사도행전 13:46 주석

We have not yet met with any things concerning the spreading of the gospel to the Gentiles which bears any proportion to the largeness of that commission, "Go, and disciple all nations." The door was opened in the baptizing of Cornelius and his friends; but since then we had the gospel preached to the Jews only, Act 11:19. It should seem as if the light which began to shine upon the Gentile world had withdrawn itself. But here in this chapter that work, that great good work, is revived in the midst of the years; and though the Jews shall still have the first offer of the gospel made to them, yet, upon their refusal, the Gentiles shall have their share of the offer of it. Here is, I. The solemn ordination of Barnabas and Saul, by divine direction, to the ministry, to the great work of spreading the gospel among the nations about (and it is probable that other apostles or apostolical men dispersed themselves by order from Christ, upon the same errand (Act 13:1-3). II. Their preaching the gospel in Cyprus, and the opposition they met with there from Elymas the sorcerer (Act 13:4-13). III. The heads of a sermon which Paul preached to the Jews at Antioch in Pisidia, in their synagogue, which is given us as a specimen of what they usually preached to the Jews, and the method they took with them (v. 14-41). IV. The preaching of the gospel to the Gentiles at their request, and upon the Jews' refusal of it, wherein the apostles justified themselves against the displeasure which the Jews conceived at it, and God owned them (Act 13:42-49). V. The trouble which the infidel Jews gave to the apostles, which obliged them to remove to another place (Act 13:50-52), so that the design of this chapter is to show how cautiously, how gradually, and with what good reason the apostles carried the gospel into the Gentile world, and admitted the Gentiles into the church, which was so great an offence to the Jews, and which Paul is so industrious to justify in his epistles.

Now there were in the church that was at Antioch,.... This was Antioch in Syria, where was a Gospel church, and where the disciples were first called Christians; from whence Saul and Barnabas had been sent to Jerusalem, with a supply for the poor saints there, in a time of famine, and from whence they were now returned: and here were certain prophets and teachers; who were both prophets and teachers, though these are sometimes distinguished; who had both a gift of foretelling things to come, as Agabus and others, and of explaining the prophecies of the Old Testament, and of teaching the people evangelic truths; these, at least some of them, came from Jerusalem hither, Act 11:27. As Barnabas, and Simeon that was called Niger; the former of these was a Levite, and of the country of Cyprus, who sold his land and brought the money to the apostles; and who was first sent hither by the church at Jerusalem, upon hearing that many in this place believed, and turned to the Lord, Act 4:36 but of the latter no mention is made elsewhere; by his first name he appears to be a Jew, who by the Romans was called Niger; very likely from the blackness of his complexion, for that word signifies "black": and so the Ethiopic version interprets it: and Lucius of Cyrene; who very probably was one of the synagogue of the Cyrenians, and seems manifestly to be one of the men of Cyrene, that went abroad upon the persecution raised at the death of Stephen, Act 6:9 he is said to be bishop of Cyrene; some take him to be the same Lucius mentioned in Rom 16:21 and others think he is the same with Luke the Evangelist: and Manaen, which had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch: or his foster brother. The Syriac version calls him Manail, and one of Stephens's copies Manael, and the Ethiopic version Manache, and renders what is said of him, "the son of king Herod's nurse"; which accounts for their being brought up, nourished, and suckled together: the name seems to be the same with Menachem, or Menahem, a name frequent with the Jews; there was one of this name, who was very intimate with Herod the great, and was in his service, though before he was vice president of the sanhedrim: the account that is given of him is this (z): "Hillell and Shammai received from them (i.e. from Shemaia and Abtalion, who were presidents before them), but at first there were Hillell and Menahem, but Menahem went out, , "into the service of the king", with fourscore men clad in gold---Menahem was a very wise man, and a sort of a prophet, who delivered out many prophecies; and he told Herod when he was little, that he should reign; and after he was king, he sent for him, and he told him again, that he should reign more than thirty years, and he reigned thirty seven years, and he gave him great riches.'' Of this Menahem, and of his going into the king's service, mention is made elsewhere (a): now though this Menahem cannot be the same with Manaen here, yet this Manaen, as Dr. Lightfoot conjectures, might be the son of him, and called after his name; who might be brought up with the son of Herod the great, here called the tetrarch; and who was Herod Antipas, the same that beheaded John the Baptist: and Saul; who afterwards was called Paul. (z) Juchasin, fol. 19. 1. (a) Misn. Chagiga, c. 2. sect. 2. & Maimon. & Bartenora in ib. & T. Bab. Chagiga, fol. 16. 2.

