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Acts 13
At this point in the book of Acts, the author Luke, shifts
from Jerusalem and Peter, to Antioch and Barnabas and Saul. As you remember
Barnabas had been sent by the Jerusalem church to Antioch when they
heard that evangelists from Cyprus and Cyrene had established a church
there amongst the gentiles. And after visiting the church, Barnabas
had gone to seek out Saul in Tarsus and they had ministered together
at Antioch.
What kind of place was this city of Antioch? At the time that Barnabas
and Saul ministered there Antioch was the third greatest city in the
Roman Empire, after Alexandria in Egypt and Rome itself. It was located
on a river in what is now Turkey with good access to both the sea and
inland parts of Asia Minor, which made it a kind of crossroads and trading
center. Our text shows us some more about the kind of church that grew
up in this cosmopolitan city.
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. (Acts 13:1)
We know Barnabas, a Jewish man, but from the island of
Cyprus and Saul, also Jewish but from Tarsus. Here we start to learn
some new names of those who were leading the church. One of them is
Simeon who was called Niger. This nickname, "Niger" in Latin
means "black", the same word that we get the names of countries
like Nigeria and Niger. So it is quite possible that Simeon was an African.
Another man was Lucius of Cyrene. Cyrene was the area of North Africa
that is present-day Libya. So along with Barnabas and Saul, who came
from the general area of Antioch, there were also these two African
men leading the church. And then there was Manaen, who as a boy, played
in the palace with the son of Herod the Great. This man, obviously was
from a powerful family and had great wealth. Compared to the Jerusalem
church, led by Jews from Galilee, Antioch was a real mixed group of
people, and this was just the leadership.
I am interested in Antioch because it is a lot like our church. Like
Antioch we are situated at a crossroads. Tokyo is no longer just Japanese.
Every week we meet somebody new, who might be from Asia or America,
Africa, Australia or Europe. And because Tokyo is becoming more cosmopolitan,
people are not afraid to listen to new ideas. It is much easier to preach
the gospel in Antioch than in Jerusalem. The Christians are never persecuted
in Antioch. When things get too hot for them in Jerusalem, where do
they flee to? Antioch. It is also much easier to preach in Antioch than
in the cities to the north that have never heard. The small towns are
set in their ways, but because Antioch is a crossroads they are more
open.
Antioch is also on the frontier. It is halfway between the mother church
in Jerusalem and the gentile world that has yet to hear the gospel.
Beyond Antioch there is no church, they have yet to hear. When Barnabas
and Paul sail off they are not going to be welcomed by Christians at
the end of their voyage. We also are on the frontier. Surely on the
frontier of Japan. Let us wake up to the fact that if we were to start
at one end of a train in Tokyo and ask each person if they were Christian,
we could reach the other end of that train before 10 people said "yes".
If we asked, "Do you go to church?" the number would be even
smaller. And if we left the Kanto area we would have search hard even
to find a church at all. We are also on the frontier for the rest of
Asia. Large areas are just now opening up for the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Places like Russia's far east, Vietnam and Cambodia, and hopefully soon
North Korea. Like Antioch, God has placed us in a very strategic place.
So, in this strategic place, what did the church do? First
the Bible says that they ministered to the Lord and fasted, and as they
were doing this, the Holy Spirit spoke to them. "As they ministered
to the Lord and fasted, the Holy Spirit said, "Now seperate to
Me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them."
(Acts 13:2) This word "ministered" is like the word that we
use for public servants. For example the prime minister or a minister
of state. But it means much more strongly that of being a servant. It
is not the same word that the Bible uses for a household servant or
slave though, instead it carries the meaning of someone who chooses
to serve, not for pay, but self-sacrificially. It is used in the Old
Testament to describe the activities of the priests. They served the
Lord. They ministered to the Lord. Note the object of their service.
They are not ministering to the people. They are not ministering to
the lost. They are ministering to the Lord. Now the priestly ministry
to the Lord in the Old Testament would have been to offer sacrifices.
But Jeremiah prophesied that when the new covenant was given there would
not be a sacrifice in the temple but a sacrifice of praise. So for the
church this primarily means worship. Now who was doing the ministering?
Just Barnabas and Paul? No! The whole church. Every one of them was
ministering to the Lord! And along with their worship they included
fasting.
The reason for fasting is to show God the seriousness of our prayer.
We often pray lightly, even flippantly, "Oh God, give me this."
"Oh God, bless me with that." But when we deny ourselves something
as basic as food, for the purpose of prayer, in our own minds it becomes
vastly more important. It tricks us into giving prayer the proper mental
attitude, as the most consequential action of our day, rather than simply
something to be prefixed to meals or tagged onto the end, before we
go to bed. Fasting is a good habit to get into, not for its own sake,
but for the power it lends to our prayers. So as a church, the Antioch
Christians met together to worship God and added to that worship fasting.
They were serious about wanting to know God. Serious about prayer, serious
about worship. And God honored their desire by speaking through the
Holy Spirit His will for them. And the word they got was, "Now
seperate to Me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called
them." Most likely the Holy Spirit spoke through the mouth of one
of those who was gifted with the gift of prophecy. And when they heard
this prophecy Saul, probably would have felt a tug at his heart, because
he knew that there was a work that he had been called to. He knew that
God had called him to be the apostle to the Gentiles. And Barnabas probably
also felt it in his heart as well, knowing that God was calling him
to bring the gospel to his home island of Cyprus. But I don't think
that the church was overjoyed to recieve this word. There were probably
some who disagreed. "Oh, don't leave, Barnabas! You have been such
an encouragement to us." "Saul, we need you. Stay and teach
us more from the word." Indeed the next verse shows us that they
did not lightly send out Barnabas and Saul. Instead they continued to
fast and pray. Seriously seeking God if this really be His will. But
the word of the Holy Spirit stood firm, and it was confirmed in the
hearts of both men, who felt called to go, so the church laid hands
on them and sent them away.
