The Early Church · c. AD 46–48
Chapter 10
The First Journey
For so has the Lord commanded us, saying,‘I have set you as a light for the Gentiles,that you should bring salvation to the uttermost parts of the earth.’”
For parents
This chapter tells how a sorcerer who opposed Barnabas and Saul was struck blind for a time (Acts 13:8–11), how Paul and Barnabas were persecuted and thrown out of Antioch of Pisidia (13:50), and how they fled Iconium when some tried to mistreat and stone them (14:5–6). At Lystra, Jews from Antioch and Iconium persuaded the crowds, stoned Paul and dragged him out of the city, thinking he was dead; he got up and went back into the city (14:19–20). None of it is told in detail.
The at had and teachers among them. They were ; Simeon, the one called Niger; Lucius from ; Manaen, who was the foster brother of Herod the ; and .
As they served the Lord and , the said, “Set apart Barnabas and Saul for me, to do the work I have called them to.”
So when they had fasted and prayed, they laid their hands on the two men and sent them off. Sent out by the Holy Spirit, the two went down to . From there they sailed to the island of .
At they proclaimed God’s word in the Jewish . They had , who was called Mark, with them too, to help them.
They traveled through the island to . There they found a Jewish named , a false prophet. He was with the , , who was a man of good sense. The proconsul sent for Barnabas and Saul. He wanted to hear God’s word.
But Elymas the sorcerer (that is his name in translation) stood against them, trying to turn the proconsul away from the faith.
Then Saul, who is also called Paul, was filled with the Holy Spirit. He fixed his eyes on Elymas. “You son of the !” he said. “You are full of every lie and every trick, you enemy of everything right! Won’t you stop twisting the Lord’s right ways? Now look, the hand of the Lord is on you. You will be blind, and for a time you will not see the sun.”
At once a mist and darkness fell on him. He went around looking for someone to lead him by the hand.
When the proconsul saw what had been done, he believed. He was amazed at the teaching of the Lord.
Paul and those with him set sail from Paphos and came to in . John left them and went back to .
But they traveled on from Perga to . They went into the synagogue on the day and sat down.
After the reading of the Law and the Prophets, the synagogue leaders sent them a message: “Brothers, if you have something to say that will encourage the people, speak.”
Paul stood up and waved his hand. “Men of , and you who fear God, listen,” he said. “The God of this people chose our ancestors. He made the people great while they were living as foreigners in the land of , and with his arm raised high he led them out of it.
“He put up with them in the wilderness for about forty years. When he had destroyed seven nations in the land of , he gave their land to the people to inherit, for about four hundred fifty years. Then he gave them , until the prophet .
“Later they asked to have a king, and God gave them ’s son , from the tribe of , for forty years. After God removed Saul, he raised up to be their king. God said, ‘I have found David the son of , a man after my heart, who will do all that I want.’
“From this man’s family line God has brought salvation to Israel, just as he promised. Before his coming, had first preached the baptism of to Israel. When John was near the end of his work, he said, ‘What do you think I am? I’m not the one. But look, someone is coming after me, and I’m not worthy to untie his sandals.’
“Brothers, children of ’s family, and those among you who fear God: the message of this salvation is sent out to you. The people living in Jerusalem and their rulers did not know him, and they did not know the prophets’ words that are read every Sabbath. So they made those words come true by condemning him. They found no reason for him to die, but they still asked to have him killed. After they had carried out all the things written about him, they took him down from the tree and laid him in a tomb.
“But God raised him from the dead. Those who had gone up with him from to Jerusalem saw him over many days, and they are his witnesses to the people.
“We bring you good news about the promise made to the ancestors: God has kept it for us, their children, by raising up Jesus. It is also written in the second psalm:
‘You are my Son.Today I have become your father.’
“God raised him from the dead, never to go back to decay. He has said this about it: ‘I will give you the holy and sure blessings of David.’ That is why he also says in another psalm, ‘You will not allow your Holy One to see decay.’
“David served God’s plan in his own generation, and then he died. He was laid to rest with his ancestors and saw decay. But the one God raised up saw no decay.
