Day 325 (Acts 13-14) - Year 4
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Hey, Bible readers, I'm Tara Lee Cobble, and I'm your host for The Bible Recap.

Today we open in the church at Antioch in modern-day Syria. There's a group of prophets and teachers leading the church, including two who have sketchy pasts. There's Saul, of course, the former persecutor of Christians. But there's also a guy named Manan who used to work for the King Herod who killed JTB. So here are these Christians working alongside and being led by people who at one point killed their leaders and friends. This is what the gospel looks like.

It not only reaches past nationalism, but it reaches past pain and hurt as well. Together, they're worshiping God and fasting, and in the midst of it all, they get some direction from the Holy Spirit. Remember how Jesus said the Spirit would be their guide? We're continuing to see that in the ways he's directing Peter's steps to go see Cornelius, and in the way he's telling them to appoint Barnabas and Saul as missionaries, and the church obeys the Spirit's promptings. They lay hands on them and pray for them and anoint them with oil, the symbol of the Holy Spirit. And

And they're off. First stop, Cyrus. And John Mark comes along too. While they're preaching their way across the island, the governor hears about it and summons them. He's hanging out with a false prophet slash magician who relies on the power of the enemy. As the disciples preach the gospel, the governor is starting to come around, so the magician tries to dissuade him. Then Saul calls him out. He calls him a son of the devil, actually. And he speaks temporary blindness over him.

Saul had experienced this himself, so he knows what it's like. I wonder if any part of him hoped this temporary blindness would end in spiritual sight, like his did. The governor sees all this happen and he's sold on Jesus because he was already astonished based on the teaching alone.

By the way, verse 9 is the first time Scripture mentions Saul's other name, Paul. From here on out, it becomes the primary name used for him and the way he self-identifies. Here's what most scholars think is behind that switch. This is his first missionary journey. This is where the spread of the gospel to the Gentiles increases, so it makes sense for Paul to use the Gentile version of his name. He's adapting to the cultures he encounters, making sacrifices to get any stumbling blocks out of the way.

Later, in 1 Corinthians 9, Paul says he has become all things to all people, and this is part of what he meant. For stop number two, the Spirit sends Paul and Barnabas to a different Antioch. This one is in Turkey, but John Mark goes back to Jerusalem. Put a pin in that for a few days. They show up in a synagogue one Sabbath and listen to the teaching. Then the people in charge are like, we have some visitors today. Do you have any encouragement for us? Paul steps up to the mic.

Maybe they expect him to say, you guys are great, nice teaching, Bob and Steve, way to carry that scroll. But Paul's version of encouragement doesn't focus on what the people are doing, but on what has already been done for the people. Paul's version of encouragement is to remind them that God rescues and redeems his people through the saving work of Christ. In verses 38 through 39, Paul says, Let it be known to you, therefore, brothers, that through this man forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you.

And by him, everyone who believes is freed from everything from which you could not be freed by the law of Moses. In a room full of law-abiding Jews and devout foreigners, Paul tells them that the law is not where their hope lies. Christ is. Then he says, pay attention, otherwise that prophecy from Habakkuk will be true for you too. The one that says, I'm about to do something you wouldn't believe even if I told you, by which I mean destroy you all.

By the way, that verse from Habakkuk is frequently misquoted and taken out of context, but Paul uses it rightly here, as a warning. The crowd goes wild at their teaching and begs them to come back next week. When nearly the whole city shows up a week later for round two, it doesn't go quite as well.

One problem is that there are lots of Gentiles gathered for this message, not just Jews. So, of course, the Jews who aren't Christ followers are not okay with that. Jews and Gentiles don't get along. So when the Gentiles begin to accept Paul's message, that seems to serve as an added deterrent for the Jews. Paul tells them that it had to happen this way. The Jews had to be presented with the gospel and reject it so that it could go out to the Gentiles. Again, we see that God has a detailed process and intentional timing for everything he does.

Verse 48 says that everyone God has appointed for eternal life believes. And apparently God has appointed lots of the people there to eternal life because a revival starts in the area primarily among the Gentiles.

Stop 3 is a town called Iconium. It's a mostly Gentile town about 90 miles away. Lots of Jews and Greeks believe the gospel there. But once again, they get pushback from the people who don't believe. They're actively working against Paul and Barnabas here. So what do they do? Stay there a long time. Not my first choice, but okay. Then they peace out when they find out the people are about to stone them.

Step four is a town called Lystra, which is about a day away. Paul heals a lame man there, and as a result, people start worshiping him and Barnabas. They both lose their minds over it. They tear their clothes, rush out to the people, and tell them, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, this is not about us. This is about God the creator who made us and all of this.

But that barely deters the people from worshiping them. They even want to offer sacrifices to them. I'd be like, uh, just a refresher, I'm still not God, and I have a goat's blood allergy, so I'm gonna pass.

Meanwhile, the Jews from stops number two and three have followed Paul and Barnabas to stop number four. They are not messing around. They rally the locals in Lystra, stone Paul, and drag his body out of the city because they think they've killed him. These were the people who wanted to offer him sacrifices moments earlier. He goes from being worshipped to being nearly killed in one verse.

After the stoning, the disciples gather around him. He gets up and goes back into the city. Again, not my first choice. Only Paul. The next day, they had to stop number five, Derby, to preach the gospel. Then go back to the three towns that wanted to kill them. Only Paul. But he doesn't go back for revenge. He doesn't go back to show all the haters he's still alive. And he doesn't even go back to try to change their minds. He goes back to strengthen and encourage the believers there.

Paul knows that if they tried to kill him for what he believes and teaches, then the people who actually live there full-time aren't going to have an easy go of it all. While he's there, they appoint elders in their local churches, pray, fast, and commit the elders to God. They make a few more stops along the way, then head back to the original Antioch, the one in Syria, to report on everything that happened, namely, that God opened the hearts of the Gentiles to believe.

What was your God shot today? Mine was in chapter 14, verses 16 through 17, where Paul says, In past generations he allowed all the nations to walk in their own ways. Yet he did not leave himself without witness, for he did good by giving you rains from heaven and fruitful seasons, satisfying your heart with food and gladness.

The Greek word for allowed here is often translated suffered. God suffered all the nations to walk in their own ways. And even though their complete rejection of God wounds him, he still makes himself known to them nonetheless through his blessings, rain and fruit and food and gladness.

Theologians refer to this as common grace, where God pours out his kindness even on people who reject him. What a generous God to not immediately destroy the wicked and rebellious, as we all deserve, but to use his kindness and grace as a means of making himself known even among his enemies. If we look close enough, we'll see that every blessing is a gift with his signature on it. He's where the joy is. ♪

Tomorrow we'll be reading the book of James. It's five chapters long. We're linking to a short video overview in the show notes that will really help set you up for success with this new book. So check it out if you've got eight minutes to spare.

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