We start Acts 13 seeing Barnabas and Saul being sent out by God on a missionary journey. It was when they were fasting and praying they heard the Holy Spirit speak to them about who should go. If I feel that the Holy Spirit isn’t speaking to me then I need to revaluate my praying and fasting habits.
John Mark went with them to Cyprus.They went and preached from town to town. They came up against a sorcerer named Bar-Jesus or Elymas. He had influence with the governor and tried to convince him not to listen to Sail and Barnabas. Saul confronted him with the power of the Holy Spirit and God struck him blind. This caused the governor to be amazed.
From this time forward Saul is now referred to as Paul. He and his companions sailed for another island and John Mark leaves them and returns back to Jerusalem. This will come back later. Paul and Barnabas arrive at Antioch of Pisidia (modern day Turkey) and go to the synagogue on the sabbath. The usual reading from the Book of Moses and prophets were read and the leaders urged Paul to share if he had anything to say.
Paul starts off talking about things they knew about: Egypt and the Exodus. He took them through the arrival in the promised land. He mentioned the judges, King Saul, and King David. He connected Jesus with David and told that John the Baptist testified of Him. He told them that Jesus was the Messiah and that they should turn to Him. He preached the resurrection and repentance of sins. He shared how David prophesied of this.
The next week it said that almost the entires city showed up to hear them preach. Some Jews got jealous and slandered Paul and started stirring up trouble for him and his crew. Paul preached to the gentiles and they were glad that to hear the Good News. The Jewish leaders continued to stir up trouble for Paul and incited influential women against him. They shook the dust from their feet and left. This was symbolic of them and their rejection. They didn’t esteem the Good News and looked at it just like dirt. I pray there’s no part of the Gospel that I do not highly esteem.
We leave off with the believers filled with joy and the Holy Spirit. I pray that my family and I are always walking in His joy and the infilling of the Holy Spirit.