A PARADIGM SHIFT:

LUKES LEGITIMATION OF
PAUL AND THE GENTILE MISSION IN ACTS 13 AND 14

by
Josephine Too Lee Lee

Submitted for the degree

Of
Master of Theology
to
Trinity Theological College

Singapore
August 2012

ABSTRACT

Modern commentaries often label Acts 13 and 14 as Pauls first missionary journey.
Although this may be defensible, the labelling, however, undermines the inherent purpose
and the intended effects of the two chapters.
Close and critical observations of the two chapters give considerable indications that the
narrative bears a paradigmatic shift in the plot of Acts. From Acts 1 to 12, the book of Acts
focuses on Jerusalem, the Twelve Apostles, the Jews and the God-fearers. But the plot of
Acts takes on a shift from Acts 13 and 14 onwards. The two chapters consist of selective
events with unique terms and motifs that thrust Paul and the Gentile mission into focus. The
purpose of this study is to show the paradigm shift in Acts 13 and 14 as intended by the
author of Acts.
This study will utilize a chiastic structure from the two chapters to derive the framework
for the main events and the central thought of the narrative. Our analysis of the main events
in the framework will show a definitive shift to focus on Paul and the Gentile mission. This
study will also demonstrate how the journey narrative enshrines the authors ingenious
literary skills to legitimate Pauls ministry and the Gentile mission for the rest of the stories
of Acts. By the end of the study, the conclusion will show that the two chapters are more than
a missionary journey narrative.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

TITLE PAGE

ABSTRACT

TABLE OF CONTENTS

ACKNOWLEDGMENT

ABBREVIATIONS

INTRODUCTION

CHAPTER ONE: THE PARADIGMATIC FEATURES IN THE INCLUSIO (Acts

13:1-3)

1.1

The paradigmatic Syrian Antioch church.

16

1.2

The .

23

CHAPTER TWO: THE WITNESS CONCERNING SERGIUS PAULUS

(Acts 13:6b-12)

2.1

From Saul to Paul

26

2.2

Pauls first recorded Gentile convert and miracle

29

CHAPTER THREE: THE EPISODE AT ANTIOCH OF PISIDIA

(Acts 13:14-14:5)

3.1

Pauls first recorded speech at the synagogue (Acts 13:16-41)

35

3.2

Turning to the Gentiles

41

3.3

A Light to the Gentiles

45

3.4

The Impetus for the Declaration

50

CHAPTER FOUR: THE EPISODE AT LYSTRA (Acts 14:7-20)

4.1

The first recorded speech to a wholly Gentile community

58

4.2

The

64

4.3

68

CHAPTER FIVE: CONCLUSION

APPENDIX I

BIBLIOGRAPHY

72

INTRODUCTION

Acts 13 and 14 are often being labelled as Pauls first missionary journey with Acts
15:36-18:22 as the second missionary journey and Acts 18:23-21:15 as his third missionary
journey. Such labelling could be misleading as it does not seem to be the scheme in the mind
of the author.1 It should be noted that neither the apostle [Paul] nor Luke2 has so numbered
them. The numbering stems from modern commentators on Acts, who divide up the episodes
into three blocks.3 Here we are not stating that the journey is wrongly numbered by many,
but the superficial title of Pauls first missionary journey somewhat diminishes the inherent
purpose and intended effects of the significant events portrayed in Acts 13 and 14.
The book of Acts which can generally be regarded as containing two parts,4 has the
first half (chapters 1 to 12) focusing on the preaching ministry of the Twelve apostles and the
conversion of numerous Jews and God-fearers in Jerusalem and its surroundings. Peter is the
main protagonist. The second half of Acts (chapters 13 to 28) focuses on Paul and his
preaching ministry, particularly among the Gentiles throughout Asia Minor. Located in the
middle of the book of Acts, chapters 13 and 14 stand on their own and are a major narrative
segment with its own introduction and conclusion.5 Fitzymer, noting that the journey begins

Richard Belward Rackham, The Acts of the Apostles. An Exposition. Westminster Commentaries Series
(London: Methuen and Co., 1901), 194.
2

In this study, we will take on the general view that the author of the book of Acts is Luke and will use the
word author and Luke interchangeably to refer to the author of the book of Acts.
3

Joseph A Fitzymer, The Acts of the Apostles. Anchor Bible, vol. 31 (New York: Doubleday, 1998), 495.

