Acts 13

Compiled notes from BSF Bible Study group


2 Corinthians 11:24
Paul suffered through…
- labor, imprisonment, severe beating, repeated exposure to death (2 Corinthians 11:23)
- lashing (2 Corinthians 11:24)
- beating with rods, pelting with stones, being shipwrecked and spending a night and day in open sea (2 Corinthians 11:25)
- being in danger from rivers, bandits, fellow Jews, Gentiles and false believers; being in danger in the city, country and at sea (2 Corinthians 11:26)
- being deprived of sleep, food and warmth (2 Corinthians 11:27)
- facing daily pressure of his own concern for all the churches (2 Corinthians 11:28)


Paul boasted about his suffering as if it were a gift to be able to suffer for Christ (2 Corinthians 11:23-28). We should learn to do the same during our sufferings to glorify Jesus, instead of complaining. He also boasted of the things that show his weakness (2 Corinthians 11:30, 12:9) as this allowed the strength of God's grace to shine through.


Zondervan NIV footnote:


* 11:30 I will boast of the things that show my weakness. His weakness opens the way for him to boast about the strength of God's grace in his life.


* 12:9 My grace is sufficient for you. A better solution than to remove Paul's thorn. Human weakness provides the ideal opportunity for the display of divine power.
We should thus pray sincerely every day for God’s guidance in terms of what He has planned for us. We then should pray for the courage to do what He requires of us. And then, go and do it. We should know that we may suffer, but God is always our shelter.


Paul allowed God to take full control of his life, setting an example for others to do the same. Instead of living a self-centered life, he lived a God-centered life. Instead of trying to obtain greatness, he proudly showed his weakness so that God's greatness could shine through him.


I think this is extremely inspirational. Why is Paul able to keep doing what he did despite all the obstacles? Because he was extremely focused. Before meeting Jesus, Paul persecuted Christens while he was still a zealous, religious Pharisee. And despite being one of the greatest enemies of God, Jesus still held out His hand to Paul. I believe this experience awoke Paul, and Paul has never lost sight of the greatest mission during his lifetime here on Earth: To preach the Good News to as many souls as he can.


It is a hard mission, one that can bring a lot of suffering. But what of it? Anything we suffer cannot begin to compare with the pain Jesus had to endure throughout His life on Earth, and certainly not on the cross. Jesus gave His disciples to carry on the mission of preaching the Good News upon His death. As Christians, WE ARE HIS DISCIPLES! Jesus suffered greatly and died a harsh death just so He could free us from our sins. Jesus also taught us to love our neighbors as ourselves. Thus, how could we not share the Gospels in face of resistance?

Was Paul not afraid? The text doesn’t say. But we do see that Paul prayed. Paul prayed A LOT. This is especially inspirational for me, because it helps to remind me that God is our Father, our DAD! He’s the kind of dad whose office door is always open, who is always ready to listen to our problems and share our joys. He’s also always there to protect us. We see that in the darkest moments of Paul’s life, he often prayed. He prayed for guidance, and he prayed for strength and comfort. We should emulate Paul’s great faith in the Lord. We should further be honest with ourselves and understand that we cannot conquer this world all on our own. In a society where weakness is mocked, we need to be even stronger in our honesty. God will provide, and He will guide. And I think that’s why Paul especially took pride in allowing God to shine through him during his weakest moments. Because it proves to the people that God provides! And so, in our darkest moments, we should drop in on the greatest Dad in the world, and just go have a chat. Talk to God about our troubles, pray for guidance, pray for comfort. And then, LISTEN with our heart. God always provides.

I think the strong and determined spirit to stand strong for Jesus and to bring the Good News of salvation to all souls across the world is best expressed by Paul in his letter to the Philippians: "For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain" (Philippians 1:21). As Christians, we are Jesus-centered. We are not children of the world but children of God. We are thus not of this world. But, we do have a mission here. I believe our very first lesson is to learn about God. Once we get to know him as well as our earthly dads, we can then take on more serious goals. Whether we like it or not, we're caught in the spiritual warfare between God and Satan. When we are mature enough to take a stand, which side are we going to stand on? I would hope it is on the side of God, because we all know who's going to lose. It is stated very clearly in the Book of Revelation.


