Sidor som bilder
PDF
ePub

CHAPTER III.

Of the Journey which Barnabas and Saul, by the Direction of the Holy Ghost, made into the Lesser Asia, for the Purpose of preaching to the Idolatrous Gentiles.

Acts xiii. 4. So they being sent forth by the Holy Ghost, departed with John Mark as their minister, unto Seleucia, a sea-port town on the Orontes, twelve miles below Antioch, and about five from the sea, and thence sailed unto Cyprus, the native country of Barnabas, (Acts iv. 36.) where the Jews and proselytes were very numerous; where also the gospel had been formerly preached to the Jews, by the brethren who had fled from the persecution, which arose after Stephen's death, Acts xi. 19.

They land at Salamis in the Island of Cyprus.

Having landed at Salamis, a considerable town in the eastern end of the island, and Barnabas and Saul preached in the Jewish synagogues there.

But before we proceed, it will be necessary to make a pause here, for the sake of explaining the order observed by Saul, from this time forth, in preaching the gospel.-Our Lord, at the time he first sent forth his apostles to preach, having said to them, Matth. x. 5. Go not into the way of the Gentiles, and into any city of the Samaritans enter ye not. 6. But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel, it was long before they thought themselves at liberty to preach to the Gentiles. And even after they knew the truth concerning this matter, they considered the above direction, as an order to offer the gospel in every country and city to the Jews, if there were any in those parts, before they offered it to the Gentiles. (Acts xiii. 46.) Nor were they mistaken, in putting this interpretation upon their Master's precept, who had fixed this order of preaching the gospel, for the following

reasons.

First, The Jews being the keepers of all the former revelations made to mankind by the true God, and these revelations being preparations for the introduction of the gospel, and containing clear predictions thereof, and of Jesus its author, it was necessary that it should be offered first to the Jews because if they received it as the completion of the former revelations, it would be no small argument to persuade the Gentiles of the divine original of the gospel. The truth is, the converted Jews

by their knowledge and belief of the former revelations, were well fitted to be zealous and effectual preachers of the gospel, not only among our own countrymen, but among the Gentiles also. Wherefore, it was fit that most of the first preachers of the gospel should be of that nation.

Secondly, the wide dispersion of the Jews among the Gentiles, by the Assyrian and Babylonian captivities, and their extreme passion for commerce, which led them to plant themselves in all the chief cities of the Gentiles, were not accidental events, but were brought about by the providence of God, to prepare the world for the reception of the gospel. Nor could any method more effectual have been devised for that purpose. Because the Jews having from the beginning, possessed the knowledge of the only true God the Maker and Governor of the world, they carried that knowledge with them into the Gentile countries where they resided, and imparted it to all around them, who were willing to receive it. And having multiplied exceedingly in their dispersion at the time Saul went among the Gentiles to preach the gospel, he found in every country and city great numbers, not only of his own nation, (No. XII.) but of the Gentiles, whom the Jews had turned from idols to worship the only true God. These enlightened Gentiles were called by the Jews Religious or worshipping proselytes,* because they assembled themselves with the Jews in their synagogues, and joined them in worshipping God, by such prayers and hymns as they addressed to him in the character of Maker and Governor of the world Also, because they joined them in hearing the writings of Moses and the prophets read in the Greek translation. These pious Gentiles, by their knowledge of the true

* It may be proper here to set before the reader, at one view, the various names given in the scripture-history, to those Gentiles whom the Jews had turned from idols to worship the true God.

ανδρες ευλαβεις, ii. 5.

#goonλuros, ii. 10. Proselytes. This name was given likewise to those Gentiles who received circumcision, and who were Jews in every respect, except in their descent.

ανδρες ευσεβεις, Χ. 2. 7.

φοβόμενοι τον Θεον, x. 2. xiii. 16. 26.

σεβόμενοι.

σeCoμevol @goonλuto, xii. 43. worshipping proselytes.

σεβόμενοι Έλληνες, xvii. 4. worshipping Greeks.

σεβόμενοι τον Θεον, xviii. 7.

#ROEP HOMEVOL Tw ew, ii. xi. 5. ad Deum accedentes. This is

the name proselyte a little changed

God, and of the Jewish scriptures, were much better disposed to listen to the gospel, and better qualified to judge of the arguments by which the apostles proved Jesus to be the Christ, than their idolatrous brethren, who had no knowledge of God, nor of the revelations which God had formerly made to mankind. Nay, they heard the word of the Lord, oftentimes with more attention than even the Jews themselves. Wherefore, as this class of men were so well disposed to receive the gospel, and as after receiving it they could communicate it to their idolatrous relations and friends, it was extremely proper that it should be preached to them, before it was offered to the others. And as they were no where to be found assembled in a body, except in the Jewish synagogues, that circumstance was an additional reason for preaching the gospel to the Jews in the synagogues, before it was offered to the idolatrous Gentiles.

