In Acts 13–14, we journey with Paul and Barnabas (and Mark) on their first missionary journey. We travel to town after town witnessing the signs and wonders God did and the many who believed in the word of God. Opposition arose yet they persevered, strengthening and encouraging the new church. In Acts 15, the church overcame the first major threat to the good news of salvation and reiterated that Gentiles are accepted as believers and do no need to become Jews first.¹

Commissioning

Today we often say that Paul and Barnabas were called² as missionaries to the Gentiles. But the writer, Luke, does not use the word “call” to describe the special task these men, and others, do. Consider these other phrases:

While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” So after they had fasted and prayed, they placed their hands on them and sent them off. (13:2–3)
Paul and Barnabas appointed elders for them in each church and, with prayer and fasting, committed them to the Lord, in whom they had put their trust. (14:23)
From Attalia they sailed back to Antioch, where they had been committed to the grace of God for the work they had now completed. (14:26)
So Paul and Barnabas were appointed, along with some other believers, to go up to Jerusalem to see the apostles and elders about this question. (15:2)
The church sent them on their way (15:3)
Then the apostles and elders, with the whole church, decided to choose some of their own men and send them to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas. (15:22)

I have been set apart, sent, appointed, and committed to care for global workers. For what have you been set apart, sent, appointed, or committed to do?

Gospel

This is the “message of salvation” (13:26) and “the good news” (13:32) that Paul shared in the synagogue in Pisidian Antioch:

23 From [David's] descendants God has brought to Israel the Savior Jesus, as he promised.
28 Though they found no proper ground for a death sentence, they asked Pilate to have him executed.
29 When they had carried out all that was written about him, they took him down from the cross and laid him in a tomb.
30 But God raised him from the dead,
31 and for many days he was seen by those who had traveled with him from Galilee to Jerusalem.
39 Through [Jesus] everyone who believes is set free from every sin, a justification you were not able to obtain under the law of Moses. (13:23–39)

This gospel presentation is similar to the one Peter preached in Acts 10:36–45. What tips from this presentation of the Gospel can you take and use?

Salvation

The apostles preached and proclaimed “the word of God/the Lord” (13:5, 7, 49), the “teaching about the Lord” (13:120, the “message of salvation” (13:26), “the forgiveness of sins” (13:38), and the “gospel/good news” (14:7, 15, 21). The process of accepting the good news is described as:

When the proconsul saw what had happened, he believed (13:12)
Through him everyone who believes is set free from every sin (13:38–39)
And all who were appointed for eternal life believed. (13:48)
There they spoke so effectively that a great number of Jews and Greeks believed. (14:1)
Telling you to turn from these worthless things to the living God (14:15)
They preached the gospel in that city and won a large number of disciples (14:21)
[God] had opened a door of faith to the Gentiles (14:27)
They told how the Gentiles had been converted (15:3)
We believe it is through the grace of our Lord Jesus that we are saved (15:11)

“Believe” continues to be the most common way to describe salvation. How might you change your terminology after reading these verses?

Joy

One of the responses to receiving the good news is joy.

You have made known to me the paths of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence. (2:28)
So there was great joy in that city. (8:8)
[The eunuch] went on his way rejoicing. (8:39)
When the Gentiles heard this, they were glad and honored the word of the Lord. (13:48)
And the disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit. (13:52)
Yet he has not left himself without testimony: He has shown kindness by giving you rain from heaven and crops in their seasons; he provides you with plenty of food and fills your hearts with joy. (14:17)
This news made all the believers very glad. (15:3)
The people read it and were glad for its encouraging message. (15:31)
The jailer brought them into his house and set a meal before them; he was filled with joy because he had come to believe in God—he and his whole household. (16:34)

I was pleasantly surprised to find so much joy in the book of Acts. How does your salvation bring you joy?

Trouble

While the apostles rejoiced over the spread of the gospel, they also faced pushback and resistance as the church grew. Their response to trouble varied with the situation.

Trouble: When the Jews saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy. They began to contradict what Paul was saying and heaped abuse on him.
Response: Then Paul and Barnabas answered them boldly. (13:45–46)

Trouble: They stirred up persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and expelled them from their region. 
Response: So they shook the dust off their feet as a warning to them and went to Iconium. (13:50–51)

Trouble: But the Jews who refused to believe stirred up the other Gentiles and poisoned their minds against the brothers. 
Response: So Paul and Barnabas spent considerable time there, speaking boldly for the Lord, who confirmed the message of his grace by enabling them to perform signs and wonders. (14:2–3)

Trouble: There was a plot afoot among both Gentiles and Jews, together with their leaders, to mistreat them and stone them. 
Response: But they found out about it and fled ... to the surrounding country, where they continued to preach the gospel. (14:5–7)

Trouble: Then some Jews came from Antioch and Iconium and won the crowd over. They stoned Paul and dragged him outside the city, thinking he was dead. 
Response: But after the disciples had gathered around him, he got up and went back into the city. The next day he and Barnabas left for Derbe. (14:19–20)

What trouble are you currently facing? How is the Holy Spirit leading you to respond?

