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From: Acts 12:24-13:5a
Barnabas and Saul Return to Antioch
The Mission of Barnabas and Paul
They Arrive in Cyprus
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Commentary:
24. St Luke contrasts the failure and downfall of the Church’s persecutors with
the irresistible progress of the Word of God.
25. They “returned from Jerusalem”: following the best Greek manuscripts, the
reading accepted by the New Vulgate is “returned to Jerusalem” (cf. RSV note).
However, it does not seem to fit in with the end of Chapter 11 and the beginning
of Chapter 13. Therefore, from very early on many Greek manuscripts and trans-
lations (including the Sixto-Clementine edition of the Vulgate) read “returned from
Jerusalem”. It is not clear which is correct; the Navarre Spanish follows the New
Vulgate.
1. From this point onwards Luke’s account centers on the Church of Antioch.
This was a flourishing community, with members drawn from all sectors of so-
ciety. In some respects its organization structure was like that of the Jerusalem
Church; in others, not. It clearly had ordained ministers who were responsible
for its government, who preached and administered the Sacraments; along these
we find prophets (cf. 11:28) and teachers, specially trained members of the com-
munity.
In the early Church “teachers” were disciples well versed in Sacred Scripture
who were given charge of catechesis. They instructed the catechumens and
other Christians in the basic teaching of the Gospel as passed on by the Apos-
tles, and some of them had a capacity for acquiring and communicating to
others an extensive and profound knowledge of the faith.
Teachers do not necessarily have to be priests or preachers. Preaching was u-
sually reserved to ordained ministers; teachers had an important position in the
Church: they were responsible for on-going doctrinal and moral education and
were expected faithfully to hand on the same teaching as they themselves had
received. A virtuous life and due learning would have protected them against any
temptation to invent new teachings or go in for mere speculation not based on
the Gospel (cf. 1 Timothy 4:7; 6:20; Titus 2:1).
The “Letter to Diognetus” describes the ideal Christian teacher: “I do not speak
of passing things nor do I go in search of new things, but, like the disciple of the
Apostles that I am, I become a teacher of peoples. I do nothing but hand on what
was given me by those who made themselves worthy disciples of the truth” (XI,
1).
2-3. “Worship” of the Lord includes prayer, but it refers primarily to the celebra-
tion of the Blessed Eucharist, which is at the center of all Christian ritual. This
text indirectly establishes a parallel between the Mass and the sacrificial rite of
the Mosaic Law. The Eucharist provides a Christian with the nourishment he
needs, and its celebration “causes the Church of God to be built up and grow in
stature” (Vatican II, “Unitatis Redintegratio”, 15). Significantly, the Eucharist is
associated with the start of this new stage in the expansion of the Church.
Paul and Barnabas receive a missionary task directly from the Holy Spirit, and
by an external sign — the laying on of hands — the Antiochene community prays
to God to go with them and bless them. In His promotion of the spread of the
Church the Holy Spirit does not act at a distance, so to speak. Every step in the
progress of the Church in the world is rightly attributed to the initiative of the Pa-
raclete. It is as if God were repeatedly ratifying His salvific plans to make it per-
fectly plain that He is ever-faithful to His promises. “The mission of the Church is
carried out by means of that activity through which, in obedience to Christ’s com-
mand and moved by the grace and love of the Holy Spirit, the Church makes it-
self fully present to all men and people” (Vatican II, “Ad Gentes”, 5).
The dispatch of Paul and Barnabas is inspired by the Holy Spirit, but it is also
an ecclesial act: the Church gives them this charge, specifying God’s plans and
activating the personal vocation of the two envoys.
The Lord, “who had set me apart before I was born and had called me by his
grace [sent me] in order that I might preach Him among the Gentiles” (Galatians
1:15-16), now arranges, through the Church, for this mission to begin.
Fasting and prayer are the best preparation for the spiritual enterprise on which
Paul and Barnabas are about to embark. “First, prayer; then, atonement; in the
third place, very much ‘in the third place’, action” (St. J. Escriva, “The Way”, 82).
They know very well that their mission is not man-made and that it will produce
results only with God’s help. The prayer and penance which accompany aposto-
late are not just aimed at obtaining graces from God for others: the purpose of
this prayer and fasting is to purify hearts and lips, so that the Lord will be at their
side and ensure that none of their words “fall to the ground” (1 Samuel 3:19).
