Salamis of Cyprus

Barnabas and Saul boarded a ship at Seleucia and headed for Salamis on the island of Cyprus. (1) After sailing approximately 124 miles (200 km) from Seleucia, they arrived at the town of Salamis on the eastern coast of Cyprus. (2) Cyprus is the third largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, with a length of about 140 miles (225 km) and a width of about 40 miles (65 km). This island, located at the center of Greece, Asia Minor, and the Middle East, functioned as an important trade base at that time. (3) Salamis was the largest city on the island of Cyprus and also the center of economic activity. “…they began to proclaim the word of God in the synagogues of the Jews.” (1) The two of them started to preach the gospel in the synagogues of the Jews. A synagogue existed wherever there were ten or more Jewish adult men. The Jewish community in Salamis was large, so there were multiple synagogues. (2) The role of the synagogue differed from that of the temple. The synagogue was an essential organization for the Jews to survive within Gentile society. It served as a school for learning the word of God and Jewish customs and also served as a community center. (3) In fact, Gentiles also received blessings from there. Gentiles who worshiped the Jewish God were categorized into three stages: (a) God-fearing Gentiles, (b) Proselytes at the gate, (c) Full proselytes. “And they also had John as their helper.” (1) The name John appeared in Acts 12:25: “And Barnabas and Saul returned when they had fulfilled their mission to Jerusalem, taking along with them John, who was also called Mark.” (2) John Mark had moved from Jerusalem to Antioch. He was a cousin of Barnabas (Col. 4:10). He was likely invited by Barnabas to join this missionary journey, possibly serving as an assistant or secretary. Concerning the results of the ministry in Salamis, Luke did not leave any record. There were likely some results, but were not noteworthy. Barnabas and Saul seemed to be convinced that their mission in Salamis was complete, so they then traveled throughout the entire island, reaching as far as Paphos. The principle Paul adopted for his ministry was “to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.” This principle would become Paul’s pattern for ministry from this point onward. There are three reasons behind this: (a) practical reasons, (b) theological reasons, and (c) sentimental reasons. Next time, we will study these three reasons in detail. The existence of the synagogue became the infrastructure (foundation) for ministry. This, too, was a preparation by God’s providence. Our God has already provided the foundation for evangelism.