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Scripture • World English Bible
Acts 13:1–12
1Now in the assembly that was at Antioch there were some prophets and teachers: Barnabas, Simeon who was called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen the foster brother of Herod the tetrarch, and Saul.
2As they served the Lord and fasted, the Holy Spirit said, “Separate Barnabas and Saul for me, for the work to which I have called them.”
3Then, when they had fasted and prayed and laid their hands on them, they sent them away.
4So, being sent out by the Holy Spirit, they went down to Seleucia. From there they sailed to Cyprus.
5When they were at Salamis, they proclaimed God’s word in the Jewish synagogues. They also had John as their attendant.
6When they had gone through the island to Paphos, they found a certain sorcerer, a false prophet, a Jew whose name was Bar Jesus,
7who was with the proconsul, Sergius Paulus, a man of understanding. This man summoned Barnabas and Saul, and sought to hear the word of God.
8But Elymas the sorcerer (for so is his name by interpretation) withstood them, seeking to turn the proconsul away from the faith.
9But Saul, who is also called Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, fastened his eyes on him
10and said, “You son of the devil, full of all deceit and all cunning, you enemy of all righteousness, will you not cease to pervert the right ways of the Lord?
11Now, behold, the hand of the Lord is on you, and you will be blind, not seeing the sun for a season!”
12Then the proconsul, when he saw what was done, believed, being astonished at the teaching of the Lord.
World English Bible (WEB) • Public Domain
Reflection
In Antioch we meet a congregation that is more than a meeting place; it is a listening community. Prophets and teachers are present, believers are serving, and they fast. In the midst of that posture the Holy Spirit speaks a clear assignment: Barnabas and Saul are to be separated for a work God has called them to do. The church doesn’t act on impulse; it fasts and prays, recognizes the Spirit’s voice, lays hands on those called, and sends them out.
Being set apart in Scripture carries two closely linked ideas: separation and sending. Separation is not withdrawal from the world but a deliberate setting apart to God’s purposes. The laying on of hands is the congregation’s visible consent and blessing, a shared responsibility to support and release those who go. Sending is not a freelance venture; it is the Spirit’s commissioning. The mission of Barnabas and Saul is not their private project but the church’s mission under the Spirit’s direction.
The second half of the passage shows that Spirit-led sending bears tangible results. Paul (then called Saul), full of the Spirit, confronts deceit and counters false influences with authoritative truth. His boldness is not personal bravado; it is Spirit-empowered action that exposes falsehood and opens a door for the proconsul to believe. God’s call often moves us into encounters where truth and mercy meet opposition. The church’s role is to discern, to bless, and to back those sent with prayer and care.
For us today, this passage teaches that mission is rooted in worshipful dependence and communal discernment. We should expect the Spirit to direct ordinary congregations as they fast, pray, and serve. We must be willing to set people apart, not to control them but to release them into God’s work. And when those we send face resistance, we stand with them in prayer and trust the Spirit to work through faithful witness.
Hope flows through the story: God calls, equips, and uses imperfect people when a community listens. If you long to be used by God, begin by cultivating a church life that fasts and prays, practices mutual submission, and honors the Holy Spirit’s leading. The Spirit still sets apart and sends; the question is whether we are listening and willing to act together.
Putting Faith Into Action
- Join or start a regular time of corporate prayer and fasting in your church to seek the Spirit’s direction for who and where God is calling you to send or go.
- When you sense God calling someone to a role or mission, practice communal commissioning: pray for them, lay hands in blessing, and commit to supporting them practically and spiritually.
- When you encounter opposition to the gospel, rely on the Holy Spirit for courage and clarity—speak truth firmly but lovingly, and invite your church to pray for open hearts and faithful witness.
Prayer
Lord Jesus, give our church ears to hear the Spirit, courage to set apart and send according to Your will, and grace to stand with those You send. Fill us with Your Spirit so our witness exposes falsehood and points people to You. Amen.
Memory Verse
Acts 13:2 — As they served the Lord and fasted, the Holy Spirit said, “Separate Barnabas and Saul for me, for the work to which I have called them.” (WEB)
“As they served the Lord and fasted, the Holy Spirit said, “Separate Barnabas and Saul for me, for the work to which I have called them.””
Bible Context
Read all of Acts 13
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Bible Context
Read all of Acts 13
Acts 13
World English Bible • WEB
1Now in the assembly that was at Antioch there were some prophets and teachers: Barnabas, Simeon who was called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen the foster brother of Herod the tetrarch, and Saul.
2As they served the Lord and fasted, the Holy Spirit said, “Separate Barnabas and Saul for me, for the work to which I have called them.”
3Then, when they had fasted and prayed and laid their hands on them, they sent them away.