And the word of the Lord was published throughout all the region. That is, of Pisidia, in which Antioch was; not by the Apostles Paul and Barnabas, who seem to go directly to Iconium, after they were expelled the city and suburbs of Antioch; but by some of those who were converted under their ministry, and had gifts bestowed on them, qualifying them to preach the Gospel to others, which they did with success. There were no doubt several churches planted in this country, and particularly there was one at Antioch, of which these new converts were the beginning, and which continued: in the "fourth" century, this church was a patriarchate, for it is said, under Valentinian and Theodosius, Optimus obtained the patriarchate of Antioch in Pisidia; in the "fifth" century, it was the metropolitan of Pisidia; in this age, mention is made of several bishops of this place; Candidianus, bishop of Antioch in Pisidia, was present at two synods, one at Constantinople against Eutyches, and another at Ephesus; Dionysius, bishop of the same place, assisted in the synod at Chalcedon, and Pergamius at that which was at Constantinople, under the Emperor Theodosius, and at another at Chalcedon, under the Emperor Marcianus: there were also in this century, bishops of other churches in Pisidia; as Severus, bishop of Sozopolis in Pisidia, who was present in the council at Ephesus, against Nestorius; and Olympius, bishop of Mount Hem in Pisidia, who was at the Chalcedon council; and Paulinus bishop of Apamea, Eortius bishop of Nicopolis, and Alexander bishop of Seleucia, and Longinus bishop of Talbondana, all in Pisidia: in the "sixth" century, there were churches in Pisidia embracing the truth of Christ; Bacchus was bishop of Antioch, and John of another place, who both were in the fifth synod at Constantinople: in the "seventh" century, we read of the church at Antioch, as the metropolitan of Pisidia, and of a bishop of it in the sixth council at Constantinople: in the eighth "century", Gregory, bishop of this place, condemned in a synod the worship of images, but afterwards recanted; and in the same century, this city was taken by the Turks, and spoiled (a); and after this, we read no more of its church state. (a) Magdeburg. Hist. Eccles. cent. 4. c. 2. p. 3. cent. 5. c. 7. p. 418. & c. 10. p. 588. cent. 6. c. 2. p. 4. cent. 7. c. 2. p. 3. cent. 8. c. 10. p. 366. & c. 16. p. 515.

Therefore Paul and the apostles themselves, mindful of the precept of the Lord, bear this solemn testimony before Israel, which they had now filled with their doctrine-saying, "It was necessary that the word of God should have been first delivered to you; but seeing ye have rejected it, and have not thought yourselves worthy of eternal life, lo, we turn to the Gentiles." And from that time they turned their steps away, as those who went before them had laid it down, and departed into the way of the Gentiles, and entered into the cities of the Samaritans; so that, in very deed, their sound went forth into all the earth, and their words to the end of the world.

