THE BOOK OF ACTS. CHAPTER 13 OUTLINE AND COMMENTARY. MARK DUNAGAN I. OUTLINE OF CHAPTER 13: I. Barnabas and Saul are sent out: Acts 13:1 II. Barnabas and Saul in Cyprus: Acts 13:5-12 III. Barnabas and Saul in Pisidian Antioch: Acts 13:13-52"Luke has reached the. decisive turning point in his na... [ Continue Reading ]
"Now there were at Antioch" As noted in chapter 11, the city of Antioch was. very cosmopolitan city. It was situated geographically on some of the main travel and trade routes both by land and sea. The population of Antioch at this time was over half. million people. The church there had been establ... [ Continue Reading ]
"And fasting" Fasting was. completely voluntary practice and is unregulated as far as time is concerned; there are not set times or days for fasting. These men are busy serving God, and teaching others, and such fasting may also have been due to the fact that they were on the run and at times did no... [ Continue Reading ]
"When they had fasted and prayed and laid their hands on them" Seeing that Paul already was an apostle, this laying on of hands was not for the purpose of conferring spiritual gifts and neither was this some type of denominational "ordination" service. Rather, "this would be. solemn way of impressin... [ Continue Reading ]
"So, being sent out by the Holy Spirit" The Holy Spirit is the one who commanded this mission. This also tells us that the Holy Spirit would set the route. "The journey's now entered upon by Saul and Barnabas are the most momentous ever undertaken. They have shaped the history of the world" (Reese p... [ Continue Reading ]
"Salamis" This was the largest city on the island and was located on the SE part of Cyprus. With. few hours of favorable weather, Barnabas and Saul were now off to their journey. "In the synagogues of the Jews" What better place to start preaching, seeing that these people already believed in the tr... [ Continue Reading ]
Here we learn that they crossed the entire island going from town to town and synagogue to synagogue. The length of the entire island is about 150 miles and it is 100 miles from Salamis to Paphos. "Paphos" This city is located on the western end of the island and served as the Roman capital. "They f... [ Continue Reading ]
"Who was with" This false prophet had attached himself to. local Roman official. Since Bar-Jesus was Jewish, the proconsul may have assumed that he was. true prophet of Jehovah. Like many false prophets, Bar-Jesus coveted positions of influence and power. "The proconsul" "The island of Cyprus swung... [ Continue Reading ]
"But Elmas the magician (for so his name is translated)" The name Elymas is. Greek spelling of an Arabic word, that either means strong or wise. Elymas is. translation of the word "magician"; it is not. translation of the name Bar-Jesus. "Was opposing them" He clearly saw Barnabas and Saul as. threa... [ Continue Reading ]
"Saul, who was also known as Paul" This will be the last time in Acts that Luke will call the apostle by his name "Saul", save when reference is made to his previous life. Many people in the ancient word had two names, Saul would have been his Hebrew name (after King Saul in the Old Testament), and... [ Continue Reading ]
"You who are full of all deceit and fraud" The Holy Spirit immediately labels Elymas as. fake and. fraud. He was not full of miraculous powers and wisdom, rather he was full of deception and falsehood. "You son of the devil" He is not. son of salvation, rather he is. son of condemnation. He is doing... [ Continue Reading ]
"The hand of the Lord" God's power manifested in. punishment. "You will be blind... for. time" Note God's mercy. This blindness was temporary and was designed to put this false prophet out of commission and bring him to repentance. Yes, God even wants Elymas saved (2 Peter 3:9). "And immediately" Th... [ Continue Reading ]
"Then the proconsul believed" Which will include the acts of repentance, confession and baptism (Acts 8:12; Acts 11:21; Acts 16:34). "Being amazed at the teaching of the Lord" "The amazement may stem from the fact that they are surprised to find out that the Lord actually objects to the occult, and... [ Continue Reading ]
Notice that Paul is now mentioned first. Apparently, the Holy Spirit sees him as taking charge or exercising now the commission on which he was sent by Jesus, to be the apostle to the Gentiles (Acts 26:16). "Perga in Pamphylia" Perga was the capital city of the Roman province of Pamphylia, which is... [ Continue Reading ]
