The Middleburgh post. [volume] (Middleburgh, Snyder Co., Pa.) 1883-1916, 1902-05-15
THE SUNDAY SCHOOL.
Lesson fn the lnternati0nal serle .
ior Nay rs. l902-The Early
Christian Missionarles.
THE LESSON TEXT.

1
THE LESSON TEXT.
1 n rU (Acts BILLY 4tf
l. Now there were In the church that was
at Antioch certain prophets and teachers
as Barnabus. and Simeon that was called
Niger and Lucius OF Cyrene. and Manasn,
which had been brought up with Herod the
tetrarch. and Saul
.. As they ministered to the Lord, and
tasted. the Holy Ghost said. Separate me
Barnabas and Saul for the work where
unto I have called them.
3. And when they had tasted and prayed.
and laid their hands on them. they sent
them away. * - a# #F
3. So they. being sent forth by the Holy
\ Ghost. departed unto Seleucia; and from
thence they sailed TO Cyprus. Hsl
s And when they were at Salamis. they
gogues Of the Jews; and they had also John
to their minister. 80
/ 6. And when they had gone through the
isle unto Paphos. they found d certain
sorcerer. q false prophet. q Jew, whose
name was Barjesus: E. ~
q Which was with the deputy Of the
country, Sergius Paulus, prudent man;
who called for Barnabas and Saul, and de-
sired to hear the word of God.
IS But Elymas the sorcerer (for so is his
name by interpretation) withstood them,
seeking to turn away the deputy from the
faith
q. Then Saul, (who also Is called Paul.)
filled with the Holy Ghost set his eyes on
him. .-s o..
10. And said, o full Of all subtility and all
mischief. thou child Of the devil. thou enc
my Of all righteousness. wilt thou not
cease to pervert the right ways of the Lord? !?
II. And now. behold. the hand of the Lord
Is upon thee, and thou shalt be blind. not
seeing the sun for season. And imme-
diately there fell on him a mist and a
darkness; and he went about seeking some
to lead him by the hand.
r. Then the deputy. when he saw what
was done, believed, being astonished at
the doctrine of the Lord.
GOLDEN TExT.-Go ye, therefore,
aud teach all nations.-Matt. 2S, 10.
OUTLINE OF SCRIPTURAL SECTION.
Ordaining of missionaries.....Acts 1871 3.
Conflict with Elymss. .,..,,."..Acts ls;4-le.
T1ME.-A. D. As.
PLACE.-Antioch and Paphos.
NOTES AND COMMENTS. &
A Missionary Church.-The church
has indeed preached the Gospel in
Samaria and in other places outside
of Jerusalem, but it was because the
disciples were driven there by perse-
cution. Now. for the first time, 1t
grapples with the duty of preaching
to the whole world. We begin what
may be called Part III of the Book
of Acts. Part / G-v) being concerned
with the founding of the church.
Part II (vi-xiD with its growth and
the rest with its missionary work.
Two Missionaries Ordained.-The
prophets and teachers" of the
church in Antioch were all Jews. We
know nothing more about Symeon,
Lucius and Manaen than their names.
The movement outward was probably
planned by the church, and the fast
ing and prayer were for guidance in
the matter. The two missionaries
were important to the church. Barn
abas had been q leader ever since
the church was fairly organized, and
Saul had Joined him soon after his
nrrival. The sending of Barnabas
and Saul was the first organized mis-
sionary effort of church. Hitherto
all disciples had done what they
could within their own reach. Now
they acted together to send men
where, without such sending, none of
them would have gone. The new
step was so important that the mis-
sionaries received ordination from
the church (not from the apostles)
for this special work. fa
Conflict with Elymas.-Notice the
similarity in form Of the first clause
of verse 4 and the last clause OF verse
8. Luke felt that God and man were
working together In the sending of
these missionaries. Seleucia is the
seaport Of Antioch; Salamis the
point on the eastern coast of Cyprus
where the missionaries landed; Pa
phos, the capital Of the island, on it's
western coast. Cyprus was not
field that had been entirely un-
touched (11:19). The work Of John
(Msrk) was not assistance in
preaching, but what would in mod
ern times be called business manage.
ment. Tho service Of an attendant
was also included In his work TO
some extent. Magi or sorcerers had
a great deal Of influence. and oftea
obtained the favor Of prominent and
wealthy men, The imposter whom
the missionaries found With eergius
Psulus,, belng Jsw. was more guilty
In this practice than many others.
Tho phrase "man Of understanding"
seems to imply . disposition to IN
vestigate various teachings. The
change of Ssul,s psme. noted In verse
., was merely the, adoption ol. his
Roman name insteSd of his Hebrew.
Its use may have been suggested by
the fact that the proconsul bore IL
also, but PsGf must soon have be-
gun to use & when he travelled
among and preached 70 Gentiles.
The rebuke of Elymas seems to have
been turning point for Paul. Be
fore that Barnabas was always men.
toned first; afterwards. Paul is al
ways put first and was tho leader.
The judgment on Elymas was spec
tacular and convincing, and it's JUS