Verses 1-3: A Worshiping Church and a Sending Spirit

¹ Now in the assembly that was at Antioch there were some prophets and teachers: Barnabas, Simeon who was called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen the foster brother of Herod the tetrarch, and Saul. ² As they served the Lord and fasted, the Holy Spirit said, “Separate Barnabas and Saul for me, for the work to which I have called them.” ³ Then, when they had fasted and prayed and laid their hands on them, they sent them away.

• Mission flows from worship and discernment in the gathered church:

  The church in Antioch is pictured as actively “served the Lord and fasted,” and in that context they receive direction; this teaches that Christian mission is not a self-starting project but an outflow of reverent worship, prayerful attention, and communal obedience.

• The Holy Spirit personally calls and sets apart servants for specific work:

  The Spirit’s command, “Separate Barnabas and Saul for me, for the work to which I have called them,” grounds Christian ministry in divine initiative: God truly appoints and summons, and the church recognizes that call rather than inventing it.

• Ordination-like action expresses unity without replacing God’s call:

  By fasting, praying, and laying hands on them, the church acts as a responsible, accountable community; yet the sequence shows the call comes from the Holy Spirit, while the laying on of hands expresses recognition, blessing, and shared participation in the mission.

Verses 4-12: Spirit-Sent Witness and the Judgment of Deceit

⁴ So, being sent out by the Holy Spirit, they went down to Seleucia. From there they sailed to Cyprus. ⁵ When they were at Salamis, they proclaimed God’s word in the Jewish synagogues. They also had John as their attendant. ⁶ 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, a man of understanding. This man summoned Barnabas and Saul, and sought to hear the word of God. ⁸ But Elymas the sorcerer (for so is his name by interpretation) withstood them, seeking to turn the proconsul away from the faith. ⁹ But Saul, who is also called Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, fastened his eyes on him, ¹⁰ and said, “You son of the devil, full of all deceit and all cunning, you enemy of all righteousness, will you not cease to pervert the right ways of the Lord? ¹¹ Now, behold, the hand of the Lord is on you, and you will be blind, not seeing the sun for a season!” Immediately a mist and darkness fell on him. He went around seeking someone to lead him by the hand. ¹² Then the proconsul, when he saw what was done, believed, being astonished at the teaching of the Lord.

• The Spirit who calls also sends and guides the church outward:

  “Being sent out by the Holy Spirit” establishes that evangelistic advance is Spirit-driven, not merely organizational ambition, and it legitimizes mission as obedience to God’s direction.

• The gospel is proclaimed first within Israel’s worshiping context and then outward:

  They “proclaimed God’s word in the Jewish synagogues,” showing continuity with God’s prior revelation and honoring the historical priority of Israel while anticipating a wider reach beyond the synagogues.

• Faith is sought and faith is resisted—human response is morally meaningful:

  Sergius Paulus “sought to hear the word of God,” while Elymas “withstood them” and tried “to turn the proconsul away from the faith,” highlighting that people can pursue the truth or actively oppose it, and that opposition is not neutral but spiritually charged.

• God judges persistent spiritual deception, sometimes through visible signs:

  Paul’s Spirit-filled rebuke exposes deceit as an attack on “the right ways of the Lord,” and the temporary blindness (“not seeing the sun for a season”) demonstrates that God may confront hardened resistance with disciplinary judgment that both restrains evil and warns observers.

• Saving faith centers on the Lord’s teaching, confirmed—not replaced—by wonders:

  The proconsul “believed, being astonished at the teaching of the Lord,” teaching that miracles can arrest attention and authenticate God’s action, yet the heart of conversion is the truth about the Lord that is taught and received in faith.

Verses 13-15: The Word Read, the Word Invited

¹³ Now Paul and his company set sail from Paphos, and came to Perga in Pamphylia. John departed from them and returned to Jerusalem. ¹⁴ But they, passing on from Perga, came to Antioch of Pisidia. They went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and sat down. ¹⁵ After the reading of the law and the prophets, the rulers of the synagogue sent to them, saying, “Brothers, if you have any word of exhortation for the people, speak.”

