13:4,5
Barnabas and Saul went down to the port at Seleucia, about sixteen miles away, and then sailed to Cyprus. They landed at Salamis, which was the nearest port to Seleucia. John Mark was with them as their helper. Initially they preached the word of God in the synagogues. Jews had been dispersed through many places by various events in history. While Paul was the apostle to the Gentiles, God had also told him that he would speak to Jews and Gentiles. Synagogues were a natural place to start as it is a place where he would have a chance to speak. Moreover, the general pattern was “first to Israel, then the Gentiles”.
13:6,7
Paphos was the seat of the Roman government and was about ninety miles away. There they met “a Jewish sorcerer and false prophet named Bar-Jesus”. Later it becomes apparent that he was working under demonic influence. He is named because he was “an attendant of the proconsul”. Paul would preach to high and low. Bar-Jesus would try to frustrate Paul’s work. Luke speaks well of Sergius, and he wanted to hear the word of God.
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