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Main Idea
The Word of God is living and active and therefore has a meaningful impact.
Word. The word ‘word” has many different connotations to it.
- It is a description of a single distinct meaningful element of speech or writing.
- It’s also slang for truth, such as, “Man, that movie was the worst.” Word. (Yes, it’s true)
- It can mean news, as in “What’s the word on the street?”
- Maybe you hear the terrible 80’s song from Cameo called Word Up
- In biblical terms, the Word refers to Christ as the Logos (word), or of God’s revelation to humans, either spoken by God or written in the scriptures.
Today’s passage can be summed up in one word: WORD. Because the Word of God is living and active and therefore has a meaningful impact on our lives.
Passage
Acts 13:42–52 ESV
42 As they went out, the people begged that these things might be told them the next Sabbath. 43 And after the meeting of the synagogue broke up, many Jews and devout converts to Judaism followed Paul and Barnabas, who, as they spoke with them, urged them to continue in the grace of God.
44 The next Sabbath almost the whole city gathered to hear the word of the Lord. 45 But when the Jews saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy and began to contradict what was spoken by Paul, reviling him. 46 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. 47 For so 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.’ ”
48 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. 49 And the word of the Lord was spreading throughout the whole region. 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. 51 But they shook off the dust from their feet against them and went to Iconium. 52 And the disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.
Outline
I – Desire for the Word (vv. 42-44)
II – Aversion to the Word (vv. 45-47, 50-51)
III – Acceptance of the Word (vv. 48-49,52)
IV – The power of the Word (recap)
I – Desire for the Word
From the Jews & God-fearers
Two groups are in view in this short section of scripture. The first group is Paul’s original audience. The ethnic Jews and the God-fearers (Jewish converts) wanted to hear more teaching after Synagogue let out. They literally begged Paul and Barnabas to stick around, waiting with bated breath each time they would open their mouths to expound the scriptures. Do you follow a pastor like that, where you listen to every sermon and buy every book because everything they preach is profound and life-changing?
I imagine this took place throughout the week. As they followed Paul and Barnabas around, they were encouraged to continue by the grace of God. What do you think that means? If I ended my sermon today with an encouragement for you to continue in the grace of God, what would you do? It seems vague and nebulous. Well, it would if we forgot the context. Remember, Paul just finished showing them that they will never obtain righteousness through adherence to the law. It’s by God’s grace alone, through Christ alone, that one is justified and declared righteous, so it would be safe to assume that this message took root. And seeing this take place, Paul is now encouraging them to continue to trust in God’s grace for righteousness, justification, removal of sin, and a restored relationship with the Father.
From the Gentiles
The Jews weren’t the only excited listeners. Clearly, Paul and Barnabas were active in the community for the whole week because the entire city attended the service when the next Sabbath rolled around! If good news travels fast, what would you call this? Warp-speed evangelism? That is impressive on its own, but remember that this city was a Roman military and civil center for the region. It was established as a Roman colony outside of Rome and was thoroughly Gentile and pagan. Word got out to the Gentiles fast, and their eagerness to hear God’s Word was just as extreme as some Jews!
And so, we see the first marker of God’s Word: Thirst. For His people, it reveals our spiritual dehydration, satisfies it, and creates a thirst for more. The Jews & Converts yearned for more, and as they were filled with the living waters that truly satisfied, they couldn’t help but spread the news. Are you thirsty? Maybe you have been parched for quite some time but haven’t been able to pinpoint what it is or why. Come to the living waters of God’s word and drink deeply. As Paul says in Colossians, “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly…”
You might find that Jesus is what you have been longing for this whole time.
Thirst is one marker, but there is another impactful marker to God’s word. Like a sword that slashes through the air, it also divides soul and spirit, joints and marrow, and the intentions of the heart (as Heb. 4:12 says). It is that final point that we will see next.
II – Aversion to the Word
The Jews acted out of jealousy
The Word divides, and we see that quite clearly in how the Jews react to the Gentile crowd. It’s worth noting that the term Jew now takes on the connotation of ‘unbelieving Jews.’ That’s not to say that the thirsty Jews stopped seeking truth and have turned on the two missionaries. Instead, Luke is using the term to refer to the group of Jews who specifically reject the gospel.
And one word comes to mind as he describes the condition of their hearts. Jealousy. They held intense negative feelings over the success of Paul and Barnabas’ evangelistic efforts. And in acting this way, they mimic the attitudes of the High Priest and the Sadducees in Acts 5:17 when the apostles were arrested at the Temple—different dogs… same old tricks.
