THE CHOOSING OF SAUL AND BARNABAS

The rest of the book of Acts is dominated by the three missionary journeys of Paul. It will also describe his arrest, imprisonment, and journey to Rome. 

VERSES 1-4 "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. {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. {3}And 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 Ghost, departed unto Seleucia; and from thence they sailed to Cyprus."

A. "Now there were in the church that was at Antioch certain prophets and teachers..."

1. Theses were the prominent workers in the Antioch church at the time. Luke does not tell us who were the prophets and who were the teachers. It is certain that there was some difference between the offices. See Ephesians 4:11. If a supposition is correct that many have concerning Ephesians 4:11, i.e. that the teaching and prophetic office are mentioned interchangeably, then the eldership of the Antioch church might be among this group of men. 

2. Who were these men? 

a. Symeon that was called "Niger," i.e. Symeon who was called "black." There is no need to immediately conclude that Symeon was a Negro. There are many men who because of their dark hair or complexion are called "Ablack." 

b. "Lucius of Cyrene" must have been one of the first to come to Antioch as we read in 11:20 that men from this city of northern Africa were the first to preach Christ in Antioch. 

c. "Manaen, which had been brought up with Herod the Tetrarch;" this was Herod Antipas, the Tetrarch of Galilee; and since we learn from Josephus that this Herod and his brother A.rchelaus were children of the same mother, ad afterward educated together at Rome, it is probable that this Christian prophet or teacher had spent his childhood with these two princes, who were now both banished from Palestine to the banks of the Rhine. 

d. Barnabas was sent by the Apostles to investigate the work at Antioch and stayed. It is certian that he remained with the approval and blessing of the Apostles in Jerusalem. 

e. Saul was mentioned last, having not stepped to the forefront as he later did.

B. "As they ministered to the Lord, and fasted, the Holy Ghost said..." 

1. It is quite likely that the leadership of the church was gathered together to seek guidance from the Lord when the Holy Spirit directly communicated to this group of spirit gift possessing brethren. 

2. Notice that the Holy Spirit was not an extension of the Father. He was not a thing, but a person, possessing the ability to speak. See also 1 Timothy 4:1 

3. What did the Spirit desire? He wanted Saul and Barnabas selected from among them for a special work. After further fasting and prayer, they laid their hands on them. This is not to be confused with the laying on of the Apostles hands, which would give spiritual gifts. This intended as a form of commission and to show their blessing. 

4. Sometime soon after that Saul and Barnabas went to Seleucia, Antioch's seaport and depart for the first leg of their journey, Cyprus. This was Barnabas' home. 

 

A. "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." 

1. Saul and Barnabas naturally began their preaching work in the many synogogues in Salamis, on the eastern coast of Cyprus. There was a sizeable population of Jews there. We are not told if there were many converts to Christianity at Salamis. John Mark, Barnabas' cousin, was to accompany them on the journey.

B. "And when they had gone through the isle unto Paphos, they found a certain sorcerer, a false prophet, a Jew, whose name was Barjesus..."

1. Saul and Barnabas likely preached their way across the island, eventually arriving at Paphos, on the western coast of Cyprus. It was the capitol of Cyprus. 

2. Notice that difficulties and opportunities often go hand in hand. Because of the influence of a certain false teacher named Barjesus, the governor of the island, Sergius Paulus, would be interested in the message of other Jews, Saul and Barnabas. 

a. Barjesus was a sorcerer, just as Simon in chapter eight. 

b. Sergius Paulus was the procounsel (NASV) of Cyprus. Cyprus was a Senatorial province ruled by a procounsel appointed by the Roman Senate.

3. It was also because of the opposition of Barjesus that Saul was able to impress Sergius Paul with the truthfulness of the Gospel. 

4. Paulus had a great deal of wisdom and spiritual understanding. He was much like Cornelius, seeking after the Lord. 

5. Barjesus sought to persuade Paulus to reject the message of Paul. Paul, when he heard the Sorcerer=s wicked words, struck him with blindness. This would not be a permanent condition, but would only last for a season. 

