03 — The First Missionary Journey
The journey that carried the gospel out from Antioch into Cyprus and the cities of Asia Minor (Acts 13–14): Barnabas and Saul set apart by the Holy Spirit and sent out by the church of Antioch (Acts 13:1–3); the crossing to Cyprus and the confrontation with the magician Elymas at Paphos; and the scene at Lystra where the crowds, seeing a healing, cried “the gods have come down to us in the likeness of men” and called Barnabas Zeus and Paul Hermes (Acts 14:11–12). It is on this journey that “Barnabas and Saul” becomes “Paul and Barnabas.”
Tradition: Pan-Orthodox (Apostle)
The first missionary journey is the first deliberate, Spirit-commissioned mission of the Church beyond Antioch, and Barnabas is at its head — named first when the two are set apart (Acts 13:2), and a native son leading the party into his own Cyprus. These files follow the journey from the laying-on of hands at Antioch through Cyprus (Salamis to Paphos, the proconsul Sergius Paulus, and the blinding of Elymas) and into Pamphylia and Galatia, where John Mark turned back, where Paul’s preaching took the lead, and where at Lystra the pagan crowds — taking the apostles for gods walking the earth — gave Barnabas the name of the chief god Zeus. The section attends both to the narrative of Acts 13–14 and to the shift it records in the relationship between the two apostles.
Files in This Section
| File | Description |
|---|---|
| The First Journey | The whole arc of Acts 13–14: the setting-apart by the Spirit at Antioch (13:1–3); the route through Pamphylia and Galatia; John Mark’s departure (13:13); “the gods have come down to us” at Lystra and the priest of Zeus bringing oxen and garlands (14:8–18); the stoning of Paul; and the return to Antioch. |
| Cyprus and the Mission | The Cypriot leg in detail: the landing at Salamis and preaching in the synagogues (13:4–5); the journey across the island to Paphos; the proconsul Sergius Paulus and the false prophet Bar-Jesus / Elymas struck blind (13:6–12); and what it meant that the gospel first reached Cyprus through its own son Barnabas. |
See Also
- The Apostle to Antioch — the church that commissioned the journey
- The Sharp Disagreement — the later quarrel over the John Mark who turned back here
- The Apostle of Cyprus — Cyprus as the seedbed of the Church Barnabas founded
- St. Apostle Paul — the partner who, from this journey, takes the lead
References
- The Acts of the Apostles, chapters 13–14. (Cited by chapter and verse.)
- Bruce, F. F. The Book of the Acts. Rev. ed. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1988.
- Keener, Craig S. Acts: An Exegetical Commentary. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2012–2015. (On Acts 13–14, Cyprus, and Lystra.)
- John Chrysostom. Homilies on the Acts of the Apostles. Trans. NPNF I/11. (Homilies 27–30, on Acts 13–14.)