Most scholars see Acts as in two parts (Acts 1-12 and 13-28), drawing a corresponding parallelism
between the two. See Rackham, xlvii and Charles H. Talbert, Literary Patterns, Theological Themes and the
Genre of Luke-Acts (Missoula, Montana: SBL, Scholars Press, 1974), 23-26.
5
Robert C. Tannehill, The Narrative Unity of Luke-Acts, a Literary Iinterpretation, vol 2: The Acts of the
Apostles (Minneapolis: Augsburg Fortress, 1990), 159.

and ends in Antioch, suggests that the chapters function in the Lucan story as the matrix of
the Christian Gentile mission.6 He adds that the first one sets the pattern for all three.7
On closer examination of the two chapters, one notices that there are several features
within the journey narrative that stand on its own. For example, Saul, the Jewish name of
Paul, is being dropped out in preference to Paul. The Syrian Antioch church and not the
Jerusalem church, is being featured significantly in this journey narrative. Pauls inaugural
and longest sermon at the synagogue and the first direct contact with a wholly Gentile
community are given their extensive coverage in this narrative. There are also several
features that not only stand on its own but are mentioned only once; for example the term
. Do these striking features indicate an intentional purpose of the author
beyond narrating a mere missionary journey narrative?
An extensive study on Pauls so-called first missionary journey by Dean Philip
Bechard in his revised dissertation8 gives us fresh insights into Acts 13 and 14. By contextual
and structural analysis, Bechard examines the literary functions of Acts 13 and 14, but with a
particular emphasis on the episode at Lystra. He highlights the significance and meaning of
various terms and themes in relation to Lukes social-geographical universalism of the
Christian mission. Bechard finds that Acts 13-14 is a tightly organized literary composition,
whose coherence is achieved through the repetition and variation of important themes within
a cyclical progression of sequenced events9 which depicts Pauls foray into the Gentile
world. In other words, the author of Acts has intentionally, through selective events, sought to
show a shift of focus from Jerusalem to the Gentile world, beyond the synagogue to direct
6

Fitzymer, Acts, 495. Cf. John B. Polhill, Acts. NAC, vol. 26 (Nashville, Tennessee : Broadman Press,
1992), 320.
7

Fitzymer, Acts, 495..

Dean Philip Bechard, Paul outside the walls: A Study of Lukes Social-Geographical Universalism in
Acts 14:8-20. Analecta Biblica, 2000.
9

Bechard, 139-140.

contact with the Gentiles, and from the twelve apostles, with its representative being Peter, to
Paul. From thenceforth, the rest of Acts takes on a different geographical focus in the spread
of the gospel, with Paul as the main protagonist.
By examining key motifs, events and terms which are selectively utilized by the author
in Acts 13 and 14, this study seeks to elicit the plausibility of a paradigm shift in the narrative.
This shift points to Paul and the Gentile mission.
The limitations of our study will however not permit us to discuss the issues on the
historicity and source-material10 of the journey. The contentions regarding the journeys
chronological order after Acts 15, is also not within our interest.11 Our study is also not a
reappraisal or a defence of the Gentile mission. Scholars such as S G Wilson12 and Christoph
W. Stenschke13 have already done in depth studies with regard to this topic. But as the
Gentile mission is evidently a theme in Acts 13 and 14, it will be discussed in relation to our
studys focus on the paradigmatic nature of the narrative. Here, it should be noted that this
study is not proposing that this journey is the inaugural mission to the Gentiles, as the
Gentiles have already been evangelized sporadically.14 Even though missionary work and

10

There are various source-theories on Acts 13 and 14 but none has found any agreement among the
scholars. For a summary on the Antioch source, see Adolf V. Harnack, The Acts of the Apostles, translated by
J.R. Wilkinson (London: Williams & Norgate, 1909), 162ff and Jacques Dupont, The Sources of Acts (New
York: Herder and Herder, 1964), 62-72. For the source-theory based on itinerary and the authors own
compositions, see the discussion by Martin Dibelius, Studies in the Acts of the Apostles, edited by Heinrich
Greeven (London: SCM Press, 1956), 5-6 and 104-108. Also, Ernst Haenchen, The Acts of the Apostles: A
Commentary , trans. Bernard Noble and Gerald Shinn (Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1971), 86-87, who
views the author of Acts collecting information about Acts 13 and 14 through oral traditions and letters, and has
woven them coherently as the journey narrative; idem, The Book of Acts as Source Material for the History
of Early Christianity in Studies in Luke-Acts, edited by Leander E. Keck and J. Louis, Martyn (New York:
Abingdon Press, 1966), 265 and 271.
11

See C.K. Barrett, A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on The Acts of the Apostles, ICC. Vol I
(Edinburgh: T&T Clark, 1994), 600, and Haenchen, Acts, 439.
12

13

S.G. Wilson, The Gentiles and the Gentile Mission in Luke-Acts (Cambridge University Press, 1973).

