AD Norris – The Apostles, Their Acts and Their Words – Class 3

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This is the 1981 Texas
Christadelphian Bible School.

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The third class.
Brother Alfred Norris, the

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subject, the Apostles, their
Acts, and their Words.

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Trouble Pursuance saw wherever
he went, whether as Jew or as

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believing Christian.
It was impossible to be near him

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without being involved in some
kind of controversy.

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And whereas in the earliest days
it took the form of his raising

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a great persecution against the
Church, in the later days it

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took the form of great
persecutions being raised

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against him, with the result
that whenever he was around, the

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fellow Christians were in
danger.

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And when, as we found out in
part of yesterday’s talk, the

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enmity against him in Jerusalem
grew too great to be tolerated,

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and the Brethren took him to
Caesarea and shipped him off to

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sautasis.
You can almost sense the air of

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relief in Luke’s words when he
says then had the churches rest

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throughout all Judea, and they
walking in the fear of the Lord

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and the comfort of the Holy
Spirit, were multiplied, but the

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rest was not to last long.
We have a happy interviewed when

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Peter is called into service
again to preach the gospel to

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Cornelius and his household in
Caesarea, and you might get a

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note.
From that point on, Peter

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practically fades out of the
picture in the Acts.

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You can divide Acts into roughly
2 parts as far as chapter 12

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where Peter is prominent, and
after chapter 12 what he’s only

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heard of once again, and that is
in the discussion at Jerusalem

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in which Paul and Barnabas.
As they then are, then take

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part.
Peter’s work at that stage was

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with the Jews.
The work of Paul, as we shall

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see, was in other quarters,
though not exclusively, and

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Peter fades graciously from the
picture himself.

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It seems quite content to take a
second place as the work

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develops into the form which,
from Acts chapter 13 onward it

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takes.
And that work was even before

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the days when he was an apostle,
as I have already said, the work

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of Saul of Tarsus.
It was his persecution of the

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Saints in Jerusalem which led to
them being scattered abroad and

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preaching the gospel in Samaria.
And now we learn in the 11th

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chapter that it was the
continued effects of that

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persecution that took the gospel
even further afield.

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Again, Acts Chapter 11, verse
19.

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Now they which were scattered
abroad upon the persecution that

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arose about Stephen, travelled
as far as Phoenicia, and Cyprus,

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and Antioch, preaching the word
to none but unto the Jews only.

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And some of them were men of
Cyprus and Cyrene, which, when

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they were come to Antioch, spake
unto the Greeks also, preaching

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the Lord Jesus to whomever they
preached.

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The circle was widening.
You would go north from

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Caesarea, further north even
than Damascus, and come to the

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Antioch, which is almost on the
corner as you turned round from

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the north-south coast of the
Mediterranean Sea to the east

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West Coast on Asia Minor.
Almost on that corner stood

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Antioch, a very much of A
gateway to Asia Minor and later

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to Europe.
So far the preachers of the

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Gospel went some went overseas
to Cyprus, not very far away

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from the port of Antioch, and
they preached the word to begin

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with only to the Jews, as
everybody had done hitherto save

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for the work in Samaria and the
work of Peter in Caesarea.

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But some went further and
preached the word to yes.

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And now what is the word?
We should use the authorized

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version, the King James Version,
says to the Grecians.

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And the Grecians, if understood
literally, would mean Greek

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speaking Jews.
But there’ll be nothing novel

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about that at all that.
Had been done all the time.

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And the revised version
following a smaller number of

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manuscripts and almost certainly
rightly corrects that word and

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reads Greeks.
In other words, they are no

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longer preaching to Jews only,
whether they are Hebrew speaking

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Jews or Greek speaking Jews.
They are preaching to Gentiles

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in the same way as Peter did to
Cornelius, and the result is a

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widespread belief.
Considerable numbers of people

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come to the faith, not having
passed through the boundary

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state of being Jews first, not
proselytes now, but purebred

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Gentiles accepting the faith.
And clearly Luke wishes us to

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understand that this was God’s
work, that it was just the way

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it was meant to go for he says.
And the hand of the Lord was

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with them, and a great number
believed and turned unto the

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Lord.
Then tidings of these things

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came into the ears of the church
which was in Jerusalem.

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And they sent forth Barnabas
that he should go as far as

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Antioch.
Rumours reached the church in

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Jerusalem that Gentiles were
being converted.

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And if we can judge from the
outlook revealed in Acts chapter

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15 later, there would be some
amongst those who believed in

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Jerusalem who would welcome the
news rather less than some

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others.
The apostles, we can feel

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satisfied, would want to believe
that this was the work of God,

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but would want to be sure.
Some Jews of Paris sake

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background might not want to
believe that this was the work

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of God and would want to see it
stopped.

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Certainly at later stages
conditions were laid down by

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certain Judaizing Jews which
would not have allowed the

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preaching to go forth in this
form.

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But the obvious thing was you
had to find out.

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And to find out, you had to have
a reliable messenger, one who

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could be trusted in what he saw
and said, one who will be

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sympathetic in what he observed.
One who would give back a

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faithful report, and yet would
do nothing to hinder anything.

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That was God’s word.
And for what better choice could

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there have been than that of
Barnabas?

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So they sent Barnabas, and he
went to Antioch, and he observed

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the work that was going on.
Now there will be some crabbed

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minds going into those
circumstances who would pursue

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in their own ways that trite
English proverb which says go

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and see what little Tommy is
doing and tell him to stop.

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No matter what he’s doing.
It’s wrong.

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And there could be that kind of
attitude towards the work of the

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Lord to go and see what’s going
on in Antioch and stop it.

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But I’m sure the apostles didn’t
want that, and certainly

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Barnabas wasn’t the man to do
it.

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In fact, the way in which
Barnabas looked at it is made

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very plain in verse 23.
Barnabas, when he came, was glad

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and exhausted them all, that
with purpose of heart they would

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cleave unto the Lord.
For he was a good man, and full

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of the Holy Spirit, and the
faith and much people was added

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unto the Lord.
Could there be a better picture

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of the godless enthusiasm of the
simple mind, of the readiness to

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believe the best?
That we find in what Barnabas,

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that good man, did when he came
to Antioch and saw the work and

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rejoiced in spirit, that yet
further progress was being made.

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Now in Mass amongst purebred
Gentiles to bring them to the

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faith, he was a good man, had
rejoiced, and the son of

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consolation, or the son of
exhortation, exhorted the

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people, that with steadfastness
of heart, purpose of heart, they

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would cleave unto the Lord.
No doubt it was specially

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necessary in those
circumstances, For once you

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start preaching the gospel in
gentile surroundings, and once

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you are bringing into the ambit
of the faith those who might

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hitherto have worshipped heathen
gods with all the abominations

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with which that could be
associated, The change is abrupt

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and rapid, and needs to be
maintained and confirmed.

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They would need every piece of
exhibition they could be given

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that they must now cleave to the
Lord, and the idea of cleaving

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to the Lord, perhaps.
Cannot better be illustrated

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than a comparable use of the
same English word.

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When we are told, Therefore
shall a man leave his father and

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his mother, and shall cleave
unto his wife, and they twain

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shall be 1 flesh.
It’s almost that they should be

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the kind of people who would pit
themselves to be the bride of

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Christ, cleaving together in a
potential marriage, leaving the

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world behind, and joining the
new union.

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That’s what you must do, said
one of us.

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Don’t ever forget it.
But then the strange thing

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happens.
Verse 25 then departed Barnabas

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to Tarsus for to seek Saul, and
when he had found him, he

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brought him into Antioch.
And it came to pass that for a

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whole year they assembled
themselves with the church and

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taught much people, and the
disciples were called Christians

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first at Antioch.
Now Barnabas been sent with a

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quite simple Commission.
Go as far as Antioch, see what’s

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going on there and report he
exceeded that part of the

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Commission which has been taught
to us.

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Whether he actually exceeded
what his instructions were, we

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may never know.
But he went further than

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Antioch.
He went right up the coast to

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Antioch, saw that the work was
good.

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And then travelled West or
southwest round the bulge of

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Cynicia until he had pounds all
again.

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Why had he done the work?
Was there nothing more to do?

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Not that because when he found
Saul, they went back and worked

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for another year with the
community there.

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Did he need a vacation?
Would like to spend it with an

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old friend?
Was that why he went to Tosser’s

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to seek Saul?
Was it purely a personal,

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friendly visit to a man who we’d
like to see again?

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I don’t think it was either the
one thing or the other.

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The man who can exhort other
people about purpose of heart

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had a great purpose in his own.
Heart.

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He knew what the work of the
Lord needed.

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Just remember, when Barnabas
first sponsored Saul, he was

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sponsoring the man who had been
on the Damascus road to

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persecute the church, had been
stricken down and blinded and

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led by the hand into Damascus,
had been preached to by Ananias,

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and had been baptized, and had
received a direct Commission

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from the Lord.
And the Lord had told Ananias,

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amongst other things, that this
this man, Saul, was a chosen

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vessel for Jesus to bear his
name, before Jews and before

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Gentiles and before kings.
Jesus had told Ananias that

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Jesus had certainly told Saul no
less than that.

