Why Did Paul Turn Away From The Jews?

Tom:

This is our Understanding the Scriptures segment, we’re in the Book of Acts Chapter 18, and Dave, I am going to pick up with Verse 5.“And when Silas and Timothy were come from Macedonia, Paul was pressed in the spirit, and testified to the Jews that Jesus was Christ.”And of course, Christ is the Greek for Messiah.

Dave:

Tom, this is an interesting passage that I have pondered for many years.It almost seems that he hasn’t been quite making it that plain.You go back to verse 4,He reasoned in the synagogue every Sabbath and persuaded the Jews and Greeks.Now, I can reason from the Scriptures.I can say, Look, guys, here’s what the Bible says about the Messiah, and you can’t push yourself on someone.I was sitting next to a Buddhist lady on my last flight coming here, and they are very gentle.You can’t just come in there with a bulldozer—wow!You’ve got, you know, Buddhism, that’s atheism and don’t you understand that if you don’t believe in Jesus— So, I think this is a valid approach.Paul is reasoning from the Scriptures—Well, look guys, you Jews know that—and for Gentiles as well—you know that the Messiah was foretold.Who’s the Messiah?Well, He’s going to save us from our sins.I mean, this is the Savior of Israel, and of the world, it even says that in the Old Testament.Well, what did it say about Him?Well, He’s going to be God, Isaiah:9:6For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.
See All..., that’s what your own prophet said.He’s going to be the Son of God.Was there a Son of God?Oh, yeah, you could go to Psalm 2, Kiss the Son lest He be angry.Unto the Son, he says, or you could go to, even Nebuchadnezzar, when he threw Shadrach, Meshach and Abendego into the furnace.Hey, wait a minute, didn’t we throw three in there?There’s four, and the fourth is like the Son of God.So, I can reason with them from the Scripture, I can lay the foundation.You know, the Messiah, it says He’s going to come riding into Jerusalem on a donkey, and He’s going to be hailed.But it also say He’s going to be crucified.This is going to happen in Jerusalem, Jerusalem will be under the Romans, and this is at least 500 years before the Romans ever practiced crucifixion.So, Ihave a sub-heading in Judgment Day, the sub-heading is, How many candidates for Messiah?Well, He’s supposed to arrive and come riding into Jerusalem on a donkey eighty-nine weeks of years after the going forth of the command to rebuild Jerusalem.I won’t go into the whole thing here but we’ve gone over this before.It tells you the very day He would arrive in Jerusalem, and the manner of His entry, and so forth, so in Judgment Day, I just say, How many candidates for Messiah?How many guys rode into Jerusalem on a donkey, that day, were hailed as the Messiah, had been born in Bethlehem, you know, was betrayed for 30 pieces of silver, and 4 days later the cry, “Away with Him” and He’s nailed to the cross, and then He rises from the dead the 3^rd day.Howmany candidates do you have for Messiah?He could have gone that far without even naming Jesus.But now, when Silas and Timothy come it says, he’s pressed in the Spirit, he testifies to the Jews—Okay guys, Jesus is the Christ.I love that!

Tom:

Verse 6, “And when they opposed themselves, and blasphemed, he shook his raiment, and said unto them, Your blood be upon your own heads; I am clean: from henceforth I will go unto the Gentiles.”Now, this wasn’t just a frustration on Paul’s part.Dave, it’s a bit like your mentioning David being really vexed in the spirit and saying these things, not for his own sake and not that God needs to be defended, but under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit he says these things.

Dave:

