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- Acts Chapter 13 (part 3)
"When disciples followed a rabbi, they followed him closely so they would never be out of his sight, never be someplace where they couldn’t hear him speak. They followed him so closely that his sandals often kicked up dust."
May you be covered in His dust.
If this is your first time getting Covered in His Dust, WELCOME!
👉🏽 Read Chapter 13 HERE before reading my notes. If you don’t, my notes won’t make sense.
You can access previous notes on Acts and Luke HERE.
Good morning Saints! ☀️ (It’s morning somewhere)
It’s my wife’s birthday today and I’m just so incredibly grateful for her. As I take my notes and write them in a way that’s easy to understand, a rough draft has passed through her hands three or four times. Thank you, babe. This newsletter couldn’t happen without you!
She’s a brave mom to our nine kids (five adopted.) She’s an amazing (somewhat famous) artist who doesn’t get nearly enough recognition.
This Wednesday, I’ll be sharing her newest painting. It’s mindblowing. Keep an eye out.
Okay. Let’s get on with it. We have a lot to cover.
Now Paul and his companions set sail from Paphos and came to Perga in Pamphylia. And John left them and returned to Jerusalem,
When I read scripture, I try to pay attention to things that seem off.
“John Mark left them and returned to Jerusalem.” But why?
The Bible doesn’t tell us directly, but there are clues. If we skip ahead to Chapter 15, we find that the answer is more complex than it first appears.
But Paul thought best not to take with them one who had withdrawn from them in Pamphylia and had not gone with them to the work.
The Greek word translated as "withdrawn" is ἀποστάντα (apostanta), which carries the sense of desertion or abandonment. It’s not a neutral term—it suggests leaving your post or walking away.
The underlying Greek strongly implies a break of trust or commitment.
Why Did John Mark Leave?
Pamphylia was a tough place to travel—rugged terrain, diseases like malaria, robbers, and limited supplies made the journey dangerous. John Mark may have felt overwhelmed.
John Mark might not have agreed with Paul’s leadership or the mission’s direction, which could have caused him to leave.
Reliability and perseverance in ministry were important to Paul. By Acts 15, he seemed to view John Mark’s earlier departure as a sign he wasn’t ready for the next journey. To Paul, the mission was too important to risk inconsistency.
It’s hard to say, but it's worth noting.
And on the Sabbath day they went into the synagogue and sat down. After the reading from the Law and the Prophets, the rulers of the synagogue sent a message to them, saying, “Brothers, if you have any word of encouragement for the people, say it.”
Synagogue services in the first century often followed a structured order of worship. Here's a general outline of how a synagogue service might have looked.
The Shema ( from Deuteronomy 6:4-9)
"Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one.
You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.
And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart.
You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise.
You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes.
You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates."
This declaration of faith reminded worshippers of their covenant with God.
Prayers
After the Shema, prayers like the Amidah were recited, including praise, requests, and thanksgiving.
The Amidah, or Standing Prayer, is a key part of Jewish worship. It has blessings for praise, requests, and thanks. People pray it while standing, usually silently, three times a day. On special days like the Sabbath, it’s adjusted to match the occasion.
Reading from the Torah (the first five books of the Bible)
Each week, a specific portion of the Torah was read, following a set schedule designed to complete the entire Torah, usually within a one-year or three-year time frame.
Readings were in Hebrew, often with an Aramaic translation for those who didn’t speak Hebrew.
Reading of the Prophets
A passage from the Prophets was chosen to match the week’s Torah reading.
Teaching or Exhortation
A rabbi or teacher, sometimes a visitor, would give a lesson or commentary on the readings. For example, in Luke 4:16-21, Jesus read from Isaiah and taught in the synagogue.
This is the setting where Paul begins to speak, delivering his first recorded sermon as an apostle.
Closing Blessing
The service ended with a blessing or benediction, often given by the leader or priest.
So Paul stood up, and motioning with his hand said:
“Men of Israel and you who fear God, listen.
I’ve been reading and doing a light study of the Old Testament (on the side, for fun) and have learned the word “listen” means more than “to hear.”
The Greek word ἀκούω (akouo) is used and goes beyond passive hearing and often implies responding.
Paul wasn’t just asking his audience to hear his words but to take them to heart and act upon them.
The God of this people Israel chose our fathers and made the people great during their stay in the land of Egypt, and with uplifted arm he led them out of it. And for about forty years he put up with them in the wilderness. And after destroying seven nations in the land of Canaan, he gave them their land as an inheritance. All this took about 450 years. And after that he gave them judges until Samuel the prophet.
Paul is building a story. He begins by recalling their shared history, emphasizing God's actions with Israel from the very beginning. By starting with their roots, he’s not only connecting with the crowd but also laying a solid foundation in the Scriptures to show how everything points to Jesus.
It’s a genius way to establish common ground and then lead them to the ultimate fulfillment of those promises in Christ. This helps them trust his message because it’s rooted in scriptures they know so well.
How does Paul get 450 years?
Time in Egypt: 400 years.
Wilderness Journey: 40 years.
Conquest of Canaan: Approximately 10 years.
