[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.1
Endnotes:
1. | NKJV, Acts 12:25-13:12 |
2. | “Tradition says that Barnabas preached in Alexandria and Rome, and was stoned to death at Salamis in about 61 CE. He is considered the founder of the Church of Cyprus. His bones are believed to be located in the nearby monastery named after him.” WP, Salamis, Cyprus, Christianityd |
3. | ““Although the Scriptures are very clear about this procedure, it is nevertheless denied by many. A major argument used to refute this doctrine is based on Acts 28:25-28. Because of these concluding words and Paul’s declaration that the gospel will now go to the Gentiles, the passage is taken to mean that the gospel is no longer to the Jew first and that God has now changed His program of evangelism, superseding Rom. 1:16, which was written before the Book of Acts. . . . The true meaning is to be found by comparing this passage with two other passages where these words had been spoken before: Acts 13:44-48 and Acts 18:5-6. The true interpretation of Acts 28:25-28 is to be seen in these two passages, which indicate a local change and not an overall change in the program of evangelism. . . . There is no shift in the procedure of presenting the gospel. Acts 28 is only a continuation of a procedure already in progress of presenting the gospel to the Jews first and then turning to the Gentiles.” Ref-1217, 103-104 |
4. | “Paul insisted that they should not take with them the one who had departed from them in Pamphylia, and had not gone with them to the work.” NKJV, Acts 15:38 |
5. | “The Roman proconsuls were officers invested with consular power over a district outside Rome, e.g., Gaul or Syria, usually for one year.” Ref-0008, 3:978 |
Sources:
NKJV | Unless indicated otherwise, all Scripture references are from the New King James Version, copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. |
Ref-0008 | Geoffrey Bromiley, ed., International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, Revised Edition (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdman's Publishing Company, 1979). |
Ref-1217 | Christopher Cone, ed., Practical Aspects of Pastoral Authority, 1st ed. (Fort Worth, TX: Tyndale Seminary Press, 2009). ISBN:978-0-9814791-5-6e. |
WP | Wikipedia http://www.wikipedia.org |