Chapter 13
1 [a]Now there were in the church at Antioch prophets and
teachers: Barnabas, Symeon who was called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen who
was a close friend of Herod the tetrarch, and Saul. 2 While they were
worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for me
Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” 3 Then, completing
their fasting and prayer, they laid hands on them and sent them off.
First Mission Begins in Cyprus. 4 [b]So they, sent forth by
the Holy Spirit, went down to Seleucia and from there sailed to Cyprus. 5 When
they arrived in Salamis, they proclaimed the word of God in the Jewish
synagogues. They had John[c] also as their assistant. 6 When they had traveled
through the whole island as far as Paphos, they met a magician named Bar-Jesus
who was a Jewish false prophet.[d] 7 He was with the proconsul Sergius Paulus,
a man of intelligence, who had summoned Barnabas and Saul and wanted to hear
the word of God. 8 But Elymas the magician (for that is what his name means)
opposed them in an attempt to turn the proconsul away from the faith. 9 But
Saul, also known as Paul,[e] filled with the Holy Spirit, looked intently at
him 10 and said, “You son of the devil, you enemy of all that is right, full of
every sort of deceit and fraud. Will you not stop twisting the straight paths
of [the] Lord? 11 Even now the hand of the Lord is upon you. You will be blind,
and unable to see the sun for a time.” Immediately a dark mist fell upon him,
and he went about seeking people to lead him by the hand. 12 When the proconsul
saw what had happened, he came to believe, for he was astonished by the
teaching about the Lord.
Paul’s Arrival at Antioch in Pisidia. 13 From Paphos, Paul
and his companions set sail and arrived at Perga in Pamphylia. But John left
them and returned to Jerusalem. 14 They continued on from Perga and reached
Antioch in Pisidia. On the sabbath, they entered [into] the synagogue and took
their seats. 15 After the reading of the law and the prophets, the synagogue
officials sent word to them, “My brothers, if one of you has a word of
exhortation for the people, please speak.”
Paul’s Address in the Synagogue. 16 [f]So Paul got up,
motioned with his hand, and said, “Fellow Israelites and you others who are
God-fearing,[g] listen. 17 The God of this people Israel chose our ancestors
and exalted the people during their sojourn in the land of Egypt. With the uplifted
arm, he led them out of it 18 and for about forty years he put up with[h] them
in the desert. 19 When he had destroyed seven nations in the land of Canaan, he
gave them their land as an inheritance 20 at the end of about four hundred and
fifty years.[i] After these things he provided judges up to Samuel [the]
prophet. 21 Then they asked for a king. God gave them Saul, son of Kish, a man
from the tribe of Benjamin, for forty years. 22 Then he removed him and raised
up David as their king; of him, he testified, ‘I have found David, son of Jesse,
a man after my own heart; he will carry out my every wish.’ 23 From this man’s
descendants God, according to his promise, has brought to Israel a savior,
Jesus. 24 John heralded his coming by proclaiming a baptism of repentance to
all the people of Israel; 25 and as John was completing his course, he would
say, ‘What do you suppose that I am? I am not he. Behold, one is coming after
me; I am not worthy to unfasten the sandals of his feet.’
26 “My brothers, children of the family of Abraham, and
those others among you who are God-fearing, to us this word of salvation has
been sent. 27 The inhabitants of Jerusalem and their leaders failed to
recognize him, and by condemning him they fulfilled the oracles of the prophets
that are read sabbath after sabbath. 28 For even though they found no grounds
for a death sentence, they asked Pilate to have him put to death, 29 and when
they had accomplished all that was written about him, they took him down from
the tree and placed him in a tomb. 30 But God raised him from the dead, 31 and
for many days he appeared to those who had come up with him from Galilee to
Jerusalem. These are [now] his witnesses before the people.[j] 32 We ourselves
are proclaiming this good news to you that what God promised our ancestors 33
he has brought to fulfillment for us, [their] children, by raising up Jesus, as
it is written in the second psalm, ‘You are my son; this day I have begotten
you.’ 34 And that he raised him from the dead never to return to corruption he
declared in this way, ‘I shall give you the benefits assured to David.’ 35 That
is why he also says in another psalm, ‘You will not suffer your holy one to see
corruption.’ 36 Now David, after he had served the will of God in his lifetime,
fell asleep, was gathered to his ancestors, and did see corruption. 37 But the
one whom God raised up did not see corruption. 38 You must know, my brothers,
that through him forgiveness of sins is being proclaimed to you, [and] in
regard to everything from which you could not be justified[k] under the law of
Moses, 39 in him every believer is justified. 40 Be careful, then, that what
was said in the prophets not come about:
41 ‘Look on, you scoffers, be amazed and disappear. For I am doing a work in your days, a work that you will never believe even if someone tells you.’”