Then they asked for a king, and God gave them Saul the son of Kish, a man of the tribe of Benjamin, for forty years. And when he had removed him, he raised up David to be their king, of whom he testified and said, ‘I have found in David the son of Jesse a man after my heart, who will do all my will.’
Paul is like a professional boxer.
Jab.
Jab.
Jab.
Telling them all about God’s faithfulness,
their sin,
and the coming judgment.
This is a clear setup for Jesus.
Paul is drawing a straight line through Israel's history, showing how God guided His people to this pivotal moment. By mentioning Saul and then David, Paul highlights God's sovereign choice of leadership.
David, described as "a man after God’s own heart," serves as a key figure in this setup because the promises God made to David—including the promise of an eternal kingdom through his lineage—point directly to Jesus.
Of this man’s offspring God has brought to Israel a Savior, Jesus, as he promised.
Left hook!
The gospel of Jesus Christ is the only way to be saved.
For those who live in Jerusalem and their rulers, because they did not recognize him nor understand the utterances of the prophets, which are read every Sabbath, fulfilled them by condemning him.
Paul is pointing out the tragic irony of what happened to Jesus. He’s saying that the people in Jerusalem and their leaders didn’t recognize Jesus as the Messiah.
Even though they heard the Scriptures every Sabbath—Scriptures that pointed to Him—they didn’t understand them. By condemning Jesus, they unknowingly fulfilled the very prophecies they failed to grasp.
And though they found in him no guilt worthy of death, they asked Pilate to have him executed. And when they had carried out all that was written of him, they took him down from the tree and laid him in a tomb.
Paul was boldly exposing the truth, showing that the Jewish leaders and people missed their own Messiah. Coming from Paul, a fellow Jew and a former Pharisee, his words carried a lot of weight.
It’s a strong rebuke, not to shame them, but to open their eyes to the truth and lead them to repentance and faith in Jesus.
And then…
But God raised him from the dead, and for many days he appeared to those who had come up with him from Galilee to Jerusalem, who are now his witnesses to the people.
For Christians today, it’s hard to fully grasp the impact of what Paul was saying. We’ve grown up with the resurrection as a cornerstone of our faith.
Every Easter, we’ve watched it reenacted. We’ve heard it in sermons, sung about it in worship, and for as long as we can remember, it’s felt familiar—something we’ve always known.
But for Paul’s audience that day, this was earth-shattering news.
The idea that someone had risen from the dead, fulfilling centuries of prophecy, was beyond anything they could imagine.
It was a claim that demanded they rethink everything…
what they believed about God,
about the Messiah,
and about their own lives.
For leaders like the Sadducees, who rejected the idea of resurrection altogether, it would’ve felt…
Unbelievable.
I’ve felt that doubt before, and so many still feel it today. The idea of resurrection challenges our logic, our understanding of the world, and what we think is possible. It’s not easy to grasp without faith.
The resurrection is the hinge point of our faith—it’s what everything stands or falls on.
“And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins.”
The resurrection is what sets Christianity apart. It’s not just that Jesus died for our sins, but that He rose again, conquering sin and death. Without the resurrection, we wouldn't have the promise of eternal life or the hope that Jesus is who He says He is—the Son of God, the Savior of the world.
It’s the cornerstone of our identity as Christians. Without it, there’s no Good News.
With it, we have everything. ❤️
But God raised him from the dead, and for many days he appeared to those who had come up with him from Galilee to Jerusalem, who are now his witnesses to the people.
How do you believe Jesus, the Son of God, was raised from the dead?
You must have faith.
Faith in God.
Faith in His Son.
Faith in His resurrection.
Faith in His Word.
“But I can’t live by faith.”
We live by faith every day. It’s all around us.
We trust that the pharmacist has prepared the right medication and dosage for us without personally verifying every detail.
We trust the pilot's skill, training, and the mechanics of the aircraft, even though we don’t fully understand how it all works. (Anyone who knows me will tell you this isn’t easy for me.)
We trust that the food we buy from a restaurant or grocery store is safe to eat and hasn’t been tampered with.
We must believe and have faith in His Word. And His Word tells us He was risen from the dead. And His Word tells us he appeared to hundreds.
"And that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles."
"And behold, Jesus met them and said, 'Greetings!' And they came up and took hold of his feet and worshiped him. Then Jesus said to them, 'Do not be afraid; go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee, and there they will see me.'"
"As they were talking about these things, Jesus himself stood among them, and said to them, 'Peace to you!' But they were startled and frightened and thought they saw a spirit. And he said to them, 'Why are you troubled, and why do doubts arise in your hearts? See my hands and my feet, that it is I myself. Touch me, and see. For a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have.'"
I’m going to do my best to wrap up chapter 13 next week, but I won’t rush. It is what it is.
Fair enough?
One Minute Inspiration
I love you,
George
Uncovering Scripture
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George Sisneros is a full-time missionary in Guatemala and the founder of Ordinary Missionaries and the El Rosario Christian Academy for Boys.
He’s been married to his wife, Vonda, for 26 years. He’s a father to nine children, five adopted.
In 2024, George and his wife expanded to Cuba, joining forces with nine pastors committed to transforming lives through the gospel.