1. They grudged the interest the apostles had in the people; were vexed to see the synagogue so full when they were to preach. This was the same spirit that worked in the Pharisees toward Christ, they were cut to the heart when they saw the whole world go after him. When the kingdom of heaven was opened, they not only would not go in themselves, but were angry with them that did.
2. They opposed the doctrine the apostles preached; They spake against those things that were spoken by Paul, cavilled at them, started objections against them, finding some fault or other with every thing he said, contradicting, and blaspheming; ἀντέλεγον ἀντιλέγοντες—contradicting, they contradicted. They did it with the utmost spite and rage imaginable; they persisted in their contradiction, and nothing would silence them. They contradicted for contradiction-sake, and denied that which was most evident. And when they could find no colour of objection, they broke out into ill language against Christ and his gospel, blaspheming him and it. From the language of the carnal man that receives not the things of the Spirit of God, and therefore contradicts them, they proceeded to the language of incarnate devils, and blaspheme them. Commonly those who begin with contradicting, end with blaspheming.
VI. The apostles hereupon solemnly and openly declare themselves discharged from their obligation to the Jews, and at liberty to bring the word of salvation to the Gentiles, even by the implicit consent of the Jews themselves. Never let the Jew lay the fault of the carrying of the kingdom of God to the Gentiles upon the apostles, for that complaint of their's is for ever silenced by their own act and deed, for what they did here, is for ever an estoppel*[1] to it. "Tender and refusal (we say) are good payment in law." The Jews had the tender of the gospel, and did refuse it, and therefore ought not to say any thing against the Gentiles having it. In declaring this, it is said, (v. 46.) Paul and Barnabas waxed bold, more bold than they had been, while they were shy of looking favourably upon the Gentiles, for fear of giving offence to the Jews, and laying a stumbling-block in their way. Note, There is a time for the preachers of the gospel to shew as much of the boldness of the lion, as of the wisdom of the serpent and the harmlessness of the dove. When the adversaries of Christ's cause begin to be daring, it is not for its advocates to be retired and cowardly. While there is any hope of working upon those that oppose themselves, they must be instructed with meekness; (2 Tim. 2. 25.) but when that method has long been tried in vain, we must wax bold, and tell them what will come of their opposition. The impudence of the enemies of the gospel, instead of frightening, should rather imbolden, the friends of its cause; for they are sure that they have a good cause, and they know whom they have trusted to bear them out.
Now Paul and Barnabas, having made them a fair offer of gospel grace, here give them fair notice of their bringing it to the Gentiles; if by any means (as Paul says, Rom. 11. 14.) they might provoke them to emulation.
1. They own that the Jews were entitled to the first offer; "It was necessary that the word of God should first have been spoken to you, to whom the promise was made; to you of the lost sheep of the house of Israel, whom Christ reckoned himself first sent to." And his charge to the preachers of his gospel to begin at Jerusalem, (Luke 24. 47.) was an implicit direction to all that went into other countries, to begin with the Jews, to whom pertained the giving of the law, and therefore the preaching of the gospel. Let the children first be served, Mark 7. 27.
2. They charge them with the refusal of it; "Ye put it from you; ye will not accept of it; nay, ye will not so much as bear the offer of it, but take it as an affront to you." If men put the gospel from them, God justly takes it from them; why should manna be given to them that loathe it, and call it light bread, or the privileges of the gospel forced on them that put them away, and say, We have no part in David; Herein ye judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life. In one sense, we must all judge ourselves unworthy of everlasting life, for there is nothing in us, or done by us, by which we can pretend to merit it, and we must be made sensible of this; but here the meaning is, "Ye discover, or make it to appear, that ye are not meet for eternal life; ye throw away all your claims and hopes, and give up your pretensions to it; since ye will not take it from his hands, into whose hand the Father has given it, κρίνετε, ye do, in effect, pass this judgment upon yourselves, and out of your own mouth ye shall be judged; ye will not have it by Christ, by whom alone it is to be had, and so shall your doom be, ye shall not have it at all."
3. Upon this they ground their preaching the gospel to the uncircumcised; "Since ye will not accept eternal life as it is offered, our way is plain, Lo, we turn to the Gentiles. If one will not, another will. If those that were first invited to the wedding-feast will not come, we must invite out of the highways and hedges those that will, for the wedding must be furnished with guests. If he that is next of kin will not do the kinsman's part, he must not complain that another will," Ruth 4. 4.
4. They justify themselves in this by a divine warrant; (v. 47.) "For so hath the Lord commanded us; the Lord Jesus gave us directions to witness to him in Jerusalem and Judea, first, and after that, to the utmost part of the earth, to preach the gospel to every creature, to disciple all nations." This is according to what was foretold in the Old Testament; when the Messiah, in the prospect of the Jews' infidelity, was ready to say, I have laboured in vain, he was told, to his satisfaction, that though Israel was not gathered yet he should be glorious; that his blood should not be shed in vain, nor his purchase made in vain, nor his doctrine preached in vain, nor his Spirit sent in vain; "For I have set thee, not only raised thee up, but established thee, to be a Light of the Gentiles, not only a shining Light for a time, but a standing Light, set thee for a Light, that thou shouldest be for salvation unto the ends of the earth." Note, (1.) Christ is not only the Saviour, but the Salvation, is himself our Righteousness, and Life, and Strength. (2.) Wherever Christ is designed to be Salvation, he is set up to be a Light; he enlightens the understanding, and so saves the soul. (3.) He is, and is to be, Light and Salvation to the Gentiles, to the ends of the earth. Those of any nation should be welcome to him, some of every nation have heard of him, (Rom. 10. 18.) and all nations shall at length become his kingdom. This prophecy has had its accomplishment in part, in the setting up of the kingdom of Christ in this island of our's, which lies, as it were, in the ends of the earth, a corner of the world, and shall be accomplished more and more, when the time comes for the bringing in of the fulness of the Gentiles.
VII. The Gentiles cheerfully embraced that which the Jews scornfully rejected, v. 48, 49. Never was land lost for want of heirs; through the fall of the Jews, salvation is come to the Gentiles: the casting off of them was the reconciling of the world, and the diminishing of them the riches of the Gentiles; so the apostle shews at large, Rom. 11. 11, 12, 15. The Jews, the natural branches, were
- ↑ * Legal bar.——Ed.
