13:13 Now when Paul
and his party set sail from Paphos, they came to Perga in Pamphylia; and
John, departing from them, returned to Jerusalem. 14 But when they
departed from Perga, they came to Antioch in Pisidia, and went into the
synagogue on the Sabbath day and sat down. 15 And after the reading of
the Law and the Prophets, the rulers of the synagogue sent to them,
saying, “Men and brethren, if you have any word of exhortation for the
people, say on.”

This Antioch is not to be confused with the
previous Antioch where believers were first called Christians and where
Paul and Barnabas were sent from after praying and fasting and seeking
the Lord's direction. This is a different city entirely and quite a bit
smaller. You will note that on the way there John Mark goes home. We are
not told why.
What we are told is that when Paul and Barnabas
arrive they go to the synagogue. This point is becoming a theme.
Synagogues are the equivalent of churches today in our culture. It was
the place where Jews gathered for weekly worship. Paul and Barnabas are
Christians. Why are they going into Jewish churches? Is there a lesson
here for us? Not only do they go to the Synagogue to worship but they
are asked to speak. Why?
I know many people in my church who
firmly believe we should never enter even a Christian church of another
denomination. I know a church that nearly split and a pastor who was run
out of town for even suggesting a pastor from another church be invited
to speak in his church about how they could work together in supporting
the food bank and the poor in the city. Meetings were held. Tempers
flared. Some members vowed to never return to church if the plans to
have this "gentile preacher" went ahead.
Yet in the Book we call
the Holy Bible, Paul and Barnabas purposely and deliberately went to
worship in the synagogue, a place that supported the idea Jesus was not
even the Messiah, a place that belonged to the religious system that
hunted and killed Christians! Are Paul and Barnabas heretics? Are they
playing both sides? Are they fakes? What is going on?
Do you
remember what Jesus said to His disciples before He returned to heaven?
He said "Go!". Go where? Into the whole world. The entire world. All of
it. He also said crazy things like "love your enemies". The reason why
Paul and Barnabas went to the synagogues was simple. They were going
into all the world. They were placing themselves in a position to be
able to connect with those who didn't yet know Jesus. By being willing
to go, they were asked to speak. God was working because they were
willing. Were they asked to speak because their reputation had preceded
them? Maybe. We're they asked to speak because the worship leader just
felt impressed to ask these visitors what they had to say? Perhaps. We
aren't told why it happened. We are just told that it did happen and it
could not have happened if they hadn't been there.
Are we
contributing to building walls or bridges? Are we emphasizing what makes
us different and building bunkers to keep ourselves untainted or are we
seeking out what we have in common and reaching out to bridge the gap?
We can call ourselves Christians. We can call ourselves followers of
Jesus. We can even call ourselves "The remnant". I could call myself an
elephant too I suppose but would that make me one? When was the last
time we left our turf, our comfort zone, our box, and went to seek out
someone in a different box? Perhaps if we "christians" had been as
passionate about going as Paul and Barnabas were the Muslim world would
be more open to us than they currently are. Perhaps China would be a
different place. Perhaps North Korea too. Perhaps our "own people" would
be far less selfish than we have become and far more fervent and
recognizable as followers of Jesus.
Is there a church close to
your home? A mosque? A place where people gather to seek a better
understanding of their Creator? Perhaps you should drop by. I plan to
start "Going" more often. Will you join me? Will you follow the example
of Jesus and His true followers?
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