This laying on of hands is important. Because it symbolized the bond
between the church in Antioch and the two missionaries. I got to talk
to Jose Girano, the other night. He has been training and serving as
a missionary for the last six months and will graduate from the Discipleship
Training School on the 15th of March. He has been to Taiwan and Hong
Kong and then Kansai and will finish up for three more weeks encouraging
churches in the Kanto area. He said to me, "You know pastor, I
am always telling the others, "I miss my church." And whenever
I go to a new place they always ask me what church I go to. You see
even though he is far away, he is connected with us. He is not just
a Christian, but a part of our church in those places. Remember I have
been teaching you about how Jesus Christ edifies the church, builds
up the church. How he knits us together, each one to two or three others.
How it is impossible to grow in Christ, without being a part of a fellowship
of other believers. What about the missionary who is seperated by time
and distance. How does the missionary grow? Because he is sent by the
church. Prayed for by the church. Prayer is the glue that binds us together
and by praying for missionaries we ensure that they are part of the
church that is knit together by Christ.
Then, having fasted and prayed, and laid hands on them, they sent them away. So being sent out by the Holy Spirit, they went down to Seleucia, and from there they sailed to Cyprus. 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. (Acts 13:3-5)
It is interesting that the first place that they went
was to the island of Cyprus. Why did they choose this place? I think
it is because Barnabas was from Cyprus. They took along with them John
Mark who we find out was the nephew of Barnabas. So he too probably
either had been to Cyprus or knew people there. And when they reached
Cyprus, they immediately went to preach the word of God in the synagogues
of the Jews. We will see this over and over in the book of Acts. When
Paul and his friends go to a new place they always look for some point
of contact. Then once they have a chance they share the gospel. The
natural place for Jews to share the gospel was with other Jews. Barnabas
and John Mark might even of known some of these people. But along with
the Jews there were also gentiles who went to the synagogues and prayed.
People like Cornelius, who feared God. Paul reached out to these people
with the gospel telling them the good news that Jesus Christ died for
everyone's sins, and that it did not matter that they were not Jewish.
This was a good strategy and they carried it out throughout the island
of Cyprus. Going from one end of the island to the other, stopping in
synagogues and sharing the gospel. But God had something in mind that
Barnabas and Paul never dreamed of. Remember that God is able to do
far more than we ask or even think.
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, 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. But Elymas the sorcerer (for so his name is translated) withstood them, seeking to turn the proconsul away from the faith. Then Saul, who also is called Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked intently at him 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? 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. Then the proconsul believed, when he saw what had been done, being astonished at the teaching of the Lord. (Acts 13:6-12)
You see while Barnabas and Paul were preaching from town to town the Roman governor of the island, a proconsul by the name of Sergius Paulus, heard about them, and invited them to share this teaching with him. What a surprise! But this is how God works. He honors our strategies and plans, appreciates our faithfulness and work, but God is not limited by our efforts. We have seen this with the Ai No Kesshin ministry. We hand out tracts once a month and hope that some of these will bear fruit. But through this God has saved lives, brought joy to childless families and hope to women in trouble. I am faithful in the small thing because I know that the Lord is faithful too. One part of faith is expecting God to do the unexpected.
So here is a totally pagan gentile. Not like the Ethiopian
on the road who was interested in Jewish things. Not like the Roman
centurion Cornelius who prayed and gave alms. Not like the gentile God
fearers who heard Paul preach in the synagogues. Sergius was not seeking
after God so much as seeking after the “supernatural”. For
in his court, Sergius had a sorceror, who advised him on astrology and
made magic to try to change the hands of fate. God has really set Barnabas
and Peter up. Not only wasn’t this part of their plan, but there
was opposition involved as well.
But God is faithful. At the critical moment, the showdown between the
sorceror and Paul, the Bible says, that Paul, was filled with the Holy
Spirit. It is not saying that Paul suddenly got the Holy Spirit that
he didn't have before! No, remember Paul was filled with the Spirit
right after Ananias baptized him. What Paul got was an annointing for
the task at hand. The Spirit rose up and gave him the spiritual power
to fight the battle before him. Specifically, the Spirit gave him the
gift of prophecy. Not a gift that we usually see Paul using. Usually
he is teaching and sometimes healing. But suddenly Paul looks him right
in the eye and exposes him. "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? He sees the truth and speaks
it out. This is prophecy. And then he prophecies again, foretelling
what God is going to do in the future, and tells that out as well. Paul
did not strike the sorceror blind. God did. But Paul spoke it out so
that all would know that this was the judgement of God. You know I think
that when it was all over, Paul was probably more surprised than anybody.
He was probably shaking. Wow, God!
My prayer for us is that we can be like the Antioch church. A church
on the frontier, ready to bring the gospel to the unreached. A church
with its ear to the Lord. Committed to ministering to God, waiting on
the Lord, worship and prayer. And I know that as we do this we will
experience the power that Paul experienced. As we are faithful to step
out in faith, persevere in faithfulness, I know that God is able to
do far more than we ask or even think. God will take our small efforts
and do miracles with them.
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