The Book of Acts ~ Study Forty-Five

"Words of Encouragement"


Acts 13:13-52 (NLT) Paul and his companions then left Paphos by ship for Pamphylia, landing at the port town of Perga. There John Mark left them and returned to Jerusalem. But Paul and Barnabas traveled inland to Antioch of Pisidia.   On the Sabbath they went to the synagogue for the services. After the usual readings from the books of Moses and the prophets, those in charge of the service sent them this message: “Brothers, if you have any word of encouragement for the people, come and give it.”
   So Paul stood, lifted his hand to quiet them, and started speaking. “Men of Israel,” he said, “and you God-fearing Gentiles, listen to me.
   “The God of this nation of Israel chose our ancestors and made them multiply and grow strong during their stay in Egypt. Then with a powerful arm he led them out of their slavery. He put up with them through forty years of wandering in the wilderness. Then he destroyed seven nations in Canaan and gave their land to Israel as an inheritance. All this took about 450 years.
   “After that, God gave them judges to rule until the time of Samuel the prophet. Then the people begged for a king, and God gave them Saul son of Kish, a man of the tribe of Benjamin, who reigned for forty years. But God removed Saul and replaced him with David, a man about whom God said, ‘I have found David son of Jesse, a man after my own heart. He will do everything I want him to do.'
   “And it is one of King David’s descendants, Jesus, who is God’s promised Savior of Israel! Before he came, John the Baptist preached that all the people of Israel needed to repent of their sins and turn to God and be baptized. As John was finishing his ministry he asked, ‘Do you think I am the Messiah? No, I am not! But he is coming soon—and I’m not even worthy to be his slave and untie the sandals on his feet.’
   “Brothers—you sons of Abraham, and also you God-fearing Gentiles—this message of salvation has been sent to us! The people in Jerusalem and their leaders did not recognize Jesus as the one the prophets had spoken about. Instead, they condemned him, and in doing this they fulfilled the prophets’ words that are read every Sabbath. They found no legal reason to execute him, but they asked Pilate to have him killed anyway.
   “When they had done all that the prophecies said about him, they took him down from the cross and placed him in a tomb. But God raised him from the dead! And over a period of many days he appeared to those who had gone with him from Galilee to Jerusalem. They are now his witnesses to the people of Israel.
   “And now we are here to bring you this Good News. The promise was made to our ancestors, and God has now fulfilled it for us, their descendants, by raising Jesus. This is what the second psalm says about Jesus: ‘You are my Son. Today I have become your Father.’
   For God had promised to raise him from the dead, not leaving him to rot in the grave. He said, ‘I will give you the sacred blessings I promised to David.’ Another psalm explains it more fully: ‘You will not allow your Holy One to rot in the grave.’ This is not a reference to David, for after David had done the will of God in his own generation, he died and was buried with his ancestors, and his body decayed. No, it was a reference to someone else—someone whom God raised and whose body did not decay.
   “Brothers, listen! We are here to proclaim that through this man Jesus there is forgiveness for your sins. Everyone who believes in him is declared right with God—something the law of Moses could never do. Be careful! Don’t let the prophets’ words apply to you. For they said, ‘Look, you mockers, be amazed and die! For I am doing something in your own day, something you wouldn’t believe
      even if someone told you about it.’ ”
   As Paul and Barnabas left the synagogue that day, the people begged them to speak about these things again the next week. Many Jews and devout converts to Judaism followed Paul and Barnabas, and the two men urged them to continue to rely on the grace of God.
   The following week almost the entire city turned out to hear them preach the word of the Lord. But when some of the Jews saw the crowds, they were jealous; so they slandered Paul and argued against whatever he said.
   Then Paul and Barnabas spoke out boldly and declared, “It was necessary that we first preach the word of God to you Jews. But since you have rejected it and judged yourselves unworthy of eternal life, we will offer it to the Gentiles. For the Lord gave us this command when he said, ‘I have made you a light to the Gentiles, to bring salvation to the farthest corners of the earth.’ ”
   When the Gentiles heard this, they were very glad and thanked the Lord for his message; and all who were chosen for eternal life became believers. So the Lord’s message spread throughout that region.
   Then the Jews stirred up the influential religious women and the leaders of the city, and they incited a mob against Paul and Barnabas and ran them out of town. So they shook the dust from their feet as a sign of rejection and went to the town of Iconium. And the believers were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.

