Acts 13:48 - Printer Friendly

ESV: 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.

NIV: When the Gentiles heard this, they were glad and honored the word of the Lord; and all who were appointed for eternal life believed.

NASB: When the Gentiles heard this, they began rejoicing and glorifying the word of the Lord; and all who had been appointed to eternal life believed.

CSB: When the Gentiles heard this, they rejoiced and honored the word of the Lord, and all who had been appointed to eternal life believed.

NLT: 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.

KJV: And when the Gentiles heard this, they were glad, and glorified the word of the Lord: and as many as were ordained to eternal life believed.

NKJV: Now when the Gentiles heard this, they were glad and glorified the word of the Lord. And as many as had been appointed to eternal life believed.

In Jesus' time and after, Gentiles had their pick of idols to worship. In Pisidian Antioch, home to numerous military members, the emperor cult was especially popular. But Gentiles often grew tired of trying to placate statues and sought out esoteric religions in the east to find meaning. Many of them looked to Judaism. Some, like Sergius Paulus, the proconsul of Cyprus, were fooled by the mysticism of false Jewish prophets (Acts 13:6–8). Others, often called "God-fearers," took the more traditional route of attending the Jewish synagogue and learning as the Jews did.

For a Gentile, entrance into full Judaism wasn't easy. They had to perform a ritual involving a sacrifice and ceremonial bathing, and the men had to be circumcised. Although the term "God-fearer" is used unevenly in the New Testament, it's safe to assume most Gentiles identified as such were not full converts. Their acceptance into the group known as "God's people" was limited.

Jesus is the Jewish Messiah, promised by God to come from the line of David (Jeremiah 23:5–6). The Jewish leaders in Pisidian Antioch had all the prophecies they needed to understand this, but they were jealous of Paul and Barnabas' popularity and wouldn't listen to their message. Some of the Jews did listen, and a great number of Gentiles. It is suddenly clear to the Gentiles that the God of the Jews is for them. The Savior that God promised the Jews is for them. Salvation is for them (Acts 13:47). The Jewish leaders, who should have accepted Jesus as their Messiah and invited the Gentiles into salvation, get jealous, instead.

As Paul's ministry expands, he will have to deal with this rivalry numerous times. In fact, when he and Barnabas return to their home base of Syrian Antioch, they will find that legalistic Jews have infiltrated the church there and demanded that Gentiles adhere to circumcision to follow the Jewish God. In order to have the authority for their convictions, Paul and Barnabas will bring their concerns to the first church in Jerusalem where Peter and James, the half-brother of Jesus, will confer with the other elders (Acts 15). The Gentiles here understand what will later become official church policy: God accepts them as Gentiles, and salvation is theirs.

Luke, here, makes a statement about predestination. Some of the Jews and Gentiles were "appointed" or chosen to be saved, and it is those who believed (see also Romans 8:30; Ephesians 1:3–6, 11). This shouldn't be hard to accept. Anyone reading this can be saved. In order to know if you are chosen, just believe (John 3:16–18; Romans 10:9). If you believe, you know you were chosen.

Acts 13 transitions Luke's account (Acts 1:1) fully into a record of Paul's ministry to spread the news about Jesus. The Holy Spirit calls Paul and Barnabas for their first missionary journey. They teach about Jesus' offer of forgiveness of sins on the island of Cyprus and in the district of Pisidia in modern-day south-central Asia Minor. Along the way, they face opposition, desertion, and persecution: themes that will follow Paul throughout his life. But they also experience the joy of watching the people they'd least expect come to a saving faith in Jesus.

The first chapters of Acts, save for a quick account of Paul's conversion (Acts 9:1–31), cover the ministry of the apostles, particularly Peter. Those passages also detail the spread of the news about Jesus from His followers. That message goes to the Jews of Jerusalem (Acts 2—7) and Judea (Acts 8:26–40; 9:32–43), the Samaritans (Acts 8:4–25), and God-fearing Gentiles (Acts 10—11). Now, Paul's contribution to the ''end of the earth'' portion of Jesus' commission in Acts 1:8 begins, as he and Barnabas start their first missionary journey. Luke will record two more of Paul's journeys (Acts 15:36—18:22 and 18:23—20:38) before settling in on his return to Jerusalem, arrest, and sea voyage to Rome (Acts 21—28).

The summary of the book of Acts is provided in Jesus' words in Acts 1:8: ''But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.'' In Acts 2:1–13, the Christ-followers receive the Holy Spirit. Acts 2:14—7:60 describes the rapid growth of the church in Jerusalem. Chapters 8—12 find Jewish persecution inadvertently spreading the gospel throughout Judea and Samaria. And in chapters 13—28, Paul and his companions spread the good news throughout the Roman Empire.