A HUNGER FOR THE TRUTH

ACTS 13:14-52

NASB

14 But going on from Perga, they arrived at Pisidian Antioch, and on the Sabbath day they went into the synagogue and sat down. 15 After the reading of the Law and the Prophets the synagogue officials sent to them, saying, “Brethren, if you have any word of exhortation for the people, say it.” 16 Paul stood up, and motioning with his hand said,

“Men of Israel, and you who fear God, listen: 17 The God of this people Israel chose our fathers and [a]made the people great during their stay in the land of Egypt, and with an uplifted arm He led them out from it. 18 For a period of about forty years He put up with them in the wilderness. 19 When He had destroyed seven nations in the land of Canaan, He distributed their land as an inheritance —all of which took about four hundred and fifty years. 20 After these things He gave them judges until Samuel the prophet. 21 Then they asked for a king, and God gave them Saul the son of Kish, a man of the tribe of Benjamin, for forty years. 22 After He had removed him, He raised up David to be their king, concerning whom He also testified and said, ‘I HAVE FOUND DAVID the son of Jesse, A MAN AFTER MY HEART, who will do all My [a]will.’ 23 From the descendants of this man, according to promise, God has brought to Israel a Savior, Jesus, 24 after John had proclaimed before [a]His coming a baptism of repentance to all the people of Israel. 25 And while John was completing his course, he kept saying, ‘What do you suppose that I am? I am not He. But behold, one is coming after me the sandals of whose feet I am not worthy to untie.’

26 “Brethren, sons of Abraham’s family, and those among you who fear God, to us the message of this salvation has been sent. 27 For those who live in Jerusalem, and their rulers, recognizing neither Him nor the [a]utterances of the prophets which are read every Sabbath, fulfilled these by condemning Him. 28 And though they found no ground for putting Him to death, they asked Pilate that He be [a]executed. 29 When they had carried out all that was written concerning Him, they took Him down from the [a]cross and laid Him in a tomb. 30 But God raised Him from the dead; 31 and for many days He appeared to those who came up with Him from Galilee to Jerusalem, the very ones who are now His witnesses to the people. 32 And we preach to you the good news of the promise made to the fathers, 33 that God has fulfilled this promise [a]to our children in that He raised up Jesus, as it is also written in the second Psalm, ‘YOU ARE MY SON; TODAY I HAVE BEGOTTEN YOU.’ 34 As for the fact that He raised Him up from the dead, no longer to return to decay, He has spoken in this way: ‘I WILL GIVE YOU THE HOLY and [a]SURE blessings OF DAVID.’ 35 Therefore He also says in another Psalm, ‘YOU WILL NOT [a]ALLOW YOUR [b]HOLY ONE TO [c]UNDERGO DECAY.’ 36 For David, after he had [a]served the purpose of God in his own generation, fell asleep, and was laid among his fathers and [b]underwent decay; 37 but He whom God raised did not [a]undergo decay. 38 Therefore let it be known to you, brethren, that through [a]Him forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you, 39 and [a]through Him everyone who believes is [b]freed [c]from all things, from which you could not be [b]freed [c]through the Law of Moses. 40 Therefore take heed, so that the thing spoken of in the Prophets may not come upon you:

41 ‘BEHOLD, YOU SCOFFERS, AND MARVEL, AND [a]PERISH;

FOR I AM ACCOMPLISHING A WORK IN YOUR DAYS,

A WORK WHICH YOU WILL NEVER BELIEVE, THOUGH SOMEONE SHOULD DESCRIBE IT TO YOU.’”

42 As [a]Paul and Barnabas were going out, the people kept begging that these [b]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 [a]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 [a]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 [a]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 [a]BRING SALVATION TO THE END OF THE EARTH.’”

48 When the Gentiles heard this, they began rejoicing and glorifying the word of [a]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 [a]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 [b]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.

