Like Jesus (Luke 4:22) and Peter (Acts 2:40-41), there is a great deal of interest in Paul’s message. The apostles are invited back for a second Sabbath to continue this discussion. Luke mentions those who were most attracted to Paul’s message were the “devout converts,” or people who were ethically Gentile, but are at some advanced level in their conversion to Judaism as a religion. If Paul’s message was understood as acceptance of the God of the Hebrew Bible, the ethical and moral standards of the Law, and an ultimate salvation through Jesus apart from the sacrifices of Judaism, then perhaps many of the Gentiles were eager to accept Paul’s message.
On the next Sabbath “the whole city” gathers to hear Paul, sparking jealousy. Luke is likely using some hyperbole here, he means all the adult males who would be part of the Synagogue have turned out to hear Paul, although it is possible that many of the gentile converts brought other gentiles to hear them preach.
The Jews begin to argue against Paul (ἀντέλεγον, is an inceptive imperfect, focusing on the beginning of the action). The verb has the sense of contradicting an argument or reaching. In Titus 1:9 one of the functions of an elder is to “contradict” false teaching. In 3 Macc 2:28 the verb is used for anyone who opposes the poll tax imposed by the Selucids; if anyone “speaks against” this new law, they are to be executed! They make this argument against Paul not through rational debate, but by “speaking abusively” (βλασφημοῦντες) against Paul. The verb has the sense of slander, “to speak in a disrespectful way that demeans, denigrates, maligns” (BDAG). In an honor-shame culture, this kind of an attack is intended to cast doubt on speaker by pointing out their personal flaws.
Paul “answers boldly” this slander of his Gospel. The word had to go to the Jews first, reflecting Paul’s mission statement in Romans 1:16-17. This does not mean that Paul did Jewish ministry only up to this point and now he will do exclusively gentile ministry; in terms of salvation history it is true the gospel went to the Jews exclusively (Acts 2-8), and not it is going into socially and culturally Gentile people. But Paul’s ministry will always be to the Jew first and then to the Gentile, in order to win his own people first before turning to the gentiles.
Paul then quotes Isaiah 49:6 for his mission statement: he is the light to the Gentiles. This looks back to his own calling and commission from the Lord, but also to the same messianic texts he cited in the synagogue a week earlier. He is the one that fulfills the messianic role of light to the Gentiles in the present time.
Many believe and join Paul, but there was enough angry rejection that the Jews persecuted Paul and Barnabas, thus they “shake the dust of their heels” in protest and continued their journey. This “shaking of the dust” is symbolic of a rejected negotiation, or a pronouncement of judgment. Paul is saying that these Jews have rejected his teaching, and he is turning from them to go where he will have an audience, the Gentiles. This is not unlike what Jesus tells the disciples in Matthew 10, that they were condemn any city that rejected their teachings.
To what extent is this a “rejection of the Jews” (as it is sometimes described)? Paul continues to target Jewish audiences in the Synagogue and he will continue to argue persuasively from the Scripture that Jesus is the Messiah. But this is the first of three times Paul says he is now “turning to the Gentiles” What does this rejection mean in the overall plot of the book of Acts?
Reblogged this on Talmidimblogging.
It tells us that Paul and Barnabas did try to reach the Jews through their ministry. But, the Jews were not willing to hear it as it says in Acts 13:46. Paul and Barnabas then continue to say in verse 46 and 47 that since the Jews rejected them they went to the Gentiles. The change in ministry changes the way Acts was written. I think the Jews rejected Paul and Barnabas because of their preaching. Then as a result Paul and Barnabas gathered a different audience. It says in Acts 13:47 that God commanded them to be a light to the gentiles. Our blog refers to this passage as a rejection of the Jews and turning to the Gentiles. I think rejection is a harsh word to use. It says also in Acts 13:47 that through the light that Paul and Barnabas are demonstrating salvation will be brought to the ends of the earth. It is ultimately about God’s glory growing. In Acts 10:51 it says they shook the dust off their feet in protest when they left a city or home. That verse can be connected with Matthew 10:14 which is where Jesus told to do so if they were not welcomed in when they spoke. I think this passage is more about the disciples being rejected first more than rejecting others.
