Acts 13:4-5 4Then, after being sent out by the Holy Spirit, they went down to Seleucia, and from there they sailed to Cyprus, 5and after they arrived at Salamis, they proclaimed the word of God in the synagogues of the Jews. And they also had John as an assistant.
Luke makes clear that everything that happened next was guided by the Holy Spirit. Barnabas and Saul did not go out on their own but were directed by and filled with the Holy Spirit. Their mission was not human ingenuity or vision but divine purpose. Motives for ministry must always be evaluated, whether a person goes out by human effort and planning or guided by the Holy Spirit. John Mark joined Barnabas and Saul as an assistant (hypēretēn), helper, or apprentice. This was a great opportunity to mentor a younger leader. Mark had followed them from Jerusalem and was learning from two of the best teachers in the early church. Mark was the nephew of Barnabas, so the family connection was also helpful.
Seleucia was the port located five miles from Antioch along the Orontes River. There, they caught a boat to the island of Cyprus. Cyprus is a large island in the middle of the Mediterranean Ocean. The reason for going there first is not stated, but since Barnabas was from that island (4:36), it would have been familiar territory to him. It is possible he still had contacts, family, or friends there, which would have made travel and finding a place to stay a lot easier. The Christian witness had already come to the island through the Hellenistic believers mentioned in 11:19. The church in Antioch had people from there as well (11:20), making the island a strategic starting place. It can be a helpful strategy in ministry to start with what is familiar and then spread out further. Saul had done that by going to his hometown of Tarsus, where Barnabas found him and brought him back to Antioch.
The first city the team went to was Salamis, which was the closest port city to the mainland. Cyprus had a significant population of Jews, which also meant the presence of synagogues. The first mission strategy of the group was to go to their own people, the Jews. There would have been a religious and cultural connection, especially for Barnabas and Saul, who were both Hellenistic Jews of the Diaspora. The mission team followed this pattern elsewhere of first going to the Jews. They had had many years of experience in preaching God’s word to people. As in other places, where God’s word of the good news of Jesus Christ is preached, some people will respond, but others will not believe, and only cause problems.
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