Christoph W. Stenschke, Luke's Portrait of Gentiles Prior to Their Coming to Faith (J.C.B. Mohr, 1999).
The Ethopian Enunch (8:26-40), Cornelius and his household (10:1-48) and the Greeks in Antioch
(11:19-22).
14

preaching to the Gentiles were not new15 prior to Acts 13 and 14, we want to note that those
conversions took place mostly among the God-fearers and have its association with Jerusalem.
As we shall see within this study, the author depicts in Acts 13 and 14 a radical development
in the preaching ministry beyond the synagogues and Jerusalem in a paradigm shift to the
Gentile world, resulting in Gentile churches being established beyond the ambits of
Judaism.16 David Pao demonstrates in his thesis on Acts and the Isaianic New Exodus that
the journey represents the first sustained effort carried out by Christian missionaries to bring
the gospel to the various regions beyond the Land of Israel.17 The sustained and deliberate
effort to take the gospel beyond Israel and the synagogue will be discussed in detail.
As far as I know, the most comprehensive scholarly work to date that depicts a clear
paradigm shift in Acts 13 and 14 was undertaken by Edwin Nelson in an unpublished
doctoral thesis titled Pauls First Missionary Journey as Paradigm A Literary-Critical
Assessment of Acts 13,14.18 Nelsons work is basically a literary-critical analysis of the two
chapters, giving us the portrait of Paul and his mission paradigm. He worked out a lengthy
justification for chiasms in Acts, and utilized a basic chiasm (or chiasmus) structure and
various secondary chiasms to analyze the journey narrative.19 His study shows that there is
indeed a linear movement from the Jewish to Gentile work20 in the journey narrative and
that the two chapters serve as an anticipatory episode to Pauls subsequent mission ministry.21
15

Rackham, 194.

16

Bechard, 165.

17

David Pao, Acts and the Isaianic New Exodus (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Baker. Academic, 2002), 98.

18

Edwin S Nelson, Pauls First Missionary Journey as a Paradigm A Literary-Critical Assessment of

Acts 13,14 (PhD diss., Boston University, 1982).
19

For a more specific study using chiasm structures to study the missionary journeys narratives of Acts 1328, see Donald R. Miesner, The Missionary Journeys Narrative: Patterns and Implications in Perspectives on
Luke-Acts, ed. Charles H. Talbert (Danville, VA: Association of Baptist Professors, 1978), 199-214. Miesners
structures put the Athens episode as the most significant pivotal point as the gospel moves to the end of the earth.
20
Nelson, 52.
21

Ibid, 70.

Nelsons analysis demonstrates that Luke has selected his materials to develop a
programmatic nature for the journey concerning Pauls work.22 His usage of a chiastic
structure portrays clearly the overall framework of the journey and shows the shift towards
Paul and the Gentile mission.
Since Nils Lunds comprehensive work on chiasm,23 chiasm has often been used as a
literary technique for New Testament authors to bring out the interpretative focal point of a
passage. Chiasmus structures in Luke-Acts have been proposed by scholars such as Donald
Miesner,24 Charles Talbert (1974)25 and M.D. Goulder.26 More recently, Talbert (1997) has
also utilized chiasm to analyze Pauls first missionary journey. His structure reflects the motif
to the Jew first and also to the Greek.27 It is not the focus of this study to discuss in detail
the use of chiasmus for the interpretative purpose of Acts 13 and 14. However, the use of
chiasmus can indeed aid us in clarifying the meaning and centre-point of the so-called Pauls
first missionary journey and clearly showing the shift to Paul and the Gentile mission. As
Lund points out
chiasms frequently exhibit a shift at, or near, their centre. This change can be varied in
nature: a change of person of the verb, a new or unexpected idea suddenly introduced,
and so on. Usually, after the shift, the original thought is resumed. 28

22

Ibid, 71 & 101-2.

23

Nils Lund, Chiasmus in the New Testament: A Study in Formgeschichte (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson,
reprinted, 1992).
24

Miesner, The Missionary Journeys Narrative: Patterns and Implications, 199-214.

25

Charles T. Talbert, Literary Patterns, Theological Themes and the Genre of Luke-Acts (Missoula, MT:
Society Biblical Literature 1974).
26

27

Michael D. Goulder, Type and history in Acts (London : SPCK, 1964).

Charles H.Talbert, Reading Acts A Literary and Theological Commentary on the Acts of the Apostles
(New York: The Crossroad Publishing Company, 1997), 125. See Appendix I for the chiastic structure.
28
Taken from Ian H. Thomson, Chiasmus in the Pauline Letters (Sheffield Academic Press, 1995), 27.

