Intro to Acts 13:42-52

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 2/27/2018 9:42 AM

My Worship Time                                                                             Focus:  Intro to Acts 13:42-52

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                 Reference:  Acts 13:42-52

            Message of the verses:  “42 As Paul and Barnabas were going out, the people kept begging that these things might be spoken to them the next Sabbath. 43 Now when the meeting of the synagogue had broken up, many of the Jews and of the God-fearing proselytes followed Paul and Barnabas, who, speaking to them, were urging them to continue in the grace of God. 44 The next Sabbath nearly the whole city assembled to hear the word of the Lord. 45 But when the Jews saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy and began contradicting the things spoken by Paul, and were blaspheming. 46 Paul and Barnabas spoke out boldly and said, "It was necessary that the word of God be spoken to you first; since you repudiate it and judge yourselves unworthy of eternal life, behold, we are turning to the Gentiles. 47 “For so the Lord has commanded us, ’I HAVE PLACED YOU AS A LIGHT FOR THE GENTILES, THAT YOU MAY BRING SALVATION TO THE END OF THE EARTH.’" 48 When the Gentiles heard this, they began rejoicing and glorifying the word of the Lord; and as many as had been appointed to eternal life believed. 49 And the word of the Lord was being spread through the whole region. 50 But the Jews incited the devout women of prominence and the leading men of the city, and instigated a persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and drove them out of their district. 51 But they shook off the dust of their feet in protest against them and went to Iconium. 52 And the disciples were continually filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.”

            John MacArthur entitles this third chapter in his second commentary on the book of Acts “The Troubling Gospel,” and when one thinks about that the gospel is truly troubling to many people who want nothing to do with it.  Paul states in Romans 1:16 “16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.”  The Greek word for power gives us the English word dynamite, so we get an idea how powerful the gospel is as it changes lives for those who accept it.  As I think about the death of Billy Graham, I can’t help but think of how powerful his presentation of the gospel was to millions and millions of people.  I remember that there was a pastor from a Lutheran church who went to hear Billy Graham in Cleveland, Ohio one time when Mr. Graham was preaching and this pastor got saved, as he accepted Christ after hearing Billy Graham preach.  When he came back to his church it also changed and became a light in our community. 

            John MacArthur writes “When the gospel is preached power and conviction, the results can also be negatively explosive.  For the gospel first confronts sinners with the law and judgment, then the grace of God in Christ.  Such a confrontation and exposure of guilt, shame, and doom, along with the offer of salvation by grace, demands a response; it often forces people to rather passionate rejection.  It exposes them as the helpless sinners they are and strips them of their self-righteous pretenses and aspirations.  And that stripping often infuriates those who reject the message.”

            We could see this from the first preacher in the New Testament, John the Baptist as seen in John 1:19-22 “19 This is the testimony of John, when the Jews sent to him priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, "Who are you?" 20 And he confessed and did not deny, but confessed, "I am not the Christ." 21 They asked him, "What then? Are you Elijah?" And he said, "I am not." "Are you the Prophet?" And he answered, "No." 22 Then they said to him, "Who are you, so that we may give an answer to those who sent us? What do you say about yourself?"”  Once the Jews heard about John, I suppose that you could say that they were jealous of him and so they sent men to talk to him.

            Jesus says in Matthew 10:34-36 “34 “Do not think that I came to bring peace on the earth; I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. 35 "For I came to SET A MAN AGAINST HIS FATHER, AND A DAUGHTER AGAINST HER MOTHER, AND A DAUGHTER-IN-LAW AGAINST HER MOTHER-IN-LAW; 36 and A MAN’S ENEMIES WILL BE THE MEMBERS OF HIS HOUSEHOLD.”

            After Jesus died for our sins and then went into heaven we have seen in the book of Acts how the gospel has brought both salvation and also persecution as the apostles began to preach it.  Now that we are in the second part of the book we will see that mostly the Jews are the ones who are bringing about persecution to the early church. 

            As we bring this to our day we still see that conflict will often occur when the true gospel is preached.  The gospel is offensive to those who do not accept it, and that brings up once again one of my pet peeves which is evolution.  Mankind was so offended with the gospel that they had to invent something that is impossible to happen so that men and women, boys and girls can say we are here by an accident and not here because the God in heaven has created us and we are accountable to Him. 

            As I usually do when we begin a new chapter from John MacArthur’s commentary I quote the last paragraph so we can understand the outline that he has written:  “Acts 13:42-52 finds Paul land Barnabas in Pisidian Antioch.  Here, too, the gospel would prove divisive.  Like a giant boulder cast into a tiny pond, it shattered the surface calm between the city’s various ethnic groups.  The passage describes the differing reactions to the sermon Paul had just preached (13:16-41).  The initial reaction seemed positive; the subsequent response was mixed.”  

            We will look at those two reactions and the sub-titles under them as we move through this last section of chapter 13 of the book of Acts.

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  I realize that the gospel is offensive to many people, but that does not mean that I should not tell people the truth of the gospel, for those who do not accept the forgiveness that Christ offers will die without Christ into a Christless eternity.

My Steps of Faith for Today:  Continue to trust the Lord that He will use my Spiritual Diaries to cause people to understand and accept the gospel.

Answer to yesterday’s Bible question:  “Acts.”

Today’s Bible question:  “In the tabernacle, above the mercy seat, were spread wings of what?”

Answer in our next SD.

2/27/2018 10:17 AM