Well, good morning. So we are continuing our study of the Book of Acts. And I need to get my computer up here. Here we go. So as you know, we've been using Dennis Johnson's book, Let's Study Acts. Today we come to chapter 37. Chapter 37 is titled Jewish Rejection and Gentile Joy. So if you would please turn with me to Acts chapter 13. Acts chapter 13. So you may recall last week we were taught and learned about Paul's inaugural sermon, at least the sermon that's first recorded for us in the scriptures. It's a sermon which Paul preached in the synagogue to both the Jews and to God-fearing Gentiles. He was in Antioch in Pisidia. It was a sermon in which Paul spoke of God's grace, God's grace throughout the history of Israel. including God's grace and keeping his promise, the promise of sending a Savior, of sending Jesus, Jesus, the long-awaited Messiah, Jesus who was rejected by the Jews in Jerusalem, Jesus who was turned over to Pilate to be executed, to be crucified, Jesus who suffered and died, but Jesus who then was risen from the grave, risen by God, And all of these things, all of these things were done in accordance with fulfilling the scriptures. But I want us to note, just as a refresher, if you would look at verse 38. In verse 38, as Paul is going through this history and he is speaking of God's grace, he then goes on to proclaim God's grace found in the message of the gospel. Paul proclaims this, let it be known to you, therefore, brothers, that through this man, speaking of Jesus, this man, Jesus, forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you. Forgiveness of sins, it's through faith in Jesus. It's through his suffering and his death, his work upon the cross, his once and for all sacrifice. And it is by his blood that there is forgiveness of sins. And then in verse 39, Paul goes on and presents what it seems to be a contrast, a contrast between Jesus and the law of Moses. In verse 39 we read, by him, again speaking of Jesus, everyone who believes is freed from everything from which you could not be freed by the law of Moses. And I have to say, as I was reflecting on this passage, I was struggling a little bit in trying to understand this, and I found this translation in the New King James Version a little more helpful for me to grasp what Paul was speaking here. In the New King James Version of this, the translation reads this, and by him, again, Jesus, everyone who believes is justified from all things which could not be justified by the law of Moses. The gospel, this gospel that is being preached by Paul, it's a gospel in which he's proclaiming that everyone who believes in Jesus is justified. They're declared righteous. In contrast to those who sought to keep the law of Moses, by which no man can be justified. And as the people heard these words, this message of salvation through faith in Jesus Christ, they responded with eagerness to hear more, a willingness to follow Paul and Barnabas. And as we read, they begged. Imagine after church, people coming up to Pastor Cook and say, I'm begging you, I want to hear more. But that is what happened. They're begging that these things be told to them the next Sabbath. They could not wait for the next Lord's Day to hear more. So this now brings us to our text, which we'll study today. We'll be looking at verse 44 through 51 of Acts 13. Please follow along as I read these verses. The next Sabbath, almost the whole city gathered to hear the word of the Lord. But when the Jews saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy and began to contradict what was spoken by Paul, reviling him. 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. For 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. 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. And the word of the Lord was spreading throughout the whole region. 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. But they shook off the dust from their feet against them and went to Iconium, and the disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit. Well, first then, let us notice Jewish jealousy. There's a great crowd, we're told of in verse 44, a great crowd that has come, come to hear the word of the Lord. They want to hear more of what Paul and Barnabas had been speaking, what they heard that past Lord's Day, that past Sabbath, to hear the gospel, to hear the message of salvation, the proclamation, that forgiveness of sin is promised to everyone who believes in Jesus. And as this crowd gathers, we read of the reaction of the Jews. It's interesting, it's not a reaction in which there's a response of joy seeing all these people, all the large number of people gathering into the synagogue to hear the word of the Lord. Imagine if we had like large crowds just pouring into this church, would we not have joy? Because they're coming, coming to hear the word of the Lord. But no, the Jews don't respond that way. Instead of joy, instead of being encouraged at what they see, no, we see that they are filled with jealousy. Jealousy. Some translations say they're filled with envy. This is an emotion. an emotional response to what they're seeing. It's really a heart issue. It's an emotion that can be tied to the sin of covetousness or the sin of pride. Emotions that can be stirred up within a person who desires or covets something that another person has. Perhaps thinking in their pride, well, I deserve that. I should receive this. Why are they getting this? And therefore, they're jealous. They're envious. And perhaps, in this case, the thing that they're jealous of, it could be the person's success. It could be their profile. It could be their recognition. Well, although