The Acts of the Apostles 55

Subtitle: Tested by the Gospel

Acts 13:42-52.  This sermon was preached by Pastor Marty Bonner on September 17, 2023.

Paul has just finished sharing the Gospel, the good news that Messiah had come and all that goes with that.  It would have been amazing to hear that Messiah had come, and it would have been even more amazing to hear that he had been put to death.  Yet, on top of this, God had raised him up from the dead!  This had to floor the assembly.

The resurrection of Jesus had obtained forgiveness of sins, and justification before God, for everyone who put their faith in Jesus.  This was not just for Israel, but for the Gentiles as well.

Our passage picks up right at the point where the synagogue service is over.

There are several layers to the testing of God's Word.  It is good to accept the Bible as God's proven, written word.  You could say that this is itself a test.  Will you accept it on those terms?  However, having accepted the Bible as God's word, you are not done with being tested by God's Word.  It is not enough to merely state that they are God's word, and even religiously so.  You will be tested in life on whether you really know them, and believe them.  You will also be tested on whether or not you have come to know the heart of the God who gave them to us.

In this sense, the written word of God gets the ball of belief and repentance rolling.  It even helps as a kind of guardrail, so we don't drive off the cliff of life.  However, the Bible is spiritual, and we need to have a spiritual relationship with the One who has given it to us.  We should pray, and wrestle through the word and our life before God, seeking His leading, opening ourselves up to Him.  All kinds of tests will come our way to see if we are going to continue trusting God.

Let's get into our passage.

Paul and Barnabas leave the synagogue (v. 42-43)

There are two textual issues with verse 42 that I want to deal with up front.

The first has to do with who is leaving the synagogue.  The New King James Version (and KJV) describes it as the Jews leaving.  Yet, it also has a note explaining that it could also be translated as "When they left the synagogue of the Jews."  In case you think this has to do with the modern translations, let me just let you know that the Wycliffe English translation of the 1300s (nearly 300 years before the KJV) does not translate it as the Jews leaving.  This makes sense when you are told by verse 43 that "many of the Jews" had followed Paul and Barnabas.

The second textual issue has to do with whether Luke actually wrote that the "Gentiles" were the ones asking Paul and Barnabas to come back the next Sabbath, or whether it was the general "they."  It is most likely a large part of the whole group, both Jews and Gentiles, in light of verse 43.  Of course, these variant readings do not affect doctrine in any way.

The amazing things taught by Paul would have been shocking, and so it makes sense that a large group is asking them to come back at the next Sabbath meeting and tell them more about these happenings.  The initial response to Paul and Barnabas seems to be positive.  There is no hint that there is a problem at this point.

I do think we need to be careful of seeing this as a Christian versus Jew issue.  This was simply some Jewish brothers telling the synagogue something very strange.

We are not given an idea of the size of this synagogue, or of Antioch's population.  Yet, many Jews and devout proselytes (Gentiles) followed Paul and Barnabas.  They questioned them further.  Luke ends with Paul persuading them all to continue in the grace of God.

Though grace is a general term, in this context, it no doubt refers to the good news about Jesus that they had received.  There is the grace of God fulfilling HIs promises to Israel, but there is the greater grace of them receiving word about it so that they could believe and take advantage of its benefits.

As a republic, we are very spoiled when it comes to the grace of God.  We have received both natural and spiritual grace from Him.  Yet, when God supplies grace, He does it for a reason, and it has a responsibility to it.  We are a nation that loves to talk about rights, but we don't like talking about the responsibilities that go along with those rights.  Similarly, we love to talk about grace, but not the responsibility that goes along with God's grace.  Why does God give grace into our lives?  Is it because he loves us more than others?  Is it because we are better than others?  It is always a mistake to think this way.

God has blessed us, and there are many people in these united States who are not serving Jesus, but they are living off the blessings that have been won by others (so to speak).  Yet, this is just how God is.  He allows it to rain upon the just and the unjust.  There is a certain amount of grace that is made available to all, or all who are in a particular place.  It is called general grace. 

