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In the church at Antioch there were prophets and teachers. Among them were Barnabas, Simeon, and Lucius from Cyrene. Simeon was also called Niger. Another was Manaen. He had been brought up with Herod, the ruler of Galilee. Saul was among them too. 2 While they were worshipping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit spoke. ‘Set apart Barnabas and Saul for me,’ he said. ‘I have appointed them to do special work.’ 3 The prophets and teachers fasted and prayed. They placed their hands on Barnabas and Saul. Then they sent them off.
4 Barnabas and Saul were sent on their way by the Holy Spirit. They went down to Seleucia. From there they sailed to Cyprus. 5 They arrived at Salamis. There they preached God's word in the Jewish synagogues. John was with them as their helper.
6 They travelled all across the island until they came to Paphos. There they met a Jew named Bar-Jesus. He was an evil magician and a false prophet. 7 He was an attendant of Sergius Paulus, the governor. Paulus was a man of understanding. He sent for Barnabas and Saul. He wanted to hear God's word. 8 But the evil magician opposed them. He was also known as Elymas, which means Magician. He tried to keep the governor from becoming a believer. 9 Saul was also known as Paul. He was filled with the Holy Spirit. He looked straight at Elymas. He said to him, 10 ‘You are a child of the devil! You are an enemy of everything that is right! You cheat people. You use all kinds of tricks. Won't you ever stop twisting the right ways of the Lord? 11 Now the Lord's hand is against you. You are going to go blind. For a while you won't even be able to see the light of the sun.’
Right away mist and darkness came over him. He tried to feel his way around. He wanted to find someone to lead him by the hand. 12 When the governor saw what had happened, he believed. He was amazed at what Paul was teaching about the Lord.
12:25–13:12 The group of leaders in the church at Antioch in Syria faithfully worshipped God. They would go without food in order to pray. Fasting helped them to listen to the Holy Spirit and to be ready to obey. The leaders all placed their hands on Barnabas and Saul as a way of blessing them. This helped prepare them for the work the Spirit gave them to do. Saul and Barnabas began a journey to share the good news about Jesus. Saul was the apostle's name in the Hebrew language. His name in the Greek language was Paul. From that point on Luke called him Paul. The journey with Barnabas was the first of Paul's journeys. They started from Antioch in Syria and John Mark went with them. As they travelled and preached God's word, Paul and Barnabas met a magician. He tried to stop them from spreading the message about Jesus. Paul recognised that the magician served the devil. The Holy Spirit gave Paul power to stop the magician. The power of the Holy Spirit is stronger than the power of evil spiritual beings.
13 From Paphos, Paul and his companions sailed to Perga in Pamphylia. There John Mark left them and returned to Jerusalem. 14 From Perga they went on to Pisidian Antioch. On the Sabbath day they entered the synagogue and sat down. 15 The Law and the Prophets were read aloud. Then the leaders of the synagogue sent word to Paul and his companions. They said, ‘Brothers, do you have any words of instruction for the people? If you do, please speak.’
16 Paul stood up and motioned with his hand. Then he said, ‘Fellow Israelites, and you Gentiles who worship God, listen to me! 17 The God of Israel chose our people who lived long ago. He blessed them greatly while they were in Egypt. With his mighty power he led them out of that country. 18 He put up with their behaviour for about 40 years in the desert. 19 And he destroyed seven nations in Canaan. Then he gave the land to his people as their rightful share. 20 All this took about 450 years.
‘After this, God gave them judges until the time of Samuel the prophet. 21 Then the people asked for a king. He gave them Saul, son of Kish. Saul was from the tribe of Benjamin. He ruled for 40 years. 22 God removed him and made David their king. Here is God's witness about him. “David, son of Jesse, is a man dear to my heart,” he said. “David will do everything I want him to do.”
23 ‘From this man's family line God has brought to Israel the Saviour Jesus. This is what he had promised. 24 Before Jesus came, John preached that we should turn away from our sins and be baptised. He preached this to all Israel. 25 John was coming to the end of his work. “Who do you suppose I am?” he said. “I am not the one you are looking for. But there is someone coming after me. I am not good enough to untie his sandals.”