And so, while we live on this world, we should not lose focus and live for Christ. And when we die in Christ, we have everything to gain. Because through Jesus, we have obtained eternal life. Physical pain and death hold no sway in the face of eternal life!




Acts 13:7-13
The leader of the expedition in Acts 13:7 = Barnabas. The leader of the expedition in Acts 13:13 = Paul.


Quoting http://www.gci.org/bible/acts13 :
It is during the trip to Perga that Luke no longer speaks of "Barnabas and Saul." From now on, Paul is usually in first place, ahead of Barnabas. Before this, Barnabas was usually mentioned first (Acts 11:30; 12:25; 13:2). In the account here, Luke speaks of "Paul and his companions," which literally means "those around Paul." This expression indicates that Paul is the leader of the group. Luke appears to be signaling to his readers that Paul has become the dominant partner in the missionary team. Luke doesn’t explain why the change occurs. Perhaps it is obvious that the Holy Spirit is working through Paul, as in the case of his confrontation with the magician. Paul’s speaking may be getting results, indicating that God is using him in a special way.


Paul, who was filled with the Holy Spirit, punished Elymas for his wickedness by causing him to become blind for a time. This allowed the people to witness the power of God, and led the people to follow Paul and become baptized in the Spirit.


Quoting http://www.gci.org/bible/acts13 :
Luke is more interested in the story of Bar-Jesus being confronted and cursed by Paul. He is interested in telling the story not of a conversion, but of the superiority of God’s power over the magic of the spirit world. Luke wants to show how Paul uses his apostolic authority to neutralize the evil spirit influence of Bar-Jesus. Luke wants his readers to understand that the power behind the gospel is superior to that of pagan magic. In the same way, Moses’ miracles in the land of Egypt are more powerful than the magicians’ magic. Paul’s squaring off with Bar-Jesus is also reminiscent of Elijah confronting and defeating the prophets of Baal (1 Kings 18:19-40). Luke probably has another parallel in mind, this one with the gospel message preached earlier in Samaria. The first major missionary work in Samaria, this one from Jerusalem, was challenged by Simon the Sorcerer (Acts 8:9-24). In the same way, the first outreach from Antioch encounters the false prophet Bar-Jesus, who is also defeated.




Acts 15:37–38
Colossians 4:10–11
2 Timothy 4:11


- Mark left the others in Perga of Pamphylia (Acts 13:13) when he was most needed.


- Mark probably left them because of the hardships he encountered during the ministry. But, the text does not say. Maybe Mark was stressed, maybe he was sick and tired of it all. We simply do not know because the text does not say. We therefore should refrain from making emotional guesses as to why Mark left and focus on what the text DOES say.


Zondervan NIV footnote:


* 13:13 Perga in Pamphylia. Perga was the capital of Pamphylia, a coastal province of Asia Minor between the provinces of Lycia and Cilicia, and was 5 miles inland and 12 miles east of the important seaport Attalia. John left them. Homesickness to get back to Jerusalem, an illness of Paul necessitating a change in plans and a trip to Galatia, and a change in leadership from Barnabas to Paul have all been suggested as reasons for John Mark's return. Paul's dissatisfaction with his departure is noted later (Acts 15:37-39).


Quoting http://www.gci.org/bible/acts13 : John Mark leaves the evangelizing team at Perga and returns to Jerusalem. His departure will later lead to an argument between Barnabas and Paul, and their permanent split (Acts 15:2). Luke gives no reason for Mark’s departure. Perhaps John Mark does not like the fact that his uncle, Barnabas, is no longer the leader of the team. Or he may be in disagreement over some policy regarding preaching to the Gentiles, or admitting them into the fellowship. He may even be homesick or afraid of traveling into the hinterland. Whatever the reason for Mark’s departure, Paul doesn’t like it. He calls it desertion (Acts 15:38).


- Mark lost Paul's trust because of his departure (Acts 15:37-38).


- Mark eventually returned to Jerusalem (Acts 13:13).