However, God can send specific grace, and it can come out of the blue, like we see in our passage today.  Those who came to synagogue that day received the grace that God was delivering that day.  You never know what grace God is going to distribute through somebody on any given day.  Yet, some Gentiles who don't even go to synagogue are also going to be blessed.  The ambassadors of Jesus had come to this town and everyone would receive the grace of hearing the Gospel of Jesus! 

This is a test.  Maybe some of the people in that town deserved to hear the Gospel, and, no doubt, a lot of them didn't deserve the Gospel.  However, God did a work that caused the whole town to hear the Gospel.

Whether we have smooth sailing or turbulent waters, we are called to be filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.  This is how verse 43 ends.  The key to both is fully embracing Jesus in faith.

Let' move forward in the text.

The next sabbath does not go well (v. 44-52)

Paul and Barnabas have continued to speak with whomever they can, but now we come to the next sabbath meeting.  What a difference a week, or a day, or a second, can make.  This is true even in just our own decision making.  How much more is it true when God begins to do a new thing?  We can be guilty of having an attitude that complains, "It will never change!"  But, when God steps on the scene, the question is not about whether it will change or not.  It will!  The question will be about where you are going to end up in relation to what God is doing.  Are you going to be on God's side, or are you going to be resisting, even fighting against, what God is doing?

Though this day didn't "go well," a good thing still happened that day.  It is better to find out that you haven't been trusting in God nearly as much as you put on, than to continue in empty religiosity that doesn't please God.  If you are trying to keep the boat from rocking because you tell yourself that this good boat should not rock, you had better be careful.  One day God is going to come along and rock your boat.  The problem will be that you have spent so much time trying to keep the boat from rocking that you will be unprepared for a rocking boat.  You may be pitched over the side on that day because your faith is in everything, but the Lord Jesus.  

What am I living for?  I can say it is Jesus, but when God moves, I will be tested on just how much I am living for Jesus.  We are such an entertained and amused society, but God is not entertained, and God is not amused.

We live in a time where it is getting harder and harder to live for Jesus.  The devil doesn't want you living for Jesus.  This world, our culture, sure doesn't want you living for Jesus.  It is not very efficient having a large group of people following a "2,000 year old idea."  "You people are not helping us build the Utopia that we could build if everyone did the same thing!"  Of course, efficiency sounds good-much like unity.  We can be efficiently rebelling against God, and unifying in resisting the leading of the Holy Spirit.  God help us to be led by the Spirit of God, and not religious programmers in the Church, or social programmers in the world.

It is not hard to picture the scene that Luke paints.  Though this is not a metropolis, almost the whole city shows up for the synagogue service, really to hear the Gospel from Paul and Barnabas.  It goes without saying that the synagogue would not be big enough for them all, so the following interaction may or may not have taken place outside.

Now, let's be real.  Not everyone who showed up had the desire to repent and be saved.  Some were there to hear the interesting message from the "horses mouth."  Yet, some of them are being drawn by the Holy Spirit.

Working for the Lord has some interesting dynamics to it.  There are long periods of being faithful, and yet seeing only a small response.  Is it worth it?  We can become hung up on the fact that no Red Sea was parted today.  Yet, on most days of the world, God has not parted the Red Sea, or even something close to that.  In fact, Jesus warned his generation (a generation that saw more than their fair share of miracles) that it is a wicked and perverse generation that seeks for signs.

Yet, there are those days when God moves spectacularly.  From time to time, God can move upon an individual, a town, an area, even a nation, in powerful ways.  It is similar to Israel in the wilderness.  Most days, they were simply going about their business: forage for manna, tend to the goats, correct the children, etc.  However, one day that cloud would start moving.  On this day in Antioch, the God of Israel was beginning to move in a big way.  Who would follow the cloud?  We call such times revival.

The things that are happening in our society, I think, are God trying to make us hungry for Him.  He is trying to make us realize that some of the things that we have been living for are not good enough as replacements for Him.  Our flesh is grasping at certain things that we don't want to lose and be lash out at others because of it.  And yet, the Spirit may be saying to you, "Let it go, and come into the secret place with your Lord, Jesus."

God has a timing for when He moves, a season.  It is our job to be faithful, and ready to move.  We wait upon the Lord, as we keep faithful working for harvest.  God was moving in Antioch of Pisidia.  Who would follow Him?

We are told that they were filled with envy when they saw the multitudes.  We know that this wasn't every single Jew.  It would have been led by the synagogue leaders, and rabbis.  Perhaps, they were angered that they had worked in that town for so many years and never saw such a crowd gather to hear the Word of God.  Regardless, something came out of them that day that wasn't good.

The word translated envy here is actually a neutral term that needs context to help us know exactly what it is.  It has at its root the sense of zeal, passion, that is aroused by someone or something that is excelling.

The noble sense is that we see someone else excel in serving God, and a passion is stirred up for us to want to be like them.  It recognizes a lack in self, and that fuels a determination to seek God.  In such a case, it would probably be translated as zeal.

The bad, or ignoble, sense refuses to accept a lack in self, and instead seeks to tear down the one who is excelling.  Thus, it is called envy.  Their hearts had not been in the right place.  There was stuff lurking in their heart that wasn't good, and on that day, the move of God brought it crashing out into the light of day.

Can I handle God moving through someone else when I have been working in the field for years with much less to show for it?  Many of the synagogue attendees failed the test that day.  Perhaps, they had not been working for God all along.  Or, they may be caught up in following the leaders. 

Everyone who teaches the Gospel is also tested by the very words they preach.  In many ways, God will bring situations around to test you on whether or not you truly believe what you preach.  These leaders stubbornly contradicted Paul as he spoke.  They even blasphemed.  This is not detailed, but blasphemy is basically saying anything that is untrue of God.  We can only imagine that they rejected what Paul was saying about Jesus, thinking this was safe territory.  However, it was blasphemy.  They were lying about God.

Imagine this.  They could have helped God that day.  They could have worked to get all of these Gentiles saved and starting their discipleship.  Instead, they rebelled.  It didn't have to be contention.

Who gets the glory anyways?  There is too much struggling to get the glory in the Church today.  Does the planter get the glory?  How about the one who waters?  Maybe, it is the one who leads them in the sinner's prayer who gets the glory.  No.  It is Jesus who gets all the glory.  Let him who boasts, boast in the Lord!

This causes Paul and Barnabas to rebuke them for resisting God.  They were becoming a stumbling block to Gentiles who were coming to Christ, and most likely a stumbling block to Jews who wanted to believe, but were too easily persuaded by what the leaders choose, the experts.  Many foolish things are done in the name of following experts, or the majority.  God in His grace gives us men and women with gifts and abilities that we do not.  However, they can never supplant the place of God in our hearts.  In the end, you are to be following God.  He is the only true leader of the Church.  At the most, authorities and positions in the Church can only be helpers to Jesus.  And, those helpers need help themselves.  This is why God distributes His spiritual gifts variously throughout the body. 

It was necessary for Paul and Barnabas to share the Gospel with the Jews first.  The people of Israel had taught and looked for the promise of God for over 1,500  years!  Yet, God wanted to bless the Gentiles too.  Paul quotes Isaiah 49:6, which is in the second Servant Song of Isaiah.  These Servant Songs are pictures of Messiah that culminate in chapter 53.  A common theme throughout all of these passages is that Messiah will be a light to the Gentiles and a cause for their salvation!

Paul says that they will now turn to the Gentiles.  He is not saying that he will never share the Gospel with another Jew again.  He is a Jew!  Rather, we will see him going to the synagogue first in each new town he visits.  He knows that he will find resisters there, but he will also find hungry hearts.  Listen, there are also many resisters, even rebels, in the Church of God today.  But, do not become discouraged.  God is moving, and He is not done yet!  Just make sure that you are moving with Him.

We are told that the Gentiles believed, glorified the word of God, and spread the Gospel in the region.  The mention of the Gentiles most likely means those who were not proselytes, or God-fearers.  A group of believers in Jesus, some Jews and some Gentiles, was launched that day in Antioch of Pisidia!  They clearly went to work spreading the Gospel in the days ahead.

Though we are at the ends of the earth, there are still many who have not had a hearing of the Gospel.  It is not just about geography6.  In fact, the ancient city of Antioch is in the interior of a staunchly Muslim country today.  It is safe to say that there are people there who need the Gospel, just as there are here in Washington State.  May we be a people believing Jesus, and glorifying the Word of God by taking the Gospel to whomever will listen.

The Jewish leadership goes on to instigate the leaders of the town against Paul and Barnabas.  They essentially frog-march them to the end of town and expel them from their town.  We don't know how long this took.  Maybe it was in one day, maybe several weeks.  Regardless, the clock was ticking from day one on how much of the Gospel Paul and Barnabas could preach, and how much they could disciple the new believers.  The clock is always ticking on our endeavors.  We are not guaranteed tomorrow in the work, so we are to do what God gives us to do each day.

Paul and Barnabas kick the dust off of their shoes as a witness against the rebels of this town.  However, a church would remain behind.  It is easier to expel outsiders.  However, the people who lived in town and had become believers would now have to serve Jesus in spite of persecution themselves.  Yes, they too would be further tested, even thought they had accepted the Gospel.

May God help us to pass the tests that He has for us this week.

Tested audio

The Acts of the Apostles 26

Subtitle: Stephen's Defense II

Acts 7:9-16.  This sermon was preached by Pastor Marty Bonner on December 04, 2022.

Stephen is addressing the Sanhedrin in defense of the charges of blasphemy that are against him.  This is no true defense before the court, unless you see Stephen making his defense to the heavenly court. 

When you have a defense lawyer today, they work every angle in order to get you out of the charges.  This is not what Stephen is doing.  There is a time to use the law and lawyers to defend yourself.  However, there are times that call for standing up and witnessing for Christ, and this is the choice Stephen makes.

Last week, we looked at Stephen reminding them of the call of Abraham, and how he responded to God.  In today’s passage, Stephen moves forward to Joseph.  The family of Jacob was messy.  You might say that all families can be messy.  You probably were not raised in a family that had children from four different wives.  Stephen reminds them of God’s call upon Joseph, and how the envy of the tribal patriarchs was used to accomplish God’s will.

Let’s get into our passage.

Remember Joseph and the tribal patriarchs (vs 9-16)

As with Abraham, Joseph will be highlighted for his faith in God, especially in God’s promises, despite numerous difficulties.

Stephen points out that the brothers of Joseph were envious of him.  The patriarchs of the 12 tribes of Israel were spread out in their ages.  Genesis does not give the years of their births, but we know that Joseph is the eleventh son, and that the twelfth son, Benjamin, is his full brother.  They were both birthed by Rachel.  An interesting note, Benjamin is the only one of the boys that was born in Canaan, Bethlehem specifically.

So, what was driving this envy of Joseph by his older brothers?  First, we have the issue of these four wives.  Jacob only wanted to marry Rachel, but he was tricked by Laban into marrying her older sister Leah.  Jacob worked for Laban for another seven years to pay the bride price for Rachel.  Leah was stuck married to a man who did not want to marry her and loved her sister.  This developed a rivalry between these two sisters where Leah was able to produce four sons for Jacob, and Rachel none. 

This drove Rachel to deploy the “Sarah Tactic.”  She gave her maidservant, Bilhah, to Jacob in order to have children by proxy.  Bilhah would be considered a second-tier wife, and her children would be considered Rachel’s legally.  This, of course, is not as satisfying as having children, but Rachel gets a couple of “points on the board” out of it.  Leah then deploys the same tactic with her maidservant, Zilpah, who also has two children (this time considered Leah’s).  Notice that Jacob is in a tight pinch.  He was tricked into marrying Leah.  Then, how could he say, “No,” to the love of his life who could not have children, and was sorely distressed?  Also, how could he say, “No,” to Leah once he acquiesced to Rachel?  Long story not quite as long, Leah births six sons for Jacob, with another two by her maidservant, Zilpah, for a total of eight.  Whereas, Rachel had two sons- she died birthing the second-, with another two by her maidservant, Bilhah, for a total of four.

Such rivalry between mothers has a way of impacting the children who grow up hearing it and witnessing it.

Secondly, Jacob clearly favored Joseph over the rest of the boys.  He loved him more than the others.

As if this was not enough, we are told of an incident when Joseph was seventeen.  He told his dad about some bad things that his brothers were either saying or doing.  The passage is quite vague as to what the “evil” was.  I am sure they saw him as a tattle tale from that time forward.

Lastly, God saw the hatred of the brothers toward Joseph, and chose Joseph to save his family.  Joseph received two dreams that did not take a great interpreter of dreams to interpret.  Each dream depicted the brothers all bowing down to Joseph.  This seems to be the last straw.  The ten brothers (minus little Benjamin) lie to their father about Joseph being killed by a wild beast, when they had sold him to slave-traders on their way to Egypt.  Okay, we can give Reuben a pass on this one, so the nine brothers.

Let us note that God will use the envy of these older brothers to position Joseph exactly where he needs to be in order to save his family from a famine that will come later.

God had a plan and a purpose for every one of them.  However, God blessed Joseph even though it came with a lot of heartache.  Stephen emphasizes that God was with Joseph and gave him favor.  It sounds so spiritual and awesome.  But remember, Joseph was sold into slavery by his brothers.  Imagine the sense of rejection that went deep into his heart.  Imagine watching the hills as you are drug into Egypt, hoping that your father will come to rescue you.  Yet, it never happened.  These things stung and did not feel like the favor of God.

It started to get better when he was purchased by Potiphar.  God blesses him and he is put in charge of the whole household.  Then, Potiphar’s wife falsely accuses Joseph of trying to rape her.  Joseph is thrown into the royal prison.  There he interprets dreams for Pharoah’s baker and butler.  He asks the butler to remember him when he is restored, and yet, the butler forgets about him for several more years.

Psalm 105:19 gives us an interesting commentary on this situation. “Until the time that his word came to pass, the Word of the LORD tested him.”  Sometimes, we romanticize the idea of God being with us and calling us to great things.  We may imagine a few things going wrong, but then they will be quickly fixed when we pray.  However, the patriarchs and the prophets went through many difficult things, even though they were truly blessed and called by God. 

Can we trust God?  Can we believe that He is working all things to the good for us, and for others?  It takes a long time, but Joseph eventually ends up as second only to Pharaoh, in charge of storing up the grain of Egypt for the coming seven years of famine.  This was all because God gave Pharaoh a dream about seven years of plenty followed by seven years of famine.  God also gave Joseph the interpretation of the dream.  This greatly impressed Pharaoh. 

Yes, the good times had come, but it was through much pain and sorrow.  Would my faith in God survive such experience?  I pray that it would, just like Joseph’s faith in God persevered to the end.

Stephen then reminds us that the famine was severe enough that it affected Jacob’s family in Canaan.  Jacob then sends the ten brothers down to Egypt to buy grain, which sets up an interesting interaction.

The ten brothers do not recognize Joseph in his Egyptian garb, years later, and not expecting him to be 2^nd in command of Egypt.  Joseph then tests them to see if they have treated his younger brother, Benjamin, in a manner comparable to how they had treated him.

It is clear to Joseph that the brothers are sorry for their treatment of him, and have not harmed Benjamin.  He reveals himself to them and has his family brought into Egypt to live without fear of the famine.  Joseph would care for them.

This raises a question.  Why would Jacob go into Egypt knowing that God had told Abraham that his descendants would be slaves in a foreign land?  In Genesis 46:3, God tells Jacob not to be afraid to go down to Egypt.  God promised to bring his offspring back to the land of Canaan and give them possession of it.  Jacob was able to move to Egypt because he had learned to trust God, even when it might lead to a difficult experience.

Again, Stephen is using the history of Israel and its patriarchs to highlight the importance of faith in God, versus resisting the Holy Spirit.  How important it is to surrender our lives to God.  Of course, we pray for God to help us and deliver us, but we are content with any development because we know that He is always working it towards a good end.  Yet, every generation of Israel had people who resisted the Holy Spirit, just as we have today.

May we hear what God is saying to His Church today, here in these united States of America.  Too many Christians are resisting the leading of the Holy Spirit.  We need to learn to let go of the tradition of men that we have been taught, and cling to the Word of God that we can see with our eyes, and the Spirit of God Whom we can know intimately if we seek Him with all of our heart.  Let’s seek him today!

Defense II