Living on Mission
Why do you do what you do? Have you ever stopped to think about it? Like, why do you go to work every day for hours and hours? It’s because you like the money they give you. Or maybe you just like your job. Often, we don’t stop to think about why we do what we do.
Today we are going to see the inauguration of the first missionary journey. But before we even dig in, I want us to ask the question, “Why?” Why would Paul end up traveling over 10,000 miles (mostly by foot) over his missionary journeys. Why would he be willing to suffer much throughout that time as well?
Here’s why: He knew the truth. And everyone else needed to know the truth.
Biblical churches send out missionaries. (1-3) We covered this is detail a few weeks ago, but we can’t gloss over it here. What we are studying today is the start of the first missionary journey. And the biblical example is that the church is the sending agent of the missionary. Local churches send missionaries to reach the nations while they themselves are continuing to reach their neighbors. If anything, we must seek to be a biblical church. And this is the biblical example. We must pray, give, go, and send to reach our neighbors and the nations.
Where the gospel is proclaimed, opposition follows.
Boldly proclaim Jesus, even amidst opposition. (4-12) Paul, Barnabas, and Barnabas’s cousin John Mark set sail to Cyprus, which is where Barnabas was from (4:36). When they arrived at Salamis, we see their strategy that they would carry on elsewhere throughout their missionary journeys. They started by proclaiming first in the Jewish synagogues.
We’re going to see opposition throughout their missionary journeys, but this first one was unique. It was by a man named Bar-Jesus, also known as Elymas, which means “sorcerer.” He was, in a way, a “superstitious cult leader.”[1] He was Jewish, claimed to be a prophet from God, yet also practiced sorcery.
When Paul proclaimed the gospel to Sergius Paulus, it says “Elymas the magician…opposed them, seeking to turn the proconsul away from the faith” (8). Bar-Jesus is not only opposing Paul’s message, but he is opposing Jesus.
Why do people oppose Jesus? Really, it boils down to two reasons: pride and materialism. “Many people arrogantly refuse to admit they’re wrong.”[2] On the other hand, people aren’t willing to give up their comforts. And the gospel confronts our idols. Because of that, there’s opposition. There may be some in here today who fall into one of these two categories. It likely isn’t an intellectual argument that is keeping you from belief. It’s your own pride or wanting to live the way you want. And that’s all to your eternal detriment.
Even amidst the opposition, they boldly proclaim Jesus, though. And it was intense! Paul calls Bar-Jesus “You son of the devil” and more (10). This is interesting because the name “Bar-Jesus” means “son of Jesus” or “son of Joshua.” It can also mean “son of the Savior.” The man who is named “son of the Savior” is now called “son of Satan” because he stands in the way of God’s plan to save this man Sergius Paulus.
“Perhaps you think Paul’s resulting curse on the man isn’t very nice. Know that the fate of Sergius Paulus’s soul was at stake in this situation, and Paul—out of deep compassion—wanted him to believe…Eternal life is serious business.”[3]
John Stott said about this instance, “The Holy Spirit overthrew the evil one, the apostle confounded the sorcerer, and the gospel triumphed over the occult.”[4] Sergius Paulus came to faith in Jesus (12), and there is even archeological evidence of him and his faith, which is incredible.
That’s not the only opposition they faced. They went on from there to Antioch Pisidian and continued to boldly proclaim the gospel.
Confidently confront error with the truth of the gospel. (13-16)
They didn’t shrink back in fear. They boldly walked in an pronounced the need for these Jews to listen to the truth. In verse 16, we read: "So Paul stood up, and motioning with his hand said: 'Men of Israel and you who fear God, listen.'" The boldness displayed in our witness is rooted not in our own strength but in the true truth of the gospel. They knew the truth, so they could boldly walk in to proclaim it.
You know one of the many things I love about serving at First Baptist Portland? There are many, many things, but here’s one of them. I only have two keys. Really, I mainly use just one. Every church I have served at, I have felt like a janitor and have to go through twelve keys before I find the right one (…and it’s always the last one!) Here, really, I have one key.
I think this is a great analogy for us as we think about the gospel and our need to live on mission like this first missionary crew. Jesus told Peter in Matthew 16:19, “I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven…” This world is like the big janitor’s key ring. People think that just because they have a key, they can get in.
You have the one key to unlock the door. It’s Jesus. That’s why we must go. And that’s why you can go with boldness and confidence. Paul walked in and said, “Listen to me.” And he begins to tell them how Jesus is the key to everything they have believed.
Jesus fulfills the Old Testament’s promises. (17-29)
Paul walks them through their history as a people of faith. He shows them how God fulfilled the promises of King David through Jesus.
