straight paths of [the] Lord, in exact contrast to Isaiah’s prophecy about making straight the paths of the Lord, fulfilled by John the Baptist (Isa 40:3–5 in Luke 3:4–6). The expression aptly describes Elymas’s perverted opposition to God’s plan by trying to hinder the proconsul from believing.
[13:11]
This incident is an ironic reminder of Saul’s own blindness after he was confronted by the risen Jesus for persecuting Christians in Acts 9. As Saul himself had been temporarily blinded when Christ confronted him for trying to impede the gospel, so now his opponent is temporarily blinded for attempting to hinder the gospel. Willful unbelief leads to spiritual blindness, as in John 9:39 (see also Isa 6:10). The expression the hand of the Lord is upon you is a biblical expression for God’s acting in power (as in Isa 40:2, Jerusalem “has received from the hand of the LORD / double for all her sins”). The result of Paul’s pronouncement, “You will be blind . . . for a time,” is instantaneous—a dark mist overtakes Elymas so that he goes about seeking people to lead him by the hand.
[13:12]
The sight of this miracle brings the proconsul to faith, ironically, from the darkness of paganism to the light of Christ. He is the highest-ranking Gentile to become a Christian in Acts. The proconsul is astonished by the teaching about the Lord, but his amazement appears occasioned especially by the miracle that accompanied that teaching. Works of power are a kind of teaching, as reflected in Mark 1:27: “What is this? A new teaching with authority. He commands even the unclean spirits and they obey him.”
Paul’s Arrival at Antioch in Pisidia (13:13–15)
13From Paphos, Paul and his companions set sail and arrived at Perga in Pamphylia. But John left them and returned to Jerusalem. 14They continued on from Perga and reached Antioch in Pisidia. On the sabbath they entered [into] the synagogue and took their seats. 15After the reading of the law and the prophets, the synagogue officials sent word to them, “My brothers, if one of you has a word of exhortation for the people, please speak.”
NT: Acts 15:36–41; Luke 4:16–21; Heb 13:22
[13:13–14]
After the confrontation in Paphos, Paul and his companions set sail to the northwest for Perga in Pamphylia, a Roman province on the southern coast of Asia Minor, present-day Turkey, where they will begin their evangelizing on the mainland. But John left them and returned to Jerusalem. No reason is given for John Mark’s departure, only this abrupt notice. Later it will become clear that Paul found Mark’s abandonment of the mission unacceptable (Acts 15:36–41). For now Paul and Barnabas simply continue on from Perga to Antioch in Pisidia, farther north in Asia Minor, not to be confused with Antioch in Syria, where the missionaries began. On the sabbath they enter the synagogue, following Paul’s standard practice of preaching first to Jews in synagogues (as at Iconium in Acts 14:1, at Corinth in 18:4, and at Ephesus in 18:19), then to Gentiles. Paul explicitly teaches the same pattern in Rom 1:16; see also 2:9–10.
[13:15]
The usual synagogue service included the reading of the law and the prophets. After this, the synagogue officials invite Paul and Barnabas to address the assembly. The officials apparently consider them important Jewish visitors, for they invite them to speak a word of exhortation for the people, that is, a scriptural homily. The Letter to the Hebrews describes itself as a “word of exhortation” (Heb 13:22 RSV), using the same Greek phrase. The synagogue officials surely do not expect what Paul will deliver: a radical reinterpretation of biblical history, culminating in an invitation to faith in Jesus.
Paul’s Synagogue Sermon in Pisidian Antioch, Part I (13:16–25)
16So Paul got up, motioned with his hand, and said, “Fellow Israelites and you others who are God-fearing, listen. 17The God of this people Israel chose our ancestors and exalted the people during their sojourn in the land of Egypt. With uplifted arm he led them out of it 18and for about forty years he put up with them in the desert. 19When he had destroyed seven nations in the land of Canaan, he gave them their land as an inheritance 20at the end of about four hundred and fifty years. After these things he provided judges up to Samuel [the] prophet. 21Then they asked for a king. God gave them Saul, son of Kish, a man from the tribe of Benjamin, for forty years. 22Then he removed him and raised up David as their king; of him he testified, ‘I have found David, son of Jesse, a man after my own heart; he will carry out my every wish.’ 23From this man’s descendants God, according to his promise, has brought to Israel a savior, Jesus. 24John heralded his coming by proclaiming a baptism of repentance to all the people of Israel; 25and as John was completing his course, he would say, ‘What do you suppose that I am? I am not he. Behold, one is coming after me; I am not worthy to unfasten the sandals of his feet.’”
