Paul and Barnabas – Sent Servants
Acts 12:20 – 13:13
Jeff Hughes – August 24, 2003
Calvary Chapel Aggieland
Introduction
The United States Marine Corps has a slogan that they have used for quite a while. I’m sure you’ve heard it. “We’re looking for a few good men.” But, did you know that God is looking for people too?
In 2nd Chronicles, chapter 6, verse 9, we read - the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to Him
Isaiah saw the Lord in a vision, and heard the Lord saying these words – “Whom shall I send, And who will go for Us?" Isaiah’s reply is one of eager obedience - "Here am I! Send me."
This is a man that would be faithful to the Lord throughout his whole life. He is by far the most quoted of the prophets in the New Testament, because of his messianic prophecies. He was faithful to the Lord that had sent him until his death around 700, when he would be sawn in half, at the order of the evil king Manasseh.
Today, we will see God sending out more faithful servants, Barnabas and Paul. We last saw Paul and Barnabas two weeks ago, as they ministered to the church at Antioch, and taught God’s Word there. The people in Antioch were encouraged and strengthened by God’s Word. When they heard about a famine that would sweep over the ancient Middle East, they decided to send aid to the church at Jerusalem.
Saul and Barnabas may well have been in Jerusalem for the events that we saw last week, the killing of the apostle James, and the imprisonment and miraculous release of Peter.
But today, we will see Paul and Barnabas again in action. Before we get into our study though, let’s go before the Lord and ask His blessing on our message today. Let’s pray.
PRAYER
Illustration
The history of missionary efforts in Tahiti is interesting to say the least. For fifteen years there was not a convert. The London Missionary Society seriously debated recalling their missionaries and giving their efforts to some other fields. After an earnest debate, it was decided to continue the work and letters were sent to the missionaries telling them of the decision. Now, a vessel sailed from London for Tahiti containing letters to the missionaries telling them to go on despite the seeming lack of fruit from their labor. At the same time a vessel sailed from Tahiti for London, and they passed each other in mid-ocean. On the London bound ship there were letters from the missionaries to the Society in London saying that a great revival had spread over Tahiti, that the idol temples were destroyed and that the idol gods were surrendered, and those gods were on that vessel on their way to London where they are now to be seen in the Missionary Society museum.
Our study in Acts today marks another transition for the early church. The gospel has been spread to Judea and Samaria, and now, as we close chapter 12, and pick up chapter 13, we will see the gospel start to be carried to the ends of the earth. Our focus shifts from the apostle Peter to the apostle Paul.
Our passage is Acts chapter 12 verse 20 through chapter 13, verse 13. There’s a place for you to take notes in your bulletin if you would like, and if you need a Bible, just raise your hand. Acts is right past John in the New Testament, and just before Romans.
Follow along with me as we read.
Study
Intro
20 Now Herod had been very angry with the people of Tyre and Sidon; but they came to him with one accord, and having made Blastus the king’s personal aide their friend, they asked for peace, because their country was supplied with food by the king’s country. 21 So on a set day Herod, arrayed in royal apparel, sat on his throne and gave an oration to them. 22 And the people kept shouting, "The voice of a god and not of a man!" 23 Then immediately an angel of the Lord struck him, because he did not give glory to God. And he was eaten by worms and died. 24 But the word of God grew and multiplied. 25 And Barnabas and Saul returned from Jerusalem when they had fulfilled their ministry, and they also took with them John whose surname was Mark.