13:17 [a]Or exalted  13:22 [a]Lit wishes  13:24 [a]Lit the face of His entering  13:27 [a]Lit voices  13:28 [a]Lit destroyed  13:29 [a]Lit wood  13:33 [a]Late mss read to us their children  13:34 [a]Lit trustworthy  13:35 [a]Lit give  [b]Or Devout or Pious  [c]Lit see corruption  13:36 [a]Or served his own generation by the purpose of God  [b]Lit saw corruption  13:37 [a]Lit see corruption  13:38 [a]Lit this One  13:39 [a]Lit in or by  [b]Lit justified  [c]Lit by  13:41 [a]Lit disappear  13:42 [a]Lit they  [b]Lit words  13:43 [a]I.e. Gentile converts to Judaism  13:44 [a]One early ms reads God  13:45 [a]Or slandering him  13:47 [a]Lit be for salvation  13:48 [a]Two early mss read God  13:50 [a]Or worshiping  [b]Lit boundaries 

NLT

14 But Paul and Barnabas traveled inland to Antioch of Pisidia.[*]

On the Sabbath they went to the synagogue for the services. 15 After the usual readings from the books of Moses[*] and the prophets, those in charge of the service sent them this message: “Brothers, if you have any word of encouragement for the people, come and give it.”

16 So Paul stood, lifted his hand to quiet them, and started speaking. “Men of Israel,” he said, “and you God-fearing Gentiles, listen to me.

17 “The God of this nation of Israel chose our ancestors and made them multiply and grow strong during their stay in Egypt. Then with a powerful arm he led them out of their slavery. 18 He put up with them[*] through forty years of wandering in the wilderness. 19 Then he destroyed seven nations in Canaan and gave their land to Israel as an inheritance. 20 All this took about 450 years.

“After that, God gave them judges to rule until the time of Samuel the prophet. 21 Then the people begged for a king, and God gave them Saul son of Kish, a man of the tribe of Benjamin, who reigned for forty years. 22 But God removed Saul and replaced him with David, a man about whom God said, ‘I have found David son of Jesse, a man after my own heart. He will do everything I want him to do.’[*]

23 “And it is one of King David’s descendants, Jesus, who is God’s promised Savior of Israel! 24 Before he came, John the Baptist preached that all the people of Israel needed to repent of their sins and turn to God and be baptized. 25 As John was finishing his ministry he asked, ‘Do you think I am the Messiah? No, I am not! But he is coming soon —and I’m not even worthy to be his slave and untie the sandals on his feet.’

26 “Brothers —you sons of Abraham, and also you God-fearing Gentiles —this message of salvation has been sent to us! 27 The people in Jerusalem and their leaders did not recognize Jesus as the one the prophets had spoken about. Instead, they condemned him, and in doing this they fulfilled the prophets’ words that are read every Sabbath. 28 They found no legal reason to execute him, but they asked Pilate to have him killed anyway.

29 “When they had done all that the prophecies said about him, they took him down from the cross[*] and placed him in a tomb. 30 But God raised him from the dead! 31 And over a period of many days he appeared to those who had gone with him from Galilee to Jerusalem. They are now his witnesses to the people of Israel.

32 “And now we are here to bring you this Good News. The promise was made to our ancestors, 33 and God has now fulfilled it for us, their descendants, by raising Jesus. This is what the second psalm says about Jesus:

‘You are my Son.

Today I have become your Father.[*]’

34 For God had promised to raise him from the dead, not leaving him to rot in the grave. He said, ‘I will give you the sacred blessings I promised to David.’[*] 35 Another psalm explains it more fully: ‘You will not allow your Holy One to rot in the grave.’[*] 36 This is not a reference to David, for after David had done the will of God in his own generation, he died and was buried with his ancestors, and his body decayed. 37 No, it was a reference to someone else —someone whom God raised and whose body did not decay.

38[*]“Brothers, listen! We are here to proclaim that through this man Jesus there is forgiveness for your sins. 39 Everyone who believes in him is made right in God’s sight —something the law of Moses could never do. 40 Be careful! Don’t let the prophets’ words apply to you. For they said,

41 ‘Look, you mockers,

be amazed and die!