“So, brothers, you should know that it is through this man that forgiveness of sins is being announced to you. And by him everyone who believes is justified from all the things the law of could not justify you from.
“So watch out, or what the prophets said may happen to you:
‘Look, you mockers!Stare in wonder, and perish,for I am doing a deed in your days,a deed you will not believe at all,if someone tells you about it.’”
As the Jews were leaving the synagogue, the begged to hear these words on the next Sabbath. When the synagogue gathering broke up, many Jews and devout followed Paul and Barnabas. The two spoke with them and urged them to keep on in the grace of God.
The next Sabbath nearly the whole city came together to hear the word of God. But the sight of the crowds filled the Jews with jealousy. They contradicted what Paul was saying, and they .
Paul and Barnabas spoke out boldly. “God’s word had to be spoken to you first,” they said. “But since you push it away and judge yourselves unworthy of eternal life, look, we are turning to the Gentiles, because the Lord has given us this command:
‘I have set you as a light for the Gentiles,for you to bring salvation to the farthest parts of the earth.’”
The Gentiles were glad when they heard this, and they gave glory to the word of God. As many as were appointed to eternal life believed. The Lord’s word spread through all that region.
But the Jews stirred up the devout and important women and the chief men of the city. They stirred up a persecution against Paul and Barnabas and threw them out of their territory. Paul and Barnabas shook the dust from their feet against them and came to .
The were full of joy and full of the Holy Spirit.
At Iconium they went into the synagogue of the Jews together. They spoke in such a way that a great crowd of both Jews and Greeks believed. But the Jews who did not believe stirred up the Gentiles and made them bitter against the brothers.
So they stayed there a long time, speaking boldly in the Lord. And the Lord backed up the message of his grace by letting signs and wonders be done by their hands. But the crowds in the city were divided. Some took the side of the Jews, and some took the side of the .
Some of the Gentiles and some of the Jews, with their rulers, made a violent attempt to mistreat and stone them. But the two found out about it and fled to , to the cities of and and the country around them. There they preached the Good News.
At Lystra there sat a man who had no strength in his feet. He had been born lame and had never walked. He was listening to Paul speak, and Paul looked straight at him and saw that he had faith to be made well.
“Stand upright on your feet!” Paul said in a loud voice. And the man leaped up and walked.
The crowds saw what Paul had done, and they raised their voices, shouting in the language of Lycaonia, “The gods have come down to us looking like men!” They called Barnabas “” and Paul “,” because he was the main speaker.
The priest of Jupiter, whose temple stood in front of their city, brought oxen and garlands to the gates, and he wanted to offer a sacrifice along with the crowds.
But when the apostles Barnabas and Paul heard about it, they tore their clothes and ran in among the people, shouting, “Men, why are you doing these things? We are men too, just like you. We have good news for you: you should turn from these empty things to the living God, who made the sky, the earth, the sea, and all that is in them.
“In the generations gone by, he let all the nations walk in their own ways. Yet he didn’t leave himself without a witness. He did good: he gave you rain from the sky and fruitful seasons, filling our hearts with food and gladness.”
They said all this, and even so they could hardly stop the crowds from making a sacrifice to them.
But some Jews from Antioch and Iconium came there. They persuaded the crowds, stoned Paul, and dragged him out of the city, believing he was dead.
But as the disciples stood around him, he got up and entered the city. The next day he set out with Barnabas for Derbe.
They preached the Good News in that city and made many disciples. After that they went back to Lystra, Iconium, and Antioch. They strengthened the souls of the disciples and urged them to keep on in the faith. They told them that we must go through many troubles to enter into God’s Kingdom.
In every assembly they appointed for them. After they had prayed and fasted, they gave them into the care of the Lord they had believed in.
They passed through Pisidia and came to Pamphylia. In Perga they spoke the word, and then they went down to . From there they sailed to . It was there that they had been entrusted to God’s grace for the work they had carried out.
When they arrived, they gathered the assembly together and reported all the things that God had done with them, and that he had opened a door of faith to the nations. They stayed there with the disciples for a long time.