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And we find that when Barnabas
took Saul upon his return to

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Jerusalem, and introduced into
the apostles and the other

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believers, he Saul told him,
Barnabas, about these visions

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and revelations he had received.
So pick it yourself, Barnabas,

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in Antioch, seeing the
development of this new

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community, consisting at least
in large part of baptized

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purebred Gentiles.
And he says.

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This is the gospel going to
Gentiles.

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Now let me see, what did Saul
tell me?

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He told me that Jesus had said
to Ananias that he saw was a

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chosen vessel to bear his name
before Jews and Gentiles and

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kings.
This is Saul’s work.

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I’d better go and find it.
And it’s the same spirit, isn’t

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it?
The spirit that gives up his

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goods for the widows.
The spirit that sponsors an

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outcast and makes himself the
guarantee for his good behaviour

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before the apostles.
The spirit that says I’m not

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going to keep this word to
myself.

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This work in Antioch is not for
me to be the leader of this

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somebody else who must be called
in at this stage.

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And he departed to Saint Tosses,
and he found Saul, and he

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brought him back.
There was a lot of work still to

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be done.
They worked there for a year,

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and while they were working
there a new word arose in the

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vocabulary of the Bible.
Then were the disciples called

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Christians, first at Antioch,
now bearing in mind the spirit

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of Barnabas, who was a good man
and rejoiced when he saw a good

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thing.
Take a good, calm, sympathetic

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and charitable look at that word
Christian.

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The disciples were called
Christians first at Antioch.

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Now we know in our 19th and 20th
century community that there are

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a great many people and many
communities that claim the word

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Christian without having any
title to it.

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We know that there are a good
number of communities who would

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blame the authority of the Lord
Jesus Christ for what is

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fundamentally wrong, teaching
about the Lord’s own nature and

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much else besides.
And we have decided in

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consequence of that that we will
be known by a more specific

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00:12:34,720 –> 00:12:36,960
name, characteristic of our own
community.

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00:12:38,560 –> 00:12:40,560
And we call ourselves
Christadelphia.

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00:12:42,840 –> 00:12:48,120
And we who are, if not proud, at
least grateful for the fact that

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00:12:48,120 –> 00:12:50,600
all true believers in the Lord
Jesus Christ received the

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00:12:50,600 –> 00:12:55,040
adoption of children, and
therefore become brethren one of

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00:12:55,040 –> 00:12:57,840
another in a family of which the
Lord Jesus Christ is the head.

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00:12:58,120 –> 00:13:02,720
And so brethren in Christ tend,
with good reason, to prefer the

225
00:13:03,560 –> 00:13:07,760
exalted and intimate privilege
associated with that name to an

226
00:13:07,760 –> 00:13:10,760
amorphous name that can mean
anything from a believer in the

227
00:13:10,760 –> 00:13:12,640
Lord Jesus Christ as we
understand it.

228
00:13:13,800 –> 00:13:17,000
To a believer in eternal Son of
God as trinitarians understand

229
00:13:17,000 –> 00:13:21,080
it, who believe it in Christ is
just a very good man called Son

230
00:13:21,080 –> 00:13:22,800
of God.
For courtesy as the Unitarians

231
00:13:22,800 –> 00:13:27,360
understand it, and all the other
possible variants of the sects

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00:13:27,360 –> 00:13:30,720
grouped together, and each
claiming some part in that word

233
00:13:30,720 –> 00:13:34,320
Christian.
And for that reason the word has

234
00:13:34,320 –> 00:13:35,880
tended to be in disfavor, in
arm.

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00:13:35,880 –> 00:13:39,040
It’s at least sometimes, and
obviously if it is used at all,

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00:13:39,040 –> 00:13:40,720
needs to be used with
discrimination.

237
00:13:41,280 –> 00:13:43,320
But that’s our 20th century
situation.

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00:13:44,320 –> 00:13:48,320
We’re considering what it was
like in Antioch in the days when

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00:13:48,320 –> 00:13:51,520
Barnabas went there and as a
good man rejoiced in the word of

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00:13:51,520 –> 00:13:54,320
God that was being proclaimed
and prospering there.

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00:13:54,560 –> 00:13:57,560
And the disciples were called
Christians first at Antioch.

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00:13:59,920 –> 00:14:04,440
Now it is possible to hold that
they were called Christians

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00:14:04,440 –> 00:14:07,800
because that was a kind of
corruption of Christians, which

244
00:14:07,800 –> 00:14:10,040
was a kind of corruption of a
name based upon Christ as it

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00:14:10,040 –> 00:14:12,480
wasn’t a very good person, and
that therefore it was a term of

246
00:14:12,480 –> 00:14:15,360
mockery.
Just possibly there was.

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00:14:15,360 –> 00:14:17,400
Those are mocked.
In fact, almost certainly there

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00:14:17,400 –> 00:14:19,240
would be those who mocked.
There always are.

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00:14:21,000 –> 00:14:23,880
But is Luke telling us that the
disciples were called Christians

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00:14:23,880 –> 00:14:27,520
first at Antioch as though to
tell us that it was a term of

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00:14:27,520 –> 00:14:29,720
mockery which they didn’t like
having, which they would never

252
00:14:29,720 –> 00:14:32,760
have called themselves and which
they ignored as much as they

253
00:14:32,760 –> 00:14:34,880
could?
Well, it doesn’t.

254
00:14:34,880 –> 00:14:39,280
Read like that.
And the only two other occasions

255
00:14:39,280 –> 00:14:41,040
that we have in the New
Testament where the word

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00:14:41,040 –> 00:14:44,000
Christian is used, you don’t
necessarily read like that

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00:14:44,000 –> 00:14:46,440
either.
There’s one later in Acts

258
00:14:46,440 –> 00:14:50,800
chapter 26, when a gripper being
preached to by Paul says, almost

259
00:14:50,800 –> 00:14:54,560
thou persuaded me to be a
Christian, or with but little

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00:14:54,560 –> 00:14:57,160
persuading, thou wouldest fain
make me a Christian.

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00:14:58,080 –> 00:15:00,120
And that could have been mockery
on Agrippa’s part.

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00:15:00,120 –> 00:15:02,520
But that doesn’t mean that the
word itself was the word of

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00:15:02,520 –> 00:15:04,120
mockery.
You might have been saying,

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00:15:04,560 –> 00:15:06,640
Paul, you think you’ve got an
easy convert here, don’t you?

265
00:15:06,960 –> 00:15:09,320
You can think that with one
day’s preaching you can make me

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00:15:09,320 –> 00:15:11,760
into one of you.
Well, the word itself would have

267
00:15:11,760 –> 00:15:14,560
been all right, though not the
use that Agrippa made of it, as

268
00:15:14,560 –> 00:15:19,160
far as he himself was concerned.
And the other is in Peter’s

269
00:15:19,160 –> 00:15:22,240
first letter, where he says, if
any man is persecuted as a

270
00:15:22,240 –> 00:15:24,960
Christian, let him not be
ashamed, that let him rejoice

271
00:15:24,960 –> 00:15:28,960
that he suffers in this name.
That doesn’t sound at all

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00:15:28,960 –> 00:15:32,120
unfavorable, or at all mocking,
or at all discreditable.

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00:15:33,720 –> 00:15:36,400
So go back, remembering the
spirit of Barnabas, who was a

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00:15:36,400 –> 00:15:39,600
good man, and rejoice when he
saw a good thing, and ask.

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00:15:40,320 –> 00:15:42,680
Was it a good thing that caused
the disciples to be called

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00:15:42,680 –> 00:15:46,640
Christians at Antioch?
And the answer I think that

277
00:15:46,640 –> 00:15:51,400
shouts out from the pages, yes.
It was a very good thing for

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00:15:51,400 –> 00:15:53,960
hitherto what would you have
called believers in the Lord

279
00:15:53,960 –> 00:15:56,840
Jesus Christ?
You could have called them

280
00:15:56,840 –> 00:15:59,600
disciples.
You would have called them

281
00:15:59,600 –> 00:16:01,520
brethren, though that was not
very specific.

282
00:16:02,240 –> 00:16:04,200
You might, though the evidence
seems to be to be somewhat

283
00:16:04,200 –> 00:16:06,640
insecure.
Have called them the way but.

284
00:16:07,080 –> 00:16:10,640
What do you do now?
They’re not just Jews.

285
00:16:11,920 –> 00:16:13,520
They’re not just Jews and
Samaritans.

286
00:16:14,160 –> 00:16:18,040
There are Jews and Gentiles in
the community at Antioch.

287
00:16:18,040 –> 00:16:21,240
And they’re all bound together
in Christ.

288
00:16:22,320 –> 00:16:23,880
What is it that binds them
together?

289
00:16:25,120 –> 00:16:25,960
By?
What could it be?

290
00:16:25,960 –> 00:16:30,040
But in Christ there is neither
Jew nor Greek, There is neither

291
00:16:30,040 –> 00:16:34,120
bond nor free, there is neither
male nor female.

292
00:16:35,160 –> 00:16:37,720
You’re all.
One in Christ Jesus in Who?

