Lechem Panim #178 “A Harvest In Pisidian Antioch” (Acts 13:44-52) Pastor Cameron Ury

Hello and welcome to Lechem Panim!  We have been looking at the first missionary journey of Paul, who sets out with Barnabas from Jerusalem and have now come to Pisidian Antioch. And they go into the synagogue to share with those who have gathered there about the Good News of Jesus Christ. And there is a tremendous positive response. And word of Paul’s message spread like wildfire; and it says in…

Acts 13:44-45 (ESV)— 44 The next Sabbath almost the whole city gathered to hear the word of the Lord. {Now there was a also a negative reaction to this as well, as it says…} 45 But when the Jews saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy and began to contradict what was spoken by Paul, reviling him.

Jealous— And the chief word we have to latch onto here is jealousy. While the Jewish leaders undoubtedly tried to refute Paul with theological arguments, Luke emphasizes that their disdain was not because Paul was preaching things that were not true, but rather because he was winning the hearts of the people in a way that they never could; and so they were jealous. Now jealousy (unfortunately) is a common reaction; one that we often have when we see other’s excelling in ways we haven’t but want to; or when we see others receiving affirmation or praise in ways that we want to be affirmed or praised. And like it can happen with us today, these Jewish leaders allowed their jealousy to actually lead them into trying to stop the work of God. But the way we fight that jealousy in our hearts is by learning to rejoice in the work of God, no matter who is doing it.

Smart Hopis— You know, [Not long after the I.Q. (Intelligence Quotient) test was developed, several studies were conducted to find out how different groups of people scored on the test as groups. The test was administered to men and women, young and old, rich and poor, and many ethnic groups as well. It was in this context that the I.Q. test was given to a group of Hopi {(hoe-pee)} Indians. When the Hopi {(hoe-pee)} received the test, they immediately started to ask each other questions and to compare their answers. The instructor saw this happening, and quickly intervened, telling them that they each had to take the test alone. “You are not permitted to help each other or to share your answers among yourselves,” he told them. When the Hopi {(hoe-pee)} heard this, they were outraged and refused to take the test, saying, “It is not important that I am smarter than my brother, or that my brother is smarter than me. It is only important what we can do together!” 
    Unfortunately, we live in a world that puts a big emphasis on what we do alone. As a result, we suffer from all sorts of maladies: low self-esteem, competitiveness, jealousy, greed, anger, and hostility, to name a few. But God created us to live in community with each other—to work together, to share our resources with each other, to help each other out. The principle is love, not competitiveness and greed. In the body of Christ, no one is greater or more important than anyone else (see 1 Corinthians 12). Christianity is not a religion for “Lone Rangers.” We really do need each other.] But that was obviously not something these Jewish leaders understood. Now in response to the jealousy and persecution of the Jewish leaders, it says…

Acts 13:46 (ESV)— 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.

To The Jew First— And so we see here stressed once again the fact that God’s plan has always been that the Jewish nation would be the ones through whom the rest of the world would come to know God. God had said to Abram in…

Genesis 12:3 (ESV)— 3 I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” {And Paul highlights this in his continuing to quote from the Old Testament, saying in)…

Acts 13:47 (ESV)— 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.’”

Keeping The Pattern— You see, [God had planned for Israel to be this light (Isaiah 49:6.] Through Israel, Jesus (the Light of the World) came (Luke 3:32). And that light was meant to spread out even to the Gentiles. And so Paul still seeks to keep to that “Jew-first” pattern, preaching first to the Jew because he loved his people (Romans 9:1-5) and wanted them to experience the joy of joining with Him in proclaiming God’s salvation to the world. But unfortunately (as we said before) many Jews were resistant to the idea of Jesus being the Messiah because He didn’t fit into their mold of who they thought and wanted the Messiah to be; and many of them did not see (or want to believe) that God was offering salvation to anyone (Jew or Gentile) who was willing to place their faith in Christ. Now you can imagine what a shock this must have been to the Gentiles in the crowd; what a wonderful message of hope that even they might be brought into the family of God, which is why it says in…

Acts 13:48-50 (ESV)— 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.

The Truth Rejected— And so instead of accepting what God was saying through Paul, they reject the truth and drive both Paul and Barnabas out of town. And that’s what people almost always do when they come across a truth they don’t want to hear. It is much easier to close our ears or disregard the person sharing that truth than it is to receive that truth, especially if it is a truth that will require us to humble ourselves and make serious changes. But when God points something out in our lives that needs changing, we need to be sure not to pull away from Him; because if we continue to do that, we will eventually push the truth so far away from us that it will no longer affect us; and we will miss out on what God wants to do in and through each of our lives. And that’s what happened to the Jewish leaders in our passage today. But it says of Paul and Barnabas in…

Acts 13:51-52 (ESV)— 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.

Shaking The Dust— Now what’s with the shaking of the dust from their feet all about? Well it was actually customary during the time, whenever a Jew would leave a Gentile town to make their way back to their own land, to shake the dust off of their feet. Because remember they saw the Gentile regions as unclean; and so it was a symbolic way of cleansing themselves from the contamination of those people who did not worship God. Now what is remarkable here is that Paul and Barnabas are doing this not to Gentiles, but to the Jewish leaders, which was a powerful way of saying that because they had rejected the Good News of the Gospel of Jesus, they were not truly a part of Israel and were (in fact) no better than pagans. And this was something that Jesus Himself had commanded His followers to do in Mark 6:11. He [had told his disciples to shake from their feet the dust of any town that would not accept or listen to them (Mark 6:11).] The disciples were not at fault if the message was rejected. They only had to present it faithfully. And you know, the same is true of us. So often we think we are responsible for how people respond to our sharing of the message of the Gospel; but that is not true. We are only responsible for sharing the Gospel the best we can and trusting God for the rest. Ultimately, it is the responsibility of the hearer to respond; and for God to do the best He can to make that person as ready as possible to receive that word from you. And so for us, all we need to worry about is getting out there. We will not be judged for people’s rejection of the Gospel. But we will be judged for not sharing the Gospel. And so let that be an encouragement to you. If somebody rejects you, simply shake it off and keep going. In sharing in the rejection of Jesus, you are in the company of great men and women who have gone before you.

Maybe The Hearer— But maybe today you are not the speaker; maybe you are the hearer. Maybe God is moving you to respond to the Gospel in a way you haven’t before; maybe even to make a decision to receive Jesus Christ for the first time. If that is the case, I would like to invite you to pray this prayer with me today:
    Dear Lord Jesus, I know that I am a sinner, and I ask for Your forgiveness. I believe You died for my sins and rose from the dead. I turn from my sins and invite You to come into my heart and life. I want to trust and follow You as my Lord and Savior. If you prayed that prayer today, then you have crossed from death to life; and you have cause to celebrate, because you also have become a part of the family of God. And so rejoice today. But also remember that that joy is not for you alone; you must take the light you have embraced and received into the world so that the world also may know the light of God’s salvation. The Lord has made you a light for the nations, so that you might bring salvation to the ends of the earth. May you be a blessing to all the families of the earth as you seek for those open doors to share the Good News of Christ with those you encounter. Amen.