Moved by these considerations, the apostle Paul seldom attempted to preach in any city of the Gentiles, unless he found in it a synagogue of the Jews, where he might make the gospel known, not only to the Jews, but to the proselytes, before he offered it to the idolatrous Gentiles. Thus when Paul and Silas came to Amphipolis and Appollonia, they made no stay in either of these places, probably because there was no synagogue of the Jews there, in which they could preach. But at Salamis in Cyprus, where Barnabas and Saul now were, the Jews being so numerous as to have several synagogues, they preached in them all, oftener I suppose than once: and as the whole island abounded with Jews, they did not go by sea to Paphos, the chief city of the island, but by land, for the sake of preaching to the Jews and proselytes, in the towns through which they were to pass.

In their journey to Paphos, they no doubt met with many disciples. For we are told, Acts xi. 19. that some of the brethren, who fled from the persecution which arose after the death of Stephen, came into Cyprus, preaching the word to none but to Jews only.

From Salamis they go to Paphos, the Residence of the Roman Governor of the Province.

Barnabas and Saul having gone through Cyprus, came at length to Paphos, where was a famous temple of Venus, and a great confluence of priests and worshippers, who by their extreme attachment to this false deity, occasioned her to be celebrated under the names of the Paphian and Cyprian Queen.

[blocks in formation]

In Paphos, avaros, the Roman proconsul of Cyprus, Sergius Paulus, (No. XIII.) resided with other principal persons, who had come from Rome to assist in the government of the province. This Roman magistrate, who was a person of good sense as well as of good dispositions, having heard of the arrival of the servants of Christ at Paphos, called for Barnabas and Saul, whose fame it seems had reached Paphos before they came, and desired to hear the word of God, that is, the new doctrine which these strangers were said to preach in the name of God.

But a Jew named Barjesus, a false prophet and a sorcerer, Acts xiii. 8. Withstood them, seeking to turn away the proconsul from the faith. Probably this impostor contradicted the account, which Barnabas and Saul gave of Christ's miracles and ressurrection, and by feigned miracles endeavoured to dissuade the proconsul from embracing the gospel. 9. Then Saul who ai o is called Paul, moved by an immediate inspiration of the Holy Ghost, looked steadfastly on that impostor, 10. And said, O full of all subtilty and all mischief, thou child of the devil, thou enemy of all righteousness, wilt thou not cease to pervert the right ways of the Lord? 11. And now behold the hand of the Lord is upon thee, and thou shalt be blind, not seeing the sun for a season. By saying that he should be blind for a season, Paul insinuated that on the sorcerer's repentance, his sight should be restored. And immediately there fell on him a mist, and a darkness, and he went about seeking some to lead him by the hand. 12. Then the proconsul, when he saw what was done, believed, being astonished at the doctrine of the Lord. When he saw Elymas thus punished, he knew him to be an impostor, and believed the things spoken by Barnabas and Saul, being astonished at the power with which the doctrine of the Lord was accompanied.—The conversion of such a person, in so high a situation, and by such means, brought great credit to the gospel, and to its ministers, in that island.

The reader no doubt hath observed, that at this period of the history, Luke hath changed Saul's name, calling him Paul, without assigning any reason for so doing. Learned men have conjectured, that this change was made by Saul himself, in honour of the proconsul, who perhaps was Saul's first convert from among the idolatrous Gentiles, or the first person of high rank, of that character, who was converted. For it was customary among the Romans to assume the name of a benefactor whom they highly esteemed. Thus the Jewish historian Jose

phus, took the name of Flavius, in compliment to Vespasian, with whom he was in high favour. But in whatever manner it happened, certain it is, that ever after this, the great apostle of the Gentiles was known only by the name of Paul. From this time forth likewise Paul is generally mentioned by the historian before Barnabas; because, by his success in preaching at Paphos, and by the greatness of his miracles, he was now shewn to be the principal person; although formerly, he was mentioned after Barnabas, because he was a younger disciple, and because his apostolical authority was not fully understood.

They sail from Cyprus to Perga in Pamphylia, where John Mark deserts them.

After these things, Acts xiii. 13. Paul and his company, loosed from Paphos, and sailing to the continent of the Lesser Asia, they came to Perga, a city in Pamphylia, situated on the west side of the river Cestros, about seven miles from the sea. Here there was a celebrated temple of Diana; consequently many priests and others, whose interest and honour depended upon their maintaining the worship of that idol, and who no doubt were not a little displeased with these foreign teachers, for presuming to find fault with the gods of the country, and with the worship that was paid to them. On that occasion John Mark, who had hitherto accompanied them as their minister, terrified perhaps by the threatening speeches of the priests and bigots, or discouraged by the difficulty and danger of the undertaking, departed from them, and returned to Jerusalem. This desertion,

however, did not discourage Paul and Barnabas; neither were they moved from their purpose, by the little success which they had at Perga. For going away, they travelled through various countries of the Lesser Asia; and, as we shall see immediately, made many disciples to Christ, both among the Jews and the Gentiles.

Paul and Barnabas go to Antioch in Pisidia, were they convert great numbers, both of the Proselyted and of the idolatrous Gentiles.

The first city Paul and Barnabas came to, after they left Perga, was Antioch the metropolis of Pisidia, a country to the north of Pamphylia. Here they went into the synagogue of the Jews. And after the reading of the law and the prophets, being desired by the rulers of the synagogue to give the people an ex

« FöregåendeFortsätt »