1 Now in the church that was at Antioch there were certain prophets and teachers: Barnabas, Simeon who was called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen who had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch, and Saul. 2 As they ministered to the Lord and fasted, the Holy Spirit said, "Now separate to Me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them." 3 Then, having fasted and prayed, and laid hands on them, they sent them away. 4 So, being sent out by the Holy Spirit, they went down to Seleucia, and from there they sailed to Cyprus. 5 And when they arrived in Salamis, they preached the word of God in the synagogues of the Jews. They also had John as their assistant. 6 Now when they had gone through the island to Paphos, they found a certain sorcerer, a false prophet, a Jew whose name was Bar-Jesus, 7 who was with the proconsul, Sergius Paulus, an intelligent man. This man called for Barnabas and Saul and sought to hear the word of God. 8 But Elymas the sorcerer (for so his name is translated) withstood them, seeking to turn the proconsul away from the faith. 9 Then Saul, who also is called Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked intently at him 10 and said, "O full of all deceit and all fraud, you son of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness, will you not cease perverting the straight ways of the Lord? 11 And now, indeed, the hand of the Lord is upon you, and you shall be blind, not seeing the sun for a time." And immediately a dark mist fell on him, and he went around seeking someone to lead him by the hand. 12 Then the proconsul believed, when he saw what had been done, being astonished at the teaching of the Lord. 13 Now when Paul and his party set sail from Paphos, they came to Perga in Pamphylia; and John, departing from them, returned to Jerusalem.
Not unlike Paul and Barnabas, we have a lot ground to cover this morning. This is a passage that has a lot of different locations. We start out in Judea, where we left off last week, and we wind up on the island of Cyprus.
We have six points in our study this morning, the ruler’s demise, raising up missionaries, the route of the gospel, the resistance at Paphos, rendered sightless, and our last point is running out.
Last week, we wrapped up with King Agrippa leaving Jerusalem for Caesarea, and we pick up with him today in verse 20.
The Ruler’s Demise (Acts 12:20 - 24)
20 Now Herod had been very angry with the people of Tyre and Sidon; but they came to him with one accord, and having made Blastus the king’s personal aide their friend, they asked for peace, because their country was supplied with food by the king’s country. 21 So on a set day Herod, arrayed in royal apparel, sat on his throne and gave an oration to them. 22 And the people kept shouting, "The voice of a god and not of a man!" 23 Then immediately an angel of the Lord struck him, because he did not give glory to God. And he was eaten by worms and died. 24 But the word of God grew and multiplied.
So, Herod is hanging out in his capital of Caesarea, and he gets into a dispute with the people of Tyre and Sidon. These were two free-governing trading cities found in modern-day Lebanon, on the Mediterranean sea.
Herod is pretty upset with these cities, and we aren’t really told why, but I would venture to guess that it probably had something to do with money, probably taxes or a trade dispute.
But, because Herod is angry with them, it’s bad news for them, because we see that they were being cut off from their food supply. So, they go and do political maneuvers, a little lobbying of the king’s chamberlain, a man named Blastus.
This is a passage of scripture that corresponds to events that are recorded in secular literature as well. The Jewish historian Josephus also recorded these events, and gives us more detail of what happened, agreeing with Luke’s account.
Some people believe that the Bible is fiction. But, as archaeology continues to dig deeper into the ancient Middle East, we see the Bible being confirmed again and again. That is what is happening here.
Josephus tells us that the event in question was the games, much like the Olympic games, that Herod put on in Caesarea, in honor of the Emperor, who by this time was Claudius. The leading people from the kingdom would have been there.
On the second day of the games, Herod walks into the coliseum at daybreak, to address the crowd wearing a cloak that was woven with silver threads that reflected the light of the sun, as it rose above the horizon.
At this point, the people sought to flatter Herod, to butter him up. They began to address him as a god, and not a man. Herod didn’t rebuke them, or redirect them, he just stood there and ate it up.
Josephus tells us that at this point though, Herod looked up, and saw an owl sitting on a rope above his head. This is significant, because to the Romans, the owl was a creature from the underworld and a signal of impending doom or death. To hear the hoot of an owl meant that there would soon be a death. Romans attempted to ward off the evil associated with owls by nailing a dead one to their front door as a warning to evil forces.
Whether Herod actually saw an owl or not, is debatable. But, at this point, Herod was seized with pain in his body.
