We can contextualize our methods, but we cannot compromise our message.
Bible Study Ideas and Commentary for Acts 13:42-52
Following their barnstorming tour of Cyprus, Paul and Barnabas move on to Pisidian Antioch, where Paul gets a very favorable hearing from the people. The Jewish leaders are so jealous that they ultimately run Paul out of the region, but not before he lets the Gentiles in town know that God has made salvation available even to them in Jesus Christ.
When the Gentiles heard this, they rejoiced and honored the word of the Lord (13:48)
This is an AI generated image. I used it because of a funny, so please bear with me. I was trying to imagine Paul in a setting like I show of Charles Spurgeon below, so I asked for "The Apostle Paul preaching to a large crow in first-century Antioch". And sure enough...
Do y'all remember the acronym GIGO?
Getting Started: Things to Think About
Jealousy
This idea doesn't need a lot of explanation. [I'm using it in the negative sense, btw.] In this week's passage, some Jewish leaders got very (very) jealous that Paul had drawn a large crowd -- bigger than the crowd they ever had at their synagogue. We all understand jealousy and how ugly it can get.
There are many directions you could take this as an icebreaker.
Describe a time you were jealous of someone else.
Describe a time someone else was jealous of you.
Describe a time you saw jealousy destroy a friendship or partnership.
Describe a time you overcame jealousy (i.e., how did you do it?).
If you use this topic, you might come back to it at the end of your group time from the perspective of churches and ministries:
Has your church ever been jealous of another church?
Has a ministry in your church ever been jealous of another ministry?
What happened as a result?
More about that below.
I shouldn't have to tell you that God does not want us to be jealous of one another. I'll come back to this in my "Big Idea" below.
The Loudest Person Wins
I'm hesitant to suggest this topic because it still seems to be an accepted method of debate in politics and some business meetings. Let me set up my idea, and you can decide how (or if) you want to use it. Paul attracted a large crowd in a city by teaching some very powerful things about Jesus. His opponents couldn't counter what he said, so instead they resorted to shouting him down and calling out insults.
We've all seen this tactic in movies (and maybe recently on tv), and perhaps we've experienced it in our own life. I remember a time running for school office that someone interrupted me in the middle of a "campaign speech" (it's a stretch to call it that), and I got irrecoverably flustered. That next year, I joined the debate team so I could out-loud and out-word anyone who ever tried to interrupt me again. I can safely say that I didn't take the proper lesson away from my experience.
How does "being shouted down" make you feel? How does it make you feel about the person who did the "shouting"?
I'll be curious to know your takeaway from Paul's response when this very thing happened to him.
This Week's Big Idea: Jealousy
The common definition of "jealousy" is "feeling or showing envy of someone or their achievements and advantages". I really don't want to spend any time establishing the distinction between jealousy and envy, so I'll leave you to it.
Another way of defining jealousy is "fiercely protective or vigilant of one's rights or possessions". This can go two ways. The first is the positive sense of God being jealous of His people -- "Because the Lord is jealous for his reputation, you are never to bow down to another god. He is a jealous God" (Ex 34:14). The second is the negative sense of a boyfriend being suspicious of his girlfriend's unfaithfulness, or a sibling being jealous that someone else is getting more attention in the family -- "His brothers were jealous of him, but his father kept the matter in mind" (Gen 37:11).
It is right for God to feel jealousy is His sense because it is for our good. He is the only true God, and anyone who does not believe in Him will be condemned to an eternity in hell. Paul felt this way about the people in his churches:
For I am jealous for you with a godly jealousy, because I have promised you in marriage to one husband—to present a pure virgin to Christ. (2 Cor 11:2)
And God can even use a version of this to get the attention of His people:
I ask, then, have they stumbled so as to fall? Absolutely not! On the contrary, by their transgression, salvation has come to the Gentiles to make Israel jealous. (Rom 11:11)
But it is wrong for us to feel jealousy in those other senses.
Fury is cruel, and anger a flood, but who can withstand jealousy? Prov 27:4
Now the works of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, moral impurity, promiscuity, idolatry, sorcery, hatreds, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambitions, dissensions, factions, envy, drunkenness, carousing, and anything similar. I am warning you about these things—as I warned you before—that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. (Gal 5:19-21)
That leads to the big questions:
Why is jealousy a "work of the flesh"?
How do we overcome that jealousy?
The answers to both questions come back to your salvation. Is there any greater "possession" in your life than your salvation? Can anyone take that away from you? Does anyone else have "more salvation" than you do?