we're told that the Jews are filled with jealousy, we're not told the reason why. What caused their jealousy? So this is going to be speculation, but perhaps it's connected to the crowds, the crowds of people that have gathered to hear Paul and Barnabas. Notice in verse 45, it says, when the Jews saw the crowds, They were filled with jealousy. The triggering event seems to be connected to them seeing these crowds, these crowds coming, all these people gathering together to hear Paul and Barnabas. Well, why would this cause jealousy? Why would this cause them to have envy? Well, Dennis Johnson suggested possibly it's connected to this. He writes, faithful Jews had hoped that God-fearing Gentiles who attended their synagogue services would eventually convert to Judaism. Submitting to circumcision and shouldering, as he says, the yoke of the Torah. The Jews had been preaching that a right relationship with God, that salvation, forgiveness of sin, is only obtained through the works of the law, the keeping of the law of Moses, and that those that would seek to come must be circumcised. But now Paul and Barnabas have come preaching a salvation, a right relationship with God that's available to all, all who believe, who have faith in Jesus, both Jew and Gentile. Paul and Barnabas's words proclaim Jesus. Jesus as a willing savior. Jesus who invited all to come to him. All who were laboring and who were heavy laden. All who were burdened and weighed down with the knowledge of their sin and the knowledge of their inability, their inability to keep the law perfectly. All who sought rest. Rest for their souls. Rest that they could not find in the works of the law. All, both Jew and Gentile, all alike, were being told by Paul and Barnabas to come, that they must not look necessarily to the law of Moses to be saved. They did not have to bear that heavy yoke of keeping the law and all of the traditions of the Jews to be saved. No, they're invited to come to Jesus. Jesus, whose yoke is easy, whose burden is light, and all who believe, all who have faith in Jesus, even the Gentiles, they will be saved, and they will be justified before God. A message that seems to resonate with those that hear it, particularly the Gentiles, and they're coming. Great crowds are coming to hear this message, the message of the gospel. And there were more that were coming to hear this message, the message of the gospel of Jesus than that had ever come to hear the Jewish preaching and their teaching, insisting on the need of circumcision and the need to keep the law perfectly. And perhaps, perhaps this is what caused jealousy, the Jews to be filled with jealousy and envy as they see the response of the people to what Paul was preaching. Or perhaps their jealousy may have been connected to their pride, pride of being a Jew, a nation that was chosen by God, a nation that was greatly privileged to receive the word of God, the law of Moses, the law which they scrupulously held to, even to the point of adding more traditions to try to help those to keep that law. And they were jealous, jealous for and proud of their Jewish traditions and their teaching. But Paul and Barnabas come and they're proclaiming that forgiveness of sins and justification is through faith in Jesus. That no man can keep the law perfectly, but it is obtained through faith in Jesus. For by the works of the law, a person is not justified, but only through faith in Jesus is a person justified. And in Paul's preaching, as he presented this truth, the reality that the law condemns those who broke it. As J. Montgomery Boyce wrote, if a person is trying to get to heaven by obeying the law, they will fail. And perhaps as the Jews heard this, as James Montgomery Boyce also writes, they construed Paul's words as preaching against the law of Moses. And this would have caused them to respond negatively, with jealousy, as they loved the law of Moses. And they held up the law of Moses and their traditions. Well, how does this jealousy display itself? This emotion that filled their hearts. Well, jealousy that is in the heart often works its way out. It doesn't always stay within. and you see it in outward actions. It displays itself, it manifests itself. And in this case, it manifests itself, it displays itself in opposition to Paul. In verse 50, we are told of two ways in which their jealousy is displayed. First of all, you see that they began to contradict what was spoken by Paul. They're contradicting what he's saying. Contradicting that the gospel of Jesus Christ, that forgiveness of sin is through Jesus. Very likely denying that Jesus is the Messiah. Denying that forgiveness of sin and justification can be obtained through this man. How is it possible that you can be justified through a man who died on a cross? Likely insisting, insisting to the Gentiles for them to have a right relationship with God, to be saved, it must be by the works of the law. That God-fearing Gentiles must convert to Judaism. They must be circumcised. And as they go on and contradict Paul, in addition to their contradiction, we read that they're reviling him. They attack the messenger, denouncing him, railing at him likely, speaking words of anger and hatred toward him. We're listening to this. video series by Pastor Martin this past week on Wednesday, in which he's talked about needing to not fear man, but to fear God when you stand before man and you preach. And he said, oftentimes the attack first is against the truth, but if that fails, in this case they seek to contradict Paul, immediately then it turns to attacking the messenger. Here we see they're reviling the messenger, they're reviling Paul, they're