6. This, as with other miracles in the New Testament, engendered faith in the gospel message (Mark 16:17-20). The word believe should be assumed as simply meaning that they became Christians. To those who would state that this does not say that he was baptized we might also add that it does not say that they repented either. Faith is spoken of as being synonimous with obedience (Romans 16:26). 

7. It is also significant to note that that Saul was called Paul for the first time in this chapter. This was his Greek name and the one which he would be called by in the rest of the New Testament. 

 

A. "Now when Paul and his company loosed from Paphos, they came to Perga in Pamphylia..." 

1. The town of Perga is located some few miles up from the coast of Asia Minor in the province of Pamphylia. From this place we find John Mark leaving. He sailed from here back to his home in Jerusalem. This incident displeased Paul intensely and formed the basis for a disagreement between him and Barnabas at a later time. (15:37-40).

B. "But when they departed from Perga, they came to Antioch in Pisidia, and went into the synagogue on the sabbath day, and sat down." 

1. After leaving Perga on the coast of Asia Minor (present day Turkey) they proceeded north toward the interior into the province of Galatia. Antioch in Pisidia was one of the principle cities of the area but should not be confused with the great metropolitan city of Antioch, where Barnabas and Paul began their journey. 

2. It was here that we see a pattern that will be repeated during the preaching during the first missionary journey. Paul and Barnabas would attend the Sabbath services and preach the Gospel to the Jews there. 

3. It was customary for visiting Jews to be asked to speak after the reading. Not only would they preach but would possibly give some word concering the conditions in Jerusalem. 

 

VERSES 16-22 AThen Paul stood up, and beckoning with his hand said, Men of Israel, and ye that fear God, give audience. {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. {18}And about the time of forty years suffered he their manners in the wilderness. {19}And when he had destroyed seven nations in the land of Chanaan, he divided their land to them by lot. {20}And after that he gave unto them judges about the space of four hundred and fifty years, until Samuel the prophet. {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. {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.
 
 

A. The purpose of the sermon.

1. Paul set out to prove that Jesus was the Messiah, using the Old Testament Scriptures. 

2. This was the same method used by Peter in both chapters two and three.

B. "Men of Israel, and ye that fear God, give audience." 

1. Paul was addressing both Jew and those Gentiles who would gather just outside the Synagogue to hear the preaching and teaching of the Old Testament. 

2. This group, called "God fearers", believed in the the one God of the Old Testament but would not prosylite to the Jewish faith. There were thousands of these searcher of truth. They were a fertile ground for the preaching of the gospel. 

3. The gospel would alllow them access to the heavenly Father and still let them remain Gentiles.

C. "The God of this people of Israel chose our fathers..." 

1. The next several verses serve as an introduction to the rest of the sermon. 

2. Paul traces the history of the Jews from the coming out of Egypt through the placing of David on the throne of Israel. David will allow Paul to enter the main part of his lesson, proving that Jesus is the Messiah. 

3. God called David a man after His own heart, because David sought to fulfill God's will.

4. The idea of David fulfilling all of God's will has to be understood in the messianic context, as the Jews of Paul's day understood. The next passage will confirm this. 

 

The Main Points of Paul's Sermon
 
 

A. Jesus, of the seed of David, was the fulfillment of God's promise to David concerning the messiah (verse 23). 

1. See 2 Samuel 7:12-13

B. The testimony of John and the prophets (verses 24-27) . 

1. John said concerning Jesus - 

a. Jesus is the lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world (John 1:29). 

b. Jesus would baptize with the Holy Spirit (John 1:33). 

c. Jesus was the Bridegroom (John 3:29). 

d. Jesus came from above (John 3:31). 

e. Jesus was sent by God and spoke God=s words (John 3:33).

2. It is likely that John was well respected by the Jews in Asia Minor. We will learn later that John had disciples scattered through Asia (Acts 19:1). 

3. The testimony of the prophets. 

a. It is possible that Paul paused here and recited some of the evidence of the prophets. He could have cited the fact that the Messiah was to born of a virgin, in Bethlehem, come up out of Egypt, suffer a vicarious death, be buried in a borrow tomb, etc. All of these were fulfilled to the letter by Jesus.