That the Gentiles should rather believe in Christ. In Genesis: "And the Lord God said unto Abraham, Go out from thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, and go into that land which I shall show thee: and I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and I will magnify thy name; and thou shalt be blessed: and I will bless him that blesseth thee, and I will curse him that curseth thee. and in thee shall all the tribes of the earth be blessed." On this same point in Genesis: "And Isaac blessed Jacob. Behold, the smell of my son is as the smell of a plentiful field which the Lord hath blessed: and God give thee of the dew of heaven, and of the fertility of the earth, abundance of corn, and wine, and oil: and peoples shall obey thee, and princes shall worship thee: and thou shalt be lord over thy brother, and the sons of thy father shall worship thee; and he that curseth thee shall be cursed, and he that blesseth thee shall be blessed." On this matter too in Genesis: "But when Joseph saw that his father placed his right hand on the head of Ephraim, it seemed displeasing to him: and Joseph laid hold of his father's hand, to lift it from the head of Ephraim on to the head of Manasseh. Moreover, Joseph said unto his father, Not so, my father: this is my first-born; place thy right hand upon his head. But he would not, and said, I know it, my son, I know it: and he also shall be a people, and he shall be exalted; but his younger brother shall be greater than he, and his seed shall become a multitude of nations." Moreover in Genesis: "Judah, thy brethren shall praise thee: thine hand shall be upon the back of thine enemies; the sons of thy father shall worship thee. Judah is a lion's whelp: from the slender twig, my son, thou hast ascended: thou layedst down and sleepedst as a lion, and as a lion's whelp. Who shall stir him up? There shalt not fail a prince from Judah, and a leader from his loins, until those things entrusted to him shall come; and he is the hope of the nations: binding his foal unto the vine, and his ass's colt unto the branch of the vine; he shall wash his garments in wine, and his clothing in the blood of the grape: terrible are his eyes with wine, and his teeth are whiter than milky," Hence in Numbers it is written concerning our people: "Behold, the people shall rise up as a lion-like people." In Deuteronomy: "Ye Gentiles shall be for the head; but this unbelieving people shall be for the tail." Also in Jeremiah: "Hear the sound of the trumpet. And they said, We will not hear: for this cause the nations shall hear, and they who shall feed their cattle among them." In the seventeenth Psalm: "Thou shalt establish me the head of the nations: a people whom I have not known have served me: at the hearing of the ear they have obeyed me." Concerning this very thing the Lord says in Jeremiah: "Before I formed thee in the belly, I knew thee; and before thou wentest forth from the womb, I sanctified thee, and established thee as a prophet among the nations." Also in Isaiah: "Behold, I have manifested him for a witness to the nations, a prince and a commander to the peoples." Also in the same: "Nations which have not known Thee shall call upon Thee; and peoples which were ignorant of Thee shall flee to Thee." In the same, moreover: "And in that day there shall be a root of Jesse, which shall rise to rule in all the nations; in Him shall the Gentiles hope: and His rest shall be honour." In the same again: "The land of Zebulon, and the land of Nephtalim, by the way of the sea, and ye others who inhabit the maritime places, and beyond Jordan of the nations. People that walk in darkness, behold yea great light; ye who dwell in the region of the shadow of death, the light shall shine upon you." Also in the same: "Thus saith the Lord God to Christ my Lord, whose right hand I hold, that the nations may hear Him; and I will break asunder the strength of kings, I will open before Him gates; and cities shall not be shut." Also in the same: "I come to gather together all nations and tongues; and they shall come, and see my glory. And I will send out over them a standard, and I will send those that are preserved among them to the nations which are afar off, which have not heard my name nor seen my glory; and they shall declare my glory to the nations." Also in the same: "And in all these things they are not converted; therefore He shall lift up a standard to the nations which are afar, and He will draw them from the end of the earth." Also in the same: "Those who had not been told of Him shall see, and they who have not heard shall understand." Also in the same: "I have been made manifest to those who seek me not: I have been formal of those who asked not after me. I said, Lo, here am I, to a nation that has not called upon my! name." Of this same thing, in the Acts of the Apostles, Paul says: "It was necessary that the word of God should first be shown to you; but since ye put it from you, and judged yourselves unworthy of eternal life, lo, we turn to the Gentiles: for thus said the Lord by the Scriptures, Behold, I have set Thee a light among the nations, that Thou shouldest be for salvation even to the ends of the earth."