For I am doing something in your own day,

something you wouldn’t believe

even if someone told you about it.’[*]”

42 As Paul and Barnabas left the synagogue that day, the people begged them to speak about these things again the next week. 43 Many Jews and devout converts to Judaism followed Paul and Barnabas, and the two men urged them to continue to rely on the grace of God.

44 The following week almost the entire city turned out to hear them preach the word of the Lord. 45 But when some of the Jews saw the crowds, they were jealous; so they slandered Paul and argued against whatever he said.

46 Then Paul and Barnabas spoke out boldly and declared, “It was necessary that we first preach the word of God to you Jews. But since you have rejected it and judged yourselves unworthy of eternal life, we will offer it to the Gentiles. 47 For the Lord gave us this command when he said,

‘I have made you a light to the Gentiles,

to bring salvation to the farthest corners of the earth.’[*]”

48 When the Gentiles heard this, they were very glad and thanked the Lord for his message; and all who were chosen for eternal life became believers. 49 So the Lord’s message spread throughout that region.

50 Then the Jews stirred up the influential religious women and the leaders of the city, and they incited a mob against Paul and Barnabas and ran them out of town. 51 So they shook the dust from their feet as a sign of rejection and went to the town of Iconium. 52 And the believers[*] were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.

[13:13-14] Pamphylia and Pisidia were districts in what is now Turkey.   [13:15] Greek from the law.   [13:18] Some manuscripts read He cared for them; compare Deut 1:31.   [13:22] 1 Sam 13:14.   [13:29] Greek from the tree.   [13:33] Or Today I reveal you as my Son. Ps 2:7.   [13:34] Isa 55:3.   [13:35] Ps 16:10.   [13:38] English translations divide verses 38 and 39 in various ways.   [13:41] Hab 1:5 (Greek version).   [13:47] Isa 49:6.   [13:52] Greek the disciples.  

Tucked away in the Old Testament is the oracle of an unlikely, unconventional prophet named Amos. He wasn’t a sophisticated man. Far from it. This weather-beaten, sunbaked, rugged man of God neither came from royal stock nor benefited from the formal education available to aristocrats. He learned to read and write, like all Hebrew boys, but he never claimed to be a philosopher or a theologian. In fact, when challenged by an apostate priest with impressive credentials, he simply said, “I am not a prophet, nor am I the son of a prophet; for I am a herdsman and a grower of sycamore figs. But the LORD took me from following the flock and the LORD said to me, ‘Go prophesy to My people Israel’” (Amos 7:14-15).

Through Amos, the Lord warned Israel of a famine:

“Not a famine for bread or a thirst for water,

But rather for hearing the words of the LORD.

People will stagger from sea to sea

And from the north even to the east;

They will go to and fro to seek the word of the LORD,

But they will not find it.” (Amos 8:11-12)

Eventually, the Lord’s prediction came to pass, most notably after the postexilic prophet Malachi put down his pen four hundred years before the birth of Christ. Then, the Word of God became flesh in the person of Jesus. After His ascension (Acts 1:9), the Word of God came in the power of the Holy Spirit (2:4). But it was largely a localized event at first, limited to Judea, Samaria, and Galilee. Some urban centers around the empire began to hear the gospel proclaimed by scattered Christians escaping persecution, but for the most part, the world outside Israel remained in the dark. Vast stretches of territory remained under a severe famine —“not a famine for bread or a thirst for water, but rather for hearing the words of the LORD.” As Paul, Barnabas, and their small support team set foot on the mainland of Pamphylia and began their trek across the mountain range into the interior, communities of Jews gathered for worship —all starving to hear the word of God. All around these obscure synagogues, Gentiles lived like sheep without a shepherd.

— 13:14-15 —

Having said farewell to John Mark, who had boarded a ship for home, Paul and Barnabas led their team 100 miles north, up 3,600 feet over the southern stretch of the Taurus Mountains, and into the region called Pisidia, which lay in the rugged southern half of the Roman province of Galatia. Paul’s later letter to the Galatians indicated that he was not in good health (malaria?) after the trek (Gal. 4:13), and the defenseless team may have fallen victim to bandits who famously preyed on travelers in that area.