C. The testimony of the resurrection. (verses 28-34) 

1. Any student of the Law with an open mind, could read Isaian 53 and see the prophecies of the suffering savior. The Ethiopian treasurer was reading this portion of Scripture when Philip met him. It was where Philip began when seeking to prove the Jesus was from God.

2. There were witnesses of the resurrection, among whom was Paul. It is possible that Paul used the pronoun we to signify that both of them, Paul and Barnabas, were eyewitnesses of Jesus= resurrection. Jesus appeared to upwards of 500 brethren at one time (1 Corinthians 15:6). It is very possible that Barnabas was among that 500. 

3. There was the testimony of the Psalms (verses 35-37). 

a. Psalm 2 

b. Psalm 16:10 - Paul uses the same arguement that Peter does with this verse. Since David's body has decayed and is still in the tomb, it must refer to another, David's "other son" (i.e. offspring) the Messiah. 

c. The one raised up to see no corruption must be Jesus, the son of David.

D. The Conclusion of the Sermon. (Verses 38-41) 

1. Forgiveness of sins comes through Jesus. 

a. Cleansing from past sins comes through the blood of Jesus. See also Ephesians 1:7 and Colossians 1:14.

2. Justification comes through Jesus, and the Law of Moses could never provide this. 

a. This is the whole thrust of Paul's teaching throughout the books of Romans and Galatians. Christ provides justification that no one could receive through the Law. The Law could not hope to do this (and was not intended for it) because there was no vehicle incorporated in it for the forgiveness of sins. 

b. Justification is a legal term which means "to render just or innocent." Jesus provides the means by which we can stand before the judgement bar of God and stand innocent. 

c. Belief here is a synecdoche ("the part standing for the whole") for the whole plan of salvation. Compare also Romans 1:16 and Mark 16:16.

3. The great danger of rejecting Jesus, as spoken by the prophets. 

a. Undoubtidly, Paul saw something in the reaction of the assembly that would leave him to believe that part of them would reject the message. He uses this opportunity to sound a warning to those of the assembly who had rejected him to remember what the prophets said about rejecting the Lord. 

b. He quotes Habakkuk 1:5 and applies it to his day. When an inspired writer makes an application of an Old Testament verse we cannot deny that it has been properly applied. Habakkuk was likely speaking in a dual sense, prophesying for his day and for the messianiac age. Since Habakkuk was speaking of the Chaldeans and their destruction of Judah, it is possible that Paul's warning might imply a warning concerning the coming judgement of the nation of Judah (the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans) for rejecting the messiah. 

 

A. "And when the Jews were gone out of the synagogue, the Gentiles besought that these words might be preached to them the next sabbath."

1. When the service was finished, Paul and Barnabas was crowded by those Gentiles who had heard the lesson from outside the Synagogue. 

2. They immediately understood the joyous nature of Paul's preaching. Jesus was the fulfillment of all they had heard from the Law of Moses, and had brought something that the Law could not, forgiveness of sins.

B. "Now when the congregation was broken up, many of the Jews and religious proselytes followed Paul and Barnabas: who, speaking to them, persuaded them to continue in the grace of God."

1. The text here implies that Paul and Barnabas left before the conclusion of the lesson. It is possible, although I consider it unlikely. What is more likely is that the Gentiles swarmed around Paul and Barnabas, begging them to preach again on the following Sabbath. 

2. Paul's message was not with positive response from many of the Jews and proselytes in the assembly. They too, approach Paul and Barnabas and extended a formal invitation to them to return to preach again on the following Sabbath. 

3. One reason why they seemed to be a little slower in approaching Paul and Barnabas might have been that they would have had to consult with the elders of the congregation before extending such an invitation. 

 

A. "And the next sabbath day came almost the whole city together to hear the word of God." 

1. Word had travelled over the entire length and breath of the city during the week. One the next Sabbath a large crowd was there to hear the preaching of the Word. 

2. What was Paul and Barnabas doing during the week leading up to this second Sabbath in Antioch. There can be little doubt that they used the week to work publicly and privately with those whom they came in contact with on the first Sabbath. See also Acts 20:18-21.