OT: 1 Sam 8:12–16; 10:18–19; 1 Chron 17:7–14, 23–27; Ps 89:2–5
NT: Mark 1:4, 9; Luke 3:1–18
Catechism: prophecy of the Messiah, 522, 555, 702; God’s promise to Israel, 60, 1611–12
Lectionary: Christmas Vigil Mass; Acts 13:22–26: Nativity of St. John the Baptist
This passage is the third retelling of Israel’s history in a sermon in Acts, after Peter’s in Acts 2 and Stephen’s in Acts 7. Though these three summaries overlap in some details, each speech emphasizes different biblical figures and events, and each has distinct focuses. Taken together, they provide readers with Luke’s overview of salvation history.
This sermon in Antioch in Pisidia, in Asia Minor, is the most complete statement of Paul’s message to Jewish audiences. Paul’s typical preaching to Gentile audiences will be presented in his sermons at Lystra (Acts 14:15–17) and Athens (Acts 17:22–31).
[13:16]
Paul begins his speech with the usual rhetorical flourishes: he rises, motions with his hand (beckoning for silence, as in Acts 12:17; 21:40), and charges them to listen. He addresses two groups among them, “Fellow Israelites and you others who are †God-fearing,” that is, non-Jews who believe in the one God of Israel but have not become full converts. This sermon can be divided into three sections by Paul’s three direct addresses to his listeners: “Fellow Israelites” (v. 16), “My brothers, children of the family of Abraham” (v. 26), and “my brothers” (v. 38).
[13:17–18]
Paul identifies himself fully with his listeners. He refers to the God of this people Israel, as he had initially addressed them as “Fellow Israelites.” That God chose our ancestors is a remarkably brief digest of God’s call to Abraham and his descendants (Gen 12:1–8; 17:1–22). Paul omits the rest of Genesis to move immediately to Exodus.
God enabled the Israelites to flourish even in a foreign land: he exalted the people while they were living in Egypt. They multiplied so rapidly that the Egyptians became afraid of their power and enslaved them (Exod 1:7–14). With uplifted arm (a biblical expression for divine power), God led them out of Egypt. Focusing totally on God’s action, Paul makes no mention of the human role of Moses in leading the people. Paul briefly summarizes the time between the exodus and the entrance into the promised land of Canaan: for about forty years he put up with them in the desert (Num 32:13). The negative tone of “put up with” epitomizes all the people’s grumbling and rebellion against God and Moses, and God’s forbearance, disciplining but not destroying them in the wilderness of Sinai.
[13:19–21]
The conquest of the promised land is recapped in a single sentence, and this event too is attributed entirely to the work of God. Omitting mention of Joshua, through whom God worked, Paul emphasizes that Israel’s possession of their land is entirely God’s gift. God first destroyed seven nations in the land of Canaan. Then he gave them their land as an inheritance, fulfilling his promises to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. As often in Acts, there is an approximate computation of time for these events: at the end of about four hundred and fifty years.
Paul briefly touches on the period in which God provided judges up to Samuel [the] prophet. Samuel was the last of the judges—charismatic leaders whom God raised up from time to time to rescue Israel from oppression by their enemies. Paul’s overview, like the book of Samuel, allows some ambivalence about the transition from judges to kings. God alone was Israel’s king, yet he yielded to the people’s request for a human king like those of other nations. Paul simply reports that at the time of Samuel, the people asked for a king. He passes over Samuel’s objections to kingship (1 Sam 10:18–19) to state only that God gave them Saul, son of Kish, as their first king.
