Reaching Out
CYPRUS AND PISIDIAN ANTIOCH (Acts 13)
Section V: A Propagation
Paul was an itinerant missionary. His itinerant tours are described in what are usually termed his missionary journeys, and are full of interest and teaching. In this lesson we shall study the first of his eventful travels, seeking, in particular, to view it in relationship to modern experience. Itinerant labors are still of importance in some areas of the world. They are carried on in various ways in different countries, by plane, by boat, by cart, on foot, on horseback or by car. Tents, boats, inns, rest houses, government bungalows and native huts are all utilized as temporary dwelling places.
Paul’s land journeys were most probably made usually on foot though he may have used other methods at times, and we know him to have ridden horse back on occasion. Let us now concentrate attention on the principal features of his tours.
Cyprus: A Bitter Opponent
After the sea-crossing from Seleucia to Salamis, the missionaries traveled through the island till they reached Paphos, the political capital and the residence of the pro-consul or governor. Here occurred a battle royal. The governor was clearly interested in religion, as appears from the fact that Elymas was attached to his suite. He heard of the travelers and sent for them to come and preach. Possibly his heart was yearning for truth. A tug of war then came. Elymas represented a system which had cast a spell over the Roman world, a blend of pseudo-science and sorcery with religious superstition. He was astrologer, exorcist, magician and fortune-teller all in one. Every motive of self-interest urged him to resist the Gospel.
He was all the more dangerous as an antagonist because, being a Jew, he could doubtless quote, or misquote, the sacred Scriptures. In bitter earnest he withstood the preachers of the Gospel of Christ. The Gospel and worldly magic contended for the mastery. The judicial “mist and darkness” which fell on Elymas were an emblem of the eclipse of all such false systems. The sorcerer was over-ruled; the Gospel triumphed; the proconsul “believed being astonished at the teaching of the Lord.”
Missionaries today are often withstood by similar systems. These are sometimes championed by individuals whose one object is to stop the preaching of the gospel. We learn from Paul that the way to meet such attacks is to declare faithfully “the teaching of the Lord.”
Pisidian Antioch; Mixed Population
The missionaries traveled by sea from Cyprus to Perga; then by road to Antioch. Their path lay over the rough Pisidian mountain lands, which were full of dangers. En route, they crossed the boundary of the Roman province of Pamphylia into that of Galatia, in which Antioch, Iconium, Lystra and Derbe were politically included. Antioch really belonged, from a national point of view, to Phrygia, though it was popularly spoken of as ‘Pisidian’. Its population included many native Phrygians; a strong Greek element, since it was founded by the Grecian monarch Seleucus Nikator; a Roman contingent (it was a Latin colony); and a large number of Jews. It was, therefore, a good seed-pot for the cosmopolitan gospel of Christ. It was, moreover, under the Romans, the center of government administration for the southern part of the Galatian province.
The missionaries appear to have been detained there by Paul’s illness. Then followed his memorable sermon in the synagogue, of which the main headings were a Savior promised, a Savior provided, and a Savior presented.
This led to experiences which present distinct stages:
(1) The instruction of a large number of inquirers, Jews and Proselytes;
(2) The awakening of widespread interest among the Gentiles of the city;
(3) The opposition of the Jews, from racial and religious jealousy;
(4) The concentration, for the first time on work among the Gentiles;
(5) The spread of the Gospel in the region or country of which Antioch was the chief town;
(6) The rising, bitter persecution ending in the expulsion of the missionaries from Antioch and its environs.