Luke tells us here that Herod’s natural disease was brought about by supernatural means, an angel struck Herod with this affliction. This isn’t out of the realm of possibility by a longshot, especially after looking at what we will read later today.
We are also given the reason for Herod’s affliction. He didn’t give glory to God, and took the praise that should be reserved for God for himself.
You see, God is jealous. He will take direct action against people who attempt to take divine glory and honor away from Him. This was Satan’s sin. We see this laid out in Isaiah chapter 14, verses 12 through 15.
12 "How you are fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! How you are cut down to the ground, You who weakened the nations! 13 For you have said in your heart: ’I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God; I will also sit on the mount of the congregation On the farthest sides of the north; 14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds, I will be like the Most High.’ 15 Yet you shall be brought down to Sheol, To the lowest depths of the Pit.
Josephus tells us that Herod lingered five days in this pain wracked state, and then he died at the age of 54. He was a hardened man who did not repent of his sin.
Herod thought that he could gain the upper hand on God’s people, the church. What a turnaround we have seen from the beginning of chapter 12. At the beginning of the chapter, James was dead, Peter was in prison, and Herod was triumphing. At he close, Herod is dead, Peter is free, and as we read here from Luke’s commentary, the gospel was going forth.
God would send the gospel even further though. We see this in the next four verses.
Raising Up Missionaries (Acts 12:25 – 13:3)
25 And Barnabas and Saul returned from Jerusalem when they had fulfilled their ministry, and they also took with them John whose surname was Mark.
1 Now in the church that was at Antioch there were certain prophets and teachers: Barnabas, Simeon who was called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen who had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch, and Saul. 2 As they ministered to the Lord and fasted, the Holy Spirit said, "Now separate to Me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them." 3 Then, having fasted and prayed, and laid hands on them, they sent them away.
Chapter 12 draws to a close with Saul and Barnabas returning to Antioch from Jerusalem. Their mission to bring aid to the church at Jerusalem was accomplished, and they wanted to get back to Antioch and the work that God had established for them there.
They took along with them a young man named John Mark. He would later write the Gospel of Mark. He was a friend of Peter and Barnabas. He was also Barnabas’ cousin, and as we will see, Mark accompanied Barnabas much of the time.
Back in Antioch, Luke gives us a run-down of what’s going on. The church there had prophets and teachers that were raised up. Notice the distinction between prophets and teachers there.
Prophets exhort and comfort the church under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Teachers are those who teach God’s Word in order to ground the congregation. Many folks think that these are one in the same. I think that can be true with certain individuals, but, we see here a clear distinction in Acts chapter 13.
Barnabas is listed here first. He has come a long way from selling his possessions and giving the proceeds to the church we saw back in chapter 4. He took Saul under his wing at Jerusalem, and now, the Lord has counted him faithful, raising him up as a leader in the church at Antioch.
Next we see Simeon who was called Niger. The word Niger meant black. Simeon was a black African at the church there at Antioch. Many scholars believe that this was Simon of Cyrene, who carried the cross of Jesus.
We also see Lucius of Cyrene. Some people speculate that Simon shared the gospel with this man when he returned home, and eventually he became a leader in the church.
Menanen we see here was a foster-brother of Herod the tetrarch. This isn’t Herod Agrippa, who just died, but Herod Antipas, who ruled before him. The same king that had John the Baptist executed, and prsided over one of Jesus’ trials.
Last we see here Saul. Saul’s name meant “requested one”. Later in today’s study though, we will see his name changer to Paul, which meant “Little”. God’s grace had changed this once proud Pharisee into a humble servant of Christ, and his name reflected that change.
As these men were faithful to the call that God had upon their lives, as they served the Lord there in Antioch, and fasted seeking His direction, the Lord gives them His direction.
The Holy Spirit laid it on the hearts of the men serving that Saul and Barnabas to the further ministry that He had called them to. The further ministry is explained in the next verses.
