Sunday, June 17, 2007
ACTS 13:14-52
** Someone goes to the front, after scripture reading and says, "Does anyone have any exhortation for us today? Would anyone like to come and speak to us, offering encouragement, comfort, challenge, or rebuke? If so, come ahead." At that point, I will go up and preach the sermon which Paul preached in the synagogue of Antioch.
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You men of Israel, and all of you Gentiles who fear God, listen to me this morning. The God of this people Israel chose our forefathers to be His own people. But why did God choose our forefathers? Why did He choose them, rather than others? We find the answer in the scriptures. Let’s read it from Dt. 7:6-7…
For thou art an holy people unto the LORD thy God: the LORD thy God hath chosen thee to be a special people unto himself, above all people that are upon the face of the earth. 7. The LORD did not set his love upon you, nor choose you, because ye were more in number than any people; for ye were the fewest of all people.
The Lord chose our fathers to be holy, set apart unto Him.
God not only chose them, but He also lifted them up. You remember that they found themselves down in Egypt, where they were slaves. When they first went to Egypt, they were not slaves. You remember that through His servant Joseph, the Lord brought His people to Egypt that He might feed them and preserve their lives. But after some time, there arose a new ruler who had no regard for Joseph, and he put them in bondage. Even from their, the Lord heard their cry and by His mighty hand led His people out of Egypt. We read from Dt. 7:6-7; now let’s read the very next verse. Dt. 7:8, "But because the LORD loved you, and because he would keep the oath which he had sworn unto your fathers, hath the LORD brought you out with a mighty hand, and redeemed you out of the house of bondmen, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt."
The Lord brought our forefathers out of Egypt for a purpose. He brought them out of Egypt that He might bring them into the Promised Land, as we read in Dt. 6:23, "And he brought us out from thence, that he might bring us in, to give us the land which he sware unto our fathers." But when He was ready to take them into the land, they refused to go. As a result, the Lord put up with them in the wilderness for 40 years, while that generation died off because of their stubborn refusal to obey His command.
But God wasn’t through with His people. He raised up another generation, and when they crossed over into the Promised Land, the land of Canaan, He destroyed seven strong nations before them. And then He divided the land among the twelve tribes of Israel.
Once they were in the land, the Lord provided judges for them for about 450 years. These judges were what we might call "deliverers." When the people would forsake the Lord and go after other gods, He would allow their enemies to conquer them, but when the people would cry out to Him, then He would raise up a judge, a deliverer, who would lead the people to throw off their enemies. This happened again and again.
Then there arose a prophet named Samuel. We might consider him to be the last of the judges. It was during the ministry of Samuel that the people of God desired a king. Through Samuel, God told them they didn’t need a king, for He, the Lord Himself, was their king. Nevertheless, they insisted on having a king, like the other nations around them. So the Lord allowed them to have what they wanted, and He gave them Saul to be their king. Saul reigned 40 years in Israel, but the Lord removed him because he did not obey Him.
In place of Saul, the Lord raised up David to be their king. What wonderful things we could say about David, but nothing could be so powerful as what Samuel told Saul, "But now thy kingdom shall not continue; the Lord hath sought him a man after his own heart, and the Lord hath commanded him to be captain over his people, because thou hast not kept that with the Lord commanded" (I Sam. 13:14). In spite of his faults and failures, David was indeed a man after God’s own heart, who would fulfill all His will.
You know well that the Lord our God promised David that He would raise up to him a seed, whose kingdom would be established forever. According to that promise, God has indeed raised up for Israel a Savior, whose name is "Jesus." But before this Jesus was revealed to Israel, John came and preached the baptism of repentance. He called upon the people to bring forth fruit as evidence of true repentance. As John was completing his ministry, he continued to say: "Who do you think I am? I am not He, the promised Messiah. Know this -- there is one coming after me, and I am not worthy to loosen His sandals."
Now listen to me, all of you – both those of you who are the descendants of Abraham, and you who are Gentiles but fear the Lord. This message of salvation is sent to you. The people of Jerusalem and their rulers didn’t recognize the truth of the prophets, whose words they hear read every sabbath day. They refused the message of the prophets and proceeded to condemn Jesus. They were not able to demonstrate that He was worthy of death, but they insisted that Pilate, the Roman governor, have Him killed.
