But the Jews stirred up the devout and honorable women, and the chief men of the city, and raised persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and expelled them out of their coasts.
the Jews.
Acts 13:45 But when the Jews saw the multitudes, they were filled with envy, and spake against those things which were spoken by Paul, contradicting and blaspheming.
Acts 6:12 And they stirred up the people, and the elders, and the scribes, and came upon him, and caught him, and brought him to the council,
Acts 14:2,19 But the unbelieving Jews stirred up the Gentiles, and made their minds evil affected against the brethren…
devout.
Acts 13:43 Now when the congregation was broken up, many of the Jews and religious proselytes followed Paul and Barnabas: who, speaking to them, persuaded them to continue in the grace of God.
Acts 2:5 And there were dwelling at Jerusalem Jews, devout men, out of every nation under heaven.
Romans 10:2 For I bear them record that they have a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge.
honourable.
1 Corinthians 1:26-29 For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called: …
James 2:5,6 Hearken, my beloved brethren, Hath not God chosen the poor of this world rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom which he hath promised to them that love him? …
and raised.
Acts 8:1 And Saul was consenting unto his death. And at that time there was a great persecution against the church which was at Jerusalem; and they were all scattered abroad throughout the regions of Judaea and Samaria, except the apostles.
Matthew 10:23 But when they persecute you in this city, flee ye into another: for verily I say unto you, Ye shall not have gone over the cities of Israel, till the Son of man be come.
2 Timothy 3:11 Persecutions, afflictions, which came unto me at Antioch, at Iconium, at Lystra; what persecutions I endured: but out of them all the Lord delivered me.
and expelled.
Acts 16:37-39 But Paul said unto them, They have beaten us openly uncondemned, being Romans, and have cast us into prison; and now do they thrust us out privily? nay verily; but let them come themselves and fetch us out…
Isaiah 66:5 Hear the word of the LORD, ye that tremble at his word; Your brethren that hated you, that cast you out for my name's sake, said, Let the LORD be glorified: but he shall appear to your joy, and they shall be ashamed.
Amos 7:12 Also Amaziah said unto Amos, O thou seer, go, flee thee away into the land of Judah, and there eat bread, and prophesy there:
They stirred up persecution against Paul and Barnabas
The phrase "stirred up persecution" suggests a deliberate and organized effort to oppose Paul and Barnabas. This persecution is not merely social ostracism but likely involved legal and physical threats, as seen in other parts of Acts (Acts 14:5, Acts 16:22-24). The opposition to the Gospel often involved both Jewish and Gentile authorities, reflecting the spiritual battle against the spread of Christianity. This persecution fulfills Jesus' prophecy in John 15:20, where He warned His disciples that they would face persecution for His name's sake. The apostles' experience here is a type of Christ's own suffering and rejection, emphasizing the cost of discipleship.
and drove them out of their district.
The expulsion of Paul and Barnabas from the district signifies a rejection of the Gospel message by the local authorities. This act of driving them out is reminiscent of Jesus' instruction to His disciples in Matthew 10:14, where He advised them to shake the dust off their feet as a testimony against those who do not receive them. The apostles' departure from Pisidian Antioch does not mark a failure but rather a strategic move in the spread of the Gospel, as they continue their missionary journey to other regions. This pattern of rejection and continued mission work is seen throughout Acts, highlighting the resilience and determination of the early church in fulfilling the Great Commission (Matthew 28:19-20).
- Luke records that a specific segment of the Jewish community opposed the Gospel in Pisidian Antioch. This is not a blanket condemnation of all Jews; rather, it highlights a group resistant to the message of salvation in Christ (cf. Acts 14:2; Acts 17:5).
- Their resistance fulfills Jesus’ warning: “If they persecuted Me, they will persecute you as well” (John 15:20).
- The phrase “however” contrasts their reaction with the many Gentiles who “rejoiced and glorified the word of the Lord” the previous Sabbath (Acts 13:48).