4So, being sent out by the Holy Spirit, they went down to Seleucia. From there they sailed to Cyprus.
5When they were at Salamis, they proclaimed God’s word in the Jewish synagogues. They also had John as their attendant.
6When they had gone through the island to Paphos, they found a certain sorcerer, a false prophet, a Jew whose name was Bar Jesus,
7who was with the proconsul, Sergius Paulus, a man of understanding. This man summoned Barnabas and Saul, and sought to hear the word of God.
8But Elymas the sorcerer (for so is his name by interpretation) withstood them, seeking to turn the proconsul away from the faith.
9But Saul, who is also called Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, fastened his eyes on him
10and said, “You son of the devil, full of all deceit and all cunning, you enemy of all righteousness, will you not cease to pervert the right ways of the Lord?
11Now, behold, the hand of the Lord is on you, and you will be blind, not seeing the sun for a season!”
12Then the proconsul, when he saw what was done, believed, being astonished at the teaching of the Lord.
13Now Paul and his company set sail from Paphos and came to Perga in Pamphylia. John departed from them and returned to Jerusalem.
14But they, passing on from Perga, came to Antioch of Pisidia. They went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day and sat down.
15After the reading of the law and the prophets, the rulers of the synagogue sent to them, saying, “Brothers, if you have any word of exhortation for the people, speak.”
16Paul stood up, and gesturing with his hand said, “Men of Israel, and you who fear God, listen.
17The God of this people chose our fathers, and exalted the people when they stayed as aliens in the land of Egypt, and with an uplifted arm, he led them out of it.
18For a period of about forty years he put up with them in the wilderness.
19When he had destroyed seven nations in the land of Canaan, he gave them their land for an inheritance for about four hundred fifty years.
20After these things, he gave them judges until Samuel the prophet.
21Afterward they asked for a king, and God gave to them Saul the son of Kish, a man of the tribe of Benjamin, for forty years.
22When he had removed him, he raised up David to be their king, to whom he also testified, ‘I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after my heart, who will do all my will.’
23From this man’s offspring, God has brought salvation to Israel according to his promise,
24before his coming, when John had first preached the baptism of repentance to Israel.
25As John was fulfilling his course, he said, ‘What do you suppose that I am? I am not he. But behold, one comes after me, the sandals of whose feet I am not worthy to untie.’
26“Brothers, children of the stock of Abraham, and those among you who fear God, the word of this salvation is sent out to you.
27For those who dwell in Jerusalem, and their rulers, because they didn’t know him, nor the voices of the prophets which are read every Sabbath, fulfilled them by condemning him.
28Though they found no cause for death, they still asked Pilate to have him killed.
29When they had fulfilled all things that were written about him, they took him down from the tree and laid him in a tomb.
30But God raised him from the dead,
31and he was seen for many days by those who came up with him from Galilee to Jerusalem, who are his witnesses to the people.
32We bring you good news of the promise made to the fathers,
33that God has fulfilled this to us, their children, in that he raised up Jesus. As it is also written in the second psalm,
34“Concerning that he raised him up from the dead, now no more to return to corruption, he has spoken thus: ‘I will give you the holy and sure blessings of David.’
35Therefore he says also in another psalm, ‘You will not allow your Holy One to see decay.’
36For David, after he had in his own generation served the counsel of God, fell asleep, was laid with his fathers, and saw decay.
37But he whom God raised up saw no decay.
38Be it known to you therefore, brothers, that through this man is proclaimed to you remission of sins;
39and by him everyone who believes is justified from all things, from which you could not be justified by the law of Moses.
40Beware therefore, lest that come on you which is spoken in the prophets:
41‘Behold, you scoffers!
42So when the Jews went out of the synagogue, the Gentiles begged that these words might be preached to them the next Sabbath.
43Now when the synagogue broke up, many of the Jews and of the devout proselytes followed Paul and Barnabas; who, speaking to them, urged them to continue in the grace of God.
44The next Sabbath, almost the whole city was gathered together to hear the word of God.
45But when the Jews saw the multitudes, they were filled with jealousy, and contradicted the things which were spoken by Paul, and blasphemed.
46Paul and Barnabas spoke out boldly, and said, “It was necessary that God’s word should be spoken to you first. Since indeed you thrust it from yourselves, and judge yourselves unworthy of eternal life, behold, we turn to the Gentiles.
47For so has the Lord commanded us, saying,
48As the Gentiles heard this, they were glad and glorified the word of God. As many as were appointed to eternal life believed.
49The Lord’s word was spread abroad throughout all the region.
50But the Jews stirred up the devout and prominent women and the chief men of the city, and stirred up a persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and threw them out of their borders.
51But they shook off the dust of their feet against them, and came to Iconium.
52The disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.
World English Bible (WEB) • Public Domain
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