And, in their jealousy, they became pretty unsavory toward Paul. The verb in Greek is blasphēméō. Some translations say that they contradicted and reviled Paul. Others say that they insulted him. Still, others say they contradicted Paul and blasphemed. According to the Theological Dictionary of the NT, those are the basic usages of the word: abusive speech, personal mockery/slander, and blasphemy (to insult God and verbalize contempt for His holy nature). So, which one is true here? Likely both.
The novelist, James Lane Allen, is said to have coined the phrase: “Adversity does not build character; it reveals it.”
Much to the same effect (and even more true), the Word of God discerns the heart’s intentions, and when exposed to it, the reaction is for the heart’s contents to bubble to the surface. It’s not something that comes from an external source. It only comes out because it was already inside. For these Jews, the nastiness that is within is now pouring out.
The Jews incite rebellion
So, the Word drew out the jealousy in their hearts, which led to slander and blasphemy from their mouths, which led to them taking action with their hands by inciting a rebellion (after witnessing a reaction from Paul and the Gentile populace, which we’ll get to in just a moment). With a shovel firmly in hand, they continued digging their graves deeper.
These jealous Jews hardened their hearts against the Word of the Lord and started whispering in the ears of influential leaders: prominent women and leading men of the city. These leaders and city officials were called upon to grab Paul and Barnabas by the shirt collar and seat of the pants and throw them out of the city.
As their hearts were exposed to the Word of God, it revealed their stony nature and utter rejection of the God they claim to worship. The word of God divides. The word of God reveals. The Word of God is living and active and therefore has a meaningful impact.
Impact
And what was that impact? There were three in this group.
1. Paul spoke loudly and boldly, confirming that their sinful hearts condemned them. They have rejected the Word of God (the message of Jesus as the Messiah) and therefore have judged for themselves that they are unworthy of eternal life. They are culpable and held accountable for their rejection of Jesus.
2. Paul confirmed their mission. First, they fulfilled the duty to proclaim the Jewish Messiah to the Jews first. Now that their mission here was complete and they had rejected their Messiah, they were now free to proclaim that good news to the Gentiles, thereby fulfilling God’s global mission that was spoken about over 700 years prior through the prophet Isaiah in Isa 49:6, which says:
Isaiah 49:6 ESV
6 he says:
“It is too light a thing that you should be my servant
to raise up the tribes of Jacob
and to bring back the preserved of Israel;
I will make you as a light for the nations,
that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth.”
This is precisely what Simeon said of Jesus as he looked upon him as a baby in Luke 2:30-32. So as Jesus fulfilled it at his birth, He is now fulfilling it through His body – the Church.
3. Paul confirms their disassociation from and condemnation of those Jews by shaking the dust from their feet as they departed, which was an action Jesus told his disciples to take (Matt 10:14 / Mark 6:11 / Luke 9:5) when they were sent out to witness in the surrounding towns. It was an action that communicated rejection and that they were no longer responsible for their fate, and their blood was on their own hands (this was much like Pilate washing his hands of guilt).
This has shown us two more markers. The word of God reveals the condition and intentions of the heart. In this case, their hearts are rock solid in rebellion. The Word of God has also proven to be trustworthy and true. We see that in the way God’s prophetic mission to the Gentiles is being fulfilled by Paul and Barnabas. And, as a bonus, it provides discernment. Because Paul could see the condition of their hearts, he knew when to stop witnessing and walk away. This is a hard concept for many of us because we want to ensure and never lose hope that someone we are witnessing to will repent and turn away from their unbelief, but there are times when we should stop. We are told there are times when we should not cast our pearls before swine. Jesus taught us to look at the condition of the heart by comparing it to four different types of soil. Sadly, there are times when hearts are just too hard and impenetrable. And while we should continue to pray for their repentance, our efforts must shift elsewhere.
The trustworthy Word divides. The first division was a negative one. Let’s now move on to the opposite side.
III – Acceptance of the Word
The Gentiles Rejoice
We just witnessed the fulfillment of God’s plan from Isaiah in terms of turning away from the Jews of this city. Thankfully, when you turn away from one thing, you turn toward another. The Word of God became a judgment on the unbelief of the Jews, but it became how the Gentiles were accepted into the Kingdom. So, while the reaction of the Jews was rebellion, the response of the Gentiles was rejoicing! The door that was once locked from the inside has now been taken off the hinges, and they have access to God and His Messiah just like the Jews do. How could anyone not be excited about that news? And if you think about it, what is truly amazing is that a large portion of a pagan people group abandoned the pantheon of gods they once served and embraced the glory of the One True God of the Hebrews.