Alyssa, great job on your discussion post this week. I thought what you wrote was very insightful. I, too, do not see this as a rejection to the Jews but rather a response to the Jews actions. Since they are turning their backs on Paul and not wanting to hear the good news, he is doing what anyone else would do and taking it elsewhere. Especially, when the Jews are willing to persecute him for his faith (Acts 13:50). Why would he continue to preach to those who are unwilling to listen and go so far as to harm him if continues to preach? However, I do believe this was God’s overall plan in the end because that was what helped Paul transition to reaching out to the Gentiles and the ends of the earth like God had wanted. “I have made you a light for the Gentiles, that you may bring salvation to the ends of the earth (Acts 13:47).” Also, Paul turning to the Gentiles goes with the overall theme of Acts by showing God loves everyone, wants everyone to believe in Jesus and follow Christ, and for the word to go to the ends of the earth.
In verses 48-49 Luke describes the Gentile’s reaction to Paul’s message. Specifically, verse 49 describes, “the word of the Lord was spreading throughout the whole region.” To me this indicates that perhaps, Paul and Barnabas continued ministry in this area but that the focus was now on the Gentiles. This may not have been a judgment pronounced on all Jews but was instead something said to the Jews in this place. I think that if you allow for some time between Paul’s declaration in verse 50 where the Jews incite a riot this may answer the question as to Paul’s purpose. If there is time between the two we see that Paul goes to the Gentiles in a location and then depending on the reception by the Jews he either expands his target audience to Gentiles or turns to them completely.
Spreading the gospel even though they knew what the consequences were showed the boldness of Paul and Barnabas. They would continue to minister to the area, focusing whether on the Jews or the Gentiles. They were both called to be a light to the ones who are walking in darkness. Because of that Paul and Barnabas had to change their audience and had to seek the ones who were in the darkness, not the ones already in the light. There an encouragement message speaking on the matter that if we are not welcomed where we try to proclaim the truth of God, then we should get up and start proclaiming somewhere else. I believe that does not make us weak or vulnerable. Rather it shows we, as lights of Christ, have a priority and that is to constantly preach on the matter of who needs it and if no one will accept it to continue on until you find someone who will.
As Paul moved from city to city preaching, he faced many confrontations. Surprisingly enough, much of the conflict came from the Jews within the town. It is indicated that much of their rejection stems from jealousy. It seems that they do not appreciate a new message being spread though their town. Paul is offering a gospel message that does not require the Gentiles to offer sacrifices, but rather to follow Jesus who already offered them a removal of sins (Long). Many Gentiles were excited by this opportunity. The devout Jews were not happy with this, and this is where their jealously sprung from. They rejected the message of Jesus and further than that they blatantly rejected the men that God had sent. In order to remove Paul and Barnabas from their town, the Jew people slandered them. By doing this they turned the listeners’ minds and hearts against the message that Paul and Barnabas were trying to bring to the people (Long). Now there were some Jewish people who positively responded to the gospel message, but there was still enough judgment that Paul felt it was time to shift their ministry’s attention to the Gentile (Jipp 113). This rejection was a major turning point for Paul’s mission. Yes, he did still minister to Jews, but he focused on the Gentiles more from that point on. When Paul and Barnabas left in Acts 13, they “shook the dust off their feet as a warning” (13:51). They were letting the Jews know that they were now focusing on other people, but they still needed to make that change and decision. The change in ministry was important because it shows the shift that occurred in Acts. Previous to Acts, much of the gospel ministry was directed at the Jews, but with the shaking of their feet, these men of God were establishing the beginning of a ministry angled toward the Gentiles. That was and is crucial to the ministry of Jesus that exists today.
As Paul moved from city to city preaching, he faced many confrontations. Surprisingly enough, much of the conflict came from the Jews within the town. It is indicated that much of their rejection stems from jealousy. It seems that they do not appreciate a new message being spread though their town. Paul is offering a gospel message that does not require the Gentiles to offer sacrifices, but rather to follow Jesus who already offered them a removal of sins (Long). Many Gentiles were excited by this opportunity. The devout Jews were not happy with this, and this is where their jealously sprung from. They rejected the message of Jesus and further than that they blatantly rejected the men that God had sent. In order to remove Paul and Barnabas from their town, the Jew people slandered them. By doing this they turned the listeners’ minds and hearts against the message that Paul and Barnabas were trying to bring to the people. Now there were some Jewish people who positively responded to the gospel message, but there was still enough judgment that Paul felt it was time to shift their ministry’s attention to the Gentile (Jipp 113). This rejection was a major turning point for Paul’s mission. Yes, he did still minister to Jews, but he focused on the Gentiles more from that point on. When Paul and Barnabas left in Acts 13, they “shook the dust off their feet as a warning” (13:51). They were letting the Jews know that they were now focusing on other people, but they still needed to make that change and decision. The change in ministry was important because it shows the shift that occurred in Acts. Previous to Acts, much of the gospel ministry was directed at the Jews, but with the shaking of their feet, these men of God were establishing the beginning of a ministry angled toward the Gentiles. That was and is crucial to the ministry of Jesus that exists today.
