THE KING’S BUSINESS
449
Paul and Barnabas were very urgent in this exhortation, and we need to be urgent in it today. v. 44. " And the next Sabbath day (omit, day) came almost the whole city (almost the whole city was gathered) together to hear the Word of God." The W ord of God mightily prevailed, the whole city was shaken and “almost the whole city” came to hear. What they came to hear was the W ord o f God, and that was what they heard (cf. 2 Tim. 4 :2 ; Thess. 2.T3). Paul did not declare to them his own opinions but that which God had revealed to him, and it was not Paul’s word but God’s Word that they heard. v. 45. “But when the Jews saw the mul titudes, they were filled with envy (jealousy), and spake against those things (contradicted the things) which were spoken by Paul, contradicting (omit, con tradicting) and blaspheming (blas phemed.” Hearing the W ord is one thing, believing and obeying the W ord is some thing else (cf. Luke 8:5-7). It is not always the city where there are the most hearers that there are the most conver sions, and though almost the whole city came together to hear the W ord o f God, when they heard it many rejected it. The Jews, if tljey had been Jews indeed, would have been delighted that such great multi tudes came to hear the W ord o f God, but instead o f being delighted they were filled with jealousy (cf. ch. 17:5). Human nature is pretty much the same in all lands and all ages. Let a new preacher come to any city today and draw great crowds of eager hearers where crowds have been hitherto small and interest feeble and somebody’s jealousy is pretty sure to be aroused, and very often, as in this case, it is the jealousy o f the religious people. It is hard for some supposedly good people to forgive others for getting greater crowds than they do themselves. The jealousy o f the Jews led them to great extremes, they not only contradicted the truth spoken by Paul, they even went so far as to blaspheme. The extent to which
some religious people will go in resisting the truth' which they, themselves have not preached is appalling. v. 46. “ Then (And) Paul and Barnabas waxed bold (spake oi{t boldly), and said, It was necessary that the Word of God should have first (be) been spoken to you: but (omit, but) seeing ye thrust (put) it from , you, and judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting (eternal) life, lo, we turn to the Gentiles." Paul and Barnabas were not frightened by opposition, even though the opposition was most bitter and relent less ; indeed, the opposition made them only the more bold. If Paul and Barnabas had been like some o f us when they met with such bitter opposition they 'would have thought it was better to have been silent and ceased their testimony for the truth, but they knew that “it was neces sary” that the W ord o f God should be spoken, and they knew furthermore that it must first o f all be spoken to the Jews, that that was God’s order (Luke 24:47; Acts 1:8; 3:26; 13:26; 18:5, 6; Rom. 1:16). But though the Word o f God was first to be spoken to the Jews, it was not to be confined to them. When they rejected it then it must'be sjpoken to others. As the Jews would not have it the Gentiles must receive it (cf. Rom. 11:11, 12). It had been1foretold by Moses centuries before that Israel would rdject the truth and that God would provoke them to jealousy by the Gentiles. America and England have the “Word Of God,” but they are putting it from them, and if they too continue to put it from them it will be taken from them and given to others. By thrusting the W ord o f God from them they had con demned themselves to be unworthy o f eter nal life: individuals and nations determine their destiny by what they do with the Word o f God (cf. John 5:40). v. 47. “For so hath the Lord com manded us, saying, I have set' thee to be (for) a light of tjie Gentiles, that thou shouldest be for salvation unto the ends (uttermost part): o f the earth.” The Lord had “commanded” Paul to go to the Gen-
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