293
00:16:38,800 –> 00:16:42,520
In Christ?
Christ’s people, Christ’s men,

294
00:16:43,320 –> 00:16:47,520
Christians.
That must surely be the reason

295
00:16:47,520 –> 00:16:49,240
why.
With the development of the

296
00:16:49,240 –> 00:16:52,200
first large scale mixed
community with Jews and Gentiles

297
00:16:52,200 –> 00:16:54,800
in it, the disciples were called
by a name that bound them both

298
00:16:54,800 –> 00:16:58,000
together and didn’t say this is
a Jewish body or this isn’t a

299
00:16:58,000 –> 00:17:00,840
Jewish body, but this is a body
of believers and it doesn’t

300
00:17:00,840 –> 00:17:04,119
matter where they came from.
So the disciples were called

301
00:17:04,119 –> 00:17:10,200
Christians first in Antioch.
Now we still have the need to be

302
00:17:10,200 –> 00:17:14,160
discriminating and the use we
make of the term because of the

303
00:17:14,160 –> 00:17:16,560
way in which it is
indiscriminately used by so many

304
00:17:16,560 –> 00:17:19,240
people in our own day.
But let not the term itself be

305
00:17:19,240 –> 00:17:22,520
mocked in our midst.
To be a real Christian is to be

306
00:17:22,520 –> 00:17:26,640
a very good thing.
And Barnabas was a good man and

307
00:17:26,640 –> 00:17:32,120
didn’t seem to mind.
There’s a short interlude now

308
00:17:32,120 –> 00:17:34,160
where there’s a problem of the
famine that was to arise over

309
00:17:34,160 –> 00:17:38,200
the whole world, the fact that
the church in Jerusalem was

310
00:17:38,200 –> 00:17:41,160
particularly hard.
Hit by it that they suffered

311
00:17:41,160 –> 00:17:44,040
more than most other places did,
and were once again in need of

312
00:17:44,040 –> 00:17:46,880
relief, And the generous
collection taken amongst the

313
00:17:46,880 –> 00:17:50,080
Saints in Antioch, and the fact
that it was Barnabas and Saul

314
00:17:50,080 –> 00:17:52,760
who took it to Jerusalem, and
having greeted the community

315
00:17:52,760 –> 00:17:54,480
there, came back again to
Antioch.

316
00:17:56,560 –> 00:17:59,520
At some point during that period
there was the unhappy episode

317
00:17:59,720 –> 00:18:03,960
where Herod caused the second of
the known Christian martyrs to

318
00:18:03,960 –> 00:18:07,760
lose his life, and James, the
brother of John, was slain with

319
00:18:07,760 –> 00:18:09,800
the sword, and Herod, because he
thought it would please the

320
00:18:09,800 –> 00:18:14,120
Jews, took Peter also, where
Peter, languishing in prison,

321
00:18:14,240 –> 00:18:17,400
was visited by the Angel who
struck off his irons and led him

322
00:18:17,400 –> 00:18:20,600
out and took him to the gate of
the house where the rifts of

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00:18:20,600 –> 00:18:22,360
disciple were assembled praying
for him.

324
00:18:24,480 –> 00:18:27,160
There’s that strange contrast
between men engaged in prayer

325
00:18:27,160 –> 00:18:30,760
for a particular object and men
smitten with unbelief.

326
00:18:30,760 –> 00:18:34,240
When that object is achieved,
gather together, praying for

327
00:18:34,240 –> 00:18:37,360
Peter and not being heard at the
door.

328
00:18:38,360 –> 00:18:41,640
A damsel named Rhoda going to
answer the door, hearing the

329
00:18:41,640 –> 00:18:43,760
voice of Peter and coming back
and saying Peter at the gate.

330
00:18:43,760 –> 00:18:45,000
And they said you’re mad, that
can’t be true.

331
00:18:45,000 –> 00:18:48,520
We’re only praying for it.
An extraordinary situation,

332
00:18:48,520 –> 00:18:51,040
isn’t it?
Which reveals the limitations of

333
00:18:51,040 –> 00:18:53,520
our own prayer.
A little bit like our own, I

334
00:18:53,520 –> 00:18:55,360
would think.
Many times praying for something

335
00:18:55,360 –> 00:18:57,240
but.
If it should be granted, almost

336
00:18:57,240 –> 00:18:58,920
hardly daring to believe that it
would be.

337
00:18:59,280 –> 00:19:01,080
And in asking for it, not
really.

338
00:19:01,080 –> 00:19:05,360
Expecting it to come about, Of
course, they had a reason to be

339
00:19:05,360 –> 00:19:07,600
in doubt about it.
Stephen hadn’t been delivered

340
00:19:08,840 –> 00:19:11,000
and James, the brother of John,
hadn’t been delivered.

341
00:19:11,840 –> 00:19:14,640
Peter might have been destined
in God’s purpose to suffer

342
00:19:14,640 –> 00:19:16,920
martyrdom at that time rather
than later.

343
00:19:17,040 –> 00:19:19,560
He had done the major part of
his work in opening all the

344
00:19:19,560 –> 00:19:21,040
doors with the keys given to
him.

345
00:19:21,280 –> 00:19:23,680
Perhaps that was to be the end
of Peter’s experience, they

346
00:19:23,680 –> 00:19:26,560
might have thought, but still
they were engaged in earnest

347
00:19:26,560 –> 00:19:30,960
prayer on his behalf.
And it pleased God to grant the

348
00:19:30,960 –> 00:19:33,040
answer to the prayer.
And Peter went there and there

349
00:19:33,200 –> 00:19:35,600
at the door he knocked and Rhoda
heard his voice and she knew it

350
00:19:35,600 –> 00:19:38,440
was his voice.
And all they concluded was that

351
00:19:38,440 –> 00:19:40,040
they’re rather unintelligent
servant girl.

352
00:19:40,040 –> 00:19:41,280
That got the wrong end of the
story.

353
00:19:41,560 –> 00:19:45,320
There was somebody saying, I’ve
got a message from Peter, for

354
00:19:45,320 –> 00:19:50,520
they said it is his Angel.
Now I know there are various

355
00:19:50,520 –> 00:19:51,960
ways of looking at that
statement.

356
00:19:51,960 –> 00:19:55,400
Is his Angel.
It could in some circles today.

357
00:19:55,400 –> 00:19:59,080
I mean Peter’s dead is this.
End body’s spirit has come back.

358
00:19:59,080 –> 00:20:00,320
We could never have meant that
for that.

359
00:20:02,040 –> 00:20:05,360
Or it could in some circles at
any time mean Peter’s guardian

360
00:20:05,360 –> 00:20:07,000
Angel has come to tell us about
him.

361
00:20:08,240 –> 00:20:10,840
No doubt angels are in God over
the sense of God.

362
00:20:11,000 –> 00:20:16,080
The weather 1 for one is another
matter, but by far the most

363
00:20:16,080 –> 00:20:18,840
likely thing.
In disciples that were not used

364
00:20:18,840 –> 00:20:22,200
to getting personal visitations
from angels of personal

365
00:20:22,200 –> 00:20:25,480
disciples was that the word
angelos was being used as it was

366
00:20:25,480 –> 00:20:28,640
when John sent two of his angels
to Jesus and said, Art thou he

367
00:20:28,640 –> 00:20:31,360
that should come?
That in fact it was his

368
00:20:31,360 –> 00:20:33,840
messenger they thought it was
somebody’s come with a message

369
00:20:33,840 –> 00:20:35,960
about Peter, they said That’s
what it means, brother.

370
00:20:35,960 –> 00:20:42,440
It’s not the real Peter, but of
course it was, and Peter left.

371
00:20:42,440 –> 00:20:45,360
To fight another day, when James
the brother of John had been

372
00:20:45,360 –> 00:20:49,200
slain with the sword and Herod
the king paid for his Polly and

373
00:20:49,200 –> 00:20:52,760
his danity by being struck down
by the seacoast and being

374
00:20:52,760 –> 00:20:56,720
consumed of worms.
And Paul, I’m sorry.

375
00:20:57,000 –> 00:21:01,560
And Barnabas and Saul went back
from Jerusalem to Antioch.

376
00:21:03,760 –> 00:21:07,640
And now the door which has been
opened, the faintest chink is

377
00:21:07,640 –> 00:21:11,600
about to be flung open wide in
the preaching to the Gentiles.

378
00:21:12,480 –> 00:21:21,720
Acts chapter 13 verse one Now
there were in the churches was

379
00:21:21,720 –> 00:21:26,360
at Antioch certain prophets and
teachers as Barnabas and Simeon.

380
00:21:26,360 –> 00:21:30,600
That was called Niger and Lucius
of Cyrene and Bernard the foster

381
00:21:30,600 –> 00:21:33,320
brother of Herod the Tetroc and
Saul.

382
00:21:35,080 –> 00:21:37,440
Protocol is being very properly
observed here.

383
00:21:38,160 –> 00:21:40,920
There are 5 prophets there and
you start with the near apostle

384
00:21:40,920 –> 00:21:42,520
and name him first.
That’s Barnabas.