(With all due respect to Methodists and others who believe you can lose your salvation, and to certain Pentecostals who believe that there are indeed different degrees of salvation, they're wrong.)
(Oh! I just saw an article on baptistpress.com about part of that -- FIRST-PERSON: If Christians can lose their salvation, we all lose the Gospel | Baptist Press)
If God has given His Son for your salvation, and you have accepted that free gift, then there's very little in life that rises to the level of warranting jealousy. Those things that do -- and I'm thinking in particular of your family relationships (spouse and child) -- should be handled through constructive conversation, not shouting or stewing. What makes jealousy a work of the flesh is how it affects you or what it makes you do. Do not be overcome by evil jealousy, but instead overcome that jealousy with good.
Bonus Big Idea: Predestination?
There's a verse that gets a lot of attention in this week's passage:
48 When the Gentiles heard this, they rejoiced and honored the word of the Lord, and all who had been appointed to eternal life believed.
But earlier in the passage, Paul said,
46 Paul and Barnabas boldly replied, “It was necessary that the word of God be spoken to you first. Since you reject it and judge yourselves unworthy of eternal life, we are turning to the Gentiles."
So, huh?
I actually love this passage when it comes to "understanding predestination" because it puts things in divine perspective, beyond our ability to "understand". Both "divine sovereignty" and "human responsibility" are held together. In this passage, God's sovereignty over salvation is clearly established -- no one can be saved unless God allows it. But that salvation still requires a human response -- to believe. (And at the same time, it is made very clear that humans can reject the offer of salvation in Jesus.)
So, does that clear things up? I hope not! Salvation is a mystery beyond our comprehension. That is for two good ends: it puts our trust and hope in God, and God alone, to accomplish and preserve our salvation; and it keeps us from thinking we can turn salvation into a commodity that we can peddle (like a magical formula).
Where We Are in Acts
Luke gives us some very simple travel commentary:
Acts 13:13 Paul and his companions set sail from Paphos and came to Perga in Pamphylia, but John left them and went back to Jerusalem. 14 They continued their journey from Perga and reached Pisidian Antioch. On the Sabbath day they went into the synagogue and sat down. 15 After the reading of the Law and the Prophets, the leaders of the synagogue sent word to them, saying, “Brothers, if you have any word of encouragement for the people, you can speak.”
Here's the map I shared last week.
I want to camp out on the comment,
but John left them and went back to Jerusalem.
Remember, this is John Mark, Barnabas's cousin. Now, let's peek ahead to Acts 15:
36 After some time had passed, Paul said to Barnabas, “Let’s go back and visit the brothers and sisters in every town where we have preached the word of the Lord and see how they’re doing.” 37 Barnabas wanted to take along John who was called Mark. 38 But Paul insisted that they should not take along this man who had deserted them in Pamphylia and had not gone on with them to the work. 39 They had such a sharp disagreement that they parted company, and Barnabas took Mark with him and sailed off to Cyprus. 40 But Paul chose Silas and departed, after being commended by the brothers and sisters to the grace of the Lord.
!!!!
And again, I say, "!!!!"
This was no throwaway comment. The Lifeway material rightly points out that Luke does not tell us why Mark left. But the fact that Paul thought of it as a "desertion" tells us more than you might think. Some people say that Mark was overcome by fear or doubt, and that's why he left. But Paul is elsewhere at least a little gracious about people being overwhelmed in ministry.
No, Paul drew a hard line on two things in his ministry -- doubts about his leadership, and doubts about his gospel message. I don't think that Mark would have left over a debate about salvation. Remember that Barnabas was instrumental in helping bridge the divide between the Jewish Christians and the Gentile Christians, so I have a hard time believing Barnabas would have wanted to bring Mark if Mark had doubts about Barnabas's (and Paul's) gospel message.
But the other? Yeah, I see that. Remember that last week (in Paphos), we saw Luke shift the narrative focus to Paul. Paul called down blindness on the sorcerer, and Paul would be the one to preach in the synagogue. Did Mark not like how Paul was seemingly "usurping" his uncle Barnabas's position as the leader of the trip? He would have been a young man at this time, probably still in his twenties, and he knew well all the great things his uncle had done for the church. He might have taken Paul's "intrusion" personally. But Paul was called by Jesus Christ Almighty to become an apostle, and that was foundational to his self-identity. Perhaps Mark had become a distraction, questioning Paul at every turn. Paul would have given him an ultimatum, like "get with the program or go home". And Mark went home.
Paul would have no choice but to see that as a personal rejection. And so later, when Paul and Barnabas wanted to go back out, Barnabas was ready to give Mark another chance, but Paul was not.
