TURNING TO THE GENTILES
|
As Paul and Barnabas set out on their first missionary journey, they were met and resisted by members of the Jewish community in almost every city and town.
The apostles went out of their way to include their own people in their proclamation of the story of Jesus, usually beginning in the local synagogue and usually being expelled from the synagogue as the groups of Christian believers grew.
It must have been especially difficult for them to face the opposition their message generated among their own people in these foreign cities, as well as risking the threats, abuse, and violence that often resulted from the jealousy of the Jewish leaders.
Despite the resistance, Paul and Barnabas spoke with courage in responding to the recurring rejections. The message they had been entrusted with was important enough to face those risks, and at the same time, the message itself gave them courage.
The power of the message was also the reason they would turn their attention to the rest of the city after the Jewish leaders had made their rejection clear.
In turn, this would often be a catalyst for the Jewish leaders to increase their efforts to create trouble for Paul and Barnabas. In Pisidian Antioch, the pattern was repeated. As “the word of the Lord spread through the whole region,” the Jewish leaders worked with prominent citizens who “stirred up persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and expelled them from their region” (Acts 13:49, 50). But the conclusion to this story was notable.
Rather than being discouraged, frustrated, or afraid as they began walking to the next city, “the disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit” (Acts 13:52).
