Reading:
Acts 13
The
title written over Acts 13:1-3 in my bible1
is, “Preparing for the Mission Field.”
I think this title is a little misleading. I recommend titling it,
“The Missionary Initiative of the Holy Spirit,” since what
follows is far less about human preparation for the mission field
than about the initiative of the Holy Spirit in mission.
2While
they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the
Holy Spirit said, "Set apart for me
Barnabas and Saul for the work to which
I have called them." 3So
after they had fasted and prayed, they placed their hands on them and
sent them off. 4The
two of them, sent on their way by the
Holy Spirit, went down to Seleucia and
sailed from there to Cyprus.
(Acts 13:2-4).
This
initiative of the Holy Spirit in mission doesn't end once he gets
Paul and Barnabas on their way. What
follows reveals that this whole endeavor of spreading the Gospel is
entirely dependent upon the Holy Spirit.
The prayer and fasting of the disciples in Antioch were less about
preparation for the mission field and more about our complete
inability to advance the mission of the Gospel on our own. They were
about our utter dependence on God! And whenever we are prayerless,
it reveals that we think we are not utterly dependent on God to
advance the Gospel.
On
the first leg of this journey, on the island of Cyrus, Paul and
Barnabas had an opportunity to proclaim the message to Sergius
Paulus, a government official. However, Elymas the sorcerer was
right there persuading him not to believe (Acts 13:6-8). So the
Holy Spirit empowers Paul to
do a miraculous work that results
in Sergius Paulus believing!
(Acts 13:9-12) Without
this work of the Spirit, Sergius Paulus would not have believed.
Their
journey soon brought them to Pisidian Antioch where they went to the
Synagogue and were shortly invited to speak. Beginning with the Old
Testament story of Israel, walking them through the coming of Jesus,
Paul proclaimed the Gospel to them. In
this Gospel presentation, Paul highlights something that shows why we
are so dependent on the Holy Spirit to advance the Gospel.
27The
people of Jerusalem and their rulers did
not recognize Jesus, yet in
condemning him they fulfilled the words of the prophets that are read
every Sabbath. 28Though
they found no proper ground for a death sentence, they asked Pilate
to have him executed. 29When
they had carried out all that was written about him, they took him
down from the cross and laid him in a tomb.
(Acts 13:27-29)
Paul
points out something we also learn in John's Gospel. “He
was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the
world2
did not recognize him.”
(John 1:10) We might expand on that saying, “He
came to Israel, to those who had the words of the prophets about the
coming Messiah, and heard them every Sabbath and yet they did not
recognize Him when He came. Not only did they fail to recognize Him,
they rejected Him, sentencing Him to death by disregarding the very
law which predicted Him. Although not recognizing Him, even unjustly
condemning Him, they fulfilled everything it said about Him right
down to laying Him in a tomb.”
How
does this reveal our dependence on the Holy Spirit in Gospel
proclamation? The
people we share the Gospel with cannot recognize Jesus even though
they were made through Him! The only thing they can do, apart from
the Holy Spirit's empowering work, is reject Him, hate Him, and
unjustly condemn Him (and those who preach Him).
Paul
doesn't let this discourage him from preaching the Gospel. Paul
knows that, just as the Holy Spirit hovered over the face of the
waters (Genesis 1:2) awaiting God's creative word to be spoken, the
Holy Spirit hovers over the sea of humanity working as the Gospel is
preached to transform lives.
So Paul preaches the Gospel. In this preaching, He gets to the core
of the Gospel, the very nuclear reactor of the Gospel, by declaring
forgiveness of sins and justification through Jesus Christ (for more
on this see What
is the difference between Law and Gospel? (part 3)).
38Therefore,
my friends, I want you to know that through
Jesus the forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to
you. 39Through
him everyone who believes is set
free from every sin, a
justification you were not able
to obtain under the law of Moses.”
This
promise also gives us a clue as to why we are so dependent upon the
Holy Spirit in sharing the Gospel with others when it says, “Through
him everyone who believes …”.
One must believe in order to partake of this benefit. How are we
going to believe if we do not recognize Him and are so inclined to
reject Him? In
fact, the very next verse tells us, “that
you would never believe, even if someone told you.” (Act
13:41) This reveals just how desperately dependent we are on the
Holy Spirit for the proclamation of the Gospel to have any effect.
Yet
it also demonstrates exactly why we can have confidence in preaching
the Gospel: their acceptance of the Gospel is beyond our pay-grade.
That
is the Holy Spirit's work!
How
can anyone believe the Gospel then? What is it that made the
difference between you, if you have believed, and someone else who
has not? The Holy Spirit graciously opened your eyes. What
will make the Gospel you preach effective in the lives of those you
share it with?
The Holy Spirit's work in opening their eyes to recognize in Jesus
Christ the One through Whom they were made. This is why we read,
“...all who were appointed
for eternal life believed.”
(Acts 13:48)
Because
the missionary work we do can and will be effective when
“underwritten” by the Holy Spirit, we must pray and we must
preach.
Pray and preach for the mission we are on is the mission of God! When
rejected we share in the sufferings of Christ; when believed we
observe first hand the miraculous work of the Holy Spirit in opening
eyes for those appointed to eternal life. Salvation
is from God from beginning to end!
Love
the Gospel, Live the Gospel, Advance the Gospel,
Jerry
1I
am reading the Holman Christian Standard Bible.
2Ironically,
in John's Gospel the Jewish nation is considered “the world.”
“There is no difference, for all have sinned...” (Romans
3:22-23).
