Paul and Barnabas attended the Sabbath service in a local synagogue.
"In the Hellenistic and Roman periods Asia Minor had a substantial Jewish population. . . .
"The massive influx of a Jewish population into Asia Minor took place at the end of the third century BC, when Antiochus III settled two thousand Jewish families from Mesopotamia and Babylonia in Lydia and Phrygia, in order to maintain the security of his hold over this region."547
Normally the synagogue service began with the Shema ("Hear, O Israel, . . .") and the Shemoneh Esreh (a liturgy of benedictions, blessings, and prayers). Then leaders would read two passages from the Old Testament aloud, one from the Mosaic Law and a related section from the Prophets section of the Hebrew Bible. Then some competent person whom the synagogue rulers designated would give an address. The service would conclude with a benediction. On this occasion the synagogue leaders, who were local Jewish laymen, invited Paul and Barnabas to give an address if they had some encouraging word to share.
Paul initiated his typical pattern of ministry in Antioch of Pisidia. In every town with a sizable Jewish population that he visited, except Athens, the apostle first preached in the synagogue to Jews and God-fearing Gentiles. When the Jews refused to listen further, he then went to Gentiles directly with the gospel. Evidently Paul went to the synagogues first because his audience there had a theological background that made it easier for them to understand and believe the gospel.
"There was, of course, a practical matter involved. If they had begun evangelizing among gentiles first, the synagogue would have been closed to them."548
