Proclamation and Persecution
Acts: The Mission of God • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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INTRODUCTION
INTRODUCTION
James Janeway was a pastor’s son—the fourth out of nine boys, from south of London.
His father William Janeway was a Puritan minister.
James endeavored to follow in his father’s footsteps, graduating with a Bachelor’s from Oxford in 1659 and then becoming an ordained deacon in 1661.
But James entered into serious service in the church at a precarious time.
Charles II was king and he did not like the Puritan ministers.
Many of them had backed Oliver Cromwell and were a part of seeing his father, Charles I, having his head removed from his body.
In 1662, James was ousted from the Church of England, along with several thousand Puritan preachers, and found himself on the fringes of religious life in the country.
But Janeway pressed on in his desire to serve Christ.
He began to teach and preach at secret meetings and ministered to people when the great fire swept up London in 1666.
He comforted and cared for those still being impacted by the plague.
And then after the political environment loosened up in 1672, he was officially licensed as a Presbyterian minister.
And yet, the persecution was really just starting.
Janeway was a victim of his own gifting.
People loved his preaching so much that they built him a large meetinghouse in Surrey, southwest of London.
And people could not get enough of his powerful proclamation of the Gospel.
His popularity enraged the Anglicans, who still were no fan of Puritanical and Presbyterian causes.
They started to threaten him with death.
They told him that if he kept preaching, they would shoot him.
But Janeway pressed on.
So what did the Anglicans do?
They tried to shoot him!
Twice!
One of the times, while he was mid-sermon, a shot rang out and a bullet went through his hat, leaving a hole, but he was untouched.
Next they destroyed the meetinghouse. Soldiers came in and razed it to the ground.
Janeway’s people just rebuilt it even bigger and he kept preaching.
James Janeway died at just 38 years old.
He battled serious depression in his preaching years and then contracted tuberculosis.
His official, licensed pulpit ministry was only about two years long.
And yet, heaven will tell the story of how many Janeway’s preaching helped bring to King Jesus.
In a book about serving Christ, he wrote this:
Time is short. Our work, our Master, our wages are great, and, not to mince the matter, we have done yet little. Instead of creeping, let us run; instead of sleeping and dreaming, let us awake and work diligently.
James Janeway
This is what Janeway did.
Persecution was heavy.
Ousted from the Church of England.
Bullets flying.
Church building under siege.
Janeway kept proclaiming.
I am intrigued by such tales of valor in the pulpit because I can personally feel so weak and feeble at times.
I have not been shot at and no one has tried to physically destroy the pulpit I preach from and yet, how little opposition it takes to unnerve me at times.
These tales convict me and they compel me.
I imagine they do something similar for you.
This morning, we are going to look at the first seven verses of Acts 14 and see Paul’s persistence proclamation in the face of persecution.
Like in the case of James Janeway, it is convicting and compelling.
How can Paul and Barnabas be so persistent in proclamation when persecution is relentless?
How can they press on when their very lives are being threatened?
How do they not get discouraged or tired or worn down?
These are important questions for us.
The persecution we experience in our nation mostly pales in comparison with that of Janeway and the apostles.
And yet, as your pastor, I know that many of you are experiencing varying degrees of suffering for righteousness’ sake.
Some of you have lost friends.
You are estranged from family members.
You have been met with resistance in your evangelistic efforts.
We might not be going through what our brothers and sisters in places like Nigeria and China and India are going through, but it doesn’t change the fact that you may feel worn down.
You may even feel like you are faltering.
Well this morning, Luke’s account of Paul and Barnabas in Iconium will be helpful to us.
We will read about the series of events there and then we will ask this question:
What is the secret to Paul’s persistent proclamation?
What is the secret to Paul’s persistent proclamation?
To find that answer, we will jump over to 2 Corinthians for a bit and hope to apply Paul’s secret to our own lives.
CONTEXT AND TEXT
CONTEXT AND TEXT
A small bit of context as we get started.
Last week, at the end of Acts 13, we saw Paul and Barnabas in Pisidian Antioch.
Paul preached in the synagogue there.
He traced the history of Israel in his teaching and pointed to Christ as the Messiah.
After the people thrust the Gospel aside, Paul and Barnabas turn to the Gentiles and preach the message of salvation to them.