Paul’s sermons are very interesting. A man who was once a persecutor of the Jews, to a man who is preaching of God and what God is doing. Since he was a persecutor many people did not like Paul and these sermons. Just like the article writes: “the Jews begin to argue against Paul.” People were arguing violently. We even read in Acts 21, that Paul gets arrested, which is not the first time during this journey that he faces confrontation from doing all of these preaching’s. Most of it can be stemmed from jealousy or hate since the Jews don’t want to hear from Paul in the first place. This form of rejection doesn’t really seem to stop Paul from what he is doing. He sort of takes this in a way and uses it to keep doing what God is calling him to do. (The debate of a conversion or a calling) The article writes on the fact that Paul seems to “shake the dust off their heals” and just keep on going. This can be used throughout our times as Christians because rejection is something that can not be avoided today. Since our times may be changing most people don’t want to waste their time with the word of God, we must shake this off, and continue preaching the word of God.
This rejection is not saying that Jews cannot be ministered to from that point on, but by pointing out the turning to the Gentiles, we see that Paul has given the Gospel to the Jews, but many of them reject it. By turning to the Gentiles, they are more likely to get an audience who will listen to them and earnestly want to hear what they have to say. As pointed out, the elders were people who were supposed to reject and contradict false teaching. The issue here is that Paul was teaching a new message, one that appeared to be heresy to those who did not believe. They felt that they had to reject the message because they did not believe that Christ was the Messiah.
People did still want to hear what Paul and Barnabas were teaching however. When they first started preaching in Antioch in the Synagogue, people were receptive to their message, inviting them to come back the following Sabbath. On the next Sabbath, many more people showed up (verse 44 says that the entirety of the city was there). The Jews that saw the crowds that were listening were filled with jealousy and started to discredit Paul. Because they were able to speak to the Jews and give them the Gospel first, they were now able to go out and speak to the Gentiles.
Paul traveled to many cities sharing and preaching about Jesus. Throughout his time preaching, Paul faced a lot of confrontation. A lot of his confrontations were with Jews from the towns that he preached in. The article points towards this conflict resulting from the Jews being jealous of Paul and how they do not want a new message to be spread about the way to salvation. The Jews want and believe the gentiles need to offer sacrifices for the sins. However, Paul is teaching about how Jesus already paid the ultimate sacrifice for our sins. The Jews did not agree and were unhappy about this, which is why they were appear to be jealous and it is where their jealousy is coming from. The Jews’ jealously led them to spread lies about Paul in order to remove him and Barnabas from their towns so that they would stop sharing the gospel within their town. While not all of the Jews reacted in the same way to Paul and Barnabas, Paul still felt like it was time to change the focus of their ministry from Jews to Gentiles (Jipp, 113). While Paul is not completely ignoring Jews, he has just switched the focus from primarily preaching to Jews to preaching to Gentiles. This change in focus is important because it is the first time in a ministry that the Gentiles are the main focus of a ministry.
The extent of this “rejection of the Jews” is described as a rejection of Christ and disobedience to the plan of God’s will and desire. Paul’s mission is to draw people closer to Christ and the grace, salvation, and redemption that is offered. Paul’s target is outreaching to Jews because they understood scripture and heard the story of Christ. However, those of the law sought to radiate and disengage the value of being a believer of Christ with punishments that showed what “false teaching” would result in. While later within Acts Paul focuses on the Gentiles who also deserve to know God and God opens the invitation to all nations to become one nation under God. The rejection of the Jews is the final rejection that God makes with the Jews as God directs faith beyond one nation to all nations.