• God advances the mission through ordinary means and imperfect messengers:

  The narrative includes travel details and John’s departure, reminding believers that mission happens amid real human limitations and complexities, yet God’s purpose continues through those who remain faithful to the work.

• Public Scripture reading prepares the soil for gospel proclamation:

  “After the reading of the law and the prophets” sets the sermon within God’s written revelation, modeling that Christian preaching is not detached from Scripture but emerges from it and addresses hearers as those accountable to God’s word.

• The gospel is offered through invitation and hearing within a community:

  The synagogue leaders’ invitation—“if you have any word of exhortation… speak”—shows God often opens doors through hospitality and ordered gatherings, and that the message ordinarily comes through spoken witness to listeners.

Verses 16-25: God’s Covenant Story and the Forerunner’s Call

¹⁶ Paul stood up, and beckoning with his hand said, “Men of Israel, and you who fear God, listen. ¹⁷ The God of this people chose our fathers, and exalted the people when they stayed as aliens in the land of Egypt, and with an uplifted arm, he led them out of it. ¹⁸ For a period of about forty years he put up with them in the wilderness. ¹⁹ When he had destroyed seven nations in the land of Canaan, he gave them their land for an inheritance for about four hundred fifty years. ²⁰ After these things, he gave them judges until Samuel the prophet. ²¹ Afterward they asked for a king, and God gave to them Saul the son of Kish, a man of the tribe of Benjamin, for forty years. ²² When he had removed him, he raised up David to be their king, to whom he also testified, ‘I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after my heart, who will do all my will.’ ²³ From this man’s offspring, God has brought salvation to Israel according to his promise, ²⁴ before his coming, when John had first preached the baptism of repentance to Israel. ²⁵ As John was fulfilling his course, he said, ‘What do you suppose that I am? I am not he. But behold, one comes after me, the sandals of whose feet I am not worthy to untie.’

• Salvation history begins with God’s gracious initiative and covenant faithfulness:

  The repeated emphasis on what “God” did—“chose,” “exalted,” “led,” “gave,” “raised up”—teaches that redemption is not an afterthought but a purposeful divine work unfolding over time, anchored in promise and fulfilled in God’s faithfulness.

• God’s patience with a flawed people magnifies mercy without excusing sin:

  “He put up with them in the wilderness” holds together divine holiness and long-suffering: God’s people are not portrayed as naturally deserving, and yet God perseveres in covenant mercy, calling them onward rather than abandoning them.

• Human choices matter within God’s sovereign story:

  Israel “asked for a king,” and “God gave” them Saul; later “he had removed him” and “raised up David,” showing that God works through real human decisions and leadership changes, and also that God remains the righteous judge who corrects and redirects the course of his people.

• Jesus is presented as the promised fulfillment rooted in David and God’s promise:

  “From this man’s offspring, God has brought salvation to Israel according to his promise” frames Jesus not as a novel alternative to Israel’s Scriptures but as the culmination of God’s pledged plan, continuous with the hopes shaped by Davidic expectation.

• Repentance prepares the way, and true ministry points away from self to Christ:

  John “preached the baptism of repentance,” and denied being the Christ, confessing unworthiness; this grounds Christian response in humble turning to God and teaches that authentic spiritual leadership directs attention to the One who is coming, not to personal status.

