The Word This Week
Acts 13:1…
The church at Antioch becomes the church chosen by Jesus to be the primary sending church we see in the remainder of the Book of Acts.
We had read previously how this church had grown rapidly as unnamed believers who had come from Cyprus and Cyrene shared the news of the Gospel with Gentiles, while those who had fled Jerusalem shared with the Jews there.
This was the first church where we can presume both Jewish and Gentile believers came together to worship.
Barnabas had been sent from Jerusalem to see all that was taking place there. In his estimation, what this rapidly growing church needed was the gifting Saul of Tarsus, whom Barnabas had been so impressed by.
Barnabas still remembered Saul from their interactions about 14 years earlier.
He found Saul at Tarsus, and Saul agreed to come and serve and teach God’s Word to the fledgling church at Antioch. The church multiplied under the teaching ministry of Saul and Barnabas, eventually sending them to Jerusalem to deliver an offering for the church there.
Returning to Antioch, they continued ministering to the Lord, along with the other associated leaders in the church.
It was in these times of ministering to the Lord that the Lord singled out Saul and Barnabas to leave the church to go out on what we now refer to as ‘missionary journeys.’
They began by heading to the island of Cypress from which we remember some had come to teach the Gentiles at Antioch, which became the beginning of this marvelous church. We also remember Barnabas was from Cyress, so he would have had a familiarity with that territory, and probably a great affinity as well.
(We are also informed John Mark accompanied them on this first missionary journey, probably as an assistant to their ministry.)
Arriving at Cypress, they traversed to entire length of the island and found the proconsul of the island nation to be a man interested in all they had to say about Jesus. Unfortunately, every time they began to share the Word of God, they were opposed by a man named Elymas, who was a sorcerer.
Now we see the moment Luke records for us the name change from Saul to Paul.
Paul, now presently once more baptized with the Holy Spirit, puts this Elymas in his place, revealing this “son of the devil” has no power to accomplish anything anymore. Paul declared Elymas would be blinded for a time – and he was.
Sergius Paulus, (the proconsul,) was so impressed by what he saw, he immediately believed in Jesus, being astonished by Paul’s teaching even more than Paul’s wonder-working power.
Pastor Bill
The church at Antioch becomes the church chosen by Jesus to be the primary sending church we see in the remainder of the Book of Acts.
We had read previously how this church had grown rapidly as unnamed believers who had come from Cyprus and Cyrene shared the news of the Gospel with Gentiles, while those who had fled Jerusalem shared with the Jews there.
This was the first church where we can presume both Jewish and Gentile believers came together to worship.
Barnabas had been sent from Jerusalem to see all that was taking place there. In his estimation, what this rapidly growing church needed was the gifting Saul of Tarsus, whom Barnabas had been so impressed by.
Barnabas still remembered Saul from their interactions about 14 years earlier.
He found Saul at Tarsus, and Saul agreed to come and serve and teach God’s Word to the fledgling church at Antioch. The church multiplied under the teaching ministry of Saul and Barnabas, eventually sending them to Jerusalem to deliver an offering for the church there.
Returning to Antioch, they continued ministering to the Lord, along with the other associated leaders in the church.
It was in these times of ministering to the Lord that the Lord singled out Saul and Barnabas to leave the church to go out on what we now refer to as ‘missionary journeys.’
They began by heading to the island of Cypress from which we remember some had come to teach the Gentiles at Antioch, which became the beginning of this marvelous church. We also remember Barnabas was from Cyress, so he would have had a familiarity with that territory, and probably a great affinity as well.
(We are also informed John Mark accompanied them on this first missionary journey, probably as an assistant to their ministry.)
Arriving at Cypress, they traversed to entire length of the island and found the proconsul of the island nation to be a man interested in all they had to say about Jesus. Unfortunately, every time they began to share the Word of God, they were opposed by a man named Elymas, who was a sorcerer.
Now we see the moment Luke records for us the name change from Saul to Paul.
Paul, now presently once more baptized with the Holy Spirit, puts this Elymas in his place, revealing this “son of the devil” has no power to accomplish anything anymore. Paul declared Elymas would be blinded for a time – and he was.
Sergius Paulus, (the proconsul,) was so impressed by what he saw, he immediately believed in Jesus, being astonished by Paul’s teaching even more than Paul’s wonder-working power.
Pastor Bill