HKB
Paul and Barnabas, when the congregation was broken up, and were persuaded by the Apostles to hold fast the blessed truths, which by the grace of God they had learnt.
The fame of St. Paul's preaching, mean time, spread rapidly, "And the next sabbath day came almost the whole city together to hear the word of God. But when the Jews saw the multitudes, they were filled with envy," fearing lest the Gospel, which they rejected, should be believed by others; and therefore they "spake against those things which were spoken by Paul, contradicting and blaspheming." Then Paul and Barnabas plainly told these Jews, that they had begun by preaching the word of God to them, because such was the Will of God; but, as they wilfully refused the salvation thus offered to them, they should now, in obedience to the same God, turn to the Gentiles, and bring the heathens into the Church of Christ, Who was to "be for salvation unto the ends of the earth." The Gentiles, the idolatrous Gentiles, who now for the first time forsook their idols, as well as those who had already turned from idolatry to worship the God of the Jews, were very glad when they heard this, "and glorified the word of the Lord"; and many of them believed. This made the Jews very angry, and they "stirred up the devout and honourable women, and the chief men of the city, and raised persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and expelled them out of their coasts." The devout and honourable women were female proselytes of rank, who had great influence over the lower classes in the city. By their false accusations, the unbelieving Jews managed to stir up the higher class of citizens and the rulers of the city, to persecute the Apostles and drive them out of their country. "But they shook off the dust of their feet against them, and came unto Iconium," a town to the S.E. of Antioch, in the province of Lycaonia. We must remember, that when Jesus first gave commandment to His Apostles to go and preach to the Jews, He told them that when they left any house or city, where the people refused to hear them, they were to shake off the dust of their feet, to show that they would have nothing more to do with them: just as the Jews, who looked upon the dust of heathen lands to be polluted, shook it off their garments, to signify that they had nothing to do with such idolaters. But the disciples, who were left at Antioch, "were filled with joy, and with the Holy Ghost." They rejoiced in the knowledge of those blessed truths which they had learnt from the Apostles; and the Holy Ghost was abundantly shed upon the members of the infant Church at Antioch, encouraging and assisting them to increase in faith and righteousness of life.