Paul's First Missionary Journey

Commissioned by the church in Syrian Antioch, Paul and Barnabas carried the gospel of Jesus Christ to Cyprus and regions of Galatia, now part of the country of Turkey.

Sent out by the Holy Spirit and the Antioch church, Barnabas and Saul traveled 25 km to Seleucia and boarded a ship to Cyprus. They brought John with them as an apprentice. The first thing the missionary team did when they landed at Salamis on the eastern coast of the island was preach God’s Word in the Jewish meeting places. They continued this practice throughout the island until they reached Paphos where the governor invited them to preach God’s Word in the court.

A counselor to the governor, a charlatan known as “Elymas the Magician,” tried to distract the governor from believing. But Saul, full of the Holy Spirit, confronted him: “You son of the devil, you faith-distractor, stop turning people from the true way of the Master down crooked paths. You’re blinding them spiritually! Now you’ll be blind.” Immediately he was immersed in a shadowy mist and had to be led anywhere he went. When the governor saw what happened, he became a believer, amazed at the powerful teaching of the Lord.

Then Paul (Saul used his Greek name more and more now) and the team sailed on to Perga in Pamphylia, where John left them and returned to Jerusalem. From Perga the others traveled on to Antioch in Pisidia where they continued their practice of proclaiming Jesus in the Jewish meeting places on the Sabbath. When many non-Jewish God-seekers trusted in Jesus and received new life, the salvation message spread quickly. Some of the Jews thought their way of life was being destroyed and forced Paul and Barnabas to leave. Paul and Barnabas left a core of happy, Spirit-filled believers and went on to the next town, Iconium.

In Iconium, the same story: They proclaimed their message in the Jewish meeting place, many Jews and non-Jews believed, Jewish nonbelievers sowed mistrust and suspicion in the minds of the people in the street, the missionaries had to leave. Fortunately, they were able to stay a long time, sharing confidently with God corroborating their work with miracles and wonders. One day they learned about a plot to attack them, so they went on to Lystra, where they began preaching the good news again.

An ancient legend told of a visit by Zeus and Hermes to the area in which, disguised as men, they visited 1,000 homes. All denied them rest except for one poor couple who served the gods the best they had. The gods warned the couple of the flood they would send to destroy their neighbors. They fled to high ground where their home was transformed into a beautiful temple and they became priests of Zeus.

Paul and Barnabas, probably unaware of the ancient tradition, entered Lystra and saw a man, crippled from birth, sitting in the street. As the man listened to Paul’s message, Paul saw belief in his eyes. Paul shouted, “Up on your feet!” The man leapt to his feet and walked all around.

The crowd went crazy, calling out in Lyconian, “The gods have come down as men!” They called Barnabas “Zeus” and Paul “Hermes.” The priest of Zeus brought a bull and all he needed to offer a sacrifice right there.

Finally, Barnabas and Paul realized what was happening. They showed their sorrow by tearing their clothes. “What are you doing! We’re not gods! We are simply men like you with a momentous message: abandon these empty superstitions and embrace the living God who made the sky, the earth, and everything you see. In the past God let all the nations go their own way, but He left His clues: the beautiful world He created, rain, healthy crops. With food to eat and beauty all around, mankind saw the evidence of a Higher Power.”

Even with this intense pleading, Paul and Barnabas barely stopped the sacrifice. Then some Jews from Antioch and Iconium caught up with them and convinced the crowd to stone Paul. They dragged an unconscious Paul outside the town and left him for dead. But as the disciples gathered around him, he gained strength and was able to go back into town. The next day he and Barnabas headed for Derbe.