42 As they were leaving, they invited them to speak on these
subjects the following sabbath. 43 After the congregation had dispersed, many
Jews and worshipers who were converts to Judaism followed Paul and Barnabas,
who spoke to them and urged them to remain faithful to the grace of God.
Address to the Gentiles. 44 On the following sabbath almost
the whole city gathered to hear the word of the Lord. 45 When the Jews saw the
crowds, they were filled with jealousy and with violent abuse contradicted what
Paul said. 46 Both Paul and Barnabas spoke out boldly and said, “It was
necessary that the word of God be spoken to you first, but since you reject it
and condemn yourselves as unworthy of eternal life, we now turn to the
Gentiles.[l] 47 For so the Lord has commanded us, ‘I have made you a light to
the Gentiles, that you may be an instrument of salvation to the ends of the
earth.’”
48 The Gentiles were delighted when they heard this and
glorified the word of the Lord. All who were destined for eternal life came to
believe, 49 and the word of the Lord continued to spread through the whole
region. 50 The Jews, however, incited the women of prominence who were
worshipers and the leading men of the city, stirred up a persecution against
Paul and Barnabas, and expelled them from their territory. 51 So they shook the
dust from their feet in protest against them and went to Iconium.[m] 52 The
disciples were filled with joy and the Holy Spirit.
Footnotes
13:1–3 The impulse for the first missionary effort in Asia
Minor is ascribed to the prophets of the Antiochene community, under the
inspiration of the Holy Spirit. Just as the Jerusalem community had earlier
been the center of missionary activity, so too Antioch becomes the center from
which the missionaries Barnabas and Saul are sent out.
13:4–14:27 The key event in Luke’s account of the first
missionary journey is the experience of Paul and Barnabas at Pisidian Antioch
(Acts 13:14–52). The Christian kerygma proclaimed by Paul in the synagogue was
favorably received. Some Jews and “God-fearers” (see note on Acts 8:26–40)
became interested and invited the missionaries to speak again on the following
sabbath (Acts 13:42). By that time, however, the appearance of a large number
of Gentiles from the city had so disconcerted the Jews that they became hostile
toward the apostles (Acts 13:44–50). This hostility of theirs appears in all
three accounts of Paul’s missionary journeys in Acts, the Jews of Iconium (Acts
14:1–2) and Beroea (Acts 17:11) being notable exceptions.
13:5 John: that is, John Mark (see Acts 12:12, 25).
13:6 A magician named Bar-Jesus who was a Jewish false
prophet: that is, he posed as a prophet. Again Luke takes the opportunity to
dissociate Christianity from the magical acts of the time (Acts 13:7–11); see
also Acts 8:18–24.
13:9 Saul, also known as Paul: there is no reason to believe
that his name was changed from Saul to Paul upon his conversion. The use of a
double name, one Semitic (Saul), the other Greco-Roman (Paul), is well attested
(cf. Acts 1:23) Joseph Justus; Acts 12:12, 25, John Mark).
13:16–41 This is the first of several speeches of Paul to
Jews proclaiming that the Christian church is the logical development of
Pharisaic Judaism (see also Acts 24:10–21; 26:2–23).
13:16 Who are God-fearing: see note on Acts 8:26–40.
13:18 Put up with: some manuscripts read “sustained.”
13:20 At the end of about four hundred and fifty years: the
manuscript tradition makes it uncertain whether the mention of four hundred and
fifty years refers to the sojourn in Egypt before the Exodus, the wilderness
period and the time of the conquest (see Ex 12:40–41), as the translation here
suggests, or to the time between the conquest and the time of Samuel, the
period of the judges, if the text is read, “After these things, for about four
hundred and fifty years, he provided judges.”
13:31 The theme of the Galilean witnesses is a major one in
the Gospel of Luke and in Acts and is used to signify the continuity between
the teachings of Jesus and the teachings of the church and to guarantee the
fidelity of the church’s teachings to the words of Jesus.
13:38–39 Justified: the verb is the same as that used in
Paul’s letters to speak of the experience of justification and, as in Paul, is
here connected with the term “to have faith” (“every believer”). But this seems
the only passage about Paul in Acts where justification is mentioned. In Lucan
fashion, it is paralleled with “forgiveness of sins” (a theme at Acts 2:38;
3:19; 5:31; 10:43) based on Jesus’ resurrection (Acts 13:37) rather than his
cross, and is put negatively (Acts 13:38). Therefore, some would translate, “in
regard to everything from which you could not be acquitted…every believer is
acquitted.”
13:46 The refusal to believe frustrates God’s plan for his
chosen people; however, no adverse judgment is made here concerning their
ultimate destiny. Again, Luke, in the words of Paul, speaks of the priority of
Israel in the plan for salvation (see Acts 10:36).
13:51 See note on Lk 9:5.
Source Catholic Bible: New American Bible Revised Edition (NABRE)
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