Pisidian Antioch —not to be confused with Paul’s sending church in Syrian Antioch —had become a sizable city in the first century. To Romanize the area, Augustus had established several colonist cities and linked them with the Via Sebaste, an east–west highway leading from Ephesus, stretching across modern-day Turkey and through the Cilician Gates, and reaching all the way to the Euphrates.[129] Antioch already existed before Augustus, but it became a popular location for colonists and quickly grew into the most important city on this route.

According to Josephus, two thousand Jewish families were relocated to this area around 200 BC, and the existence of a synagogue in Antioch implies that many remained there by the time of Paul. They were Hellenized, spoke Greek, and were cut off from Jerusalem by both distance and terrain; only the most ardent Jews would have made the journey for the festivals, and they probably didn’t receive a lot of visits from rabbis. Even so, this area attracted a significant number of Gentile “God-fearers.”[130]

When Paul, Barnabas, and the others arrived in Antioch, they visited the synagogue, a logical place to start. As Jews, they would find a receptive community in the synagogue, which gave them easier access to the rest of the society. Besides, their first converts should be among fellow Jews who shared their monotheistic worldview. Paul and Barnabas could build upon a shared understanding of who God is and how the ministry of the Messiah should affect them personally.

Beginning their work among the Jews served another important purpose. Their association with the local synagogue identified the evangelists as representatives of the Hebrew God as opposed to some other, unknown deity. Gentile pagans may have worshiped their pantheon, but their association with Jews made them aware of the One Creator God worshiped in the synagogue. Paul and Barnabas wanted everyone to know that Jesus Christ had come to earth as this God —the Hebrew God —in human flesh.

For all these reasons, beginning their work among the Jews in any particular location became the paradigm for first contact in a new area.

The men entered the synagogue and sat in the congregation as fellow worshipers. They had introduced themselves earlier and had undoubtedly explained their association with the temple. Paul may have offered his services as a man schooled under the great rabbi and Pharisee Gamaliel. So, after the customary reading of the Scriptures, the officials invited Paul to preach to the congregation (Acts 13:15), a mixed group of natural-born Jews, proselytes, and “God-fearers,” that is, Gentiles interested in Jewish thought.

— 13:16-18 —

This is one of several Pauline sermons described by Luke in the book of Acts (cf. 14:15-17; 17:22-31; 20:18-35). This is not a transcript of the apostle’s address; it’s an annotated outline summarizing his major points. Nevertheless, this discourse is the most detailed of all, providing a fairly complete look at his method of reasoning. He typically began by affirming points of agreement, creating intellectual and theological rapport with his audience. In this case, he alluded to no fewer than twelve Old Testament books as he recounted the story of the Lord’s relationship with the nation of Israel, beginning with the patriarchs. Paul followed the Jewish custom of remembering God’s faithfulness to Israel during difficult times.

In the first section of his sermon (13:16-22), Paul summarized Jewish history, acknowledging at least four points typically highlighted in Jewish confessions of faith:

Paul highlighted the fact that Israel’s unfaithfulness had led to divine chastisement. The people’s refusal to enter Canaan, fueled by fear of the inhabitants and distrust of God’s promises, prompted a forty-year sojourn in the wilderness (Num. 14:34). The expression “put up with them in the wilderness” (Acts 13:18) reflects Moses’ lament: “‘In the wilderness where you saw how the LORD your God carried you, just as a man carries his son, in all the way which you have walked until you came to this place.’ But for all this, you did not trust the LORD your God” (Deut. 1:31-32).

— 13:19-22 —

Paul then summarized Israel’s governmental eras from the conquest of Canaan to the reign of David. He gave credit to the Lord for destroying her enemies in the land. God —not Joshua or his army —had defeated the seven nations and given the land to Israel’s twelve tribes as He promised (13:19). The conquest led to the period of the judges, an especially shameful time in Hebrew history. During this time, the Israelites followed a downward spiral marked by a repeating pattern: disobedience earned affliction, affliction prompted repentance, repentance brought rescue, rescue inspired revival, and then revival dissolved into deeper disobedience. Finally, the moral decay became so acute that God appointed the prophet Samuel to lead the nation (13:20).