- When Mark wanted to rejoin the group, Barnabas agreed but Paul opposed. The dispute led to Barnabas taking Mark with him while Paul went on a separate mission to spread the word. Although this may seem to be an unfortunate event, there is a silver lining. (There is always a silver lining to be found in the work of God!) In fact, this allowed the Word to spread twice as fast! Also, Mark cherished his second chance and worked hard to prove himself. Paul later on learned to trust Mark again and even acknowledged Mark as being helpful to him in his ministry (2 Timothy 4:11)!
This shows that even the most Godly men are, well, human. We are all flawed, and we can all get emotional and depart with differences in our opinions. However, as long as we continue to whole-heartedly serve God, we will make amends and become each other’s greatest support. Because at the end of the day, our goals are all the same: Preach the Gospel to all those who have ears!


Zondervan NIV footnote:


* Colossians 4:10 = Aristarchus. A Macedonian, who is mentioned three times in Acts: 1. He was with Paul during the Ephesian riot (Ac 19:29) and therefore was known in Colosse. 2. Both he and Tychicus (Ac 20:4) were with Paul in Greece. 3. He accompanied Paul on his trip to Rome (Ac 27:2). Mark. The author of the second Gospel. Against Barnabas's advice, Paul refused to take Mark on the second missionary journey because Mark had "deserted" him at Pamphylia (see Ac 15:38 and note). But now, - about 12 years later - the difficulties seem to have been ironed out, because Paul, both here and in Phm 24 (sent at the same time to Philemon, who was in Colosse), sends Mark's greetings. About five years later, Paul even writes that Mark "is very helpful to me in my ministry" (2Ti 4:11). See note on 15:39.


* 2 Timothy 4:11 = Mark. See Introduction to Mark: Mark in the NT. John Mark had deserted Paul and Barnabase on their first missionary journey (Ac 13:13). After Paul refused to take Mark on the second journey, Barnabase separated from Paul, taking Mark with him on a mission to Cyprus (Ac 15:36-41). Ultimately Mark proved himself to Paul, indicated by his presence with Paul during Paul's first Roman imprisonment (Col 4:10; Phm 24) and by Paul's request ere for Timothy to bring Mark with him to Rome.


* Acts 15:38 = he had deserted them. Mark had turned back at Perga and did not go to Antioch, Iconium, Lystra and Derve (see note on 13:13).


* Acts 15:39-18:22 = Paul's second missionary journey (see map No. 13 at the end of this study Bible; see also map, p. 1717).


* Acts 15:39 = they parted company. Barnabas and Mark do not appear again in Acts. However, in 1 Co 9:6 Paul names Barnabas as setting a noble example in working to support himself. Also in Gal 2:11-13 another scene is described in Antioch that includes Barnabas. Mark evidently returned from his work with Barnabas and became associated with Peter (see 1Pe 5:13 and note). During Paul's first imprisonment, Mark was included in Paul's group (see Col 4:10; Phm 24). By the end of Paul's life he came to admire Mark so much that he requested him to come to be with him during his final days (see 2Ti 4:11 and note; see also Introduction to Mark; John Mark in the NT). Cyprus. The island of Barnabas's birthplace (4:36).




Acts 13:16-36


In Paul’s sermon, he spoke first about how God led His people (Israelites) out of Egypt (Acts 13:16-20). He then handed them over to the judges until Samuel the prophet, Saul, and David (Acts 13:20-22). Paul talked about how Jesus is a descendent of David, who was the Savior of Israel as promised by God. Lastly, Paul shared the Good News as the reason for them being there. Paul was there to tell them about Jesus, about how Jesus was raised from the dead and has eternal life, the salvation that Jesus brings, and how we can all receive it through the Grace of God by repenting of our sins and following Jesus (Acts 13:23-36).


In sum, Paul spoke of 1) Israel as God’s chosen people and Israel’s rejection of Jesus as their Messiah; 2) Salvation is granted to both Israelites and Gentiles; 3) We may receive Jesus by placing our faith in Jesus.


