In The Footsteps of Paul

Light For The Gentiles

Three Angels Broadcasting Network

Program transcript

Participants: Tony Moore

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Series Code: IFP

Program Code: IFP000004


01:35 After the stoning of Stephen in Jerusalem, the believers
01:38 were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria.
01:42 They traveled up through the regions Phoenicia to the
01:45 island of Cyprus, and even as far north as
01:48 Antioch and Syria.
01:51 They were sharing the good news about Jesus to all of the
01:55 places that they visited.
01:57 Antioch was the queen of the Eastern Mediterranean world.
02:01 The third largest city of the Roman Empire after Rome
02:04 and Alexandria.
02:06 Today it is known as Antakya and it is a modern city on
02:11 the Eastern coast of the Mediterranean in Turkey.
02:14 It was founded by Seleucus Nicator I, one of the generals
02:18 who succeeded Alexander the Great.
02:21 He built this city and named it after
02:23 his father, Antiochus.
02:25 Off in the distance you can see through the haze the
02:29 Mediterranean Sea where Seleucus found a port and named
02:33 it after himself, Seleucus Piraeus.
02:37 That is 12 miles from here, but it was connected in
02:40 ancient times to this city that was built
02:42 against the mountain.
02:44 Alexander the Great defeated the Persians just a few
02:47 miles north of here on the plains of Issus.
02:51 The Jews supported Alexander during that time and so he
02:55 extended to them the offer of large tracts of land to
02:59 settle this area.
03:00 Seleucus granted them citizenship here in Antioch,
03:04 putting them on an equal level with the Greeks in
03:07 Macedonians that was living in this city.
03:10 The Greeks had a great respect for the Jews.
03:13 They called them the people of the book because both nations
03:17 had an ancient history and an ancient language.
03:21 The Greeks respect the Jews and gave them wide latitude
03:25 in their practices.
03:27 They allow them to observe the Sabbath, to practice
03:30 circumcision, to practice ritual baths, as long as they
03:34 did not try to convert the Greeks.
03:36 That would be crossing the line, and so they were
03:40 exempt from the Greek holidays, religious festivals,
03:43 and they could practice their religion focusing upon
03:46 the one true God.
03:47 The Romans continued the same policy of tolerance towards
03:51 the Jews, even while they were crushing the rebellion
03:55 down in Jerusalem, the citizens of this city, who were
03:58 Jewish, continued to enjoy their full rights.
04:02 The Gospel took deep root in this city.
04:05 As the believers came here preaching and sharing Jesus,
04:10 they began sharing Jesus not only people of a Jewish
04:14 background, but also Greeks.
04:17 Notice how Luke describes what happens in Acts 11:20.
04:50 After the stoning of Stephen in Jerusalem, the
04:53 persecution caused Christians to scatter throughout the
04:57 areas of Judea and Samaria and although up here to
05:00 Antioch modern-day Antakya.
05:03 They were preaching the good news to Jews
05:05 in all of these cities.
05:07 Some authorities estimate over 1/10 of the Roman world
05:12 were Jews, that is one out of every 10 people in the
05:16 Roman Empire was a Jew.
05:18 A very large statistic, but there was even a larger
05:22 percentage of the population, here in Antioch,
05:26 that was Jewish.
05:27 The disciples began to share the good news, not only with
05:31 Jews, here in this city of Antioch, but they began to
05:35 share it with the Greeks as well.
05:37 You see there are many people in the Roman world who were
05:40 tired of the polytheism of Greece and Rome.
05:43 They were tired of multiplied gods, and they saw in the
05:47 one God of the Jews a simplicity of worship.
05:51 They were attracted to monotheism, they preferred the
05:54 God of the Jews.
05:56 We will see them refer to, throughout our series,
05:58 as God's fearers.
06:01 Some authorities estimate that 25% of the Roman world
06:05 were God fearers.
06:07 That is one out of four that preferred the Jewish
06:10 religion, but they did not go all the way to becoming
06:13 Jews by being circumcised.
06:15 So the Gospel takes deep root here in Antioch.