385
00:21:43,560 –> 00:21:45,720
Then you go on to three others
about whom we would otherwise

386
00:21:45,720 –> 00:21:47,880
have heard nothing.
And finally you come to the

387
00:21:47,880 –> 00:21:50,960
novice Saul, only recently
converted, and for the most of

388
00:21:50,960 –> 00:21:53,960
that time in exile.
It’s quite right and proper that

389
00:21:53,960 –> 00:21:57,440
it should be so, though it
represents a very transitory

390
00:21:57,440 –> 00:21:59,280
change stage.
He’s not going to stay like this

391
00:21:59,280 –> 00:22:01,200
for long.
But for that moment, there they

392
00:22:01,200 –> 00:22:04,680
are, Barnabas and three others,
and then Saul, and they’re in

393
00:22:04,680 –> 00:22:06,840
the community in Antioch.
And what are they doing?

394
00:22:07,920 –> 00:22:13,720
Verse two, as they ministered to
the Lord and fasted, the Holy

395
00:22:13,720 –> 00:22:17,360
Spirit said, separate me,
Barnabas, and Saul for the work

396
00:22:17,360 –> 00:22:22,560
whereunto I have called them.
Now it doesn’t seem that fasting

397
00:22:22,560 –> 00:22:25,720
was a regular daily or weekly
habit of the disciples.

398
00:22:27,120 –> 00:22:29,600
We know from the life of the
Lord Jesus Christ himself that

399
00:22:29,600 –> 00:22:34,640
the question arose, Why do we,
the disciples of John and they,

400
00:22:34,640 –> 00:22:38,200
the disciples of the Pharisees,
fast but thine fast not?

401
00:22:39,840 –> 00:22:42,480
And though the Lord did speak of
a moment of fasting, when they

402
00:22:42,480 –> 00:22:45,360
would be bereaved of him at the
crucifixion, there’s no reason

403
00:22:45,360 –> 00:22:48,280
to believe that fasting was a
normal routine of the Christian

404
00:22:48,280 –> 00:22:50,600
believer.
But they did do it sometimes.

405
00:22:52,040 –> 00:22:54,680
There is, for example, in Paul’s
first letter to the Corinthians,

406
00:22:54,680 –> 00:22:58,080
the advice that husband and wife
should live together as though

407
00:22:58,080 –> 00:23:00,920
they were husband and wife, save
that in certain special

408
00:23:00,920 –> 00:23:03,800
circumstances they might
abstain, that they might give

409
00:23:03,800 –> 00:23:05,400
themselves to fasting and
prayer.

410
00:23:06,560 –> 00:23:10,400
So when particular needs or
crises or objects arose, then

411
00:23:10,400 –> 00:23:12,960
fasting might be entertained,
but as a normal practice,

412
00:23:12,960 –> 00:23:18,000
apparently and properly not.
But this time they were.

413
00:23:19,280 –> 00:23:22,120
Those five profits, perhaps with
the rest of the community

414
00:23:22,320 –> 00:23:25,480
following in their wake, were
praying to the Lord and fasting.

415
00:23:25,720 –> 00:23:27,680
And a point is being made about
it.

416
00:23:27,680 –> 00:23:30,720
They were doing it for a reason.
There was some special ’cause

417
00:23:30,880 –> 00:23:33,280
that caused them to gather
together at Antioch and pray

418
00:23:33,280 –> 00:23:34,440
with fasting.
What was it?

419
00:23:36,480 –> 00:23:39,080
Well, you know, the game in
which you said this is the

420
00:23:39,080 –> 00:23:40,280
answer.
What is the question?

421
00:23:41,520 –> 00:23:44,040
Well, we’re given the answer and
I think we’re quite easily led

422
00:23:44,040 –> 00:23:47,000
to the question from that.
The answer is the Holy Spirit

423
00:23:47,000 –> 00:23:48,960
said separate me, Barnabas and
Saul.

424
00:23:50,440 –> 00:23:54,400
So what was the question please?
Lord, where do we go next?

425
00:23:55,520 –> 00:23:58,960
And whom are you sending?
That must be it, wasn’t it?

426
00:23:59,760 –> 00:24:01,400
They’re gathered together and
they’re seeking for a

427
00:24:01,400 –> 00:24:03,480
revelation, and they’re looking
for it and they get it.

428
00:24:03,720 –> 00:24:08,520
And the Holy Spirit says, just
to pause on that expression.

429
00:24:08,840 –> 00:24:14,080
The Holy Spirit said, if you did
believe in the Godhead of three

430
00:24:14,080 –> 00:24:16,840
persons, then you might find it
quite easy to believe the Father

431
00:24:16,840 –> 00:24:24,640
said, or the Son said or even
the Holy Spirit said you might

432
00:24:24,640 –> 00:24:27,560
even if you were that kind of
person, engaging prayer to each

433
00:24:27,560 –> 00:24:30,040
of the three separately.
Sometimes they do as though

434
00:24:30,040 –> 00:24:32,920
there were three gods, Tri
theistically rather than in a

435
00:24:32,920 –> 00:24:35,720
Trinitarian way.
So there’s a well known hymn

436
00:24:35,720 –> 00:24:41,600
which says Eternal Father strong
to save whose arm hath bound the

437
00:24:41,600 –> 00:24:44,840
restless way.
Or here is when we cry to Thee

438
00:24:44,840 –> 00:24:49,160
for those in peril on the sea,
oh Christ, whose voice the

439
00:24:49,160 –> 00:24:51,440
waters heard and stopped their
raging at Thy word.

440
00:24:52,640 –> 00:24:55,600
Or hear us when we cry to Thee
for those in peril on the sea,

441
00:24:56,800 –> 00:24:59,880
oh Holy Spirit, who is brewed
upon the waters, dark and rude.

442
00:25:00,760 –> 00:25:03,680
Or hear us when we cry to Thee
for those in peril on the sea.

443
00:25:05,280 –> 00:25:08,720
And they pray to them severally,
as though several supplications

444
00:25:08,720 –> 00:25:12,200
to three different persons
within a Godhead would achieve 3

445
00:25:12,200 –> 00:25:15,640
No doubt equally favourable, but
different answers from different

446
00:25:15,880 –> 00:25:20,160
means of granting grace.
Well, we know that’s not a

447
00:25:20,160 –> 00:25:23,760
Scriptural procedure.
We know that the Bible contains

448
00:25:23,760 –> 00:25:27,880
no example of such a triune, or
rather a Tri divided prayer.

449
00:25:29,440 –> 00:25:31,440
What then, do we make of
expressions like this?

450
00:25:31,560 –> 00:25:35,320
The Holy Spirit said it’s not
the only occasion when it

451
00:25:35,320 –> 00:25:37,840
happens.
It occurs later in the

452
00:25:37,840 –> 00:25:41,080
experience of Paul and his
followers when they are said to

453
00:25:41,080 –> 00:25:44,040
go into Bethania but the Spirit
suffered them not.

454
00:25:44,880 –> 00:25:47,240
Or they were forbidden of the
Holy Spirit to preach the Word

455
00:25:47,240 –> 00:25:50,240
in Asia.
It doesn’t look as though the

456
00:25:50,240 –> 00:25:55,120
spirit is used in a personal
way, so it properly can.

457
00:25:56,400 –> 00:26:00,960
For what we mean is that God
sent a message, and he sent it

458
00:26:00,960 –> 00:26:06,600
by the agency of his spirit, and
either they heard a voice from

459
00:26:06,600 –> 00:26:10,360
Heb, nor more likely they had a
message through a prophet, and

460
00:26:10,360 –> 00:26:13,080
that prophet spoke with the
voice of the Spirit of God,

461
00:26:13,760 –> 00:26:18,760
moved by God’s Holy Spirit.
And in fact, in general, in the

462
00:26:18,760 –> 00:26:22,000
very large number of occasions
where the word Spirit or Holy

463
00:26:22,000 –> 00:26:25,000
Spirit do appear in the New
Testament when it’s used with

464
00:26:25,000 –> 00:26:29,720
the Greek article the Spirit or
the Holy Spirit or the Spirit,

465
00:26:29,720 –> 00:26:32,040
the Holy is put in all those
ways.

466
00:26:32,720 –> 00:26:35,400
It doesn’t give a personal slant
to what is said and nearly

467
00:26:35,400 –> 00:26:39,800
always refers to a direct act or
word or prophecy or commandment

468
00:26:39,800 –> 00:26:43,200
of God.
So as they were praying, this

469
00:26:43,200 –> 00:26:47,760
prophet guided assembly.
The voice of the Holy Spirit,

470
00:26:47,760 –> 00:26:50,560
the voice of God, by the agency
of a prophet, guided by the

471
00:26:50,560 –> 00:26:54,640
Spirit, I would presume, spoke
and said, Separate me, Barnabas,

472
00:26:54,640 –> 00:26:57,160
and Saul for the work whereunto
I have called them.

473
00:26:59,800 –> 00:27:02,160
Now it’s good that Barnabas
initiative should have been

474
00:27:02,160 –> 00:27:06,040
proved right, that we should see
quite clearly that he had

475
00:27:06,040 –> 00:27:09,920
correctly interpreted the
information that Saul had given

476
00:27:09,920 –> 00:27:11,640
him from the visions of the
Lord.