It is worthy to note that initially these Jews were looking forward to Paul and Barnabas coming back next sabbath (v. 42-43). The next week they have almost the entire city come to hear them preach the word of the Lord, yet when these Jews saw the crowds they became jealous and slandered Paul and Barnabas (v. 44-45). What is the difference here? Why become jealous due to something that was going on the previous week with the exception that there was a vast crowd. There were Jews and Gentile converts to Judaism amidst the crowds, however, Pisidian Antioch was predominantly Gentile, which Polhill says indicates that, “that the Jews were considerably eclipsed by the large numbers of Gentiles who came to hear Paul’s witness. Evidently the “God-fearing Gentiles” who had heard Paul’s sermon the previous Sabbath had understood that the salvation he proclaimed in Christ included them. (Polhill, Acts p.308).
Therefore, what makes the Jewish crowd jealous is that the Gentiles are included and these Jews have grown up thinking they were the epicenter of the nations, their minds thought as though they were superior and it was all about them. It is biblical that they be targeted first for Jesus said to go to Jerusalem, Samaria, all of Judea and to the ends of the world (Acts 1:8). It is a progressive outbreak but starting with the Jews. Israel was to be the light to the nations so it did not make sense for the Gentiles to get ahead of them (Isa. 42:6, 49:6; 52:10, 60:3 etc.).
This rejection of the Jews does not mean Paul is finished with the Jews, however, that he is now innocent of proclaiming the full Gospel to them and free of their blood on his hands (Acts 20:27). They rejected the message because it was hard for them to accept the Gentiles were included in the plan of God outside of Judaic conversion.
We know Paul has not turned away from all Jews because in the very beginning of the next chapter he is preaching in the synagogue (Acts 14:1). I would say Paul favors the Jews. In reading Romans 9-11 we get the idea that Paul would die in order that all of Israel would be saved (9:1-5). When Israel rejects the message, Paul does not waste his time any further and the Gentiles become the new centralized focus. You would not think this of Paul since he is called to the Gentiles (Acts 9:15, Acts 22:17-21, Rom. 15:15-16). However, Paul wraps this thought up by saying,
“Again and again he experienced the rejection of the Jews and turned to the Gentiles of that town. But he never gave up on his fellow Jews. It was very much the problem he wrestled with in Rom 9–11. In spite of the overwhelming rejection of the gospel by his own people, Paul could not bring himself to believe that the rejection was final and that God had deserted them. His great successes in witness were indeed among the Gentiles, but he never abandoned his witness to Jews ” (Polhill, Acts. p. 308).
That being said, Paul is fulfilling Isaiah 49:6 throughout his ministry. He deeply cares for Israel but even the Lord has said, “Make haste and get out of Jerusalem quickly, for they will not receive your testimony concerning Me … Depart, for I will send you far from here to the Gentiles.” (Acts 22:18, 21). I believe this is a similar attitude taught to Paul by the Lord to depart and shake the dust from their feet due to their rejection of the message. In this way, they are free from any charge against them concerning not neglecting them of the message.
I do not think that Paul is necessarily rejecting the Jews when he decides that he is going to fulfill what was asked of him, preaching the message of the gospel to the Gentiles. The Jews were not grasping the full picture of the gospel being open to Gentiles, so they took it out on Paul even though he himself was an apostle who knew what he was doing to be true (Peter knew it was true and good as well). The Jewish misunderstanding of Paul’s mission is reasonable culturally, but they were only so hard hearted because they didn’t even believe Jesus Christ was Messiah. This is the reason why they get too heated on the topic; because this new information being brought to them tells them that all they need to do is believe what Jesus did and they would be saved. It did not sit well with them, therefore they fought it to show that they disproved. Paul knew the message was for both Jews and Gentiles, but because of the persecution being brought on by bringing the gospel to the Gentiles others were not being the missionaries to them. Therefore Paul knew his calling, he knew that he could persevere through the persecution being forced upon him because he once was on the opposing side and God called him for such a mission as this.
The shaking of the dust off their feet is reminiscent of Pilate washing his hands of the crucifixion of Jesus. Obviously, for many reasons, these situations are not at all the same, but their actions seem to speak similar words of, “I will not be responsible for them” or “We’re through with this situation”. To say it is a rejection of the Jews would be too full of a statement for what is happening. To reject the Jews would imply that they have rejected teaching them and reaching out to them, which simply does not just end. However, I think there is significance here in showing that Paul’s ministry will not be centered around the Jews or more inclusive of Jews than he originally thought.
