A Study of the Book of Acts
Sermon # 24
“Its all About Missions”
Acts 12:25-13:12
The last verse of chapter 12 begins the story by relating the return of Barnabas and Saul. We are told, “And Barnabas and Saul returned from Jerusalem when they had fulfilled their ministry, and they also took with them John whose surname was Mark.” Acts 12:25 (NKJV). Just how important is missions anyway? Henry Martyn said, “The Spirit of Christ is the spirit of missions, and the nearer we get to Him the more intensely missionary we must become.” (as quoted in Warren Wiersbe. Be Daring p. 10) Emil Brunner wrote, “The church exists by mission, just as fire exists by burning. Where there is no mission, there is no church; and where there is neither church nor mission, there is no faith.” (as quoted by Brian L. Harbour. Living Expectantly. p. 104. ]
Just having the name “Missionary” as a part of the sign out front does not make you a missionary church. A local church that is not mission minded is not by definition really a church. It is a religious social club that makes little or no impact on the world.
I. THE CHARACTER OF THE CHURCH 12:1
“Now in the church that was at Antioch there were certain prophets and teachers: Barnabas, Simeon who was called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene (si-re’-nee), Manaen (Ma-na’en) who had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch, and Saul.”
The church at Antioch gives us the profile of what a missionary church should look like. First of all it was an Established Church. A Church that does not know where it is coming from, why it is here, or where it is going is not likely to be of much use in mission outreach.
Secondly, it was a Well Taught Church. Five men are listed as teachers in this church. Where did this great body of teacher come from? This church has obviously established teaching as a priority in the thinking of this church.
Five names of teachers tell us an enormous amount about the church.
Barnabus – He was a Levite, a Jewish priest but born in Cyrus in touch with Greek culture
Simeon called Niger means black
Lucius of Cyrene his name is Latin and he is obviously brought up in Roman culture
Manaen – an aristocrat - raised with Herod the Tetarch – “brought up with” is synthrophos, meaning foster brother or childhood companion of the king
Saul – Paul was his Latin or Roman name, Saul was his Hebrew name, Greek culture was his conditioning, Pharisaiam was his training and life in Christ was his purpose and passion.
II. THE COMMISSION OF THE CHURCH 12:2-3
“As they ministered to the Lord and fasted, the Holy Spirit said, “Now separate to Me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” (3) Then, having fasted and prayed, and laid hands on them, they sent them away.
The call of verse 2 is proskeklemai which is perfect tense, it means an action that was done in the past with present lasting results. This shows that these two men had an inner call already given by the Holy Spirit. God sovereignly calls men to the ministry. The church is now recognizing this call by releasing them to the task. While God alone did the commissioning , he chose to do it through the church, through the laying on of hands. Just as in the Old Testament the offerer placed his hand on the sacrifice, expressing his identification with it, so now the church at Antioch laid their hands on those who will be the church’s first two missionaries. The church is by laying on their hands saying, “Brothers, we are with you in this. As you go, we go. We are a part of you.”
God chooses for further ministry those already actively serving Him. He is not likely to take Christians who are idle and entrust them with important work. Note also that God choose the best of the leadership, did choose those that church would not miss, he choose the cream of the crop.
Having prayed for Saul and Barnabas and publicly identified with them the Antioch church sent them away. A better translation of that phrase would be “they let them go” or “they released them.” It is clear from verse one that it is the Holy Spirit, not the church that had issued the call. Since they had already been called by God all the church could do was cut the cord and let them go.
III. THE MISSION OF THE CHURCH 12:4-5
“So, being sent out by the Holy Spirit, they went down to Seleucia (se-loo’-shah), and from there they sailed to Cyprus. (5) And when they arrived in Salamis (sal’-am-is) , they preached the word of God in the synagogues of the Jews. They also had John as their assistant.”
Verse four says that they were ‘sent on their way by the Holy Spirit.” We note that John Mark, Barnabas’ young cousin (Col. 4:10) , is taken along as their “assistant or helper” - he is the first missionary intern.