477
00:27:11,880 –> 00:27:14,680
Good, that Barnabas faith in
Saul should now be confirmed by

478
00:27:14,680 –> 00:27:17,640
a concrete revelation.
It’s you too thy one said,

479
00:27:17,640 –> 00:27:23,520
Jesus, Barnabas and Saul.
And protocol is still being

480
00:27:23,520 –> 00:27:27,960
observed.
Barnabas still comes first and

481
00:27:27,960 –> 00:27:30,560
Saul still comes last of two
which is second.

482
00:27:32,200 –> 00:27:34,480
So the two of them are separated
for the work and.

483
00:27:34,480 –> 00:27:37,920
This is rather a fine example of
the way in which I should pray

484
00:27:37,920 –> 00:27:40,160
more often than I do, and
perhaps some of you should.

485
00:27:41,080 –> 00:27:43,000
They prayed for the answer.
They got it.

486
00:27:43,000 –> 00:27:45,680
And then what did they do?
Dash out and tell everybody?

487
00:27:45,840 –> 00:27:49,040
Not quite.
And when they had fasted and

488
00:27:49,040 –> 00:27:50,400
prayed, they laid their hands on
them.

489
00:27:51,320 –> 00:27:55,240
So the sequence was pray for an
answer, get the answer, and pray

490
00:27:55,280 –> 00:27:59,280
again, no doubt with
Thanksgiving, no doubt with

491
00:27:59,280 –> 00:28:01,680
gladness that the answer has
come, and no doubt with desire

492
00:28:01,840 –> 00:28:05,200
to know how the rest of the work
should be done and to seek God’s

493
00:28:05,200 –> 00:28:08,600
blessing on it.
And they laid their hands on

494
00:28:08,600 –> 00:28:13,800
them and sent them away.
They laid their hands on them.

495
00:28:15,560 –> 00:28:18,360
Almost certainly they would do
it with the hand upon the head.

496
00:28:19,920 –> 00:28:22,360
I don’t know whether each
individual would lay one hand or

497
00:28:22,360 –> 00:28:25,320
two hands upon Paul and
Barnabas, Barnabas and Saul

498
00:28:25,520 –> 00:28:27,840
before they sent them away,
whether there will be some

499
00:28:27,840 –> 00:28:29,560
collective putting of hands upon
their heads.

500
00:28:29,560 –> 00:28:32,040
But hands upon heads would have
been the way, I think.

501
00:28:33,680 –> 00:28:35,320
Why did they lay their hands
upon them?

502
00:28:37,240 –> 00:28:39,160
I suppose there are more reasons
than one.

503
00:28:40,440 –> 00:28:43,000
They brought little children to
Jesus, and he would bless them.

504
00:28:43,000 –> 00:28:45,840
And he laid his hands on them,
no doubt to convey to their

505
00:28:45,840 –> 00:28:48,200
parents that children should
come to him for instruction.

506
00:28:48,200 –> 00:28:53,280
He was very glad if they did.
When Saul and Barnabas, Barnabas

507
00:28:53,280 –> 00:28:55,960
and Saul had gone and preached
the word to the Gentiles, we

508
00:28:55,960 –> 00:28:59,400
find they came back and informed
the apostles in Jerusalem what

509
00:28:59,400 –> 00:29:01,440
they had done.
And when they learned about it,

510
00:29:01,440 –> 00:29:04,600
they gave to me and Barnabas the
right hand of fellowship.

511
00:29:06,400 –> 00:29:09,120
And whereas our modern practice
of giving the right hand of

512
00:29:09,120 –> 00:29:12,160
fellowship when a baptism has
taken place is a very good and

513
00:29:12,160 –> 00:29:15,480
sanitary practice, and I hope it
will long continue, it isn’t

514
00:29:15,480 –> 00:29:19,240
very well based upon that verse
where two people already

515
00:29:20,120 –> 00:29:23,000
thoroughly baptized and well
experienced in the faith, came

516
00:29:23,000 –> 00:29:25,720
and the apostles gave them.
What did they give them, their

517
00:29:25,720 –> 00:29:28,760
fellowship, their agreement,
their companionship, their

518
00:29:28,760 –> 00:29:31,680
approval, and what they were
doing, And whether it was a hand

519
00:29:31,680 –> 00:29:34,680
on head giving the right hand?
I don’t.

520
00:29:34,680 –> 00:29:38,200
Know because our modern
handshake is a very modern

521
00:29:38,200 –> 00:29:40,960
thing, isn’t it?
We shake hands with each other

522
00:29:40,960 –> 00:29:43,200
like that, but they didn’t do
that.

523
00:29:43,320 –> 00:29:45,920
I believe in the earliest Romans
times.

524
00:29:45,920 –> 00:29:50,520
I wasn’t present, but I gather
that what they did was take you

525
00:29:50,520 –> 00:29:55,600
by the hand like that, so that
you couldn’t draw your sword.

526
00:29:56,880 –> 00:30:00,760
It was a rather precautionary
kind of hand shaking.

527
00:30:01,000 –> 00:30:04,600
When Saul and Barnabas, Barnabas
and Saul had gone and preached

528
00:30:04,600 –> 00:30:07,720
the word to the Gentiles, we
find they came back and informed

529
00:30:07,720 –> 00:30:09,680
the apostles in Jerusalem what
they had done.

530
00:30:09,840 –> 00:30:12,920
And when they learned about it,
they gave to me and Barnabas the

531
00:30:12,920 –> 00:30:17,640
right hand of fellowship.
And whereas our modern practice

532
00:30:17,640 –> 00:30:19,840
of giving the right hand of
fellowship when a baptism has

533
00:30:19,840 –> 00:30:23,040
taken place is a very good and
salutary practice, and I hope it

534
00:30:23,040 –> 00:30:26,560
will long continue, it isn’t
very well based upon that verse

535
00:30:27,200 –> 00:30:30,960
where two people already
thoroughly baptized and well

536
00:30:30,960 –> 00:30:33,360
experienced in the faith, came,
and the apostles gave them.

537
00:30:33,360 –> 00:30:35,960
What did they give them?
Their fellowship, their

538
00:30:35,960 –> 00:30:38,920
agreement, their companionship,
their approval and what they

539
00:30:38,920 –> 00:30:41,120
were doing?
And whether it was a hand on

540
00:30:41,120 –> 00:30:44,360
head giving the right hand, I
don’t know.

541
00:30:45,760 –> 00:30:48,120
Because our modern handshake is
a very modern thing, isn’t it?

542
00:30:49,040 –> 00:30:51,840
We shake hands with each other
like that, but they didn’t do

543
00:30:51,840 –> 00:30:54,480
that.
I believe in the earliest Romans

544
00:30:54,480 –> 00:30:57,920
times I wasn’t present, but I
gather that what they did was

545
00:30:58,920 –> 00:31:04,080
take you by the hand like that,
so that you couldn’t draw your

546
00:31:04,080 –> 00:31:08,480
sword.
It was a rather precautionary

547
00:31:08,480 –> 00:31:13,120
kind of handshaking and from
that our modern handshaking has.

548
00:31:13,600 –> 00:31:16,320
Degenerated in the sense that
you don’t hold so much of the

549
00:31:16,320 –> 00:31:20,040
arm but become a more peaceful
rather than a military thing.

550
00:31:21,280 –> 00:31:23,600
In the earlier days, though, it
would have been a hand on head

551
00:31:23,600 –> 00:31:25,560
movement when people were
linking themselves with the

552
00:31:25,560 –> 00:31:28,440
movements of others.
I would think that’s what the

553
00:31:28,520 –> 00:31:30,800
elders of the community in
Antioch did to Saul and

554
00:31:30,800 –> 00:31:33,240
Barnabas.
And they were not ordaining

555
00:31:33,240 –> 00:31:35,120
them.
God was doing that.

556
00:31:36,040 –> 00:31:37,480
They were sending themselves
with them.

557
00:31:37,480 –> 00:31:39,720
They were saying you go, but we
go with you.

558
00:31:40,640 –> 00:31:44,240
You do the work, but our prayers
and our companionship, our

559
00:31:44,240 –> 00:31:47,880
support, are in.
Your helps are to your help.

560
00:31:49,440 –> 00:31:56,120
So Barnabas and Saul went out.
Their first move was to Cyprus

561
00:31:56,880 –> 00:31:58,520
from Cyducia, the port of
Antioch.

562
00:31:58,520 –> 00:32:01,440
No doubt they would go in a
broadly Westerly direction and

563
00:32:01,440 –> 00:32:03,840
arrive at Cyprus.
And they spent some time there

564
00:32:04,080 –> 00:32:07,560
doing what became Paul’s regular
practice and preaching first in

565
00:32:07,560 –> 00:32:13,480
the synagogues of the Jews.
They had some success, but their

566
00:32:13,480 –> 00:32:15,680
success seemed likely to be
challenged when they actually

567
00:32:15,680 –> 00:32:18,440
came into contact with the
governor of the island, who it

568
00:32:18,440 –> 00:32:21,840
seems had in his course and in
his retinue a much favoured

569
00:32:21,840 –> 00:32:25,920
wonder worker, a Duke called
Ellie, master sorcerer or by bar

570
00:32:25,920 –> 00:32:28,400
Jesus.
And I want to look at that

571
00:32:28,400 –> 00:32:30,960
episode because it introduces us
to something which I’ve

572
00:32:30,960 –> 00:32:34,520
mentioned before, slipped into
from time to time, but which now

573
00:32:34,520 –> 00:32:37,840
becomes actual, so Acts chapter
13.

