Acts 13:46-49 Pastor Nathan P. Kassulke
The Epiphany of Our Lord Sunday, January 2, 2022 “What Child Is This? A Light for All People”
How could anyone be upset about a crowded church service? It really is a wonderful blessing to be able to gather in a large group to listen to God’s Word and to sing God’s praises. There is something special about a full church on Christmas Eve or for a special Reformation Service or on an Easter Sunday morning. We haven’t had those sorts of services a lot lately. We’ve added services so that the church would be less full for each service, and we have had people stay home and watch online because they’re not certain that they are up for any sort of a crowd based on what they are seeing and hearing. And I understand that we are in a unique situation, and that I often get a unique vantage point from up here that’s not so crowded at all. But thankfully, I don’t recall really ever hearing someone upset about the fact that a worship service was full. I’ve had people acknowledge it in conversation, we’ve had to run off extra copies of worship folders, and yes, there have been times when we’ve needed to squeeze just a little more tightly into the pews. In the Scripture reading in front of us this morning, we hear just the last portion of what was taking place in a crowded church service in a town called Pisidian Antioch. People really were upset when they saw what the book of Acts tells us was almost the whole town gathered together to be a part of this special service. Let’s consider a little more context to help us understand the verses on which we are focusing today. Paul and Barnabas were making their way from place to place on their missionary journey. That journey brought them to Antioch, a town in the region of Pisidia, on a Sabbath Day. Recall that the Jewish law said that people couldn’t work on the Sabbath, but they could gather around God’s Word, and that is what many people of that town did. Recognizing that they had some special guests with them, the people invited Paul and Barnabas to offer a word of encouragement, what we might call a sermon. And Paul did. He told them about Jesus, introducing his message by reminding the people of God’s history in making promises to and taking a special interest in the Jewish people. But at the time when Jesus came, many of the Jews and their leaders did not listen to him. They opposed him, and they did not recognize who he was. And they had him killed. And Paul explained that even Jesus’ death was what had been foretold and prophesied about him, along with his resurrection from the dead. He, Jesus, was fulfilling prophecies that the even great Jewish King David could never live up to. The people listened to these missionaries, and many wanted to know more. That was one week before the words that have our attention this morning. That next week, the synagogue, the Jewish church, was packed with people. Nearly the whole town had come, as we mentioned earlier. And many of the Jews were jealous. They were filled with envy. They slandered Paul and contradicted what he was saying. And that’s where today’s reading picks up: Then Paul and Barnabas responded fearlessly, “It was necessary that God’s word be spoken to you first. But since you reject it and consider yourselves unworthy of eternal life, look: We are now turning to the Gentiles!” Those Jews had rejected what Paul and Barnabas brought. They had rejected the message. They had rejected Jesus. They had rejected eternal life itself because they were so upset about a crowded church service. They were upset that these traveling missionaries had filled the synagogue in a way that they never had before. And I can at least relate to that, can’t you? I am sure I would be at least a little jealous if the next time we mention that a guest preacher is joining us, suddenly this building is packed wall-to-wall. And as strange as it is to think about being upset over a full church, how would you feel if someone had taken your seat? How would you feel if so many people had crowded in that you couldn’t even get a seat? I am confident that you know the feeling of jealousy and envy, and that in some circumstance or another, you have been in a place where your own selfishness blinded you to the good that was going on around you. You know what it is to be so focused on yourself that you have zero concern for anyone else and even zero concern for what God might have to say about it. That was the Jews who rejected Jesus. And the Jews here in our account from Acts were not the first to do so. We gather today under the theme, “What Child Is This? A Light for All People.” This is a continuation of our series that began with that child