13:4-14:28. This first missionary journey took Paul, accompanied by Barnabas,
to Cyprus and central Galatia, in Asia Minor. He left Antioch in the spring of 45
and returned almost four years later, after preaching Christ to both Jews and
Gentiles wherever he went.
St. Luke’s account, which covers Chapters 13 and 14, is sketchy but accurate.
At Seleucia (the port of Antioch, about 35 kilometers or 22 miles from the city)
they embarked for Cyprus, the largest island in the eastern Mediterranean,
where Barnabas came from. They disembarked at Salamis, the island’s main
city and port. There they went to the Jewish synagogues on a series of sab-
baths.
In verse 6 it says that they crossed to the island to Paphos, which is on the ex-
treme west. This would have taken them several months because, although it is
only 150 kilometers as the crow flies, there were many towns with Jewish com-
munities, and since they had to stay in each for a number of sabbaths their pro-
gress would have been slow. We are told nothing about the result of this work
of evangelizing en route from Salamis to Paphos, but the indications are that it
was fruitful, because Barnabas will later go back to Cyprus, accompanied by
Mark (cf. 15:39), to consolidate the work done on this first mission. New Pa-
phos was where the proconsul resided.
From there they went on board ship again and travelled north, probably disem-
barking, after a short crossing, at Attalia. After a few miles they reached Perga
in Pamphylia, a barren, inhospitable region at the base of the Taurus mountains,
where Mark took leave of his companions.
Going from Perga to Pisidian Antioch (verse 14) meant a difficult journey of about
160 kilometers over mountain roads. This other Antioch was 1,200 meters above
sea level and would have had a sizeable Jewish community, connected with the
trade in hides. The busy commercial life of the region helped the spread of the
Christian message (verse 49). Paul addressed his preaching to the Gentiles be-
cause of the hospitality of many Jews.
The Apostles were expelled and they headed for Iconium, about 130 kilometers
south east, where they stayed some months and then left because of disturban-
ces created by both Gentiles and Jews: they had to flee to the region of Lycao-
nia, to two minor cities, Lystra and Derbe. There were very few Jews in Lystra,
and no synagogue, and therefore Paul preached to the local people, in the open
air; but some Jews, who had arrived from Antioch and Iconium, stoned him and
left him for dead. Possibly with the help of Timothy (cf. 16:1) they managed to
reach Derbe, where they made many disciples, and then set out on the journey
home, retracing their steps through Lystra, Iconium and Pisidian Antioch. Things
had quieted down, the local magistrates were new, and with a little prudence
everything worked out quite well. The new disciples were confirmed in the faith,
and priest, elders, were appointed to each local church. Paul and Barnabas then
went back to Pamphylia and Attalia, where they took ship for Antioch, arriving
probably well into the year 49.
5. In each city he visits, Paul usually begins his preaching of the Gospel in the
local synagogue. This is not simply a tactic: it is in line with what he knows is
God’s plan for salvation. Like Jesus, he feels obliged to proclaim the Kingdom
first to “Israelites [for] to them belong the sonship, the glory, the covenants, the
giving of the Law, the worship, and the promises; to them belong the patriarchs,
and of their race, according to the flesh, is the Christ” (Romans 9:4-5). The Jews
have a right to be the first to have the Gospel preached to them, for they were
the first to receive the divine promises (cf. 13:46).
Although many Jews chose not to listen to or understand the Word of God, there
have been many who accepted the Gospel for what it is — the fullness of the Old
Testament. All over the Diaspora thousands of men and women like Simeon and
Anna, who were awaiting the Kingdom and serving the God of their forefathers
with fasting and prayer (cf. Luke 2:25, 367), will receive the light of the Holy Spirit
enabling them to recognize and accept Paul’s preaching as coming from God.
It is true that the many Jewish communities established in the main cities of the
Roman empire often hindered the spread of the Gospel; yet their very existence
played a providential part in its progress.
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Source: “The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries”. Biblical text from the
Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries by members of
the Faculty of Theology, University of Navarre, Spain.
Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland, and
by Scepter Publishers in the United States.