Acts 13:52 Explained
"And the disciples were filled with joy, and with the Holy Ghost." — Acts 13:52 (KJV)
Luke records this immediately after the missionaries were run out of town, and the timing is the point.
Read it in context: The Book of Acts. Also gathered under verses about joy.
Acts 13:52 in context
What does Acts 13:52 mean?
The joy belongs to the disciples who stayed in the hostile city, not to the apostles who got out. Luke sets it directly against the expulsion without comment, which is his usual method — the juxtaposition is the argument. The two fillings are named together and in that order, joy first, as though the second explains the first.
What is the context of Acts 13:52?
Paul and Barnabas have preached in Antioch of Pisidia, drawn most of the city, provoked an organised backlash and been expelled. Verse 51 has them shaking the dust off their feet. Verse 52 reports how the people they left behind were doing.
How do I pray Acts 13:52?
Pray it when circumstances have just gone badly and cheerfulness would be dishonest. Do not ask to feel better about the situation; ask to be filled, which is a different request. Note that the verse describes people who had lost something real and were not pretending otherwise.
Carry this verse with you
Save Acts 13:52 and a daily verse to your lock screen with Quiethaven. Read the whole Bible in the Bible app, pair it with a prayer timer, and turn Scripture into a daily habit.
Keep Acts 13:52 close — free on iPhone.
Download on the App StoreMore verses explained
- Mark 1:35 explained
- Genesis 1:1 explained
- Galatians 5:13 explained
- Deuteronomy 33:25 explained
- Jeremiah 10:23 explained
- 1 John 4:18 explained