Acts 13
13
1 Now there were, in the Church at Antioch, prophets and teachers, among whom were Barnabas, and Simon, who was called the Black, and Lucius of Cyrene, and Manahen, who was the foster brother of Herod the tetrarch, and Saul.
2 Now as they were ministering for the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said to them: "Separate Saul and Barnabas for me, for the work for which I have selected them."
3 Then, fasting and praying and imposing their hands upon them, they sent them away.
4 And having been sent by the Holy Spirit, they went to Seleucia. And from there they sailed to Cyprus.
5 And when they had arrived at Salamis, they were preaching the Word of God in the synagogues of the Jews. And they also had John in the ministry.
6 And when they had traveled throughout the entire island, even to Paphos, they found a certain man, a magician, a false prophet, a Jew, whose name was Bar-Jesu.
7 And he was with the proconsul, Sergius Paulus, a prudent man. This man, summoning Barnabas and Saul, wanted to hear the Word of God.
8 But Elymas the magician (for so his name is translated) stood against them, seeking to turn the proconsul away from the Faith.
9 Then Saul, who is also called Paul, having been filled with the Holy Spirit, looked intently at him,
10 and he said: "So full of every deceit and of all falsehoods, son of the devil, enemy of all justice, you never cease to subvert the righteous ways of the Lord!
11 And now, behold, the hand of the Lord is upon you. And you will be blinded, not seeing the sun for a length of time." And immediately a fog and a darkness fell over him. And wandering around, he was seeking someone who might lead him by the hand.
12 Then the proconsul, when he had seen what was done, believed, being in wonder over the doctrine of the Lord.
13 And when Paul and those who were with him had sailed from Paphos, they arrived at Perga in Pamphylia. Then John departed from them and returned to Jerusalem.
14 Yet truly, they, traveling on from Perga, arrived at Antioch in Pisidia. And upon entering the synagogue on the Sabbath day, they sat down.
15 Then, after the reading from the Law and the Prophets, the leaders of the synagogue sent to them, saying: "Noble brothers, if there is in you any word of exhortation to the people, speak."
16 Then Paul, rising up and motioning for silence with his hand, said: "Men of Israel and you who fear God, listen closely.
17 The God of the people of Israel chose our fathers, and exalted the people, when they were settlers in the land of Egypt. And with an exalted arm, he led them away from there.
18 And throughout a time of forty years, he endured their behavior in the desert.
19 And by destroying seven nations in the land of Canaan, he divided their land among them by lot,
20 after about four hundred and fifty years. And after these things, he gave them judges, even until the prophet Samuel.
21 And later on, they petitioned for a king. And God gave them Saul, the son of Kish, a man from the tribe of Benjamin, for forty years.
22 And having removed him, he raised up for them king David. And offering testimony about him, he said, 'I have found David, the son of Jesse, to be a man according to my own heart, who will accomplish all that I will.'
23 From his offspring, according to the Promise, God has brought Jesus the Savior to Israel.
24 John was preaching, before the face of his advent, a baptism of repentance to all the people of Israel.
25 Then, when John completed his course, he was saying: 'I am not the one you consider me to be. For behold, one arrives after me, the shoes of whose feet I am not worthy to loosen.'
26 Noble brothers, sons of the stock of Abraham, and those among you who fear God, it is to you the Word of this salvation has been sent.
27 For those who were living in Jerusalem, and its rulers, heeding neither him, nor the voices of the Prophets that are read on every Sabbath, fulfilled these by judging him.
28 And although they found no case for death against him, they petitioned Pilate, so that they might put him to death.
29 And when they had fulfilled everything that had been written about him, taking him down from the tree, they placed him in a tomb.
30 Yet truly, God raised him up from the dead on the third day.
31 And he was seen for many days by those who went up with him from Galilee to Jerusalem, who even now are his witnesses to the people.
32 And we are announcing to you that the Promise, which was made to our fathers,
33 has been fulfilled by God for our children by raising up Jesus, just as it has been written in the second Psalm also: 'You are my Son. This day I have begotten you.'
34 Now, since he raised him from the dead, so as to no longer return to corruption, he has said this: 'I will give to you the holy things of David, the faithful one.'
35 And also then, in another place, he says: 'You will not allow your Holy One to see corruption.'
36 For David, when he had ministered to his generation in accordance with the will of God, fell asleep, and he was placed next to his fathers, and he saw corruption.
