By Bob Bunn
Scripture Reading: Acts 13:1-52, Isaiah 49:6, Galatians 2:15-21
I like jelly beans. But when I eat them, I have a habit that some might consider peculiar. I sort them by color. Then, I group them so that I have one jelly bean of each color in each group. I also tend to eat them in a certain order, but that’s a discussion for another day.
If I’m honest, all of the jelly beans basically taste the same. I might discern a slight grape flavor with the purple ones or a little tanginess with the orange. But by and large, I taste sugar. My various efforts at separating some jelly beans from others are simply a routine I’ve developed over time. It means next to nothing when all is said and done.
The Holy Spirit’s work of separating some of the leaders in Antioch represents a different matter altogether. His command to select Saul (also known as Paul) and Barnabas wasn’t a random act. It was a part of God’s greater plan.
Jesus had told His disciples to take the gospel to Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and the ends of the earth. Three-fourths of that command had been set in motion by Acts 13. But the biggest and most difficult piece of the puzzle—taking the gospel to the whole world—wasn’t fully in place.
The team of Saul and Barnabas was called to make it happen. They would help fulfill Jesus’s commission and adopt the role assigned to the nation of Israel centuries earlier. They would be a “light for the nations” (Isaiah 49:6).
It’s important to understand that the call of Saul and Barnabas in Acts 13 was God-inspired. This was His idea, not the intellectual scheming of any human being. But it’s also important to see that these would-be missionaries weren’t just sitting around, waiting for God’s call on their lives. Before the Spirit spoke, they had been preparing themselves to serve the world through their ministry in Antioch in at least two ways.
First, Saul and Barnabas were established as godly teachers and leaders in their local congregation. They had built a solid reputation for pouring into the lives of others and being the hands and feet of Jesus where they were planted.
Second, they were nurturing their own relationship with God through spiritual disciplines like praying and fasting. As a result, they were ready to hear God’s Word through His Spirit and equipped to respond. With no indication of hesitation or questions, they set out, led by the Spirit.
While they started with the Jews at each stop, they willingly shared with whomever God brought across their path. God expects the same for us today. He calls us to be lights in the darkness. He challenges us to grow where He’s planted us and to be sensitive to His leading.
He won’t call all of us to foreign missions, but God still has a job for every one of His kids. Saul and Barnabas provide an awesome example for hearing His voice and obeying His words.
Written by Bob Bunn
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