An Encouraging History for All

Acts 13:13–52 ESV

Now Paul and his companions set sail from Paphos and came to Perga in Pamphylia. And John left them and returned to Jerusalem, but they went on from Perga and came to Antioch in Pisidia. And on the Sabbath day they went into the synagogue and sat down. After the reading from the Law and the Prophets, the rulers of the synagogue sent a message to them, saying, “Brothers, if you have any word of encouragement for the people, say it.” So Paul stood up, and motioning with his hand said: “Men of Israel and you who fear God, listen. The God of this people Israel chose our fathers and made the people great during their stay in the land of Egypt, and with uplifted arm he led them out of it. And for about forty years he put up with them in the wilderness. And after destroying seven nations in the land of Canaan, he gave them their land as an inheritance. All this took about 450 years. And after that he gave them judges until Samuel the prophet. Then they asked for a king, and God gave them Saul the son of Kish, a man of the tribe of Benjamin, for forty years. And when he had removed him, he raised up David to be their king, of whom he testified and said, ‘I have found in David the son of Jesse a man after my heart, who will do all my will.’ Of this man’s offspring God has brought to Israel a Savior, Jesus, as he promised. Before his coming, John had proclaimed a baptism of repentance to all the people of Israel. And as John was finishing his course, he said, ‘What do you suppose that I am? I am not he. No, but behold, after me one is coming, the sandals of whose feet I am not worthy to untie.’ “Brothers, sons of the family of Abraham, and those among you who fear God, to us has been sent the message of this salvation. For those who live in Jerusalem and their rulers, because they did not recognize him nor understand the utterances of the prophets, which are read every Sabbath, fulfilled them by condemning him. And though they found in him no guilt worthy of death, they asked Pilate to have him executed. And when they had carried out all that was written of him, they took him down from the tree and laid him in a tomb. But God raised him from the dead, and for many days he appeared to those who had come up with him from Galilee to Jerusalem, who are now his witnesses to the people. And we bring you the good news that what God promised to the fathers, this he has fulfilled to us their children by raising Jesus, as also it is written in the second Psalm, “ ‘You are my Son, today I have begotten you.’ And as for the fact that he raised him from the dead, no more to return to corruption, he has spoken in this way, “ ‘I will give you the holy and sure blessings of David.’ Therefore he says also in another psalm, “ ‘You will not let your Holy One see corruption.’ For David, after he had served the purpose of God in his own generation, fell asleep and was laid with his fathers and saw corruption, but he whom God raised up did not see corruption. Let it be known to you therefore, brothers, that through this man forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you, and by him everyone who believes is freed from everything from which you could not be freed by the law of Moses. Beware, therefore, lest what is said in the Prophets should come about: “ ‘Look, you scoffers, be astounded and perish; for I am doing a work in your days, a work that you will not believe, even if one tells it to you.’ ” As they went out, the people begged that these things might be told them the next Sabbath. And after the meeting of the synagogue broke up, many Jews and devout converts to Judaism followed Paul and Barnabas, who, as they spoke with them, urged them to continue in the grace of God. The next Sabbath almost the whole city gathered to hear the word of the Lord. But when the Jews saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy and began to contradict what was spoken by Paul, reviling him. And Paul and Barnabas spoke out boldly, saying, “It was necessary that the word of God be spoken first to you. Since you thrust it aside and judge yourselves unworthy of eternal life, behold, we are turning to the Gentiles. For so the Lord has commanded us, saying, “ ‘I have made you a light for the Gentiles, that you may bring salvation to the ends of the earth.’ ” And when the Gentiles heard this, they began rejoicing and glorifying the word of the Lord, and as many as were appointed to eternal life believed. And the word of the Lord was spreading throughout the whole region. 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.

Who can tell me what’s up on the screen? It’s a map of the world. What’s on the map? All the continents, counties, oceans, major lakes—Baldwin is over here. God created a big world. 