Eventually, the people rejected the Lord’s administration-via-prophet, preferring to be like their neighbors who had kings. So, God gave them Saul (13:21), who started out well and then became a megalomaniac. After his forty-year reign ended in failure and suicide, the Lord put David on the throne, a man who loved Him and ruled righteously. To characterize David’s rule, Paul noted that he was a man after God’s heart (13:22; cf. Ps. 89:20; 1 Sam. 13:14).

Paul’s short history of Israel highlighted three facts, each with an important implication:

— 13:23-25 —

Paul immediately recalled what every Jew understood. Even though David was a good king —the best Israel ever had —he was not perfect. He fell short of being the kind of king God would have ruling His kingdom, and so did each of David’s descendants. Even so, God had promised the nation that a worthy king would descend from David and ascend the throne of Israel (13:23). The Jews referred to this promised King as their Messiah —not merely an anointed one, but the Anointed One.

Paul boldly proclaimed Jesus as this Messiah, the Savior of the world. The people in Pisidian Antioch had undoubtedly heard of John the Baptizer. Paul’s reference seems to assume their knowledge of his ministry (13:24-25). Everyone had revered John as a genuine prophet of God, the first since Malachi had stopped writing four hundred years earlier. Nevertheless, Paul quoted John’s statement that the coming Messiah would far exceed him in every respect. This statement, “I am not He. But behold, one is coming after me the sandals of whose feet I am not worthy to untie,” is attested in each of the four Gospels (13:25; cf. Matt. 3:11; Mark 1:7; Luke 3:16; and John 1:27). Consequently, everyone knew John as the forerunner of the Christ.

— 13:26-31 —

At last, Paul came to the crux of his message: the life, sacrificial death, and resurrection of Jesus. Addressing his audience as “brethren, sons of Abraham’s family” (13:26), he identified himself as a Jew who shared their concerns as Jews. He said, in effect, “I am one of you, and I have great news concerning the Messiah we have all anticipated.” He did, however, separate himself from the religious leaders in Jerusalem, accusing them of ignoring the very Scriptures the synagogue had just read aloud and of killing their Messiah (13:27-28). He noted that their actions in killing Jesus fulfilled predictions concerning the Messiah (13:29), further validating Jesus as the Christ. Furthermore, he referenced the eyewitness testimonies of Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection, obviously including himself (13:30-31).

— 13:32-37 —

Paul validated his claim of prophetic fulfillment by quoting several Old Testament passages concerning the Messiah:

“I will surely tell of the decree of the LORD:

He said to Me, ‘You are My Son,

Today I have begotten You.’”

(Ps. 2:7; cf. Acts 13:33)

“Incline your ear and come to Me.

Listen, that you may live;

And I will make an everlasting covenant with you,

According to the faithful mercies shown to David.”

(Isa. 55:3; cf. Acts 13:34)

For You will not abandon my soul to Sheol;

Nor will You allow Your Holy One to undergo decay.

(Ps. 16:10; cf. Acts 13:35)

Those who expected the Christ to be a political and military leader naturally believed that death invalidated any claim to be the Messiah. Paul argued the contrary. Each messianic prophecy he quoted finds fulfillment in the resurrection of the Messiah. By that line of reasoning, only someone who died and rose from the grave could claim to be the Christ. To make his point clear, he compared King David with Jesus. King David, acknowledged by all to be a great king died after a long life of obedience, and then his body rotted in a grave. Clearly, his death didn’t invalidate his life. Jesus, on the other hand, was bodily and miraculously resurrected by the Father and continues to live. Therefore, He must be greater than David.

Notably, Paul didn’t claim that Jesus ruled over Israel. At the time, Israel had no king. The temple officials and Jewish aristocrats who rejected Jesus had seen in Herod Agrippa I everything they longed to see in the Messiah, but worms ate him from the inside and he died just three years into his reign (12:23). Nevertheless, Jesus did not rule as the King of the Jews. His position recalls the ordeal suffered by David, who endured a long period in the wilderness while Saul, no longer God’s choice, continued to usurp the throne. Jesus is the legitimate King, but He does not yet rule Israel.