Quoting http://www.gci.org/bible/acts13 :
Paul’s exhortation here begins with a survey of Israel’s history. Like Stephen, Paul describes how God dealt with the Jews’ ancestors. However, he begins not with Abraham and the patriarchs, but with God’s saving grace in the Exodus. Paul then moves on to Israel’s history in the Promised Land, but he focuses on the life of King David. The reason for Paul’s emphasis has to do with his being able to proclaim Jesus as the promised Son of David, using proof-texts about the Messiah from the Hebrew Scriptures. He then moves the point of his speech: that through Jesus his listeners have forgiveness of sins. Paul’s speech ends with an appeal not to reject the Savior and a solemn warning about the consequences of unbelief.
The history of Israel revealed God’s choice of His people and goodness to them. He made the people prosper during their stay in Egypt and led them out of Egypt with His mighty power (Acts 13:17). For about forty years He endured their conduct in the wilderness and overthrew seven nations in Canaan, giving their land to His people as their inheritance (Acts 13:18-19). God gave them judges and kings to lead them (Acts 13:20-22). From King David's descendants God brought the Savior Jesus (Acts 13:23).


However, the Israelites were ungrateful. Their conduct was not according to God's Way, as indicated when Paul stated that God "endured" their conduct (Acts 13:18).


In preparation for Messiah Jesus, John preached repentance and baptism to all the people of Israel (Acts 13:24).


In regards to salvation, Jesus was crucified but God raised Jesus from the dead (Acts 13:28-30). This is not the same as raising Lazarus from the dead. Yes, Lazarus was resurrected, but he then went on to live out a limited earthly life. That is, he still passed away of old age. However, Jesus was raised from the dead to ETERNAL life! Jesus was our first fruits!


Through our faith in Jesus (Acts 13:38), the promised gift of salvation is eternal life (Acts 13:34, 35, 37, 46, 48; John 3:14-15).


Zondervan NIV footnote:


*John 3:14-15 = Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life.


* John 3:18 believes ... does not believe. John is not speaking of momentary beliefs and doubts but of continuing, settled convictions.


Paul warns that people who reject the Word of Jesus would perish (Acts 13:41). I think this is a hard concept to swallow, even for many Christians. Most often, I would hear something along the lines of, How could a loving God allow people to suffer and perish? And it always pains me to hear that. It shows a tremendous lack of understanding of the great love of God. Here, let's recall the intimate conversation between Jesus and God, when Jesus prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane shortly before he was crucified. The physical pain of being crucified on the cross was nothing compared to the spiritual pain of drinking from the cup that was over-filled with our sins.


Wow. Let’s really think about this.


I don’t think anyone can endure the physical pain of being nailed alive. Let’s not forget the flogging before that. And yet, there is a pain that is worse than that? Yes. And that pain awaits us all. We are all each filling our cups with sin, and come Judgment Day, we will have to drink it in the form of God’s Wrath.


BUT GOD LOVES US.


We need to so desperately understand the significance of this statement: For God so love the world, He gave His only begotten Son” (John 3:16)!


That intimate conversation between Son and Father gives us a glimpse into how great our Sin is and how great God’s love for us is. There was no other way to free us from our sins than to put it all onto Jesus’ shoulders. The duress of taking on the sins of the world was so great, Jesus sweat blood. This is an extremely rare medical condition that occurs only when a person is under immense physical and emotional stress. We get headaches from stress, and we reach for painkillers and may have to even take a day or two off from work. It is very obvious our physical body simply cannot endure the pain Jesus had to suffer. We simply cannot imagine what it would be like to drink from the cup of sin.


BUT WE DON’T HAVE TO.


Jesus WILLINGLY took on our sins so that we can become righteous again and enter the Kingdom of God. He freely offers His hand to us all, and all we have to do is reach.
To those who slap away Jesus’ hands and say things like, What kind of loving God sends people to Hell, please consider this: God does not send people to Hell. People CHOOSE to go to Hell. God did not make Hell for humans. Hell was made for Satan and the rest of the fallen angels.


Hell is where God is not.


When we CHOOSE to turn away from God, we need to realize two things: 1) It is our CHOICE to make. 2) When we choose to turn away from God, we are heading toward a place where God is not, we are heading toward Hell.


The conversation between Father and Son—that was emotionally intense. There was a lot of pain—Pain from a Father who had to turn His back on His ONLY Son, because when Jesus took on the sins of the world, God could no longer look at Him; pain from a Son who had to endure God’s Wrath when Jesus drank from the cup over-filled with the world’s sin.


"For God so love the world, He gave His only begotten Son” (John 3:16).