Some of you have started studying history in school. What does history look at? The past. From the time I was in Sunday School through now, I’ve been studying the history revealed in the Bible. But I’ve also studied world history, U.S. history, and the history of the church from the days of Jesus to the present. I love studying different places and seeing where and how things happened. I really don’t like trying to remember dates and peoples’ names and precise details, though.

           Most of what I’ve learned in history classes really focuses on a small chunk of the world—the area covered in black: from mainly Europe into North America, especially the United States. The reason why we study history in these parts of the world is they’re the main places whose people and ideas have shaped who we are as a country today and how a lot of us think. 

There’s a whole world out there that I haven’t learned about, though, and I want, too. One of the reasons why we can’t study every place and people and time in school is that the world and countries are always changing. This is a map of what the world looked like when Jesus was around. There are a lot less countries, right? There were a few, but then throughout most of the world, different groups of people just lived in different areas and could move around freely. 

As we go through the book of Acts, that black star is the part of the world we’re in. And this is the closer look at that area. Paul and other missionaries were traveling around to all different cities and telling different people about Jesus. Some had never heard of Jesus before. In order to help them understand what to believe, Paul told them the history, the past of what God had done with the Israelites. God had chosen them to be his people in a special way. But Jesus died not just for the Israelites, right? He died to save anyone from anywhere in the world who believes in him. One of the ways we can be sure that God will keep his promise is that we can look back in history and see that God always keeps his promise, he’s always wanted to save his people.

We have a bit of a lengthy reading, but if possible, I want to try and keep what happened in each location during Paul’s missionary journeys together. In this case, if you have a Bible open, you can see that verses 16 through 41 are a monologue, a short sermon. What follows to close out the chapter is the response and impact of Paul’s preaching with the work of the Spirit. 

           To update us on location, Paul and Barnabas have left the island of Cyprus by the city of Paphos and are headed north to modern-day Turkey. They went first to the city of Perga in the region of Pamphylia, and then headed farther north to the city of Antioch. Now you might be thinking, “Haven’t we heard about Antioch?” We have—Antioch was the sending city of Paul and Barnabas, and we heard about the church there even before that. But just different states can have the same named town—I believe there are 13 states with a town called Baldwin—different regions back then could have the same named town. The Antioch we’ve heard before was in the region of Syria and is sometimes called Syrian Antioch. The Antioch in today’s reading was Antioch in or near the region of Pisidia, and so it’s sometimes called Pisidian Antioch.   

           Brothers and sisters in Christ, you’ve likely heard these statements or a variation of them before: “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” That was written by philosopher George Santayana in his book “The Life of Reason” around 1905. Winston Churchill in 1948 tweaked it a bit, “Those who fail to learn from history are condemned to repeat it.” Those who cannot remember the past, those who fail to learn from history are condemned to repeat it.   

           Perhaps we think that only applies to politics, economics, or cultural norms. We might say things like, “There has never been a country that has chosen fill-in-the-blank with whatever system you want,” “There has never been a country that has chosen this and prospered or been able to sustain itself or not fallen.” When we say things like that, we’re attempting to show that we’ve learned something. We’ve identified mistakes in the past, and we don’t want to fall into them ourselves. Its with wisdom that we want to be cautious or careful or simply avoid certain things.

           But as we read our passage today, which in large part Paul is preaching about the past, the history of Israel going back over a thousand years, can’t this also apply to faith? If you cannot remember the past or you fail to learn from history, you’re condemned to repeat it. Our first point this morning is missing God, falling apart. Paul gave the congregation gathered at the synagogue in Antioch a quick rundown of some of the events that had previously happened on the other shores of the Mediterranean Sea. Verses 17-19, the same God these people worshiped had long ago chosen the Israelites as his own people. He had brought them out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. He had put up with their grumbling and their distrust. He had overthrown nations for them. He had given them a new homeland. All of that, God did for them.