574
00:32:39,200 –> 00:32:46,800
Verse five When they were at
Salamist, they preached the word

575
00:32:46,800 –> 00:32:49,920
of God in the synagogue of the
Jews, and they had also John as

576
00:32:49,920 –> 00:32:54,160
their minister.
That’s John Mark who later leads

577
00:32:54,160 –> 00:32:57,480
them, about whom there arises A
controversy that we must further

578
00:32:57,480 –> 00:32:59,920
discuss.
They had John to their minister,

579
00:33:00,840 –> 00:33:03,640
and when they had gone through
the island of Paphos, they found

580
00:33:03,640 –> 00:33:07,240
a certain sorcerer, a false
prophet, a Jew, whose name was

581
00:33:07,240 –> 00:33:10,760
bar Jesus, which was with the
deputy of the country, Sergius

582
00:33:10,760 –> 00:33:16,280
Paulus, a prudent man, who
called for Barnabas and Saul,

583
00:33:16,280 –> 00:33:20,840
and desired to hear the word of
God, but only master sorcerer,

584
00:33:20,840 –> 00:33:23,320
for so is his name, by
interpretation withstood.

585
00:33:23,320 –> 00:33:27,800
Them seeking to turn aside the
proconsul from the faith, but

586
00:33:27,800 –> 00:33:33,200
Saul, who also is called Paul.
Filled with the Holy Spirit, set

587
00:33:33,200 –> 00:33:36,720
his eyes on him and said, O full
of all subtlety and all

588
00:33:36,720 –> 00:33:39,560
mischief, thou child of the
devil, thou enemy of all

589
00:33:39,560 –> 00:33:42,800
righteousness, will thou not
cease to pervert the right ways

590
00:33:42,800 –> 00:33:46,760
of the Lord?
Now analyse that episode

591
00:33:46,760 –> 00:33:49,560
carefully.
There’s the governor of the

592
00:33:49,560 –> 00:33:54,760
island.
There’s a wonder working Jew who

593
00:33:54,760 –> 00:33:57,640
has two names, one of which is
Ellie, master Sorcerer and the

594
00:33:57,640 –> 00:34:02,120
other of which is bar Jesus.
And that Jew seeks to withstand

595
00:34:02,120 –> 00:34:06,680
the wholesome words of Barnabas
and Saul, as a result of which

596
00:34:06,680 –> 00:34:10,480
Saul, who also is caught Paul,
engages in a condemnation of

597
00:34:10,480 –> 00:34:14,080
him, which is almost unmatched
in Scripture, except perhaps in

598
00:34:14,080 –> 00:34:17,400
Matthew 23, when Jesus is
talking to the Pharisees, the

599
00:34:17,400 –> 00:34:20,719
bitterness of it, the harshness,
the thoroughgoing condemnation

600
00:34:20,719 –> 00:34:23,840
in those words, is almost
incredible in one called to the

601
00:34:23,840 –> 00:34:26,880
gospel of gentleness, as the
apostle Paul was to be.

602
00:34:27,600 –> 00:34:29,080
Yet there must have been a
reason for it.

603
00:34:29,639 –> 00:34:33,840
I read the words again.
He said, O full of all subtlety

604
00:34:33,840 –> 00:34:37,639
and all mischief, thou child of
the devil, thou enemy of all

605
00:34:37,639 –> 00:34:40,560
righteousness, will thou not
cease to pervert the right ways

606
00:34:40,560 –> 00:34:42,639
of the Lord?
And now, behold, the hand of the

607
00:34:42,639 –> 00:34:45,280
Lord is upon thee, and that
would be blind, not seeing the

608
00:34:45,280 –> 00:34:50,159
sun for a season.
Why was Saul, who also is called

609
00:34:50,159 –> 00:34:55,360
Paul, so rough with any master
sorcerer who also is called bar

610
00:34:55,440 –> 00:34:59,440
Jesus?
Well, we’re not told, but we are

611
00:34:59,440 –> 00:35:01,080
told that he was a false
prophet.

612
00:35:03,040 –> 00:35:05,840
We’re also told in the words of
the Lord Jesus Christ that many

613
00:35:05,840 –> 00:35:09,880
false prophets shall arise.
They shall come in my name.

614
00:35:10,680 –> 00:35:14,400
They shall say I am Christ the
lead away disciples from me.

615
00:35:15,800 –> 00:35:18,000
And here was a man at least in
some degree fulfilling that

616
00:35:18,000 –> 00:35:20,440
prophecy.
He was seeking to turn away a

617
00:35:20,440 –> 00:35:24,280
potential disciple.
He was coming in Jesus name.

618
00:35:24,280 –> 00:35:27,960
He was bar Jesus.
And whereas Jesus was not so

619
00:35:27,960 –> 00:35:31,200
uncommon a name amongst the Jews
that we can say for sure that he

620
00:35:31,200 –> 00:35:33,760
was claiming some relationship
with the Lord Jesus, perhaps he

621
00:35:33,760 –> 00:35:39,080
was and bar Jesus, meaning Son
of Jesus contains all manner of

622
00:35:39,080 –> 00:35:44,640
unspoken innuendo in a name like
that, and Paul finds him guilty

623
00:35:44,640 –> 00:35:47,760
of villainy.
And that villainy of the

624
00:35:47,760 –> 00:35:51,160
Authorized or Revised Version is
only found once elsewhere, when

625
00:35:51,320 –> 00:35:54,360
a Roman ruler in Nation Minor
tells the population that if

626
00:35:54,360 –> 00:35:58,680
this were a matter of villainy
or of wicked lewdness, then he

627
00:35:58,680 –> 00:36:00,520
would do something about it.
But as it was, he wouldn’t.

628
00:36:01,800 –> 00:36:03,880
And there appears to be some
suggestion that this man was

629
00:36:03,880 –> 00:36:07,920
guilty of profligate talk, of
unclean Speaking of dirty

630
00:36:07,920 –> 00:36:11,040
innuendo against the Name of the
Holy Saviour.

631
00:36:12,200 –> 00:36:14,520
And against that Paul could not
remain silent.

632
00:36:15,360 –> 00:36:18,080
So he spoke in utter and terror,
and bitter condemnation of this

633
00:36:18,080 –> 00:36:21,600
evil man caused him to be
afflicted with that which had

634
00:36:21,600 –> 00:36:24,600
brought him to his senses had
him struck blind, with the hope,

635
00:36:24,600 –> 00:36:26,720
no doubt, that that would lead
him to repentance.

636
00:36:30,200 –> 00:36:35,280
But Saul, who also is called
Paul, introduced to us for the

637
00:36:35,280 –> 00:36:39,800
first time, and so complete in
the transformation it brings,

638
00:36:39,800 –> 00:36:42,320
that Paul is never called Saul
again afterwards.

639
00:36:43,720 –> 00:36:46,160
Oh, yes, there are three
occasions later in the Acts

640
00:36:46,160 –> 00:36:49,520
where the word Saul is used
about him, but they’re all

641
00:36:49,520 –> 00:36:52,640
recapitulating.
Going back at the time when I

642
00:36:52,640 –> 00:36:56,120
was on the road to Damascus,
Jesus said to me, Saul, Saul,

643
00:36:56,200 –> 00:36:59,200
why persecutest thou me?
Or Ananias said to me a little

644
00:36:59,200 –> 00:37:02,400
later, Brother Saul received thy
side, because those were the

645
00:37:02,400 –> 00:37:05,120
things they said at that time.
But that’s merely looking back

646
00:37:05,120 –> 00:37:08,120
into the past.
From this time onwards, Saul

647
00:37:08,120 –> 00:37:10,600
becomes as completely and
absolutely Paul.

648
00:37:11,040 –> 00:37:14,360
As Abraham became Abraham, when
God changed his name for him, or

649
00:37:14,520 –> 00:37:17,800
in a lesser degree Sarah, I
became Sarah and never looked

650
00:37:17,800 –> 00:37:23,480
back to their old names at all.
So why does Saul suddenly become

651
00:37:23,480 –> 00:37:27,040
Paul?
Why Saul, which also is called

652
00:37:27,040 –> 00:37:29,400
Paul?
Why Paul?

653
00:37:31,480 –> 00:37:34,320
Well, they tell us, and no doubt
they are right, that Jews who

654
00:37:34,320 –> 00:37:37,600
were also Romans and Jews who
moved in Gentile society, tended

655
00:37:37,600 –> 00:37:40,200
to have two right names, one for
their Jewish use and the other

656
00:37:40,200 –> 00:37:43,200
for Gentile use.
And they say that Saul is a

657
00:37:43,200 –> 00:37:45,560
Jewish name, which it is, and
Paul is a Roman one, which it

658
00:37:45,560 –> 00:37:48,120
is.
So that may be part of the

659
00:37:48,160 –> 00:37:51,160
answer, but I think we can go
further.

