Points that standout to me in ACTS 13.
The Apostle Paul is truly the most notable Apostle as documented in the Bible largely responsible to the Evangelism outside of the Jewish community. The Apostle Peter, who we recall last week with his meeting of Cornelius, was still primarily used by God to help bring the Jews to Christ, though God sought to correct Peter’s understanding of who is to be saved by the Grace of the Lord Jesus Christ.
One of the difficulties new converts had with getting started as followers of Christ was the significant influence of the establishment Jews who, even though they proclaimed Christ, were still trying to persuade converts to follow all the Mosaic laws, you know, though many things that the religious jews built their self-righteous lives on and drove them to put the Messiah to death for.
If you have the Holy Spirit working in your life, there will be a continual dismantling of all the dung you thought was a golden calf. God is in the business of pulverizing all the useless drool you thought were important, things that should never be placed to complete for the worship Holy God. Any worldly thing can be used as a weapon of Satan to block your finite ability of be more aware of the Holiness of God. Why? You will be hindered to be convicted to the depth of your depravity, hence the true need for absolute trust in the Savior.
It was good and necessary for God to emphasize that what Peter had once believed was unclean was actually a stumbling block to new converts. Peter needed that un-Godly prejudice to be torn down in order to see the mission clearly.
Paul comes from the other extreme. Not a fisherman but a young intellect cultivated in the community of privileged religious leaders. He was a zealous persecutor of the Christians, but once confronted by Christ on the Road to Damascus, his self-righteous pride came falling down like a 2000 pound bomb into the pavement. God made him see his former errors and Paul, like Peter, he spent the rest of his life living in powerful service to the Lord and Savior, even unto death.
Granted, I do not know much about Barnabas that I can write offhand, and so I will not be writing in any detail, but will leave it to the passage to introduce you to one of Paul’s first partners in ministry.
You and I have a long ways to go but we should never take for granted the many blessings from God.
My on-the-fly commentary is interspersed in italics. My unintentional typos are part of my reality of hammering out an article without AI amidst a busy schedule. If you are seeking the truth of the Gospel, I am simply inviting you to join me for my informal ride. The essential messages are repeated, All glory to God alone and Jesus IS Lord! Amen.
ACTS 13 1:1-3 INTRO
Now there were at Antioch, in the church that was there, prophets and teachers: Barnabas, and Simeon who was called Niger, and Lucius of Cyrene, and Manaen who had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch, and Saul. 2 And while they were ministering to the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for Me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” 3 Then, when they had fasted and prayed and laid their hands on them, they sent them away.
(In the early days of the Church, the Holy Spirit worked in powerful and direct ways. People nowadays reading these accounts are sometimes cynically wondering why the Spirit does not speak so clearly to very believer. As finite minded sinners, we often need to step back to consider the God’s ways are perfect and difficult to understand because of the dimensional differencesthat exist. In humility, believers begin to grasp the necessary of asking themselves what truths do the ways of God we do not understand fit in to the actions or inactions of a God who is Holy, Righteous, Just and the source of perfect love, when we are none of those.
I believe that God’s purposes were served by working powerfully in this community of people to help establish the Church. The Apostle Paul’s background, education, nurtured in the highest traditions of the Jewish religion, the study of the Holy Scriptures and zeal of God, as well as being a Roman Citizen were all used by God to serve in growing the Church, especially to the Gentiles. However, being convicted of his persecution Christians sent him to incomparable humility and contrition, but also powerful gratitude to a merciful and loving God. That should give you hope).
ACTS 13: 4-12 On Cyprus
4 So, being sent out by the Holy Spirit, they went down to Seleucia and from there they sailed to Cyprus. 5 And when they reached Salamis, they began to proclaim the word of God in the synagogues of the Jews, and they also had John as their helper. 6 And when they had gone through the whole island as far as Paphos, they found a magician, a Jewish false prophet whose name was Bar-Jesus, 7 who was with the proconsul, Sergius Paulus, a man of intelligence. This man summoned Barnabas and Saul and sought to hear the word of God. 8 But Elymas the magician (for so his name is translated) was opposing them, seeking to turn the proconsul away from the faith.9 But Saul, who was also known as Paul, [a]filled with the Holy Spirit, fixed his gaze on him, 10 and said, “You who are full of all deceit and fraud, you son of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness, will you not cease to make crooked the straight ways of the [b]Lord? 11 Now, behold, the hand of the [c]Lord is upon you, and you will be blind and not see the sun for a time.” And immediately a mist and a darkness fell upon him, and he went about seeking those who would lead him by the hand. 12 Then the proconsul believed when he saw what had happened, being astonished at the teaching of the Lord.
