ACTS 13:44-52--PAUL AND BARNABAS AT ANTIOCH IN PISIDIA (PART 2 OF 2--And Also to the Gentiles)

Acts 13:44-52
English Standard Version
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44 The next Sabbath almost the whole city gathered to hear the word of the Lord. 45 But when the Jews saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy and began to contradict what was spoken by Paul, reviling him. 46 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. 47 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.’”

​48 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. 49 And the word of the Lord was spreading throughout the whole region. 50 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. 51 But they shook off the dust from their feet against them and went to Iconium. 52 And the disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.

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I broke up the large section of text that started in verse 13 of chapter 13 and goes to the end of the chapter, that is verse 52, into two parts--Paul's message to the Jews and now their message to the Gentiles the following Sabbath Day.  We start the part of the text for today by saying that the whole city, not just the Jews, but also the Gentiles, gathered together on the next Sabbath to continue to hear what Paul and Barnabas had to say.

The Jews that heard the gospel explained to them a week earlier became jealous of the Gentiles that came to hear the Scriptures explained.  The Jews had been given the responsibility to be a light to the Gentiles in the Old Testament, but they had hoarded the Word of God for themselves like putting a lamp under a bushel basket--one of the parables that Jesus used in His teaching.  This did the world that was in darkness no good.  You want to put a lit lamp up high where it can be seen by everyone and can give light to the whole house.  In this case the Jews only wanted the revelation of God for themselves and were jealous of what they had and didn't want the Gentiles to have any part of it (unless those Gentiles first converted to Judaism, and even then they were treated as second-class citizens).

Those who had become jealous began opposing what Paul was saying.  We've already seen that this was a mistake when Elymas, also called Bar-Jesus, did this in Cyprus.  Would something similar happen to these Jews here?  No, there will be no sign they could preform that would cause these who have tasted and seen the gospel and rejected it to now repent and believe.  Instead, the only message for them is a message of condemnation--they had the Word of God and tossed it aside and refused to believe it.  It was commanded for Paul and Barnabas to go to the Jew first, so they did, but now that the Jews have rejected Jesus, they must also take the Word of God to the Gentiles.  Paul then quotes the Old Testament book of Isaiah and the words of Jesus to them that I mentioned earlier that told the Jews that they were to be a light to the whole world.

The Gentiles rejoiced at this news, because no longer had they been excluded from God's plan, but they were now an integral part of it.  They were content that the gospel must go to the Jews first, but that the same gospel that saved the Jews could also save the Gentiles who had never become Jewish, and that they could receive the same eternal life that was provided through Christ Jesus our Lord and Savior.  These Gentiles started telling everyone they knew from all around, both from their town and the surrounding towns that they needed to come and hear what God was proclaiming to them.  This of course would upset the status quo and those in prominent positions and places of power were stirred up by the Jews that they needed to come together to get rid of Paul and Barnabas before they ruined everything for them.  They had a society established on emperor worship and idolatry of all sorts.  What would happen when these people believed the gospel and all that went away?  We'll see that very issue happen in some other area later and it led to death threats against Paul and his companions by those who fashioned and sold the idols.

So Paul and Barnabas were chased out of the region by these Jews and the devout women of high standing and the leading men of the city.  Paul and Barnabas followed the instructions of Jesus and they shook the dust off of themselves as a sign that God was going to judge these people and that not even one bit of dust from their city should survive, nor did they want any little bit of that city clinging to them and have themselves associated with that city which was now marked for destruction by God.  While Paul will travel through this region, we will never again see Paul or any of his companions set foot inside of Pisidian Antioch, and the only reference to it in the rest of the New Testament will be in 2 Timothy 3:11 where Paul writes to Timothy to say say that Timothy knew of all the persecution that they faced in this region and to tell Timothy that he too will be persecuted because of Jesus Christ and His gospel message.

Paul and Barnabas make way for the next town called Iconium.  The Gentiles who believed the message are referred to as disciples here, exactly the same as the Jewish believers up to this point.  They are part of the same common faith, the same Church, the same Body of Christ.  There is but one Vine that is Christ that we are all grafted into.  These new disciples are filled with the Holy Spirit and filled with joy.  There is no doubt that the Holy Spirit has been given to the Gentiles as well as the Jews and no matter how jealous the Jews get of this, that makes it obvious that this is part of God's plan.  The only solution the non-believing Jews will come up with will be to attack the messenger just like they did in the Old Testament when they didn't like the message that the prophets brought from God.  Praise the Lord that He is faithful to spread His gospel message to all peoples of all nations.  Let us be faithful witnesses, yea even martyrs if that be our form of witness, as we take the gospel to the Jew first and also to the Gentiles.  If we refuse to take the gospel to the Jews now (or any other people group) we are no better than the Jews of that time that were jealous of the Scripture and the Holy Spirit that they had and others did not.  Jesus is appointing a remnant to receive eternal life (see v.48 which makes the Doctrine of Election pretty clear) from every tribe, tongue, nation and people group--Jesus has just chosen to use us as part of that plan as we carry His message across the street and around the world.