For the purpose of this study, Nelsons basic chiastic structure for Acts 13 and 1429 will
be utilised with a few modifications. The structure gives us a clear segmentation of the array
of events in Pauls so-called first missionary journey and the centre-point of the narrative:
A. Barnabas and Saul being sent out by the Syrian Antioch church (Acts 13:1-3)
B.

General Preaching in Cyprus (13:4-6a).

C. The Episode concerning Sergius Paulus and an Encounter with a Jewish
false prophet (13:6b-13)
D. Transition: John Mark (13:13,14a)
E. Centre-point:
The Episode at Antioch of Pisidia (13:14-14:5).
Climax: The turning to the Gentiles (13:46 & 47).
D1. Transition: Iconium (14:1-6)
C1. The Episode at Lystra (14:7-20)

B1. General Preaching in Derbe (14:21)

A1. Paul and Barnabas return to the Syrian Antioch (Acts 14:21b-28).

From the above chiastic structure, we derive the framework and centre-point of Acts 13
and 14, with its inclusio (A and A1) and three key episodes (C, E and C1). The three key
episodes are the episode concerning Sergius Paulus, the episode at Antioch of Pisidia and the
episode at Lystra. The key elements within these three episodes that signify the shift to Paul
and the Gentile mission will be discussed in detail. The episode concerning Sergius Paulus,
(C, 13:6b-13), a Roman official, is Pauls first recorded witness to an individual Gentile and
a political authority. The episode at Antioch of Pisidia (E, 13:14 to 14:5), being the centre of
the chiasm, forms the centre-point of our study. This is where we find Pauls inaugural and
longest recorded sermon to both Jews and Gentiles at the synagogue. The climax of the
narrative is found in his declaration of turning to the Gentiles ( ,
29

See Appendix I for Nelsons chiastic structure on Acts 13 and 14.

13:46). The final episode is about the events at Lystra (C1, 14:7-20), where Pauls first
recorded preaching to a wholly Gentile community is depicted. Both C and C1 contain a
miracle by Paul and a short speech. Both feature a direct witness to a Gentile audience with
corresponding themes to the centre-point episode at Antioch of Pisida. What these themes
are will be discussed later. The general preaching (B, B1) and the transition (D, D1) do not
constitute any significance for our analysis of a paradigm shift to Paul and the Gentile
mission. Therefore, they will not be discussed in detail.
A (13:1-3) and A1 (14:21b-28) are acknowledged by several commentators30 as forming
the inclusio of Acts 13 and 14. This framing is unique to this first missionary journey and is
not found in Pauls subsequent journeys in the book of Acts. The journey narrative begins
with the Syrian Antioch church and ends with it. The Syrian Antioch church in our discussion
shall be seen as a paradigmatic church with a significant role in the intended shift of the
journey narrative. Both A and A1 mention the leadership of the local church/churches. Both
also contain the term . In the opening of the narrative, the term is used to denote
the mission of Paul and Barnabas but with no further description. It reappears in the centrepoint episode of the narrative (13:41), and at the ending of the journey narrative (14:26). This
deliberate usage and reoccurrence of the word will be discussed in detail. All these
parallel characteristics of A and A1 signify that they form an inclusio of Acts 13 and 14.
To sum up, beginning with the study of the inclusio and its various parallels, and
subsequently the detailed discussion on the three key episodes of the journey narrative, we
shall see a paradigm shift to Paul and the Gentile mission as intended by the author. This shift
is already subtly hinted to the reader at the beginning of the narrative in 13:1-3, in the
description of the Syrian Antioch church and the calling of Paul and Barnabas to the .

30

Polhill, Acts, 320. Also, William H. Shepherd, Jr., The Narrative Function of the Holy Spirit as a
Character in Luke-Acts (SBL Dissertation Series, 147), 209 and David G. Peterson, The Acts of the Apostles.
PNTC (Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans, 2009), 373.

CHAPTER ONE:
THE PARADIGMATIC FEATURES IN THE INCLUSIO
(Acts 13:1-3)

1.1

The Paradigmatic Syrian Antioch church

Antioch-on-the-Orontes (Syrian Antioch) was a very dynamic city built on the Orontes
River about 300BC by Seleucus I. By the first century C.E., it had become a beautiful,
important centre of commerce, culture and political power.1 It was one of the most important
cities2 besides Rome and Alexandria in the Roman Empire. It had a diverse culture and was a
very cosmopolitan environment of that time. Many forms of Greco-Roman religions were
freely practiced.3
In the New Testament, the Syrian Antioch church was first mentioned in Acts 11.4 The
church is important to our study as it was the starting point for Pauls mission.5 In the
second half of the book of Acts, the church was seen as the venue where Paul begun (13:2;
15:39-40; 18:23) and ended (14:26-28; 18:22) most of his other journeys throughout Asia
1

Frederick W. Norris, Antioch of Syria in ABD, I: 265.

