R³ Devotional - Day 325
R³ Devotional - Day 325 - Acts 13-14
By: Paul Hicks
Chapter 13 in the book of Acts concerns the transformation of Saul to Paul. It gives an account in verses 9-10 when God refers to Saul as Paul, since his conversion, which happened on his journey on the road to Damascus. The Holy Spirit led Paul to confront Bar-Jesus with his sin. There is a time to be nice and a time to confront. Ask God to show you the difference and to give you the courage to do what is right.
No reason is given why John Mark left Paul and Barnabas. Some suggestions are: (1) He was homesick; (2) he resented the change in leadership from Barnabas (his cousin) to Paul; (3) he became ill (an illness that may have affected all of them – see Galatians 4:13); he was unable to withstand the rigors and dangers of the missionary journey; (5) he may have planned to go only that far but had not communicated this to Paul and Barnabas. Paul implicitly accused John Mark of lacking courage and commitment, refusing to take him along on another journey (see 15:37-38). It is clear from Paul’s later letters, however, that he grew to respect Mark (Colossians 4:10) and that he needed Mark in his work (2 Timothy 4:11).
And of course, when Paul had arrived in Jerusalem for the first time following his conversion, the local Christians were understandably reluctant to welcome him. They thought this was a trick to capture more Christians. But Barnabas proved willing to risk his life to meet with Paul and then convince the others that their former enemy was now a vibrant believer in Jesus. We can only wonder what might have happened to Paul without Barnabas.
In Chapter 14, we see Paul and Barnabas traveled to Iconium, healed a lame man (lame from birth), causing a disturbance with the crowds, and ended up getting stoned, as the townspeople thought they were gods who had descended from above. Paul encountered some Jews who came from Antioch and Iconium, and they dragged Paul away and stoned him. They thought he was dead, but Paul got up after they left and headed to Derbe the next day with Barnabas.
Paul probably wrote this letter to the Galatians while he was staying in Antioch (AD 48 or 49) after completing his first missionary journey.
No reason is given why John Mark left Paul and Barnabas. Some suggestions are: (1) He was homesick; (2) he resented the change in leadership from Barnabas (his cousin) to Paul; (3) he became ill (an illness that may have affected all of them – see Galatians 4:13); he was unable to withstand the rigors and dangers of the missionary journey; (5) he may have planned to go only that far but had not communicated this to Paul and Barnabas. Paul implicitly accused John Mark of lacking courage and commitment, refusing to take him along on another journey (see 15:37-38). It is clear from Paul’s later letters, however, that he grew to respect Mark (Colossians 4:10) and that he needed Mark in his work (2 Timothy 4:11).
And of course, when Paul had arrived in Jerusalem for the first time following his conversion, the local Christians were understandably reluctant to welcome him. They thought this was a trick to capture more Christians. But Barnabas proved willing to risk his life to meet with Paul and then convince the others that their former enemy was now a vibrant believer in Jesus. We can only wonder what might have happened to Paul without Barnabas.
In Chapter 14, we see Paul and Barnabas traveled to Iconium, healed a lame man (lame from birth), causing a disturbance with the crowds, and ended up getting stoned, as the townspeople thought they were gods who had descended from above. Paul encountered some Jews who came from Antioch and Iconium, and they dragged Paul away and stoned him. They thought he was dead, but Paul got up after they left and headed to Derbe the next day with Barnabas.
Paul probably wrote this letter to the Galatians while he was staying in Antioch (AD 48 or 49) after completing his first missionary journey.
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