660
00:37:53,360 –> 00:37:55,680
We can’t really expect to be
told, but it might be

661
00:37:55,680 –> 00:37:59,880
interesting to inquire why did
Paul’s parents call him Saul

662
00:38:00,120 –> 00:38:04,120
Shaul?
Well, they were Benjamites.

663
00:38:05,680 –> 00:38:08,520
And Saul was the most famous of
the Benjamites because he became

664
00:38:08,520 –> 00:38:10,360
king of the United Kingdom of
Israel.

665
00:38:10,520 –> 00:38:12,600
So they called him after their
great king.

666
00:38:13,440 –> 00:38:17,480
Perhaps, though, there was
nothing very great about Saul,

667
00:38:17,480 –> 00:38:20,760
the first king, he died in
disgrace by a suicide’s hand on

668
00:38:20,760 –> 00:38:22,800
the field of battle with the
enemy that conquered him.

669
00:38:23,040 –> 00:38:25,280
Saul was nothing really to be
proud of as a king.

670
00:38:25,440 –> 00:38:28,160
I’m not sure that a Benjamite
would want to choose that name

671
00:38:28,160 –> 00:38:32,360
in honour of that king.
But then perhaps the name

672
00:38:32,360 –> 00:38:36,920
meaning desired might mean that
Saul’s parents had wanted a son

673
00:38:36,920 –> 00:38:39,560
for a long time and had only
daughters or no child at all.

674
00:38:39,760 –> 00:38:42,560
And then her son was born, and
they gave him by the name that

675
00:38:42,560 –> 00:38:44,880
showed they’d been granted what
they asked for.

676
00:38:46,200 –> 00:38:49,640
As Israel was granted the king,
they asked for that.

677
00:38:49,640 –> 00:38:53,280
Wouldn’t be unreasonable.
But for whatever reason they

678
00:38:53,280 –> 00:38:55,560
gave it to him.
It looks as though they did our

679
00:38:55,560 –> 00:38:57,960
new apostle.
There is considerable disservice

680
00:38:57,960 –> 00:39:02,600
in giving him that name.
For if you ask what it is about

681
00:39:02,600 –> 00:39:05,840
Saul, the name Saul, which most
comes to mind when you use the

682
00:39:05,840 –> 00:39:09,000
word, apart from the fact that
he didn’t fight Goliath, what is

683
00:39:09,000 –> 00:39:15,240
it that from the shoulders and
upwards he was taller than

684
00:39:15,240 –> 00:39:18,880
anybody else?
Not compared with Goliath, but

685
00:39:18,880 –> 00:39:22,320
compared with most normal
Israelites, Saul was a big tall

686
00:39:22,320 –> 00:39:24,280
man.
A man.

687
00:39:25,040 –> 00:39:27,240
It was not to be equalled for
desirability as a king.

688
00:39:27,240 –> 00:39:29,920
If you had the other qualities,
that was Saul’s characteristic.

689
00:39:30,520 –> 00:39:33,160
That was the name they gave to
our new apostle.

690
00:39:34,760 –> 00:39:39,760
Well, if Paul was the other
name, there couldn’t have been a

691
00:39:39,760 –> 00:39:47,200
sharper contrast, because Paul
Paulus means small, little, and

692
00:39:47,200 –> 00:39:50,480
the association of the word Saul
with the meaning of the word

693
00:39:50,480 –> 00:39:53,880
Paul couldn’t have been in
sharper contrast.

694
00:39:55,400 –> 00:39:56,880
But wonders a little, which was
right.

695
00:39:58,880 –> 00:40:02,680
Perhaps it was a nickname.
Perhaps his school friends

696
00:40:02,680 –> 00:40:04,200
called it him.
They did things like that to me

697
00:40:04,200 –> 00:40:06,800
anyway, and then they would do
that to me.

698
00:40:06,800 –> 00:40:08,240
I don’t see why they wouldn’t
have done it to him.

699
00:40:08,400 –> 00:40:10,960
So ah, here’s palace.
Here’s the little one coming.

700
00:40:11,080 –> 00:40:14,480
They might have said the name
could well have stuck.

701
00:40:16,360 –> 00:40:19,880
But whether given name or
nickname or conveniently, both?

702
00:40:20,960 –> 00:40:24,080
It is on this occasion that the
word Paul is chosen for him and

703
00:40:24,080 –> 00:40:27,360
stays with him.
He never calls himself anything

704
00:40:27,360 –> 00:40:30,800
else from that time on.
I wonder why?

705
00:40:32,800 –> 00:40:34,320
Well.
Perhaps there’s some clue to

706
00:40:34,320 –> 00:40:39,320
that a little bit later in this
same chapter, Acts chapter 13

707
00:40:40,280 –> 00:40:46,520
verse 13.
Now Paul and his company loosed

708
00:40:46,520 –> 00:40:49,600
from pathos and they came to
Purga in Pamphaglia.

709
00:40:50,560 –> 00:40:53,400
And John, departing from them,
returned to Jerusalem.

710
00:40:54,560 –> 00:40:57,200
But when they departed from
Perga and came to Antioch in

711
00:40:57,200 –> 00:41:00,520
Presidia, they went into the
synagogue on the Sabbath day,

712
00:41:00,520 –> 00:41:03,760
and sat down.
And after the reading of the Law

713
00:41:03,760 –> 00:41:06,080
and the prophets, the rulers of
the synagogue sent unto them

714
00:41:06,080 –> 00:41:09,000
saying, Yemen and brethren, if
you have any word of exitation

715
00:41:09,000 –> 00:41:12,400
to the people, say on.
And Paul stood up and beckoning

716
00:41:12,400 –> 00:41:15,440
with the hand said what the rest
of the chapter says.

717
00:41:15,480 –> 00:41:18,960
He said, Now notice the
procedure.

718
00:41:18,960 –> 00:41:21,080
They went into the synagogue and
they sat down.

719
00:41:22,240 –> 00:41:25,440
And when the law had been read,
these men were invited to speak

720
00:41:25,440 –> 00:41:30,360
if they wanted to, and so
fostered up and spoke and

721
00:41:30,360 –> 00:41:34,520
beckoned with the hand too.
Now contrast that with what

722
00:41:34,520 –> 00:41:37,160
happened when the Lord Jesus
Christ preached in the sing of

723
00:41:37,240 –> 00:41:40,240
Nazareth.
He took the book of the prophet

724
00:41:40,240 –> 00:41:43,880
and he stood up for to read and
he read the part of the prophet

725
00:41:43,880 –> 00:41:45,880
Isaiah that spoke in prophecy of
his mission.

726
00:41:47,000 –> 00:41:48,960
Then he gave the book back to
the attendant and sat down to

727
00:41:48,960 –> 00:41:51,720
preach.
It’s quite different, isn’t it?

728
00:41:52,560 –> 00:41:55,960
Jesus sat down.
Paul stood up and beckoned with

729
00:41:55,960 –> 00:41:58,120
the hands.
I wonder.

730
00:41:58,120 –> 00:42:01,640
Why?
I wonder why?

731
00:42:03,720 –> 00:42:07,720
Well, you see, I’m in the
synagogue now, following the

732
00:42:07,720 –> 00:42:09,160
example of the Lord Jesus
Christ.

733
00:42:09,880 –> 00:42:11,400
And I am.
Talking to you all and you must

734
00:42:11,400 –> 00:42:15,160
wonder whoever is talking from
behind that desk being poor.

735
00:42:16,280 –> 00:42:18,360
So I stand up and beckon with
the hands and say I’m here.

736
00:42:18,880 –> 00:42:22,680
Now you can all see me.
So it looks as though he was

737
00:42:22,680 –> 00:42:25,760
small and that’s why he stood
up.

738
00:42:26,960 –> 00:42:31,040
That’s why the name stuck.
There’s a little bit more

739
00:42:31,040 –> 00:42:37,400
evidence when they preached at
Iconium, and an ancient legend

740
00:42:37,400 –> 00:42:41,240
reminded the people there that
the gods had once come down.

741
00:42:41,240 –> 00:42:44,360
The likeness of men had been
well received by the people.

742
00:42:44,360 –> 00:42:47,240
Two people in the town, and
there had been rich blessing as

743
00:42:47,240 –> 00:42:49,560
a consequence.
And the two gods were, they

744
00:42:49,560 –> 00:42:57,240
thought, Hermes and Mercury.
I’m sorry, Jupiter and Mercury

745
00:42:57,600 –> 00:43:00,040
or Zeus and Hermes?
I’ll get them right now.

746
00:43:01,080 –> 00:43:04,320
When they thought that they were
those two gods, they saw a big,

747
00:43:04,320 –> 00:43:06,800
tall, outstanding chief of the
gods, and they saw the messenger

748
00:43:06,800 –> 00:43:08,200
of the gods who carried their
cups.

749
00:43:09,400 –> 00:43:12,480
And so thinking they were seeing
the same thing all over again,

750
00:43:12,480 –> 00:43:16,560
or hoping they were, they called
Barnabas Jupiter, and so they

751
00:43:16,560 –> 00:43:18,320
called Hermes.
Because he was the chief

752
00:43:18,320 –> 00:43:19,920
speaker.
He talked a lot.

