In the last study, a case was made that Paul did not follow a program, pattern or an outline that paralleled the ministry of the Lord and his Apostles/disciples during the time covered by the Gospels and the early Acts (1-9). Paul’s ministry was distinct and sharply different from those Apostles. We consider now Paul’s first preaching mission, covering Acts 13-14.
At Cyprus As Paul lands on the island of Cyprus, Luke gives few details about a first preaching ministry. The first city visited was Salamis, where they ( Barnabas and Paul)preached the word of God in more than one synagogue. Mention is made that John was a minister or helper to them. There were no other details given here by Luke and we must wait until they cross the entire island and arrive at Paphos for more information. Here we find Paul’s first (recorded) convert. He is Sergius Paulus, the Roman proconsul of that area. He is a Gentile. We also have Paul’s first (recorded) miracle, the temporary blinding of a Jew, named Bar-jesus and Elymas, who is said to be a sorcerer, and a false prophet, who had a relationship with the proconsul. This miracle was like a curse.
Paul performs the ‘miracle’, an act of judgment upon this sorcerer, because he sought to turn away Sergius Paulus from the faith, that would come from the hearing of the word of God. Sergius Paulus had called for Barnabas and Paul in order to hear this word. As Paul performed this temporary act of blindness upon Bar-jesus, the proconsul saw this miracle performed, then, believed, as well as, being astonished at the teaching of the Lord. This story of this Jew, is much like the story of the Jews, the nation of Israel. Cf. I Thess. 2:14 and Romans 11:25.
At Antioch Here we find the first (recorded) sermon of Paul on this trip. This was preached in the synagogue of the Jews on the Sabbath day. These are the usual ‘facts’ brought out to support that Paul, indeed, has gone “to the Jew first” here. But, notice, also, that there were more than just Jews within the walls of this synagogue ( and most synagogues where Paul went to preach in Acts). Paul brings this out twice in his sermon. Cf. Acts 13:16 and 13:26. These people are identified as “ye that fear God” and “whosoever among you feareth God”. While this is not total conclusive evidence, alone, that Gentiles were among the congregation there, supporting proof comes from like experiences in the coming visitations of Paul to other synagogues in other cities. These people were the ones, who helped create the situation where on the next Sabbath day almost the whole city came together to hear the word of God. This large turn out consisted of the many, who were not present on the previous Sabbath, that is, many Gentiles. At this point, the Jews, were filled with envy, when seeing this multitude (of Gentiles) and began to speak against the teachings of Paul, contradicting and blaspheming, as he preached a second message. 13:44-45
It is right here, in this context of rejection, that Paul and Barnabas say:
“It was necessary that the word of God should first have been spoken to you: but seeing ye put it from you, and judge yourselves un worthy of everlasting life, lo, we turn to the Gentiles. “ 13:46
“lo, we turn to the Gentiles” We need to address these words. Many build a case that here indeed, is the plain, the simple truth and evidence that Paul evidently and obviously had gone “to the Jew first”, here and every where else in the book of Acts. This argument implies that Paul had gone “to the Jew ‘first’ ”, he had not gone to the Gentiles before and is NOW going to the Gentiles for the first time, after this statement. Is this what really happened?
As these Jews were turning down Paul’s word and mentally turning away from accepting his message ( which had just been delivered to these Jews AND almost the whole city), and as he had turned to them when they began to interrupt him and speak against him, as he finishes speaking to them, he tells them that he will turn to the Gentiles, who are standing right there and had listened to Paul speak to them, as well as, these same Jews up to this very point of interruption. What Paul is actually saying in this context, is that he will be “turning from speaking to Jews AND Gentiles together, and then turning to Gentiles and speaking to them alone, who were still ready and willing to hear more, because the Jews had made a decision to stop hearing Paul. Paul would not be going to the synagogue in the local situation at Antioch, any more. After this second Sabbath message, continuing ministry is said to be : “..and the word of the Lord was published throughout the region.” 13:49 This would be a Gentile ministry, after once preaching to Jews and Gentiles. But the Jewish opposition finally ran Paul and Barnabas out of the area.
“How were these Jews first?” Does ‘first’ always mean ‘first’ in the same way, where ever it may be found? We could see an Abbot and Costello comedy situation develop here like ‘Who is on first’? Romans 1:16, with its ‘first’ does not teach that Paul is following this as an outline in his Acts ministry. We shall deal with this later in more detail. The ‘first’ (recorded) convert of Paul was a Gentile. Paul had preached to other Jewish synagogues before coming to this synagogue at Antioch. Although Luke does not give us any results or details in Acts 13:4-5, there were other Jews who were more ‘first’ than these Jews of Antioch, but there was this Gentile convert in-between. How could these Jews be ‘first’, when Paul tells them this, on the second Sabbath and this was Paul’s second sermon to them? Almost the whole city (of Gentiles) was there to hear Paul along with these Jews. Remember our definition of what “to the Jew first” means in the ministry of the Lord and his Apostles. Paul could never have addressed ‘Jews alone’, ‘Jews only’ or ‘Jews first’ just by appearing at a synagogue on any Sabbath day with any expectation of finding only Jews there. Mission Impossible.
Keep in mind, that on this second Sabbath, Paul’s second sermon is delivered in the presence of the Jews and almost the whole city. Lets us be very specific. There would be many Gentiles there. Therefore, this must surely mean that he preached to many Gentiles, before he “turned to the Gentiles”. Therefore, we would conclude, “turning to the Gentiles”, in this context, does not necessarily mean, preaching to, turning to Gentiles for the first time, nor only preaching to Gentiles after preaching specifically to ‘Jews first’. We conclude that what Paul was doing before ‘turning to Gentiles’ , was preaching to both Jews and Gentiles. With Jewish opposition and rejection, Paul would no longer preach to Jew and Gentile, but to Gentiles alone. This would be on a local situation each time in each city and synagogue.
In 13:47, we may seemingly find, a play on the word ‘eschaton’, ‘the ends’, ‘the last’ of the earth with the word ‘first’ of 13:46. Paul’s ministry was to Jews and Gentiles. Paul’s ministry was to those ‘first’(ones), Jews and/or Gentiles until the ‘last’ (ones) of the earth are reached with the message for salvation.
At Iconium When ‘they’, Barnabas and Paul, went together into the synagogue of the Jews and so spake, notice the results of their preaching. “…A great multitude both of the Jews and also of the Greeks believed.” Acts 14:1 Did Paul here preach “to the Jew first”? Obviously, not!
The remainder of Paul’s mission has no other recorded situations of entering a Jewish synagogue. So, there are no other examples of Paul preaching to both Jew and Gentile, together at the same time in the same synagogue, making it impossible to state that Paul, every where and any time, in every situation, went to the Jew first.
The mission closes by returning to the cities already visited and confirming the disciples and exhorting them to continue in the faith. They ordained elders in every church. When they arrived back in the church at Antioch, they rehearsed all that God had done with them, and how he (God) had opened the door of faith unto the Gentiles. 14:27
This should be a reminder that Paul, not Peter opens the door of faith unto the Gentiles, according to Luke. Peter in Acts 10, opened his mouth unto the Gentiles, for the first, last and only time, as God there, made a choice between the twelve as to who would minister to the Gentiles ( just as if the so-called ‘great commission’ was never given). Paul was excluded from this ‘choice’ made by God. This ‘choice’ was a temporary mission for Peter, because Luke records Acts 10 as the first, last and only mission of any of the twelve going to any Gentiles any where again, in the entire book of Acts. Cf. Gal. 2:1-10, specially 2:9, where the Big Three agree to maintain their ministry to the circumcision.
