Acts 13:46

Acts 13:46 says, Then Paul and Barnabas waxed bold, and said, 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.  Paul and Barnabas waxed bold.  That means they boldly proclaimed the gospel, telling the Jews that since they deemed themselves unworthy of everlasting life, then Paul and Barnabas were turning to the Gentiles. The gospel had first been preached to the Jews and they rejected it, and as a group have ever since Paul and Barnabas preached to them.  Verse forty-seven adds, 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.  Paul and Barnabas were told that God had set them to be a light to the Gentiles and bring the gospel to the ends of the earth.  We are part of the ends of the earth.  Paul had been called from attempting to destroy Christianity to sharing it throughout the world.  Until we accept Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord, we are a part of those trying to destroy Christianity. Verse forty-eight continues, And when the Gentiles heard this, they were glad, and glorified the word of the Lord: and as many as were ordained to eternal life believed.  Many Gentiles believed.  God’s chosen people rejected the gospel, and it came to the Gentiles.  Of course, if the Jewish people had accepted Jesus Christ, they would have known that their purpose was to share the gospel with everyone and not just their fellow Jews.  This is still our challenge today.  Verse forty-nine states, And the word of the Lord was published throughout all the region.  God’s word was published throughout this region in spite of the opposition Jews had to it happening.  Even if we face opposition when witnessing today, we need to continue to keep on witnessing.  Verse fifty adds, But the Jews stirred up the devout and honourable women, and the chief men of the city, and raised persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and expelled them out of their coasts.  Again, the Jews, God's chosen people, stirred up trouble.  May we, as God's people, never be guilty of stirring up trouble against God.  Paul and Barnabas were expelled from their coasts by the Jews.  Verse fifty-one says, But they shook off the dust of their feet against them, and came unto Iconium.  Paul and Barnabas shook off the dust of their feet against them and continued to Iconium.  If we are not welcomed somewhere while sharing the gospel, we may be better off going somewhere that people will listen.  Of course, we need to make sure that the Holy Spirit is leading us to this decision.  The Jews thought they had defeated Paul and Barnabas, but they had simply sent them on their way to do what God had called them to do.  As long as we are obedient to the will of God, the world can never defeat us.  Verse fifty-two adds, And the disciples were filled with joy, and with the Holy Ghost.  The Jews might have been opposing Paul and Barnabas, but the disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Ghost.  Of course, as Christians, we are always indwelled with the Holy Spirit, but at times we may not be filled with the Holy Spirit.  To be filled I believe means that we are allowing the Holy Spirit to actually work through us and not just to be available to do so. 

Many Jews and religious proselytes followed Paul and Barnabas, encouraging them to continue in the grace of God.  That is all we can ever do.  We are saved by His grace and sustained by His grace.  Our independent streak or self pride often rebels at the thought of being dependant on God's mercy, but that is where we will always be as His followers.  As we saw in Acts 13: 42, the Gentiles had asked to hear the words preached to them the next Sabboth.  That Sabboth, nearly the whole city came together to hear what Paul and Barnabas had to say.  People were hungry to hear the gospel.  Except for many of the Jews, who had grown up on God's word.  They were jealous that the Word of God was going to the whole world and not just them, so they stirred up trouble.  When people start being drawn to Christ, someone is going to try and stop them.  Hopefully, it won't be those who call themselves His people.  Being accused of blasphemy, the charge the religious leaders brought against Jesus, Paul and Barnabas waxed bold.  That means they boldly proclaimed the gospel, telling the Jews in verse 46, that since they deemed themselves unworthy of everlasting life, then Paul and Barnabas were turning to the Gentiles.  The gospel had first been preached to the Jews and they rejected it, and as a group have ever since. Paul and Barnabas, in Acts 13: said, "For so hath the Lord commanded us saying, I have set thee to be a light unto the Gentiles, that thou shouldest be for salvation to the ends of the earth." (KJV)  We are part of the ends of the earth.  Many Gentiles believed and the word of the Lord was published throughout the region.  Again, the Jews, God's chosen people, stirred up trouble.  May we, as God's people, never be guilty of stirring up trouble against God.  Paul and Barnabas were expelled from their coasts by the Jews.  Paul and Barnabas shook off the dust of their feet against them and continued to Iconium.  "And the disciples were filled with joy and the Holy Ghost."  Acts 13: 52 (KJV)  The Jews thought they had defeated Paul and Barnabas, but they had simply sent them on their way to do what God had called them to do.  As long as we are obedient to the will of God, the world can never defeat us.