Wow that's a BIG chunk of Scripture! I want to break it down into chewable portions. God's Word is infinite and what I glean from it is but a minuscule amount compared to the infinite content of what He has to say to each one of us. Bear with me as I listen to Him and write what He tells me.

First, we meet Paul and his companions in Antioch. Here's a little glimpse of this city according to the IVP Commentary: "Pisidian Antioch was also founded by Seleucus I Nicator. The Romans made it a Roman colony in 25 B.C., settling army veterans and their families there. It served as the main garrison city for a number of Roman outposts to the south. Pisidian Antioch sat astride the Via Sebaste, the Roman road from Ephesus to the Euphrates. Such a location and history meant that the population was a diverse mixture of Phrygian, Greek, Jewish and Roman."

The location was as diverse as any city we could find nowadays. Where would Paul begin to preach about the Good News of Christ Jesus? We find that he began by speaking in the local synagogue on the Sabbath. Motioning with his hands to get their attention he addressed the congregation. We see that this particular congregation had both the Jewish faithful and converts to Judaism.

After the opening scripture reading, the synagogue rulers asked Paul and his companions to give a word of encouragement. I don't think that what Paul had to say was what they had in mind. Little did they know that he was about to turn their world upside-down by introducing Jesus as Messiah. He gave a history lesson to the crowd gathered there. (Remember, Paul was a very learned man who had been a member of the Sanhedrin. He knew the Torah and knew the Law. He sat under the most educated and sought after instructors in Israel ~ Gamaliel.)

The Greek word for "encouragement" is "parakaleo" which means "to help, comfort, encourage." When Paul responded to the call of "parakaleo" he presented the best he knew to offer. This comfort was Jesus the Messiah.

How often do you go to church to hear encouraging words only to find yourself being convicted? Do you go to church to get a message that tickles your ears only to come out with a stomping of your toes?
Our encouragement is found in Jesus and the truth found in Him.

Paul, presented Jesus and laid the foundation for His (Jesus) being the true Messiah. The message fell on a diverse set of ears. The message of encouragement Paul gave is this, "Brothers—you sons of Abraham, and also you God-fearing Gentiles—this message of salvation has been sent to us!" (verse 26) Some received this news with gladness and others received it with resentment and anger.

What we want to hear may not be what we need to hear. What we need to hear is that Jesus loves us and died for us to make a way for us to have a relationship with God through Him. That is true encouragement.

Isaiah 40:9-11 (NLT) O Zion, messenger of good news, shout from the mountaintops!Shout it louder, O Jerusalem. Shout, and do not be afraid. Tell the towns of Judah, “Your God is coming!” Yes, the Sovereign Lord is coming in power. He will rule with a powerful arm. See, he brings his reward with him as he comes. He will feed his flock like a shepherd. He will carry the lambs in his arms, holding them close to his heart. He will gently lead the mother sheep with their young.

God told His people over and over again about the coming of the Messiah. This verse from Isaiah describes Jesus in detail. This is the Good News, words of encouragement, that Paul proclaimed to this congregation. Those whose hearts were open to God's truth received it readily and wanted more. Those hearts that were hardened by the rituals of religion and the demands of the political world were opposed to receiving it.

Hebrews 3:12-15 (NLT) Be careful then, dear brothers and sisters. Make sure that your own hearts are not evil and unbelieving, turning you away from the living God. You must warn each other every day, while it is still “today,” so that none of you will be deceived by sin and hardened against God. For if we are faithful to the end, trusting God just as firmly as when we first believed, we will share in all that belongs to Christ. Remember what it says: “Today when you hear his voice, don’t harden your hearts
as Israel did when they rebelled.”

Are there things in your life that has caused hardeness in your heart toward God? What is it? Are you willing to allow God to soften your heart and mind to hear the Good News about Jesus? 

Like the religious Jews of old, many hearts are so hard that they are blinded like a cataract blinds the eye. Religion and even politics obscures the relationship that Christ Jesus offers everyone. Let us lay down our doubts and hurts, fears and frustrations and allow the true words of encouragement found in Christ to break down the walls we may have built up.

Let these words of true encouragement soothe your soul; Jesus loves you and died for you so that you could be made right with God. Enter into the delight found in Him. Open your hearts to hear and receive this Jesus who loves you beyond reason.