Atos 13

ARC · Chapter 13/28

1E na egreja que estava em Antiochia havia alguns prophetas e doutores, a saber: Barnabé e Simeão, chamado Niger, e Lucio cyreneo, e Manahen, que fôra criado com Herodes o tetrarcha, e Saulo.

2E, servindo elles ao Senhor, e jejuando, disse o Espirito Sancto: Apartae-me a Barnabé e a Saulo para a obra para que os tenho chamado.

3Então, jejuando e orando, e pondo sobre elles as mãos, os despediram.

4Estes então, enviados pelo Espirito Sancto, desceram a Seleucia e d'ali navegaram para Chypre.

5E, chegados a Salamina, annunciavam a palavra de Deus nas synagogas dos judeos; e tinham tambem a João por ministro.

6E, havendo atravessado a ilha até Paphos, acharam um certo judeo magico, falso propheta, chamado Bar-*jesus,

7O qual estava com o proconsul Sergio Paulo, varão prudente. Este, chamando a si Barnabé e Saulo, procurava muito ouvir a palavra de Deus.

8Mas resistia-lhes Elymas, o encantador (que assim se interpreta o seu nome), procurando apartar da fé o proconsul.

9Porém Saulo, que tambem se chama Paulo, cheio do Espirito Sancto, e fixando os olhos n'elle, disse:

10Ó filho do diabo, cheio de todo o engano e de toda a malicia, inimigo de toda a justiça, não cessarás de perturbar os rectos caminhos do Senhor?

11Eis-ahi, pois, agora contra ti a mão do Senhor, e ficarás cego, sem vêr o sol por algum tempo. E no mesmo instante a escuridão e as trevas cairam sobre elle, e, andando em redor, buscava a quem o guiasse pela mão

12Então o proconsul, vendo o que havia acontecido, creu, maravilhado da doutrina do Senhor.

13E, partindo de Paphos, Paulo e os que estavam com elle chegaram a Perge, cidade da Pamphylia. Porém João, apartando-se d'elles, voltou para Jerusalem.

14E elles, saindo de Perge, chegaram a Antiochia, da Pisidia, e, entrando na synagoga, n'um dia de sabbado, assentaram-se;

15E, depois da lição da lei e dos prophetas, lhes mandaram dizer os principaes da synagoga: Varões irmãos, se vós tendes alguma palavra de consolação para o povo, fallae

16E, levantando-se Paulo, e pedindo silencio com a mão, disse: Varões israelitas, e os que temeis a Deus, ouvi:

17O Deus d'este povo d'Israel escolheu a nossos paes, e exaltou o povo, sendo elles estrangeiros na terra do Egypto; e com braço levantado os tirou d'ella;

18E supportou os seus costumes no deserto por espaço de quasi quarenta annos.

19E, destruindo a sete nações na terra de Canaan, lhes repartiu por sorte a terra d'elles.

20E, depois d'isto, por quasi quatrocentos e cincoenta annos, lhes deu juizes, até ao propheta Samuel.

21E depois pediram um rei, e Deus lhes deu por quarenta annos, a Saul filho de Kis, varão da tribu de Benjamin.

22E, tirado este, lhes levantou como rei a David, ao qual tambem deu testemunho, e disse: Achei a David, filho de Jessé, varão conforme o meu coração, que executará toda a minha vontade.

23Da descendencia d'este, conforme a promessa, levantou Deus a Jesus para Salvador d'Israel;

24Tendo primeiramente João, antes da vinda d'elle, prégado a todo o povo d'Israel o baptismo do arrependimento.

25Mas, como João cumprisse a sua carreira, disse: Quem pensaes vós que eu sou? Eu não sou o Christo; mas eis que após mim vem aquelle a quem não sou digno de desatar as alparcas dos pés.

26Varões irmãos, filhos da geração d'Abrahão, e os que d'entre vós temem a Deus, a vós vos é enviada a palavra d'esta salvação.

27Porque, não conhecendo a este os que habitavam em Jerusalem, nem os seus principes, condemnando-o, cumpriram assim as vozes dos prophetas que se lêem todos os sabbados.

28E, não achando nenhuma causa de morte, pediram a Pilatos que fosse morto.