[13:22]
God’s removal of Saul and the following reign of David are also mentioned only in passing. Paul emphasizes but one important attribute of David, which differs sharply from Saul’s behavior: God testified, “I have found David, son of Jesse, a man after my own heart; he will carry out my every wish.” Unlike Saul, who disobeyed God’s explicit orders (1 Sam 15:24; 1 Chron 10:13), David fulfilled God’s will, despite the grave sins for which he repented (2 Sam 11–12 and 24). How much more perfectly, then, does David’s sinless descendent, Jesus, fulfill God’s will.
[13:23]
Passing over biblical history after the time of David, Paul cuts to the chase: “From this man’s descendants God . . . has brought to Israel a savior, Jesus.” This took place according to God’s promise, that is, the oracle to David that his dynasty and throne would last forever (2 Sam 7:12–16; 1 Chron 17:11–14, 23–27; Ps 89:2–5). This promise seemed to be broken when the last of the Davidic kings was deposed and exiled by the Babylonians, but Jews came to understand the oracle as promising a future messiah, a descendant of David who would restore the kingdom to Israel (as the disciples expect in Acts 1:6). Paul proclaims the fulfillment of these promises in Jesus, Messiah and Savior.
[13:24]
Paul’s Epistles do not mention John the Baptist, but here Paul’s overview of salvation history puts significant emphasis on John’s role, as do the Gospels. John is the final prophet who heralded Jesus’ coming and thus provided the transition from the old covenant to the new. John prepared for the work of salvation that God was about to accomplish by making the people aware of their need for a savior: he proclaimed a baptism of repentance to all the people of Israel (see Luke 3:3).
[13:25]
Paul stresses the superiority of Jesus’ identity and role over that of John. As the Baptist was completing his course, he explicitly denied a messianic role for himself: “I am not he.” Between the lines is also a deeper self-effacement: the Greek phrase is, literally, “I am not” (ouk eimi egō), the negative of God’s name as revealed in Exod 3:14 LXX, “I am” (egō eimi). Only God is I AM and Savior. As Catherine of Siena prayed, “I am she who is not, and you are He who is.” John insists that he is only the Messiah’s forerunner: “One is coming after me.” So exalted is the coming one that John is not worthy to do the task of a slave for him: to unfasten the sandals of his feet (see Luke 3:16).
Paul’s Sermon at Pisidian Antioch, Part II (13:26–43)
26“My brothers, children of the family of Abraham, and those others among you who are God-fearing, to us this word of salvation has been sent. 27The inhabitants of Jerusalem and their leaders failed to recognize him, and by condemning him they fulfilled the oracles of the prophets that are read sabbath after sabbath. 28For even though they found no grounds for a death sentence, they asked Pilate to have him put to death, 29and when they had accomplished all that was written about him, they took him down from the tree and placed him in a tomb. 30But God raised him from the dead, 31and for many days he appeared to those who had come up with him from Galilee to Jerusalem. These are [now] his witnesses before the people. 32We ourselves are proclaiming this good news to you that what God promised our ancestors 33he has brought to fulfillment for us, [their] children, by raising up Jesus, as it is written in the second psalm, ‘You are my son; this day I have begotten you.’ 34And that he raised him from the dead never to return to corruption he declared in this way, ‘I shall give you the benefits assured to David.’ 35That is why he also says in another psalm, ‘You will not suffer your holy one to see corruption.’ 36Now David, after he had served the will of God in his lifetime, fell asleep, was gathered to his ancestors, and did see corruption. 37But the one whom God raised up did not see corruption. 38You must know, my brothers, that through him forgiveness of sins is being proclaimed to you, [and] in regard to everything from which you could not be justified under the law of Moses, 39in him every believer is justified. 40Be careful, then, that what was said in the prophets not come about:
41‘Look on, you scoffers,
be amazed and disappear.
For I am doing a work in your days,
a work that you will never believe
even if someone tells you.’”
42As they were leaving, they invited them to speak on these subjects the following sabbath. 43After the congregation had dispersed, many Jews and worshipers who were converts to Judaism followed Paul and Barnabas, who spoke to them and urged them to remain faithful to the grace of God.
