Paul's First Missionary Journey

Paul and Barnabas, sent by the church at Antioch, travel to Cyprus and southern Asia Minor (Galatia), establishing churches in Pisidian Antioch, Iconium, Lystra, and Derbe among both Jews and Gentiles.

Marks the systematic expansion of Christianity beyond Jewish communities. Paul develops his pattern of synagogue preaching followed by Gentile outreach.

Key Verses

Background

Following a period of relative peace for the church (Acts 9:31) and the establishment of the Antioch community as a growing center of Gentile Christianity, the Antioch church received a direct commission from the Holy Spirit. While its prophets and teachers were worshiping and fasting, the Spirit said: "Set apart Barnabas and Saul for me, for the work I have called them to do" (Acts 13:2). This divine initiative — not a human strategy — launched what historians call Paul's First Missionary Journey, approximately 47–49 AD. Barnabas and Saul, accompanied by John Mark, set out for Cyprus — Barnabas' home island — before pressing northwest into the Galatian region of southern Asia Minor.

The Event

In Cyprus, the missionaries preached through the island's synagogues and confronted a Jewish sorcerer named Bar-Jesus (Elymas) who sought to prevent the proconsul Sergius Paulus from hearing the Gospel. Paul's rebuke resulted in Elymas' temporary blindness, and the proconsul believed (Acts 13:6–12). John Mark departed at Perga and returned to Jerusalem — a departure Paul later regarded as desertion (Acts 15:38). The team pressed inland to Pisidian Antioch, where Paul delivered a landmark synagogue sermon (Acts 13:16–41) tracing Israel's history to the resurrection of Jesus. Initial receptivity among Jews and God-fearers was followed by Jewish opposition the following Sabbath. Paul and Barnabas famously declared: "It was necessary that God's word be spoken to you first. Since you reject it and do not consider yourselves worthy of eternal life, we now turn to the Gentiles" (v. 46). This pattern repeated in Iconium, Lystra (where Paul was stoned and left for dead), and Derbe, where they made "many disciples" before retracing their steps to strengthen and appoint elders in each new church (Acts 14:21–23).

Theological Significance

Paul's First Missionary Journey established the strategic and theological template for all subsequent Pauline mission. The consistent pattern — synagogue first, then Gentiles when rejected — honored the apostolic principle that salvation is "first for the Jew, then for the Gentile" (Romans 1:16) while opening the door to uncircumcised believers in fulfillment of the Abrahamic promise (Genesis 12:3; Galatians 3:8). The appointment of elders in each new church (Acts 14:23) reflected a commitment not merely to evangelism but to the formation of enduring communities capable of self-governance. The journey also generated the crisis that led to the Jerusalem Council (Acts 15): the Galatian churches founded on this journey became the recipients of Paul's Galatians letter, a foundational defense of justification by faith alone. The First Journey thus stands as the seed from which Pauline Christianity — and ultimately the global church — grew.