The Grace of God (Acts 13-14)

Our story begins with an odd scene. Paul and Barnabas have just returned from Jerusalem. They have seen James murdered by Herod and Peter barely escape execution during the days of Unleavened bread. Now, we learn about them back in Antioch, a predominantly Gentile congregation that has provided a great gift to help disciples in Jerusalem endure a time of famine.

Acts 13:1--3 (ESV) --- 1 Now there were in the church at Antioch prophets and teachers, Barnabas, Simeon who was called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen a lifelong friend of Herod the tetrarch, and Saul. 2 While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” 3 Then after fasting and praying they laid their hands on them and sent them off.

There are five teachers and prophets in Antioch. That has helped them to have the right attitude and Christ-likeness. More men teaching and living out the example of Christ led to all the disciples there to be given the name "Christians." But they are not content with the work they are currently doing. Notice that these five teachers and prophets are worshipping and fasting. Fasting indicates that they want something to happen. They are most likely praying and seeking God's help for something. I wonder what it is.

Next, we see the Holy Spirit saying, "Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work I have called them." This tells us that God will take Saul and Barnabas to accomplish this work.

The First Journey

Throughout the rest of this chapter and the next, we learn about Paul and Barnabas traveling to spread the gospel. They go to Cyprus, Antioch in Pisidia, Iconium, Lystra, Derbe, and Perga, preaching the gospel of Jesus. These men were fasting because they saw the massive number of unsaved people and wanted to bring the gospel to them. They want to share the truth of Jesus with the Jews and Gentiles everywhere. That's the church's mission.

Cyprus‌

On the island of Cyprus, they speak to a proconsul, a Roman governor, or a military leader. This man seems very interested in God's word, but a false prophet and magician is trying to deceive him. Paul says he was "making crooked the straight paths of the Lord." This is an interesting phrase. It reminds me of our studies on Tuesday nights. We learn that everything on earth is crooked and broken. Nothing is as it should be. In place of righteousness, there is wickedness. The wicked receive the reward of the righteous, and the righteous suffer.

We might think that if God set these men aside for this work and had them travel all this way, they wouldn't run into people like this. But they don't give up or consider this a failure. Instead, Paul looks at him and says, "You son of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness, full of all deceit and villainy, will you not stop making crooked the straight paths of the Lord?" Then, Paul calls for God to strike him with the same blindness he received for a time. Can you imagine him opposing Paul with pride and then having to ask for help to do anything? God was with Paul and helped him find success with the proconsul and many others on this island.

Antioch in Pisidia

Starting in verse 14, we read about Paul in Antioch of Pisidia. He gets an opportunity to speak to the Jews in the Synagogue, and he gives a great sermon. He explains how God has been very patient with the rebellious Israelites. It sounds like Stephen's sermon back in Acts 7. Then, he moves to the fact that David was a man after God's heart to transition to Jesus as the promised king. God raised him from the dead after the Jews murdered him. He has fulfilled the promises of God. He ends the sermon by telling them to "Beware lest what is said in the Prophets should come about."

In verse 42, the initial response is very positive.

Acts 13:42--45 (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.

Isn't this great? The people were excited to hear the gospel, urging them to continue next week. When we get to the next week, we learn that the whole city wants to know what the word of the Lord is all about. That's a fantastic response, like what we heard about in Samaria. However, we learn that the Jews change their minds. The idea that they would be seen as the bad guys who killed the Messiah hurt their feelings. They sought to defend their religious leaders instead of believing the truth. Besides, this is too good to be true.

Acts 13:46--48 (ESV) --- 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.

‌Paul and Barnabas say, "You have thrust it aside and judge yourselves unworthy of eternal life." The gift of the gospel seems too good to be true. Are any of us worthy of it? No, but in Romans, Paul tells us that God counts faith in his goodness as righteousness. Paul says that if these Jews do not experience eternal life, it's not because they aren't worthy. It's because they refused to accept this tremendous blessing. They were "too good for it." What pride!

You are right if you are here today and consider yourself unworthy of the gospel! But don't let that stop you from accepting this wonderful gift.

Iconium

Paul moves on from Antioch of Pisidia to a city called Iconium. While there, he finds many Jews and Greeks who believe and submit to Christ. But some of the unbelieving Jews, once again, started working against them and poisoned their minds. So the people in that city were divided on this issue for a long time. Then, some Gentiles and Jews started persecuting Paul and Barnabas and sought to stone them. So they moved on to the town of Lystra.

Lystra & Derbe

When they got to Lystra, Paul found a man who had been crippled since birth, and he healed him so that he was walking everywhere. Then, the crowds, which were mostly Gentile, started calling Barnabas "Zues" and Paul "Hermes." They prepared animals to sacrifice for them. So Paul and Barnabas had to calm them down and explain that the living God had done this. Afterward, Jews came in from Antioch and Iconium to stir up the crowds and convince them to stone Paul nearly to death. When he woke up, he returned to the city and left for Derbe the next day.

