Acts 13:52

‘And the disciples were filled with joy and the Holy Spirit.'

By ‘the disciples' here we are no doubt intended to see all the believers who have been involved. Both those whom they had left in Pisidian Antioch, and they themselves also, were filled with joy and the Holy Spirit. While they were sad to part from each other, the realisation and experience that guaranteed that the Holy Spirit was with them overrode everything. If He be for us who can be against us? This is the filling (pleroo) which is open to all believers all the time while their hearts are set on God. It is like the filling in Ephesians 5:18, and the being ‘full of' the Holy Spirit elsewhere, where the believer is filled with joy, and wisdom, and faith (Acts 6:3; Acts 6:5; Acts 11:24). (It contrasts with ‘being filled (pimplemi) with the Holy Spirit which refers to inspiration in speaking). They were walking in the Spirit and enjoying God's presence. It is a sentence which set the seal on all that God had done in Pisidian Antioch.

It also provides us with the assurance that these believers were being catered for. It declared that all was well. Some of the converted Jews and God-fearers would be well versed in Scripture and God would raise up prophets among them, so that by the direction of the Spirit they would declare the word of God. Furthermore Paul and Barnabas were still within reach and could be consulted if necessary. Believers no doubt saw them off when they were expelled. And it might even have been that a lesser known member of their party was able to remain behind to keep things going until Paul returned, as they knew that he surely would. We can be confident that God and Paul (or Barnabas) had it well catered for, even though their expulsion (Paul and party's, not God's) had taken them by surprise and they had not had time to set up a fully established leadership. That would take place on their return.