OT: Ps 16:10; Hab 1:5; Isa 55:3
NT: Luke 4:16–21; 19:44; Acts 2
Catechism: apostles as witnesses to the resurrection, 642, 664, 858, 1124
Lectionary: Acts 13:14, 43–52: Fourth Sunday of Easter (Year C); Acts 13:22–26: Nativity of St. John the Baptist; Acts 13:32–39: Anointing of the Sick during Easter (optional)
[13:26]
Paul begins the second part of his sermon with another direct address to his listeners, as in verse 16: “My brothers, children of the family of Abraham [fellow Jews] and those others among you who are †God-fearing [non-Jews who believe in God].” In proclaiming that to us this word of salvation has been sent, Paul includes his God-fearing listeners with the Jews, the first recipients of the fulfillment of God’s promises. Peter had said at Pentecost, “The promise is made to you and to your children and to all those far off, whomever the Lord our God will call” (2:39). Those far off include both †Diaspora Jews and Gentiles whom God would call.
[13:27]
The failure of the inhabitants of Jerusalem and their leaders to recognize Jesus as Messiah is a common theme in Luke. Jesus wept over Jerusalem because “you did not recognize the time of your visitation” (Luke 19:44). The ignorance of those who condemned Jesus enables the Scriptures to be fulfilled and provides Jesus with a basis for interceding for their forgiveness from the cross: “Father, forgive them, they know not what they do” (Luke 23:34). Peter’s repentant Jewish listeners at Pentecost received this forgiveness (Acts 2:37–41).
By condemning him they fulfilled the oracles of the prophets that are read sabbath after sabbath. The irony of their fulfilling messianic prophecies by condemning the Messiah resembles Greek dramatic irony, which would have been familiar to many of Luke’s Hellenistic readers. In dramatic irony, the actions of characters unknowingly bring about the opposite of what they desire, as in the tragedy Oedipus Rex by Sophocles. King Oedipus’s flight from home to avoid the prophecy that he would kill his father and marry his mother results in his fulfilling the prediction by unwittingly doing both. Here God uses the very execution of Jesus to bring about his divine plan of salvation through him.
[13:28–30]
Paul emphasizes the injustice of Jesus’ condemnation: “Even though they found no grounds for a death sentence, they asked Pilate to have him put to death.” In God’s plan, this execution of the innocent Jesus ironically brought to fulfillment all that was written about him in the Scriptures. The use of tree to refer to the cross (Acts 5:30; 10:39) recalls the curse in Deuteronomy: “Anyone hung on a tree is under God’s curse” (Deut 21:23 NRSV). As Paul explains in Galatians, Christ ransomed us from the curse of the law by “becoming a curse for us” (Gal 3:13). God’s reversal of wicked human deeds is most evident in what follows: they placed him in a tomb. But God raised him from the dead. This divine reversal of human tyranny recalls Mary’s song: “He has thrown down the rulers from their thrones / but lifted up the lowly” (Luke 1:52).
[13:31]
Because Paul knew Jesus only after his resurrection, he does not claim to be one of the original eyewitnesses who could testify that the risen Jesus was the same as the earthly Jesus. Jesus appeared to those disciples who had come up with him from Galilee to Jerusalem over a period of many days (Acts 1:3 uses the round number forty days). In Acts 1, the apostle Peter specified the requirement for this witness: “It is necessary that one of the men who accompanied us the whole time the Lord Jesus came and went among us, beginning from the baptism of John until the day on which he was taken up from us, become with us a witness to his resurrection” (1:21–22).
The original group of Galilean disciples are Jesus’ witnesses before the people because they can vouch for the continuity between what he did and taught during his public ministry and what his followers have been saying about him since his resurrection. In the Church’s teaching to this day, belief in what Jesus did and said, and in his resurrection from the dead, depends on the testimony especially of the twelve apostles.
