44 The next Sabbath almost the whole city gathered to hear the word of the Lord. 45 But when the Jews saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy and began to contradict what was spoken by Paul, reviling him. 46 And Paul and Barnabas spoke out boldly, saying, “It was necessary that the word of God be spoken first to you. Since you thrust it aside and judge yourselves unworthy of eternal life, behold, we are turning to the Gentiles. 47 For so 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.’”
48 And when the Gentiles heard this, they began rejoicing and glorifying the word of the Lord, and as many as were appointed to eternal life believed. 49 And the word of the Lord was spreading throughout the whole region. 50 But the Jews incited the devout women of high standing and the leading men of the city, stirred up persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and drove them out of their district. 51 But they shook off the dust from their feet against them and went to Iconium. 52 And the disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.
POINTS OF INTEREST
- v45, 48, 50. Contrast the response of the people to the gospel. While some will receive the Good News gladly, others will react in jealousy and stir up persecution. The disciples were reminded that it was not them the people were rejecting, it was Jesus.
- v47, 48. God’s love transcends race. Jewish apostles appointed to serve the Gentiles. It was in God’s plan that all people, Jews and Gentiles, are to be recipients of God’s grace. We celebrate our ethnicity and more importantly, our identity in Jesus before we can embrace God’s purpose for our lives.
- v52. Joy is a fruit of the Spirit. In fellowshipping with the Spirit of God, being filled with the Spirit of God for empowerment, we experience joy. This way of living is opposed to living according to the flesh – we sin and experience sorrow.
submitted by William How
PRAYING IN FAITH
For Yourself
That we do not waste our lives for frivolous things but we live for eternal things.
For your five
They will fix their eyes on the eternal, not on the temporal.
For our church
Pray that we do not fellowship for fellowship sake but we are a community that reach out together, and serve together