attacking him. And many of us have seen this play out, have we not? In our world that we live in, in our society. First they go after and contradict the message, the truth that is being presented. And if that doesn't work, they go after the messenger. Viciously at times, attacking them, spewing all types of evil and hateful words against the character of the messenger. So we see the outward display of their jealousy is one in which they contradict Paul, contradict the message that he proclaimed, and then they go on to revile Paul. Well, how then do Paul and Barnabas respond? They're being contradicted by all of these Jews in the synagogue. They're being reviled, attacked personally. Well, do they return evil for evil? No. Do they cower and run and give up? No. What we read of in verse 46, we find that Paul and Barnabas spoke out boldly. They didn't hold back. They continued to proclaim the word of God. They continued to share the gospel and they were bold, bold in doing so. In verse 46, we're told, as they spoke out boldly, this boldness, this boldness is in following Christ's commands. It was necessary for the message of salvation to first be spoken to the Jews. This is in keeping with what Jesus commanded to his disciples. Recall that he told them, you must first go to the lost sheep of Israel. It was necessary that the message go to the Jews first. But note, after the resurrection of Christ, Christ commands his disciples then to go to all nations. Paul and Barnabas are being obedient to Christ's command to go to the Jew first. And yet, when the Jews in Antioch, they reject the gospel, and in doing so, judging themselves, judging themselves as being unworthy of eternal life, Paul and Barnabas now turn to the Gentiles. boldness rooted back into the even the Old Testament prophecies. Note in verse 47 quoting from Isaiah 49 verse 6, I have made you a light for the Gentiles that you may bring salvation to the ends of the earth. A light. A light for the Gentiles. This is speaking of Jesus. Jesus, the light. The light who came into a world of darkness. The light who came to reveal the truth of God's word. The light who came to reveal the way of salvation. To open the eyes of the blind. To bring out the prisoners from the dungeon. From the prison, from those who sat in darkness. Paul and Barnabas. like all of Christ's disciples, have been commanded to go, to be witnesses of Jesus. Jesus, the light of the world. Jesus, the way of salvation. To be witnesses to the Jew first, and now to the Gentile. As Jesus commanded his disciples in Acts 1-8, to be witnesses in Jerusalem, starting with the Jews, and in Judea, Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. This is God's plan from the beginning. God's kingdom is bigger than Israel. It includes all people, both Jew and Gentile. So this is the jealousy, the jealousy of the Jews, their rejection. But how do the Gentiles respond? How do they respond to these words of Paul and Barnabas? Well, we're told in verse 48, we see that The Gentiles respond, and when the Gentiles heard this, they began rejoicing. Rejoicing, there's joy in the hearts of the Gentiles. They're rejoicing as they hear the gospel presented and preached. Think of it, the Gentiles who once, who once were alienated from the commonwealth of Israel. They were strangers to the covenant of promise. They had no hope. They were without God. This was the lot of the Gentiles. And now, now they're being told in Jesus Christ, by faith in Jesus Christ, through the work of Christ on the cross, his death, his resurrection, by that faith they can now be forgiven of their sins and justified. And in doing so they can have peace, peace with God, who they once were enemies against. no longer strangers, no longer aliens. But now think of it. They're part of the kingdom of God, fellow citizens, members of the household of God. And how do they respond? How could you not respond? With joy. with joy that would be overflowing, rejoicing, rejoicing at hearing this gospel message, the great salvation that there is for all who believe in Jesus. Well, not only are they rejoicing, but also we see they're glorifying. They're glorifying the word of the Lord as they hear the word of the Lord, not the word of man. but it's the word of God and they know it's coming from God, so therefore this glory that they're giving is really going back to God. God who is giving us and giving them this truth, this word, this glorious gospel of Jesus Christ that is not by the works of their hands. It's not by the keeping of the law, but it's by grace. It's by grace alone, the grace of God that anyone is saved. And therefore to God and to God alone belongs all the glory. But also we read of their rejoicing and their glorifying, but then we see that belief. To all who were appointed to eternal life, they believed. They believe what they heard. They embrace the gospel. They put their faith and their trust in Jesus Christ as their Savior. The Gentiles of all people are believing. And it's the Gentiles who we're told of who are elect. They were elect. They were sovereignly chosen by God. So the Jews were chosen, but also those who believe are sovereignly chosen. Appointed, as it says here, those who are appointed, chosen to eternal life. And it is those who believe. Although the Jews rejected the message, the invitation to come to Christ, God still has a chosen people. chosen ones even from the Gentile nation, chosen to believe, to believe the word of the Lord. The word of the Lord is proclaimed. And then we read that that word of the Lord, it continues then to spread, to spread throughout the whole region. Can you imagine like wildfire going