The Lectionary for this Sunday brings us back to the Book of Acts, and continues with the account of the missionary journey of the apostles Paul and Barnabas. The Lord had sent them to spread the Gospel in Cyprus, and then on into west-central Turkey. Last week we read how Paul was preaching the Gospel in a city called Antioch. Today we will see the response of his message of salvation to these people.
As our Scripture from Acts opens, one week has passed since Paul and Barnabas had arrived in town, and given their first sermon on how Jesus is the Messiah God had promised the people. As was his custom, whenever Paul entered a city, he searched out a local synagogue, attending the Sabbath day services. When asked to speak, he would proceed to show through the Scriptures that Jesus was the Messiah. He had done that last week, and now, a week later, multitudes of people gathered at the synagogue to hear further what Paul had to say (vs. 44).
In the crowds that next Sabbath, however, were many Jewish people who were opposed to the Lord Jesus, and the fact that many were saying He was the Messiah (vs. 45). They did not like it that they said He had risen from the dead, and that salvation was through faith in Him. As Paul was proceeding to preach another message about Jesus and salvation through Him, these Jews did not want to see more of the synagogue’s congregation believe in his message. They were envious of the popularity of these two, and viciously spoke out against what they were saying. The more Paul preached, the more these certain Jewish leaders spoke out against them, contradicting and blaspheming.
Paul and Barnabas couldn’t continue to ignore their interruptions to their sermon, so Paul spoke up boldly. He said that if the Jewish people were going to reject the Word of God, then they were going to go and bring it instead to the Gentiles, the non-Jewish people (vs. 46-47). The Jews had been given first shot at hearing and accepting the message of salvation. Though many had believed, many more had rejected it, and were now actively opposing the spread of the message. So now the pair were going to bring salvation to the Gentiles. This made the Gentiles happy, and many came to faith that day, and the Gospel message spread (vs. 48-49). This was something that their enemies did not want to see happen, so they stirred up some chief people in the community to strongly oppose and persecute the apostles, and drove them from town (vs. 50-52).
As we read this Scripture passage, we see the power that the Word of God has. The previous week Paul had preached a salvation message, and now, the next week, nearly the entire city gathered at the synagogue to hear the Gospel. The Bible, the inerrant and inspired Word of God, has power, and is capable of drawing people to salvation.
We also see that when we are faithful in bringing the message of Jesus to others there is going to be opposition and possibly persecution. A strong spiritual battle occurs when the truth of God is proclaimed and when we stand for Biblical truth. If we continue to stand strong for Him, the Lord can use such opposition to further spread the Gospel. The message of Jesus was now actively brought to the Gentiles because of this persecution.
Did Paul and Barnabas let this persecution discourage them, or cause them to return home in fear? Not in the least! The two did not quit when they were rejected. Neither of them set their affections on temporal things. Other’s opinions did not mean anything to them. They did not set store with other’s responses, or care about applause. Nor did they get discouraged because of assaults. Instead, Paul and Barnabas were filled with joy and the Holy Spirit. They shook the dust off their feet and continued their mission, showing that true joy comes from obedience to God, not through circumstances.
We should not pay attention to praise and applause, nor get discouraged with rejection or abuse. Criticism should never get us sidetracked from the mission God has for us to do. Instead, we should continue to boldly proclaim the Gospel, even in the face of opposition. We can trust in God, knowing that His plan will prevail, and we can find joy in serving the Lord Jesus, regardless of any trials we go through.
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