Acts 14: 1-7 At Iconium Paul and Barnabas went as usual into the Jewish synagogue. There they spoke so effectively that a great number of Jews and Greeks believed. But the Jews who refused to believe stirred up the other Gentiles and poisoned their minds against the brothers. So Paul and Barnabas spent considerable time there, speaking boldly for the Lord, who confirmed the message of his grace by enabling them to perform signs and wonders. The people of the city were divided; some sided with the Jews, others with the apostles. There was a plot afoot among both Gentiles and Jews, together with their leaders, to mistreat them and stone them. But they found out about it and fled to the Lycaonian cities of Lystra and Derbe and to the surrounding country, where they continued to preach the gospel.
Paul and Barnabas, after two difficult weeks of ministry in Antioch of Pisidia, left that area and walked 96 miles to Iconium, a three or four day journey. In Antioch they were threatened with death so they shook the dust off their feet as a warning to the people of that city. The word of the Lord spread through the whole region. But the Jewish leaders incited the God-fearing women of high standing and the leading men of the city. They stirred up persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and expelled them from their region. So they shook the dust off their feet as a warning to them and went to Iconium. And the disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit. (Acts 13:49-52) As these two disciples journeyed inland in Turkey, their hearts were filled with joy, for the word of the Lord had been spread through that whole region. Even though they left with a target on their backs: the threat of death by stoning, they knew they had fulfilled the will of God in that part of Turkey. They went away from Antioch of Pisidia with glad hearts, experiencing Jesus’ words, Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you. (Matthew 5:11-12) First in Cyprus, then in Antioch of Pisidia they were participating in Jesus’ commission to go into all the world and preach the gospel. Now after being threatened with death, they were going to Iconium to deliver the salvation message that Jesus the Messiah has come to earth to redeem men from their sins. Both Jews and Gentiles in these communities where they had ministered had accepted this message of the Good News, but there were also people in these areas opposed to their ministry. Many Jews were fervently marshaled against the gospel. Jesus said about them, The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone. The Lord has done this and it is marvelous in our eyes’? “Therefore I say to you, the kingdom of God will be taken from you and given to a nation bearing the fruits of it. And whoever falls on this stone will be broken; but on whomever it falls, it will grind him to powder.” (Matthew 21:42-44) Those who should have been the builders of the knowledge of God and his redemptive plan were dead-set against the salvation message that Jesus is the Messiah. Paul would continue to preach in the Jewish synagogues, but the message of the Good News spread like wildfire in the Gentile world. Many Gentiles gladly accepted this message of redemption, and as a congregation of believers they became a nation bearing the fruits of it. People of all kinds would accept the wonderful message of being born again, having eternal life with God through faith in the substitutionary work of the cross of Jesus Christ. As Jesus said about the tenants who were initially chosen as caretakers of his vineyard: their betrayal of the owner of the vineyard would bring horrible judgement on them, grinding them into powder. As Stephen said at his stoning, “You stiff-necked people! Your hearts and ears are still uncircumcised. You are just like your ancestors: You always resist the Holy Spirit! Was there ever a prophet your ancestors did not persecute? They even killed those who predicted the coming of the Righteous One. (Acts 7:51-52) Paul on that day of Stephen’s stoning was part of the stiff-necked people. He threw his lot in with the murderers of Stephen. But his encounter with Christ on the road to Damascus changed him completely. He was no longer a tenant of betrayal but became a caretaker of the vineyard for the glory of the owner: God.
