At present, however, let us devote our attention to the beginning of the second period in his life outlined above: the period of the three Missionary Journeys of the Apostle Paul. Our present study deals with events which led up to his setting out on the first of these three journeys, a momentous hour, not only for Paul himself, but also for the whole world. As the five brethren met in Antioch, ministering unto the Lord and fasting, we read, “the Holy Ghost said, ‘Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work wherunto I have called them.'” (Acts xiii 2) Here was an answer to their prayers; nay, rather, here was a Divine Command, which they must needs obey. The Spirit sealed this word upon their spirits in such a way that there was no hesitation, on their part, to mistrust the revelation, or delay the carrying out of the command. The Lord’s people, and especially His servants, still need to take heed to such instruction as is here imparted to them. A failure to observe this rule, from whatever cause, will bring its own fruit. The command was quickly carried out, as we see in verse 3 — “And when they had fasted, and prayed, and laid their hands upon them, they sent them away.” Note again the emphasis which is obviously put upon ‘fasting and prayer’, this time, in connection with setting apart for the Lord’s work. His own chosen servants, Saul and Barnabas. With the laying on of hands, a seal was put upon their separation unto the Lord’s work, a sign of power or authority bestowed, in virtue of their calling or office, from thenceforth, as the representatives of the church at Antioch. In such a procedure as this, we find the basis of ordination, in the church, to office and to ministry, which is in current use among ourselves. Some time before, Saul had received his own personal call to serve the Lord as a chosen vessel and to bear His name unto the Gentiles. This precious transaction, as between himself and the Lord, was now publicly acknowledged by the church, as the same gracious Lord made known to them His mind and will with regard to Saul. The latter revelation confirmed the former. It is not so still, where candidates for the ministry, professing to have received a call from God to devote themselves wholly to His service, require to have that personal transaction, as between themselves and God, confirmed in public, by those qualified to judge, as they meet together as a recognised court of God’s church on earth? As we meditate upon the circumstances of that day, how inscrutable are God’s ways, His thoughts past finding out! Five brethren met together three Gentiles and two Jews. The middle wall of partition truly broken down! Who shall be esteemed most fit to carry the message of redemption to the Gentile world? Carnal wisdom might have judged, irrespective of other merits, that Gentile would be best fitted to bear the Word to Gentile, but Divine wisdom ordained it otherwise. Of the five, the two chosen vessels are Barnabas and Saul, both Jews, of the stock of Abraham. The work to which they had been called, pre-eminently was to bear the Gospel to all nations, yet, nevertheless, one finds them, and especially him, who was to earn for himself the title, Apostle of the Gentiles, invariably beginning with the Jew — ‘to the Jew first’. How precious indeed are God’s thoughts, His ways past finding out! “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.” Isaiah Iv. 8,9. Thus were Barnabas and Saul sent away from Antioch, with the blessing of the brethren there and followed by their prayers. No time was lost — the harvest fields were white, and so we read in verse 4 “So they, being sent forth by the Holy Ghost, departed unto Seleucia; and from thence they sailed unto Cyprus.” Seleucia was the port of Antioch, some fifteen miles from the city. Who can tell with what thought these two dedicated men set off along the dusty road to the sea port, near the mouth of the river Orontes, on which Antioch stood? How many other noble servants of the same gracious Master have set out on similar missions down through the centuries since then! How good, for them and for us, to know that the One who went out with Barnabas and Saul that day so long ago, is the same yesterday, today, and forever, and therefore able to go forth still with those in like circumstances! “Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world.” Matthew xxviii 20.
Having thus briefly outlined the circumstances contained in these few verses of Scripture, let us now gather up a few fragments for the basket. If we look a little closer at the verses, we may think of the four things which are mentioned as having occurred to Barnabas and Saul at that particular time. They were
– a) Separated unto the Lord.
– b) Sent away by the brethren of Antioch
– c) Sent forth by the Holy Ghost
and finally, they themselves
– d) Sailed away to Cyprus.
There is observable, we believe, in this sequence of events, a Divine order, useful for the Church, in every age, to remember. A connection would appear to exist, for instance, between (a) and (c), and (b) and (d), indeed a correlation. Let us take them in turn. Our few remarks will revolve round the four Greek verbs, in terms of which the above events are described for us by the Holy Ghost.
