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02 Acts 11 19-30 THE CHRISTIANS OF ANTIOCH 01 Acts 11 19 God’s wonderful ways
📖 Acts 11:19-30
01 – Thu31Oct2024 – *God’s wonderful ways* - _Acts 11:19-30_ – THE CHRISTIANS OF ANTIOCH – _Acts 03:25-26_
_Acts 11:19 Now those who were scattered after the persecution that arose over Stephen traveled as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus, and Antioch, preaching the word to no one but the Jews only._
The persecution that arose after the martyrdom of Stephen caused the believers in Jerusalem to flee to several places, but wherever they went they preached the Gospel. _Acts 8:4 Therefore those who were scattered went everywhere preaching the word._
The believers first spread to the rest of Judea and Samaria. _Acts 8:1 Now Saul was consenting to his death. At that time a great persecution arose against the church which was at Jerusalem; and *they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria*, except the apostles._
In _Acts 8_, we read of Philip's ministry in Samara along with Peter and John. Then, the Gospel spread to Ethiopia through the Eunuch. Now, we see that the Gospel had spread to Phoenicia, Cyprus, and Antioch.
The following map gives us an idea of these locations.
https://dirkscorner.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/Gospel-Spreads-after-Stephens-Martyrdom.pdf
We read a curious statement that the disciples preached the word of God only to the Jews. Let us examine this thought.
This is what the Lord taught His disciples. _Matthew 10:5-6 These twelve Jesus sent out and commanded them, saying: *"Do not go into the way of the Gentiles, and do not enter a city of the Samaritans. (6) But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.*_ This was the specific instruction from the Lord at that time.
It was with Abraham that God made His covenant. It was through the seed of Abraham, all the families of the earth should be blessed. The Jews, therefore, were privileged to be the ones who should carry the Gospel to the rest of the world. They first needed to embrace the Gospel.
This was the position of Jesus. _Matthew 15:24 But He answered and said, "I was not sent except to the lost sheep of the house of Israel."_
The Jews were the ones who were exposed to the ways of God but were scattered like sheep without a shepherd. _Jeremiah 50:6 "My people have been lost sheep. Their shepherds have led them astray; They have turned them away on the mountains. They have gone from mountain to hill; *They have forgotten their resting place.*
The Lord’s heart went to His own people that they should be gathered to Him and experience His Shalom. Then they would be a light to the Gentiles. _Deuteronomy 26:19 and that He will set you high above all nations which He has made, in praise, in name, and in honor, and that you may be a holy people to the LORD your God, just as He has spoken."_
Since this was God’s plan for the Jews, Jesus came to His own people, the Jews. His longing was to restore them to Himself and then they would be a light to the Gentiles. _Matthew 9:36-38 But when He saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion for them, because they were weary and scattered, like sheep having no shepherd. (37) Then He said to His disciples, "The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few. (38) Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest."_
The message that the disciples received from the Lord was His burden for the Jews.
Jesus came to His own people, but they did not receive Him. _John 1:11-12 He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him. (12) But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name:_
The message of the Gospel should first begin with the Jews. _Acts 3:25-26 You are sons of the prophets, and of the covenant which God made with our fathers, saying to Abraham, 'AND IN YOUR SEED ALL THE FAMILIES OF THE EARTH SHALL BE BLESSED.' (26) *To you first*, God, having raised up His Servant Jesus, sent Him to bless you, in turning away every one of you from your iniquities."_
This understanding that the Lord came for the lost sheep of the house of Isreal, was deeply ingrained in the disciples. The Lord had told them that when the Holy Spirit would come upon them, they would be His witnesses in other places. _Acts 1:8 But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth."_
Even though the disciples understood that the spread of the Gospel would be to other places, they were still, internally, Jewish-centric regarding the Gospel.
It was this experience in the home of Cornelius that shook up the Apostles and the elders. They were now astonished that the Gospel was spreading to the Gentiles. The church had not yet had the exposure that the elders had to the incoming of the Gentiles. *To the early disciples, who were scattered, the Gospel had to be preached to the Jews.*
The Lord was taking the Gospel steadily, through the Jews, to the nations of the world.
As we take a step back and look at the plan of God over time, starting with the covenant of God with Abraham, we are stunned at the magnificence of God’s ways. ```We must repeatedly cultivate this habit of gazing at the overview of God’s plan and purposes.``` We must then see ourselves, and our times, within the plan of God.