— 13:38-41 —

Paul concludes his sermon with an application based on the three facts and implications he had established earlier (13:19-22):

First, the Lord would continue to be faithful to Israel in spite of her disobedience; He sent the Messiah to grant forgiveness of sins. Second, God’s form of government over Israel had evolved; Jesus had superseded the Law as Israel’s rule of government. Third, the Lord had replaced a bad king, Saul, with a good king, David; Jesus should be embraced as the ultimate King. Quoting Habakkuk, who prophesied during the last days before Babylon carried Israel into exile, Paul warned the Jews not to reject Jesus as the Christ (13:41, quoting Hab. 1:5). He also encouraged them to find complete forgiveness of sins —justification —through faith in Jesus, in spite of their inability to fully obey the Law (Acts 13:38-39).

— 13:42-43 —

Paul’s sermon was a lot for his hearers to take in. He called for the Jews of Pisidian Antioch to break with the religious leaders in Jerusalem and to embrace Jesus as the Messiah. Moreover, he preached that faith in the Messiah would result in the forgiveness of sins. Even so, the response was overwhelmingly positive; the synagogue members invited Paul and Barnabas to return the following Sabbath (13:42), and some members followed them that day to hear more immediately (13:43).

— 13:44-47 —

Luke’s statement that “nearly the whole city assembled” (13:44) is most likely hyperbole, meaning that a massive crowd assembled to hear Paul. The population of the city and its environs at the time would have been around fifty thousand people;[131] excavations have revealed a theater large enough to hold perhaps five thousand people,[132] which would have been a significant gathering. Regardless, a large enough crowd gathered to anger “the Jews” (13:45).

Again, Luke uses the designation “the Jews” in a technical sense to denote religious leaders opposed to the gospel Paul had declared. The word translated “jealousy” connects this incident with the “jealousy” of the high priest and the Sanhedrin after the success of Peter’s preaching in the temple (5:17). These local Jewish leaders argued against Paul’s reasoning. They “began contradicting” (antilegō [483]) Paul, but this was no simple theological debate; the men also “were blaspheming” (blasphēmeō [987]) Paul. We often think of blasphemy only in religious contexts, but to blaspheme is to curse, slander, or treat someone with contempt. Blasphemy is any manner of speech that disregards or disrespects the value of another.

Paul and Barnabas refused to become embroiled in a lengthy verbal dispute. Rather than waste time on people who refused to believe, they responded with a sharp rebuke, vowing to carry the good news to those eager to believe. Paul declared that the Jews of Antioch had proven to “repudiate” (apōtheō [683]) the gospel, which describes a response of the will; by doing this, they “[judged themselves] unworthy of eternal life” (13:46). While God considered them worthy not only as “sons of the covenant,” but also as individuals needing grace, they counted themselves out of salvation.

When Paul and Barnabas declared they would be “turning to the Gentiles” —that is, proclaiming the Messiah to non-Jews —they quoted Isaiah (13:47; cf. Isa. 42:6; 49:6). God always had intended for Israel to be His “light to the nations” so that Gentiles might hear and turn to the Lord. Paul and Barnabas said, in effect, “You continue your tradition of unfaithful disobedience; we, as faithful Jews, will fulfill our purpose as God’s covenant people.”

— 13:48 —

The response of the Gentiles is a stark contrast with that of the Jewish leaders. They “began rejoicing and glorifying the word of the Lord”! It’s as though two sons of a king had listened to the reading of their father’s will and the older refused his right of succession while the younger rejoiced to find that his father had thought him worthy to inherit anything. The Gentiles were hungry for this word from the Lord and rejoiced to receive it. Luke’s description of the Gentile response to the gospel clearly highlights God’s election, His sovereign predestination (see Rom. 8:28-30; Eph. 1:4-5, 11). The verb translated “appointed” is in the perfect tense in Greek, which is used to describe an action that was completed in the past with continuing results. The verb is in the passive voice, and scholars call this instance a “divine passive,” indicating that God is the subject. Those who had been appointed believed. The great majority of them were Gentiles, which is ironic. The chosen people of God, the Jews, believed they were God’s elect, destined by their heritage for salvation, yet they rejected their Messiah. Those who believed —most of them Gentiles —did so because they were appointed beforehand.