Here is how the passage ended:
And when the Gentiles heard this, they began rejoicing and glorifying the word of the Lord, and as many as were appointed to eternal life believed. And the word of the Lord was spreading throughout the whole region. But the Jews incited the devout women of high standing and the leading men of the city, stirred up persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and drove them out of their district. But they shook off the dust from their feet against them and went to Iconium. And the disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.
Next they move on to Iconium, 90 miles away, and that is where we pick things up.
Now at Iconium they entered together into the Jewish synagogue and spoke in such a way that a great number of both Jews and Greeks believed. But the unbelieving Jews stirred up the Gentiles and poisoned their minds against the brothers. So they remained for a long time, speaking boldly for the Lord, who bore witness to the word of his grace, granting signs and wonders to be done by their hands. But the people of the city were divided; some sided with the Jews and some with the apostles. When an attempt was made by both Gentiles and Jews, with their rulers, to mistreat them and to stone them, they learned of it and fled to Lystra and Derbe, cities of Lycaonia, and to the surrounding country, and there they continued to preach the gospel.
We can split this text up into two sections.
We have:
1. The Proclamation of the Gospel (v. 1-3)
2. The Persecution of the Gospel (v. 5-7)
PROCLAMATION OF THE GOSPEL (v. 1-3)
PROCLAMATION OF THE GOSPEL (v. 1-3)
JEWS AND GREEKS BELIEVE (v. 1)
JEWS AND GREEKS BELIEVE (v. 1)
The text begins with Paul and Barnabas entering into the Jewish synagogue (v. 1)
Going to the synagogue first is no surprise—it is just like in Salamis in 13:5 and just like in Pisidian Antioch in 13:6.
In fact, they told the Jews there:
“It was necessary that the word of God be spoken first to you...” (13:46)
Salvation is first to the Jew and then to the Gentiles.
The Jews were the chosen people of God in the Old Covenant.
They were the guardians of the law and the prophets in the Old Covenant.
Jesus Himself came to the Jews first as the Jewish Messiah.
He told the woman at the well that “salvation is from the Jews.”
In light of these things, it is Paul’s pattern to come to a city and start his evangelization at the synagogue, if there is one to go to.
So they come to the synagogue in Iconium and they speak in such a way that both Jews and Greeks believe.
Greeks probably refers to God-fearing Greeks who are interested in Judaism and even have some level of devotion to the synagogue.
When Luke says they “believed,” the Greek word the English is translated from does not just mean to believe something is true, but it carries this idea of trust—of placing confidence in something.
These Jews and Greeks place the confidence of their souls in the Gospel of Christ.
FIRST SIGNS OF ICONIUM OPPOSITION (v. 2-3)
FIRST SIGNS OF ICONIUM OPPOSITION (v. 2-3)
But in verse 2, we find out that not all of the Jews responded favorably.
Some of them react to the preaching by stirring up the Gentiles of the city against Paul and Barnabas and to poison their minds against them and the new believers in the city.
And yet, God shelters Paul and Barnabas and this young church that is starting in Iconium.
You see in verse 3 that despite the opposition, Paul and Barnabas are able to stay in the city and bear witness to the word of God’s grace, speaking boldly for the Lord.
How were they able to do this?
It seems that the Lord relieves the initial pressure by providing signs and wonders to come alongside the preaching of the Gospel, making it hard to scrutinize with any level of validity.
The wording is very similar to the way that Peter spoke about Jesus in Acts 2:22
“Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with mighty works and wonders and signs that God did through him in your midst, as you yourselves know—
The signs and wonders that Christ performed attested to the truth of His identity—that He is the Messiah.
It is no different in Acts 14...
The signs and wonders are attesting to the truth of Paul and Barnabas’ message—that Jesus is the Messiah.
It is also similar to what we see in Acts 2:43, in Luke’s description of the very beginnings of the church in Jerusalem:
And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles.
There was awe over the signs and wonders in the population of Jerusalem that earned the earliest church a level of respect in the city.
It may have been a similar awe throughout much of Iconium because of the signs and wonders done by Paul and Barnabas.
This reprieve allows these men to remain in Iconium for a “long time.”
This was a considerable while. The length is not disclosed by Luke, but it should at least mean weeks, if not months.
So all of this is great right. Aside from the persecution, this is all the things we want.
Faithful preaching
People converted
The Gospel validated by God’s awe-inspiring work
Long-term discipleship
This is the stuff of dreams for a church planter.
THE PERSECUTION OF THE GOSPEL (v. 4-7)
THE PERSECUTION OF THE GOSPEL (v. 4-7)
And yet, as we arrive at verse 4, we see that the persecution starts to break out in a major way.