29E, havendo elles cumprido todas as coisas que d'elle estavam escriptas, tirando-o do madeiro, o pozeram na sepultura;

30Porém Deus o resuscitou dos mortos.

31E elle por muitos dias foi visto pelos que subiram com elle da Galilea a Jerusalem, e são suas testemunhas para com o povo.

32E nós vos annunciamos a promessa que foi feita aos paes, a qual já Deus nos cumpriu, a nós, seus filhos, resuscitando a Jesus:

33Como tambem está escripto no psalmo segundo: Meu filho és tu, hoje te gerei.

34E que o resuscitaria dos mortos, para nunca mais tornar á corrupção, disse-o assim: As sanctas e fieis bençãos de David vos darei.

35Pelo que tambem em outro psalmo diz: Não permittirás que o teu sancto veja corrupção.

36Porque, na verdade, tendo David no seu tempo servido conforme a vontade de Deus, dormiu, e foi posto junto de seus paes e viu a corrupção,

37Mas aquelle a quem Deus resuscitou nenhuma corrupção viu.

38Seja-vos pois notorio, varões irmãos, que por este se vos annuncia a remissão dos peccados.

39E de tudo o que, pela lei de Moysés não podestes ser justificados n'este é justificado todo aquelle que crê.

40Vêde pois que não venha sobre vós o que está dito nos prophetas:

41Vêde, ó desprezadores, e espantae vos e desapparecei; porque opéro uma obra em vossos dias, obra que não crereis, se alguem vol-a contar.

42E, saidos os judeos da synagoga, os gentios rogaram que no sabbado seguinte se lhes fallassem as mesmas coisas.

43E, despedida a synagoga, muitos dos judeos e dos proselytos religiosos seguiram Paulo e Barnabé; os quaes, fallando-lhes, os exhortavam a que permanecessem na graça de Deus.

44E no sabbado seguinte ajuntou-se quasi toda a cidade a ouvir a palavra de Deus.

45Porém os judeos, vendo a multidão, encheram-se de inveja: e, blasphemando, contradiziam o que Paulo dizia.

46Mas Paulo e Barnabé, usando de ousadia, disseram: Era mister que a vós se vos fallasse primeiro a palavra de Deus; mas, visto que a rejeitaes, e vos não julgaes dignos da vida eterna, eis que nós voltamos para os gentios;

47Porque o Senhor assim nol-o mandou, dizendo: Eu te puz para luz dos gentios, para que sejas para salvação até aos confins da terra.

48E os gentios, ouvindo isto, alegraram-se, e glorificavam a palavra do Senhor; e creram todos quantos estavam ordenados para a vida eterna.

49E a palavra do Senhor se divulgava por toda aquella provincia.

50Mas os judeos incitaram a algumas mulheres religiosas e honestas, e aos principaes da cidade, e levantaram perseguição contra Paulo e Barnabé, e os lançaram fóra dos seus termos.

51Sacudindo, porém, contra elles o pó dos seus pés, partiram para Iconio.

52E os discipulos estavam cheios d'alegria e do Espirito Sancto.

📖 Chapter study

Summary

The church in Antioch sends Barnabas and Saul (now called Paul) on the first missionary journey. They preach in Cyprus and in Pisidian Antioch, where Jews reject the message but Gentiles receive it with joy.

Explanation

This chapter marks the official beginning of Paul's missionary journeys, commissioned by the church through fasting and prayer — a model for how important mission decisions should arise from communal spiritual seeking. The confrontation with the sorcerer Elymas shows the spiritual opposition the message would face. Paul's sermon in the synagogue at Pisidian Antioch summarizes Israel's history culminating in Jesus, following the same pattern as Stephen's sermon. Paul's closing statement — that he would turn to the Gentiles in light of Jewish rejection — would become a recurring pattern throughout his journeys.

Fun facts

  • It is in this chapter that Luke begins calling 'Saul' by the name 'Paul' (Acts 13:9), possibly because he begins working predominantly in Gentile territory, where his Roman name would be more recognizable.
  • Sergius Paulus, the proconsul converted in Cyprus, is confirmed by an archaeological inscription found on the island, which mentions a Roman official with that name during the period corresponding to the account.