The Lord called Saul and Barnabas for the long haul though. This wasn’t something to be taken lightly. This wasn’t something that you just jump into. The other elders of the church there at Antioch knew this, but they also knew that God had called these men to this work.
At that point, they pray over Saul and Barnabas, and lay hands on them, agreeing with what God had told them about these men being called to another area of service.
We see next that Saul and Barnabas were sent away to the work that God had called them to. Paul and Barnabas didn’t volunteer for this assignment. God called, and they responded. Their church supported them.
No committee meetings, no demographic reports, no marketing survey as to how to minister to the people’s needs in a specific area, but just going out under the direction of the Holy Spirit.
When people go out to minister, there are those that went, and those that were sent. Those that went got caught up in emotion, and they will eventually burn out. Those that were sent, will continue the work that God has called them to, despite the bad circumstances.
Bad things are going to happen to both groups of people, those that went and those that were sent. A friend of mine says, if you’re going to step out in ministry, you had better buckle up, because the ride is about to get a lot rougher. But, if you were sent, you know that God is doing these things for a purpose, and that is to equip you for the task at hand.
In the next few verses. We will look at the directions the Spirit gave to Paul and Barnabas.
The Route of the Gospel (Acts 13:4 - 5)
4 So, being sent out by the Holy Spirit, they went down to Seleucia, and from there they sailed to Cyprus. 5 And when they arrived in Salamis, they preached the word of God in the synagogues of the Jews. They also had John as their assistant.
The Holy Spirit sent them, but as we see in verse 4, they went down to Selucia. God gave the directions, but if was the men themselves that were responsible for stepping out in faith for the work that God had called them to.
Selucia was a small sea-port city that was near Antioch. They probably ministered there a short while as they were waiting for a ship to take them to the island of Cyprus.
So, why did they go to Cyprus? Well, we know Barnabas was from Cyprus. Acts chapter 4 tells us that Barnabas was a Levite from Cyprus.
My guess is that Barnabas felt called to minister to the people of his home, because he knew people there. He knew people there who did not have a personal relationship with Jesus.
Cyprus was a wild place. The worship of the Greek goddess Aphrodite centered on the island of Cyprus, and every woman on the island was required by law to serve as a temple prostitute at least once in her life.
Cyprus was an island that was sick. Sick from sin. They were ravaged by disease and crime, I would liken going to Cyprus to minister would not be too unlike going to Las Vegas to minister.
When they arrive on the island, they come to the city of Salamis. Salamis was a city on the east coast of Cyprus, and was a Greek colony. There was also a large number of Jews that lived there too, because we see that they had more than one synagogue.
The first thing they do is head to one of these synagogues to preach the gospel. Why did they do that? Well, for one thing, the synagogue was an open platform for Saul and Barnabas to teach on the Sabbath. They had an open door teaching policy at synagogues in those days. This is a toll that Paul will use again and again as the gospel spreads west.
We also see that they have John Mark with them in Cyprus as their assistant. This is going to be significant later on. But, they took their opportunity to teach there in Salamis, and moved on. Let’s see where they went in the next few verses.
The Resistance at Paphos (Acts 13:6 - 8)
6 Now when they had gone through the island to Paphos, they found a certain sorcerer, a false prophet, a Jew whose name was Bar-Jesus, 7 who was with the proconsul, Sergius Paulus, an intelligent man. This man called for Barnabas and Saul and sought to hear the word of God. 8 But Elymas the sorcerer (for so his name is translated) withstood them, seeking to turn the proconsul away from the faith.
They continue through the island to the city of Paphos, which was the site of the temple of Aphrodite, and also the seat of Roman government there in Cyprus.
It is here in Paphos that they meet up with a Jew who practiced black magic. He claimed to be a prophet, and got a bunch of people stirred up, not too much unlike Simon of Samaria, who was rebuked by Peter for trying to buy the power of the Holy Spirit.
