Paul and
Barnabas Conclude Their Stay in Pisidian Antioch
[Acts
chapter 13, verses 42-52]
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When
we left off last week at verse 41 of Acts 13, the apostle Paul was
concluding his first sermon as a new convert as he addressed the
synagogue in Pisidian Antioch. Pisidian
Antioch is located 1 km north of Yalvac in the province of
Isparta in southern Turkey. He finished up the greater portion of
that Sabbath morning by quoting from the prophet Habakkuk
1: 5: “Look,
you scoffers, wonder and perish, for I am going to do something in
your days that you would never believe, even if someone told you.”
Paul was referring to those present who rejected his message, all of
whom were Jews and many of whom were quite vocal about it. Their
vocal and vehement opposition to Paul's message of salvation as
taught by Christ will come to a climax today as we finish up my final
installment of Acts chapter 13. So let's take up where we left off
beginning at verse 42.
“ 42)
As Paul and Barnabas were leaving the synagogue, the people invited
them to speak further about these things on the next Sabbath. 43)
When the congregation was dismissed, many of the Jews and devout
converts to Judaism followed Paul and Barnabas, who talked with them
and urged them to continue in the grace of God. 44)
On the next Sabbath almost the whole city gathered to hear the word
of the Lord. 45) When the Jews saw the crowds, they were filled with
jealousy. They began to contradict what Paul was saying and heaped
abuse on him. 46) Then Paul and Barnabas answered them boldly: 'We
had to speak the word of God to you first. Since you reject it and do
not consider yourselves worthy of eternal life, we now turn to the
Gentiles. 47) For this is what the Lord has commanded us: ‘I have
made you a light for the Gentiles, that you may bring salvation to
the ends of the earth.’”
So the crowd
received a Word from the Lord through Paul's message that day, there
was no mistaking that fact. The church still has preachers and
teachers of the Word who discharge their duties with power and
anointing, but we continue to need a lot more of them. What we don't
need are more preachers of the “prosperity gospel” or the
“pre-tribulation rapture”, where the entire Church allegedly gets
a free pass, never having to endure any persecution in the End Times
in which we find ourselves. But the people in that Synagogue that
morning weren't as stupid and naive as some Christians are today.
They knew the real thing when they saw it, and they knew real Truth
when they heard it – Divine truth! That is exactly why Paul and
Barnabas were invited to return the following Sabbath. That's why the
people wanted so much to hear them again. Once a preacher or teacher
gets his/her students or audience focused on the things of God
instead of that of this world, the scope and depth of their entire
field of vision completely changes focus, which changes the listeners
forever! And that's precisely what Paul and Barnabas accomplished
that morning.
“44)
On the next Sabbath almost the whole city gathered to hear the word
of the Lord. 45) When the Jews saw the crowds, they were filled with
jealousy. They began to contradict what Paul was saying and heaped
abuse on him.”
It seems supernatural to us now that “almost the entire city”
showed up the following Sabbath for morning services. Considering
there was no phone, internet or email, Paul and Barnabas relied
solely on word-of-mouth, and it paid off really big, just like when
Jesus walked the Earth his Father created. When the Jews who were in
charge of the synagogue heard Paul's words, they were filled with
jealousy and rage. As I have written previously, the Jews of that
time – plus many more since – see themselves as exclusive unto
themselves, having little or nothing to do with non-Jews. The very
thought of equality between Jew and Gentile offended some of them,
especially those in positions of leadership. But, they were offended
most of all with the teaching of Christ as Messiah.
“Then
Paul and Barnabas answered them boldly: 'We had to speak the word of
God to you first. Since you reject it and do not consider yourselves
worthy of eternal life, we now turn to the Gentiles.”
The reason Paul and Barnabas spoke the Word of God to the Jews first
is because they were themselves Jewish, as was Christ the Lord. The
fact that they were in a synagogue bore heavily in this case too, but
there were also many Gentiles present, such as Greeks, secular and
Christian Arabs, and Turkish individuals as well. But the way the
Bible is translated right here doesn't really convey how animated the
discussion surrounding Paul's Sabbath message actually was. It says,
“Paul
and Barnabas answered them boldly....”