Jesus, the Good News, was born into a world racked with sin and chaos. It was a world with sinful people, as in Noah’s time: every inclination of the human heart is evil from childhood. (Genesis 8:21) Even God’s chosen, led out of slavery in Egypt by miraculous events, crossing the Red Sea on dry land, failed to be obedient to God. On Mount Sinai they were given the perfect law of God, but they carried idols of other gods in they satchels. In the Promise Land, as we read in the book of the Judges, we find the Israelites unfaithful to God. Why were these people who had seen God’s marvelous work of deliverance from slavery not faithful? They lacked faith because even in the best of men and women, humans are lawbreakers, for they possess the DNA of Adam and Eve. The Jews were religious at times, faithful at times, but inconsistent in their service to the One and Only True God. They were like sheep who have chosen their own pasture. We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way. (Continued below) Because of such rebellious behavior, they needed a true and faithful Shepherd. Jesus came to be that Shepherd. However first he had to pay for their sins of disobedience, for God demands total allegiance. Jesus came to place men and women in right standing with a righteous God, carrying the people’s sin to the cross: but the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. (Isaiah 53:6) Paul is preaching this Good News of redemption in the communities of the Greeks. These Gentiles were not chosen initially to hear the message that Moses received about God on Mount Sinai, wrapped in the Law. Now Paul is talking about Jesus who has satisfied all the requirements of the law. He is ministering about the circumcision of the heart: obedience to the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ, not through works. In a Jewish synagogue, Jesus read a passage from Isaiah: The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn, and provide for those who grieve in Zion—to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of joy instead of mourning,and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the Lord for the display of his splendor. (Isaiah 61:1-3) We see Paul and Barnabas as oaks of righteousness. They are fulfilling Jesus’ mission on earth by proclaiming the good news to the poor. They are healing the brokenhearted. They are setting people free from their captivity to Satan. They are telling Jews and Gentiles that Christ has come to bring great favor to them, to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of joy instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. To deliver this redemptive news of Christ to the Jews and the Gentiles, they faced much adversity. To combat this adversity from some in Inconium, Paul and Barnabas performed many miracles to substantiate what they were saying about Jesus Christ. Paul and Barnabas spent considerable time there, speaking boldly for the Lord, who confirmed the message of his grace by enabling them to perform signs and wonders. As with the world today, when people are overlaid with great darkness because of the devil’s hold on them; they often need signs and wonders to confirm the reality that there is a God in heaven and that He sent Jesus Christ to deliver them from their captivity to sin. Many times in lands that are controlled by cults that worship many gods, God comes to people with miraculous signs, dreams, trances and visions. God’s love for all people is so fervent that He will reveal his existence to those who call out to him in earnestness. He stopped Paul, a radical Pharisee, on the road to Damascus by blinding him with a great light.
Now in Iconium we see great resistance cropping up. There was a plot afoot among both Gentiles and Jews, together with their leaders, to mistreat them and stone them. The disciples are now aware of this threat so they leave the area to go to Lystra, 20 miles away, a good day’s walk. The message of salvation has taken root in Iconium, now for the disciples it was time to move on. The struggle for existence will always be in Paul’s life. At first he was with Barnabas, a fellow Jew, and then later he would journey with Silas, a Gentile. But always there would be a target on his back. Zealous people who were adverse to the Good News would plot and scheme to kill Paul. He never knew safety from these haters. They jailed him, beat him with rods, stoned him. He was never out of harm’s way absent from these communities either. For in between these Gentile cities there were gangsters and robbers who might accost him, stealing from him and abusing him. He also faced natural disasters such as drowning at sea or in rivers. Paul’s life was always precariously lived. Jesus promised his disciples that their lives would always be on the line from persecution and even death. I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33) These disciples knew the resurrected Lord, but still to follow Jesus unreservedly was a difficult assignment. Peter complained about that when Jesus told him, “Feed my sheep. Very truly I tell you, when you were younger you dressed yourself and went where you wanted; but when you are old you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go.” Jesus said this to indicate the kind of death by which Peter would glorify God. Then he said to him, “Follow me!” (John 21:17-19) With such a prognostication about his life, Peter wanted to know about John’s future. Is he also going to be treated so terribly when he is old? But Jesus told him not to be concerned about what might happen to John but to be concerned only about his life. And his life should consist of following Jesus to the end. As with all Christians we are buried IN CHRIST and we live IN CHRIST. We will dance the dance Jesus made for us and we will sing the song he has prepared for us to sing. We are his vessels as long as we live. No other tune will we dance to or sing. We know as children of God as we progress through our lives, the sweetness of Jesus’s voice as we dance. His closeness, his song in our ears brings the warmth of love to us. And someday as this earth passes from us, we will be present with God and his beloved Son. Nothing we can think of is better than to be in the household of God. Better is one day in your courts than a thousand elsewhere; I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of the wicked. For the Lord God is a sun and shield; the Lord bestows favor and honor; no good thing does he withhold from those whose walk is blameless. Lord Almighty blessed is the one who trusts in you. (Psalm 84:10-12) Friends around this breakfast table as we look at each other, we know we will be present with the Lord. Our faces might be glad or sad now, but one day all trials of this earth will disappear, tears will be wiped away, and joy will radiate our faces. We love the account of Paul and Silas in jail. Everyone in the jail heard them singing praises to God when they were chained in the depths of a jail. About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them. (Acts 16:25) Are we singing this morning, even in chains? Or do we feel we are chained to a wall in an everlasting prison? Dear ones, hear the redemptive music God is singing even when you despair. Dance with him. Paul had to hear that music or he would have quit many times. But the music is always playing for you--the dance is always on. As Jesus would say, You who have ears, hear the voice of God and his songs.
No comments:
Post a Comment