Therefore God declares that nothing is unworthy of salvation or of entering the kingdom, nor, on the contrary, does he judge that humankind deserves damnation. Rather, we judge ourselves, through our freely committed malice, to be unworthy of eternal life and worthy of eternal damnation. Therefore the judgment is in ourselves as well as the lot of our future state.

"Then Paul and Barnabas waxed bold, and said, It was necessary that the word of God should first have been spoken to you: but seeing ye put it from you, and judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life, lo, we turn to the Gentiles." Do you mark how by their contentious behavior they the more extended the preaching, and how the Apostles here gave themselves the more to the Gentiles, having by this very thing pleaded their justification, and made themselves clear of all blame with their own people at Jerusalem? See how by their "envy" they bring about great things, other than they looked for: they brought it about that the Apostles spake out boldly, and came to the Gentiles! For this is why he says, "And speaking out boldly, Paul and Barnabas said."

But see what boldness of speech! "It was necessary," he says, "that the word should have been spoken first to you, but since ye put it from you" - it is not put as affronting though it is in fact what they did in the case of the prophets: "Talk not to us," said they, "with talk": "but since ye put it from you" - it, he saith, not us: for the affront on your part is not to us. For that none may take it as an expression of their piety that he says, "Ye judge not yourselves worthy," therefore he first says, "Ye put it from you," and then, "We turn unto the Gentiles." The expression is full of gentleness. He does not say, We abandon you, but so that it is possible - he would say - that we may also turn hither again: and this too is not the consequence of the affront from you, "for so hath the Lord commanded us."

They were to go out to the Gentiles: but observe the boldness coming with measure: for if Peter pleaded in his justification, much more these needed a plea, none having called them there. But by saying "To you first," he showed that to those also it was their duty to preach, and in saying "Necessary," he showed that it was necessary to be preached to them also. "But since ye turn away from it" - he does not say, "Woe unto you," and "Ye are punished," but "We turn unto the Gentiles." With great gentleness is the boldness fraught! Also he does not say, "Ye are unworthy," but "Have judged yourselves unworthy. Lo, we turn unto the Gentiles."

He did not think that what is said was unseemly of modesty and shame, "Do not esteem yourselves worthy," for this reason he first said, "But since you reject it," and then, "we turn to the Gentiles." He did not say, "We leave you," but, as he says, "If possible," and here again to turn. [CHRYSOSTOM]

He did not think that what is said was unseemly of modesty and shame, that you judged yourselves unworthy; therefore he prefaced, You reject that: and then he adds: We turn to the Gentiles. But he did not say: We abandon you, but that it might be possible that we should again, he says, be turned towards you here. [CHRYSOSTOM]

So that the words "you make yourselves unworthy of eternal life" might not be interpreted by someone as evidence of their humility, Paul first said "as you reject it." Then he added "we turn to the Gentiles." He does not say "we are leaving you," but expresses himself in such a way that allows for the possibility of his return to Antioch.

Of the prophets and teachers in the Church of Antioch, Act 13:1. By command of the Holy Spirit the Church appoints Saul and Barnabas to a particular work, Act 13:2, Act 13:3. They depart, and travel to Seleucia, Cyprus, and Salamis, preaching in the Jewish synagogues, Act 13:4, Act 13:5. At Paphos they meet with Bar-Jesus or Elymas, a Jewish sorcerer, who endeavored to prevent the deputy of the island from receiving the Christian faith, Act 13:6-8. Saul, for the first time called Paul, denounces the judgments of God upon him, and he is struck blind, Act 13:9-11. The deputy, seeing this, is confirmed in the faith, Act 13:12. Paul and his company leave Paphos, and come to Pamphylia, where John Mark leaves them, and returns to Jerusalem, Act 13:13. Paul and Barnabas proceed to Antioch; and, coming into a synagogue of the Jews, are requested by the rulers of it to preach to the people, Act 13:14, Act 13:15. Paul preaches, and proves that Jesus is the Christ, vv. 16-41. The Gentiles desire the sermon to be preached to them the next Sabbath, and many of the Jews and proselytes receive the Christian faith, Act 13:42, Act 13:43. The next Sabbath the whole city attend; and the Jews, filled with envy, contradict and blaspheme, Act 13:44, Act 13:45. Paul and Barnabas with great boldness show that, by the order of God, the Gospel was to be preached first to them; but, seeing they had rejected it, it should now be taken from them, and sent to the Gentiles, Act 13:46, Act 13:47. The Gentiles rejoice and receive the truth, Act 13:48, Act 13:49. The Jews raise a persecution against the apostles, and expel them, Act 13:50. They come to Iconium, full of joy and the Holy Ghost, Act 13:51, Act 13:52.