(Included in the extra powers provided by the Holy Psirit was the ability to cast out and curse demons. Demons are part of the fallen angel network, the 1/3 of heavenly beings who were cast down with Satan. Many of the religions other than the true relationship with God through Jesus Christ are demonic. Satan’s purpose and therefore his demons, are to mislead humanity by showing other way to “heaven” than the true and only way – by Faith only in the Grace of God through Jesus Christ’s death and Resurrection).
ACTS 13:13-25 In Pisidian Antioch
13 Now after Paul and his companions set sail from Paphos, they came to Perga in Pamphylia, but John left them and returned to Jerusalem. 14 But going on from Perga, they arrived at Pisidian Antioch. And on the Sabbath day, they went into the synagogue and sat down. 15 And after the reading of the Law and the Prophets the synagogue officials sent to them, saying, “Brothers, if you have any word of exhortation for the people, say it.” 16 So Paul stood up, and motioning with his hand said,
“Men of Israel, and you who fear God, listen: 17 The God of this people Israel chose our fathers and [d]lifted up the people during their stay in the land of Egypt, and with an uplifted arm He led them out from it. 18 And for a period of about forty years He put up with them in the wilderness. 19 And when He destroyed seven nations in the land of Canaan, He distributed their land as an inheritance—all of which took about 450 years. 20 After these things He gave themjudges until Samuel the prophet. 21 Then they asked for a king, and God gave them Saul the son of Kish, a man of the tribe of Benjamin, for forty years. 22 And after He had removed him, He raised up David to be their king, about whom He also said, bearing witness, ‘I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after My heart, who will do all My [e]will.’ 23 From the seed of this man, according to promise, God has brought to Israel a Savior, Jesus, 24 after John had preached before [f]His coming a baptism of repentance to all the people of Israel. 25 And as John was fulfilling his course, he kept saying, ‘What do you suppose that I am? I am not He. But behold, one is coming after me of whom I am not worthy to untie the sandals of His feet.’
(Many people ignorantly ridicule the Bible as bunch of drunk sheepherders drumming up sea stories. Such remarkably ignorant non-sense. This passage explains how Paul played out a general history of the Jewish people beginning with the people who were liberated from slavery in Egypt. This is yet another example of Old Testament credibility, the truth that was generally known to all Jews who studied the Scriptures. More reinforcement to the credibility of ACTS in general is that the author of ACTS is none other than than Dr. Luke, who penned the Gospel of Luke. Luke and his writing have been lauded by believing and non-believing historians in the remarkable details and historical correlation given in his accounts. Keep in mind, before the gospel Age and the beginning of the Church of Jesus Christ, most information was communicated by word of mouth, the oral traditions There was an exigent effort by many of the eye-witnesses to document the life and Resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ, as the eye-witnesses began to die off either naturally or by persecution.
Those experienced the reality of Jesus rising from a certain and highly evidenced death by crucifixion were driven to encourage and support bonafide Apostolic writing for the educating of the Church. in the ways and teachings of Christ and as well as the missionary events and efforts of the Apostles. In this passage, Paul recounts the ministry of John the Baptist, the “baptism of repentance” and humility of John to the long awaited Messiah who was about to arrive.).
26 “Brothers, sons of Abraham’s family, and those among you who fear God, to us the word of this salvation was sent. 27 For those who live in Jerusalem, and their rulers, recognizing neither Him nor the [g]utterances of the prophets which are read every Sabbath, fulfilled them by condemning Him. 28 And though they found no ground for death, they asked Pilate that He be [h]executed. 29 And when they had finished all that was written concerning Him, they took Him down from the tree and laid Him in a tomb. 30 But God raised Him from the dead; 31 and for many days He appeared to those who came up with Him from Galilee to Jerusalem, the very ones who are now His witnesses to the people. 32 And we proclaim to you the good news of the promise made to the fathers, 33 that God has fulfilled this promise [i]to our children in that He raised up Jesus, as it is also written in the second Psalm, ‘You are My Son; today I have begotten You.’ 34 But that He raised Him up from the dead, no longer to return to corruption, He has spoken in this way: ‘I will give you the holy and [j]faithful lovingkindnesses of David.’35 Therefore He also says in another Psalm, ‘You will not give Your[k]Holy One over to see corruption.’ 36 For David, after he had [l]served the purpose of God in his own generation, fell asleep and was laid among his fathers and saw corruption; 37 but He whom God raised did not see corruption. 38 Therefore let it be known to you, brothers, that through [m]Him forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you, 39 and that in Him, everyone who believes is justified from all things which you could not be justified from [n]through the Law of Moses. 40 Therefore watch out, so that the thing spoken of in the Prophets may not come upon you:
Again, doesn’t sound like a bunch of drunk cavemen coming up with some wild sea stories. the Bible’s accounts of Jesus Christ is a compilation of eye witness accounts, or by believers who intimately knew eye-witnesses. These writings were written in the presence of people who were eye-witnesses who could have refuted the accounts if they were false. These are historically and archeologically supported clams.
