BRUCE C WEARNE continues his look at Acts 13…
And with the coming of the [following] Sabbath, almost the entire city had assembled in order to hear the Word of God. But upon seeing the crowd, the Jews were consumed with jealousy and their offensive and demeaning language was aimed at everything Paul was trying to say. This led Paul and Barnabas to them straight in these words, “It was first to you necessarily that the word of God had to be spoken. Since you now shove it aside and judge yourselves not worthy of the life of the age to come, you will note that we now turn to the Gentiles. For that is exactly what the Lord has commanded us, ‘I have appointed you as a light to the Gentiles, that you should be [a beacon] of right-standing to the furthest reaches of the earth.'”
So when the Gentiles heard [them say] this, they were delighted and found themselves glorifying the word of the Lord; and indeed as many as had been prepared for the life of the age to come believed. And that is how the word of the Lord was brought to that region. But [in retaliation] at the urging of the Jews, the women of high standing [among the converts to Judaism – see verse 43] as well as the chief men of that city, mounted a campaign against Paul and Barnabas that would mean their departure from that district. But they, for their part, in shaking off the dust from their feet, made their protest by going on to Iconium. And all the while the [remaining] disciples were brimful of gladness and of the Holy Spirit. – Acts 13:44-52/transliteration by Bruce C Wearne
BAGS PACKED: When a campaign was mounted against them in Pisidian Antioch, Paul and Barnabas shook the dust of their feet and left the city. PICTURE: Antonio Jimenez Alonso
IN A NUTSHELL
After the initial reception, news about Paul and Barnabas and their message drew a large crowd the next Sabbath. Those in control of the synagogue fomented opposition among the powerful people of that city. They had to go, but the seed had been planted.
Despite the harsh words of warning in Paul’s concluding words in his initial address to the synagogue – taken from the Greek translation of the Old Testament – that rendered all those of Israel who rejected God’s gift of grace as “scoffers”, as “pompous and arrogant scoffers”, the response was still, “Please Barnabas and Paul, come again and tell us more next Sabbath”. But a week can be a long time and when finally the Sabbath came around, the assembled worshippers were told by Paul that henceforth Gentiles would indeed be the concern of his preaching.
You will recall that on the previous Sabbath, the rulers of the synagogue had asked Paul and Barnabas to address them. They did so. The people of the synagogue begged them to return the next Sabbath and when they did, it brought a double reaction. A very large crowd assembled filling the synagogue. Luke says that “the Jews” were jealous. It was simply jealousy. The message Paul and Barnabas had proclaimed, the fulfilment of the law and the prophets in Jesus of Nazareth, drew a large crowd – almost the entire city was there, but jealousy took hold. It grew ugly.
The first time Paul and Barnabas had been asked to conduct synagogue worship, they were given a wonderful reception. Then, after the service “many Jews and devout converts to Judaism” followed them to receive further instruction. But the next week was different. They began to sense the danger they were in. The Gentiles who believed praised God for accepting them through the work of the Jewish Messiah. Paul had told them they were justified, made right, cleansed. In the face of Jewish opposition to his message, he explained how they intended to keep on proclaiming the message to the Gentiles. Many of Jesus’ own people were unwilling to believe that He was the fulfilment of their religion. Paul appealed to the Prophet Isaiah: “It is too light a thing that you should be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob and to restore the preserved of Israel. I will give you as a light to the nations, that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth” (Isaiah 49:6).
This was also in fulfillment of the prophetic song composed by Zacharias the Levite, the father of John the Baptist, as well as the direction given by Jesus in His Sermon on the Mount. And what is recorded here is part of the historical context within which Paul developed his teaching; his aim was to make his fellow Jews jealous of Gentile praise of Israel’s Messiah. It was his jealousy of the Gentile recognition of Jesus that fired his zeal that was finally overcome when Jesus confronted him.
The Gentiles were overjoyed. Luke explains that forward movement was not easy. There was always opposition. The message of the Son of Man offended the sensibilities of many; it provoked deep reaction and still does. Jesus predicted this, instructing His disciples to “shake the dust off their feet” and move on when they were not welcome. The action was to be decisive; not even their dust was to be taken with them. They must not get themselves entrapped by hanging around and arguing with people, whoever they were, who made it plain that they would not join with those – Jews and gentiles – whom Jesus Himself was gathering.