Verses 26-37: The Rejected Messiah, the Fulfilled Scriptures, and the Risen Lord

²⁶ Brothers, children of the stock of Abraham, and those among you who fear God, the word of this salvation is sent out to you. ²⁷ For those who dwell in Jerusalem, and their rulers, because they didn’t know him, nor the voices of the prophets which are read every Sabbath, fulfilled them by condemning him. ²⁸ Though they found no cause for death, they still asked Pilate to have him killed. ²⁹ When they had fulfilled all things that were written about him, they took him down from the tree, and laid him in a tomb. ³⁰ But God raised him from the dead, ³¹ and he was seen for many days by those who came up with him from Galilee to Jerusalem, who are his witnesses to the people. ³² We bring you good news of the promise made to the fathers, ³³ that God has fulfilled this to us, their children, in that he raised up Jesus. As it is also written in the second psalm, ‘You are my Son. Today I have become your father.’ ³⁴ “Concerning that he raised him up from the dead, now no more to return to corruption, he has spoken thus: ‘I will give you the holy and sure blessings of David.’ ³⁵ Therefore he says also in another psalm, ‘You will not allow your Holy One to see decay.’ ³⁶ For David, after he had in his own generation served the counsel of God, fell asleep, was laid with his fathers, and saw decay. ³⁷ But he whom God raised up saw no decay.

• The gospel is a sent message: God addresses both covenant heirs and God-fearers:

  “The word of this salvation is sent out to you” emphasizes that salvation is proclaimed as divine good news offered to hearers; the audience includes “children of the stock of Abraham” and also “those among you who fear God,” pointing to God’s widening invitation without erasing Israel’s story.

• Ignorance of Scripture can coexist with religious routine—and lead to tragic injustice:

  Those in Jerusalem had the prophets “read every Sabbath” yet “didn’t know him,” warning that proximity to holy things does not automatically yield true recognition; the passage soberly shows how hardened misunderstanding can culminate in condemning the innocent.

• Human guilt and divine fulfillment meet at the cross without making evil good:

  They “found no cause for death” and still pursued execution, establishing real moral culpability; yet the same events “fulfilled all things that were written about him,” teaching that God’s saving plan is not thwarted by sin but mysteriously accomplished through it—without excusing the perpetrators.

• The resurrection is God’s decisive vindication of Jesus and the heart of apostolic witness:

  “But God raised him from the dead” stands as the turning point; the resurrection is not treated as private inspiration but as public testimony supported by witnesses “seen for many days,” grounding the church’s proclamation in God’s act and reliable witness.

• Jesus fulfills the promises and the royal hope in a way David himself could not:

  By contrasting David who “saw decay” with Jesus who “saw no decay,” Paul argues that Scripture’s deepest hope reaches beyond David to the Messiah; the resurrection secures the “holy and sure blessings of David” as an enduring reality, not a perishable dynasty.

Verses 38-41: Forgiveness and Justification Received by Faith, with a Warning

³⁸ Be it known to you therefore, brothers, that through this man is proclaimed to you remission of sins, ³⁹ and by him everyone who believes is justified from all things, from which you could not be justified by the law of Moses. ⁴⁰ Beware therefore, lest that come on you which is spoken in the prophets: ⁴¹ ‘Behold, you scoffers, and wonder, and perish; for I work a work in your days, a work which you will in no way believe, if one declares it to you.’ ”

• Forgiveness is proclaimed through Jesus as a present offer of mercy:

  “Through this man is proclaimed to you remission of sins” presents forgiveness as centered in Christ and announced to sinners; it is not merely an abstract possibility but a declared provision God sets before hearers through preaching.

• Justification is received by believing, not secured by the law’s inability to cleanse completely:

  “Everyone who believes is justified from all things” highlights faith as the means of reception, while also insisting that the law of Moses could not provide that final verdict of righteousness; this honors the law’s role in God’s history while pointing to Christ as the decisive ground of acquittal.

• Warnings are real means God uses to summon hearers away from ruin:

  “Beware therefore” shows that the gospel includes earnest admonition: scoffing at God’s work can lead to perishing, and the prophetic warning underscores that unbelief is not merely lack of information but a perilous posture toward God’s revealed action.