The Gentiles show honor
They also showed honor. Did they show honor to God? Well… technically, yes, but they did so expressly by honoring the Word. They honored the message of the Messiah, who came to save people from every tribe, nation, and tongue. As opposed to the Jews who heard the Word and judged themselves unworthy of eternal life, the Roman Gentiles graciously received the Word and embraced eternal life that is offered through Jesus, the Messiah.
Impact
As before, the Word had a significant impact on this second people group; another 3, in fact:
1. The Gentiles who received the Word that Jesus is the Messiah were saved. But, more than that, Luke reveals an important theological truth, the doctrine of election, when he says, “all who had been appointed to eternal life believed.” This is one of the most prominent and clear attestations that God has predestined His elect to eternal life.
Like the Word of God, this term can easily divide the room. Some have an adverse, negative reaction to the mere thought that God would be the one to elect some to eternal life and not others. It seems uncaring, unloving, and unfair. Still, others see the doctrine of election as a natural outcome of God’s sovereignty. He is in control. He created all things and can do as He pleases. Some in that camp can go to the extreme that looks a lot like fatalism, where God is the puppeteer, and we are the marionette dolls on the end of the strings, only doing what the master directs. That would be a poor view of election and sovereignty.
If you are passionately on one side or the other or are just being exposed to this concept for the first time, let me encourage you. You must have a theology of election. God’s elect and the predestination of His people to adoption in His kingdom is a biblical concept, whether you understand it to mean that anyone can believe and are therefore become one of the elect or that all God’s elect will eventually believe (which is where I stand). Perhaps we will do a series on it one day and flesh it out. The one thing I want to highlight here is that when Luke says that all were appointed, he is using a verb that is a perfect, passive participle, which means that this is an action that has happened to someone (or, in this case, multiple someones) in the past. In more basic terms, it means that their belief didn’t appoint them because that is an action they would have taken. God’s ‘appointing to eternal life’ happened to them in the past (eternity past, as we see in other scripture passages). God did the appointing, and as a result, they did the believing. And lest we get too fatalistic, Luke confirms that the unbelief of the Jews was entirely on them. They were culpable, even though they were not appointed. So, as we have seen many times, God is sovereign, and man is responsible. We are not mindless puppets, and God has not surrendered his ability to save to human free will.
2. Gentiles filled with joy and the Spirit. What other outcome could we expect from receiving eternal life? Though their teachers had been cast out of the city, they will never lose the treasure hidden in their hearts. The Holy Spirit comes upon us as a guarantee of our eternal inheritance, guides us into the truths of Christ, counsels us as a faithful companion, and brings spiritual fruit to bear; joy being one of them. Joy is the marker for the believer, as opposed to jealousy from the unrepentant heart.
3. The word spread. This is the final marker of the Word we will see today. It is unstoppable. Not only did the Word spread from the synagogue to the Gentile citizens in Antioch, but it continued to spread like wildfire throughout Pisidia. It’s no coincidence that they are described similarly to the apostles and believers in Acts 2 onward. The Holy Spirit comes, they are filled with the Spirit, and they become evangelists like everyone else.
Do you want to be like that? After a year’s worth of studying the book of Acts, have you grown in your love for God’s word and the fellowship of the Spirit to the point where you will burst if you don’t share the love that is welling up inside you? I don’t know about you, but I long to be like that: to adore Christ (as THE Word) and the scriptures (God’s Word) to the degree that I must share that good news. If you want an accurate picture of New Testament evangelism, there it is.
I know that is a lot to take in, so briefly, let me recap the highlights.
IV- The Power of the Word
As I said at the beginning, the entire passage of scripture can be summed up in one simple word: WORD.
The Word of God is living and active and therefore has a meaningful impact. It’s not always a positive impact, but it is influential in our lives. It cannot leave you unchanged. Today, we’ve seen six different ways:
The Word has the power to:
a. Create & Satisfy our spiritual thirst
b. Be trustworthy over generations (prophetic fulfillment)
c. Reveals the intentions of the heart
d. Save God’s appointed elect
e. Fill God’s people with joy and the Spirit
f. Spread… to be unstoppable in its spread throughout the world
Now, it is your turn. Will you delight in God’s word, or will you despise it? Will it draw out jealousy or joy? Will it cause you to rejoice in God or revile Him? Will you let it develop you or destroy you? And finally, will you receive it and have eternal life, or reject it and judge yourself unworthy? The choice is yours.