"Pisidian Antioch" It was called Pisidian Antioch to distinguish it from the Antioch in Syria. "There are extensive ruins in the spot today, testifying that Pisidian Antioch was. great city on the main route between Ephesus and Cilicia" (Reese p. 468). The city was originally built by Selecius. Nica... [ Continue Reading ]
Synagogue officials had the authority to conduct the services, and choose people to read. Scripture, offer. prayer, or deliver. sermon. "It was customary for synagogue rulers to invite visiting rabbis to speak. Someone may have heard that Paul was. former student of Gamaliel.... [ Continue Reading ]
"Motioning with his hand" Paul stands (Acts 17:22), and he uses gestures to summon the attention of the audience. "You who fear God" Probably this designation includes converts of Judaism. "Listen" Notice that paying attention is. choice. PAUL'S SERMON As you read this sermon be impressed with the... [ Continue Reading ]
God choose Israel as His particular people (Deuteronomy 7:6), multiplied Israel while in Egyptian bondage (Exodus 2:7), and brought them out of Egypt by great manifestations of His power, including all the plagues and the parting of the Red Sea. Acts 13:18 God "put up with" the complaining, unbelie... [ Continue Reading ]
God subdued seven nations in the book of Joshua, the Hittites, Girgashites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites, and the Jebusites (Joshua 2:10; Nehemiah 9:8). After this the land was then divided (Joshua Chapter s 14-15). "About four hundred and fifty years" The dividing of the land did not t... [ Continue Reading ]
Samuel was the last of the Judges and the first in. long line of prophets.... [ Continue Reading ]
"In the process of asking for. king like the nations round about them, the Jews were rebelling against God's order of government (1 Samuel 2:5; Hosea 2:10). Still, God had foreseen this (Deuteronomy 17:14), and it had been predicted that they would have. king" (Reese p. 473). Acts 13:21 King Saul wa... [ Continue Reading ]
God removed Saul from being king because he rebelled (1 Samuel 2:8), and raised up David (1 Samuel 2:1 ff). "I have found David the son of Jesse,. man after My heart, who will do all My will" In contrast to Saul, the characteristic of David would be obedience (1 Kings 2:8; Psalms 89:20; 1 Samuel 2:1... [ Continue Reading ]
Paul quickly moves from David, to one of David's descendants, Jesus, who he declares to be the promised Messiah. Notice that Israel needed. Savior.... [ Continue Reading ]
The work of John the Baptist, which involved preparing the people to accept the coming Savior is mentioned here. "Paul uses the very terms found in the Gospel accounts of the Baptist's preaching (Matthew 3:11)" (Reese p. 475).... [ Continue Reading ]
See John 1:21; Matthew 3:11. John made it clear that he was not the Christ, but he had predicted the coming of Jesus. "Paul is now able to follow the Baptist's example and direct his hearers attention to the same Jesus" (Stott p. 223). The words of John the Baptist confirm two truths, first that the... [ Continue Reading ]
Salvation is based in Jesus and Paul has this message and can tell people what to do to be saved.... [ Continue Reading ]
Even though the prophecies concerning the Messiah are read continually (passages such as Psalms 22:1; Psalms 69:1 and Isaiah 2:1), the Jewish rulers ignored these predictions, just like they ignored the testimony of John the Baptist. Not only did John predict Jesus, but the prophets also predicted t... [ Continue Reading ]
They found no ground for condemning Jesus even though they hired false witnesses. "It was not because they didn't try that the Jewish religious leaders could find no crime. They employed Judas to be. traitor, they bribed false witnesses, they held. preliminary trial in hopes that Jesus would utter s... [ Continue Reading ]
Jesus suffered and died just as the Old Testament had predicted that the Messiah would.... [ Continue Reading ]
In spite of what men did, God raised Him from the dead. "That God raised Him is seen as evidence that He approved of Jesus' sacrifice for sins, and is setting Him out in. conspicuous way for all men to consider and obey" (Reese p. 478).... [ Continue Reading ]
And many people actually saw the resurrected Jesus (1 Corinthians 151 ff). While Paul was preaching in Antioch the other "witnesses" were preaching elsewhere.... [ Continue Reading ]
This is the thing promised to the fathers (Abraham, Isaac and Jacob), the coming of the Messiah, the one who would bless all nations. The death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ is the fulfillment of the promise made to the fathers. Notice that the promise that the apostles mention is not the... [ Continue Reading ]