37 Yet truly, he whom God has raised from the dead has not seen corruption.
38 Therefore, let it be known to you, noble brothers, that through him is announced to you remission from sins and from everything by which you were not able to be justified in the law of Moses.
39 In him, all who believe are justified.
40 Therefore, be careful, lest what was said by the Prophets may overwhelm you:
41 'You despisers! Look, and wonder, and be scattered! For I am working a deed in your days, a deed which you would not believe, even if someone were to explain it to you.' "
42 Then, as they were departing, they asked them if, on the following Sabbath, they might speak these words to them.
43 And when the synagogue had been dismissed, many among the Jews and the new worshipers were following Paul and Barnabas. And they, speaking to them, persuaded them to continue in the grace of God.
44 Yet truly, on the following Sabbath, nearly the entire city came together to hear the Word of God.
45 Then the Jews, seeing the crowds, were filled with envy, and they, blaspheming, contradicted the things that were being said by Paul.
46 Then Paul and Barnabas said firmly: "It was necessary to speak the Word of God first to you. But because you reject it, and so judge yourselves unworthy of eternal life, behold, we turn to the Gentiles.
47 For so has the Lord instructed us: 'I have set you as a light to the Gentiles, so that you may bring salvation to the ends of the earth.' "
48 Then the Gentiles, upon hearing this, were gladdened, and they were glorifying the Word of the Lord. And as many as believed were preordained to eternal life.
49 Now the word of the Lord was disseminated throughout the entire region.
50 But the Jews incited some devout and honest women, and the leaders of the city. And they stirred up a persecution against Paul and Barnabas. And they drove them away from their parts.
51 But they, shaking the dust from their feet against them, went on to Iconium.
52 The disciples were likewise filled with gladness and with the Holy Spirit.
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Acts 13
13
Barnabas, Saul, and Doctor Know-It-All
1-2The congregation in Antioch was blessed with a number of prophet-preachers and teachers:
Barnabas,
Simon, nicknamed Niger,
Lucius the Cyrenian,
Manaen, an advisor to the ruler Herod,
Saul.
One day as they were worshiping God—they were also fasting as they waited for guidance—the Holy Spirit spoke: “Take Barnabas and Saul and commission them for the work I have called them to do.”
3So they commissioned them. In that circle of intensity and obedience, of fasting and praying, they laid hands on their heads and sent them off.
4-5Sent off on their new assignment by the Holy Spirit, Barnabas and Saul went down to Seleucia and caught a ship for Cyprus. The first thing they did when they put in at Salamis was preach God’s Word in the Jewish meeting places. They had John along to help out as needed.
6-7a They traveled the length of the island, and at Paphos came upon a Jewish wizard who had worked himself into the confidence of the governor, Sergius Paulus, an intelligent man not easily taken in by charlatans. The wizard’s name was Bar-Jesus. He was as crooked as a corkscrew.
7b-11 The governor invited Barnabas and Saul in, wanting to hear God’s Word firsthand from them. But Dr. Know-It-All (that’s the wizard’s name in plain English) stirred up a ruckus, trying to divert the governor from becoming a believer. But Saul (or Paul), full of the Holy Spirit and looking him straight in the eye, said, “You bag of wind, you parody of a devil—why, you stay up nights inventing schemes to cheat people out of God. But now you’ve come up against God himself, and your game is up. You’re about to go blind—no sunlight for you for a good long stretch.” He was plunged immediately into a shadowy mist and stumbled around, begging people to take his hand and show him the way.
12When the governor saw what happened, he became a believer, full of enthusiasm over what they were saying about the Master.
Don’t Take This Lightly
13-14a From Paphos, Paul and company put out to sea, sailing on to Perga in Pamphylia. That’s where John called it quits and went back to Jerusalem. From Perga the rest of them traveled on to Antioch in Pisidia.
14b-15 On the Sabbath they went to the meeting place and took their places. After the reading of the Scriptures—God’s Law and the Prophets—the president of the meeting asked them, “Friends, do you have anything you want to say? A word of encouragement, perhaps?”