One would think that being stoned to death would make Paul ready to go home, but he went right back to preaching the gospel. When they got to Derbe, they made many more disciples. Then, they returned to all the cities they had previously visited on their way back to Antioch.

Back To Antioch of Syria

Acts 14:26--28 (ESV) --- 26 and from there they sailed to Antioch, where they had been commended to the grace of God for the work that they had fulfilled. 27 And when they arrived and gathered the church together, they declared all that God had done with them, and how he had opened a door of faith to the Gentiles. 28 And they remained no little time with the disciples.

Finally, after Paul and Barnabas had gone back through all the cities in Asia, they returned to the city where the brethren had sent them out, Antioch of Syria. Notice in this text that "they declared all that God had done with them." They weren't bragging about all the people they baptized. They were pointing to God, using them to reach more people. He "opened a door of faith to the Gentiles."

Meaning and Focus

Can you imagine spending all of that time traveling from city to city with a desire to spread the gospel to those who will listen? These men were devoted to teaching and preaching the truth about Christ. When men opposed them, they pressed on until there was no hope of them changing their minds. Then, they moved to the next town and started again. As we read this text, what are we supposed to learn?

Christians Begin To Be Outward Focused‌

The first thing we see in this text is that the Christians in Antioch have a very outward focus. They are not just concerned with themselves. They have moved their focus outward and are now wholly devoted to helping others. First, we saw them send money to Jerusalem, and now they are sending men to the world to share the gospel.

This needs to be our focus. After a full year of taking in the gospel's truth, we must devote ourselves to sending it out. This is the mission of the church. Is it your mission, or are you devoted to something else?

God Shows Grace

As we read this text, we see they were praying and fasting for God to help them. Then, we see God respond. God wanted new people to hear the truth of the gospel. He heard their prayers and chose Paul and Barnabas to do that work. It's not that God paved the way for these men, making everything easy for them. But he was with them and willing to help them. Notice how they viewed that work according to 14:26-27.

Acts 14:26--27 (ESV) --- 26 and from there they sailed to Antioch, where they had been commended to the grace of God for the work that they had fulfilled. 27 And when they arrived and gathered the church together, they declared all that God had done with them, and how he had opened a door of faith to the Gentiles.‌

These men went through troubles and hardships to spread the gospel. But they did not view that as an inconvenience. It's not that they were angry with God for letting them suffer. They considered the opportunity to share the gospel as God pouring his grace out on them and the world. They see the work of evangelism as a blessing, not a curse! Overall they maintain a very positive outlook.

Souls Are Saved

The big thing we learn as we move from city to city in this first journey is that many Jews are still jealous and hate the idea of the Gentiles being forgiven. Their mindset is so focused on keeping the law that they cannot believe God can be so gracious. Paul says, "They judge themselves unworthy." This is what happens when we change God to be more like us. We refuse to believe he could be that merciful. But closer inspection of the OT reveals that God has always been merciful.

The Gentiles, on the other hand, appear to be more receptive. They glorify God and rejoice over this grace. Every human is looking for the resurrection from the dead and the hope of eternal life. It straightens out what is crooked about this life.

Application

As God's people, our mission is to shine a light so that the world can see God's glory. We know this, but how do we feel about that responsibility? Do you consider that responsibility to be a heavyweight? Do we feel like the opportunity to evangelize is a blessing and not a curse? Maybe God hasn't given us as many opportunities because we have the wrong attitude about it. It's exciting and gracious when God lets us work in his kingdom and bring souls in. If we don't see that, we are missing something essential. If we are honest about it, some of us may hate the idea of talking to other people about our beliefs. We have met resistance, and we don't like it.

We know what our mission is as the body of Christ. We are here to spread the good news of Jesus, resurrection, and eternal life to lost souls. But, as we consider our situation, this becomes complicated. Everyone around us already believes that they have eternal life. It's not promised to them, but they are foolish enough to believe they can receive it without fearing God or submitting to him. I think that is the primary source of my frustration. But does that make our responsibility any different?

If we apply this text to our lives, we need to see the level of devotion Paul and Barnabas have to evangelism. They don't care that the Jews refuse to believe and want to kill them. They say it anyway. What about us? Are we willing to step into the fire to save lost souls? We all have gifts to bring that will help us in the fight. Those who speak in those situations need people around them to pray and work to create opportunities. We need to see one another devoting our lives to our gifts. Some of you know what your gift is right now because you use it all the time to make money. Why aren't you using that for the Lord?

Conclusion

Before we close, I want to ask you, "Do you judge yourself unworthy of the grace God has given you?" That's a trick question. None of us are worthy, but God makes it possible for us to be counted worthy through faith in Jesus. When this life is over, no person in this room will have the right to say, "I didn't think I was good enough." It's not about that. Don't let this world poison your mind. Salvation is about faith in the worthiness of Jesus. Do you believe that his sacrifice can make you worthy? That's what God promises all of us. We have eternal life waiting for us if we believe and submit our lives to following him.