lying in a manger wrapped in cloths on Christmas Eve. The Gospel account today for Epiphany Sunday shows us the same child at least a little older, maybe a year or two older. And once again people are looking for him, but this time it is not the shepherds, it is wise men. Other translations have referred to these men as Magi. They were learned men who had traveled a great distance, and they went first to the place where they expected to find a young king: to the capitol city, Jerusalem. But he wasn’t there. The people who were there were the King, Herod, and the men he asked to help him, chief priests and experts in the law. When the wise men asked about the one born king of the Jews, these men sent them to Bethlehem, the birthplace of the Christ. But these men, the priests and experts, even though they knew this answer, didn’t go to Bethlehem. And Herod didn’t go either. He had a nefarious plan to use the wise men to scout out this opposition to his throne and then Herod intended to kill him. All of the experts and leaders and high-ranking Jews in Jerusalem rejected that little child who would be the Savior, a Light for all people. By the time Paul and Barnabas preached in Pisidian Antioch, he was not a child any more. He had lived his life and conducted his ministry. He had faced all sorts of rejection, all the way to the cross, where he bled and died. But he didn’t stay dead, either, he rose again and proclaimed the salvation that he had won for all people. God made him to be a light for the Gentiles, bringing salvation to the ends of the earth, a quote from Isaiah 49 referenced by Paul and Barnabas. That light was on display in the still-little child visited by the wise men. Here were Gentiles who had traveled a long way, and they rejoiced to see this little one. They presented gifts, rich, expensive, generous gifts. They bowed down and worshiped. When they had seen the guiding star pointing to the very place where this child was, they “rejoiced with overwhelming joy.” And that same joy was evident in the synagogue at Antioch in Pisidia. Paul and Barnabas explained that they had to begin their ministry to the Jews. That was in keeping with God’s planning and purpose, but the rejection from many, not all, of the Jews meant that the missionaries turned their efforts almost exclusively to the Gentiles. And while some Gentiles also rejected Jesus, the ones discussed in these verses did not. They rejoiced. They praised God. Salvation had come to them. They had not only heard but also believed the best news of all! There really are only two reactions to Jesus, the one who was born a child to be the light of the world. There is rejection and there is rejoicing. Rejection comes naturally to all of us, not just the Jews who were so envious. Rejoicing comes by God’s grace. Our reading says, “When the Gentiles heard this, they were rejoicing and praising the word of the Lord. All who had been appointed for eternal life believed.” Sure, not all the Gentiles believed the message of the missionaries, but the ones who did believed because God led them to that faith. They believed because God had appointed them. They believed because God elected them. And it wasn’t because of anything in them. It wasn’t because he knew they would be less envious than the Jews or because they would listen more carefully. It was just because God loves people. So here we are, just over a week past Christmas and just a second day into a brand new year. Our church is perhaps a little less full than we would prefer it to be, and it’s probably a bit colder than we would like as well. We have a stubborn sinful streak that is always ready for envy and jealousy, but we have a gracious God. We have spent weeks preparing for and now a full week considering the most special child ever born. He is a Light for all people. And that means that we get to partner with Paul and Barnabas in sharing that light with anyone and everyone. That includes the stranger who wanders into church and may not know how to act. It includes the neighbor who is always nice to us, and it includes the neighbor whom we always wonder about. And God’s grace means that we get to be like the wise men as well. We get to offer up treasures of our time and talents and money because we have seen the light of the world who has brought salvation to us. It certainly seems absurd to be upset about a crowded church, and yet haven’t we been just so selfish and envious at times? Instead, let us look to the child who is the light for all people. Though some have rejected him, let us rejoice in him and share him with others that they might rejoice with us.
The Text: Acts 13:46–49 (EHV) 46Then
Paul and Barnabas responded fearlessly, “It was necessary that God’s word be spoken to you first. But since you reject it and consider yourselves unworthy of eternal life, look: We are now turning to the Gentiles! 47For this is what the Lord has instructed us: I have made you a light for the Gentiles, that you may bring salvation to the end of the earth.” 48When
the Gentiles heard this, they were rejoicing and praising the word of the Lord. All who had been appointed for eternal life believed. 49And
the word of the Lord was being carried through the whole region.