Acts
13:41 … “‘Look, you scoffers, be astounded and perish; for I am doing a work in
your days, a work that you will not believe, even if one tells it to you.’”
The warning is especially relevant to the Jews there in
Galatia as Paul states that we are freed from everything from which we could
not be freed by the Law of Moses. Paul foreshadows his letter to the Galatians
(and other epistles as well) on the relationship of works to our justification.
This is the point in which we really begin to see the salvations of the
Gentiles as Paul’s main ministry.
Acts
13:42-43 … As they went out, the people begged that these things might be told
them the next Sabbath. And after the meeting of the synagogue broke up, many
Jews and devout converts to Judaism followed Paul and Barnabas, who, as they
spoke with them, urged them to continue in the grace of God.
The grace of God was the Gospel or good news that Paul
and Barnabas were communicating to the Galatians. This was the heart of the
message but this would also be the stumbling stone for those whose hearts were
hardened.
Acts
13:44-47 … The next Sabbath almost the whole city gathered to hear the word of
the Lord. But when the Jews saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy and
began to contradict what was spoken by Paul, reviling him. And Paul and
Barnabas spoke out boldly, saying, “It was necessary that the word of God be
spoken first to you. Since you thrust it aside and judge yourselves unworthy of
eternal life, behold, we are turning to the Gentiles. For so the Lord has
commanded us, saying, “‘I have made you a light for the Gentiles, that you may
bring salvation to the ends of the earth.’”
We see the power of the Holy Spirit here. The Word of the
Lord was the attraction as the Holy Spirit stirred up hearts. However, the
contrary response of those hardened hearts is also stirred up. When the Holy
Spirit moves then you will have both reactions. Remember what Jesus said to
Nicodemus.
John
3:6-8 … That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the
Spirit is spirit. Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’
The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know
where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the
Spirit.”
In the midst of the move of the Holy Spirit you need to pray
for obedience and rest in God’s sovereignty. It is an amazing thing that God
the Holy Spirit is working around you and we need to be at peace about that. The
unbelieving Jews were contradicting and making fun of Paul and Barnabas and I
think that what Paul says is a massive indictment of the failure of the Jews to
accomplish their God given mission. Paul
speaks Jew to Jew to these hard hearts and says that God commanded us to be a
light for the Gentiles and to bring salvation to the ends of the earth. Paul
tells them that if they will reject the good news and try to keep it from the
Gentiles because of their jealousy then they will be left behind and he and
Barnabas will go to the Gentiles.
It was appropriately offered to the Jews first because of
the order of Acts 1:8. Jesus says, “But you will receive power when the Holy
Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all
Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” So it was appropriate for Paul
to start in synagogues but the Gospel is not limited to a particular race of
men anymore. If you reject the Gospel of justification by faith then you can’t
be a light to the unsaved or bring salvation to the ends of the earth.
Acts
13:48-52 … And when the Gentiles heard this, they began rejoicing and
glorifying the word of the Lord, and as many as were appointed to eternal life
believed. And the word of the Lord was spreading throughout the whole region.
But the Jews incited the devout women of high standing and the leading men of
the city, stirred up persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and drove them out
of their district. But they shook off the dust from their feet against them and
went to Iconium. And the disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy
Spirit.
God planted a church here in Galatia by using Paul and
Barnabas. This was a very quick church planting but the church grew around this
group of salvations and impacted the whole region. The jealousy of those who
rejected the Gospel produced persecution from the government. I find the
negative reaction pretty easy to understand. Some of the big influences for
those whose hearts were hardened would have been that the Jewish leadership of Jerusalem
had rejected Jesus. Paul also stated that justification is from faith. This
sets aside the Law for righteousness sake. That would have offended the Jews.
He didn’t say the law was bad but he stated the truth that the law condemns
you. However, those rejecting the Gospel would have perceived Paul as preaching
against the law even though he was simply showing the limitations of the law.
However, jealousy is the word used by Scripture as those who were of the
“correct” lineage and had the “correct” behavior saw so many Gentiles coming to
faith. For someone who thinks of themselves as one who represents the line of
the faithful to hear the hard truth that God has kept a remnant in spite of the
lack of faith and sinful rebellion of your ancestors would be hard to hear.
This is especially difficult to accept in light of the general Jewish rejection
and crucifixion of the Messiah as the Gentiles come to faith through Him in
spite of you. So the sinful jealousy is easy for me to understand. What is
harder for me to understand is the wonderful faithfulness of men like Paul and
Barnabas as well as all those Jews who accepted the Gospel as a result of their
ministry. However, the early Church had many challenges from Jews and Gentiles
alike … as we will continue to see in the book of Acts.
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