Waxed bold - Παρῥησιασαμενοι; Having great liberty of speech; a strong, persuasive, and overpowering eloquence. They had eternal truth for the basis of this discourse; a multitude of incontestable facts to support it; an all-persuading eloquence to illustrate and maintain what they had asserted. Should first have been spoken to you - When our Lord gave his apostles their commission to go into all the world, and preach the Gospel to every creature, he told them they must begin first at Jerusalem, Mar 16:15; Luk 24:47. In obedience therefore to this command, the apostles (in every place where they preached) made their first offers of the Gospel to the Jews. Ye put it from you - Απωθεισθε αυτον, Ye disdain this doctrine, and consider it contemptible: so the word is frequently used. And judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life - Was this meant as a strong irony? "Ye have such humbling thoughts of yourselves, that ye think the blessings of the Gospel too good to be bestowed on such worthless wretches as ye are." Or did the apostle mean that, by their words and conduct on this occasion, they had passed sentence on themselves, and, in effect, had decided that they were unworthy of the grace of the Gospel; and God now ratifies that judgment by removing those blessings from them, and sending them to the Gentiles?

BARNABAS AND SAUL, DIVINELY CALLED TO LABOR AMONG THE GENTILES, ARE SET APART AND SENT FORTH BY THE CHURCH AT ANTIOCH. (Act 13:1-3) there were . . . certain prophets--(See on Act 11:27). and teachers; as Barnabas, &c.--implying that there were others there, besides; but, according to what appears the true reading, the meaning is simply that those here mentioned were in the Church at Antioch as prophets and teachers. Simeon . . . Niger--of whom nothing is known. Lucius of Cyrene-- (Act 2:20). He is mentioned, in Rom 16:21, as one of Paul's kinsmen. Manaen--or Menahem, the name of one of the kings of Israel (Kg2 15:14). which had been brought up with--or, the foster brother of. Herod the tetrarch--that is, Antipas, who was himself "brought up with a certain private person at Rome" [JOSEPHUS, Antiquities, 17.1,3]. How differently did these two foster brothers turn out--the one, abandoned to a licentious life and stained with the blood of the most distinguished of God's prophets, though not without his fits of reformation and seasons of remorse; the other, a devoted disciple of the Lord Jesus and prophet of the Church at Antioch! But this is only what may be seen in every age: "Even so, Father, for so it seemeth good in Thy sight.' If the courtier, whose son, at the point of death, was healed by our Lord (Joh 4:46) was of Herod's establishment, while Susanna's husband was his steward (Luk 8:3), his foster brother's becoming a Christian and a prophet is something remarkable. and Saul--last of all, but soon to become first. Henceforward this book is almost exclusively occupied with him; and his impress on the New Testament, on Christendom, and on the world is paramount.

Then Paul and Barnabas waxed bold, and said, &c.--This is in the highest style of a last and solemn protestation. It was necessary that the word should first have been spoken to you--See the direction of Christ in Luk 24:47; also Rom 1:16. since ye judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life--pass sentence upon yourselves.