B. "But when the Jews saw the multitudes, they were filled with envy..."

1. The turnout of such a large crowd was more than the leadership of the Jews could stand. They were jealous that they could not spark such interest in their doctrine. 

2. It probably made it even worse for the great crowd to be Gentile. They could never hope to draw such an assembly through the Law of Moses. 

3. Blaspheming here seems to suggest that they did not limit themselves with attacking Paul and Barnabas= message, but attacked them and spoke evil things as well. This is often the method of those who cannot successfully counter a logical argument. They attack the messenger. 

 

A. "Then Paul and Barnabas waxed bold, and said..." 

1. Instead of being intimidated by the harsh opposition of the unbelieving Jews, Paul and Barnabas became even more bold in their desire to spread the Word. 

a. We should be bold for the Lord, instead of afraid of what others might think of us. See Philippians 1:20-21.

2. It was God's wish that the the gospel first be offered to his chosen people throughout the Old Testament period. See Isaiah 2:2-3; Luke 24:47; Romans 1:16. 

a. This did not mean that Gentiles would never be given the opportunity of being part of the body of Christ. They already had with the conversion of Cornelius. But the early preaching of the Apostles would begin with the Jews. They would have first opportunity to hear the blessed gospel.

3. The had judged themselves "unworthy" in that they had shown that they were hardhearted to clear truth were prejudiced against anything that would not fit their own notions of how God should act.

B. AFor so hath the Lord commanded us, saying, I have set thee to be a light of the Gentiles, that thou shouldest be for salvation unto the ends of the earth." 

1. The Old Testament taught that God would extend His salvation to the Gentiles through the Jews. This was one part of the Old Testament that these wicked leaders had forgotten, or chosen to forget.

2. See Isaiah 49:6. Also Hosea 1:10; 2:23; Isaiah 65:1-2. 

 

A. "And when the Gentiles heard this, they were glad, and glorified the word of the Lord" 

1. As angry as the wicked Jews would become, the Gentiles were joyous. 

2. Up to this time the Jews discouraged Gentile belief in Jehovah, requiring a complete cutting off from Gentile society for the Gentile prosylyte. There were large number of Gentiles who believed in Jehovah but were unwilling to be shackled by the weight of the Old Law. These were the fertile ground for the next phase of growth in the early church.

B. Aand as many as were ordained to eternal life believed." 

1. Should be rendered, disposed to eternal life. It plainly refers to the eager predisposition just above mention-ed in the heart of many of these Gentiles on learning that old prophecy proclaims a Messiah for them. As many as were so inclined to the eternal life now offered committed themselves by faith to the blessed Jesus. 

2. This does not support the Calvinist belief that God calls whomever he chooses regardless of the their desires. 

3. If all whom God desired to be saved were saved at this point, why did Paul and Barnabas continue their work in the area, as verse 49 tells us.

C. AAnd the word of the Lord was published throughout all the region." 

1. As a result of this new emphasis in their preaching, Paul and Barnabas had great success in teaching the lost Gentiles. 

 

A. "But the Jews stirred up the devout and honourable women..." 

1. The leaders of the synagogue influenced some of the women of great influence, possibly wives of city officials, to take their side. 

2. As a result, Paul and Barnabas were expelled from the city of Pisidia.

B. "But they shook off the dust of their feet against them, and came unto Iconium." 

1. This would come from when the disciples would be run out of an area for preaching the word. Because they were likely in haste, they would get dirt and dust in their sandals. It would be natural to stop when they were safely away, take off their sandals, and shake the dust out of them. 

2. It also took on a symbolic action. It was saying that these individuals had their opportunity to hear the Gospel and they cruelly rejected it. Any judgement from God would be on their heads and not the disciples. 

3. See also Luke 9:5. 

4. Paul and Barnabas were not detered from preaching. They simply went to the next town.

C. "And the disciples were filled with joy, and with the Holy Ghost." 

1. The opposition of the Jews did not prevent the beginning of a congregation of God's people in Antioch of Pisidia. 

2. These disciples rejoiced in their new freedom in Christ. 

Copyright 1999 by Grady Scott may be reproducted for non-commercial purposes at no cost to others.