Acts 13:22-23 – 22 And when he had removed him, he raised up David to be their king, of whom he testified and said, ‘I have found in David the son of Jesse a man after my heart, who will do all my will.’ 23 Of this man's offspring God has brought to Israel a Savior, Jesus, as he promised.
He then recounts to them how Jesus died, of which would have been in their recent memory. They knew of this event. They didn’t believe He was the Messiah, though.
Acts 13:28-29 – 28 And though they found in him no guilt worthy of death, they asked Pilate to have him executed. 29 And when they had carried out all that was written of him, they took him down from the tree and laid him in a tomb.
Paul cites, in the verses that follow, Psalm 2:7, 16:10, and Isaiah 55:3, showing that Jesus has specifically fulfilled the promises of the Old Testament of which the Jews held so closely. They had these scriptures; how could they miss Him? How could they not believe when He came?
My wife and went to Chicago for a NAMB pastor and wives retreat not long ago. For most meals we sat at a table of an older retired ministry couple. The man was a Messianic Jew. We were all in awe just listening to him talk and bring out the Jewish understanding of many things. Even though he went to Hebrew school all growing up and learned the Torah, I asked him why he didn’t believe at an earlier age when he came to passages such as Isaiah 53. You know what he said? He never heard it. They just skipped right over it. It wasn’t until he was an adult and met his wife who was a Christian and he heard the passage. He didn’t believe it was in his Bible! Isaiah 53 so clearly shows the death that Jesus was to endure for us, and it was written 700 years before Jesus walked the earth. You can go online and view an entire copy in high definition that dates to 100 years before Jesus walked on the earth.[5]
Paul is telling these Jews of Antioch Pisidian the same. He’s telling them the truth, and he’s using their own scriptures to show them. Isaiah 53 shows the death of Jesus, but that’s not the full gospel. That’s like sticking the key in the door. The resurrection is what turns the key to open the door to all who believe.
Jesus really rose from the dead. (30-37)
Acts 13:30 – “But God raised him from the dead…”
Paul says that Jesus’s identity has been confirmed by his resurrection victory.[6] And he uses their own scripture to show them that this was God’s plan all along. Along with fulfilling the scriptures, he gives evidence to both the empty tomb and the fact that Christ appeared. In verse 29, he says they laid him in a tomb. The next line is, “But God raised him from the dead.” Directly following that, he says, “and for many days he appeared.” Hear what Paul elsewhere says, which many scholars believe is the earliest source we have in our New Testament, an oral testimony that was passed amongst believers.
1 Corinthians 15:3-8 – 3 For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, 5 and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. 6 Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep. 7 Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. 8 Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me.
After proclaiming the truth that Jesus died and rose from the dead, Paul turns the key.
Salvation through Jesus brings freedom to all who believe. (38-52)
Acts 13:38-39 – 38 Let it be known to you therefore, brothers, that through this man forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you, 39 and by him everyone who believes is freed from everything from which you could not be freed by the law of Moses.
Salvation and freedom…that’s what the key of faith in Jesus unlocks. “God has provided only one solution for the problem of guilt: we must trust in Christ alone.”[7]
The Word of God will stir reactions in people. Some will be open to the message, while others will oppose it (45). Be prepared for rejection and opposition in our witness. Know that God's Word will not return void, and some will believe. You have the truth. You have the keys to the kingdom. And your neighbors and the nations need to be let in.
“Paul adds a warning [in verse 41] for all who would scoff at and reject the gospel, quoting Habakkuk 1:5. He says, in effect, “Don’t set this matter aside. This is a matter of eternal life or eternal judgment!” He warns against the hardness of heart that keeps people from believing the message. He warns against the cynic who scoffs at the truth. Often people assume that it’s because of some lofty intellectual argument that people make fun of the message of salvation. But accepting or rejecting what Jesus accomplished at Calvary is not about one’s intelligence; it’s about one’s heart.”[8]
John 8:31-32 – 31 So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, 32 and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.
Would you take hold of that freedom today? And would you proclaim that freedom today?
[1] Tony Merida, Exalting Jesus in Acts, Christ-Centered Exposition Commentary (Nashville: B&H, 2017), 183.
[2] Merida, 183.
[3] Merida, 183.
[4] John Stott, The Message of Acts (Leicester, England: IVP, 1990), 220.
[5] http://dss.collections.imj.org.il/isaiah
[6] Sinclair Ferguson, Acts 13:13-57. (https://www.monergism.com/legacy/mt/mp3/exposition-acts-dr-sinclair-ferguson)
[7] Merida, 191.
[8] Merida, 191.