Luke tells us that the city is divided.
Some people take a look at this movement of following Jesus in the city and they are impressed by it.
They don’t mind having these apostles around.
But there are others who side with the Jews who were poisoning the minds.
The opinion is split.
And so persecution is coming for these apostolic missionaries.
APOSTLES (v. 4)
APOSTLES (v. 4)
A quick sidebar for verse 4.
If you have familiarity with the New Testament, it is not too odd to hear Paul spoken of as an apostle.
He calls himself an apostle who is abnormally born or born in an untimely fashion.
Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me. For I am the least of the apostles, unworthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God.
Paul was a persecutor of the church.
He did not see the resurrected Christ in the time in between the resurrection and the ascension like the rest of the apostles.
He saw Him in the vision on the road to Damascus.
This is why he counts himself to be the least of the apostles—one abnormally born.
But we aren’t as used to hearing Barnabas referred to as an apostle.
It could be that Barnabas is being called an apostle here because he is sharing in apostolic ministry with Paul.
It could be that Barnabas gets the title here because along with Paul, he is carrying on the apostle-like work that the Twelve are commissioned for in Acts 1:8—taking the Gospel to the end of the earth.
But regardless of why—it is clear from the sort of leadership tasks the church sends him to do and the cutting-edge mission work we see him do, that Barnabas is a leader with incredible gifting.
THE PERSECUTION COMES TO FRUITION (v. 5-7)
THE PERSECUTION COMES TO FRUITION (v. 5-7)
And clearly, that gifting is not received well by all.
There is another attempt being made at conspiring against Paul and Barnabas.
Luke says it is made by both the Gentiles and Jews, with their rulers.
And they mean to mistreat them and pelt them with stones—something that will at the least deter them and could quite possibly kill them.
Iconium was a city that had been passed around by different conquerors and empires throughout ancient times, from the Hittites to the Phrygians to the Lydians to the Persians to the Greeks and others.
But when Rome gained control of it, they made it part of the province of Asia and refounded it as a Roman colony.
In light of that, the “rulers” referred to in v. 5 are probably city officials that represent the Roman empire.
Paul and Barnabas find out about this and realize that there is no way to continue ministering in the city and flee to Lystra and Derbe—cities of Lycaonia (v. 6).
Also, they go to the surrounding country, or regions, and they continue to preach (v. 6-7).
PERSISTENT PROCLAMATION IN THE FACE OF PERSECUTION
PERSISTENT PROCLAMATION IN THE FACE OF PERSECUTION
THE SCRIPTURAL “HEADS-UP” REGARDING PERSECUTION
THE SCRIPTURAL “HEADS-UP” REGARDING PERSECUTION
We should not be surprised at what we see in this passage. The New Testament is filled with these passages that tell us we will receive persecution if we are faithfully living for Christ and spreading the Gospel of salvation in the world.
I don’t want to call them warnings, because a warning makes me think of someone telling you that you should not do something because of some sort of imminent danger.
Instead, they are more “heads-up,” passages.
The expectation is that we would go through with our preaching of the Gospel and our living for Christ, but the Lord is giving us a “heads up,” about the reaction that is likely incoming from the world.
We can start by seeing Jesus’ words to us:
If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. Remember the word that I said to you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they kept my word, they will also keep yours.
Our Master is Jesus and we are His servants.
If the Master was persecuted, so will be the servants.
We are not greater than Him.
We belong to His Kingdom, which is in conflict with the kingdom of this world.
We should expect that they would come against us as His representatives.
“Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
“Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
In Jesus’ Beatitudes, we see more expectation of persecution.
He does not say “Blessed are you IF others revile you,” but, “WHEN others revile you.”
Meaning, if you are surrendered to Him—proclaiming His name in life and speech with persistence—it is really just a matter of time before you receive push-back.
The saints have no charter of exemption from trials. Though they be ever so meek, merciful, pure in heart, their piety will not shield them from sufferings. They must hang their harp on the willows and take the cross. The way to heaven is by way of thorns and blood. Though it be full of roses in regard of the comforts of the Holy Ghost, yet it is full of thorns in regard of persecutions…Set it down as a maxim, if you follow Christ, you must see the swords and the staves. Put the cross in your creed.
Thomas Watson
And Paul agrees with Watson.
As he writes to Timothy, he tells him:
my persecutions and sufferings that happened to me at Antioch, at Iconium, and at Lystra—which persecutions I endured; yet from them all the Lord rescued me. Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted,
Not all persecution is the same.