06:20 A number of people in this city believe.
06:24 Let's read on in our passage.
07:05 The church was exploding.
07:07 The Apostles down in Jerusalem asked Barnabas to go up to
07:11 Antioch and to examine the situation.
07:15 To organize a church that was growing and developing
07:18 here in this great metropolis.
07:20 When Barnabas reached the city, that was nearly 300 miles
07:24 away, he was overwhelmed by what he saw.
07:27 Tremendous numbers of both Greeks and Jews
07:30 believing in Jesus as Messiah.
07:33 Barnabas traveled the 90 miles up the coast to the city of
07:37 Tarsus and looked for his old friend Saul.
07:40 He asked Saul to come back and help him to teach in this
07:43 new church that was growing in Antioch.
07:46 The two men walked back the 90 miles, to the metropolis
07:50 of Antioch, and here they taught the disciples
07:53 for over a year, it was a thrilling time.
07:56 The believers became so numerous, that they were first
08:01 nicknamed Christians, here in this city.
08:04 Yes, they were so odd and peculiar, followers of someone
08:08 name the Christ, that the Romans and Greeks
08:11 called them Christians.
08:13 This cave could be called the first Christian Church
08:17 because this is the place where the people who were
08:21 nicknamed Christians used to meet.
08:23 It is the earliest church here in Antioch, and it is
08:26 actually a cave in the side of a mountain.
08:29 It is a very special spot to walk in this cave.
08:33 To see the stone altar, to examine the tunnel on the side
08:39 where believers could escape and go through passageways
08:44 to various parts of the mountain.
08:46 Yes it is a very special spot, a very sacred spot.
08:50 By the end of the century the church and the city became
08:54 the second strongest and most influential center of
08:58 Christianity in the world.
09:00 When Jerusalem fell to the Romans, and Jews and
09:03 Christians were banned from the sacred city by Hadrian,
09:07 Antioch became the strongest center of Christian teaching
09:10 in the world.
09:12 The sad reality is that as you wander through the streets
09:16 today looking for a Christian church, you look in vain.
09:20 There are scarcely a believer in Jesus to be found in
09:23 the city that granted the followers of Jesus,
09:26 their special name.
09:28 There is hardly a believer to be found in the city that
09:31 sent the apostle out on his three missionary journeys.
09:35 When it was predicted that a famine would take place
09:38 in the Roman world, a relief offering was taken up here
09:43 in Antioch and sent by Barnabas and Saul down to Jerusalem.
09:47 When Saul and Barnabas returned from Jerusalem and
09:50 came to Antioch, the church was rejoicing.
09:54 During a prayer meeting a special Revelation was given.
10:14 Luke describes how the church at Antioch set apart Saul
10:17 and Barnabas by the laying on of hands and commissioned
10:21 them to go out to new areas, proclaiming that Jesus
10:24 Christ was Lord.
10:26 Acts 13:4 says.
10:36 Yes they walked 12 miles down from Antioch to this port.
10:40 In ancient times this was a bustling harbor serving as
10:44 a port for the Roman capital of Syria Antioch.
10:50 It would have been filled with ships, as it was also
10:53 the home of the Roman fleet based in the eastern
10:57 Mediterranean Sea.
10:59 From this port, Saul and Barnabas would take their
11:03 journey to the island of Cyprus to proclaim the good news
11:08 that Jesus Christ is Lord.
11:17 They landed at the eastern port of Salamis where
11:20 Barnabas was from.
11:22 They shared the gospel with his family and friends and
11:26 the cross was established, the Gospel was planted
11:30 on this island.
11:32 Luke describes how they walked across the island visiting
11:36 the towns and villages and sharing the good news that
11:39 Jesus was the Christ, or the Messiah.
11:42 When Saul and Barnabas and John Mark reached the Western
11:46 end of the island, they came to the provincial
11:48 capital of Paphos.
11:51 Here the Roman governor Sergius Paulus had his residence.
11:56 Luke describes how there was a Jewish sorcerer
11:59 named Bar-Jesus, who was trying to oppose the work
12:03 of Saul and Barnabas.
