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who was an attendant of the proconsul, Sergius Paulus. The proconsul, an intelligent man, sent for Barnabas and Saul because he wanted to hear the word of God.
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Then Saul, who was also called Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked straight at Elymas and said,
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In Pisidian Antioch
From Paphos, Paul and his companions sailed to Perga in Pamphylia, where John left them to return to Jerusalem.
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Standing up, Paul motioned with his hand and said: “Fellow Israelites and you Gentiles who worship God, listen to me!
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As Paul and Barnabas were leaving the synagogue, the people invited them to speak further about these things on the next Sabbath.
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When the congregation was dismissed, many of the Jews and devout converts to Judaism followed Paul and Barnabas, who talked with them and urged them to continue in the grace of God.
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When the Jews saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy. They began to contradict what Paul was saying and heaped abuse on him.
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Then Paul and Barnabas answered them boldly: “We had to speak the word of God to you first. Since you reject it and do not consider yourselves worthy of eternal life, we now turn to the Gentiles.
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But the Jewish leaders incited the God-fearing women of high standing and the leading men of the city. They stirred up persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and expelled them from their region.
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In Iconium
At Iconium Paul and Barnabas went as usual into the Jewish synagogue. There they spoke so effectively that a great number of Jews and Greeks believed.
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So Paul and Barnabas spent considerable time there, speaking boldly for the Lord, who confirmed the message of his grace by enabling them to perform signs and wonders.
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He listened to Paul as he was speaking. Paul looked directly at him, saw that he had faith to be healed
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When the crowd saw what Paul had done, they shouted in the Lycaonian language, “The gods have come down to us in human form!”
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Barnabas they called Zeus, and Paul they called Hermes because he was the chief speaker.
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But when the apostles Barnabas and Paul heard of this, they tore their clothes and rushed out into the crowd, shouting:
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Then some Jews came from Antioch and Iconium and won the crowd over. They stoned Paul and dragged him outside the city, thinking he was dead.
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Paul and Barnabas appointed elders for them in each church and, with prayer and fasting, committed them to the Lord, in whom they had put their trust.
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This brought Paul and Barnabas into sharp dispute and debate with them. So Paul and Barnabas were appointed, along with some other believers, to go up to Jerusalem to see the apostles and elders about this question.
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The whole assembly became silent as they listened to Barnabas and Paul telling about the signs and wonders God had done among the Gentiles through them.
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The Council’s Letter to Gentile Believers
Then the apostles and elders, with the whole church, decided to choose some of their own men and send them to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas. They chose Judas (called Barsabbas) and Silas, men who were leaders among the believers.
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So we all agreed to choose some men and send them to you with our dear friends Barnabas and Paul—
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But Paul and Barnabas remained in Antioch, where they and many others taught and preached the word of the Lord.
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Disagreement Between Paul and Barnabas
Some time later Paul said to Barnabas, “Let us go back and visit the believers in all the towns where we preached the word of the Lord and see how they are doing.”
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but Paul did not think it wise to take him, because he had deserted them in Pamphylia and had not continued with them in the work.
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but Paul chose Silas and left, commended by the believers to the grace of the Lord.