Some of it comes by the hand and the sword.
Physical harm. Blood shed. Property damaged.
This is the sort that Paul and Barnabas are threatened with in v. 5-7.
This is the sort that Janeway tasted in Surry.
This is the sort that touched Tyndale and Ridley and Latimer and Rogers and Cranmer and the other martyrs who laid their lives down in the English Reformation in the generations prior to Janeway.
Some of it comes by the tongue—which Jesus speaks to in His Beatitudes and it what we see in v. 2 when the minds of the Gentiles are poisoned against the brothers.
In Persecution of speech, We are reviled.
This is when the world mocks you and jeers at you. Like King David, they make you the subject of their drunken songs.
I am the talk of those who sit in the gate,
and the drunkards make songs about me.
And in persecution of speech, we are also slandered.
“All kinds of evil is uttered against you falsely.”
The world lies about you and tries to ruin your name.
This is something else David experienced:
Malicious witnesses rise up;
they ask me of things that I do not know.
Here in this great country, by God’s grace, it is not often that we bear a cross of physical pain for the sake of persistent proclamation.
However, we are evermore receiving the poison of the world’s tongue. I can only imagine it will increase as we continue to live godly.
BUT PAUL CONTINUES TO PREACH
BUT PAUL CONTINUES TO PREACH
And still, as we read Luke’s words in v. 7, those feelings of being both convicted and compelled should rise up.
What do Paul and Barnabas do as they are being chased and harassed and vexed for the Gospel’s sake?
Do they go home? Do they stop preaching? Do they take a break?
NO—they travel over 100 miles in the next couple legs of their journey and continue to preach the Gospel in the cities of Lycaonia and the surrounding country.
The Greek word for preach in v. 7 is the one we get our English word evangelize from.
They just keep spreading the Good News.
PAUL’S SECRET TO PERSISTENCE
PAUL’S SECRET TO PERSISTENCE
So understanding the text, here is my question this morning:
What is the secret to Paul’s persistent proclamation?
What is the secret to Paul’s persistent proclamation?
How is it that he can be persecuted in city after city and yet, he just keeps going with the heralding of the King’s message?
What keeps him so resolved?
Damascus, Jerusalem, Pisidian Antioch, Iconium, Lystra, Philippi, Thessalonica, Berea, Corinth, Ephesus.
We have already seen it. We are seeing it today and we will continue to see it throughout Acts.
Paul is constantly under the pressure of persecution.
How does he not give in or give up? What is his secret?
To answer the question, I think we need to read his words in 2 Corinthians 2.
And before we do, keep in mind that Paul writes these words to Corinth as he is under attack.
He is being both reviled and slandered by false teachers in Corinth who are telling the church there that Paul is not qualified to be an Apostle.
Many call 2 Corinthians Paul’s “heart-appointed letter” because he is truly showing us his heart as a minister of the Gospel that is suffering.
In light of that, many a pastor or missionary have opened 2 Corinthians, read it and thought, “I feel seen.”
Here is what Paul says:
But thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession, and through us spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of him everywhere. For we are the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing, to one a fragrance from death to death, to the other a fragrance from life to life. Who is sufficient for these things?
For me, this is the text that displays what keeps Paul ticking when the going gets tough and the persecution of hand and tongue begins to nip at his heels.
THE TRIUMPHAL PROCESSION
THE TRIUMPHAL PROCESSION
What Paul shows us in 2 Corinthians 2, is that he views his entire ministry like a Roman triumphal process.
A post-victory military parade.
Here is Murray Harris describing one of these processions:
Romans–Galatians Comment
At the head of the procession came the magistrates and the senate, followed by trumpeters and some spoils of wars such as vessels of gold.… Then came the flute players, ahead of white oxen destined to be sacrificed in the temples, along with some representative captives from the conquered territory, including such dignitaries as the king, driven in chains in front of the ornate chariot of the general.… The victorious soldiers followed, shouting “Io triumphe!” (“Hail, triumphant one!”). As the procession ascended the Capitoline Hill, some of the leading captives (usually royal figures or the tallest and strongest of the conquered warriors) were taken aside into the adjoining prison and executed.
Paul places himself in this scene as a prisoner in a post-victory parade.
He is a captive on display.
But who is his captor?
Well let me ask you this?
Who conquered Paul’s soul on the Damascus Road?