For more information on the city of Antioch, see John R. McRay, Antioch on the Orontes, in DPL: 23-

25.
3

Norris, Antioch of Syria, 268. Also, Downey, Glanville, History of Antioch in Syria: from Seleucus to
the Arab Conquest (Princeton, N.J., Princeton University Press, 1961), 120-121.
4

New Testament references to Antiochene Christianity include Acts 6:5; 11:19-21; 13:1; 14:26; 15:22-23,
30, 35; 18:22 and Galatians 2:11-4.
5

Jacques Dupont, The Salvation of the Gentiles. Studies in the Acts of the Apostles, trans. John Keating,
S.J. (Paulist Press, 1979), 12.

Minor. Therefore, the Antioch church can be considered as the springboard of outreach6
for Pauls mission to the Gentile world.
There is however very little information regarding the beginning of the Syrian Antioch
church. Acts 11:19-217 is the only relevant passage for its formation. Barrett writes that the
foundation at Antioch is ascribed to ; the term looks back to 8:4 and 8:1.8 In
other words, the gospel came to Antioch from the believers who were scattered due to the
persecution after the death of Stephen (11:19-20).
Now those who had been scattered by the persecution that broke out when Stephen was
killed travelled as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus and Antioch, spreading the word only among
Jews ( ). Some of them, however, men from Cyprus and Cyrene, went to
Antioch and began to speak to Greeks () also, telling them the good news
about the Lord Jesus. (Acts 11:19-20, NIV)
The members of the Syrian Antioch church include the .9 The other
appearances of this term in the New Testament is found only in Acts 6:1 and Acts 9:29. In
Acts 6:1, it is used to differentiate between the Hebrew-speaking and the Greek-speaking
Jewish Christians.10 In Acts 9:29, the word is distinctively the Greek-speaking Jews.11
Therefore, from these two instances, the term refers to the Greek-speaking
Jews,12 and if so, does it constitute the same meaning as in 11:20? A difficulty arises
regarding its meaning in 11:20 due to a variant reading. The reading of found in P74,
6

Douglas Rutt, Antioch as Paradigmatic of the Urban Center of Mission, Missio Apostolica 11, no.1
(2003): 41. http://www.ebscohost.com (accessed Dec 10, 2011).
7

Haenchen did suggest that the Antioch church was probably planted by Barnabas, along with Lucius of
Cyrene and one or two others. C.f. Haenchen, Acts, 371.
8

C. K. Barrett, Acts, vol 1, 545 and 547.

B, D2, E, , 1739, support the reading of in Acts 11:20.

10

Thomas W. Martin, Hellenists in ABD III: 135 and Martin Hengel, Between Jesus and Paul, trans.
John Bowden (London: SCM Press Ltd, 1983), 6.
11

G.R. Stanton, Hellenism in DNTB, 469. Barrett, Acts, vol 1, 550. See also, H J Cadbury who views the
in 9:26 and 11:19 as Gentiles in The Hellenists in The Beginnings of Christianity: The Acts of
the Apostles, vol 5, ed. F.J. Foakes Jackson and K. Lake (London: Macmillan, 1933), 73.
12

See Hengels discussion in Between Jesus and Paul, 1-29.

2, A, D* gives a different translation as it can be translated as the Greeks or Gentiles.13

Therefore, it gives rise to the suggestion that it is the Greek-speaking Gentiles and not Greekspeaking Jews who have received the gospel from the men from Cyprus and Cyrene. Metzger,
from the perspective of transcriptional probability, however, favours , but
explains that the term ought to be understood according to the context.14 Therefore, in
contrast to the (Jews) of 11:19, the term ought to be translated as the Greekspeaking persons, meaning thereby the mixed population of Antioch15 (i.e. Greek-speaking
Jews and Greek-speaking Gentiles). Limitations to our study do not permit us to discuss this
fully, but the internal evidence seems, however, to favour the reading of , despite
being the lectio difficilior.16
The internal evidence is found in 11:19 which indicates that the preaching was initially
, but then, men from Cyprus and Cyrene began also to speak to the
(or ) in Antioch. Since, it was mentioned that they were already preaching to the
(11:19), it would be pointless to say that the Cypriots and the Cyrenaens preached
also to the Hellenists17 (i.e. the Greek-speaking Jews, ). Furthermore, the
development of the events in 11:19 and the authors subsequent use of the term in
Pauls journey narratives18 to denote the Greek-speaking Gentiles ( 14:1; 17:4; 17:12; 18:4;
19:10), seem to point in the same direction. In other words, there are Greek-speaking Gentiles
in the Syrian Antioch church, who first contact to the gospel is recorded in 11:19. This is

13

BDAG, 318.

