Context No. 3146 of 4322 · Acts

Acts 13:48-52: in context

48As the Gentiles heard this, they were glad and glorified the word of God. As many as were appointed to eternal life believed. 49The Lord’s word was spread abroad throughout all the region. 50But the Jews stirred up the devout and prominent women and the chief men of the city, and stirred up a persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and threw them out of their borders. 51But they shook off the dust of their feet against them, and came to Iconium. 52The disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.

When the Gentiles hear the gospel, they are glad and glorify the word of God, and as many as were appointed to eternal life believe, and the word spreads through the whole region. But the opponents stir up persecution against Paul and Barnabas and drive them out of their district. So the two shake the dust off their feet and go on to the next city, and, the text says, the disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.

Two responses meet the same message. The Gentiles receive it with gladness, and the word spreads. The opponents receive it with hostility and expel the messengers. And notice how the missionaries respond to being thrown out: they shake the dust from their feet and move on, and, astonishingly, they are filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit. Rejection did not steal their joy; the Spirit filled them precisely as they were persecuted. Joy that depends on the Spirit, and not on circumstances, cannot be driven out by opposition.

When I face rejection for the gospel, is my joy stolen, or can I, like these disciples, be filled with joy and the Spirit even as I am driven out?

Sources

Acts 13:52: "The disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit."
Acts 13:48: "As many as were appointed to eternal life believed."
Matthew 5:12: "Rejoice, and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven."