New Testament in a Year

13 ¹ In the church at Antioch there were prophets and teachers. Among them were Barnabas, Simeon, and Lucius from Cyrene. Simeon was also called Niger. Another was Manaen. He had been brought up with Herod, the ruler of Galilee. Saul was among them too. ² While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit spoke. “Set apart Barnabas and Saul for me,” he said. “I have appointed them to do special work.” ³ The prophets and teachers fasted and prayed. They placed their hands on Barnabas and Saul. Then they sent them off.

Events on Cyprus

⁴ Barnabas and Saul were sent on their way by the Holy Spirit. They went down to Seleucia. From there they sailed to Cyprus. ⁵ They arrived at Salamis. There they preached God’s word in the Jewish synagogues. John was with them as their helper.

⁶ They traveled all across the island until they came to Paphos. There they met a Jew named Bar-Jesus. He was an evil magician and a false prophet. ⁷ He was an attendant of Sergius Paulus, the governor. Paulus was a man of understanding. He sent for Barnabas and Saul. He wanted to hear God’s word. ⁸ But the evil magician named Elymas opposed them. The name Elymas means Magician. He tried to keep the governor from becoming a believer. ⁹ Saul was also known as Paul. He was filled with the Holy Spirit. He looked straight at Elymas. He said to him, ¹⁰ “You are a child of the devil! You are an enemy of everything that is right! You cheat people. You use all kinds of tricks. Won’t you ever stop twisting the right ways of the Lord? ¹¹ Now the Lord’s hand is against you. You are going to go blind. For a while you won’t even be able to see the light of the sun.”

Right away mist and darkness came over him. He tried to feel his way around. He wanted to find someone to lead him by the hand. ¹² When the governor saw what had happened, he believed. He was amazed at what Paul was teaching about the Lord.

Paul Preaches in Pisidian Antioch

¹³ From Paphos, Paul and his companions sailed to Perga in Pamphylia. There John Mark left them and returned to Jerusalem. ¹⁴ From Perga they went on to Pisidian Antioch. On the Sabbath day they entered the synagogue and sat down. ¹⁵ The Law and the Prophets were read aloud. Then the leaders of the synagogue sent word to Paul and his companions. They said, “Brothers, do you have any words of instruction for the people? If you do, please speak.”

¹⁶ Paul stood up and motioned with his hand. Then he said, “Fellow Israelites, and you Gentiles who worship God, listen to me! ¹⁷ The God of Israel chose our people who lived long ago. He blessed them greatly while they were in Egypt. With his mighty power he led them out of that country. ¹⁸ He put up with their behavior for about 40 years in the desert. ¹⁹ And he destroyed seven nations in Canaan. Then he gave the land to his people as their rightful share. ²⁰ All this took about 450 years.

“After this, God gave them judges until the time of Samuel the prophet. ²¹ Then the people asked for a king. He gave them Saul, son of Kish. Saul was from the tribe of Benjamin. He ruled for 40 years. ²² God removed him and made David their king. Here is God’s witness about him. ‘David, son of Jesse, is a man dear to my heart,’ he said. ‘David will do everything I want him to do.’

²³ “From this man’s family line God has brought to Israel the Savior Jesus. This is what he had promised. ²⁴ Before Jesus came, John preached that we should turn away from our sins and be baptized. He preached this to all Israel. ²⁵ John was coming to the end of his work. ‘Who do you suppose I am?’ he said. ‘I am not the one you are looking for. But there is someone coming after me. I am not good enough to untie his sandals.’