I say all of that because it is possible that we have even more jealousy in play, this time "from the inside". Mark may have been jealous of his uncle's role in the journey. Paul may have been jealous of his own authority. If I'm going to talk about how bad the Jewish leaders' jealousy of Paul is later in this week's passage, then I also have to point out how destructive jealousy may have been before they even got there!
(And once again, Barnabas comes out as the hero. "Mark, you need to get back out there with us. Paul, you need to get over your feelings." And when he and Paul couldn't agree, Barnabas concluded, "We need to go our separate ways so the work can continue." Good job, Barnabas.)
I need to end this digression on a positive note. Paul did eventually "get over it" (if that's what was going on), and he and Mark reconciled and worked together:
Aristarchus, my fellow prisoner, sends you greetings, as does Mark, Barnabas’s cousin (concerning whom you have received instructions: if he comes to you, welcome him), (Col 4:10)
Only Luke is with me. Bring Mark with you, for he is useful to me in the ministry. (2 Tim 4:11)
I take great comfort in that. If the guy who wrote most of the New Testament (Paul) and the guy who wrote a Gospel (Mark) could have a falling out and a reconciliation, then perhaps we're not beyond hope yet.
Now, back to the context.
There at the synagogue in Antioch, Pisidia, Paul gives a wonderful sermon to an audience of both Jews and Gentile converts to Judaism. He makes two basic points:
32 And we ourselves proclaim to you the good news of the promise that was made to our ancestors. 33 God has fulfilled this for us, their children, by raising up Jesus,
and
38 Therefore, let it be known to you, brothers and sisters, that through this man forgiveness of sins is being proclaimed to you. 39 Everyone who believes is justified through him from everything that you could not be justified from through the law of Moses.
In short, Jesus is the promised Messiah, and forgiveness of sins is found in Him (and not in the works of the law).
That got everyone's attention! And a lot of people wanted to hear more ...
Part 1: Jealous of the Interest (Acts 13:42-45)
42 As they were leaving, the people urged them to speak about these matters the following Sabbath. 43 After the synagogue had been dismissed, many of the Jews and devout converts to Judaism followed Paul and Barnabas, who were speaking with them and urging them to continue in the grace of God. 44 The following Sabbath almost the whole town assembled 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 Paul was saying, insulting him.
First, a translation note: "devout converts to Judaism" (or proselytes) is actually "God-fearers". This phrase was used both of men who had gone so far as to be circumcised and also people who believed in God, followed parts of the law, but weren't circumcised (and thus not fully accepted as Jews). Based on context, I lean toward that latter option. Those converts were really excited to find out that they were saved apart from works of the law, which suggests that there was a little second-class-citizen treatment going on from the Jews. But that doesn't change the meaning of the passage.
The jealous Jews will get the bulk of the attention in discussion, but I don't want us to miss the extremely important note about the grace of God. Speaking to Jews who thought salvation was found in following the law of Moses was right in Paul's wheelhouse. His doctrinal powerhouses -- Romans and Galatians -- are rooted in distinguishing grace from law.
For sin will not rule over you, because you are not under the law but under grace. (Rom 6:14)
I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness comes through the law, then Christ died for nothing. (Gal 2:21)
This is important in the sense that Paul understood this doctrine from the very beginning. It's not something he "developed" over years of missionary work. Salvation is found in the grace of God through Jesus Christ, not in obeying the law. (Or as we have said many times from Eph 2:8-9, good works are a result of salvation, not a cause of it.)
We have to assume that Paul and Barnabas talked about the grace of God all week with anyone who would listen. So, when the big confrontation happened in the synagogue, the seeds had already taken root in those hearers' lives, and they would not be disrupted by the Jewish shouting match.
When the following Sabbath arrived, the whole town showed up at the synagogue. The image in my head reminds me of pictures I've seen of Charles Spurgeon, "The Prince of Preachers". By all accounts, Spurgeon was such a remarkable preacher that every Sunday was an event wherever he preached. (If you don't know anything about Spurgeon, find out more here.)
We know that his "success" at drawing crowds caused great jealousy among other religious leaders in London, and they attacked him relentlessly. And, something that will be an important application in a little bit, Spurgeon ministered long enough in London (38 years) that he saw many other movements and belief systems come and go. Some of those were positive, and many of those were destructive and blasphemous.
So, let's look at the reaction to Paul through two lenses:
Paul attracted a bigger crowd than the "old churches" did.
Paul taught a different religion than the "old churches" did.