Very interesting, the wording here:“They opposed themselves” it doesn’t emphasize their opposing him, they are really their own enemies, and don’t realize it, and they blaspheme.And so he says, Your blood be upon your own heads.And in Acts 20, when we get there, he will say, I am free from the blood of all men.Well, this is how he is free, because he’s told them, and now there it is, their salvation, it’s on your heads if you reject Christ.And then he says, end of verse 6, “from henceforth I will go unto the Gentiles.”Now, there’s a popular error out there, Tom, in the church.Actually, I was taught this when I grew up as a boy.You go to Acts 28, when we get there, and there he’s in his own hired house in Rome, he’sa prisoner of the government, but the Jewish leaders in Rome, he’s never been to Rome before, they come a consult withhim.And finally, they are just not going to believe in Jesus—they have great reasoning among themselves, it says, then he says, from henceforth I am going to the Gentiles.You Jews don’t want this gospel, then I will take it to the Gentiles.And there’s a popular teaching out there that this marked a transition.There were signs and wonders and miracles up until that time, but not then.Now the Jews seek after signs, the Greeks seek after wisdom, the miracles are only for Jews, and now when the Jews are rejected, no more miracles—But wait a minute!I don’t know if anybody remembers here, it was a long time since we were in chapter 15 of Acts, but Paul and Barnabas are telling what miracles God has done among the Gentiles, so miracles weren’t just for the Jews.And we know from this verse—we could go back to chapter 13.In chapter 13, Paul said to the Jews when they rejected:Sorry guys, you don’t want this gospel, you don’t want salvation?Well then, we’ll take the message to the Gentiles.Now here he is saying the same thing.So, in every city, as Paul said in the very beginning of Romans, to the Jew:I’m not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, it’s the power of God unto salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first, and also to the Greek, or to the Gentiles.So, he always went to the synagogue first.You guys don’t want it, okay, then we take it to the Gentiles. So all I am saying is, Tom, you can’t make a big deal out of Acts 28 when he says to the Jews:Okay, I’m turning to the Gentiles, because he’s done it in every town he has been in.

Tom:

Right.Verse 7:“And he departed thence, and entered into a certain man’s house, named Justus, one that worshipped God, whose house joined hard to the synagogue.”So this is a gentleman who lives just next door to the synagogue they were in.

Dave:

And he’s hospitable, he must have invited Paul in, Paul didn’t push himself on him.

Tom:

Right.Verse 8:“And Crispus, the chief ruler of the synagogue, believed on the Lord with all his house; and many of the Corinthians hearing believed, and were baptized.”

Dave:

Wow, that’s fantastic!The chief ruler of the synagogue, he believes, and all of his family.And now we’ve got a movement going here.Corinthians, many of them, are believing—these would be Gentiles, probably, a mixed group—and they were baptized.Now we’ve got baptisms going on here, Tom, public.Wow, what is this that has come into town!It has some opposition eventually, I mean, this is going to shake the place, isn’t it?

Tom:

Right.Verse 9 & 10:“Then spake the Lord to Paul in the night by a vision:Be not afraid, but speak, and hold not thy peace:For I am with thee, and no man shall set on thee to hurt thee:for I have much people in this city.”

Dave:

Very popular to interpret dreams, even some Christians have a piece of paper and a pencil right by their bed because you’re going to get a dream, and now you want to get an interpretation.You know the psychology— Tom, you’re running the show, I don’t know if we get back to that from the psychologists and psychiatrists, probably, even Christian counselors.

Tom:

That’s part of the problem, many books out now about dream interpretation, and particularly, you are going to be more effective if you have read some of Carl Jung, you know, and read these Jungian analysts, so called.This is so bogus, Dave, it’s unbelievable, but not this!This is the Lord speaking to Paul in the vision.

Dave:

So, we’ve got to get it straight now, just because the Bible said:Then spake the Lord to Paul in the night by a vision—Well wow, maybe the Lord will speak to me, maybe He is speaking to me, maybe that’s what my dreams are all about, I just didn’t recognize it.

Tom:

Maybe it’s that pepperoni pizza you had.

Dave:

I don’t eat pepperoni, that’s junk food, but the garlic in my pizza could probably do the same thing.

Tom:

I’m just throwing that out for our audience.

Dave:

But Tom, maybe I had better get some of these books, they’ll help me interpret my dream.

Tom:

Maybe not.

Dave:

This is not what it is talking about.So, this is genuine, the Lord really speaks, and how does He speak in a vision?It says, a vision, and a night vision, sounds kind of like a dream.There was a vision, and in the night: Be not afraid, but speak, and hold not thy peace, I am with thee, no man shall set on thee to hurt thee, I have much people in the city.Well, this is a promise from God.He’s had a rough time, and other towns where they have beaten him up and thrown him in jail, and once he was stoned, scourged, and God says, Relax Paul, don’t be worrying about the other shoe is going to fall, I’m going to protect you here because I’ve got a lot of people here.Now it doesn’t mean that he had predestined a lot of people.There are a lot of people that He knew were going to respond to the gospel, and for that reason He’s going to allow Paul to continue to preach to them.