753
00:43:19,920 –> 00:43:22,840
He didn’t look much That seems
to have been their feeling.

754
00:43:22,840 –> 00:43:26,240
They chose the man with the
appearance to give the name of

755
00:43:26,240 –> 00:43:28,360
the chief of the gods to, and
they gave the lesser name to the

756
00:43:28,600 –> 00:43:33,840
small goddess stature of the
Greek and Roman pantheon, and

757
00:43:33,840 –> 00:43:38,680
they called Paul Hermes.
The only other piece of evidence

758
00:43:38,680 –> 00:43:42,040
I suppose bases upon is based
upon the slander which Paul had

759
00:43:42,040 –> 00:43:45,040
to suffer in the his letters of
the Corinthians, the second one,

760
00:43:45,040 –> 00:43:47,400
where he said.
That some people said about him

761
00:43:47,680 –> 00:43:50,440
that his letters are weighty and
powerful, but his speeches mean,

762
00:43:50,600 –> 00:43:52,600
and his bodily presence
contemptible.

763
00:43:53,840 –> 00:43:57,200
When he himself took that up and
in some way admitted the charge,

764
00:43:57,200 –> 00:43:59,560
and he said, who in presence and
base amongst you?

765
00:43:59,880 –> 00:44:02,040
Again, there is perhaps some
indication that this was the

766
00:44:02,040 –> 00:44:04,680
man’s smallest statue, not
particularly prepossessing in

767
00:44:04,680 –> 00:44:10,520
appearance.
So that’s why Saul might have

768
00:44:10,520 –> 00:44:14,920
been called for.
Why did he choose the name now?

769
00:44:14,920 –> 00:44:18,640
Because somebody chose it.
Jesus might have told him to use

770
00:44:18,640 –> 00:44:20,960
it, of course, but he might have
taken it from choice.

771
00:44:23,080 –> 00:44:26,640
And can it not so well be that a
man who was accustomed to being

772
00:44:26,640 –> 00:44:30,640
big in the Jewish world, who
sought great things for himself,

773
00:44:30,640 –> 00:44:34,600
who was becoming a leader in the
persecuting community, had now

774
00:44:35,360 –> 00:44:40,080
died to an old life, being born
again to Christ, become a little

775
00:44:40,080 –> 00:44:42,840
child in Christ, and wanted to
grow up, and preferred to be

776
00:44:42,840 –> 00:44:45,400
known as the small man growing
up than the big man stooping

777
00:44:45,400 –> 00:44:49,760
down South.
Saul, which also is called Paul,

778
00:44:50,840 –> 00:44:54,040
says about his preaching work,
and he’s given his new name as

779
00:44:54,040 –> 00:44:57,880
soon as he opens his lips.
It’s the first time we hear him

780
00:44:57,880 –> 00:45:01,280
doing anything in public that we
learn that’s the name by which

781
00:45:01,280 –> 00:45:07,720
henceforth we are to know him.
Now that was on the island of

782
00:45:07,720 –> 00:45:11,600
Cyprus.
Shortly after that, as we have

783
00:45:11,600 –> 00:45:16,120
actually already read, they
crossed the seas from Paphos to

784
00:45:16,680 –> 00:45:21,280
the Asia Minor coast and came to
Perga in Pamphaglia.

785
00:45:22,320 –> 00:45:24,240
Later went on to the other
Antioch.

786
00:45:24,280 –> 00:45:26,320
There are two Antiochs in the
Acts you will know.

787
00:45:26,320 –> 00:45:31,840
There’s the one on the corner
within the north-south border of

788
00:45:31,840 –> 00:45:34,160
the Promised Land.
There’s the other one in the

789
00:45:34,160 –> 00:45:37,720
middle of Asia Minor.
Called Presidian Antioch, a

790
00:45:37,720 –> 00:45:42,360
great marketing centre in the
Asian, Greek or Roman world.

791
00:45:42,680 –> 00:45:46,000
That’s the one they came to and
at which Paul gave the speech

792
00:45:46,000 –> 00:45:50,480
which now we are to hear.
But in the meanwhile John as

793
00:45:50,480 –> 00:45:54,080
their minister John mark some
kind of blood relation to

794
00:45:54,080 –> 00:45:57,440
Barnabas called Sister son.
But that may not be the meaning

795
00:45:57,440 –> 00:45:59,600
of the word.
But at all events, some junior

796
00:45:59,600 –> 00:46:03,480
blood relation of Barnabas goes
with, goes from them and returns

797
00:46:03,480 –> 00:46:08,480
to Jerusalem.
We’re not told why he went back.

798
00:46:10,240 –> 00:46:14,160
We are told when we get to the
further repercussions of this

799
00:46:14,160 –> 00:46:18,240
episode, that he had gone with
them from Pamphaglia and went

800
00:46:18,240 –> 00:46:20,800
not with them to the work.
So it does look as though there

801
00:46:20,800 –> 00:46:22,640
was some dereliction on his
part.

802
00:46:24,240 –> 00:46:27,200
It does look as though it’s of
one piece back with the man who

803
00:46:27,840 –> 00:46:30,560
following the Lord Jesus Christ
from the garden where he was

804
00:46:30,560 –> 00:46:33,360
arrested.
Was seized by the guards who had

805
00:46:33,360 –> 00:46:36,480
taken Jesus and fled from them,
leaving his garment in their

806
00:46:36,480 –> 00:46:40,360
hands.
It may indicate some kind of the

807
00:46:40,360 –> 00:46:45,360
long word is pusillanimity, I
think lack of courage anyway, in

808
00:46:45,360 –> 00:46:48,520
the matter of this Barnabas and
this matter of this mark that

809
00:46:48,520 –> 00:46:51,360
made him not very suitable for
the work at that stage.

810
00:46:51,360 –> 00:46:55,120
And if that was it, then from me
at least he has every sympathy,

811
00:46:55,120 –> 00:46:56,440
but he would have been
unsuitable.

812
00:46:57,760 –> 00:47:00,960
So he went back to Jerusalem
and.

813
00:47:01,440 –> 00:47:05,280
Barnabas and Saul continue the
work without him.

814
00:47:06,960 –> 00:47:13,040
No, not Barnabas and Saul.
They’ve become Paul and Barnabas

815
00:47:13,040 –> 00:47:16,640
now.
Protocol has been inverted.

816
00:47:17,720 –> 00:47:21,760
Paul takes the lead.
Barnabas takes the back seat.

817
00:47:23,280 –> 00:47:27,000
It’s very rarely indeed Barnabas
and Paul from now on.

818
00:47:27,160 –> 00:47:29,880
In fact, only one example
springs to mind, and that was

819
00:47:29,880 –> 00:47:32,600
when they went to Jerusalem over
the matter that will shortly

820
00:47:32,600 –> 00:47:35,400
engage our attention.
And the elders of Jerusalem,

821
00:47:35,400 –> 00:47:38,280
being no doubt very conservative
in their protocol, said our

822
00:47:38,280 –> 00:47:41,800
beloved brothers Barnabas and
Paul have told us, and quite

823
00:47:41,800 –> 00:47:44,000
right too.
But still, in the eyes of the

824
00:47:44,000 –> 00:47:48,480
historian, in the experience of
the churches and by the nature

825
00:47:48,480 –> 00:47:51,840
of their work, it now is well
and truly Paul and Barnabas.

826
00:47:53,040 –> 00:47:56,040
Paul is the leader, Barnabas is
the follower.

827
00:47:56,880 –> 00:47:59,360
As John the Baptist might have
said in the same circumstances

828
00:47:59,480 –> 00:48:01,560
he must increase, but I must
decrease.

829
00:48:02,360 –> 00:48:04,760
A smaller increase and a smaller
decrease to power.

830
00:48:04,760 –> 00:48:09,320
But Paul became the head of that
company, so much so that at one

831
00:48:09,320 –> 00:48:10,720
point it’s called Paul and his
company.

832
00:48:10,720 –> 00:48:12,440
And Barnes isn’t even named by
name.

833
00:48:12,560 –> 00:48:17,480
We read it only a moment ago.
So Barnabas has gone nicely into

834
00:48:17,480 –> 00:48:20,560
the background now, where he
always seems to have preferred

835
00:48:20,560 –> 00:48:26,280
to be where he was, if he was
not chosen as apostle when he

836
00:48:26,280 –> 00:48:29,520
did, if he did bring forth his
gifts and retire gracefully to

837
00:48:29,520 –> 00:48:33,160
the background when he did.
And we know he did, introduce

838
00:48:33,160 –> 00:48:35,960
Saul to the apostles, and then
let him get on with his work.

839
00:48:37,240 –> 00:48:39,560
But he did then going to find
him, letting him be his

840
00:48:39,560 –> 00:48:42,440
companion in Antioch.
What he has done now in assuming

841
00:48:42,440 –> 00:48:45,320
the second place in this company
of preachers, and where we shall

842
00:48:45,360 –> 00:48:48,520
find him, do yet once again
before we lose him from our

843
00:48:48,520 –> 00:48:48,960
sight.