899 - Les Feldick Bible Study - Lesson 3 Part 3 Book 75 - Connecting the Dots of Scripture - Part 23

https://lesfeldickbiblestudy.com Through the Bible with Les Feldick LESSON 3 * PART 3 * BOOK 75 CONNECTING THE DOTS OF SCRIPTURE – PART 23 Genesis – Revelation Okay, it’s good to have everybody again after your break. We are going right back in where we left off, because these minutes go too fast. I only get a complaint once in awhile and it’s “don’t make announcements; you haven’t got time for that.” So we’ll just go right back into Acts chapter 11. Peter has just finished rehearsing with the Jewish believers of Jerusalem his tremendous experience up there at that Roman’s house in Caesarea. They were military people, no doubt, and how God instantly saved them the moment they believed Peter’s message—which was faith in that Jesus of Nazareth was the Christ and Messiah! All right, now remember, Acts is transitional and so far, except for the little interlude of Paul’s conversion in chapter 9, it’s been all Jews and Peter and the Twelve. Now all of a sudden we’re going to see it changed from Israel and the Jews to Paul and the Gentile world. We’ll hear almost nothing more from Peter except maybe in chapter 15 when Paul goes up to the Jerusalem counsel. But Peter is going to fade off the scene and become a nonentity, and Paul comes to the fore. This is the beginning of the transition now. They’ve had all this persecution up at Jerusalem because of Saul of Tarsus and the attending religious Jews. Now come down to verse 19 of Acts 11—to one of my favorite verses. This is the verse that began to open my eyes. Acts 11:19 “Now they who were scattered abroad upon the persecution that arose around Stephen traveled as far as Phenice, and Cyprus, and Antioch (Up there north of Lebanon in Syria, now watch the remaining part of the verse.) preaching the word (Which would be the Old Testament, as no New Testament is written yet.) to none but unto the Jews only.” Now why is that so hard for people to comprehend? Because that’s the way it was. It would have been totally a Jewish thing coming out of the Old Testament and Christ’s early ministry, as we showed in the first moments of the first half hour today. What did Jesus tell the Twelve? “Go not to the Gentiles; go only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” All right, then we go through the whole death, burial, and resurrection, and Christ ascends back to glory. Peter and the eleven hold forth on the day of Pentecost. It’s all Jewish, not a word about Gentiles. Everything is hanging onto faith in who Jesus was because of the Old Testament covenants. All right, it’s no different here in verse 19. These scattered Jews are still only approaching fellow Jews about this Jesus of Nazareth. All right, verse 20. Acts 11:20a “And some of them (Some of these believing Jews coming out of Jerusalem.) were men of Cyprus and Cyrene, who, when they were come to Antioch, spoke unto the Grecians,…” A lot of your translations should say Greeks. I think the reason is that there’s such a small difference between the Greek word for pure Greek and the Greek word for a Jew who was from outside the land of Israel. One is Hellenes and the other one is Hellenists. So I think what happened here is we have a change in the translators. One translator that I read quite exclusively says there wouldn’t have been anything unusual talking to fellow Jews who were merely from outside the land. But what made it so alarming was they were now approaching Greeks and that follows what just happened up here in chapter 10. So I’d like to read it. Acts 11:20b “…when they were come to Antioch spoke unto Greeks (Gentiles), preaching the Lord Jesus.” Now remember, they cannot preach faith in the death, burial, and resurrection until we get Paul coming on the scene with what he had learned in his three years in the desert with the Lord Jesus. So it’s still all based on the Kingdom gospel. It’s still just faith in who Jesus of Nazareth really was. All right, now verse 21. Acts 11:21 “And the hand of the Lord was with them: (It’s all part of God’s design now to take this out to the Gentile world. And the hand of the Lord was with them--) and a great number believed, and turned unto the Lord.” Greeks. Now, like I told you in the last half hour, when the Jewish system up at Jerusalem heard some of these things, they got all shook up. Why? This isn’t supposed to happen. This is our God. This is the God of Israel. This isn’t the God for those Romans. And now here we got the Greeks becoming believers. So again, Jerusalem is all shook up. Acts 11:22 “Then tidings of these things came (What things? Gentiles are responding.) unto the ears of the church which was in Jerusalem: (the Jewish church) and they sent forth Barnabas, that he should go as far as Antioch.” Well, for what purpose? Barnabas, go up there and find out what’s going on. Straighten things out. #LesFeldick #BibleStudy #Bible