In the overall plot of the book of Acts, we see a change from the ministry to the Jews exclusively (Acts 2-8), then to the conversion of Cornelius (Acts 10), and then to the eventual ministry to the Gentiles from Paul and his partners. This scene of them shaking the dust off seems to be imagery for the changing point between the two ministries. We have seen Paul and Peter preach to the Jews, and we will still continue to see that but now we see the inclusion of the Gentiles, which is important for the bigger story of the Kingdom and the purpose of Jesus’ own ministry, death, and resurrection.
I would not say that Paul rejected the Jews. “The word had to go to the Jews first, reflecting Paul’s mission statement in Romans 1:16-17” (Long). Paul did not reject the Jews. He went to the Jews with the gospel first and then they rejected him. In Acts 13:44 it says that when the Jews saw the crowds, they became jealous and started to contradict Paul’s words and reviled him. In verses 46-48 Paul and Barnabas said, “It was necessary that the word of God be spoken first to you. Once you thrust it aside and judge yourselves unworthy of eternal life, behold, we are turning to the Gentiles. For 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.’” They shared the word with the Jews first because they were God’s chosen people and “had priority in salvation history” (Polhill). However, since they became jealous and rejected Paul and Barnabas the two missionaries decided that their stubborn attitudes were not worth reasoning with (Polhill). The Jews were not rejected, they were the rejectors.
Paul is one of the first missionaries to spread the Gospel to the Gentiles. In Ephesians 3:6, Paul states that the mystery of the Gospel is that “the Gentiles are fellow heirs, members of the same body, and partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the Gospel” (English Standard Version). Paul was called to be a light to the Gentiles, which was against the norm at the time because only Jews were included in receiving the message of the Gospel initially. However, it was ultimately in God’s plan to include the Gentiles in his plan for restoration, and Paul played an instrumental part in spreading the Gospel among the Gentiles so that more people could be saved. I do not believe that Acts 13:42-52 is a rejection of the Jews as this blog refers to it as, because Paul is never against preaching to the Jews as well. Paul and Barnabas preached to both Jews and Gentiles throughout their ministry in Acts 13. It was not that Paul and Barnabas rejected the Jews, but the Jews rejected Paul and Barnabas. Acts 13:45 states, “But when the Jews saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy and began to contradict what was spoken by Paul, reviling him” (ESV). So, because they were rejected by the Jews, Paul and Barnabas turned to the Gentiles, and said that the Lord has made them a light to the Gentiles, that they may bring salvation to the ends of the earth (Acts 13:47).
This blog post is interesting to me because it tells a lot about Paul’s sermon and the reaction that people had to it, especially the Jews. It is interesting in the first little bit because if Paul’s letter was more understood about the acceptance of the God of the Hebrew Bible as well as the standards of the Law and salvation through Jesus then the Gentiles would have been a lot quicker to accept what Paul was saying in his message but that is not what had happened and it went the other way and many people did not understand his message and what he was trying to come across and say. When all of this was happening there were many Jews that have begun to argue against Paul and what he had been saying. There is a verb that is talked about in this blog as well and there is reason to believe that when this verb is used in other chapters if someone is speaking against the law they will be executed. This debate that Paul is having with the Jews is brought up in the discussion. It is interesting to reflect on what is happening in Paul’s sermon to the rest of Acts as well as how the Jews had taken his message in the first place stated before maybe if he had presented the message in a different way there would have been fewer Gentiles that were against it and the Jews wouldn’t have argued with him about what he was saying.
Paul was obeying the commandments that he was given by the Lord. “But the Lord said to him, “Go, for he is a chosen instrument of mine to carry my name before the Gentiles and kings and the children of Israel. For I will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name’” (Acts 9:15-16, ESV). Paul was chosen by God to bring the word of the Lord, specifically to the Gentiles, in a way that no one ever had before. Polhill explains that Paul is called to preach to Gentiles but also to Kings, and children of Israel (meaning Jews). In each city Paul goes to, he always enters the synagogues first, in an attempt to teach Jews the Gospel of Christ (Polhill, 2008, p. 2284). Therefore, it is clear that Paul did not reject the Jewish people, in fact, it is the other way around. It is the Jewish people who are rejecting Paul (and the word of God, which in turn… is a rejection of God himself). I think Paul “turning to the Gentiles” in Acts 13, is a reaction to the dismissal of the Jews. Paul acknowledges that Israel is God’s chosen nation and teaches to them first but when they refute it, he delights in teaching those who listen.