Yes, they killed Jesus, finally convincing Pilate to hang Him on a cross. But in so doing, they were only fulfilling what had already been written about Him. The prophets had long before declared that His death. After they crucified Him, they buried Him. BUT GOD raised Him from the dead. That’s right, God raised Jesus from the grave. His own apostles, who had come with Him from Galilee to Jerusalem saw Him after He was risen over a period of many days. They are His witnesses. They can testify that He rose from the grave and lives.
This is good news! God made great promises to our forefathers, and now God has fulfilled those promises by raising up Jesus from the dead. Consider the second Psalm, where it is written: "Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee" (Ps. 2:7). Don’t misunderstand. Our God is not saying that He literally gave birth to a son. He was saying that He would raise His Messiah from the grave, which He did when He raised up this Jesus. Hundreds of years later, God said to His people through the prophet Isaiah, "I will make an everlasting covenant with you, even the sure mercies of David" (Is. 55:3). Though David had long since died, the Lord promised to give us the holy things promised to David, and that included the promised seed, whose kingdom would be established forever. And again in the 16th Psalm, David himself said, "You will not allow your Holy One to see corruption" (Ps. 16:10). David couldn’t have been speaking of himself, for after he had served the people of his own generation, he died and his body was indeed subject to corruption, but that was not true of Jesus, whom God raised from the dead. Yes, David spoke of this Jesus.
Let me make it absolutely clear to you. Through this man Jesus, I proclaim to you the forgiveness of sins. By this same Jesus all that believe are declared to be right with God. Through Him, they are delivered from everything that has separated them from God. All your lives you had the law of Moses, but by that law you could not be made right with God. You have tried to keep the law, but you can’t. But now through Jesus, a person can truly be justified, declared righteous in the sight of God.
Now that you know this truth, watch out that you don’t ignore it. To whom much is given, much is required. Be careful that these words of the prophet are not true in you, for Habakkuk said, "Look, you scoffers, and marvel and perish; for I am accomplishing a work in your days, a work which you will never believe, though someone should describe it to you" (NASV, 13:41). As you know, the work Habakkuk spoke of was God bringing the Babylonians down to take His people captive. But I am speaking about a wonder far greater. And if you will not listen to this good news and refuse this Jesus, your destruction will be far greater than what happened to your forefathers at the hands of the Babylonians.
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** Sit down and give time for these words to sink in. After a while, step back up to the mic.
This is the message which Paul delivered to the people gathered in the synagogue of Antioch in Pisidia. And this is the message I deliver to you this morning. Obviously, you are not Jews. You are not the physical descendants of Abraham. Nevertheless, this message was addressed directly to us because we are a part of the God-fearers who were allowed to come into the synagogue.
Paul reminded them of the words of the Old Testament prophets. They are glorious words, prophesying even of the resurrection of Jesus, who would live hundreds of years later. But Paul also reminded his hearers that those in Jerusalem, especially the Jewish leaders, had refused the words of the prophets and had crucified the very Messiah of whom the prophets spoke. He urges his hearers not to be guilty of the same thing.
In verse 32, it is literally, "And we ourselves are bringing to you good news." Hear the good news this morning. After Paul gave strong scriptural support that the Messiah would be raised from the dead, He then declared that through the risen Jesus there is forgiveness of sins. The Jewish people were looking for their Messiah. They were eager for Him to come and set them free, free from Roman domination and political corruption and everything else that was a burden to them. But now comes a promise far greater than all of those put together. In Jesus, there is forgiveness of sins. There is no burden that crushes us like the burden of sin. Through Jesus, that crushing burden of sin can’t be sent away, as far as the east is from the west.
