Acts 13:1:
13:1And there were according to the church being in Antioch prophets and teachers: both Barnabas, and Symeon the (person) being called Niger, and Lucius the Cyrenean, both Manaen a foster-brother of Herod the tetrarch, and Saul;
Antioch, mentioned previously in Acts chapter 11, was the main city of Syria, about sixteen miles from the sea, with Seleucia being its port. This "church" is the assembly of people called-out from among the rest of the people in Antioch because those in this church had received God's gift of holy spirit by means of the Lord Jesus Christ.
It was an active church, and among the holy-people were:
For more information regarding "prophets" and "teachers" you may read chapter 4 of my study on Ephesians.
Barnabas and Saul are included in this list. It is interesting to note that Manaen, even though he was nursed and brought up with Herod the tetrarch, was considered by God's Word to be among the prophets and teachers - it did not matter what his background was, only that now at the present time he was doing the will of God and had received this grace from God! Also, Lucius may be the one referred to by Paul in Romans 16:21.
Herod the tetrarch refers to Herod Antipas (son of Herod the Great) who was ruler of a fourth-part of this Roman-occupied province and was subject to the Roman Emperor who was Claudius.
Verses 2 and 3:
.2and (during) their officially-serving the Lord and fasting, the Spirit, the Holy (Spirit), said, "You must separate indeed to Me Barnabas and Saul into the work which I called them towards-Myself2." .3Then, having fasted and prayed and put (their) hands on them, they loosened (them).
While these prophets and teachers were…
…the Spirit, emphatically and specifically the Holy Spirit (referring to God Himself, emphasizing the truth that He is Spirit and He is Holy, His essence and realm of power, authority, and action, that He is the source of all He gives) said to them (via the holy spirit-life within them and spoken forth by one of them):
“You must absolutely set-off-by-bounds (definitely limit off, set off apart) to/for Myself (God) Barnabas and Saul with a view to the work (directed to/for the productive activity) which I have invited them to Myself to perform for Me and this invitation remains in effect.”
At that time, having fasted and prayed (communicated to and with God) and placed (laid) their hands on Barnabas and Saul, then the other prophets and teachers in this church in Antioch let them go-away. They released them from their midst to go and do as God instructed them.
It is interesting to note from the Book of Isaiah chapter 58 the fullness of meaning that God gives to the word "fast":
Isaiah 58:5-7:
Is it such a fast that I have chosen? A day for a man to afflict his soul? Is it to bow down his head as a bulrush, and to spread sackcloth and ashes under him? Wilt thou call this a fast, and an acceptable day to the Lord? [-No!-]
Is not this the fast that I have chosen? To loose the bands of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed go free, and that ye break every yoke?
Is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry, and that thou bring the poor that are cast out to thy house? When thou seest the naked, that thou cover him; and that thou hide not thyself from thine own flesh?
This indeed is what the prophets and teachers in the church in Antioch were doing. It may be helpful at times not to be distracted by the preparations of food and eating in order to concentrate on God and the things of God, but the abstinence from food is not the criteria which God has asked in order to do His will - God's work is far superior to the physical realm and its limitations!
Acts 13:2 is the record of God's call to Barnabas and Saul to Himself to do His work. This section of Saul's (the Apostle Paul's) ministry continues until the end of Acts chapter 14 when he again returns to the city of Antioch in Syria.
Acts 13:4 and 5:
.4Therefore indeed they, having been sent-out by the Holy Spirit, went-down into Seleucia and from-there they sailed-away into Cyprus, .5and having become in Salamis, they messaged the word of God in the synagogues of the Judeans, and they had also John (as their) assistant.
As a result of Barnabas and Saul's being sent-out by the power of the Holy Spirit (it was God Himself Who was the instrumental agent in sending them out), emphatically they went down to the port which was Seleucia. From that port they departed by ship directed to Cyprus. When they arrived in Salamis, on the coast of eastern Cyprus, they brought the message of God's Word pertaining to the resurrected Christ Jesus down to the people there who gathered in the Judean synagogues.
Here the record in the Book of Acts specifically records that Barnabas and Saul together had John as their assistant (attendant; “assistant” literally means under-rower, an ordinary sailor on a ship who is in subordination and acts/serves under the immediate direction of his captain). John did things that they would need to be done as they traveled doing God's will. This John is John Mark of Acts 12:12 and 25, who was Barnabas' nephew (Colossians 4:10).
Verses 6 and 7:
.6And having gone-through the whole island continuously-until Paphos, they found an adult-male, some magus, a Judean lying-prophet, Barjesus by-name, .7who was together with the proconsul, Sergius Paulus, an understanding adult-male, this-person having called Barnabas and Saul towards-himself earnestly-sought-after to hear the word of God.
When they reached Paphos, the main city of Cyprus, traveling by ship around the coast, there was a magus (singular of “magi”) in that location. Magi were men knowledgeable and wise in either astronomy or enchantment from Media, Persia or Babylonia. Here in Acts, this magus was a sorcerer, a magician using enchantment to deceive. He was of Judean descent named Barjesus, a lying prophet who worked with the proconsul. A "lying prophet" is a false prophet, one who claims to speak God's words being revealed to him/her concerning the past, present and/or future - but a lying prophet does not speak the only true God’s words to the people, instead he/she speaks lies, false statements.
The proconsul named Sergius Paulus was a member of the Roman senatorial governmental rule, like a deputy, the second-in-command to the governor or military commander of that Roman province. He was an official appointed by the Roman senate to reside in a foreign country or province to represent the commercial interests of the citizens of the appointing country.
God's Word describes Sergius Paulus as a man of understanding (he put things together in his mind gaining insight into those things, sagacious, with his natural abilities). He invited Barnabas and Saul to come to him because he was earnestly searching (intensely looking) to hear the spoken-account of the inner-thoughts of God.
[Note: verbs with a superscript 2 (2) immediately following them indicate the "perfect" tense - details are provided in the "Relevant Notes" link of this study.]
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