They were spoiled by God, and yet as time went by, we’re talking about generations, what did these people further require of God? Verse 20, “…God gave them judges.” Verses 21 and 22, “Then the people asked for a king, and he gave them Saul…who ruled forty years. After removing Saul, he made David their king.” Paul went on to talk about Jesus coming, now we’re back to recent history. Jesus wasn’t a requirement that the people asked for; no, “God has brought to Israel the Savior Jesus, as he promised.” But what happened? Verses 27 and 28, “The people of Jerusalem and their rulers did not recognize [him].” They condemned him. They asked Pilate to execute him.

Now, here was Paul, a Jew by background converted to a Christian, telling these people all about Jesus, all about the grace of God, witnessing to them that they might know the Lord. And what happened here in Pisidian Antioch? “On the next Sabbath almost the whole city gathered to hear the word of the Lord. When the Jews saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy and talked abusively against what Paul was saying.” Jumping ahead to verse 50, “They stirred up persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and expelled them from their region.”    

           Those who cannot remember the past, those who fail to learn from history are condemned to repeat it. What we need to see throughout history from creation through God’s redemption of Israel thought his punishment of Israel through the coming of Christ through the church today is that God remains faithful. God has remained true to his character. He has remained true to the promises that he has given in his word. He has proved himself over and over in the hope that he offers to sinners, but also judgment on those who will not repent.

           It’s not God who changes. It’s not that he goes off on vacation and leaves his responsibilities behind, and so his people fall apart, they think they need more than what he’s given, and if God is gone, then they must turn their hopes elsewhere. They live in ungodly and immoral ways because God hasn’t done enough for them.

No, it’s people who miss God. I’m trying to use that word “miss” rather intentionally. Missing God isn’t just a slip of forgetfulness; it’s the abandonment or disregard of faith. The people of Israel needed judges to rescue them, because they had gone astray from and been punished by God. They wanted kings to be like all the other nations, because they viewed God’s ruling as no longer good enough. The Jewish leaders turned on Jesus, because he wasn’t part of their group and didn’t fit their ideals. The Jews that persecuted Paul and Barnabas in Antioch were jealous for crowds and were unwilling to see their need for the grace of God found in the truth of Christ.

           Faith isn’t something that you just learn and remember or learn and forget. No, as we see in Jesus’ parable of the sower in Matthew 13, the one who receives the seed and in whom it flourishes is he who “hears the word and understands it.” Not everyone has the right conditions for faith, though. Our hearts cannot be calloused, our ears can’t be deaf, our eyes can’t be shut, but God’s healing must be present. The way that a Christian learns from the past and tries not to make the same mistakes of history is to know God and honor God, but God must first be in us. We can’t just say that people need to come back to Christ more and things will be fixed. No, the reality, which we must comprehend and pray would be furthered, is that people would wholeheartedly believe in Jesus and that his Spirit would dwell in them.

           That’s not a very cheerful first point for a sermon with the word “Encouraging” in its title, but the encouragement, again, is in the truth that God doesn’t change. He will provide all that’s necessary for his people’s salvation. Our second point this morning is believing in God, receiving salvation. Paul was not appointed by God, called by God, simply to be a public speaker. He wasn’t called simply to learn about suffering persecution for Jesus. He was called to both of those, but also to witness to the hope of salvation that people could hear it and receive it by faith.

           We have that call in verses 38 and 39, “‘Therefore, my brothers, I want you to know that through Jesus the forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you. Through him everyone who believes is justified from everything you could not be justified from by the law of Moses.” The hope of sinners, the hope of the lost and needy is not found in us trying to be good enough. Hope is not found in following the law or any rules close enough. Our salvation is found in Jesus Christ alone.

