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THE APOSTLES TURNING TO THE GENTILES

IV. QUAR., LESSON IX., NOV. 27, ACTS 13:44-14:7

Golden Text—”I have set thee to be a light of the Gentiles.”—Acts 13:47

VERSES 44,45. As a result of Paul’s discourse of the preceding lesson, on the next Sabbath day almost the whole city came together to hear more of this gospel. And when the unbelieving Jews observed this evidence of the growing popularity of the doctrines of the crucified Jesus, they were moved with envy and bestirred themselves in opposition to the truth, because they saw that this new religion was calculated to supersede Judaism, around which clustered all their national pride and their selfish sectarian hopes. As a people, they had, because of this very pride, failed to comprehend the true import of their own God-given religion, and to see its transient an typical character; and so its precious promises, misunderstood and perverted, served only to minister to their further pride, while they boasted of being the children of Abraham, the special favorites of God, to whom belonged the promises.

All filled with this spirit of pride were thereby incapacitated to receive the doctrines of Christianity; for there is no room for these in a proud heart: this gospel is pre-eminently the gospel for the meek, and none but the meek ever have continued or ever will continue long to rejoice in it. And as the truths of the dawning Gospel dispensation separated the meek from the proud, and thus gathered out a worthy remnant from the Jewish nation to be joint-heirs with Christ in his kingdom, so the truths due now in the dawn of the Millennium and harvest of the Gospel age are accomplishing a similar selection, and thus completing the elect number from among the Gentiles. And now, as then, the worthy ones are being gathered out of a great organization. Here it is out of the nominal Gospel Church: there it was out of the nominal Jewish Church. In both cases the few are gathered out and the great mass prove themselves unworthy through pride and unbelief.

VERSES 46,47. Seeing the unreasonable prejudice and opposition to the truth on the part of the Jews, Paul and Barnabas boldly withstood them, saying, “It was necessary that the word of God should first have been spoken to you [It was necessary because they were the natural children of Abraham and natural heirs of the covenant made with Abraham]; but seeing ye put it from you, and judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life, lo, we turn to the Gentiles: For so hath the Lord commanded, saying, ‘I have set thee [Christ] to be a light of the Gentiles, that thou shouldest be for salvation unto the ends of the earth.”

These Jews did not directly judge and pronounce themselves unworthy of life; but in rejecting the only conditions upon which everlasting life is promised, they in effect rejected life, for it is promised only on the condition of faith in Christ as Lord and Redeemer. However, we do not understand that their rejection of Christ then, blinded and hindered as they were by prejudice and hardness of heart, was a final rejection of life; for the Lord’s gracious provision for them is yet to open their blind eyes and to give them a heart of flesh so that they may yet see and believe the truth—and that notwithstanding the fact that they died in their sins without faith in Christ; for it is written, “Thus saith the Lord God: Behold,

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O my people, I will open your graves, and cause you to come up out of your graves, and bring you into the land of Israel. And ye shall know that I am the Lord when I have opened your graves, O my people, and brought you up out of your graves, and shall put my spirit in you, and ye shall live.” (Compare Ezek. 37:12-14; Rom. 11:25-32.) None will ever be finally judged unworthy of life (worthy of the Second Death) until they have enjoyed every advantage of a full, fair trial with a clear knowledge of the truth. See Heb. 6:4-6.

“Lo, we turn to the Gentiles; for so hath the Lord commanded,” etc. Ah, these words were a joyful message, “good tidings of great joy,” to some of the humble Gentiles who heard, and who, Lazarus-like, had long desired to be fed with even the crumbs of divine favor falling from the table of bounties provided for the Jewish Dives.

VERSE 48. “And when the Gentiles heard this, they were glad, and glorified the word of the Lord, and as many as were ordained to eternal life [i.e., as many as had that disposition of meekness and trust in God, and a desire to be in harmony with him and to do his will, which disposition God has ordained shall receive the reward of eternal life] believed.” And here, too, we may learn a lesson and recognize

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God’s direction of his own work as the apostles recognized it. While it is as true now as in the days of the apostles that “Not many great,” or wise, or learned according to the course and estimation of this world, but only a few (and they often the poor of this world, rich in faith) receive the “good tidings” joyfully, we should never lose sight of the fact that those drawn to and held by the truth are always those of humble hearts, seekers after God and his ways, the very class for whom God has provided and ordained the blessing of everlasting life. But neither should we forget that God has other sheep, not of this flock; and that he has provided that the fullest degree of natural evidence shall be given to those other sheep, the faithful of whom shall have everlasting life also, though on a lower plane or nature than the little flock now being selected, who are required to walk, if at all, by faith and not by sight.

VERSE 49. “And the word of the Lord was published throughout all the region”—doubtless not only by the preaching of Paul and Barnabas, but by all who then received the truth.

VERSES 50-52. Persecution was the immediate reward of the Lord’s faithful witnesses, as it always has been and will be until the reign of Christ brings in everlasting righteousness.

Persecution serves to separate those whose interest is only lukewarm, and who, being unworthy of a place in the “little flock” to which it is the Father’s good pleasure to give the Kingdom, the Lord desires to separate. Besides, it serves to strengthen and develop the true ones, thus fitting these “overcomers” more fully for the work of God, now and hereafter.

But they rejoiced in the midst of suffering and were filled with the holy Spirit—with a holy zeal and enthusiasm which, while it led them to shake off the dust of their feet for a testimony against that city, turned them to another, to declare the glad tidings to others who still sat in darkness.

CHAPTER 14:1,2. The experiences in Iconium seem to have been very similar to those in Antioch—a large congregation of interested hearers, many conversions to Christianity, of both Jews and Greeks, then persecution from the unbelievers and efforts to turn away from the faith those who had believed. Such experiences are not common amongst Christian professors now, because they are drowsy with the wine of Babylon’s false doctrine (Rev. 18:3) and are not sufficiently interested and active in the service of Truth; and the devil does not think it wise to persecute for error’s sake. But each child of God learns by experience the force of the Master’s words, “Whosoever will live Godly [to please God] in this present time [when evil reigns] shall suffer persecution;” and this in proportion as he receives the truth and faithfully declares it.

VERSE 3. On account of the opposition it seemed necessary for the two brethren to remain a long time in Iconium in order to establish the faith of them that believed. And the Lord worked with them, endorsing their testimony by special miraculous gifts—probably of healing, mainly.

VERSES 4-7. By and by the persecutions waxed more severe, so that the whole city began to take sides for and against these witnesses of the Lord, and the excitement grew until it would have resulted in a mob. When they became aware of this, they fled from the city, doubtless recalling the Lord’s counsel—”When they persecute you in one city, flee ye to another.” They fled to Lystra and Derbe, and there also they preached the gospel.

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— November 1, 1892 —