Acts 13:3

And when they had fasted and prayed, and laid their hands on them, they sent them away.

Luke here begins the second great part of his book of the Acts. After having narrated the story of the establishment of the Church, he now proceeds to furnish a biographical account of the missionary labors of Paul and of his captivity in Caesarea and Rome. In the local congregation at Antioch there were, as important and influential members, certain prophets and teachers, men to whom the Spirit had given the power to uncover the veil of the future whenever He so directed, and men that had the gift of teaching in an unusual measure. In some of them, as in the case of Paul, both gifts may well have been united, Galatians 2:2; 2 Corinthians 12:1. Whether these men actually belonged to the presbyters of the congregation or not is immaterial; at any rate, they held positions of honor and importance among the brethren in the congregation. From the text it would almost seem to follow that the first three were especially distinguished for their prophetic ability, the last two for their gift of teaching. Barnabas is named first, as the man to whom the congregation really owed its sound establishment, then Simeon with the surname Niger, then Lucius of Cyrene, probably one of the disciples who first preached at Antioch, chap. 11:20. In the second group are mentioned Manaen, a man of some influence, having enjoyed the distinction of having been brought up with, educated together with, Herod Antipas, as some think, his foster-brother, and finally Saul. The order in which they are given shows the relative importance accorded them, as usual in the careful writing of Luke. While these men were serving the Lord in the ministry of the Word, in the teaching and praying of public worship, and also observing the custom of fasting which they had taken over from the Jewish regulations, but probably did not observe on the same day, choosing Wednesday and Friday rather than Monday and Thursday, the Holy Ghost gave them a charge. Either in a vision or by direct prophetic communication to the one or the other of these men He commanded that Barnabas and Saul should now be set aside, placed in a class by themselves, for the purpose of performing the work for which He had called them. Not only Saul, therefore, but also Barnabas had been selected by the Lord for some special work in the interest of His kingdom, for the proclamation of the Gospel among the Gentiles. The will of God having been thus revealed, the congregation held a solemn service of ordination. Having fasted in preparation for the event, they joined in urgent prayer that God would bless and prosper the two chosen servants in their work, and then laid their hands on them in token of blessing and of official appointment. This was the method of separating or delegating them for the office or service for which the Lord intended them. Note: On similar occasions, even in our days, if a man is separated for the ministry of the Word, or if a pastor is called to a new field, it is altogether proper and well-pleasing to God for those concerned in the movement, through their pastors or church officers, to lay their hands on them, and the custom of fasting, of making it a solemn occasion, is by no means to be despised. After this ceremony the two missionaries were sent away, dismissed, by the congregation. They were going forth as the delegates of the Church, as the representatives of the entire congregation, to proclaim the Gospel to the Gentiles. This fact is often lost sight of in our days, and consequently the feeling of responsibility for the missions of the Church is not so keen as it well might and should he. There is need for much improvement in this respect.