Life of Paul – Lesson

5
Paul’s First Missionary Journey
ACTS 13:4-52; 14:1-28; 15:3 & 4
Introduction: The Journey
Begins
 As Saul, Barnabas, and John Mark sailed on
the Mediterranean Sea from the seacoast
town of Seleucia, their hearts must have
been filled with wonder as to what God had
in store for them. Their first stopping place
was Salamis, a port on the east of the island
of Cyprus.
Introduction: The Journey
Begins
They went to the Jewish synagogue on the
Sabbath, telling the story of Jesus to the
Jewish leaders. Then they journeyed across
the island until they came to the city of
Paphos on west coast. Here they ran into
quite a little excitement.
Disturbance at Paphos
After Saul and Barnabas had been in the town
of Paphos for a while, Sergius Paulus, the
Roman governor, sent for them. He was
curious about these strangers and the
religion (belief) they were teaching.
Disturbance at Paphos
When the missionaries came, the governor
listened eagerly and was very much
interested as they explained to him about
salvation through faith in Jesus Christ, the
Son of God.
Then came an interruption. . .
Disturbance at Paphos
It was Elymas, a local magician, who was
pretending to be a prophet and trying to
influence the governor with his own false
teachings. Elymas was keen enough to see
that if the governor accepted this teaching
about Jesus and became a Christian, he
wouldn’t want a magician around anymore,
and he would be without a job.
Disturbance at Paphos
Saul knew what the magician was trying to
do, and he was concerned that this magician
should get in God’s way like this and try to
prevent this Roman governor from trusting
the Lord. So Saul, filled with the Holy Spirit,
look straight at the magician with burning
words of rebuke and said . . .
Disturbance at Paphos
“You son of the devil, full of every sort of
trickery and enemy of all goodness, will you
ever stop twisting the truth of the Lord?
Because you have tried to turn people away
from Him, you will be blind for a time and not
able to see the sunlight!” Then this Elymas
became blind and could not see!
Disturbance at Paphos
When the Roman governor saw what had
happened, he was astonished. At once he
believed in the power of God and in Jesus,
God’s Son.
Something happened to Saul, too; just how, we
are not told. But from this moment on, the
Bible calls him “Paul,” which means “little.”
(Acts 13:13)
John Mark Goes Home
After their mission was completed on the
island of Cyprus, the three missionaries took a
ship for the mainland, landing near the town of
Perga. Here John Mark decided to leave them
and return to his home in Jerusalem. We are
not told why, but maybe he got homesick or
couldn’t stand the hardships of travel in those
days.
John Mark Goes Home
Anyway, God had not called John Mark as a
missionary (evangelist) as He had Paul and
Barnabas. So John Mark left them and went home.
Paul was disappointed and felt that John Mark made
a mistake in returning home. Later on, God allowed
John Mark to correct his mistake, and became a
devoted servant of the Lord and wrote the Gospel of
Mark, the second book of the New Testament.
John Mark Goes Home
Paul and Barnabas went on to Antioch. This
was not the Antioch in Syria, where the
disciples were first called Christians, but
another city by the same name in Asia Minor.
On Sabbath day, Paul and Barnabas went into
the Jewish synagogue and sat down for the
service.
John Mark Goes Home
After the usual readings from the Law and the
Prophets, the men in charge of the
synagogue sent them this message:
“Brothers, if you have a word of instruction or
encouragement for the people, please
speak.”
Paul preaches in Antioch
At this invitation Paul stood up and began to
speak in the Jewish synagogue. He traced the
history of the people of Israel, showing how it
led to the coming of the Messiah. He proved
to them that Jesus is not only the Son of
David but also the Son of God. He told them
how Jesus had died and had risen again.
Paul preaches in Antioch
He then closed his message by saying,
“Brothers, listen! In this Jesus there is
forgiveness for your sins. Everyone who
trusts in Him is freed from all guilt and
declared righteous before God – something
that the Jewish law could never do.”
Paul preaches in Antioch
As Paul and Barnabas were leaving the synagogue, the
Gentiles (non-Jews) of Antioch asked them to return
and speak to them about these things on the next
Sabbath. The following week, almost the whole city
turned out to hear Paul preach the Word of God. When
the Jewish leaders saw the crowds, they were filled
with jealousy and anger that Paul was teaching that
God had good news for the Gentiles as well as for the
Jews.
Paul preaches in Antioch
The Jews felt that the grace of God was
meant only for the Jewish people. The Jewish
leaders tried to turn people away by speaking
falsely and harshly against the truths that
Paul preached, and about Jesus, the Savior.
Paul preaches in Antioch
Paul and Barnabas, seeing what the Jewish
leaders were doing, said, “According to the
command of God, it was necessary that the
gospel be preached to you, the Jews, first. But
we see that you refuse to believe in Jesus the
Messiah, so now we are turning to the
Gentiles, who are eager to hear this wonderful
message.
Paul preaches in Antioch
God has told us to take the light of salvation
to the Gentiles, even in the farthest places of
the world.”
When the Gentiles heard this, they were glad.
Afterward, many of them believed in Jesus,
and the Word of the Lord was spread
throughout all that region.
Paul preaches in Antioch
But the Jewish leaders stirred up a bitter
feeling toward Paul and Barnabas, and the
city officials began to persecute the two.
Paul and Barnabas at Iconium

The city officials of Antioch ordered Paul and

Barnabas to leave their city. So the two
evangelists went to Iconium to preach the
gospel there. Paul and Barnabas were not
discouraged, nor were their converts – “they
were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.”
Paul and Barnabas at Iconium

