Actschapter 13
52 verses · BSBActs book hub →
Speaks with:Acts 13×11Acts 2×6Acts 4×4Acts 18×4Acts 14×4Acts 15×3
Summary
Chapter summary
First missionary journey begins from Antioch. Barnabas and Saul set apart by the Spirit. Cyprus; Elymas the sorcerer blinded. Pisidian Antioch. Paul's sabbath sermon in the synagogue; 'lo, we turn to the Gentiles.' Iconium follows.
Context
History · Luke — Acts overview
- A. 1–3 Separate Me Barnabas and Saul
- B. 4–12 Cyprus: Elymas Blinded and a Proconsul Believes
- C. 13–41 Paul Preaches in the Synagogue at Antioch of Pisidia
- D. 42–52 Lo, We Turn to the Gentiles
The outline
A.Separate Me Barnabas and Saulvv. 1 to 3
Read vv. 1 to 3 →B.Cyprus: Elymas Blinded and a Proconsul Believesvv. 4 to 12
Read vv. 4 to 12 →C.Paul Preaches in the Synagogue at Antioch of Pisidiavv. 13 to 41
Read vv. 13 to 41 →D.Lo, We Turn to the Gentilesvv. 42 to 52
Read vv. 42 to 52 →
The world behind this chapter
Acts 13The history
Cyprus was Barnabas's home island and a Roman province governed by a proconsul — the title used for provinces under the Senate rather than the emperor, and Luke gets it right. Sergius Paulus is called proconsul, and inscriptions from the period confirm that Cyprus was governed exactly that way.
Elymas is another travelling magician, and men like him attached themselves to powerful households as advisers on omens and spells. His livelihood depended on being the governor's source of the supernatural, which is why he fought the newcomers so hard.
Pisidian Antioch was a Roman colony — a city resettled with army veterans, governed on the Roman model, with Latin inscriptions and imperial cult buildings. Paul's habit of aiming for such cities put him on the main roads and in the places where a new movement could be heard.
The synagogue service Luke describes follows a known pattern: readings from the Law and the Prophets, then an invitation to any competent visitor to give a word of encouragement. That open invitation is how Paul got his first hearing in city after city.
What it meant to them
For the first hearers, the sermon at Pisidian Antioch was the model. Paul walks through Israel's history to David, then to David's promised son, then to the resurrection — and offers forgiveness that the Law of Moses could not give.
The reaction set the pattern for the rest of the book. Crowds of Gentiles wanted to hear more; the synagogue leadership pushed back; Paul announced he was turning to the Gentiles. That turning was not a rejection of his own people but a repeated, painful sequence he lived through again in nearly every city.
Sources cited
- Colin J. Hemer, The Book of Acts in the Setting of Hellenistic History
- William M. Ramsay, St. Paul the Traveller and the Roman Citizen
The text of this chapter
This page carries no textual note on Acts 13. Where this site has examined a place the manuscripts differ, the examination is in the manuscripts room. Every place this site examines →
Connections from this chapter
v. 22 · Quoted here
'David... a man after mine own heart': Paul (w/ 1Sa 13:14).
Psalms 89:20→I have found My servant David; with My sacred oil I have anointed him.
public-domain commentaries in agreement
v. 33 · Quoted here · Quoted with a formula: 'it is written'
'Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee': Paul at Antioch ('as it is written in the second psalm').
Psalms 2:7→I will proclaim the decree spoken to Me by the LORD: “You are My Son; today I have become Your Father.
public-domain commentaries in agreement
v. 35 · Quoted here
'not suffer thine Holy One to see corruption': Paul at Antioch.
Psalms 16:10→For You will not abandon my soul to Sheol, nor will You let Your Holy One see decay.
public-domain commentaries in agreement
This page draws on Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory; John Calvin, Commentaries; John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the New Testament and Matthew Henry, Complete Commentary.