First then, separated unto the Lord
The word used here signifies literally, ‘mark off by boundaries’ and is, in fact, the word from which our own English word, horizon, directly comes. The two were thus commanded to be separated unto the Lord in a distinct and special manner—from henceforth their attitudes and outlooks, their very manner of living, were to be marked off by specific boundaries — they were to be servants of the Holy Ghost, led and guided by Him, as the promised Comforter and Instructor for the church on earth, but not with earth-bound horizons. Rather were they to have heavenly horizons — the infinite love and grace of God, in the everlasting Gospel, to poor perishing sinners. Their vision was to be Godward. The horizon, for them, was to be found stretching out beyond the reach of time and sense, even unto the heavenlies. They were separated unto God, for a specific work — to carry the glad tidings of great joy to all nations. In this, again, their innate Jewish horizons were to be enlarged, so as to take in the wonder of the mystery of Christ and His unsearchable riches. True servants of Christ today need such a separation unto God for the fulfilling of the calling wherewith they have been called. They need the same horizons — unto the uttermost, in respect, both of the value of the sacrificial death of the Divine Redeemer, and of the greatest needs and deepest poverty of lost and ruined sinners. “Wherefore He is able also to save them to the uttermost that came unto God by Him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them.” Hebrews vii 25. Not only so, but all believers also have need of such new horizons — a setting of their affections upon the things that are above, a living, not unto themselves but unto Him that suffered and rose again, because He loved them unto the uttermost. Oh to have our horizons clearly defined — the horizon signifies the sky line; or the line where earth and sky (or heaven) meet, in our vision. How clear are our spiritual horizons? In the purpose of God for the redeemed, glory in the horizon: nothing short of this. “Whom He did foreknow, He also did predestinate (or, as it might be transliterated from the Greek, ‘pre-horizoned’) to be conformed to the image of His Son…..them He also glorified” Romans viii 29,30. Oh how precious are His thoughts! to bring many sons to conformity to Jesus’ image and ultimately to glory, where He is. How sad that so many have no higher vision, no loftier horizon, than that which belongs to the creature. Let us be stirred up to pray for new horizons.
The second thing to which we would refer is that, having thus been ‘horizoned off’ for God and His special service, the church at Antioch then “sent them away” (verse 3). The word in Greek is used in more than one sense; the sense differs with the context. Sometimes it means ‘to set free’ i.e. from bondage: ‘to forgive’, or to ‘acquit’ (in a legal sense, ‘let go’ from court a free man). Its basic meaning, however, is to ‘loose’ or ‘untie’. This is what the brethren here did — they ‘loosed them’, they ‘untied them’ from every other commitment and every other call. Thus did they let them go on their way, putting no obstacles in their path, wishing them God-speed and the Divine Presence and blessing upon their labours. What a precious send off for Saul and Barnabas! One further use of this verb, though not common, is found in secular literature of the period, namely, ‘to untie a ship from its moorings’. As the ropes which bind her to the pier are released, one by one, so does the ship gently glide away and make for the open sea. Is it too much to think of the brethren there at Antioch gently untying the bonds, which bound Saul and Barnabas to themselves and to the church, and letting them depart for the work to which they had been Divinely called? Thus it must be, in some measure, with all who are called to serve the Lord in public service — loosed from other ties and given the blessing of the Church in doing so.
Thirdly, to notice that they were sent forth by the Holy Ghost’.
There is nothing unusual to observe about the Greek verb used here, it being the one in common use for ‘sending’ out of or forth’. Perhaps what is significant, however, is the tense of the participle. In the English version, the participle is used in the present tense, ‘So they, being sent forth by the Holy Ghost’, whereas in Greek the aorist or past definite tense is used. While our translation gives the most natural rendering of the sense, it is yet good to realize that in the use of the aorist participle in Greek, we are reminded that this ‘sending forth’ was a special act — a transaction performed, at that particular time, once and for all. We shall find these men sent forth over and over again, to this place or to that; by the same gracious Spirit, but this was a special work, coinciding with the special separation and the special calling, of which we read in verse 2. It was then, when the call came to them from on high, and was itself confirmed by the Church at Antioch, that Saul and Barnabas, under the compelling power of the Divine Spirit, were, once and for all, thrust forth into the harvest fields of the world as labourers for the Lord. May God’s own sent messengers have this mark today — Jesus himself was One who had been sent by the Father; in the upper room, after His glorious Resurrection, He had addressed the disciples thus, ‘Peace be unto you: as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you. And when He had said this, He breathed upon them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost’ John xx 21-3. These words were now fulfilled in the case of Saul and Barnabas and are being fulfilled, in every age, in the case of all His truly ‘sent’ messengers.