But don’t be deceived. Go back to verses 16 and 17. "…Men of Israel, and ye that fear God, give audience. The God of this people of Israel…" Who is this God of whom Paul speaks? Paul doesn’t deal with that question, because those people already knew. They were well aware that He is the Holy One of Israel, the one Israel recognized as set apart. The scripture says, "There is none holy as the Lord" (I Sam. 2:2). He isn’t like us. "The Lord is high above all nations, and his glory above the heavens. Who is like unto the Lord our God, who dwelleth on high?" (Ps. 113:4). This God is righteous and perfect. We read in the New Testament that without holiness no one will see the Lord (Heb. 12:14). This is the God of whom Paul speaks.
So what is sin? Sin isn’t just doing something wrong. It isn’t just an act of immorality. Sin is rebellion against God. Sin is missing the mark that God Himself has established. Sin is a personal attack upon God Himself. That is why after committing adultery and murder, David could say, "Against thee, thee only, have I sinned and done this evil in thy sight" (Ps. 51:4). Though David had wronged Bathsheba and Uriah greatly, that was nothing in comparison to his rebellion against the God who made him. God created us; God owns us; God has every right to expect perfect obedience from us. We owe everything to Him. Sin has no meaning, unless we see it in light of who God is.
But Paul is proclaiming forgiveness of sins through Jesus Christ, whom God raised from the dead. How can a God so holy and righteous and perfect forgive sins? How God hates sin. Try to put yourself in His place, though we can never truly do that. You raise a child, doing all in your power to give that child what is best. You make great sacrifices on his behalf. You would lay down your life for him. But as he grows older, he goes his own way. It seems he has no recollection of what you have done for him. He does the very things you hate. And yes, he knows it hurts you, but he refuses to turn from his wicked ways. He has done every filthy thing imaginable, but now he wants to come back home and live with you. He wants to pretend that everything is okay. No, he hasn’t changed at all. But he wants you to forgive him and take him in. What will you do? Some of you will say, "Yes, I would take him in, because he is my son. My love is unconditional."
I want you to know that our God is not like that. "All we like sheep have gone astray, we have turned every one to his own way" (Is. 53:6). We have been rebels against a holy God. Will God simply tell us it’s okay and take us in? No, never. To say so is to prove that we have no understanding of a holy God.
Won’t you notice in verses 38 and 39 that immediately after mentioning forgiveness of sins, Paul speaks of justification. Don’t let that word scare you. You can’t be serious about God’s Word and avoid the term justification. God will never forgive anyone until that person has been justified! Mark it down. God doesn’t forgive anyone because he asks to be forgiven. He must be justified. That is, he must be rightly declared righteous in the sight of God. God will not have anything to do with sin. The sinner must be made right.
Let that sink in. Millions upon millions of people will hear Jesus say, "I never knew you; depart from me, you who practice lawlessness," because they have swallowed a perverted view of the love of God. Will God lay down a strict and holy standard of righteousness and in the end say it is okay if the standard is not met. NO. That’s the world’s Santa Claus; that is not our holy and righteous God. If God did that, He would cease to be God. He would be no different than the parent who warns his child not to do it, but then overlooks it, when the child defies him.
Remember that it is after emphasizing the resurrection of Jesus that Paul says there is forgiveness through Him. Why did God raise Jesus from the dead? Because Jesus hung there on the cross and was able to say, "It is finished. I have paid the debt completely. Sin has been paid for." Every sin ever committed against a holy God was paid for by the sinless Jesus, who had no sin of His own. He went to the cross as our substitute. "He was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities… and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all" (Is. 53:5-6).
A man is justified only through the death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. A man is made right with God only when he realizes that there is nothing he can do for himself, for by the works of the law shall no man be justified. A man is justified only when he realizes the depth of his sin against a holy God. We can say that we want to follow Jesus; we can say that we accept Jesus into our heart; we can say that we want to be saved; we can be baptized… we can do all those things, but until we confess that there is no goodness in us, that we have never done a good deed and that we never will, we cannot be made right with God. Essentially, that is repentance, a giving up on self and admitting that we are corrupt to the core, a willingness to cease from trusting self.