These soothsayers or wizards were common in the Roman empire. The word sorcery is the greek word pharmakia, and we get our pharmacy from it. Sorcery back then involved drug use. The sorcerer would get all whacked out on drugs, and then make predictions, or “see into the spirit world”. What it did was open them up for demon possession, and the occult.
This man’s name was Bar-Jesus. It means son of Jesus. He was a companion, and was perhaps in the employment of the Roman proconsul. The proconsul was the leading Roman official on the island. He was the governor there, if you will.
The proconsul was a man by the name of Sergius Paulus. In recent history, a stone tablet was found on the island from about this time frame bearing the name Sergius.
Sergius was a learned and intelligent man, and when he heard about Paul and Barnabas teaching and preaching the gospel, he wanted to hear more, so he sent for them.
But, Bar-Jesus the Sorcerer wasn’t too happy about this. If the proconsul put his faith in this new religion, then he would lose out on his job. He realized this, and sought to discredit Paul and Barnabas.
John warns us about these kinds of people that seek to destroy the church with their words. We read in 1st John chapter 4, verse 1 - Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world.
False teaching is one of the largest attacks leveled at the church today. Christians are ineffective and stagnating because of false teaching. Worse, people are being led astray by false teaching. Which is what this guy was trying to do.
We see him called Elymas here, and that is what people called him, it means magician. We still run into people that are under the bondage of drugs these days, and we can run into people that are under the bondage of the occult.
How should we deal with people like that? Should we run away? Should we avoid them? The answer is no. Jesus stood in a synagogue one day and read the following from the scroll of Isaiah - The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, Because He has anointed Me To preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives And recovery of sight to the blind, To set at liberty those who are oppressed;
Jesus came to set those who were under such influence free. The gospel was available to Bar-Jesus, just like it was available to Sergius Paulus. We need to reach out to people in this situation with love, and the gospel.
The difference between the two men is that one was open to hearing the truth of the gospel, and one wasn’t. Bar-Jesus was standing in the way of the gospel, and just like Herod, God would deal with him. We see this in the next four verses.
Rendered Sightless (Acts 13:9 - 12)
9 Then Saul, who also is called Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked intently at him 10 and said, "O full of all deceit and all fraud, you son of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness, will you not cease perverting the straight ways of the Lord? 11 And now, indeed, the hand of the Lord is upon you, and you shall be blind, not seeing the sun for a time." And immediately a dark mist fell on him, and he went around seeking someone to lead him by the hand. 12 Then the proconsul believed, when he saw what had been done, being astonished at the teaching of the Lord.
Paul looks at Bar-Jesus, and using the gift of discernment, sensed the this guy was slandering the gospel message to Sergius. He was filled with the faith of God, when he rebukes Bar-Jesus, and pronounces a curse upon him, that he would be blinded for a while, by God.
He calls him a son of the devil. What he is saying is this – you call yourself bar-Jesus, but what you really are is bar-devil. That is what he was at that point, under the influence and sway of Satan. In 1st Corinthians, chapter 12, verse 3, Paul would later write - 3 Therefore I make known to you that no one speaking by the Spirit of God calls Jesus accursed, and no one can say that Jesus is Lord except by the Holy Spirit.
The magician then had a mist cover his eyes, and he could see no more. He groped around, looking for someone to lead him by the hand. When I read this story, I am reminded of the men of Sodom, who were struck blind by the Angel of the Lord, for their wickedness.
I bet Saul was thinking about what his experience on the road to Damascus though, when God removed his sight for a while. One big difference between Saul’s experience and Elymas of Bar-Jesus – Saul was repentant of his actions, we don’t see that this man was.
G. Campbell Morgan wrote this concerning this passage of scripture - "The severest words of the Bible, Old and New Testaments, are reserved for those who stand between men and truth, for those who stand between men and God. . . . It must be the heart that loves Sergius Paulus that speaks in anger to Elymas the sorcerer."
God loved Sergius Paulus, just like he loved Cornelius the centurion in Ceasarea. The proconsul saw all that was happening, and he had to find out about this.