Verse-by-verse explanation

  1. Atos 13:1The nickname “Niger” given to Simeon likely indicates dark skin, suggesting African origin. Together with Lucius of Cyrene, it shows how the leadership of the church in Antioch already brought together people from very different backgrounds from early on.
  2. Atos 13:2While the group of leaders in Antioch was fasting and worshiping, the Holy Spirit gives a direct and specific command: set apart Barnabas and Saul for a mission He Himself had already planned.
  3. Atos 13:3The church’s response is to confirm the calling with fasting, prayer, and the laying on of hands before sending them off, a simple ritual of missionary commissioning.
  4. Atos 13:4Barnabas and Saul first go down to the port of Seleucia, and from there sail to the island of Cyprus, Barnabas’s homeland, officially beginning the first missionary journey in the book of Acts.
  5. Atos 13:5John, mentioned here as their assistant, is John Mark, who accompanies Paul and Barnabas as a kind of helper on the journey. He abandons the group shortly afterward, which later causes a falling-out between Paul and Barnabas in chapter 15.
  6. Atos 13:6Crossing the island to Paphos, they find a Jew posing as a magician and false prophet, named Bar-jesus, an influential figure connected to the local court.
  7. Atos 13:7“Proconsul” was the title of the Roman governor of the province of Cyprus. Archaeological finds on the island confirm the existence of Roman officials with that title at the time, which lends historical support to Luke’s account.
  8. Atos 13:8Elymas — a name that also means “sorcerer” — opposes Paul and Barnabas, trying to prevent the island’s Roman governor from hearing and accepting their message.
  9. Atos 13:9This is the point in the book where the name officially changes in the narrative, from Saul to Paul. Saul was his Jewish name and Paul his Roman name, common among diaspora Jews who held a dual cultural identity — not a change tied only to his conversion.
  10. Atos 13:10Paul confronts Elymas harshly, calling him a child of the devil and an enemy of righteousness, for trying to twist the straight ways of God before the governor.
  11. Atos 13:11Paul announces an immediate punishment: temporary blindness, which takes effect right away, leaving Elymas needing to be led by the hand like a dependent.
  12. Atos 13:12Governor Sergius Paulus is converted when he sees the miracle happen before him, struck both by the event itself and by the message Paul was preaching.
  13. Atos 13:13From the port of Paphos the group sails to Perga in Pamphylia, and this is the point where John Mark abandons them and returns to Jerusalem, a decision that will cause conflict later in chapter 15.
  14. Atos 13:14Paul follows the custom of visiting the local synagogue in every new city, taking advantage of the fact that any traveling Jew had the right to be invited to speak after the reading of the law and the prophets. This is the cultural opening he uses again and again to preach.
  15. Atos 13:15Following Jewish custom, after the reading of the law and the prophets in the synagogue, the local leaders invite the visitors, Paul and Barnabas, to say a word of encouragement.
  16. Atos 13:16Paul accepts the invitation, motions for silence with his hand, and begins a lengthy speech addressed both to Jews and to Gentiles who already attended the synagogue because they feared God.
  17. Atos 13:17Paul begins by retelling the history of Israel from Egypt, recalling how God chose the people, made them grow even as foreigners there, and brought them out with great power.
  18. Atos 13:18Paul quickly moves through the forty years in the wilderness, a period in which God put up with the people’s difficult behavior before they entered the promised land.
  19. Atos 13:19After destroying seven Canaanite nations, God distributes the conquered land among the tribes of Israel by lot, as already told in the book of Joshua.
  20. Atos 13:20Paul sums up the long period of the judges, about four hundred and fifty years, which runs up to the prophet Samuel, the last figure before the monarchy.
  21. Atos 13:21The brief reference to King Saul, son of Kish, picks up the story of Israel’s first king, told in 1 Samuel, which Paul uses as historical background before reaching David and then Jesus.
  22. Atos 13:22After rejecting Saul, the first king, God chooses David, described with the famous phrase “a man after mine own heart,” willing to do His will.
  23. Atos 13:23Paul finally reaches his main point: from David’s descendants, as promised, God raised up Jesus as Savior of Israel.
  24. Atos 13:24Before Jesus’s arrival, John the Baptist had already preached a baptism of repentance to all the people, preparing the way.