The other side of that coin is belief, faith in the person and the work of Jesus Christ, trusting in Jesus and Him cruficied. Why trust Jesus? Because He is the spotless Son of God and He did the only thing that can ever make us pure and clean. But even then, we don’t trust Him just so we can be forgiven and cleansed. We trust Him because He is worthy of our trust, because the Holy and Almighty God deserves our very lives. If you and I profess Christ, but we have to conclude that we came to Christ simply for our own benefit, there is every reason to question whether we have ever been justified before God. Why do I say that? Because the very core of sin is selfishness. If we profess Christ just so we can be forgiven and miss hell, how does that differ from selfishness? I am not saying that the thought of reward plays no part, for it certainly does. We must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him (Heb. 11:6). However, that is only a beginning and is the smaller part of our motivation. Far more important is the glory of God. As Creator and Redeemer, He deserves all that we can give Him; He deserves us!
Now let come straight to the point. There are many who seem to think what I have just shared is not good news. I am saying exactly what Paul said, except I am giving more explanation. Paul didn’t have to give so much explanation because his hearers had a more biblical background than most of us and because he didn’t live in a pseudo-religious society which has made God in its own image. We do. The vast majority of the people in our society cannot understand the good news until we have our view of God, man, and sin corrected. The gospel we preach must be much broader than saying that God loves us, we have sinned, and Jesus died for us. It must begin with the holiness of God, proceed through the absolute corruption of man, run to the cross of Jesus, and glory in His resurrection.
I plead with you to examine yourself and ask God if that is the gospel you have believed. Don’t miss the fact that Paul closed his message with a solemn warning. Through the prophet Habukkuk, when the Lord spoke of doing a work that His hearers would not believe, He went on to describe that work. He said that the Babylonians (Chaldeans) would march through the land of Judah and take possession of it. Indeed, that must have seemed unbelievable to the people of Judah. Of course, we know that it happened. But now Paul is speaking of an even greater work, but it is a work that the Almighty had already done through His Son Jesus. His hearers didn’t have to look into the future and wonder; they could simply look at the account of Jesus of Nazareth and behold how He had fulfilled the Old Testament prophecies. Now if the hearers of Habbakuk refused to believe and perished, how much moreso for those who refused to believe Jesus, whom the Father had set before them as their Messiah? There is no remedy for the one who refuses this Jesus.
As we see in verses 42 and 43, Paul’s preaching had some very positive results. Your translations will vary a great deal in verse 42, because there is a difference in the Greek texts behind the English translation. While the KJV (NKJV similar) reads, "And when the Jews were gone out of the synagogue, the Gentiles besought that these words might be preached to them the next sabbath," your other translations will read something like this: "And as Paul and Barnabas were going out, the people kept begging that these things might be spoken to them the next Sabbath" (NASV) The question regards whether this was a Gentile request, or whether it came from all the people in the synagogue. If you would like to discuss this question, I would be happy to talk with you about it. For our purposes right now, let’s just say that there was a great interest in hearing more from Paul and Barnabas on the next sabbath.
Verse 43 reveals that many of the Jews and religious proselytes followed Paul and Barnabas. Notice that it wasn’t just a few, but many. It is obvious that the Holy Spirit was speaking through Paul and many of these people understood what he was saying. They had never heard anything like this, but they were eager to hear more.
There is some question about these devout ("religious" in KJV) proselytes. Were these the God-fearers, Gentiles who were allowed into the synagogue? That seems likely when we read 13:16 and see that Paul was addressing two groups of people – the Jews and the Gentiles who feared God. On the other hand, if "devout proselytes" here refers to Gentile God-fearers, it would be the only time in the New Testament that the term "proselytes" is used in this way. Normally, it referred to those who were not born Jews but who converted to Judaism, submitting to circumcision and taking the obligation to obey the Jewish laws. Whether or not this term referred to Gentile God-fearers, we will soon see that the Gentiles will play a great part in this story.
Then we read the response of Paul and Barnabas, "who…persuaded them to continue in the grace of God." We are not given any details concerning exactly what is meant by "continue in the grace of God." Does this mean that they were converted and became children of God? It might mean that. However, there is no mention at this time that they were baptized or added to the church. It may mean that they became vitally interested in the gospel of Jesus Christ and were eager to find out more. That in itself would require the grace of God. At any rate, Paul and Barnabas urged them to continue in this direction, likely answering questions they asked.