I want us to notice something in verse 12. It tells us the Sergius was astonished at the teaching of the Lord. You know, I would expect a man in that situation to be astonished at what happened to his sorcerer, but he was astonished at the teaching.
Some commentators have questioned the sincerity and quality of Sergius’s conversion, since we aren’t told anything else about him, but I personally don’t think that’s the case. Just because we aren’t told doesn’t mean that he didn’t get saved.
I want us to notice one more thing in this verse before we move on though. Back in verse 5, we see the apostle called Saul, but here we see him called Paul for the first time. This was his Roman name.
As a Roman citizen, he would have 3 names, his last name was Paullus, where we get Paul. We don’t know his first two names, and Saul is his fourth name, a Jewish name, which to Romans would be considered a nickname.
It was at this point that Saul was traveling in the Roman world and culture that he goes by his Roman name. His citizenship would greatly help him in his journeys.
This brings us to verse 13, where we will wrap up today.
Running Out (Acts 13:13)
13 Now when Paul and his party set sail from Paphos, they came to Perga in Pamphylia; and John, departing from them, returned to Jerusalem.
Paul and his party set sail from Paphos. Hmmm. Up until this point, it was Barnabas and Saul, and now, Luke gives us a clue here.
Paul had stepped to the forefront and taken leadership of this missionary team. Barnabas had been, he had been in the faith longer. We don’t know what precipitated this change, but it happened here in Cyprus.
We see where they were going, though. They leave the island, and head north into modern day Turkey, which was Paul’s neck of the woods.
We also see that John Mark parted ways with the company there, and he returned home to Jerusalem. Paul was very upset about this. He felt like John Mark had abandoned them in Cyprus.
We will see this later when we get to chapter 15, in a few weeks. We really aren’t told why Mark left. Some think that he was angered over Paul assuming leadership of the team. Others feel like he was homesick. Others think he was pessimistic about Paul’s poor health.
Regardless, he chose to leave, and Paul was not happy about it at all. He and Barnabas would separate over the contention. However, we see that Paul later forgives Mark, and even sends for him in his later life.
I pray that each one of us would be people that serve regardless of the circumstance or resistance we face, even if it ourselves.
Point Summary - There are four things that I want us to take away from this message. Four life points that I want us to think about this week, and try to apply to our lives. If you don’t take away anything else, take this:
God doesn’t allow someone else to take His glory.
The Holy Spirit calls people into service.
Standing in the way of the gospel can have dire consequences.
Abandoning ministry hurts other people.
I‘d like to close with a short story.
Conclusion
One of the large oil companies needed a public relations office for their work in the Orient. They asked a missionary to take over the post, offering a salary that was considerably larger than that which the church was able to pay, but he turned it down. The company officials met, and because they felt this missionary had unusual gifts in the field of public relations, they increased the salary offer to a point where it would be very difficult to say, "No." But again the missionary refused. "What’s wrong?" the official asked. "Isn’t the salary big enough?" The reply was simple, yet direct: "The salary is big enough, but the job isn’t."
The job that God had called Paul to do was huge. He would travel the known world at the time preaching the gospel wherever he had the chance. He would fall into all kinds of trials and on top of all of this, he had a noticeable physical infirmity.
But, it was the job that God called him to do. God had prepared and selected him, and he was going to put everything into it, so that when he finished, and Nero’s men took his head, he would stand before Jesus and hear the words, “Well done good and faithful servant.
Maybe you’re here today, and you feel like God is calling you to do something, some kind of service. Come and talk to me after we finish.
Maybe there’s someone here who has never made a decision to follow Jesus for themselves. It’s all about a relationship – a relationship with Jesus that will free you from your sin, and bring that joy into your life, so that you can face the tough times ahead.
If you’re that person, I’m going pray and give you the chance to accept Jesus, and enter into that relationship; I’m praying that you will.
Let’s Pray.
Closing Prayer
