Cyprus And The Proconsul Series

And from thence they sailed to Cyprus

“Cyprus” is an island in the Mediterranean Sea, the native country of Barnabas—“And Joses, who by the apostles was surnamed Barnabas, (which is, being interpreted, The son of consolation,) a Levite, and of the country of Cyprus” (Acts 4:36). No doubt, Paul and Barnabas were influenced to go there by the number of Jews living on the island, and the partial evangelization of it which had already taken place—“And some of them were men of Cyprus and Cyrene, which, when they were come to Antioch, spake unto the Grecians, preaching the Lord Jesus. And the hand of the Lord was with them: and a great number believed, and turned unto the Lord” (Acts 11:19, 20),and they would be a needed source of assistance and support. John Mark went with them, as we learn from the fifth and thirteenth verses, and possibly other brethren such as deacons and ministers. They sailed straight to Salamis, which was the principal or one of the principal towns where there was “a convenient and spacious harbor,” in the center of the eastern end of the island. It had a large population of Jews. It was destroyed in the reign of Trajan. A terrible insurrection of the Jews occurred there, in which they massacred 240,000 Gentiles. Since then, no Jew has been allowed into the land of Cyprus.

The population of the island was largely Greek, but the Jews were numerous in Salamis. By sailing to that city, they were following the path of the synagogues; and though their mission was chiefly to the Gentiles, their surest way to reach them was through the proselytes and Hellenizing Jews. The island was infamous for the worship of Venus, or Aphrodite, who was supposed to have her residence there, and therefore was commonly called the Cyprian goddess. She was its tutelary[i] goddess, and Paphos was the chief center of her worship, which there, as elsewhere, was conspicuous for the depravity of the harlot-priestesses of her temple. Some of the Cypriotes were already Christians. Indeed, no one place outside of Palestine, except Antioch, had been so honorably associated with the work of successful evangelization.

5 And when they were at Salamis, they preached the word of God in the synagogues of the Jews: and they had also John to their minister.

And when they were at Salamis,

“Salamis,” as stated above, was situated at the east end of Cyprus, and was the principal city and seaport of that country. It was the nearest port of Cyprus for voyagers from Seleucia. Now it is called Famagousta.

They preached the word of God in the synagogues of the Jews:

They preached, here and elsewhere, in the synagogues, either because they found no other such convenient places to preach in; (these were large structures, and many worshipped there). The apostles preached first to the Jews though they were sent unto the Gentiles; and they continued to follow this practice until the Jews renounced and discarded the Gospel, which made their way more clear and open to take the Gospel to the Gentiles, which is apparent throughout the Bible, and at the conclusion of it—“Be it known therefore to you, that the salvation of God is sent to the Gentiles, and that they will hear it” (Acts 28:28).