The Gospel account and especially the suffering and agonizating death of Jesus Christ was prophecies in the Old Testament. Clearly showing that Jesus is the Messiah who would be betrayed by his own people. The prophetic details, man of details that were revealed over 400 to 700 years before Christ was born give remarkable credibility to the truth that the Bible is a supernaturally authored book that spans a 1600 year period, with over 40 authors who lived in different continents. This is incomparable to any other literature in the history of humankind..
Paul emphasizes the key message of repentance that leads to salvation through the work of Jesus Christ. In the Old Testament God promises to defeat death, which was the penalty for the Fall into Sin. In the New Testament, through the Gospel of Jesus Christ, God explains how He has done it.
When you are not a believer, the truth is hidden from your mind but when the truth is revealed, it’s easy to see how it is utterly insane for people to disregard the miracle throughout history that has brought the Bible through the Ages for us to now be able to discover God in reality and not in mere imaginary terms which can easily lead to idolatry, another hook on the wide path to destruction..
41 ‘Look, you scoffers, and marvel, and [o]perish;
For I am accomplishing a work in your days,
A work which you will never believe, though someone should recount it to you.’”
42 And as [p]Paul and Barnabas were leaving, the people kept pleading that these words might be spoken to them the next Sabbath. 43 Now when the meeting of the synagogue had broken up, many of the Jews and of the God-fearing [q]proselytes followed Paul and Barnabas, who, speaking to them, were urging them to continue in the grace of God.
COMMENTARY CONTINUED
In Psalm 1;1 and other passages in Scripture mentions “scoffers.”
How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, Nor stand in the way of sinners, Nor sit in the seat of scoffers!.
How many people have scoffed at the mere mention of the Bible. Jesus performed many works of God, miracles, healing, but many people did not believe and even scoffed at him, though no one had performed miracles for over hundreds of years. Merely considering Jesus a prophet is missing the mark entirely, though the signs (miracles and healings) were still pointing towards Jesus being man of God.There is a deep animosity towards God for many reasons. It’s one of the reason why it is so easy for many people for use God’s and Jesus’s name in profane dishonoring manners, that’s called blaspheming punishable by death in the Old Testament. Is it any surprise that someone will not understand the need for the Gospel from me (who expects no subsidies for this humble work from anyone) or anyone else famous or not. The masses even mocked God himself when He came to save the world.
But as the ACTS 13 passage recounts, many people feared God and were thirsting to know more about God through teachers. When leaders in the church refuse to be warned by the words, instructions and commands of Jesus Himself, they proceed to draw others away from the truth of Christ and the narrow and only Way, the Lord represents.
Passages about the need for Grace
4 But when the kindness and affection of God our Savior appeared,5 He saved us, not by works which we did in righteousness, but according to His mercy, through the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit, 6 whom He poured out upon us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior… – Titus 3:4-6
14 and the grace of our Lord was more than abundant, with the faith and love which are in Christ Jesus. 15 It is a trustworthy saying and deserving full acceptance: that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, among whom I am foremost. 16 Yet for this reason I was shown mercy, so that in me as the foremost, Christ Jesus might demonstrate all His patience as an example for those [a]who are going to believe upon Him for eternal life. 1-Timothy 1:14-16
Jesus said Himself, in Luke, 31 And Jesus answered and said to them, “It is not those who are well who need a physician, but those who are sick. 32 I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance.” – Luke 5:31-33
18 And a ruler questioned Him, saying, “Good Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” 19 And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good except God alone. – Luke 18:18-20. There is none good but God. Do you think this young ruler knew he was addressing God Himself? If the ruler knew, he would have fell to his feet at that moment, wouldn’t you have, if you knew you stood before God? You would fall before no other.
