Gentiles - Acts 13:43-52

The “God-fearing” gentiles, meaning those who believed in Judaism but hadn’t been circumcised, asked Paul and Barnabas to come back the next Sunday to teach them the word of God. Between the two Sabbaths though, Paul and Barnabas gained quite the following “and the next Sabbath day came almost the whole city together to hear the word of God.” Many people were interested in the message of Jesus Christ, and needless to say, this did not go over well for the established religious leaders of the city, and “when the Jews saw the multitudes, they were filled with envy, and spake against those things which were spoken by Paul, contradicting and blaspheming.” At this point, they were fighting for territory, not for truth. The established Jewish leaders did not want to give up their power or position or influence and were going to fight to the death to keep what they had. Paul and Barnabas could have been teaching about bird migration patterns and if it threatened their control over the people, they would have fought just as hard against them.

Paul and Barnabas “waxed bold,” and withstood the quarreling leaders basically telling them, “the gospel came to you first, you had your chance to be involved,” “but seeing ye put it from you, and judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life, lo, we turn to the Gentiles.” They had already rejected the gospel. Well let’s look at that statement for a second. The Jewish leadership in Jerusalem had rejected the gospel, and because of their refusal to accept the gospel, it was taken to the gentiles. If they had accepted the gospel, then it still would have gone to the gentiles, only they would have been the ones to take it. And when Paul and Barnabas preached the gospel in the synagogue the week before, the Jewish leaders there had the opportunity to embrace it and thus retain their leadership positions, but they didn’t.
The IM comments, “In response to the Antioch Jews’ opposition, Paul and Barnabas proclaimed that they would ‘turn to the Gentiles.’ This moment foreshadowed what would increasingly happen in the missionary work of the Church as many Jews opposed the gospel and Gentile conversions. After this event, as Paul traveled to other areas, he typically continued to teach the gospel ‘to the Jew first, and also to the Greek,’ but when Jews rejected his message, Paul readily ‘turned to’ the Gentiles, finding many ready to receive the gospel.”
The Gentiles who received the gospel “were glad, and glorified the word of the Lord: and as many as were obtained to eternal life believed. And the word of the Lord was published throughout all the region.” The gentiles recognized the truth in the gospel and were drawn to it, they didn’t have the baggage that the Jews had in terms of misunderstanding the role of the Messiah. The IM explains, “Paul taught the Jews of his day that the Lord had called Israel to be ‘a light to the Gentiles.’ Israel was to provide salvation for all people who would accept it, including the Gentiles. The Jews of Paul’s day knew this, but they rejected Jesus Christ and His gospel. However, many gentiles heard Paul’s word and accepted ‘the word of the Lord.’ The Joseph Smith translation of Acts 13:48 states that ‘as many as believed were obtained unto eternal life.’”
The objectionable Jews and their leaders were not going to give up their position without a fight, so they “stirred up the devout and honourable women, and the chief men of the city, and raised persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and expelled them out of their coasts.” I tried to figure out who these “devout and honourable women” were, and some suggested that they were the wives of the Jewish leadership, some suggested that they were the lead practitioners of the Roman and/or Greek polytheistic religions, and some suggested that they were the wives of the Roman officials. It seems like these women were very influential and that the Jewish leaders came to them and lied to them about what Paul and Barnabas were doing. Of maybe they weren’t even lying, maybe they told them that Paul and Barnabas were changing the religion of the people, or undermining their leadership. It could have been the truth as they saw it, even though ultimately it was wrong in the eternal perspective.
Having been cast out of the city, Paul and Barnabas “shook off the dust of their feet against them.” This is another instance of the priesthoods ability to both bless and curse. Shaking off the dust of your feet is basically saying, “They understood enough of the gospel to be held accountable for their rejection of it.” And we know that there were many believers in the city, so did that curse them as well? I’m sure not, it is a very individualistic concept.
Paul and Barnabas leave the city and go “unto Iconium. And the disciples were filled with joy, and with the Holy Ghost.” This is just another example of how the gospel of Jesus Christ brings peace, joy, and happiness to those who accept it, regardless of personal or societal circumstances. It transcends the problems of mortality.