The last point, which we raised concerning them, was that, all these things having been done unto them (they being the recipients in each case), they then did go down to Seleucia and from that port they ‘sailed to Cyprus’. Again there is nothing to note in regard to the verb used, except in so far as it gives us a sight of these two dedicated servants of the Master ‘sailing away’ (from the shores of Syria) out into the open sea, making for new fields of labour. In view of the fact that, to the ancients, the sea was an element in nature which was to be feared rather than enjoyed, one cannot but admire the spirit of the Apostle as he set out, in company with Barnabas, on his first missionary journey, not by land, but by sea. In later years, he was to write words, which show that ancient navigation was a dangerous adventure ‘thrice was I shipwrecked, a night and a day I have been in the deep…..in perils of waters…..in perils in the sea…..2 Corinthians xi 25,26. Through it all, however, he left himself in the safe keeping of the Covenant God of Israel, whose way is in the sea and His path in the great waters. What an encouraging example for us to follow!
We shall close our present meditation with a further word on the Divine order to be observed in the above sequence of events.
There was a definite chronological order:
First called of God, then released by the church; further thrust forth by the Holy Ghost and finally setting sail for Cyprus.
Yet beneath this obvious chronological order there also seems to be, by means of permutation, a logical order in addition.
If we combine (a) and (c) as mentioned before, we have this sequence of thought, with all its inherent suggestions — the Holy Ghost said, separate me…..’, ‘and they, being sent forth by the Holy Ghost…..’ The work of the Divine Spirit is clearly defined for us here. Is it not so yet — called first, then sent forth? Now think of points (b) and (d): they (i.e. the brethren) sent them away’, and so ‘they sailed to Cyprus’. Here the human element becomes apparent — The part to be played by the Church and her servants. Yet no work such as was transacted that day in Antioch is complete without the combination of both elements, the human and the Divine, for God still works through the instrumentality of men. This we find fulfilled by means of combining points (b) and (c) — ‘they sent them away’….’they, being sent forth by the Holy Ghost’. Saul and Barnabas were loosed from other responsibilities by the church, but more than that, they were sent forth by the Divine Spirit, to fulfil the work to which they had been divinely called, and of which the church itself had been divinely assured. Both of these elements are required in the case of every true servant of Christ. Alas, sometimes the church will send out men, whom the Holy Spirit has never sent forth, and this is indeed a tragedy. May we be exercised over this night and day!
In addition to the chronological and logical order in the sequence of events before us in these verses, we may, perhaps, observe a further one, to which, for want of a better term, we might apply the name metaphorical.
By combining points (b) and (d) we take up the metaphor underlying the word, by means of which the brethren let slip the ropes which tied the ship to the shore — they let them go away to their appointed task, and then, in actual fact, these two did sail away from the shores of Syria to their appointed task in Cyprus. The abstract and the concrete become fused in one. Then, finally, without, we trust, allowing ourselves to be carried away into the realm of the fanciful, we seem to hear the voice that spoke, ‘Horizon off for me Barnabas and Saul, once more become an accomplished fact, not only in the spiritual realm, but also in the actual sequence of events, as they set sail from Seleucia, outward bound for Cyprus, heading out to the open sea and to the horizon…..
Thus began that wonderful series of missionary tours, by means of which the Gospel of the grace of God was to be carried from land to land, and shore to shore, and so we leave them for the present. May we ourselves be as surely led and guided, on life’s journey, as they were, on their journey, and may we hearken to the call of God in the everlasting Gospel, by the mouth of the Divine Redeemer, “Strive to enter in at the strait gate…..”