12:05 The Roman governor wanted to hear what these men
12:07 had to say, and this man kept opposing them.
12:10 Acts 13:6.
13:16 What a fascinating miracle happens here at Paphos,
13:20 on the island of Cyprus.
13:21 This sorcerer goes blind, he was rejecting the light
13:25 and now he walks around in the darkness that
13:27 he had preferred.
13:29 Notice the impact upon the Roman governor.
13:38 Luke describes how the proconsul believed because of this
13:43 miracle that took place on the island province of
13:46 Cyprus at Paphos.
13:49 Sergius Paulus was the first major Roman official to
13:53 accept the gospel through Paul and Barnabas preaching
13:57 in their missionary journeys.
13:59 He opens his heart becomes a believer.
14:02 From this point onward, Luke refers to Saul as Paul.
14:06 Apparently he adopted the name Paul, perhaps in honor
14:11 of this Roman official who had been converted.
14:14 Or perhaps he began to recognize that the gospel is going
14:18 to go more to the Roman world, more to the Gentile world.
14:22 So he adopted this more popular Roman name.
14:26 We do know from this point onward he is referred to as
14:30 Paul in the narrative of the book of Acts.
14:33 Paul and Barnabas and John Mark sail from the province
14:38 of Cyprus across the Mediterranean to Pamphylia.
14:43 Notice the next verse in Luke's account.
14:55 Luke describes how they sailed across to Perga.
14:59 I am sitting here on the edge of the Acropolis high above
15:04 the ancient ruins of Perga, on the southwestern coast
15:08 of modern Turkey.
15:10 The ruins of this city are spectacular.
15:13 There is a theater that would seat 14,000 people.
15:16 It was built in the Greek style and remodeled by the
15:20 Romans and there is an unusual raised stadium which
15:24 seats 12,000 people.
15:27 The monumental fountain was one of the most splendid
15:31 buildings of the ancient city of Perga.
15:34 Built at the foot of the Acropolis, water from the spring
15:38 was channeled and focused underneath the river god
15:42 Sestos where it would cascade down as a waterfall, fill
15:46 this pool where the great columns of the statues were
15:50 standing, and then it would flow over again, rippling
15:54 down and going down aqueduct that ran down through the
15:58 center of the city.
16:00 The main street that ran, from north to south,
16:03 was a double colonnaded straight.
16:05 That meant there were columns running down both sides
16:08 with the portico with shops.
16:10 Then they had the modern convenience of air
16:14 conditioning, as it were, with the water running down
16:17 the center of the street to cool the city on this hot
16:21 humid coastal plain.
16:24 It was to this city that Paul and Barnabas and John Mark
16:28 came to proclaim the Gospel.
16:31 And from this city John Mark would return to his mother
16:35 and Peter in Jerusalem, and Paul and Barnabas would depart and go
16:40 into the high lands to the regions of Galatia and Phrygia
16:44 proclaiming the good news there.
16:50 We've come here to the modern village of Kovanlik where
16:53 this excellent section of the ancient Roman road has
16:57 been preserved.
16:58 It was known as the vivia sansoota, this road connected
17:04 Pamphylia along the coast with the uplands of Phrygia,
17:09 Galatia and Pisidian.
17:12 Paul and Barnabas would have walked along this road,
17:15 climbing the steep mountain pass on their way to take the
17:19 gospel to Pisidian Antioch.
17:22 Pisidian Antioch was a Roman colony, that means it had
17:27 been settled by Roman veterans.
17:29 It was known as the colony of Augustus Antioquia.
17:33 It was named after Seleucus father and called Antioch of
17:39 Pisidia to distinguish it from Antioch Alvaronties from
17:44 which Paul and Barnabas had sailed.
17:47 Paul says it was because of an illness that I came to
17:52 preach the gospel amongst you, the Galatians,
17:55 Galatians 4:13.
17:58 Many have wondered, did Paul contract malaria down
18:02 along the swampy coast of Pamphylia?
18:05 Is that why he chose to go inland to the rather
18:09 isolated villages of Pisidia, Antioch and Iconium,
18:13 Derbe and Lystra?