[13:32–33]
Paul includes himself among a second group of witnesses who are extending the testimony to Jesus throughout the world. We ourselves, in continuity with Jesus’ early Galilean followers, are proclaiming this good news to you, the listeners in Antioch of Pisidia. This good news is that what God promised our ancestors, literally, “fathers,” he has accomplished for us, their children, by raising up Jesus. Jesus’ resurrection fulfilled the promise to David mentioned in verse 23 above, that God would raise up a savior for Israel from David’s descendants. Because the risen Jesus is an eternally living son of David whose reign will never end, he unconditionally fulfills the promise that David’s throne will stand forever (2 Sam 7:13). Jesus’ resurrection is the center and key to God’s plan of salvation.
Jesus’ resurrection also fulfills God’s oracle in the second psalm, “You are my son; this day I have begotten you.” That psalm originally referred to the new king in the lineage of David who was declared God’s adopted son at the moment of his enthronement. As God’s adopted son, the newly enthroned king was to rule God’s people with God’s authority and under his direction. Now this royal psalm is fulfilled in Jesus the Messiah, risen and enthroned in heaven so as to share God’s dominion over the whole world. Psalm 2 is a reminder that Jesus’ unending reign makes salvation available to all people in all times.
[13:34–35]
Paul alludes to God’s promise to his people through Isaiah—“I shall give you the benefits assured to David” (Isa 55:3)—and connects it with David’s expression of trust in Ps 16:10 (in its Greek translation): “You will not suffer your holy one to see corruption.” This implies that Ps 16 is in some way a promise not only for David but also for all God’s people.
[13:36–37]
David served the will of God in his lifetime, literally, “in his own generation,” but he did see corruption: he died and remains dead. Therefore Ps 16 must be a prophecy that looks beyond David to his descendant, Jesus, who did not see corruption because God raised him up. Jesus “served the will of God” in a preeminent way. Now, risen and eternally living, Jesus is able to serve the will of God by saving and ruling not only his own generation but also all people until the end of time. Peter’s Pentecost speech made a similar argument based on Ps 16 (Acts 2:24–32, 36).
[13:38–40]
The conclusion to the speech, signaled by the direct address, “You must know, my brothers,” is that through this obedient son of David and servant of God, Jesus, forgiveness of sins is being proclaimed to you. God’s promise to David is fulfilled in the resurrection of Jesus and the forgiveness of sins that is now available through him. That forgiveness of sins is made possible by Jesus’ death and resurrection is at the heart of the preaching of the gospel, as in Peter’s speech in Acts 5:30–31: God raised Jesus and exalted him “at his right hand as leader and savior to grant Israel repentance and forgiveness of sins.”
Whereas Paul’s Letters often speak of “justification,” Luke usually prefers to speak of “forgiveness of sins,” often related to repentance. Here the two notions are linked: forgiveness pertains to everything from which you could not be justified under the law of Moses. What observance of the law could not accomplish, Christ accomplished: in him every believer is justified, that is, brought into right relationship with God. This is the closest Luke-Acts comes to the language of Paul’s Letters, which insist that justification comes not by doing works of the law but through faith in Jesus (Rom 3:20–22, 28; Gal 2:16). Paul concludes his summary of the biblical history of salvation and ends with a caution for his audience to heed this message, so that the warnings of the prophets not come about against them.
[13:41]
Paul cites the prophet Habakkuk’s warning that God would bring a tyrannical enemy nation, Chaldea (Babylon), against Judah (Hab 1:5–11). He quotes the †Septuagint paraphrase rather than the Hebrew, which makes it easier to apply Habakkuk’s warning to his own listeners: Look on, you scoffers who disbelieve the word proclaimed to you, and face the threat that you will be amazed and disappear. The warning no longer concerns a foreign threat against Israel in the time of Habakkuk. It admonishes Paul’s current listeners not to scoff at his message, lest they perish. The listeners must believe that God is doing a work in your days, namely, forgiveness of sins and justification through the risen son of David, Jesus. Habakkuk’s prophecy concludes with a warning that this is a work that you will never believe even if someone tells you, as Paul is now doing. The ancient Israelites ignored Habakkuk’s words, to their own destruction; Paul cautions his listeners not to do likewise.