Who asked him, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecuted me?” and blinded him into surrender?
It’s Jesus. His Lord. His Master.
So in 2 Corinthians 4, Paul is depicting himself as a prisoner of Christ.
Jesus is the King at the front of the procession.
Paul is a captive—apprehended and detained by the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Unlike usual prisoners of war, he is not upset about His capture. He is overjoyed.
And everywhere Jesus’ victory train goes, with his long procession of souls that He has won by His blood, there is the smell of knowledge of Him.
Like the fragrance of incense and flowers in the Roman parade, the smell of the proclamation of His Gospel spreads through the joyful preaching of Paul and others like him.
And yet, that fragrance has two different effects on two different groups of people.
To those who will respond to the Gospel with saving faith, it is the smell of life to life.
It is the smell of going from earthly life to eternal life.
It is the smell of redemption.
But to those who are perishing,—who will reject the Gospel--it is a fragrance from death to death.
They are going from a state of earthly mortality where they are destined to die to a state of eternal death, where they are cut off from God forever and judged for their sins.
It is kind of like the end of a championship game.
When I was in college, my school, Virginia Commonwealth University won a couple of conference championships in the Richmond Coliseum against George Mason.
When this happened, we rushed onto the floor to celebrate with the team and confetti fell.
But as you look around, we aren’t the only ones being covered in that confetti—The George Mason fans in their green and gold were covered in the confetti as well. The Mason players had it stuck to their skin.
For the VCU Rams, the confetti was the symbol of victory. For the George Mason Patriots, it was the symbol of defeat.
Similarly, as Paul goes about preaching the Gospel in Christ’s post-resurrection victory procession, it is life to the repentant and it is death to the unrepentant.
It smells of redemption to one crowd and judgment to another.
AS LONG AS THOSE BEING SAVED ARE BEING SAVED
AS LONG AS THOSE BEING SAVED ARE BEING SAVED
So here is why I think this is crucial to understanding Paul’s mindset regarding persecution.
He understands that the Gospel is life to some and death to others.
He understands that the fragrance is different, depending on the work that God is doing in the heart of the nose that is smelling it.
And HERE is why Paul endures and keeps going—city after city. Trial after trial. Insult after insult.
As long as those who are being saved are saved, he is willing to endure the rage of the perishing.
Some people want to stop Jesus’ procession.
They want to halt the parade.
They want to silence the joyful captives.
And Paul knows that when they try to stop the procession, he might get some pain from either the sword or the tongue.
But as long as those who are being saved are going from life to life, he is okay with it.
He’s not a fool about it.
He doesn’t go around seeking it out.
If he can get out of town and go preach somewhere else God has called him, he will do it.
But when it comes—if it costs him tears or blood or his very life—he is okay.
Because in reality, his suffering in persecution as he proclaims is a part of the fragrance of the knowledge of Him. It is a apart of the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved.
After all, how many have believed after seeing the resolve of the Christian who persistently proclaims in the heat of persecution?
WHAT WE SUFFER FOR
WHAT WE SUFFER FOR
Just think about the things a man will suffer for.
The drunk man will suffer to gather money to buy the next drink.
The work-obsessed man will suffer to get the next promotion.
The man who thinks life is made up in the abundance of things will suffer to get the next great toy.
But these are temporal things. They are here today and gone tomorrow, if not before.
Paul knew that as he suffered in the procession under persecution for Jesus and His glory and the glory to come.
He suffered for the Eternal One and eternal things.
Later in the same letter, he tells the Corinthians that though he is beaten down, he does not lose heart.
So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.
City after city. Beating after beating. Slander after slander.
But what did Paul see on the other side? An eternal weight of glory.
He saw the crown of life that Jesus promises to those who endure:
Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and for ten days you will have tribulation. Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life.
So let us ask ourselves--
What are we willing to suffer for?
These are the things we love the most.
What is the fragrance of our lives?
Can people that we are in the King’s procession?
Once we are gone, will they know who had captured us?
When they buried James Janeway, here is what they wrote about him in memoriam:
Time made no furrows in the face you see. He died young: yet few did more than he.
He spent himself for God; and now is blessed.
After hard labour; with eternal rest.
A man of the King’s procession.
Persistent proclamation in the face of persecution.
There was no doubt to the world he left behind—like the Apostles before him—he lived for the eternal weight.
His life and his Gospel was the fragrance from life to life to those being saved; from death to death to those perishing.
What will they say of us?