All throughout history, the Triune God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit has been real, they have existed and been providing. But salvation that more than adequately deals with the sins of all men and women throughout all of history and which leads to eternal life was not accomplished until Jesus came in the flesh. No one had sufficient work done for their redemption until Jesus did what he alone could do. In thinking about his death, how did Jesus die? It was through a state-ordered execution under the authority of the Roman Empire—it was a historic event. Yet God used it for the atonement of all who put their faith in the one true God. The Son of God did not die on the cross to decay in his tomb. Jesus died and rose again; he’s alive and promises us life.     

           This is the good news of salvation that must be believed. The good news that is all about God’s grace. The good news of Christianity is not that we’ve been given a checklist and we’ve done well enough, or we’ve received an acceptable grade over the course of our lifetime. No, the good news of Christianity is that Jesus has done enough for all who believe. He has provided his score, his account, his righteousness, for all of us who will never deserve it or come anywhere near doing good enough on our own. By faith, we have received his work into our lives.

Because we’ve received him, we’ve also said, “I want to live for him. I want to learn from his story, his truth, not just my opinion of my mistakes.” When it comes to changes in our lifestyles, changes in our commitments and values and priorities, we change with the joy we’ve been given by Jesus. We find delight when we see our faith growing. We find delight when we see others professing faith and giving their lives over to Christ. We’re grieved by those who deny and reject him. But all the while we remain confident that his grace for our salvation is more than sufficient.

God has not meant his message, his work, just for small pockets of the human population around the world throughout history. No, it is an encouraging message for all the world. It was first brought for the Jews and then for the Gentiles. That second group was now to be the primary audience of Paul and Barnabas’ ministry. Verses 46 and 47, “‘We had to speak the word of God to you first. Since you reject it and do not consider yourselves worthy of eternal life, we now turn to the Gentiles. For this is what the Lord has commanded us: “I have made you a light for the Gentiles, that you may bring salvation to the ends of the earth.”’” 

A sad truth is many people in the past and today and likely into the future have heard of Jesus, have heard the good news of the gospel, and yet reject him. The author of the gospel of John writes in chapter 1 about the same rejection of Jesus that we’re finding in Acts 13. “He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God—children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.” 

While there are many who reject God, there are people, people like us and people who are very different than us around the world, who have accepted the gospel, whose lives and futures have been changed by and because of Jesus Christ. We have the incredible hope of redemption and reconciliation with God given to us, and it is something that gives us joy. If your faith is true and genuine and sincere—you are no longer the person who was born in sin, but you have been reborn by the Holy Spirit. You are in the family of God, there is no greater identity you can have.

But an unsettling truth that existed back in Paul’s day and continues to exist today is that not all people will hear about Jesus in their lifetimes. The difficult question, “What about their souls?” comes up among Christians and non-Christians alike. Scripture seems to be very clear that we must profess faith in God, repent of our sins, and confess Jesus as our Lord and Savior to be saved. While that seems, at least in my view, to tell us the answer regarding the salvation of those who haven’t been reached, we leave speculation up to God’s righteous, just, and merciful decrees.

But that should stir up something in us as part of the church, us who have had our lives changed. The gospel of Jesus Christ, forgiveness and salvation, is to go out to all the world. I’m thankful that when we look at a map today, it has gone to many of these places. While numbers of Christians and churches may be on the decline in “Western Civilization,” they are growing in the Global South—in South America and Africa. Yet there’s still so much work to be done.

According to a few resources there are estimated to be over 2 billion people who have had “virtually no exposure” to the gospel but possibly as many as 3.19 billion living in unreached people groups. Somewhere between 25% and 42% of the world’s population today has not yet been reached by the gospel. There is such a great need for dedicated missionaries and for Bible translations and the use of various medias to spread the truth. We are not living in a time when we should just sit back. Our love for Christ and our love for his church demands that we continue to support those who haven’t been reached.

We look to history for the one in whom our redemption is found, and yet in looking to the future, we must address the work that still needs to be done. Let us never give up hope that the gospel can reach all peoples. Let us never stop seeking for God to show us how we can be a part of that. Let us never forget that he is with his people, faithful for eternity. Amen.