Acts 13:44-47 Saul and Barnabas
return to the synagogue in Psidian Antioch the following Sabbath. Nearly the
whole city assembled to hear the word of God from Paul, but some of the Jews
were jealous because of the size of the turnout. While verse 43 had referred to
the some of the Jews and the Jewish proselytes responding to Paul's first
message, the turnout of nearly the whole city must have included many Gentiles
who had not previously been involved with Jewish worship or culture. So the
Jews (most likely the synagogue officials) began contradicting Paul and
blaspheming. The word blaspheming in English is a transliteration of the word
in Greek, blasphemountes, meaning
something like speaking harm. Paul's response to this is a simple statement
that they since they had repudiated the gospel, they had judged themselves.
Therefore he would deliver the gospel to the gentiles, quoting Isaiah 49:6 to
this effect.
Acts 13:48-52 The gospel is spread
throughout the whole region around Psidian Antioch, but the Jews eventually
drive Saul and Barnabas out, so they head for Iconium. The Gentiles rejoiced
when the gospel was brought to them, and the word of God spread quickly
throughout this mountainous region. This must have annoyed the Jews
considerably because legalism just wasn't that popular with the Gentiles. So
they responded by forcing Paul and Barnabas to leave the region. Luke in Acts
13:51 cites the words of Jesus recorded in Luke 10:10-11 where he gave
instructions to the seventy: "But whatever city you enter and they do not
receive you, go out into its streets and say, ‘Even
the dust of your city which clings to our feet we wipe off in protest against
you; yet be sure of this, that the kingdom of God has come near.’"
This
wasn't the last word from the Jews in Antioch. In Acts 14:19 they followed him
to Lystra and persecuted him there was well.
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