Paul does not particularly reject the Jews, but they reject more so of what he has to share with them about the gospel. One thing is clear Paul does not sugarcoat the truth especially when it is related to the topic of salvation. Paul is a man whose goal is to bring people to be true followers of Christ and commit themselves to a lifestyle that is life-changing and will lead them even after death on Earth. Paul directs this part of Acts at the Jews because they know the scripture, the theological principles are known and Paul knows that they too can take that next step of surrendering. Culturally speaking the Jews were not fully following Christ in the correct manner because of the cultural differences between them and the Gentiles and there was a division among them. The Genitiles responded well to Paul preaching the gospel in the synagogues and he could see that. Paul had realized at this point that the Jews were going to continue to push back and not fully listen and understand what Paul had to say where the Gentiles were different. The Jews were filled with jealousy when they saw Paul turn towards preaching to the Gentiles which showed Paul that they were not yet ready to fully commit to the ways of Jesus. Paul said that the Lord had commanded that he would be a light for the Gentiles so he knew that the Gentiles were his mission (13:47). Paul didn’t choose to shy away from the Jews it just happened that they rejected his teachings.
I do not think that Paul rejected the Jews. According to what was said “The word had to go to the Jews first, reflecting Paul’s mission statement in Romans 1:16-17” (Long). . He went to the Jews with the gospel first and then they rejected him after. In Acts 13:44 it says that when the Jews saw the crowds, they became jealous and started to contradict Paul’s words and reviled him. In verses 46-48 Paul and Barnabas said, “It was necessary that the word of God be spoken first to you. Paul and Barb were rejected.
Throughout the book of Acts along with the Gospels, there is a reoccurring theme. Those who were considered the most “devout” to their religion disagreed with the apostles teachings along with Jesus’ teachings. Therefore, it is no surprise to me that those who rejected the word were the Jews. This is why Paul turns to the gentiles because he knows they will be more willing to hear and accept the teachings. As mentioned in this blog, the people found Paul’s message to be rather harsh or disrespectful. Paul is simply being blunt, calling them out on all their wrongdoings. However, these Jews did not like this. No one likes to be called out on their mistakes. The Jews had a closed mind and heart and rejected Paul’s message which is why they moved on to preach to others.
I learned that Paul gave a message, but the people rejected it, and the Jentiles could not accept his message. The apostles were invited back for a second Sabbath, and the whole city came to hear Paul. So many people came to hear and see Paul. The Jews did not like Paul and his message, and they wanted to kill him for his faith. They people did not like a new message that Paul gave in the city. Paul preached that the Jews did need to follow Jesus, and they did not have to do anything but accept him. The Jews listened to them but the Jews do not like it. They wanted to refuse the message of Jesus, and they also wanted to get him out of the city. The Jews slandered him and Barnabas so that they would be able to go away from the city. But this rejection did not stop Paul and Barnabas from giving the good news to the Jews. Paul and Barnabas were about to leave the city, even though they wanted to share the gospel with the Jews. They wanted the gospel to be spread among the Jews so that they would turn to Jesus. Before Paul and Barnabas left, they told the Jews that they would spread the gospel to others and they would focus on them. They are turing to the Gentiles from the Jews because of their rejection. The disciples were rejected so many times but they never stop sharing the gospel to others. They knew that sharing the good news was God’s willing and they obeyed to only God. They wanted the disciples to go to everyone and every nations to preach and share the gospel. God wanted them to be the light of the world.
One pivotal moment in the book of Acts is when Paul declares his intention to turn to the Gentiles, which marks a significant shift in the book’s narrative. Some scholars interpret this as a rejection of the Jews, but I see it more as a strategic move to broaden the reach of Christianity. Paul initially focuses his efforts in the book of Acts on preaching to the Jews. He frequently visits synagogues and presents a case for Jesus being the prophesied Messiah. However, as the story goes on, Paul encounters resistance from the Jewish community, resulting in several instances of persecution and opposition. In Acts 13:46, Paul explicitly declares his intention to turn to the Gentiles, telling them it is necessary for the word of God to be spoken to them first. The decision to turn to the Gentiles has been interpreted as a rejection of the Jews by some. This interpretation assumes that Paul saw the Jews as a lost cause, having rejected Jesus as the Messiah. However, I view this decision as a strategic move to expand the reach of Christianity. By turning to the Gentiles, Paul was able to spread the message of Christianity to a broader audience and create a more diverse community of believers.