- Opposition enlisted people of influence—“religious women of prominence” and civic leaders. Social status did not shield them from spiritual manipulation (cf. Mark 15:11, where the chief priests “stirred up the crowd”).
- Religious women likely had access to synagogue life and could sway public sentiment. Leading men held civic authority, making the opposition both cultural and political.
- This coordinated effort shows how spiritual conflict often harnesses societal power structures (Ephesians 6:12).
- Persecution escalated from verbal contradiction (Acts 13:45) to organized hostility.
- Similar pattern:
• Acts 14:5 – Gentiles and Jews plan to stone Paul and Barnabas.
• Acts 16:22–24 – mob action leads to imprisonment.
• 2 Timothy 3:12 – “Indeed, all who desire to live godly lives in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.”
- God’s promise stands: persecution cannot thwart His purpose; instead, it advances the spread of the word (Philippians 1:12).
- Forced expulsion ended one chapter of ministry but opened another: “So they shook the dust off their feet in protest against them and went to Iconium” (Acts 13:51), obeying Jesus’ directive in Luke 9:5.
- This act signified deliverance from accountability for the hearers’ rejection while trusting God with the results.
- Despite the hostility, “the disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit” (Acts 13:52), underscoring that outward opposition cannot rob believers of inner assurance (John 16:33).
Acts 13:50 portrays a real historical moment when influential Jews, supported by prominent women and civic leaders, orchestrated persecution to silence Paul and Barnabas, finally expelling them from the region. The passage demonstrates the predictable clash between the Gospel and entrenched religious or social power, yet it also reveals God’s sovereign pattern: opposition propels the mission forward, believers respond with steadfast obedience, and the joy of the Holy Spirit triumphs over hostility.
(50) The Jews stirred up the devout and honourable women.--The fact stated brings before us another feature of the relations between Jews and Gentiles at this period. They "compassed sea and land to make one proselyte" (Matthew 23:15). They found it easier to make proselytes of women. Such conversions had their good and their bad sides. In many cases there was a real longing for a higher and purer life than was found in the infinite debasement of Greek and Roman society, which found its satisfaction in the life and faith of Israel. (See Notes on Acts 17:4; Acts 17:12.) But with many, such as Juvenal speaks of when he describes (Sat. vi. 542) the Jewish teacher who gains influence over women--"Arcanam Judaea tremens mendicat in aurem
Interpres legum Solymarum"--
["The trembling Jewess whispers in her ear,
And tells her of the laws of Solymse,"][3][3] Solymae, of course, stands for Jerusalem.
the change brought with it new elements of superstition and weakness, and absolute submission of conscience to its new directors, and thus the Rabbis were often to the wealthier women of Greek and Roman cities what Jesuit confessors were in France and Italy in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Here we get the darker side of the picture. The Jews stir up the women of the upper class, and they stir up their husbands. The latter were content apparently to acquiesce in their wives accepting the Judaism with which they had become familiar, but resented the intrusion of a new and, in one sense, more exacting doctrine. . . .
Verse 50. - Urged on for stirred up, A.V.; the devout women of honorable estate for the devout and honorable women, A.V. and T.R.; stirred up a for raised, A.V.; cast them out of their borders for expelled them out of their coasts, A.V. Urged on (παρώτρυναν). The word only occurs here in the New Testament, and is not common elsewhere. The devout women of honorable estate: εὐσχήμων is, literally, well-formed; then decent, becoming; and then honorable, well-to-do (comb. Acts 17:4, γυναικῶν τῶν πρώτων). See Mark 15:43, where Joseph of Arimathaea is described as εὐσχήμων βουλευτής, "an honorable counselor." The devout women (αι} σεβόμεναι) were the Gentile proselytes who worshipped God, as in ver. 43. So of Lydia (Acts 16:14), and of "the devout Greeks" (Acts 17:4, 17; Acts 18:7). The chief men (τοὺς πρώτους), as in Acts 17:4