The first one is a natural source of jealousy. If a church came into town and "exploded in popularity", I have no doubt that I would react with jealousy. I know from conversation that local business owners feel the same way about "new competition" in town. So, what should be our response when we have those feelings?
The second one is actually the much bigger deal, and it is a huge indictment of the Jewish leaders that they didn't make a bigger deal of it.
Our church is going to be in a large-group Sunday School meeting this Sunday (school year kickoff), and this is a topic I will focus on. With hindsight and the Spirit of God, we know that Paul was the one teaching the true gospel. But for the sake of discussion, let's play the part of a Jew in Antioch hearing Paul's message for the first time. Paul is teaching something very different than what you have been taught. How do you know if Paul is "okay" or not?
Let's make this more to the point for our church and community. Let's say a new church comes in a "does things differently" than we do. They might even teach things differently than we do. How do we know if that church is "okay" or not?
Let's push this even further. Let's say that the new church makes us wonder if we need to change the way we do things to "catch up with the times" (or however we say that). How do we know if the changes we are considering are "okay" or not?
This then turns into the age-old (and extremely important) debate about contextualizing a church. I spent 7 years ministering in central Texas, and I became familiar with cowboy churches. They look very different than beach churches, which look very different than arena churches. You will react strongly to parts of these pictures. But how do you know if your reaction is simply based on personal preference, or if you think something important is being compromised?
To me, the answer is simple: you can contextualize a church without compromising the gospel. Right?
But the older I've gotten, the more I've realized how much my personal preferences still play into that decision-making process. After all, my preferences are based on what I think the Bible teaches, right? Well, ideally. But, you know, they're not always. And I don't always realize it. And from talking with Christians who are older than me, it seems that the older we get, the harder it is for us to separate "this is what I prefer" from "this must be gospel truth".
So, with that acknowledgement, I come back around to my original question. I believe the Bible tells us everything we need to know about what a church is, what a church believes, and how a church operates. It is then up to us to then apply those truths to our unique context of ministry without compromising any of them. It is then up to us to ensure that our personal feelings are not getting in the way of our commitment to God's Word and our church.
Oh, and for the love of all things, if you don't like what somebody is saying, don't yell at them and call them names. How ridiculously childish.
Part 2: Paul Takes the High Road (Acts 13:46-48)
46 Paul and Barnabas boldly replied, “It was necessary that the word of God be spoken to you first. Since you reject it and judge yourselves unworthy of eternal life, we are turning to the Gentiles. 47 For this is what the Lord has commanded us: I have made you a light for the Gentiles to bring salvation to the ends of the earth.” 48 When the Gentiles heard this, they rejoiced and honored the word of the Lord, and all who had been appointed to eternal life believed.
There are a lot of things we don't know. How long did this go on? Did Paul continue to try to preach? Did Paul try to engage the hecklers in debate? Luke doesn't tell us. My guess is that Paul didn't let things go on very long. He knew that it was a fool's errand.
Here are some fun Jewish sayings about fools:
You can educate a fool, but you cannot make him think. —Talmud
Never tell a fool that he is a fool. All you'll have is an angry fool. —Talmud
And then some even more helpful sayings from Proverbs:
Stay away from a foolish person; you will gain no knowledge from his speech. (14:7)
Honor belongs to the person who ends a dispute, but any fool can get himself into a quarrel. (20:3)
And these Jewish hecklers had made themselves out to be complete buffoons.
So Paul took the Jewish advice and walked away from the Jewish fools. For the sake of the crowd, however, he explained their reasoning:
They fulfilled God's desire for the gospel to be preached to the Jews first ("For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, first to the Jew, and also to the Greek." Rom 1:16)
Those particular Jewish buffoons plainly declared that they wanted nothing to do with God's salvation in Jesus.
God also offered salvation to the Gentiles; Paul quoted Isaiah 49:6 about the Messiah's mission to the whole world, and he applied it to himself as the Messiah's apostle. He would now focus his message on the Gentiles.
For obvious reasons, this brought the Gentiles much joy. It is quite possible that those Jews had treated them as second-class citizens (based on other examples of all-around buffoonery). This would be their comeuppance -- God wanted Gentiles to be saved, and they didn't have to become Jews in order to be saved.
Let's do some math. According to several historians, about 10% of the Roman Empire was Jewish, most of them in Judea. That would suggest that less than 5% of the population of Pisidian Antioch was Jewish. Paul just made 95% of his audience extremely happy.