Paul, in his own writing, to the Romans
There is none who understands,
There is none who seeks for God;
12 All have turned aside, together they have become worthless;
There is none who does good,
There is not even one.”
13 “Their throat is an open tomb,
With their tongues they keep deceiving,”
“The poison of asps is under their lips”; – Romans 3:11-13
When you on on the breach of understanding God’s holiness and righteousness and his rightful seat of judgment on humanity, then in a new light, you will see his love, mercy and grace, none of which we deserve. Will you then understand the power of these Scriptures? If you allow the world in all its secular and satanic ways of entangling you to keep you latched to the broad path to destruction, you may never get to that spiritual precipice or the deep valley covered by the shadow of death until its too late.
In the following passage, as the end of ACTS 13 shows, the beautiful gladness and joy experience by the predominately Gentile crowds at the hearing of the Gospel. God has always meant the Good News for all sinners and that all Glory goes to God, because He is worthy all honor and glory. That which we cannot achieve on our own by any scale, Salvation must be arrived at bybeing born-again, a faith which is a gift from God and not to be confused by what the Religious Jews of the day, or of the multitude of any religious followers who have not come to God by faith, like many examples in the Old Testament, or now who must accept the truth and grace of Jesus Christ.
ACTS 13: Many Gentiles Believe
44 And the next Sabbath, nearly the whole city assembled to hear the word of [r]the [s]Lord. 45 But when the Jews saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy and began contradicting the things spoken by Paul, [t]blaspheming. 46 Paul and Barnabas spoke out boldly and said, “It was necessary that the word of God be spoken to you first. Since you reject it and judge yourselves unworthy of eternal life, behold, we are turning to the Gentiles. 47 For so the [u]Lord has commanded us,
‘I have placed You as a light for the Gentiles,
That You may [v]bring salvation to the end of the earth.’”
48 And when the Gentiles heard this, they began rejoicing and glorifying the word of [w]the [x]Lord, and as many as had been appointed to eternal life believed. 49 And the word of the [y]Lord was being spread through the whole region. 50 But the Jews incited the [z]God-fearing women of prominence and the leading men of the city, and instigated a persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and drove them out of their [aa]district. 51 But having shaken off the dust of their feet against them, they went to Iconium. 52 And the disciples were continually filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.
Footnotes
- a. Acts 13:9 Or having just been filled
- b. Acts 13:10 In OT, Yahweh, cf. Is 40:3
- c. Acts 13:11 In OT, Yahweh, cf. Ex 9:3
- d. Acts 13:17 Or exalted
- e. Acts 13:22 Lit wishes
- f. Acts 13:24 Lit the face of His entering
- g. Acts 13:27 Lit voices
- h. Acts 13:28 Lit destroyed
- i. Acts 13:33 Late mss to us their children
- j. Acts 13:34 Lit trustworthy
- k. Acts 13:35 Or Devout, Pious
- l. Acts 13:36 Or served his own generation by the purpose of God
- m. Acts 13:38 Lit this One
- n. Acts 13:39 Lit by
- o. Acts 13:41 Lit disappear
- p. Acts 13:42 Lit they
- q. Acts 13:43 Gentile converts to Judaism
- r. Acts 13:44 One early ms God
- s. Acts 13:44 In OT, Yahweh, cf. Is 1:10
- t. Acts 13:45 Or slandering him
- u. Acts 13:47 In OT, Yahweh, cf. Is 42:6
- v. Acts 13:47 Lit be for salvation
- w. Acts 13:48 Two early mss God
- x. Acts 13:48 In OT, Yahweh, cf. Is 1:10
- y. Acts 13:49 In OT, Yahweh, cf. Is 1:10
- z. Acts 13:50 Or worshiping
- aa. Acts 13:50 Lit boundaries
For a one minute explanation of the Gospel from the late Pastor John MacArthur, watch this video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LCP9UcC7BzE
For a review of the Ten Commandments: https://www.challenyee.com/the-ten-commandments/
All quoted excerpts have footnotes removed, usually from Legacy Standard Bible (LSB), sometimes from New International Version (NIV), on rare occasion the Amplified Bible (AMP).
Copyright © 2026 ChallenYee.com Some Rights Reserved
Spring 24