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Context No. 1007 of 4322 · Acts

Context · Reflection

Acts 13:42-47: in context

42So when the Jews went out of the synagogue, the Gentiles begged that these words might be preached to them the next Sabbath. 43Now when the synagogue broke up, many of the Jews and of the devout proselytes followed Paul and Barnabas; who, speaking to them, urged them to continue in the grace of God. 44The next Sabbath, almost the whole city was gathered together to hear the word of God. 45But when the Jews saw the multitudes, they were filled with jealousy, and contradicted the things which were spoken by Paul, and blasphemed. 46Paul and Barnabas spoke out boldly, and said, “It was necessary that God’s word should be spoken to you first. Since indeed you thrust it from yourselves, and judge yourselves unworthy of eternal life, behold, we turn to the Gentiles. 47For so has the Lord commanded us, saying, ‘I have set you as a light for the Gentiles, that you should bring salvation to the uttermost parts of the earth.’”

Paul has preached in the synagogue at Antioch of Pisidia, and the response is electric. The Gentiles beg him to say more the next Sabbath, and many Jews and devout converts follow Paul and Barnabas, who urge them to continue in God's grace. The next Sabbath almost the whole city gathers to hear the word of God. But the sight of the crowds fills some of the Jews with jealousy, and they contradict and revile what Paul says. So Paul and Barnabas answer boldly: the word had to come to you first, but since you reject it and judge yourselves unworthy of eternal life, we now turn to the Gentiles, as the Lord commanded, a light to the ends of the earth.

The turning point is jealousy. On the first Sabbath the message is welcomed; on the second, when almost the whole city turns out, some of the synagogue leaders are seized not by conviction but by jealousy at the crowds, and it curdles into contradiction and slander. It is a sobering thing to watch: the same word that drew people gladly is opposed once it starts drawing too many of the wrong sort, or drawing them to the wrong teachers. Jealousy over other people's success at the very work you claim to care about can turn you against the truth itself. And notice how Paul frames their rejection: you judge yourselves unworthy of eternal life. God was not shutting them out; they were, by pushing the word away, passing sentence on themselves. The refusal of the gospel is finally self-inflicted. And out of that painful turning comes the great opening, the light going to the Gentiles, to the ends of the earth, so that even the rejection served the wider mercy.

Does jealousy over others' success in God's work ever turn me against the very thing I claim to serve, and am I in danger of judging myself unworthy by pushing away what God offers?

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