That is not a statement to be taken lightly! I do not think any one of us can begin to imagine the amount of pain and sacrifice that took place. I do not think any parent can bear sacrificing his/her only child for the greater good of others. I most certainly do not think any parent can bear sacrificing his/her only child to die for the enemy. Yet, God did. Because that was the ONLY way to save us. That is great love. God saved us when we don’t deserve to be saved. That is Grace. So. Before we so readily “judge” God for His “lack of love”, let us first understand that God’s love is not a silly sentiment!


Coming back to Paul’s warning, if we turn away from the Word of God, we will perish. This is not a threat. This is a truth statement. If we turn away from God, we turn toward Satan. There is no in-between. This is a fact. Pretending there is a middle ground will leave us, unfortunately, tormented eternally in Hell.


Truth is often the best warning. If we feel threatened, we should perhaps reflect why that is. Is it because we’re too prideful to want God’s help? Is it because we’re too prideful to think we can get to Heaven based on our own works? Is it because we’re too prideful to think we can defeat Satan on our own?


We, as a people, are very proud today. I mean, look at all that we’ve achieved! We can cure diseases, even grow new body parts! We can explore a world as big as the universe or as tiny as a human cell. There is nothing we cannot do, and we continue to improve our ability to discover, discover, discover.


Well, that’s the problem, isn’t it? We’re just “discovering”. We still have so much to explore, so much to understand about a world that continues to fascinate us, a world that was CREATED by God. God didn't "discover" any of this. He CREATED it all. Everything that fascinates us, everything that we understand or don't understand, it was all designed and created by God. And we have the audacity to think we can be just like Him, that we can do just fine without Him, thank you very much? Have we learned nothing from the Tower of Babel? I thus implore us to take Paul’s truth statement seriously. God loves us, and He has provided a way for us to go home to Him, but He’s not going to twist our arms and force us to go home. The door is open, but we have to walk through it. He has everything to lose (in fact, he did), and we have everything to gain. What is pride at the end of the day? Knowing all that God has done, knowing all that Jesus has done, what do we have to be prideful of in comparison?


For those that continue to scoff, read Revelation. That may put things into perspective a bit better ;)  But of course, as it has been prophesied, he who has ears, let him hear. Let us pray we all have ears.




Acts 13:42–52


Paul also urged his listeners to “continue in the grace of God”. I think Paul here was saying not take God’s grace for granted. We do not deserve what God has done for us. We have betrayed God, and we’ve turned away, reluctant to admit fault. Prisoners who show no guilt or remorse do not qualify even for probation, let alone freedom! Yet, God offers us eternal life. He willing sacrificed His only Son to redeem us—even when we are so undeserving! To not appreciate this love and turn our backs on Him, if that's not foolish, I don't know what is. We would certainly come to regret this foolishness when we face God on Judgment Day. We therefore ought to appreciate the Love of God by continuing on with our lives in the Grace of God.


Zondervan NIV footnote:


* Acts 13:43 continue in the grace of God. See Tit 2:11-12 and note on 2:12


* Tit 2:11-14 Briefly describe the effect grace should have on believers. It encourages rejection of ungodliness and leads to holier living - in keeping with Paul's repeated insistence that profession of Christ be accompanied by godly living (vv. 1-2, 4-5, 10; 3:8).


*Titus 2:11-14 = For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people. It teaches us to say "No" to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, while we wait for the blessed hope - the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good.


Paul spoke of the Jews: “We had to speak the word of God to you first. Since you reject it and do not consider yourselves worthy of eternal life, we now turn to the Gentiles” (Acts 13:46), which fulfilled Isaiah 49:6. In that passage, Isaiah wrote of God’s words, "It is too small a thing for you to be my servant to restore the tribes of Jacob and bring back those of Israel I have kept. I will also make you a light for the Gentiles, that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth."


At Pisidian Antioch, Paul experienced both disgrace and joy.


Disgrace: Non-believing Jews contradicted what Paul was saying and heaped abuse on him (Acts 13:45). Jewish leaders stirred up persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and expelled them from their region (Acts 13:50).


Joy: Many Jews and devout converts of Judaism followed Paul and Barnabas (Acts 13:43). Almost the whole city gathered to hear the word of the Lord (Acts 13:44). The Gentiles were glad and honored the word of the Lord (Acts 13:48). The word of the Lord spread through the whole region (Acts 13:49).