Acts 13:50-52
Have you ever been black-balled, not allowed to join the
club, not picked to play a game at the park when you were younger, yes, we are talking
snubbed, ostracized, given the cold shoulder?
Most of us have at sometime been excluded from the group because of lack
of talent or lack of social standing, but that is not what is happening with
Paul and Barnabas.
No, they were popular with the people of Antioch of Pisidia,
and when you’re the new kid in town and you become the headliner, the talk of
the town, watch out because you may be in a very dangerous place. Dr. Luke shares this insight that the following
Sabbath after the new guy had spoken at the Synagogue almost the whole town
turned out to hear Paul speak.
Can you visualize that happening at your church; these two
guys show-up at the Sunday services and the preacher (the Senior Pastor) the
love of his congregation feels led by the Spirit to ask if anyone has a word,
and one of the two stands and begins to share both history of their faith, and
some insight about the Lord, and everyone is excited including the Senior
Pastor, till the next Sunday. Now I must
add that this imagined story of mine could not take place in a Baptist church
for reasons I will soon disclose.
It is the following
Sunday and to the Senior Pastor and his staff’s amazement, almost the whole town
attends the local Presbyterian church and wants to hear the new guy tell them
more about Jesus. As you know,
Presbyterians are known for order and correctness and some of those Baptist,
Methodist, and Church of Christ, did not understand the order of things and
soon the upper class of very devout women of high standards, and I mean
standards higher than God’s, and some of the leading men in the church and city
began to put a spin on the message of this new guy and now the whole town is
out to tar and feather both of these guys.
And you ask why; simple jealousy, and the Baptists said amen, and the
Pentecostals raised their hands, it was a mess, and you do understand that it
was not proper Presbyterian.
Now let me explain why it would be a bigger miracle than
Jesus making water turn into wine for it to happen at the Baptist church, and
you do understand that in most towns you have a First Baptist church. The first big obstacle would be, if it was
happening at the First Baptist church, the Baptist church two blocks away
called Harmony that had split off from them because of the color of the new
cushions on the pews, and the Baptist church two blocks down called the Fuller
Life Baptist who had also split because they wanted more praise music, could
not return after what they had said in the Wednesday night business meeting
before leaving those heathens at First Baptist. I’m not sure much has changed,
so back to Dr. Luke’s account of what took place.
Begin in Acts 13:50-52, “But the Jews incited the devout women of high standing and
the leading men of the city, stirred up persecution against Paul and Barnabas,
and drove them out of their district. But they shook off the dust from their
feet against them and went to Iconium. And the disciples were filled with joy
and with the Holy Spirit.” For
this to happen today would be no more a miracle than it was in the day that
Paul and Barnabas went to Antioch, but my prayer is that we would not ask them
to leave.
From the Back Porch,
Bob Rice
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