Paul preaches to Jews first and then when he is rejected by them he goes to the Gentiles. This brought up a new problem was the preaching of Jesus for Jews only or was it universal? Philip Fogarty SJ tells about the lead-up to the Council of Jerusalem which had to decide on this question.
Leaving Cyprus, Paul and his companions head northwest to the coast of present-day Turkey, known as Pamphylia. His assistant John, however, leaves them and returns to Jerusalem. Luke gives us no reason for John’s departure, but his action will become a bone of contention that causes Barnabas and Paul to split up later on.
From Pamphylia, Paul and his companions make their way to the city of Antioch. There he goes to the synagogue, and after the usual reading of the law and the prophets, officials invite him to speak ‘any word of encouragement for the people.’ Paul addresses those present. He recalls the long history of God’s dealings with the Jewish people, and concludes by saying that ‘what God promised to our ancestors, he has fulfilled for us, their children, by raising Jesus.
‘Let it be known to you therefore, my brothers, that through this man forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you; by this Jesus everyone who believes is set free from all those sins from which you could not be freed by the law of Moses.’
The following Sabbath a large crowd from the city gather to listen to Paul again. But when the Jews see the crowds, they are filled with jealousy; and blaspheming, they contradict what is spoken by Paul. Paul and Barnabas speak up: ‘It was necessary that the word of God should be spoken first to you. Since you reject it and judge yourselves to be unworthy of eternal life, we are now turning to the Gentiles.’
The Gentiles are delighted and many become believers. However, the Jews incite the devout women of high standing and the leading men of the city, and stir up persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and they are driven out of the region. So they shake the dust off their feet in protest against them, and head off for Iconium, another Turkish city, where the same things happen to Paul and Barnabas even though they make many converts.
Luke has a habit of showing how the pattern of Jesus’ life finds a parallel in Paul’s. Just as Jesus had initially been well received in Nazareth, so is Paul in Antioch. When Jesus utters provocative words, the people are enraged and try to kill him (Lk.4:22 and 4:28ff). When Paul has great success among the population, the Jews become envious and attack him. The apostles ‘shake off the dust from their feet’ when they are rejected in any town, using a gesture commanded by Jesus himself; so do Paul and Barnabas. Paul will continue to preach to his fellow Jews. But this first rejection will be followed by others right up to the conclusion of Luke’s story.
Paul moves on to Lystra and Derbe, other towns in present-day Turkey. Paul cures a cripple from birth. He listens to Paul as he is speaking. And Paul, looking at him intently and seeing that he has faith to be healed, says in a loud voice, ‘Stand upright on your feet.’ And the man stands up and begins to walk. This story reminds us of what Jesus did when he cured the paralytic who was let down through the roof of a house (Lk.5:17-26).
When the crowds see what he has done, they shout: ‘The gods have come down to us in human form!’ Barnabas they call Zeus, and Paul they call Hermes because he is the chief speaker. Zeus is the high God in the Olympian Pantheon. Hermes is the son of Zeus, and is associated especially with the role of messenger. When Paul and Barnabas hear what is going on, they rush out to affirm that they are mere mortals, but even with these words, they scarcely restrain the crowds from offering sacrifice to them.
However, Jews from Antioch arrive and win over the crowds. They stone Paul and drag him out of the city, supposing that he is dead. But when the disciples surround him, he gets up and goes into the city. The next day he goes on with Barnabas to Derbe where they make many disciples. They encourage them in the faith, saying: ‘It is through many persecutions that we must enter the kingdom of God.’ They then appoint elders in each church, and with prayer and fasting they entrust them to the Lord in whom they have come to believe. Even at this early stage of church life there is a need to establish local leadership.
Paul and Barnabas take a boat back to Antioch. They call the church together and relate all that God had done with them, and how he had opened a door of faith for the Gentiles. They remain in Antioch for some time.
But now matters take a serious turn. Certain individuals come down to Antioch from Judea, from the Jerusalem community, and begin to teach members of the local community: ‘Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved.’ Paul and Barnabas enter into a serious debate about this question with the arrivals, and are finally sent off by the local Church to Jerusalem to discuss the question with the apostles and the elders of the Church.
When they arrive in Jerusalem, they report all that God has achieved through them among the Gentiles, but some believers who belong to the party of the Pharisees stand up and argue that it is necessary for Gentiles to be circumcised and observe the Law of Moses. The apostles and elders debate the matter and finally Peter says, ‘Why are you putting God to the test by placing on the neck of the disciples a yoke that neither our ancestors nor we have been able to bear? In other words, to impose circumcision on the Gentiles would be an unsupportable burden.
James, the leader of the church in Jerusalem, affirms what Peter says and demands that a letter be sent to the disciples in Antioch confirming that they need not be circumcised, but should abstain from things sacrificed to idols and from fornication. In Antioch the Christians rejoice at the news.
This article first appeared in The Messenger (July 2009), a publication of the Irish Jesuits.