Verses 42-47: The Word Welcomed and the Turning to the Gentiles

⁴² So when the Jews went out of the synagogue, the Gentiles begged that these words might be preached to them the next Sabbath. ⁴³ Now when the synagogue broke up, many of the Jews and of the devout proselytes followed Paul and Barnabas; who, speaking to them, urged them to continue in the grace of God. ⁴⁴ The next Sabbath, almost the whole city was gathered together to hear the word of God. ⁴⁵ But when the Jews saw the multitudes, they were filled with jealousy, and contradicted the things which were spoken by Paul, and blasphemed. ⁴⁶ Paul and Barnabas spoke out boldly, and said, “It was necessary that God’s word should be spoken to you first. Since indeed you thrust it from yourselves, and judge yourselves unworthy of eternal life, behold, we turn to the Gentiles. ⁴⁷ 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.’ ”

• God awakens hunger for the word, and communities can be moved to seek it eagerly:

  The Gentiles “begged” for further preaching, and “almost the whole city” gathers, showing the powerful drawing effect of God’s word when it is publicly heralded; the chapter encourages churches to expect that God can stir genuine spiritual interest in unexpected places.

• Perseverance is nurtured by pastoral exhortation to remain in grace:

  Paul and Barnabas “urged them to continue in the grace of God,” teaching that beginning well is not the whole of discipleship; believers are called to ongoing reliance on grace, and leaders strengthen the church by encouraging steadfast continuance.

• Rejection of the gospel is portrayed as a responsible act with grave spiritual implications:

  Opposition rooted in jealousy leads to contradiction and blasphemy, and Paul interprets rejection with moral weight: “you thrust it from yourselves, and judge yourselves unworthy of eternal life,” maintaining that refusal is not accidental but a tragic self-exclusion from the life offered.

• The mission’s widening to the nations fulfills God’s command and prophetic purpose:

  “We turn to the Gentiles” is not a retreat but obedience to a divine mandate—“so has the Lord commanded us”—showing that the inclusion of the nations is integral to God’s saving plan “to the uttermost parts of the earth.”

Verses 48-52: Appointed Life, Spreading Word, and Spirit-Filled Joy under Pressure

⁴⁸ As the Gentiles heard this, they were glad, and glorified the word of God. As many as were appointed to eternal life believed. ⁴⁹ The Lord’s word was spread abroad throughout all the region. ⁵⁰ But the Jews stirred up the devout and prominent women and the chief men of the city, and stirred up a persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and threw them out of their borders. ⁵¹ But they shook off the dust of their feet against them, and came to Iconium. ⁵² The disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.

• God’s saving purpose is active, and true faith is expressed in glad reception:

  The Gentiles “were glad, and glorified the word of God,” showing that faith responds with worship and joy; the statement “As many as were appointed to eternal life believed” affirms that those who come to saving faith do so within God’s purposeful saving plan, with believing presented as the genuine human response through which eternal life is received.

• The word of the Lord advances even when the messengers are opposed:

  “The Lord’s word was spread abroad” alongside persecution teaches that suffering does not imply failure; God can extend the reach of the gospel through hardship, displacement, and opposition without losing control of the mission.

• Faithful witness includes appropriate separation and continued mission, not retaliation:

  Shaking off the dust and moving on to Iconium shows a sober boundary: when the message is rejected and hostility escalates, the servants of God entrust judgment to God and continue the work elsewhere, keeping mission central.

• The Holy Spirit sustains the church with joy amid conflict:

  “The disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit” teaches that Christian joy is not dependent on comfort or acceptance; it is a Spirit-given resilience that can coexist with external rejection, grounding endurance in God’s presence rather than circumstances.

Conclusion: Acts 13 presents a unified theology of mission and salvation: the Spirit calls and sends; the gospel fulfills God’s ancient promises in the death and resurrection of Jesus; forgiveness and justification are proclaimed through Christ and received by believing; warnings expose the peril of scoffing and rejecting the word; and God’s saving purpose advances to the nations even through opposition, leaving the church marked not merely by outward success but by Spirit-given joy and steadfast witness.