IV. THE OPPOSITION TO THE CHURCH 12:6-8
“Now when they had gone through the island to Paphos (pa’-fos), they found a certain sorcerer, a false prophet, a Jew whose name was Bar-Jesus, (7) who was with the proconsul, Sergius Paulus, an intelligent man. This man called for Barnabas and Saul and sought to hear the word of God. (8) But Elymas (el’-im-is) the sorcerer (for so his name is translated) withstood them, seeking to turn the proconsul away from the faith. (9) Then Saul, who also is called Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked intently at him (10) and said, “O full of all deceit and all fraud, you son of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness, will you not cease perverting the straight ways of the Lord? (11) And now, indeed, the hand of the Lord is upon you, and you shall be blind, not seeing the sun for a time.” And immediately a dark mist fell on him, and he went around seeking someone to lead him by the hand.
Now the reality of spiritual warfare set in. When God’s people seek to advance His purposes, satanic opposition is unavoidable. The sorcerer, Bar-Jesus, his name means “son of Jesus.” He is also called Elymus, took a stand against Saul and Barnabas and actively sought to turn the proconsul from the truth. Because Elymas was so determined to oppose and pervert the way of the Lord. In keeping with his character, he made crooked the straight paths of the Lord, and was guilty of causing perversion instead of conversion.
Finally the situation became more than Paul could stand, he exposed Elymus as a fraud, and declared God’s judgment upon him. Paul says that he is no “son of Jesus” that he is in fact a “son of the devil.” Paul confronted Bar-Jesus with his spiritual blindness by imposing upon him a short-term physical blindness. One can only wonder if Paul did not hope that this blindness would lead him to repentance and faith just as his own had.
In the middle of verse nine, Saul is for the first time called Paul. If we look back at verse two, we find that it is “Barnabas and Saul.” In verse 7, where Sergius Paulus sends for the two missionaries, it is still “Barnabas and Saul.” Then in verse 9, Saul becomes Paul. Verse 13, says “Paul and his companions.” Finally in verse 42 we find the words “Paul and Barnabas.”
Paul had been in the background for a long time. He had spent three obscure years in Arabia, and perhaps as many as seven years in Asia Minor at Tarsus and now two more years in Antioch. Twelve years of preparation. By now Paul was a middle aged man and it now that God begins to use him.
V. THE SUCCESS OF THE CHURCH 12:12-13
“Then the proconsul believed, when he saw what had been done, being astonished at the teaching of the Lord.” (NKJV)
Whenever a believer ministers in the name of the Lord they will see both successes and failures. When the proconsul saw what had happened, we are told that he believed, for he was amazed at the teaching of the Lord. It would appear that he became a sincere believer.
It is interesting that modern archeology has confirmed that this man existed because inscriptions bearing his name have been found in Cyrus. Sir William Ramsey, the famous archeologist has uncovered evidence that he was a Christian and that his whole family became Christians, and were very prominent in Christian circles after this event.
As is always the case, when we run up against opposition, we can forward or we can retreat and go home.
It would seem that the realities of missionary life were too much for John Mark. John Mark decided he had enough and went home, Paul and his party went forward. According to Acts 13:13 (NKJV) “Now when Paul and his party set sail from Paphos, they came to Perga in Pamphylia; and John, departing from them, returned to Jerusalem.” John Mark was a wonderful young man but at this point in his life became a victim of his own unrealistic expectations. Perhaps he was just enamored with the romance of the venture, but at some point reality set in. Possibly, the work became more difficult as they encountered unfamiliar territory on the mainland.
The sad reality is that many of us are not unlike John Mark. We say, “This can not be God’s will – it is too hard! I know it is not God’s will – it hurts.”
Conclusion
“There is a cost to sincere service for Christ. Never share your faith and you will never look like a fool. Never stand for righteousness on a social issue and you will never be rejected. Never walk out of a theater because of a movie or play is offensive and you will never be called a prig. Never practice consistent honesty in business and you will not lose the trade of a not-so-honest associate. Never reach out to the needy and you will never be taken advantage of. Never give your heart and it will never be broken. Never go to Cyrus and you will never be subjected to a dizzy, heart-convulsing confrontation with Satan. Seriously follow Christ and you will experience a gamut of sorrows almost completely unknown to the unbeliever. But of course you will also know the joy of adventure with the Lord of the universe and of spiritual victory as you live your life of allegiance to him.” [R. Kent Hughes. Acts: The Church Afire. (Wheaton: Crossway Books, 1996, p. 178.]
