Overview of Acts Chapter 13

Barnabas and Saul Sent Off

13 Now there were in the church at Antioch prophets and teachers, Barnabas, Simeon who was called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen a lifelong friend of Herod the tetrarch, and Saul. ² While 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.” ³ Then after fasting and praying they laid their hands on them and sent them off.

Barnabas and Saul on Cyprus

⁴ So, being sent out by the Holy Spirit, they went down to Seleucia, and from there they sailed to Cyprus. ⁵ When they arrived at Salamis, they proclaimed the word of God in the synagogues of the Jews. And they had John to assist them. ⁶ When they had gone through the whole island as far as Paphos, they came upon a certain magician, a Jewish false prophet named Bar-Jesus. ⁷ He was with the proconsul, Sergius Paulus, a man of intelligence, who summoned Barnabas and Saul and sought to hear the word of God. ⁸ But Elymas the magician (for that is the meaning of his name) opposed them, seeking to turn the proconsul away from the faith. ⁹ But Saul, who was also called Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked intently at him ¹⁰ and said, “You son of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness, full of all deceit and villainy, will you not stop making crooked the straight paths of the Lord? ¹¹ And now, behold, the hand of the Lord is upon you, and you will be blind and unable to see the sun for a time.” Immediately mist and darkness fell upon him, and he went about seeking people to lead him by the hand. ¹² Then the proconsul believed, when he saw what had occurred, for he was astonished at the teaching of the Lord.

Paul and Barnabas at Antioch in Pisidia

¹³ Now Paul and his companions set sail from Paphos and came to Perga in Pamphylia. And John left them and returned to Jerusalem, ¹⁴ but they went on from Perga and came to Antioch in Pisidia. And on the Sabbath day they went into the synagogue and sat down. ¹⁵ After the reading from the Law and the Prophets, the rulers of the synagogue sent a message to them, saying, “Brothers, if you have any word of encouragement 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 made the people great during their stay in the land of Egypt, and with uplifted arm he led them out of it. ¹⁸ And for about forty years he put up with them in the wilderness. ¹⁹ And after destroying seven nations in the land of Canaan, he gave them their land as an inheritance. ²⁰ All this took about 450 years. And after that he gave them judges 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 when he had removed him, he raised up David to be their king, of whom he testified and said, ‘I have found in David the son of Jesse a man after my heart, who will do all my will.’ ²³ Of this man's offspring God has brought to Israel a Savior, Jesus, as he promised. ²⁴ Before his coming, John had proclaimed a baptism of repentance to all the people of Israel. ²⁵ And as John was finishing his course, he said, ‘What do you suppose that I am? I am not he. No, but behold, after me one is coming, the sandals of whose feet I am not worthy to untie.’

²⁶ “Brothers, sons of the family of Abraham, and those among you who fear God, to us has been sent the message of this salvation. ²⁷ For those who live in Jerusalem and their rulers, because they did not recognize him nor understand the utterances of the prophets, which are read every Sabbath, fulfilled them by condemning him. ²⁸ And though they found in him no guilt worthy of death, they asked Pilate to have him executed. ²⁹ And when they had carried out all that was written of 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 had come up with him from Galilee to Jerusalem, who are now his witnesses to the people. ³² And we bring you the good news that what God promised to the fathers, ³³ this he has fulfilled to us their children by raising Jesus, as also it is written in the second Psalm,

³⁴ And as for the fact that he raised him from the dead, no more to return to corruption, he has spoken in this way,

³⁵ Therefore he says also in another psalm,

³⁶ For David, after he had served the purpose of God in his own generation, fell asleep and was laid with his fathers and saw corruption, ³⁷ but he whom God raised up did not see corruption. ³⁸ Let it be known to you therefore, brothers, that through this man forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you, ³⁹ and by him everyone who believes is freed from everything from which you could not be freed by the law of Moses. ⁴⁰ Beware, therefore, lest what is said in the Prophets should come about:

⁴² As they went out, the people begged that these things might be told them the next Sabbath. ⁴³ And after the meeting of the synagogue broke up, many Jews and devout converts to Judaism followed Paul and Barnabas, who, as they spoke with them, urged them to continue in the grace of God.

⁴⁴ The next Sabbath almost the whole city gathered to hear the word of the Lord. ⁴⁵ But when the Jews saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy and began to contradict what was spoken by Paul, reviling him. ⁴⁶ And Paul and Barnabas spoke out boldly, saying, “It was necessary that the word of God be spoken first to you. Since you thrust it aside and judge yourselves unworthy of eternal life, behold, we are turning to the Gentiles. ⁴⁷ For so the Lord has commanded us, saying,

⁴⁸ And when the Gentiles heard this, they began rejoicing and glorifying the word of the Lord, and as many as were appointed to eternal life believed. ⁴⁹ And the word of the Lord was spreading throughout the whole region. ⁵⁰ But the Jews incited the devout women of high standing and the leading men of the city, stirred up persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and drove them out of their district. ⁵¹ But they shook off the dust from their feet against them and went to Iconium. ⁵² And the disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.