[13:42–43]
The reaction to Paul’s speech in the synagogue is positive enough that the listeners invite Paul and Barnabas to speak again the following sabbath. After the congregation disperses, many of them, including both Jews and †worshipers who were converts to Judaism, remain and follow Paul and Barnabas. The verb “follow” (akoloutheō) is the same as that used in the Gospels for those who became Jesus’ disciples (Luke 5:11, 28; see also 9:23). Paul and Barnabas urge these incipient believers to remain faithful to the grace of God, that is, to the free offer of salvation they have just heard (see Acts 20:24).
Address to the Gentiles (13:44–52)
44On the following sabbath almost the whole city gathered to hear the word of the Lord. 45When the Jews saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy and with violent abuse contradicted what Paul said. 46Both Paul and Barnabas spoke out boldly and said, “It was necessary that the word of God be spoken to you first, but since you reject it and condemn yourselves as unworthy of eternal life, we now turn to the Gentiles. 47For so the Lord has commanded us, ‘I have made you a light to the Gentiles, that you may be an instrument of salvation to the ends of the earth.’”
48The Gentiles were delighted when they heard this and glorified the word of the Lord. All who were destined for eternal life came to believe, 49and the word of the Lord continued to spread through the whole region. 50The Jews, however, incited the women of prominence who were worshipers and the leading men of the city, stirred up a persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and expelled them from their territory. 51So they shook the dust from their feet in protest against them and went to Iconium. 52The disciples were filled with joy and the holy Spirit.
OT: Isa 49:6
NT: Luke 2:30–32; 9:5; Acts 1:1; 28:28, 31; Rom 1:16; 2:9–10
Catechism: joy, 736, 1832, 2015
Lectionary: Acts 13:14, 43–52: Fourth Sunday of Easter (Year C); Acts 13:46–49: Saints Cyril and Methodius
[13:44–45]
The excitement over Paul’s speech is such that on the following sabbath, when he returns to the synagogue, almost the whole city gathers, which naturally would include large numbers of Gentiles. People come to hear the word of the Lord—the good news about Jesus’ death, resurrection, and exaltation as Lord of all. At the sight of these huge crowds, Jews from the synagogue are filled with jealousy at the disciples’ success, a motive that Luke sometimes identifies as causing persecution of Jesus’ followers (Acts 5:17–18; 17:5; see also 7:9). These jealous Jews contradict Paul’s message with violent abuse. The Greek word for their violent abuse is blasphēmeō, to revile or defame, or in reference to something divine, to blaspheme. Luke hints that their manner of speaking against the gospel is tantamount to blasphemy.
[13:46]
The response of Paul and Barnabas is to speak out boldly, openly and fearlessly—as Paul will continue to do until the very last sentence of Acts (28:31): “It was necessary that the word of God be spoken to you first.” The gospel is addressed to Jews first because they are the chosen people to whom God’s promises were first made (see Rom 9:4–5). Paul and Barnabas will now turn to the Gentiles because their Jewish listeners reject the message and thereby condemn themselves as unworthy of the eternal life that is being offered. Paul understands such rejection of the gospel as an exercise of human freedom. Eternal life is what is at stake in people’s response to the proclamation about Jesus, both then and now.
Paul’s turn to the Gentiles does not imply the abandonment of his mission to Jews (see Acts 9:15). Rather, it applies only to the locale in which he is preaching. In the next episode he will again begin in the synagogue (14:1). Throughout Acts, Paul continues his pattern of preaching the gospel first to Jews, then to Gentiles because of Jewish rejection (see 18:6; 28:28).
[13:47]
The reason for proclaiming the good news to the Gentiles is quite fundamental: “For so the Lord has commanded us.” That command is from a prophecy in Isaiah: “I have made you a light to the Gentiles, that you may be an instrument of salvation to the ends of the earth” (Isa 49:6). Already in Isaiah it is clear that Israel has a universal mission far beyond its own borders: to enlighten the Gentiles by spreading knowledge of the one true God over the whole earth. In Luke’s Gospel, the prophet Simeon applied this universal mission to Jesus: he is God’s “salvation . . . / in sight of all the peoples, / a light for revelation to the Gentiles, / and glory for your people Israel” (Luke 2:30–32). Now Paul and Barnabas claim the same mission for themselves. Once again, the Spirit-filled ministry of Jesus’ disciples is a continuation of what “Jesus began to do and teach” during his public ministry (Acts 1:1, literal translation).