In
21st
century terms, this could be written as, 'Paul and Barnabas took all
the rejection, snobbery and contempt heaped upon them and threw it
all right back in their faces.' The accusatory manner in which these
insults were delivered was similarly thrown back in the faces of all
the Jews who refused to believe their message, and who were verbally
abusive to them. Interestingly enough, there was not a single Gentile
in the audience who rejected Paul's and Barnabas' message. They then
quote scripture to back themselves up: “For
this is what the Lord has commanded us: ‘I have made you a light
for the Gentiles, that you may bring salvation to the ends of the
earth.’”
(Isaiah 49: 6)
In
the original Greek text, known as the Septuagint by theologians,
“you” is in the singular, indicating that the message is for each
individual reader. This is significant because it lines up with the
words of Christ, and I quote: “18)
Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on
earth has been given to me. 19) Therefore go and make disciples of
all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son
and of the Holy Spirit, 20) and teaching them to obey everything I
have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end
of the age.”
(Matt. 28: 18-20) And now let's conclude this week's study, starting
at verse 48.
“48)
When the Gentiles heard this, they were glad and honored the word of
the Lord; and all who were appointed for eternal life believed. 49)
The word of the Lord spread through the whole region. 50) But the
Jewish leaders incited the God-fearing women of high standing and the
leading men of the city. They stirred up persecution against Paul and
Barnabas, and expelled them from their region. 51) So they shook the
dust off their feet as a warning to them and went to Iconium. 52) And
the disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.”
“....all
who were appointed for eternal life believed.
The word of the Lord spread through the whole region.”
Notice it says “all who were/are appointed”, and that means
appointed by God from long before any of us were born. It
is a reference to prophecies from the old and the new testaments
concerning eternal life (see Psalm 119: 89, Isa. 26: 4, Matt. 19: 16
or 1st
John 5: 13, among others). Eternal life is a black and white issue,
there is no gray area here. It's not that some have it while others
don't. Everyone has a soul, or a spirit if you like, that lives on
after our bodies wear out and die. It's where our souls will spend
eternity that makes all the difference. Some will spend eternity with
Jesus and all the Saints, which is his Bride, the greater church.
Others will spend theirs in hell for refusing to believe in God, or
at least in his Son Jesus, and for adamantly refusing to obey the
commands of Christ. The two foremost commands he has already given
us, that we should love God our Creator with all our heart, mind,
soul and strength, and to love our neighbors as ourselves. Meaning,
those who are lovers of everything else but God and each other will
burn.
So
the religious leadership there at Pisidian Antioch organized all the
political and business leaders and made that new teaching known as
Christianity seem like an existential threat. You know, just like the
political leaders of any given city, region or country, or just like
business leaders do today? Those in positions of power manufacture a
problem, always in the form of a group or individual that has
interests contrary to theirs, and then present their ready-made
solution, which is to forcibly liquidate the “problem”. These
people are all a bunch of assassins! “They
stirred up persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and expelled them
from their region. So they shook the dust off their feet as a warning
to them....”
By now you all must realize that it was only by their reliance on the
Holy Spirit to guide them, plus some very sharp wits, that enabled
them to survive all the attacks and persecutions they were subject
to. Paul and Barnabas weren't just thrown out of the synagogue or out
of Pisidian Antioch, they were expelled from the entire region!
But
they rejoiced because of it because they had the honor of being
persecuted for their belief in Christ as Lord and Savior: “....the
disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.”
But this was about far more than their own beliefs. This was about
fulfilling their mission to tell as many people about the Gospel as
they could. Whether their message, the message of Christ, was well
received by the listeners or not was left up to them, and to the Holy
Spirit. Their mission, and that of the Twelve and all the others with
them by this point, was fulfilled once the message was delivered, the
healing had been distributed and prayers offered. At that point, it
was time to move on to the next town. That would be an interesting
life in His service, don't you think? Traveling around from town to
town, depending on the weather to be able to preach at outdoor
meetings when a synagogue wasn't available, and never knowing what
kind of reception you will get – this was the life of an apostle in
a post-ascension world. In next week's lesson, as we move on to
chapter 14, we will see how all this continues to play out as the
early Church continues to grow. Until then....
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