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In Christ, Mark
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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.
But the Jewish leaders incited the God-fearing women of high standing and the leading men of the city. They stirred up persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and expelled them from their region.
So they shook the dust off their feet as a warning to them and went to Iconium. And the disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.
Acts 13:50-52
This ends today’s reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.
It was just too much to handle for the Jewish religious leaders in Pisidian Antioch who witnessed nearly the whole city showing up eager to hear the word of the Lord from an apostle of Jesus named Paul. Fearing they were losing their spiritual status and popularity with the people, they embarked on a smear campaign against Paul and Barnabas, heaping abuse upon them while contradicting their teaching.
And so the two apostles took their Gospel message to the people who were eager and excited to receive it, the Gentiles who the prophet Isaiah predicted Jesus would be a light to (Acts 13:47). The Jews rejected Jesus and, in doing so, showed that they considered themselves unworthy of His offer of salvation. That benefit went instead to the Gentile believers who the scriptures tell us were “appointed for eternal life” as they “honored the way of the Lord”. And as a result of this focused Gospel ministry to the Gentiles, we read in Acts 13 that “the word of the Lord spread through the whole region”.
It seemed like the movement sparked by Paul and Barnabas was unstoppable but as we see in the final verses of this chapter, opposition escalated to the point where the two apostles had to leave Pisidian Antioch and turn elsewhere to do their work for the cause of Christ. Look again verses 50 through 52:
But the Jewish leaders incited the God-fearing women of high standing and the leading men of the city. They stirred up persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and expelled them from their region.
So they shook the dust off their feet as a warning to them and went to Iconium. And the disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit. Acts 13:50-52
Here we see the Jewish religious authorities were not giving up in getting their way. In Jerusalem, we saw the same game plan used against Jesus, before and after his passing. The Jewish leaders stirred up insurrection and persecution against Paul and Barnabas from the men and women of the city, before expelling them from the region.
Did Paul or Barnabas offer up any resistance?
Not really. Instead the scriptures tell us that they shook the dust off their feet as a warning, an act that hearkened back to Jesus and His instruction to His disciples when He sent them off to do work in His name. He said this in the Gospel of Matthew:
“If anyone will not welcome you or listen to your words, leave that home or town and shake the dust off your feet. Truly I tell you, it will be more bearable for Sodom and Gomorrah on the day of judgment than for that town.” Matthew 10:14-15
Paul and Barnabas were well versed in all of Jesus’ teachings and wise guidance. So they left Pisidian Antioch, who would have to answer for their sinful rejection of Jesus, and went onto Iconium which was located in Galatia, to the east of Pisidian Antioch and northeast of Lystra.
Did the two apostles turn elsewhere to spread the Gospel with sad hearts?
Nope. For the scriptures tell us that both men were filled with joy and the Holy Spirit as they moved onto the next place the Lord would lead them to.
This is the important takeaway for us today. For our evangelism work for the cause of Jesus isn’t always going to be silky smooth. There will be veritable bumps in the road and when they come, we need to know the Lord will show us the way through. If we get rejected for the cause of Christ, He’ll lead us somewhere else to share it. When one door closes, He’s always ready to open up another one.
We just need to be ready to walk through when He does and then carry out His purposes, just as Paul and Barnabas did.
Amen.
In Christ,
Mark
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