"At Iconium Paul and Barnabas went as usual into the synagogue. There they spoke so effectively that a great number of Jews and Gentiles believed. 2. But the Jews who refused to believe stirred up the Gentiles and poisoned their minds against the brothers. 3. So Paul and Barnabas spent considerable time there, speaking boldly for the Lord, who confirmed the message of His grace by enabling them to do miraculous signs and wonders." NIV
What I want to call attention to in this text is the word "so." It is a teeny little adverb that speaks volumes. It carries the meaning of the bigger word "consequently." It can also mean "as a result of." Now catch the meaning of "so" in the text. Paul and Barnabas encountered great opposition to the gospel message. One would have thought that the Jews would have received it gladly, but they did not. They stirred up the Gentiles, who were probably considering embracing Judaism, and "poisoned their minds against the brothers." This is where "so" comes in. One would have thought that Paul and Barnabas would have just given up and stopped trying to teach about Jesus. But what we read here is that as a result of the opposition that they encountered, they stayed on there for a considerable time and spoke "boldly for the Lord." What does this "so" message mean to us? It means that when we encounter opposition, which we do increasingly today, we are not to give up and move on, rather we are to "hunker down" and keep preaching and teaching the good news of Jesus Christ. If the message about Jesus was that important to Paul and Barnabas, it should be that important for us. It does not mean that just because a group of people oppose the gospel they are right. These Jews were wrong in their opposition to the gospel, just as people who oppose the gospel today are wrong. If we are presenting a message about our politics or our own ideas, then they might be right. But if we are presenting the good news about Jesus Christ, they are wrong. Just because people disagree with what we have to say about Jesus does not mean that we have been naughty and need to have our hands slapped. Indeed, we are doing what Jesus told us to do. But we need to be careful here about our attitudes toward those who oppose the gospel. We must remember to act in a loving way and not in an argumentative and confrontational way. It has been my experience that the hostile approach does not work, and besides this, it is an unchristian approach. I know that it is difficult not to become angry when, for example, that which you hold dear is denigrated by someone. In those cases, we just need to remember that Jesus forgave all of those who crucified Him – including us. He said: “Father forgive them for they know not what they do. It means that we should not use opposition to the gospel as an excuse for not obeying Jesus and spreading HIs word to the world. We might say, "Well, if they feel that way about it, we just won't tell them about it." Then we huff and puff and stomp off. This is not what Paul and Barnabas did. As a result of opposition Paul and Barnabas hung in there and preached the word. This is what we are to do. There were times when the apostles "shook the dust off their feet" and moved on, but that was God's decision and not theirs. We need to "stay with it" until God tells us to move on. We need to pray that when we face opposition to the gospel, we will not let that stop us and fill us with our own doubts. We need to remember that early Christians like Paul and Barnabas kept going, even under death threats. "So" what does this say to us? It tells us that we need to follow the lead of Paul and Barnabas and let nothing stand in the way of telling others about Jesus. Bro. Joe
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AuthorDr. Joe Beauchamp is the author of this blog and website. Categories
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