14

Bruce M. Metzger, A Textual Commentary on the Greek New Testament. A Companion Volume to the
United Bible Societies' Greek New Testament, 3rd edition (Stuggart: United Bible Societies, 1971 ), 389.
15

Ibid. On the contrary, C.F.D. Moule, Once More, Who were the Hellenists? ExpT 70 (1958-59):100102, argues that the context itself defines the word as Jews who speak Greek only.
16

Cf. J. Wanke, in EDNT, vol 1: 436.

17

Bruce, The Acts of the Apostles - Greek Text, 272. Cf. Fitzmyer, Acts, 476, and Haenchen, Acts, 365 n.5.

18

H. Windisch, in the NT in TDNT, II: 510.

further supported by the mention of Gentiles in the leadership of the church in 13:1. The
Gentile issue at the Jerusalem council arising from the Antioch church (Acts 15) further
substantiate our case. Therefore, it makes more sense to take the reading as for
11:20, instead of . The term is probably a correction intended to
avoid the supposed contrast to verse 19 or to reserve the Gentile mission proper for Paul.19
In this study, it is suffice to reason that the Syrian Antioch church consists of both Jews
and Greek-speaking Gentile believers. However, these Greek-speaking Gentiles are not to be
seen as being portrayed in the same way as the Gentiles whom Paul encountered during his
journey in Acts 13 and 14. Luke seemingly chooses to refer to them as and not
, a term which he apparently reserves for Pauls turning to the Gentiles in 13:46 and 47.
Conclusively, the Syrian Antioch church is being portrayed as an initial shift in the gospel
ministry going beyond Jerusalem (i.e. the Jews and the God-fearers). But since the gospel
was taken there due to the dispersion of the believers from the persecution in Jerusalem, the
spread of the gospel to Syrian Antioch is still incidental and not an initiative. It is not yet a
full scope Gentile mission, since it is not a deliberate move to bring the gospel to the Gentiles.
Also, there remains a close association of the Syrian Antioch church with the Jerusalem
church since the gospel was from Jerusalem. Such an association with the Jerusalem church
can also be seen in the sending of Barnabas as a representative (11:22) to audit the ministry at
Syrian Antioch. Conversely, the Gentile churches which Paul (and Barnabas) founded in Asia
Minor shall be seen in this study, as churches without a close association with Jerusalem or
the synagogue.
Despite the close association with the Jerusalem church, there remain a few features of
the Syrian Antioch church which show that it is a paradigmatic church, distinctive from the
19

Haenchen, Acts, 365 n.5. Cf. Barrett, Acts, vol 1, 550-551, who takes the reading of and
translates the word as the non-Jewish, Greek-speaking inhabitants of Antioch. He explains the change to
as the copyists awareness of the meaning of 6:1 and 9:29 and the difficulty to reconcile the meaning
with the present context.

Jewish-oriented Jerusalem church. One distinctive feature is that the Gentiles in the Syrian
Antioch church do not adhere to the Torah (15:1-2. Cf. Gal 2:11-14). But this concept of nonadherent to the Torah in the church is concealed by the author till Pauls inaugural sermon at
the synagogue at Pisidian Antioch, which we shall see later. The issues regarding the Gentiles
and the practice of the Torah shall take a significant role in the Jerusalem Council in Acts 15,
which cannot be studied in this thesis.
Another distinctive feature of the church can be seen in their having a new identity as
Christians (, 11:26), and thus signifying they are not a sect of Judaism. The
origin of the word20 is immaterial to our study, but the fact that they are given a new identity
reflects a situation in which Christians were becoming numerous and were clearly
distinguishable from Jews21 and thus the Syrian Antioch church is no mere variant of
Judaism.22 As F F Bruce comments,
Antioch was a cosmopolitan city, where Jew and Gentile, Greek and barbarian rubbed
shoulders..racial and religious differences which loomed so large in Judea seemed
much less important here. The church of Antioch from the outset had an ethos quite
distinct from that of the Jerusalem church.23

Luke continues to show in Acts 13:1 the unique features of the Syrian Antioch church in
the description of the leadership as and , and notably, not as
and as in the Jerusalem church. The word is only
found here in the whole book of Acts. The ministry of teaching and prophecy in the Syrian
Antioch church is first mentioned in Acts 11:26-28. The attempt to distribute the ministry of
and to the five persons listed in 13:1 is pointless and misleading. The

20

See Haenchen, Acts, 367 n.3.

21

Barrett, Acts, vol I, 557.

22

Haenchen, Acts, 371.

23

F F Bruce, The Book of the Acts. NICNT. Revised Edition (Grand Rapids, Michigan: William B.
Eerdmans, 1988), 228.

focus is on the calling of the Holy Spirit upon Barnabas and Saul and the ministry they
function in. The description of and clearly shows that they function in
the prophetic and teaching ministry of the church. The five persons listed along with the two
terms can probably mean that each of them can be thought of as either prophets or teachers
or both, since there is no reason why the same person should not sometime prophesy and
sometimes teach.24 The discussion on the ministry of and in relation to
Paul and Barnabas ministry is important to our study as it affirms the calling of Paul (and
Barnabas) as an apostle to the Gentiles. This will be elaborated further in the episode at
Lystra where the term is attributed to them (14:4, 14).
Besides Barnabas and Saul, who are already given introduction by the author in the
preceding chapters, the following persons are specifically mentioned.
Simeon who is called Niger, meaning black in Latin, gives one the impression that he
could be from northern Africa. Some commentators suggest that he is possibly the Simon
from Cyrene of Luke 23:26 and Mark 15:21,25 but this is unlikely, since the author
specifically mentions that it is Lucius who was from Cyrene.26
Lucius of Cyrene is likely one of the men from Cyrene and Cyprus who preaches the
gospel to the Gentiles in Antioch (11:20).27 Some scholars construe this Lucius to be the
author Luke himself, but there is no evidence for this suggestion. This Lucius is also not to be
confused with the Lucius of Romans 16:21.28
Finally, there is Manaen who is described as .
is a designation given to boys of the same age as princes and young nobles, who
24

Barrett, Acts, vol I, 602.

25

Richard N Longenecker, Acts. The Expositors Bible Commentary with The New International Version,
(Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1995), 212.
26

Bruce, Acts, 245.

27

Ibid.

28

Ibid.

were brought up with them.29 Hence, Manaen, probably grew up with Herod Antipas as his
companion, and thus probably possesses a prominent social status. It is suggested by F F
Bruce that he is probably the person from whom Luke gleans much information of the Herod
family.30
There are two things to note from the list of leadership in 13:1. First, they are a
composite group of people from different cultural and social backgrounds. This is vastly
different from the purely Jewish leadership of the Jerusalem church. Besides Barnabas, none
of the leaders in the list has any direct association with Jerusalem. Paul is invited to Antioch
by Barnabas (11:25-26), and is not sent directly by the Jerusalem church. The cultural
diversity of the Syrian Antioch church gives a clear sign that Gods salvation is meant to go
beyond the synagogue and Jerusalem to all nations ( ). The motif
will feature prominently in the episode at Antioch of Pisidia and at Lystra.
Another point to note from 13:1 is the deliberate mention of Barnabas first, and Saul
(Paul) who was put at the end of the list. From a literary point of view, this gives a special
impression on the reader.31 As the narrative progresses, we shall see Paul gradually being
given more prominence than Barnabas, with the author taking leave of Barnabas totally after
the journey and the Jerusalem council.
Therefore we have in the opening of Acts 13 and 14 the description of the Syrian
Antioch church with its Jews and Greek-speaking Gentile-believers, set in a city of cultural
diversity and religions, distinctive from the Jerusalem church and Judaism. It represents not
only a different church from the Jerusalem church, but also signifies a shift of focus in the
narrative towards Paul and the Gentile world. This shift continues with the calling of Paul and
Barnabas by the Holy Spirit for the in 13:2.
29

Ibid.

30

Ibid.

31

Haenchen, Acts, 401.

The

1.2

The appearance of this term in the inclusio of Acts 13 and 14 connects the events
of the two chapters and direct the reader towards a new focus in the book of Acts. is a
common term in the New Testament and simply means work.32 It is however used by the
author in this journey narrative in a different way. In the book of Acts, it appears in nine
verses;33 four times in the plural form of 34 and six times in the singular form of
.35 Besides 5:38, this singular form of the term appears only in 13:2, 13:41, 14:26 and
15:38. The term appears twice in 13:41,36 which we will be discussed in the episode of
Antioch of Pisidia. In 5:38, it appears in Gamelials speech to refer to the expanding work of
the apostles in Jerusalem,37 and hence has no direct relation to the context of Acts 13-14. This,
however, does not mean that the terms appearance in 5:38 is not important in the book of
Acts but a detailed study of the term in the context of Gamalials speech is not possible
within the limits of this study. In 15:38, the same term is used in parallel with 13:2 and 14:26,
and therefore, its meaning may be determined in relation to 13:2 and 14:26. If we omit 5:38
and 15:38, the singular form of in the whole book of Acts actually appears only in
the context of Acts 13 and 14.

