Acts 13:13

Notice that Paul is now mentioned first. Apparently, the Holy Spirit sees him as taking charge or exercising now the commission on which he was sent by Jesus, to be the apostle to the Gentiles (Acts 26:16). "Perga in Pamphylia" Perga was the capital city of the Roman province of Pamphylia, which is located in what is now Turkey. The trip from Cyprus to Perga would have been about 100 miles by sea. Today there are extensive Greek and Roman ruins at Perga. "But John left them and returned to Jerusalem" "It is plain from Acts 15:37 that Mark's reason for returning to Jerusalem was something that Paul deemed unworthy. enough so that Paul was unwilling to have him as. companion on another journey" (Reese pp. 467-468). The good news is that John Mark will prove himself in the years to come to be. valuable coworker (Colossians 4:10; 2 Timothy 4:11). There were many dangers and trials in this part of the world. The highways were known to be infested with thieves and bandits (2 Corinthians 11:26), malaria was prevalent, and the trip from Perga to Pisidian Antioch involved. steep climb over the Tarsus mountains (Pisidian Antioch sits at 3500 feet above sea level) and. journey of 100 miles.