16-20a Paul stood up, paused and took a deep breath, then said, “Fellow Israelites and friends of God, listen. God took a special interest in our ancestors, pulled our people who were beaten down in Egyptian exile to their feet, and led them out of there in grand style. He took good care of them for nearly forty years in that godforsaken wilderness and then, having wiped out seven enemies who stood in the way, gave them the land of Canaan for their very own—a span in all of about 450 years.
20b-22 “Up to the time of Samuel the prophet, God provided judges to lead them. But then they asked for a king, and God gave them Saul, son of Kish, out of the tribe of Benjamin. After Saul had ruled forty years, God removed him from office and put King David in his place, with this commendation: ‘I’ve searched the land and found this David, son of Jesse. He’s a man whose heart beats to my heart, a man who will do what I tell him.’
23-25“From out of David’s descendants God produced a Savior for Israel, Jesus, exactly as he promised—but only after John had thoroughly alerted the people to his arrival by preparing them for a total life-change. As John was finishing up his work, he said, ‘Did you think I was the One? No, I’m not the One. But the One you’ve been waiting for all these years is just around the corner, about to appear. And I’m about to disappear.’
26-29a “Dear brothers and sisters, children of Abraham, and friends of God, this message of salvation has been precisely targeted to you. The citizens and rulers in Jerusalem didn’t recognize who he was and condemned him to death. They couldn’t find a good reason, but demanded that Pilate execute him anyway. They did just what the prophets said they would do, but had no idea they were following to the letter the script of the prophets, even though those same prophets are read every Sabbath in their meeting places.
29b-31 “After they had done everything the prophets said they would do, they took him down from the cross and buried him. And then God raised him from death. There is no disputing that—he appeared over and over again many times and places to those who had known him well in the Galilean years, and these same people continue to give witness that he is alive.
32-35“And we’re here today bringing you good news: the Message that what God promised the fathers has come true for the children—for us! He raised Jesus, exactly as described in the second Psalm:
My Son! My very own Son!
Today I celebrate you!
“When he raised him from the dead, he did it for good—no going back to that rot and decay for him. That’s why Isaiah said, ‘I’ll give to all of you David’s guaranteed blessings.’ So also the psalmist’s prayer: ‘You’ll never let your Holy One see death’s rot and decay.’
36-39“David, of course, having completed the work God set out for him, has been in the grave, dust and ashes, a long time now. But the One God raised up—no dust and ashes for him! I want you to know, my very dear friends, that it is on account of this resurrected Jesus that the forgiveness of your sins can be promised. He accomplishes, in those who believe, everything that the Law of Moses could never make good on. But everyone who believes in this raised-up Jesus is declared good and right and whole before God.
40-41“Don’t take this lightly. You don’t want the prophet’s revelation to describe you:
Watch out, cynics;
Look hard—watch your world fall to pieces.
I’m doing something right before your eyes
That you won’t believe, though it’s staring you in the face.”
42-43When the service was over, Paul and Barnabas were invited back to preach again the next Sabbath. As the meeting broke up, a good many Jews and converts to Judaism went along with Paul and Barnabas, who urged them in long conversations to stick with what they’d started, this living in and by God’s grace.
44-45When the next Sabbath came around, practically the whole city showed up to hear the Word of God. Some of the Jews, seeing the crowds, went wild with jealousy and tore into Paul, contradicting everything he was saying, making an ugly scene.
46-47But Paul and Barnabas didn’t back down. Standing their ground they said, “It was required that God’s Word be spoken first of all to you, the Jews. But seeing that you want no part of it—you’ve made it quite clear that you have no taste or inclination for eternal life—the door is open to all the outsiders. And we’re on our way through it, following orders, doing what God commanded when he said,
I’ve set you up
as light to all nations.
You’ll proclaim salvation
to the four winds and seven seas!”
48-49When the non-Jewish outsiders heard this, they could hardly believe their good fortune. All who were marked out for real life put their trust in God—they honored God’s Word by receiving that life. And this Message of salvation spread like wildfire all through the region.
50-52Some of the Jews convinced the most respected women and leading men of the town that their precious way of life was about to be destroyed. Alarmed, they turned on Paul and Barnabas and forced them to leave. Paul and Barnabas shrugged their shoulders and went on to the next town, Iconium, brimming with joy and the Holy Spirit, two happy disciples.
* * *
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THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson. All rights reserved. Used by permission of NavPress. Represented by Tyndale House Publishers.