32

Liddell and Scott, 391, puts it as that which one does as regular activity, work, occupation, task.

33

Acts 5:38; 7:22; 7:41; 9:36; 13:2, 41; 14:26; 15:38; 26:20.

34

Acts 7:22; 7:41; 9:36; 26:20.

35

Acts 5:38; 13:2, 41; 14:26; 15:38. also appears in Acts 15:18 of the Western texts [P 74 A D E lat
] to account for the quotation of Amos 9:11-12 from the LXX and the MT. For a discussion regarding this, see
Bechard, 113-118, who adheres to the Western reading in order to reconcile the speech in Acts 15 about the
Gentile mission with Acts 13 and 14. Also see C K Barrett, A Critical and Exegetical Commentary: The Acts of
the Apostles, vol II (Edinburgh: T&T Clark, 1994), 728, who argues that the reading shows that it has always
been Gods intention to include the Gentiles in the salvation plan.
sy

36

appeared twice in 13:41 (P74 A B C 33 81 1765 1827 vg copsa,bo) but omitted in later
manuscripts (D E gig p).
37

Bechard, 101. See also Barrett, Acts, vol 1, 296, who highlights Acts 5:38 as Lukes representation
and therefore may not be Gamelials verbatim speech, since Gamelial would not speak Greek in the Sanhedrin.
Barretts comments therefore suggest a deliberate usage of the term by Luke in Gamelials speech, possibly to
signify the new eschatological work of God.

The terms first appearance in the journey narrative is in the context of Pauls (and
Barnabas) calling by the Holy Spirit in 13:2. Throughout Acts, the Holy Spirit always
appears in important events to give radical directions.38 The command of the Holy Spirit to
single out Paul and Barnabas for the becomes the inception event in this journey
narrative. in 13:2 tells the reader that Paul and Barnabas are called to fulfil a specific
task for the Holy Spirit and not for the Antioch church. This signifies that God is the one who
calls Paul (and Barnabas) and hence God is the one directing the . At this juncture, it is
not made known to the reader what constitutes this . However, the emphatic particle
display a sense of urgency39 to the and can be translated as now.40 It sets the
tempo to the and the subsequent events. With the beseeching presence of the particle
, the calling in 13:2 therefore demands an immediate action.
The term reappears at the centre-point of the narrative (i.e. at the episode at
Antioch of Pisidia) in Pauls speech (13:41). It is part of the prophetic verse taken from
Habakkuk 1:5. In the episode, the initial obscurity of the is clarified as the Gentile
mission. This will be discussed in detail in our analysis of the episode of Antioch of Pisidia.
At the end of the journey narrative (14:26), the appears again as a completed task
with the proclamation that God has opened the door of faith to the Gentiles. This
proclamation further affirms that the initiated by the Holy Spirit in 13:2 is the Gentile
mission and God is the main director in the whole mission.41 The coming from the

38

Cf. Acts 2:4; 4:8; 9:17.

39

Luke Timothy Johnson, The Acts of the Apostles, Sacra Pagina 5 (Collegeville, MN: Liturgical
Press, 1992), 221. Other scholars who also give the same imperative emphasis on in Acts 13:2 include
Barrett, Acts, vol I, 605 and F.F. Bruce, The Acts of the Apostles- Greek Text with Introduction and
Commentary.Third revised and enlarged edition (Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans, 1952, 1990), 294.
40

Most modern-day English translations of the bible have dropped the word altogether. NKJV has
retained and translated it as now.
41

Haenchen, Acts, 437.

Holy Spirit also affirms Pauls divinely appointed role as the apostle to the Gentiles,42 thus
showing that Pauls calling is from God and not from men (cf. Galatians 1:1). Pauls calling,
previously set out in 9:15, is now contained within the term and brought to fulfilment
within this journey narrative. The singular form of the term and its repetitive
occurrences within Acts 13 and 14, from obscurity to a clear definition, therefore produces
the impact of bringing forth the God-initiated Gentile mission to the foreground. The word
acts as a marker to the intended paradigm shift within the narrative.
Conclusively, by introducing the diversity in the Syrian Antioch church and Pauls (and
Barnabas) calling to the from the Holy Spirit, the author prepares the reader towards a
shift in the plot of the narrative. With a transitional mention of a preaching ministry at Cyprus
(13:4-6a), the author moves swiftly into the focus of the in Pauls first recorded witness
to a Gentile in the setting of the Gentile world.

42

Bechard, 108.