Elder

Paul and Barnabas appointed elders for them in each church and, with prayer and fasting, committed them to the Lord, in whom they had put their trust. (14:23) 

I find it interesting and encouraging that the word translated as elder (presbyteros in Greek) is the same word used for “older woman” in 1 Tim 5:2.

How does this translation difference strike you?

Discipleship

While it is clear that the main intent of the apostles is to proclaim the good news of salvation in Jesus Christ, they also have a strong emphasis on discipling the new believers.

strengthening the disciples and encouraging them to remain true to the faith. “We must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God,” they said. (14:22)
When the congregation was dismissed, many of the Jews and devout converts to Judaism followed Paul and Barnabas, who talked with them and urged them to continue in the grace of God. (13:43)
Judas and Silas, who themselves were prophets, said much to encourage and strengthen the believers. (15:32)
But Paul and Barnabas remained in Antioch, where they and many others taught and preached the word of the Lord. (15:35)
Some time later Paul said to Barnabas, “Let us go back and visit the believers in all the towns where we preached the word of the Lord and see how they are doing.” (15:36)
He went through Syria and Cilicia, strengthening the churches. (15:41)

I confess I spend more of my time and efforts in discipleship than in evangelism. How might you increase your emphasis on both aspects?

Conflict About Doctrine

A lot of time has passed since “God first intervened to choose a people for his name from the Gentiles” (15:14). But the integration of the Gentiles into the church hit a snag over which laws the new converts needed to follow.

Certain people came down from Judea to Antioch and were teaching the believers: “Unless you are circumcised, according to the custom taught by Moses, you cannot be saved.” This brought Paul and Barnabas into sharp dispute and debate with them ... Then some of the believers who belonged to the party of the Pharisees stood up and said, “The Gentiles must be circumcised and required to keep the law of Moses.” (15:1–2, 5)

We also learn from Paul’s letter to the Galatians that Peter became afraid of this “circumcision group” (Gal 2:11–13) and, for a while, pulled back from fellowship with Gentiles.³ This issue was so crucial to the unity of the church that a council in Jerusalem was convened. It seems that Paul’s confrontation of Peter brought him to his senses because Peter now reiterates his experience with Cornelius and how God “showed that he accepted the Gentiles by giving the Holy Spirit to them, just as he did to us.” (15:8)

Paul continues: "Now then, why do you try to test God by putting on the necks of Gentiles a yoke that neither we nor our ancestors have been able to bear? No! We believe it is through the grace of our Lord Jesus that we are saved, just as they are.” (15:10-11) 

James adds: “It is my judgment, therefore, that we should not make it difficult for the Gentiles who are turning to God." (15:19)

The church leaders remembered and confirmed that God’s grace is for all nations. They sent messengers with a letter to the Gentile believers in Antioch, Syria, and Cilicia:

It seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us not to burden you with anything beyond the following requirements: You are to abstain from food sacrificed to idols, from blood, from the meat of strangled animals and from sexual immorality. You will do well to avoid these things. (15:28-29)

These few requirements were to promote unity, not for entrance into salvation. When have you agreed to follow a policy so that unity might be maintained?

Conflict Among Leaders

Barnabas wanted to take John, also called Mark, with them, but Paul did not think it wise to take him, because he had deserted them in Pamphylia and had not continued with them in the work. They had such a sharp disagreement that they parted company. (15:37–39)

We are not privy to the reason Mark left but Paul’s word “desertion” is also translated as “turn away” (Heb 3:12), “abandon” (1 Tim 4:1), and “withdraw” (Acts 22:29). “Since we don’t know the details, we cannot say if Paul exhibited wisdom or stubbornness in contrast to Barnabas’s willingness to take a chance on Mark. Thankfully, if we read to the end of the narrative, we learned that at some point, Mark joined Paul, and they ended on a happy note, reconciled (2 Tim 4:11; 1 Pet 5:13).”⁴

When have you been unwilling to give someone a second chance?

Conclusion

On arriving there, they gathered the church together and reported all that God had done through them and how he had opened a door of faith to the Gentiles. (14:27)
When they came to Jerusalem, they were welcomed by the church and the apostles and elders, to whom they reported everything God had done through them. (15:4)

Let’s not forget to tell others all that God has done through us!

Prayer

Lord, I rejoice that these men and women traveled around telling others about the good news of salvation. Their efforts and those of believers down through the generations brought the message to my family and to me. Show me, Holy Spirit, how to respond to the trouble I face. And bring unity among leaders in the church.

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1. Check out the previous posts: Acts 1–3; Acts 4–6; Acts 7–9; Acts 10–12 ↩︎
2. We discussed this concept in my co-authored workbook, Grit to Stay Grace to Go, chapters 18 and 23. The Greek word we translate as calling refers “to our invitation to salvation, not our specific vocation or task.” (Grit to Stay Grace to Go, p. 118) ↩︎
3. In Galatians 2:11–21, Paul confronts Peter and argues that believers are justified by faith, not works of the law (i.e. circumcision). I covered this in my blog: Galatians 2:11–21: Justified by Faith in Christ ↩︎
4. Grit to Stay Grace to Go, p. 105. ↩︎