  25. Atos 13:25Paul quotes John denying that he was the Messiah himself, and pointing to someone greater who would come after him, so far above him that he would not even be worthy to untie His sandals.
  26. Atos 13:26Paul addresses both the Jews and the God-fearing Gentiles present, saying that the message of salvation had been sent specifically to them there.
  27. Atos 13:27Paul explains that the residents of Jerusalem and their leaders did not recognize Jesus as the Messiah, and in condemning Him they unwittingly ended up fulfilling the prophecies read every sabbath in the synagogues.
  28. Atos 13:28Even without finding any real cause for death, these leaders asked Pilate to have Jesus executed anyway.
  29. Atos 13:29After everything written about Him had been fulfilled, they took Jesus down from “the tree” and laid Him in a tomb.
  30. Atos 13:30Paul states the central point of the Christian faith directly and briefly: God raised Him from the dead.
  31. Atos 13:31The resurrection was not a private event: Jesus was seen for many days by the disciples who had come up with Him from Galilee to Jerusalem, and they are His official witnesses before the people.
  32. Atos 13:32Paul frames all of this as the fulfillment of an ancient promise made to the ancestors, now realized for the present generation through the resurrection of Jesus.
  33. Atos 13:33Paul quotes a psalm the Jews read as referring to the anointed king, the Messiah, applying that phrase to the resurrection of Jesus, not to His birth.
  34. Atos 13:34Paul cites a prophetic promise about the definitive resurrection, one with no return to decay, tied to “the sure mercies of David” promised by God.
  35. Atos 13:35Paul reinforces this with another psalm quotation, saying that God would not allow His “Holy One” to see decay — a verse Peter had already used earlier in chapter 2 with the same logic.
  36. Atos 13:36Paul argues that this promise cannot be about David himself, since he died, was buried with his ancestors, and his body truly decayed.
  37. Atos 13:37By contrast, the One God raised up — Jesus — saw no decay at all, showing that the prophetic promise is fulfilled only in Him.
  38. Atos 13:38Paul arrives at the practical application of his speech: it is through Jesus that forgiveness of sins is now proclaimed to the listeners gathered there.
  39. Atos 13:39Paul teaches that the law of Moses could never fully justify anyone, but whoever believes in Jesus receives the justification the law was unable to give.
  40. Atos 13:40Paul closes with a warning, urging his listeners to take care not to fall under the harsh warning the prophets themselves had already written.
  41. Atos 13:41Paul quotes the prophet Habakkuk, warning those who scoff at the message: God was doing a work so astonishing that no one would believe it even if warned beforehand.
  42. Atos 13:42As they leave the synagogue, the initial reaction is positive: people ask Paul and Barnabas to come back and speak on the same subject the following sabbath.
  43. Atos 13:43Many Jews and Gentile converts to Judaism (proselytes) follow Paul and Barnabas after the service, receiving encouragement to continue faithful to the grace of God.
  44. Atos 13:44On the following sabbath, almost the whole city gathers to hear the preaching, an enormous increase in audience compared to the first time.
  45. Atos 13:45This success stirs up envy among the local Jewish leaders, who begin publicly contradicting and insulting what Paul was saying.
  46. Atos 13:46Paul and Barnabas respond firmly: since the Jews rejected the message first offered to them, the two decide to turn their preaching specifically to the Gentiles.
  47. Atos 13:47Paul justifies this turn by quoting a prophetic command that the Messiah would be a light for the Gentiles, bringing salvation to the ends of the earth.
  48. Atos 13:48The Gentiles’ reaction is one of genuine joy, and the text records that “as many as were ordained to eternal life” believed, a theological detail much debated among scholars.
  49. Atos 13:49With this initial momentum, the Christian message begins to spread throughout that whole region of Asia Minor, not just in the city of Antioch in Pisidia.
  50. Atos 13:50The Jewish opponents manage to mobilize influential women of the city and local authorities to officially expel Paul and Barnabas from the territory.
  51. Atos 13:51As they are expelled, the two shake the dust off their feet against the city, the same symbolic gesture of protest used later in other places, and go on to Iconium.
  52. Atos 13:52Despite the expulsion, the new disciples left behind remain full of joy and of the Holy Spirit, showing that the persecution did not snuff out their newly formed faith.

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