17 November

Bible in 365 Days

Acts 11-13

Acts 11

It is very interesting to note how slowly the prejudices of the Hebrew Christians gave way, and yet how amenable they were to the evidences as they appeared. The apostles and the brethren at Jerusalem felt that Peter had taken a wrong step, yet when he stated all the facts of the case and realized that the work was indeed that of the Spirit, they laid aside their prejudices and followed the light.

The apparent calamity of the scattering abroad of the Christians really issued in the great missionary movement which practically occupies the whole of the remaining part of the book. In Antioch a remarkable work followed the preaching of certain men with the result that the Church at Jerusalem sent Barnabas thither.

What he saw gladdened his heart, and, realizing the importance of the movement, he went to Tarsus to seek Saul. Then followed a year's work in Antioch under the direction of these men.

Agabus appears here, and once again in the narrative. On both occasions he is seen exercising the prophetic gift in its predictive element. A famine which he announced is matter of history. What is valuable in chronicling it in the sacred record is that it was a crisis which brought out the true Christian spirit of these Gentile Christians. There can be little doubt that they were conscious of the suspicion of the Jewish brethren; yet every man of them, according to his ability, contributed toward the relief which was sent by Barnabas and Saul to the sufferers in Jerusalem.

Acts 12

Again persecution broke out in Jerusalem, and the first of the apostolic band suffered martyrdom at the hands of Herod. A revealing sentence concerning Herod is that which declares that when "he saw that it [the killing of James] pleased the Jews, he proceeded to seize Peter also." This, however, was not permitted by the divine overruling. The prayer of the assembled Church was heard and answered. It may remain to us a perplexing question why James was slain and Peter delivered. There is no explanation. Nevertheless, the revelation of the facts is reassuring. That God delivered Peter proves His power to have delivered James. That He did not deliver James proves that the death of James was also within the compass of His will, and we know that in the great Unveiling all will be seen to have been right.

There is something very graphic in the contrast between the opposing forces which is incidentally revealed. Baffled, angry, conceited, Herod went to Caesarea. There a popular demonstration proclaimed him a god. He did not refuse the description and was smitten. Now notice carefully the statement which follows, and which is introduced by the word "But," which suggests a contrast. "The Word of God grew and multiplied." So has it been through all the centuries. Sooner or later, those who have opposed the Christ have been swept aside, while the march of the triumphant Word has never ceased for a moment.

Acts 13

The first most distinctly missionary movement sprang from Antioch, and was independent of all official initiation. A company of those in Antioch sent Saul and Barnabas, and it is declared immediately afterward they were sent by the Holy Spirit. Saul and Barnabas started on this journey together.

While especially glad to work among the Gentiles, Paul ever began with the Jew and the synagogue. In Antioch in Pisidia we find him reviewing his own history, and proclaiming his evangel. He made it clear to those Jews who listened to him that the whole movement was in harmony with, and, indeed, in fulfillment of, their Scriptures.

Many Gentiles were brought to a knowledge of the truth and received the blessings of the new covenant. This stirred the enmity of the Jews, and solemnly the apostle officially turned to the Gentiles. The Jews were, as he declared, "unworthy of eternal life" because they had rejected the message; while the Gentiles were "ordained to eternal life," because they believed.

Again persecution followed. The result was that the preachers were cast out. Paul and Barnabas, therefore, shook the dust of Antioch from their feet, and went to Iconium, leaving behind them this new company of disciples filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.