18:15 These are very small towns in comparison to Perge
18:20 or Ephesus or Corinth or even Tarsus.
18:25 Perhaps it was because of the illness of malaria, seeking
18:31 relief from the hot humid plain along the coast, often
18:36 the high lands where it was much cooler and less humid.
18:41 It has also been suggested that perhaps Sergius Paulus
18:46 was from Antioch of Pisidia, and that the Roman governor
18:51 of Cyprus gave Paul and Barnabas letters of introduction
18:57 references, asking him to go to his family and friends
19:02 in the area of his birth.
19:05 For whatever reason the two apostles left the coast,
19:09 they left the major city of Pergy and they began the
19:14 steep ascent up this mountain pass and over it into the
19:18 Anatolian Plateau where they went to Pisidian Antioch
19:23 and preach the gospel there in the synagogue.
19:26 That is where we are going next, we want to go to
19:30 Pisidian Antioch where Paul shared, with both Jews and
19:35 Gentiles, in the synagogue on the Sabbath day.
19:42 I am walking in the ruins of the Church of Paul in
19:47 Pisidian Antioch.
19:49 This church was constructed in the fourth century upon
19:54 the foundation of the early Jewish synagogue where Paul
19:58 and Barnabas preached to the Jews and the God-fearing
20:02 Gentiles of this city.
20:05 Luke records how they came into the synagogue on the
20:09 Sabbath, and after the Scripture reading they were
20:13 asked if they had anything to share with the congregation.
20:17 Did they have anything to share! You bet they did.
20:35 Paul and Barnabas came into the synagogue that has been
20:39 located at this site.
20:41 They came in on the Sabbath, and after the reading of
20:45 the law and the prophets, they were asked by the
20:48 synagogue ruler, or leader, if they had anything to
20:51 share of encouragement for the congregation.
20:54 Did they have anything to share? Their hearts were full.
20:57 Paul stood up and began to teach here in the synagogue.
21:01 Rehearsing the great history of God's people Israel.
21:04 Beginning there with the exodus at how God worked
21:08 marvelously to deliver His people from bondage in Egypt.
21:11 He brought them into the land of Canaan displacing
21:15 seven nations, and he shared how God established
21:18 Judges to rule over the people.
21:20 Then how He raised up Saul as the first king of Israel.
21:25 Then David as the second King.
21:27 Then Paul shares with them the mighty moving in recent times.
21:32 Of the preaching of John the Baptist.
21:34 How the nation was stirred and went to the banks of the
21:38 Jordan to hear His message.
21:40 Then how John identified Jesus of Nazareth as the Jewish
21:45 Messiah, as the Christ.
21:48 Paul had something to share with them, he shared Jesus
21:54 as the Messiah, the Christ.
21:56 Then he came down and focused upon Jesus, and how the
22:01 people of Jerusalem, the leadership had rejected Him
22:05 as the Messiah.
22:07 Although He was proclaimed to be innocent, by the
22:12 governor Pilot, He was executed, an innocent man
22:16 executed, but then Paul comes down to the focus of his
22:20 message, it is what he shared in city after city, in
22:24 synagogue after synagogue that although Jesus was
22:28 executed, He came back to life.
22:32 Paul appeals to the Psalms, the 16th Psalm where it says
22:36 you will not allow your Holy One to stay in the grave,
22:40 nor to suffer corruption.
22:42 While it may have originally referred to David as king,
22:46 David's grave is still in Jerusalem to this day.
22:50 But Jesus came back to life, He could not be contained
22:55 in the grave, but was resurrected and appeared to many
22:59 people throughout the city and to His disciples.
23:03 Paul had something to share, and the people's hearts
23:07 were opened, they believed and responded and notice
23:10 what Luke says.
23:30 Do you get the picture?
23:31 Here on this site both Jews and God-fearing Gentiles
23:35 came together on the Sabbath.
23:38 While they were there, Paul shared Jesus with them.
23:42 He presented the messages of the gospel here in this
23:46 setting, and many asked if he would come back the next
23:50 week and continue the message.
23:52 When they left the synagogue many continued to inquire about
23:57 the message from Paul and Barnabas.
23:59 But notice verse 44.
24:01 most amazing passage.
24:08 The next week, almost the entire city, the word had
24:12 spread throughout this great Roman colony Pisidian
24:15 Antioch, and the next Sabbath the entire city almost came
24:18 together, as Luke said, to hear the word of the Lord.
24:22 Again Paul and Barnabas preached Jesus to them and
24:27 shared about His resurrection from the dead.
24:29 This was an amazing event.
24:32 It was a gathering of the city as a result of Paul's
24:37 preaching the first Sabbath?
24:39 Or was it the result of the letters that Paul
24:43 might have brought from Sergius Paulus,
24:46 the Roman governor of Cyprus?
24:48 Was it just a mighty moving of the Holy Spirit,
24:51 or a combination of the three?
24:54 All we know is what Luke says, that the whole city
24:57 gathered to hear Paul present Jesus the next Sabbath.
25:00 God was moving, but the devil was threatened,
25:03 notice verse 45.
25:12 Yes when the Jews saw the great crowds of people,
25:15 Gentiles coming to hear what Paul was preaching,
25:18 they became jealous.
25:21 The word jealous is perhaps strange in this setting.
25:23 Were they jealous of the bigger crowd coming to hear Paul
25:27 in the synagogue?
25:28 The actual root of the word is the same word as zealous.
25:32 The Jews were zealous, they were zealous for the
25:36 traditions of the father.
25:38 They were concerned that Paul was presenting Jesus to
25:41 Gentiles, and allowing them to believe in the Jewish
25:45 Messiah without first making them Jews.
25:49 He did not require that they become circumcised and
25:54 to become Jews before they could accept Jesus as Messiah.
25:58 This caused a spirit of agitation within the Jewish
26:03 community and we read on in verse 46.
26:26 Paul said that we had to first come and preach to you
26:29 the Jews, but since you are rejecting this message,
26:31 we now turn to the Gentiles.
26:34 From this point, in the city of Pisidian Antioch,
26:38 Paul and Barnabas preached Jesus to the Gentiles.
26:42 The Gentiles were thrilled and were responding to the
26:45 message, a mighty revival was spreading through this
26:49 Roman colony and people were being converted.
26:52 We read on in verse 48.
27:02 Yes the Gentiles responded and were glad in their hearts.
27:06 For they were accepting Jesus as their Lord
27:09 and they had peace.
27:11 Up on the top of the hill is the Roman temple to
27:15 Augustus Caesar, discovered there was his testament which
27:21 declared him to be the prince of peace, but now Paul
27:25 is teaching that true Prince of peace, Jesus as the
27:28 Messiah, the Christ, to the people in the city.
27:32 For the first time their hearts are
27:35 being filled with peace.
27:36 Have you received the peace of Christ in your heart?
27:40 You can if you will open your heart to Him just now.
27:44 He will come in and bring you His peace.
27:48 Let's pray together, eternal God we thank You so much
27:52 for the way which you led Saul and Barnabas to leave
27:55 the comforts of Antioch and to travel to distant lands
27:58 proclaiming that Jesus Christ was Lord.
28:01 And Lord Jesus we see that these Gentiles and Jewish
28:05 believers accepted You as the true Prince of peace and how
28:09 You brought peace and joy into their hearts and
28:11 into their souls.
28:13 I pray just now that You will do that for each one that
28:16 is hearing this teaching, I pray in Jesus name, Amen!
28:21 From here in Pisidian Antioch, Barnabas and Paul travel
28:25 out to the regions of Laconia where they proclaim that
28:29 Jesus Christ is Lord in the cities of Lystra and Derbe.
28:33 They were identified as Hermes and Zeus in Lystra,
28:36 tremendous crowds believed and then they turned and dragged
28:40 Paul this from the city and stoned him leaving him for dead.
28:44 Don't miss the next thrilling chapter, in this series,
28:47 when Paul got stoned.


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Revised 2014-12-17