“Now in the church at Antioch there were prophets and teachers: Barnabas, Simeon called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen (who had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch) and Saul. 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.” So after they had fasted and prayed, they placed their hands on them and sent them off.”

‭‭Acts‬ ‭13‬:‭1‬-‭3‬ ‭NIV‬‬

From chapter one, Luke had set the scene for the kingdom of God to spread from Jerusalem into Asia Minor and finally to reach Rome. God had  chosen and prepared His men. The church was firmly established in Israel and Syria, and a slender branch had sprouted in Africa.  The apostles had clearly understood and taught the gospel of grace, linking the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus with the Old Covenant and its prophetic message of salvation to the whole world. 

The moment had arrived…the Holy Spirit moved with clarity and purpose…hand-picking Barnabas and Saul, from a group of leaders in Antioch, for their new task. These two men had been honed through the discipline of hardship and testing, and moulded together into a partnership that would be vitally important as they faced the wall of Jewish and Roman push-back against the gospel. The power of Jewish religion and Roman imperial paganism that seemed like an impenetrable barrier, would stand between them and their calling.

But…they had the Word and the Spirit…and no power on earth or in hell could neutralise their strategy or their weapons, or kill their zeal for Jesus and His church. 

So. the Holy Spirit called…and the leaders answered with prompt obedience. With prayer and fasting, they set Barnabas and Saul aside for the mammoth task that lay ahead of them. Finally, Saul, the soon-to-be Paul…the “little” man…would be let loose on the Roman world, with the explosive message of Jesus, to turn that world upside down. 

Up to this point, it was Barnabas in the lead, and Saul tagging behind, following and supporting Barnabas in their pioneer work of spearheading the mission of the kingdom in a hostile environment. However, slowly…the leadership changed. Saul became the leader and Barnabas the follower because it was Saul…the chosen replacement for the renegade Judas Iscariot…who had fallen from his position in the Apostolic band…who would become the greatest apostle and missionary in the history of the early church. 

The two men…chosen, called, and equipped…set out, with the church in Antioch at their backs, on the first leg of their long and eventful journey into the Roman world, the island of Cyprus their first port of call. 

It wasn’t long before they hit the first obstacle. 

To be continued