through the region as the Gentiles are hearing that they can be forgiven and justified through faith in Jesus Christ. The word of the Lord is spreading. And Paul and Barnabas are the ones that continue to boldly proclaim the gospel, the gospel to all. So this is the reaction, the response of the Gentiles. But then we see it doesn't stop there. The Jews don't stop. They're a persistent bunch. And they continue their opposition, this opposition we read of in verse 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 Jews incited opposition. It appears that the Jews went to those that had a high profile in the city. First, we read of devout women. We're not told whether these are Jews or Gentiles, but possibly these are devout Gentile converts. Those who at one time had feared God, they now have embraced Judaism, they have obeyed the law, and they're converted. And they're strongly committed to the Jewish traditions. They strictly were following all the Mosaic law and all the traditions of the Jews. These women had high standing, we're told. Women that are prominent, well-respected in the community. Women that had influence. And perhaps this is part of the problem. There's a bit of pride here, perhaps. Pride in like, well, look at me. I am the devout woman. I have a high profile. And how can this Paul and this Barnabas come and preach another Gospel. Something different from what the Jews are saying. And so the Jews are likely stirring them up and saying, no, we've got to keep to these traditions. We've got to keep to what we've been teaching. We have to oppose this man, Paul. And then the leading men also. Maybe their husbands following along. Maybe other leading men. We're not told exactly, but we are told that all of these have a high profile. They're well respected in the community, and likely very supportive of the Jews. The Jews turn to these people for help, helping their opposition to Paul and Barnabas, urging them, persuading them to join along with them in opposition. And as they do so, we read of not only are they inciting opposition, but they're stirring up persecution. Persecution against Paul and Barnabas. We see that the Jews will do whatever is necessary to stop Paul and Barnabas from preaching and proclaiming the gospel of Jesus. Stirring up persecution to the point, the point that they drive Paul and Barnabas out of the region. The result of these jealous actions of the Jews is that Paul and Barnabas are driven out of the region. The Jews weren't effective in contradicting Paul and Barnabas. The Jews weren't effective in reviling him, so they resorted to their last option. I'm going to push him out. I'm going to drive him out. Get the message away from here. I can't fight against the truth that they're proclaiming. I can't fight against the character of Paul. So what am I going to do? I'm just going to drive him out. And they did so with the help of the prominent women and the leading men of the city. Well, what then did Paul and Barnabas do? Well, we're told in verse 51, they shook off the dust from their feet against them, and they went to Iconium. to shake off the dust from their feet. We've heard of this before. Dennis Johnson writes, when a Jew returned home from an unclean Gentile land, if there was any dust on him, perhaps unclean dust, they had to shake it off, get rid of it, free themselves from that uncleanliness that might be clinging to their feet or to their clothing. In the same way, this appears to be a sign a sign against the unbelieving Jews that Judaism has become unclean by the rejection of Jesus, rejecting Jesus as the Messiah and the gift that he provides, the gift of forgiveness of sins and justification. Dennis Johnson suggests this is a sign of God's indictment against these Jews and the others that drove them out. So Paul and Barnabas leave Antioch, and they move on, move on to another city, Iconium. But as they leave Antioch, we're told in verse 52 that the disciples, those who believe the gospel message, those who remained in Antioch, they continue to be filled with joy, the joy of the gospel, the joy of the knowledge of forgiveness of sins, the joy of being justified before a holy God, and they were also filled with the Holy Spirit. These are who they left behind. So that is what we read of here in these verses, Jewish rejection, Gentile joy. Well, what lessons can we learn from this, from what Paul and Barnabas encountered in Antioch? Well, first, Do not be surprised when we face opposition, even strong opposition, when we speak the truth. They will seek to suppress the truth. Sinners, sinners will do everything in their power to suppress the truth. They'll deny it. They'll claim it to be false. They'll even seek to twist it just a bit, perhaps even modifying it a little bit, such that it might lose its power. And as you present the truth, they're going to contradict you. Understand that. They're going to challenge you. They're going to point to other authorities and claim them as being the experts. They're going to look at you and say, who is this man? What credentials do they have? What right do they have to proclaim this? They'll do whatever they can to hinder or keep the truth from spreading, from being heard. And those attacks, as they seek to suppress the truth, do not be surprised because if they can't succeed there, they will attack you. They're going to come after you personally. If they can't stop the message, as I said earlier, they're going to try to discredit the messenger. Al Martin said, their hatred toward God and his truth will terminate upon the instrument that conveys the truth. Think about that. Such hatred. Hatred for the truth. They