The rest of the chapter relates to us the second phase of the ministry in Antioch of Pisidia. While the first phase was centered in the synagogue and focused on the Jews, this next phase will move toward the Gentiles. Verses 44-45 pick up the story a week later…
And the next sabbath day came almost the whole city together to hear the word of God. 45. But when the Jews saw the multitudes, they were filled with envy, and spake against those things which were spoken by Paul, contradicting and blaspheming.
The word spread very rapidly in Antioch, so much so that almost the entire city was at the synagogue the next sabbath. They came to hear the Word of God, particularly the preaching of this man Paul, who identified Jesus as the Messiah and the One through whom people could be justified and forgiven. We would assume that most of the Jews had been there the week before, as regular attenders of the synagogue. The great majority of the newcomers were Gentiles, no doubt. And that was a problem. The Jews were filled with jealousy. Though it is not stated, surely this was especially true of the Jewish leaders.
But why were they jealous? Why weren’t they thrilled that so many had come to hear the Word of God? Why aren’t people in churches always thrilled when newcomers fill their seats? No doubt, they were jealous of the immediate popularity of these two new missionaries. What must have bothered them most was the concept that people could come to God without first becoming Jews. By now, they had probably realized that Paul and Barnabas were not going to require circumcision in order to follow this new Messiah Jesus. They had worked hard to bring these Gentiles to attend the synagogue and were hoping that they would convert to Judaism. And now Paul comes along saying they can come directly to God through Jesus. The sudden appearance of all these Gentiles only aggravated the problem for them.
We read in verse 43 that many of the Jews and proselytes followed Paul and Barnabas. However, apparently that wasn’t the majority of the Jews in the synagogue. We might reason that these Jews who followed Paul and Barnabas changed their minds during the week, but not necessarily so. Here the focus is on the Jews who were not disposed to listen to the gospel.
These jealous Jews quickly began to oppose Paul and to contradict what he had to say. Some translations say that they spoke abusively to Paul. That is probably the idea of "blaspheme." They did everything they could to discredit Paul and Barnabas.
Now listen to the response of Paul and Barnabas… (46-47)
Then Paul and Barnabas waxed bold, and said, It was necessary that the word of God should first have been spoken to you: but seeing ye put it from you, and judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life, lo, we turn to the Gentiles. 47. For so hath the Lord commanded us, saying, I have set thee to be a light of the Gentiles, that thou shouldest be for salvation unto the ends of the earth.
Paul would later state this principle succinctly in Rom 1:16, "For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek." So they proclaimed their message first to the Jews in the synagogue, but Paul says they have demonstrated they are unworthy of everlasting life. "Worthy" is best understood in light of Jesus’ statement in Matt. 22:8, "Then saith he to his servants, ‘The wedding is ready, but they which were bidden [invited] were not worthy.’" All they would have needed to do to be counted worthy was respond to the invitation. And that is all that was necessary for these Jews in Antioch. But since they refused, Paul said resolutely: "We turn to the Gentiles."
Paul made it clear that their decision was not an act of revenge against the Jews who opposed them. Far from it, it was according to the very purpose of God. Then Paul quotes from the scripture as evidence that God had indeed commanded them to go to the Gentiles. The verse he quotes is the last part of Isaiah 49:6. Though he quotes only the last part, his Jewish hearers knew not only the whole verse, but entire context of Isaiah 49. Is. 49:6 reads, "And he said, It is a light thing that thou shouldest be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to restore the preserved of Israel: I will also give thee for a light to the Gentiles, that thou mayest be my salvation unto the end of the earth." As part of one of the "servant passages" of Isaiah, these words were very well known.
Please turn to Isaiah 49, if you haven’t. Let’s read the first 3 verses… (Is. 49:1-3)
Listen, O isles, unto me; and hearken, ye people, from far; The LORD hath called me from the womb; from the bowels of my mother hath he made mention of my name. 2. And he hath made my mouth like a sharp sword; in the shadow of his hand hath he hid me, and made me a polished shaft; in his quiver hath he hid me; 3. And said unto me, Thou art my servant, O Israel, in whom I will be glorified.