The Gospel itself did not show how Simeon’s prophecy was fulfilled or how Jesus’ mission actually affected Gentiles beyond Israel. It is in Acts that Jesus’ mission to Gentiles is accomplished in what he does and teaches through his Spirit-filled disciples.
[13:48–49]
The response of the Gentiles on hearing this is most enthusiastic. They are delighted and glorify the word of the Lord. In contrast to some Jews who had just rejected the word of God and therefore showed themselves unworthy of eternal life (v. 46), the joy and praise of these Gentiles are signs that they belong among those who are destined for eternal life.
The Greek for “destined” literally means appointed or assigned, as in military ranks. The passive form here is the †divine passive, implying that God is the acting subject: God has appointed these Gentiles for eternal life. This does not contradict free will, for we have just seen others who rejected the message and thus showed themselves unworthy of the eternal life offered to them. These Gentiles, in contrast, came to believe, or simply “believed.” Luke shows the result with another summary of progress of the gospel: the word of the Lord, the good news about Christ (as in Acts 6:7; 12:24; 19:20), continues to spread through the whole region.
[13:50]
In reaction against Paul and Barnabas’s missionary success, the Jews . . . incited the women of prominence . . . and leading men of the city. Through these influential people, they stirred up a persecution, the culmination of which was that Paul and Barnabas were expelled . . . from their territory.
[13:51]
Paul and Barnabas are reliving the same pattern established in response to Jesus’ proclamation at Nazareth (Luke 4): an initial positive reaction followed by a mixed response and finally by violent expulsion. The missionaries here follow Jesus’ instructions to his disciples for occasions when their preaching is rejected: they shook the dust from their feet (Luke 9:5; 10:11) as a gesture of protest against them. Undeterred by rejection in one city, they simply proceed onward to the next, to Iconium.
[13:52]
Meanwhile, back in Antioch of Pisidia, the new disciples are filled with joy and the holy Spirit, signs of genuine conversion and Christian community, undiscouraged by the expulsion of Paul and Barnabas from their city.
Reflection and Application (13:44–52)
As Paul and Barnabas begin their mission, they follow in the footsteps of their Lord, Jesus, and embark on the same mission that God had already revealed to the prophet Isaiah some half a millennium before Christ. Like the Servant of the Lord in Isaiah, and like Jesus himself, Paul and Barnabas are commissioned not only “to raise up the tribes of Jacob, / and restore the survivors of Israel,” but also to be “a light to the nations, / that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth” (Isa 49:6). Already in the Old Testament, it is clear that God’s saving plan is not just for the chosen people but also for the reconciliation and salvation of the whole human race. The New Testament reveals how this universal saving plan is fulfilled as the Church carries out its mission to the world.
Nor does God’s plan end with the ministry of the apostles. Like Jesus’ early followers, we Christians today are called to witness to Christ wherever we are. God calls us to be his servants both to his chosen people, which now includes the Church, and also to people of all nations, ethnic groups, religions, and cultures, no matter how “primitive” or “advanced.” As Peter proclaims, the mediator and savior whom God chose for the whole human race is his Son Jesus: “There is no salvation through anyone else, nor is there any other name under heaven given to the human race by which we are to be saved” (Acts 4:12).
Just as Jesus himself and his first witnesses met opposition, persecution, and even death, so his witnesses today are promised no more than similar opposition, perhaps even to death. As God could use the suffering of Jesus (Luke 22–23; see Isa 52:13–53:12) to reconcile people to himself, he can also use any persecution we undergo for our witness to Jesus to help in the salvation even of our very persecutors. Like Jesus and his follower Stephen, we too may be called upon to pray, “Father, forgive them, they know not what they do.”