— 13:49-52 —

Luke closes the episode with another summary statement describing the ministry of Paul and Barnabas in the area. The gospel “spread through the whole region” (13:49). They followed through on their promise to proclaim Jesus the Messiah to Gentiles, and the positive response prompted the Jewish religious leaders to begin a campaign of persecution against them. They urged the aristocratic women —most of them Gentile converts to Judaism —to lobby their husbands for the expulsion of Paul and Barnabas. To convince the leading men of the city, the Jews would have to demonstrate that getting rid of the Christian evangelists was in the best interests of the city. They succeeded, and “drove them out of their district” (13:50).

So Paul and Barnabas “shook off the dust of their feet” and left for Iconium (13:51). The act of shaking dust off their feet recalls the instructions of Jesus (Luke 9:5) as well as a tradition among devout Jews, who used the gesture to illustrate their separation from unbelievers. Many did this when returning to Judea after a trip to pagan cities. They didn’t want to mingle polluted dust with their own home soil or risk carrying pagan dust into the temple. Meanwhile, back in Pisidian Antioch, “the disciples were continually filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit” (Acts 13:52)!

APPLICATION: ACTS 13:14-52

How to Bring a Feast to a Famine

When Paul and Barnabas entered Pisidian Antioch, they found a city starved for the Word of God. The city had at least one synagogue and was perhaps dotted with several more, given the large Jewish population. These places of worship had apparently attracted a significant number of Gentile proselytes and “God-fearers,” but for all its religion, the entire city lacked what it needed most —forgiveness of sins.

Paul told the people of Antioch something they had never heard: “Through [Jesus Christ] everyone who believes is freed from all things, from which you could not be freed through the Law of Moses” (13:39). Justification by grace through faith was not new teaching; that had always been the message of salvation. The prophet Isaiah illustrated the Lord’s invitation to receive the forgiveness of sins through faith this way:

“Ho! Every one who thirsts, come to the waters;

And you who have no money come, buy and eat.

Come, buy wine and milk

Without money and without cost.

Why do you spend money for what is not bread,

And your wages for what does not satisfy?

Listen carefully to Me, and eat what is good,

And delight yourself in abundance. . . .”

Seek the LORD while He may be found;

Call upon Him while He is near.

Let the wicked forsake his way

And the unrighteous man his thoughts;

And let him return to the LORD,

And He will have compassion on him,

And to our God,

For He will abundantly pardon. (Isa. 55:1-2, 6-7)

To the starving people of Antioch, Paul and Barnabas had brought a feast! Strangely, though, the people gave a mixed response to the offer of spiritually nourishing food. Some rejoiced and ate; many rejected it and starved. How the apostles responded suggests two principles of evangelism.

First, when there’s a famine in the land, feed the hungry and ignore the rest. That might sound harsh, but when there’s a job to do, you must stay focused. Paul and Barnabas devoted their time to preaching to those hungry for the truth. When the synagogue leaders shut them down, they preached to the Gentiles. When the town became inhospitable, they shook the dust from their feet and sought more hungry people down the highway.

Second, you can’t feed people who don’t want to eat. Paul and Barnabas didn’t try to talk fools out of their foolishness. They called rebellion what it was and looked for people starving for wisdom. They preached only to those who wanted to hear the word of God. By feeding only those who wanted to eat, they gave an opportunity for the hungry to respond to the call of God.

By following those two simple guidelines, Paul and Barnabas covered a lot of ground in a short time. They bore the great responsibility of proclaiming the gospel where it had not been heard, but they didn’t take on the responsibility for how people responded. This gave them courage in the face of the unknown and resiliency in response to opposition.