26 ‘Listen, fellow children of Abraham! Listen, you Gentiles who worship God! This message of salvation has been sent to us. 27 The people of Jerusalem and their rulers did not recognise Jesus. By finding him guilty, they made the prophets' words come true. These are read every Sabbath day. 28 The people and their rulers had no reason at all for sentencing Jesus to death. But they asked Pilate to let him be killed. 29 They did everything that had been written about Jesus. Then they took him down from the cross. They laid him in a tomb. 30 But God raised him from the dead. 31 For many days he was seen by those who had travelled with him from Galilee to Jerusalem. Now they are telling our people about Jesus.
32 ‘We are telling you the good news. What God promised our people long ago 33 he has done for us, their children. He has raised up Jesus. This is what is written in the second Psalm. It says,
‘ “You are my son.
Today I have become your father.” (Psalm 2:7)
34 God raised Jesus from the dead. He will never rot in the grave. As God has said,
‘ “Holy and sure blessings were promised to David.
I will give them to you.” (Isaiah 55:3)
35 In another place it also says,
‘ “You will not let your holy one rot away.” (Psalm 16:10)
36 ‘David carried out God's purpose while he lived. Then he died. He was buried with his people. His body rotted away. 37 But the one whom God raised from the dead did not rot away.
38 ‘My friends, here is what I want you to know. I announce to you that your sins can be forgiven because of what Jesus has done. 39 Through him everyone who believes is set free from every sin. Moses' law could not make you right in God's eyes. 40 Be careful! Don't let what the prophets spoke about happen to you. They said,
41 ‘ “Look, you who make fun of the truth!
Wonder and die!
I am going to do something in your days
that you would never believe.
You wouldn't believe it even if someone told you.” ’ (Habakkuk 1:5)
13:13–41 Paul, Barnabas and their companions preached the message about Jesus in new places. They travelled north from the island of Cyprus into the southern area of Asia Minor. They went to a synagogue in the city of Antioch in Pisidia. After the Scriptures were read, Paul was invited to speak as a rabbi. He began his message by telling the history of Israel. The people of Israel had been waiting for a saviour. Paul showed them that this Saviour was Jesus the Messiah. Jesus is the Saviour of everyone who believes that God raised him from the dead. The Law of Moses can't keep people from sinning. But Jesus forgives people and sets them free from the power of sin and death. Paul made it clear how he had come to know that this was true. He knew because Jesus' body didn't rot away after he died. Jesus is alive and many of his followers had seen him. Paul urged the Jews in the synagogue to believe this wonderful truth.
42 Paul and Barnabas started to leave the synagogue. The people invited them to say more about these things on the next Sabbath day. 43 The people were told they could leave the service. Many Jews followed Paul and Barnabas. Many Gentiles who faithfully worshipped the God of the Jews did the same. Paul and Barnabas talked with them. They tried to get them to keep living in God's grace.
44 On the next Sabbath day, almost the whole city gathered. They gathered to hear the word of the Lord. 45 When the Jews saw the crowds, they became very jealous. They began to disagree with what Paul was saying. They said evil things against him.
46 Then Paul and Barnabas answered them boldly. ‘We had to speak God's word to you first,’ they said. ‘But you don't accept it. You don't think you are good enough for eternal life. So now we are turning to the Gentiles. 47 This is what the Lord has commanded us to do. He said,
‘ “I have made you a light for the Gentiles.
You will bring salvation to the whole earth.” ’ (Isaiah 49:6)
48 When the Gentiles heard this, they were glad. They honoured the word of the Lord. All who were appointed for eternal life believed.
49 The word of the Lord spread through the whole area. 50 But the Jewish leaders stirred up the important women who worshipped God. They also stirred up the men who were leaders in the city. The Jewish leaders tried to get the women and men to attack Paul and Barnabas. They threw Paul and Barnabas out of that area. 51 Paul and Barnabas shook the dust off their feet. This was a warning to the people who had opposed them. Then Paul and Barnabas went on to Iconium. 52 The believers were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.
13:42–52 Many people in Antioch in Pisidia started following Jesus after hearing Paul preach. The Jews who didn't agree with Paul's teaching were angry and jealous. They didn't believe that Jesus gives life that death can't destroy. They didn't believe that they could also have eternal life with Jesus. So Paul explained that he would share the good news with Gentiles. He used words from the book of Isaiah to talk about this. God had always wanted his light and salvation to spread to all people. Jesus' Jewish followers were spreading God's light and salvation. They did this as they shared the message of Jesus with Gentiles. Jewish religious leaders caused so many problems that Paul and Barnabas were forced to leave. But the Holy Spirit was with those in Antioch who had started to follow Jesus.