Notice that the Lord addresses His servant with the words, "O Israel, in whom I will be glorified." It was the nation of Israel that was the Lord’s servant. But the tone begins to change in vs. 5, "And now, saith the LORD that formed me from the womb to be his servant, to bring Jacob again to him, Though Israel be not gathered, yet shall I be glorious in the eyes of the LORD, and my God shall be my strength." Now God is using the servant to bring His people Israel back to Him. The nation neglected its great privilege, and the fulfillment of this passage would be found in the one Israelite, who was faithful and true to all the Father willed. In that context, listen again to vs. 6, "And he said, It is a light thing that thou shouldest be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to restore the preserved of Israel: I will also give thee for a light to the Gentiles, that thou mayest be my salvation unto the end of the earth."
Praise God that He has a place for us Gentiles. It would have been quite a story for God to choose a people for Himself and glorify Himself in and through that people. But that wasn’t enough for our great God. That would have been a light thing. No, He would give His Son as a light to the Gentiles, to be His salvation to the end of the earth. There wouldn’t be a group of people anywhere in this world that would be excluded from His salvation. Praise His name!
When the Gentiles heard this, they were overjoyed at this good news. Can’t you see them jumping up and down and shouting at the top of their voices. The good news was for them too! "And as many as were ordained to eternal life believed." So among these Gentiles, who believed? Those who were ordained to eternal life. What does that mean? The word "ordained" simply means "to arrange, to appoint." The statement is simple and straightforward. Those who believed had been appointed to eternal life by God the Father, chosen in Him before the foundation of the world. This accord perfectly with the opening words of Jesus’ prayer in John 17:1-2, "These words spake Jesus, and lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, Father, the hour is come; glorify thy Son, that thy Son also may glorify thee: 2. As thou hast given him power [authority]over all flesh, that he should give eternal life to as many as thou hast given him."
The spread of the message wasn’t confined to the city of Antioch, but "the word of the Lord was published throughout all the region." Neighboring towns and villages received also received the message. But soon there was strong, organized opposition from the Jews of Antioch (obviously, the unbelieving Jews). As the Jewish leaders engineered opposition against Jesus, so these stirred up trouble among "devout and honorable women and the chief men of the city." These women may well have been the wives of the leading men of the city. But how can they be called "devout"? Though they were God-fearing women, they were not above being led astray by the very subtle and convincing arguments of these Jews, who were eaten up by jealousy. At any rate, the persecution that soon arose against Paul and Barnabas was strong enough to run them out of the city. As they left, they did what Jesus had told His twelve apostles to do, as recorded in Matt. 10:14, "And whosoever shall not receive you, nor hear your words, when ye depart out of that house or city, shake off the dust of your feet." It seems that this action was directed at the Jews of the city, rather than to the entire population. In effect, they were treating the Jews as if they were pagans, and that was exactly the way they were acting.
Now listen to verse 52, "And the disciples were filled with joy, and with the Holy Ghost." What a way to end the ministry in Antioch. Paul and Barnabas were gone, but that could not defeat the work of God’s Spirit. Their joy and life was not dependent upon any man, not even Paul and Barnabas. They were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit. Notice that the fulness of the Spirit was normal life for the Christian disciples of Antioch. This was not a special blessing for a few; it was the norm for all who belonged to Jesus. No doubt, they felt the effects of the persecution directed against Paul and Barnabas, but that could not dampen their joy in the Lord.
Conclusion
Isn’t this a thrilling story! Though Paul would continue to go the synagogue first, clearly the focus of the ministry is now upon the Gentiles. This pattern would be repeated again and again. Paul would go first to the synagogue, but the majority of the Jews there would reject his message. Then he would turn to the Gentiles. It would not be uncommon for the Jews to then stir up opposition against him.
As we think about this passage this week, let’s ask a couple of searching questions…
1. Have I responded to the true gospel of Jesus Christ?
2. Am I proclaiming the true gospel of Jesus Christ?
3. Like the Antioch disciples, am I filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit?
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