cannot stand it. They've got to suppress it. They're going to contradict it, do everything they can to stop it. And if that doesn't work, they're going to go after the one that preaches it, the messenger. And so they will seek to cast doubt on your credibility. They will mock you. They will even insult you. They'll point out your own sin. and you can be certain of that, they will see how far short you do fall from the glory of God and keeping his law, and they will point that out with vengeance in a way, and calling you a hypocrite. So do not be surprised at the opposition that you face when you speak the truth. But secondly, remember this. God has an elect people who will believe and who will respond in joy. Though many, many people will respond and reject the gospel, they will respond with jealousy for their own hearts, loves, and desires. They will respond in anger and all those things we talked about. They will reject the gospel, but yet we have confidence there are some who will believe. They will believe the message of the gospel. And they will believe with joy in their hearts as they come to understand the grace and the mercy of a loving God who sent his only son to save sinners such as them. Despite the fierce opposition, despite at times even persecution, know that God's word will accomplish its purpose. God has an elect people who are appointed to eternal life, and he will use his gospel message to save his people, both Jew and Gentile. But then thirdly, note that we are called to proclaim the word of God. We're not called to proclaim clever words. We're not called to have eloquent speech. We're not called to proclaim wisdom and the philosophy of this world. It's the Word of God that we are to proclaim. It's the Word of God that the Spirit will bless as it is preached, as it's spoken to the lost. Notice back in chapter 13, the references to the Word of the Lord or the Word of God. In verse 44, the whole city was gathered to do what? to hear the word of the Lord. It was the proclamation of the word of the Lord that stimulated the interest of the people such that it caused them to come out to hear. In verse 46, we read it was the word of God that was first spoken to the Jews and then to the Gentiles. And in verse 48, it was the hearing of the word of the Lord that caused the Gentiles to rejoice. And then in verse 49, we read, it was the word of the Lord that spread throughout the region, that was blessed by the Holy Spirit, filling the disciples with joy. So we are called to take the word of the Lord into the world. And I just pause here for a moment. Some at times struggle with, well, how do I evangelize? How do I share the gospel with sinners? Well, I would just urge us from this to be reminded, stay focused on the word of the Lord. Don't let yourself get distracted off onto tangents. Don't let yourself get caught up into the theories and the controversies of the day. Always bring them back to the word of the Lord. Always bring them back to the fundamental truth of the gospel. The gospel that Jesus Christ is the way, the only way of forgiveness of sins and justification before God. Take them to the word of the Lord. And for all that preach, and for all those who share the gospel with unbelievers, with the lost, remember that the power, the power is in the word of God. It has the power to save. And then finally, as I close, pray for those who preach. Pray for those that preach the gospel, that they might have boldness in the face of opposition. Paul knew he would face opposition, and therefore he asked for the church to pray for him. In Ephesians 6, after telling the church that they need to pray at all times in verse 19, Paul asked the church, pray for him. He says, and also for me, he's saying pray for me, that words may be given to me in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel, to declare it boldly as I ought to speak. His prayer for boldness, it was not boldness in defending himself. It was not boldness in arguing about the issues of the day. His boldness is a desire to proclaim the gospel, to pray to have boldness, and that men of God, as they stand before people, as they proclaim the truth that they will not fear man, but they will fear God and be ready to boldly preach the gospel of Jesus Christ. So even this day, let us even pray that God would give our pastor this day, as he opens the word, boldness to faithfully proclaim the word of the Lord and to preach the gospel. Let us close our time in prayer. Our dear Heavenly Father, we bow before you and we are so thankful that you are a God, a God who is sovereign. We know that you are accomplishing your will and your purpose. And we thank you above all for your grace, your grace in sending your son to die for sinners. And we thank you for that glorious gospel, the gospel of Jesus Christ, that there is forgiveness of sins through belief, through faith in Jesus, that there is justification through Christ and in Christ alone. Help us to keep our eyes upon Christ. Help us not to become distracted with many things, Lord, but help us to stay focused. And today, Lord, as we gather as your people, as pastor will come before us and proclaim your word, give him boldness, we pray. Boldness to proclaim the truth, boldness to proclaim the word of the Lord, boldness to proclaim a gospel, a gospel of salvation through Jesus Christ. And may you bless that gospel. For we know that you have your elect, those who are appointed to life. And may this day even be a day of life for some. May you call them from their darkness. Call them to the light, the light of Jesus Christ, that they might be saved. And we ask these things in Jesus' name. Amen.