At Iconium, Paul and Barnabas went as usual

to the Jewish synagogue. They preached with
such power that many – both Jews and
Gentiles – believed. For a long time, Paul and
Barnabas stayed in Iconium and ministered to
the people.
Division in Iconium
All the time, the unbelieving Jews continued
to stir up trouble by telling lies about the two
evangelists to poison the people’s minds
against them. But the Lord put His approval
on Paul and Barnabas’ preaching by giving
them power to work miracles.
Division in Iconium
The people of Iconium became divided, some
siding with the Jews and others with the
evangelists. Paul and Barnabas soon found out
that the name of Jesus is divisive. Those who
rejected Jesus were divided from those who
accepted Him; those who spurned and
dishonored His name from those who honored
Him.
Division in Iconium
Soon the Jews and Gentiles, together with
their leaders, plotted to get rid of the
evangelists. They planned to stone them to
death.
Paul and Barnabas flee to
Lystra
Learning that their lives were in danger, Paul and
Barnabas fled to Lystra, where they continued to
preach the good news/gospel.
At Lystra, Paul and Barnabas found idol worshippers
who had never heard about the true God. There was
no Jewish synagogue there, so the evangelists stood
in the streets, marketplaces, and other open spaces
and preached to the people in Greek, a language
everyone understood.
Paul heals a lame man
One day as Paul was speaking, a man who had been
crippled from birth and had never walked a single
step, sat listening eagerly and expectantly to Paul’s
message. Paul noticed him and knew in a moment
that the man believed the message and had faith in
the power of God to make him well. So Paul stopped in
the midst of his preaching and called out, “Stand up
on your feet!” At that moment, the man jumped up
and began to walk!
Paul heals a lame man
The people were amazed. They had never
seen anything like this before. In wonder, they
crowded around to stare at the evangelists,
and talked excitedly to one another in their
own language. Paul and Barnabas did not
understand that the crowd was shouting, “The
gods have come down to us in human bodies!”
Paul and Barnabas are
mistaken for gods
The excitement mounted. Soon Paul and
Barnabas saw the heathen priests leading
oxen to sacrifice and bringing cartloads of
flowers and wreaths. These people often
made such sacrifices and offerings to their
Greek gods, Jupiter and Mercury.
Paul and Barnabas are
mistaken for gods
Suddenly, the missionaries realized that
these heathen people thought that Paul and
Barnabas were gods and that they were
going to offer sacrifices to them! They called
Barnabas “Jupiter,” and, because Paul did the
preaching, they called him “Mercury.”
Paul and Barnabas are
mistaken for gods
The two evangelists were horrified and shocked! In
great distress, they rushed into the crowd, shouting,
“Why are you doing this? We are not gods! We are
only men, just like you. We have come to tell you
about the living God, Who made the heaven and
the earth and the sea and everything in them; Who
gives the rain and the seasons and satisfies your
hearts with food and gladness.
Paul and Barnabas are
mistaken for gods
The true God wants you to turn from the
worship of these worthless things.”
Even with these words, they had difficulty
keeping the crowd from making sacrifices to
them. Gradually, the shouting died down, and
the priests took the oxen and garlands back
to their pagan temples.
Paul and Barnabas are
mistaken for gods
But now new trouble arose. When Paul’s
enemies in Iconium heard that they were
preaching Christ in Lystra, they immediately
sent men to Lystra to tell the same lies about
Paul and Barnabas, saying that they were fakes
and imposters. These Jewish leaders were
determined to stop the teaching of Jesus and to
turn the people against the evangelists.
Paul and Barnabas are
mistaken for gods
They succeeded well in this, because those
who had been the loudest in their worship of
Paul and Barnabas were now so stirred up
they became an angry howling mob. Now,
instead of wanting to worship God’s servants,
the people thirsted for their blood!
Paul is stoned and left for dead

They caught Paul, stoned him, and dragged his

bleeding, motionless body outside of the city of
Lystra, thinking he was dead. “Let the jackals
devour it!” they cried. “We’re done with Paul.
But God was not done with Paul. As soon as the
murdering mob had gone away, a group of
believers came and stood around Paul in fear
and sorrow.
Paul is stoned and left for dead

Suddenly, as they watched, they saw Paul

move; he opened his eyes, stood up, and
walked right back into Lystra with his friends.
God spared his life and gave him courage and
holy boldness to enter the city again!
Paul was no pagan god, but a courageous,
God-filled man.
Home to Antioch
The next day, Paul and Barnabas went to
Derbe. Here, as elsewhere, they preached the
gospel, and many who heard it turned to the
Lord and became disciples of Jesus. After
spending some time in Derbe, the evangelists
retracted their route on their way back to
Antioch in Syria.
Home to Antioch
They stopped in the cities they had visited
before, meeting with the believers to
encourage and strengthen them because of
the persecution and hardships they were
having. They also appointed elders in each
ekklesia (church) to look after the members.
Home to Antioch
And so they returned Perga, sailing from the
nearby port of Attalia to Seleucia and on to
Antioch and their home ekklesia (church) at
last.
Home to Antioch
What welcome they received! The whole
ekklesia came together to hear their report
and listened eagerly as the two evangelists
rehearsed all that God had done with them,
and how God had opened the door of faith to
the Gentiles, too.
Home to Antioch
Paul and Barnabas had traveled about 2,400
miles in all, which was an extremely long way
in those days before modern transportation.
Everybody in the ekklesia at Antioch was
thankful and thrilled that the gospel of Jesus
had done its life-changing work and touched
the hearts of Jews and Gentiles alike.
Home to Antioch
Paul and Barnabas stayed there with the
believers at Antioch for a long time.
And so the first journey of the earliest
evangelists (missionaries) of the ekklesia
came to a wonderful end.