This brings me back to my original point about contextualizing vs. compromising the truth. Some people might accuse Paul of pandering to the masses, of manipulating his message in order to make the 95% happy. On the contrary, I believe that Paul effectively explained how what he taught was in fact the proper application of the Old Testament (as fulfilled in Jesus). The lesson? If we hear of somebody teaching something different than us, we need to investigate it carefully before we cry "heresy".
[Aside: I've thought about this question many, many times. And do you know what gives me the most trouble? Jesus' own words: "For whoever is not against us is for us." In that context (Mark 9), the disciples were seemingly most upset that the outsider in question was not submitting to their authority. This was Jesus' not-subtle reminder that His authority was all that mattered. How often do I do the same thing those disciples did?]
I don't know if you will have time for this on Sunday morning, but Isaiah 49 is fascinating and absolutely worth a few minutes of discussion. Isaiah 49 is the transition of a larger section on "The Servant" in Isaiah 40-55.
Isaiah 40 - God is able to deliver His people
Isaiah 41-48 - God has called Israel to be His servant, not idol-worshipers
Isaiah 49-55 - God sends the Messiah to be the model and substitutionary Suffering Servant for Israel
In Isaiah 49, this Suffering Servant (who is shockingly revealed to be the Messiah) laments that nobody has listened to His call (49:4). But God lifts Him up:
[God] says, “It is not enough for you to be my servant raising up the tribes of Jacob and restoring the protected ones of Israel. I will also make you a light for the nations, to be my salvation to the ends of the earth.” (49:6)
God explains how this will be:
I will keep you, and I will appoint you to be a covenant for the people, to restore the land, to make them possess the desolate inheritances, saying to the prisoners, “Come out,” and to those who are in darkness, “Show yourselves.” (49:8-9)
Isn't that powerful? "Jesus, you are too great a Savior to save one people only -- you will save all people." Isn't that exactly what we believe about Jesus? So great a salvation cannot be confined to one nation.
And this is exactly the kind of God the Gentiles were hungry to hear about.
Part 3: They Still Run Paul out of Town (Acts 13:49-52)
49 The word of the Lord spread through the whole region. 50 But the Jews incited the prominent God-fearing women and the leading men of the city. They stirred up persecution against Paul and Barnabas and expelled them from their district. 51 But Paul and Barnabas shook the dust off their feet against them and went to Iconium. 52 And the disciples were filled with joy and the Holy Spirit.
Ridiculing Paul accomplishes the opposite of what the Jews intended. Now openly preaching to "the other 95%", Paul's message of salvation spreads like wildfire throughout the region. Now, all the naysayers can do is kick him out of the region.
But the seeds have been planted, so Paul and Barnabas can leave in full confidence that God will continue to bring the harvest.
Jesus had used this phrase before --
If they do not welcome you, when you leave that town, shake off the dust from your feet as a testimony against them. (Luke 9:6)
It is symbolic, of course -- take nothing of the cares of that town with you when you leave.
We know that the Holy Spirit was in the decision because the Spirit blessed the continuing work after Paul and Barnabas left. But that leaves us with an important question: how do we know when it's time to "shake the dust off our feet" with respect to a ministry or outreach we are doing?
The most important thing for us to notice about this is the target: "against them". In context (in both passages above) "them" refers specifically to the people who rejected the message of the gospel. In Paul's case, it was the Jewish leaders who mocked him and chased him out of town. Paul was not shaking the dust of everyone in Antioch off his feet. In fact, in 14:21, we read that Paul and Barnabas went back to Pisidian Antioch and strengthened the believers there. But he no longer had time for the foolish mockers -- he had other work to do.
In that, it's helpful to remember that Paul's ministry as an itinerant church planter is a bit different from our ministry as local church members. Paul only had so much time; he needed to move on to another community and start a new work. We are like the people Paul left behind in Antioch to continue the work there.
A good friend I respect immensely once told me that in church work, we never shake the dust off our feet. In other words, we never give up on specific people. He acknowledged that we might shift our focus and efforts to another ministry or another group, but we never close the door on wayward church members or lost neighbors. We are to always hold out hope than such-and-such person or group will one day repent and turn to Jesus.
That leads to a couple of closing discussion ideas:
How do you respond when people reject your gospel witness?
What witnessing are you doing?
It might be tempting for us to say, "That's Paul. I'm not Paul." You might be right, but don't let that discourage you. There's only been one Paul, and God's church has spread around the world many times and generations over and beyond Paul's labor.
Trust the Holy Spirit to help you make the wise decisions to -- silence the naysayers, share the gospel, build up your church, support your church leaders.
God bless you!
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