Beginning this blog post was quite interesting. It was fascinating reading about the different views on Paul’s Sermon. P Long breaks down the importance of the message being given to the “devout converts” or people who are ethically Gentile. I find it interesting how many people that were eager to hear the message were Gentiles. Moving on, we see that the Jews began to speak against Paul in an angry way. Paul answers in a modest way by simply (not so simple) speaking to the Jews before anyone else. Paul has made sure to speak to the jews always before the gentiles, to make sure that he wins his own people over. Would it have made more sense for Paul to speak to the people who were already listening? Reading on, P Long talks about how Paul’s calling and commission from the Lord was to be the light to the Gentiles in the present time. So since Paul was already leading the Gentiles, was he trying to convince the Jews to follow him as well. Of course there will always be hate and negativity in the way of things. We see in the blog post that many people follow Paul, but of course there is a good amount of people who were upset and decided to reject his teachings. They were so angry that they persecuted Paul but he does what Jesus does in Matthew 10 (Long) and focuses on the audience at hand, the Gentiles. I find it interesting how Paul still doesn’t give up on the Jews, and still tries to relay his message.
I think that in many ways this is the “beginning of the end.” As Long mentions in this blog post, “Paul continues to target Jewish audiences,” but nonetheless this does mark a pointed shift in Paul’s ministry. Paul continues to target the Jewish Synagogue’s first, yet he recognizes their hardness of heart, their continual abuse of Paul and rejection of the message he is preaching to them.
The Jews are not cut off in one clean slice; it’s not as though Paul goes from preaching to Jews to *only* preaching to Gentiles and not to the Gentiles. Instead, he is simply *also* going to the Gentiles. A pattern begins that he “would continue in every city he visited: beginning with the Jews, then turning to the Gentiles when opposition forced him from the synagogue” (Polhill, 2111).
Prior to this, (presumably) the only Gentiles that are receiving the message of Jesus as Messiah are the God-fearing Gentiles, the ones who are going to the Synagogue to hear Paul’s message that is *intended* for the Jews. In the latter half of the book of Acts and throughout Paul’s epistles, we see Paul going directly to the Gentiles – he goes to the Areopagus, where they have an altar to an “unknown god,” he goes to the Gentiles who are most likely not seeking out the message of Jesus as Messiah.
Paul’s message is no longer *for* the Jews, with the Gentiles getting the leftovers. Paul begins going directly to the Gentiles, and this first “rejection of the Jews” helps facilitate the transition.
After reading Acts 13, it was quite evident that there were many mixed reactions to Paul’s teachings. Many of the Jews, upon Paul’s return to the synagogue, became very jealous of him, because of the popularity he had within the city, and actually started persecuting him because of it. However, on the other hand, many gentiles were openly hearing Paul’s message, and many of the gentiles accepted Paul’s teachings and became saved through them. This chapter certainly shows a shift from a time in the world where there was primarily Jewish influence, into a time where God’s holy spirit was flowing out into the whole world, so that anyone who believed could be saved. The message of salvation through faith in Jesus was a complete game changer, and allowed anyone to be saved, as long as they believed in what Jesus had done, and that he overcame death through the resurrection.
In Acts 13:42-52 it’s really spectacular that the people were so interested in hearing Paul’s message that they invited him and Barnabas to come back. One can see that it was the working of The Holy Spirit that brought others desiring to hear about the message of Paul and Barnabas. Another great point that is shown in this story is how God is faithful to His people by revealing the gospel to them continually as Acts 2-8 describes. God has demonstrated being more than fair to the Jewish people and nation that they have no excuses as to why they wouldn’t receive Christ as The Messiah. Paul and Barnabas always went to the synagogues to preach first and then went to the gentiles and that’s a major representation of God’s character. As the article discussed, the devout converts were those who were ethnically Gentiles and then followed Judaism seriously (Long). It’s not hard to believe that the Jewish leaders didn’t like the attention that Paul and Barnabas were receiving and became jealous. The Pharisees were the same way back in the gospels; they were so proud and desired all the attention (Luke 16:14-16). Barnabas and Paul shaking their sandals, it’s portraying punishment on the Jewish people for not accepting God’s Truth (Long).