OPEN BOOK – HINTS FROM THE SPIRIT OF HOLINESS: FULFILLING THE PROPHETS IN THE FACE OF JEALOUSY
BRUCE C WEARNE continues his look at Acts 13…
And with the coming of the [following] Sabbath, almost the entire city had assembled in order to hear the Word of God. But upon seeing the crowd, the Jews were consumed with jealousy and their offensive and demeaning language was aimed at everything Paul was trying to say. This led Paul and Barnabas to them straight in these words, “It was first to you necessarily that the word of God had to be spoken. Since you now shove it aside and judge yourselves not worthy of the life of the age to come, you will note that we now turn to the Gentiles. For that is exactly what the Lord has commanded us, ‘I have appointed you as a light to the Gentiles, that you should be [a beacon] of right-standing to the furthest reaches of the earth.'”
So when the Gentiles heard [them say] this, they were delighted and found themselves glorifying the word of the Lord; and indeed as many as had been prepared for the life of the age to come believed. And that is how the word of the Lord was brought to that region. But [in retaliation] at the urging of the Jews, the women of high standing [among the converts to Judaism – see verse 43] as well as the chief men of that city, mounted a campaign against Paul and Barnabas that would mean their departure from that district. But they, for their part, in shaking off the dust from their feet, made their protest by going on to Iconium. And all the while the [remaining] disciples were brimful of gladness and of the Holy Spirit. – Acts 13:44-52/transliteration by Bruce C Wearne
BAGS PACKED: When a campaign was mounted against them in Pisidian Antioch, Paul and Barnabas shook the dust of their feet and left the city. PICTURE: Antonio Jimenez Alonso
IN A NUTSHELL
After the initial reception, news about Paul and Barnabas and their message drew a large crowd the next Sabbath. Those in control of the synagogue fomented opposition among the powerful people of that city. They had to go, but the seed had been planted.
Despite the harsh words of warning in Paul’s concluding words in his initial address to the synagogue – taken from the Greek translation of the Old Testament – that rendered all those of Israel who rejected God’s gift of grace as “scoffers”, as “pompous and arrogant scoffers”, the response was still, “Please Barnabas and Paul, come again and tell us more next Sabbath”. But a week can be a long time and when finally the Sabbath came around, the assembled worshippers were told by Paul that henceforth Gentiles would indeed be the concern of his preaching.
You will recall that on the previous Sabbath, the rulers of the synagogue had asked Paul and Barnabas to address them. They did so. The people of the synagogue begged them to return the next Sabbath and when they did, it brought a double reaction. A very large crowd assembled filling the synagogue. Luke says that “the Jews” were jealous. It was simply jealousy. The message Paul and Barnabas had proclaimed, the fulfilment of the law and the prophets in Jesus of Nazareth, drew a large crowd – almost the entire city was there, but jealousy took hold. It grew ugly.
The first time Paul and Barnabas had been asked to conduct synagogue worship, they were given a wonderful reception. Then, after the service “many Jews and devout converts to Judaism” followed them to receive further instruction. But the next week was different. They began to sense the danger they were in. The Gentiles who believed praised God for accepting them through the work of the Jewish Messiah. Paul had told them they were justified, made right, cleansed. In the face of Jewish opposition to his message, he explained how they intended to keep on proclaiming the message to the Gentiles. Many of Jesus’ own people were unwilling to believe that He was the fulfilment of their religion. Paul appealed to the Prophet Isaiah: “It is too light a thing that you should be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob and to restore the preserved of Israel. I will give you as a light to the nations, that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth” (Isaiah 49:6).
This was also in fulfillment of the prophetic song composed by Zacharias the Levite, the father of John the Baptist, as well as the direction given by Jesus in His Sermon on the Mount. And what is recorded here is part of the historical context within which Paul developed his teaching; his aim was to make his fellow Jews jealous of Gentile praise of Israel’s Messiah. It was his jealousy of the Gentile recognition of Jesus that fired his zeal that was finally overcome when Jesus confronted him.
The Gentiles were overjoyed. Luke explains that forward movement was not easy. There was always opposition. The message of the Son of Man offended the sensibilities of many; it provoked deep reaction and still does. Jesus predicted this, instructing His disciples to “shake the dust off their feet” and move on when they were not welcome. The action was to be decisive; not even their dust was to be taken with them. They must not get themselves entrapped by hanging around and arguing with people, whoever they were, who made it plain that they would not join with those – Jews and gentiles – whom Jesus Himself was gathering.
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