ACC ~ Acts 13 v1 - 5

OVERVIEW:

These verses set the explicit missionary activity of the church under the direct command of the Holy Spirit which was given prophetically at a liturgy of prayer and fasting followed by the laying on of hands. Modern commentators see three blocks in Paul’s missions and this, the first, encompasses Acts 13:1 to Acts 14:28. This first mission does not seem to be reflected in Paul’s letters, and this has led commentators to question its occurrence. Not all commentators are so skeptical and see glimpses of it in Galatians 1:21-23 and Philippians 4:15. As Acts 13:1-3 is preparatory for the first mission, so the first mission is preparatory for the council of Acts 15. The Fathers’ focus is twofold: the nature of the Spirit and the mission of the church. The action of the Holy Spirit in people’s lives can be unpredictable, but it requires cooperation to be effective (AMMONIUS). The Fathers cite this obedience to the Spirit’s actions for their own debates over the divine nature (CHRYSOSTOM, PSEUDO-BASIL). In their remarks, there is also an attentiveness to how the story of Acts is important for the continuing story of Christianity, not just in its debates over the Godhead, but in its self-understanding as well. It is not coincidental that these insights into the mission of the church occur within the context of an account of the mission of the Spirit. First, there is seen the initiative of the Spirit to keep scattering messengers of the gospel; second, how servants of the Word do not need to be great by human standards; and third, that human cooperation with God does not deprive God of the initiative and efficacy in the work of salvation (CHRYSOSTOM).

13:1 | Prophets and Teachers

COOPERATING WITH THE SPIRIT. AMMONIUS: “And Manaean, who had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch.” Behold the customs of each of them: not even the fact of being brought up together saves them both. See how absolutely evil Herod was, for he did not want to be converted. But his foster brother Manaean certainly changed a great deal, because he was considered worthy of the gift of prophecy. CATENA ON THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES 13.1.

13:2 | Set Apart Barnabas and Saul

THEY COULD BE SUFFICIENT FOR MANY. CHRYSOSTOM: But consider the authority of the Holy Ghost. “While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, ‘Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul.’” What being, unless of the same authority, would have dared to say this? And this happened so that they should not remain together among themselves. The Spirit saw that they had greater power and could be sufficient for many. HOMILIES ON THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES 27.

REMAINING ATTENTIVE. AMMONIUS: It must be noticed that the Holy Spirit does not speak to those who happen to be there by chance but to those who serve him and observe fasting. And it must be noticed again that they did not lay hands on the deacons at random but on those who were previously fasting and praying. CATENA ON THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES 13.2.

13:3 | Ordained and Sent Off

ORDAINED THROUGH THE GRACE OF THE SPIRIT. CHRYSOSTOM: “While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, ‘Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.’ Then after fasting and praying they laid their hands on them and sent them off.” What does “worshiping” mean? It means preaching. “Set apart Barnabas and Saul.” What does “set apart for me” mean? It means for the work, for the apostleship. Remember who ordained him? Lucius the Cyrenean and Manaen, or rather, one should say, the Spirit. For the more lowly the personages involved, the more palpable the grace of God. Paul is ordained henceforth to apostleship, to preach with authority. How is it then that he himself says, “Not from men nor by men”? Because it was not humankind that called him or brought him over. This is what “or by men” means. For this reason he says that he was not sent by this man but by the Spirit. HOMILIES ON THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES 27.

THE THREE PERSONS PERFORMING ONE ACTION. PSEUDO-BASIL: The Lord, upon appearing to Paul from heaven, said, “Go to Damascus, and you shall be told that you are my chosen vessel,” because [the Lord] had established him as the herald of the gospel to all the world. Then Ananias said to him, when he arrived in Damascus, “Brother Saul, see once more: the God of the fathers has preordained you.” And lest you think this word [i.e., God] refers to Christ, he adds, “to do his will and to know his just one Jesus.” [Paul], making this calling and preordaining a title, says, “Paul a slave of Jesus Christ, called apostle.” Then he says something else regarding this calling, “Set aside for the gospel of God.” The Acts of the Apostles taught that the Spirit directed the setting aside, for it says, “While the apostles were fasting and praying, the Holy Spirit said, ‘Set aside for me Paul and Barnabas for the work to which I have called them.’” If the Lord, the God of the fathers, chose him whom he had preordained, while the Son called him forth, and the Spirit, using the operation of [the divine] nature, set the same one aside, how is there a difference of nature in the Trinity in which an identity of operation is found? AGAINST EUNOMIUS 5.

13:4 | Sent by the Holy Spirit

THE SPIRIT DIRECTS THEIR MOVEMENTS. CHRYSOSTOM: As soon as they were ordained they went forth and hastened to Cyprus, seeing that no plot was being hatched against them there and the Word had already been sown. In Antioch there were enough [teachers]. As to Phoenice, it was near Palestine, but not so Cyprus. However, do not ask why, when it is the Spirit that directs their movements. For they were not only ordained by the Spirit but also sent forth by him. HOMILIES ON THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES 28.