What Paul calls the "second Psalm" is actually the second Psalm! "Thou are My Son; today. have begotten You" Psalms 2:7. From verse 34 it is clear that the "day" and the "begetting" under consideration is the day Jesus was raised from the day. Remember, Jesus is divine, and thus He was never "begott... [ Continue Reading ]
"I will give you the holy and sure blessings of David" This is. quotation from the Greek rendering of Isaiah 2:3. Remember, God had also promised David that one of his descendants would sit upon his throne forever (2 Samuel 2:13). Notice in the context of Isaiah 2:1. the faithful mercies shown to Da... [ Continue Reading ]
Acts 13:35-37 Peter had quoted the same Psalm (16) and made. similar application in Acts 2:27. Notice that Peter and Paul taught the same gospel and the same truths. "Served the purpose of God in his own generation" "One of the contrasts between David and Christ is stated in this verse. David's serv... [ Continue Reading ]
Forgiveness of sins is obviously only through Jesus because He is the only Savior (Acts 4:12). Forgiveness is in Christ, but one is not into Christ until they are baptized (Galatians 3:26).... [ Continue Reading ]
In Christ one is freed or justified from all things (all sins), this the Law of Moses could not accomplish, because the sacrificial system in the Law could not remove sin (Hebrews 10:1 ff). The inference is clear that the Law of Moses has been removed. It was the purpose of the Law to bring the Jews... [ Continue Reading ]
Yet great blessings bring an equal condemnation upon those who reject these blessings. "The reason Paul did not, like Peter, urge his hearers to repent and be baptized, that they might be in Christ and enjoy the remission of their sins, was because, as we shall see below, he saw that they were not p... [ Continue Reading ]
This is. quotation from Habakkuk 2:5. The point from the passage is that if men scoff and refuse to obey when God visits them, they will certainly perish. "The thing about which Habakkuk spoke was the invasion by the Chaldeans. God has. hand in history, and used the Chaldeans as an instrument of jud... [ Continue Reading ]
Yet many in the synagogue want them to come back and preach again. week later.... [ Continue Reading ]
During that week Paul and Barnabas urged those who appeared to be receptive to continue in God's favor. that is to continue to listen and believe. "Keep on believing, that they may remain in the sphere of God's favor" (Reese p. 486).... [ Continue Reading ]
An extremely large crowd shows up on the next Sabbath. Acts 13:45 "No such overflow crowds came to the synagogue when the Jewish teachers were the speakers" (Reese p. 487). Sadly these men were more interested in human praise than in. love for the truth. They immediately try to undermine Paul's prea... [ Continue Reading ]
The gospel was to the Jews first, but seeing that they repudiated it, and judged themselves unworthy of eternal life, Paul would start preaching to the Gentiles. "Judge yourselves unworthy of eternal life" "By their conduct they had condemned themselves" (Reese p. 488). Notice that this is. judgment... [ Continue Reading ]
Even the Old Testament had predicted preaching and salvation being brought to the Gentiles (Isaiah 2:6). Once again note who has Scripture on their side! "The aged Simon, who had been promised he would see the Messiah before he died, quoted this same passage as he held the infant Jesus in his arms ... [ Continue Reading ]
The Gentiles in the audience immediately embrace such good news. They want salvation! "Glorifying the word of the Lord" That is, they praised the Scriptures for the wisdom and mercy in bringing salvation to all men. "Salvation is possible through Jesus to everyone who obeys Him? Now, that's what we... [ Continue Reading ]
Remember, this is the southern Galatian region.... [ Continue Reading ]
Unfortunately the unbelieving Jews found some powerful allies in influential men and women. Compare this with 2 Timothy 3:10.... [ Continue Reading ]
There are times to just shake off the dust of your feet (Luke 9:5) and move on. Iconium was located about 80 miles from Pisidian Antioch. This city is called Konya on modern maps.... [ Continue Reading ]
The unbelieving Jews and others could kick the preachers out of town but they could not get rid of the gospel message or the joy in the hearts of the new converts. "With the Holy Spirit" Before Paul left he imparted various spiritual gifts to the members of this new congregation. Paul would write ba... [ Continue Reading ]