Q&A

Acts 13:1-3
Q1: Who were in the church at Antioch, and what did the Holy Spirit instruct them to do in Acts 13:1-3?
A1: In the church at Antioch, there were prophets and teachers. The Holy Spirit instructed them to set apart Barnabas and Saul for the work to which He had called them.

Acts 13:4-5
Q2: Where did Barnabas and Saul go after being sent out by the Holy Spirit, and what did they do in Acts 13:4-5?
A2: Barnabas and Saul went down to Seleucia and sailed to Cyprus. In Salamis, they proclaimed the word of God in the synagogues.

Acts 13:6-7
Q3: Who opposed Barnabas and Saul in Paphos, and why, as mentioned in Acts 13:6-7?
A3: They encountered a magician, a false prophet named Bar-Jesus or Elymas, who opposed them because he did not want the proconsul to believe in the faith.

Acts 13:8-11
Q4: How did Paul respond to Elymas, and what happened to Elymas, as mentioned in Acts 13:8-11?
A4: Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, rebuked Elymas and pronounced a temporary blindness upon him. Immediately, darkness fell on Elymas, and he went about seeking someone to lead him by the hand.

Acts 13:12
Q5: How did the proconsul react to witnessing what happened to Elymas, as mentioned in Acts 13:12?
A5: The proconsul, seeing what had happened, believed, being astonished at the teaching of the Lord.

Acts 13:13-15
Q6: What did Paul and his companions do after leaving Paphos, and where did they go, as mentioned in Acts 13:13-15?
A6: Paul and his companions set sail from Paphos to Perga in Pamphylia. John left them and returned to Jerusalem. On the Sabbath, they went into the synagogue in Perga and sat down.

Acts 13:16-22
Q7: What did Paul say to the people in the synagogue in Pisidian Antioch, as mentioned in Acts 13:16-22?
A7: Paul addressed the people, recounting God's history with Israel, from their time in Egypt to the time of David. He highlighted God's choice of David as king and emphasized Jesus as the promised Savior, a descendant of David.

Acts 13:23-25
Q8: How did Paul introduce the message of salvation through Jesus in Acts 13:23-25?
A8: Paul proclaimed Jesus as the Savior, emphasizing that through His lineage, forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to all who believe.

Acts 13:26-31
Q9: How did Paul recount Jesus's death and resurrection in Acts 13:26-31?
A9: Paul spoke of Jesus's death on the cross, His burial, and His resurrection on the third day, emphasizing that those who saw these events were witnesses.

Acts 13:32-33
Q10: What did Paul say about the good news and the promise made to the fathers in Acts 13:32-33?
A10: Paul declared that the resurrection of Jesus fulfilled the promise made to the fathers and proclaimed the good news of salvation to Israel.

Acts 13:34-37
Q11: How did Paul explain the fulfillment of the promise to David in Acts 13:34-37?
A11: Paul asserted that the promise to David of an eternal heir was fulfilled in the resurrection of Jesus, who would not see corruption.

Acts 13:38-39
Q12: What message of salvation did Paul declare in Acts 13:38-39?
A12: Paul proclaimed forgiveness of sins through faith in Jesus, emphasizing freedom from the law that the Jews could not achieve through Moses.

Acts 13:40-41
Q13: What warning did Paul give based on the prophets in Acts 13:40-41?
A13: Paul warned against rejecting the message, quoting the prophets that speak of astonishment and disbelief at the work God was doing in their days.

Acts 13:42-43
Q14: How did the people respond to Paul's message, and what did they ask Paul to do, as mentioned in Acts 13:42-43?
A14: The people urged Paul to speak more on these matters on the next Sabbath. After the synagogue service, many Jews and devout converts followed Paul and Barnabas, who spoke to them and urged them to continue in the grace of God.

Acts 13:44-45
Q15: What happened on the next Sabbath when almost the whole city gathered to hear the word of the Lord, as mentioned in Acts 13:44-45?
A15: When almost the whole city gathered to hear the word of the Lord, the Jews saw the crowds and were filled with jealousy. They contradicted Paul's message and blasphemed.

Acts 13:46-48
Q16: How did Paul and Barnabas respond to the Jews' rejection, and what happened to the word of the Lord, as mentioned in Acts 13:46-48?
A16: Paul and Barnabas boldly declared that since the Jews rejected the message, they would turn to the Gentiles. The Gentiles rejoiced, and many believed, and the word of the Lord spread throughout the region.

Acts 13:49-52
Q17: How did the word of the Lord continue to spread, and how did the Jews react, as mentioned in Acts 13:49-52?
A17: The word of the Lord continued to spread throughout the whole region. The Jews incited the devout women of high standing and the leading men of the city against Paul and Barnabas, who shook off the dust from their feet and went to Iconium. The disciples were filled with joy and the Holy Spirit.