Hello,
Read Acts 13:13-52
Today we hear Paul’s first sermon in Acts as he and Barnabas spend time in Pisidian Antioch.
As we begin looking at Paul’s missionary journeys more closely I want to point out one thing that really makes maps so important. It’s what I call “one verse travels.” Luke will often tell us in the span of a verse how Paul and his companions traveled from here to there. As is the case here, “but they went on from Perga and came to Antioch in Pisidia” (13.14). What that doesn’t tell you is that this was about 120-150 mile trip (depending on the road they took) up over a mountainous region in Turkey and probably took at least 7-10 days to make on foot. (see the picture)
We also see at the start of this passage John Mark leaving the expedition and returning to Jerusalem. We’ll find out later this was not received well from Paul. We could get into why he left, but that’s beside the point right now. Paul and Barnabas head to Pisidian Antioch, which is where Sergius Paulus the Proconsul they just left on Cyprus was from.
Paul and Barnabas start by seeking out the Jews during their synagogue meeting on the Sabbath and Paul proclaims how Jesus is connected to the Hebrew Scriptures and specifically King David. We get Paul’s short form of the good news in 13.39, “by this Jesus everyone who believes is set free from all those sins from which you could not be freed by the law of Moses.” The law reveals sin and a way to God, but Jesus frees us from sin.
Paul and Barnabas are invited back and the following week the whole town gathers to hear them (13.44), which makes the Jews jealous and so they start opposing Paul and Barnabas turning the leading women and men of the city against them.
We’ve now heard Peter, Stephen, and Paul all talk about the connections between Jesus and the Old Testament. Is this something you think about regularly? How does Jesus fulfilling the Old Testament matter to your faith journey? What are some questions you have about how Jesus fulfills the OT?
As we begin traveling more with Paul and Barnabas and others, place yourselves in their shoes. What is it like to travel by boat and foot to spread the good news of Jesus? What insights do you gain from thinking about how Paul and other early missionaries traveled across the known world proclaiming Jesus?
Grace and Peace,
Inductive Questions: (These will be included each day and your work on them will be the foundation we build upon at our Wednesday evening in-person and Zoom Bible Study as we explore the church, mission, and Holy Spirit in Acts.)
Pick at least one of these to be a focus for all of Acts, but answer as many of them as you want.
- What does the church look like in Acts? Who is a part of it? What do they do? How is it formed? How does it relate to mission and the Spirit? In other words (fancy, technical terms) What is the ecclesiology of Acts?
- What does mission look like in Acts? Who does it? What do they do? How does it happen? How does it relate to the church and the Spirit? In other words (fancy, technical terms) What is the missiology of Acts?
- What does the Holy Spirit look like in Acts? What does the Spirit do? How is the Spirit active? How does it relate to church and mission? In other words (fancy, technical terms) What is the pneumatology of Acts?
Answer the question with the language of Acts as much as possible and cite the chapter and verse reference in your notes.
P.S. Here is the third part of the Bible Project’s video series on Acts: