[ACT:13:13-52].
Lesson 325 - Senior
Memory Verse
"Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves" (Matthew 10:16).
Cross References
I To the Jew First
1. The disciples came to Perga, where John left them; they then went to Antioch in Pisidia, [ACT:13:13-14].
2. Paul preached to the Jews in the synagogue on the Sabbath Day, [ACT:13:15]; [ACT:17:2]; [LUK:4:16].
3. Paul preached Jesus Christ to the Jews, proving from the Scripture that He was their Messiah, [ACT:13:16-41]; [ACT:2:22-36]; [ACT:3:13-26]; [ACT:4:11-12]; [ACT:5:29], [ACT:5:32].
4. Many were convinced of the truth of Paul's preaching, believing on the Lord, [ACT:13:42-44].
II And to the Greek
Notes
The Gospel to the Gentiles
The nucleus of truth in our lesson can perhaps be summed up in the words of Paul when he stated: "I am ready to preach the gospel . . . for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek" [ROM:1:15-16]). In God's plan it was ordained that the Jews should first hear the Gospel of Jesus Christ, for to them was given "the adoption, and the glory, and the covenants, and the giving of the law, and the service of God, and the promises; whose are the fathers, and of whom as concerning the flesh Christ came, who is over all" [ROM:9:4-5]). This is not to be misconstrued to mean that the Jews only were originally meant to receive salvation, and the Gentiles were not. The Gentiles were ordained to salvation as much as the Jews; but the Jews were the chosen vessel of God to publish that salvation during the course of time. From the time of Abraham, when he received of God the covenant promises that in him all the nations should be blessed, God dealt with Israel as individuals and as a nation. (See [GAL:3:8-9].) God desired to use them for His glory and for the publishing of the Gospel. As a nation they were a stiff-necked and stubborn people, resisting God's Spirit. Finally, during the ministry of Christ when He knew their rejection of Him was complete and final as a nation, Jesus spoke these solemn words "Behold, your house is left unto you desolate: and verily I say unto you, Ye shall not see me, until the time come when ye shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord" [LUK:13:35]). Those words signified that a great era was at an end, and that God would, in the immediate future, turn to the Gentiles with the word of reconciliation, and they would become the wild olive branch grafted into the good olive tree. (Study [ROM:11:17-24].) And old prophecy of many hundreds of years' standing was being fulfilled. As far back as the time of Moses, God had warned Israel of their backslidings and foretold that the Gospel would be preached to, and received by, the Gentiles. It is written: "They have moved me to jealousy with that which is not God; they have provoked me to anger with their vanities: and I will move them to jealousy with those which are not a people; I will provoke them to anger with a foolish nation" [DEU:32:21]). Paul, quoting Isaiah on this theme, states: "I was found of them that sought me not; I was made manifest unto them that asked not after me" [ROM:10:20]). The truth of these Scripture passages is that Israel had continually provoked God by their persistent worshiping of idols. God said He would provoke them to jealousy by turning to a people whom the Jews did not consider worthy of being called a people. The Jews stubbornly persisted in the idea that the privileges of the Gospel, which God had given them were an inherent possession of their own, which even God could not take away from them. But God took away those privileges; and He also took away many other blessings, because of their iniquities. Likewise, God will remove the joys of salvation from any Christian who does not retain his salvation. Furthermore, He will remove from the Book of Life the name of the individual who has sinned. There is no question but that the Jews were greatly exasperated by the preaching of the Gospel to the Gentiles, as the text of this lesson and others vividly show. The preaching of the Gospel to the Gentiles had begun, and it will continue until the Rapture of the Church; at which time God will again turn to the Jews as a nation to deal with them concerning their Messiah.Received of the Gentiles
As we study the Book of Acts we see the continued antagonism of the Jews against the preaching of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and their envy because of the ready acceptance of it by the Gentiles. It is plain that the day of opportunity had been lost to Israel, and that the day of salvation was arising bright and clear upon the Gentiles. Paul, as did the other Apostles, always made it his first business to go to the synagogue, or other suitable place, and preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the Jews. Paul was called of God to be an Apostle to the Gen-tiles, and said as much of himself: "I speak to you Gentiles, inasmuch as I am the apostle of the Gentiles" [ROM:11:13]). Nevertheless, Paul went first to the Jews to tell them about forgiveness of sins, and that there was no other name given under Heaven by which men might be saved except the name of Jesus Christ. It was God's order that the Gospel be preached first to the Jew, and Paul obeyed the order religiously. Often the preaching of the Gospel to the Jews was in vain and provoked much trouble, but it was first preached to them as God commanded. Despite the fact that God had turned from Israel as a nation, the individual Jew could be saved and received the blessings of God if he would repent of his sins and turn to Christ. Many of them did turn to Christ, but it is a sad truth that many did not. Paul preached to the Jews, as did the other Apostles, from the Old Testament Scriptures, proving to them that Christ was indeed their long-looked-for Messiah. As the Lord had prophesied, the Jews were stirred to great envy because of Paul's success in preaching to the Gentiles. They began to contradict and blaspheme against the things, which Paul preached. Paul and Barnabas, seeing the unreasoning opposition of the Jews, rebuked them, saying: "It was necessary that the word of God should first have been spoken to you: but seeing ye put it from you, and judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life, lo, we turn to the Gentiles. For so hath the Lord commanded us, saying, I have set thee to be a light of the Gentiles, that thou shouldest be for salvation unto the ends of the earth." Upon hearing that the Word of God would be preached unto them, the Gentiles were glad and glorified the Word of the Lord. Many believed unto eternal life. "And the word of the Lord was published throughout all the region." Our text states that Paul and Barnabas "shook off the dust of their feet against them." What tragic implication is in these few words! They are a parallel to the words of Jesus: "Into whatsoever city or town ye shall enter, inquire who in it is worthy; and there abide till ye go thence. And when ye come into an house, salute it. And if the house be worthy, let your peace come upon it: but if it be not worthy, let your peace return to you. And whosoever shall not receive you, or hear your words, when ye depart out of that house or city, shake off the dust of your feet. Verily I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment, than for that city" [MAT:10:11-15]). Let us take solemn warning from the unbelief of the nation of Israel. Be we ever so familiar with the process of the worship of God, this knowledge will avail us nothing unless we believe in our heart unto righteousness, and believe that God has indeed raised Christ from the dead. The time of preaching of the Gospel to the Gentiles is almost at an end. Even now the Jews have hastening to Palestine, their homeland. The day of opportunity will soon be gone for the Gentile, even as it passed for the Jew. Let us remember the admonition of the Word of God: "Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God. But exhort one another daily, while it is called To day; lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. For we are made partakers of Christ, if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast unto the end" [HEB:3:12-14]).Questions
1. What is meant by: "To the Jew first, and also to the Greek"? 2. Why did Paul preach first to the Jews? 3. Why did Paul say he was an Apostle of the Gentiles? 4. Who are the Gentiles? 5. Why did Paul shake the dust off his feet against the Jews? 6. Why did the Jews become envious of Paul?